The official Web site of the Presidential Office has been attacked by hackers traced to the Philippines, a spokesperson said yesterday, days after the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by personnel on a Philippine government vessel.
The Web site became inaccessible at 9:17am, but was up again soon after 10am, Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) said.
The denial-of-service attack was traced to the Philippines, Lee said, adding that the Cabinet has been dealing with the matter.
Photo: CNA
The Cabinet also reported attacks from the Philippines on the Web sites of several government agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Coast Guard Administration.
Signs of the attacks were detected on Friday and on Saturday it was confirmed that the source was in the Philippines, Cabinet spokesperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said.
Local government Web sites in Taipei and Greater Tainan, and those of a number of private enterprises have also been targeted, Cheng said.
The defense ministry reported slow access to its Web site yesterday after it was flooded with information from an unknown source. However, the ministry’s internal network was not affected and it has activated security measures, spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said.
Local media said that hackers in Taiwan had launched attacks on Philippine Web sites after 65-year-old Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成) was shot dead on Thursday in an incident involving the Taiwanese fishing boat Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 and a Philippine patrol boat.
Hung Yu-chih (洪育智), skipper of the Kuang Ta Hsing and the son of Hung Shih-cheng, denied that he had triggered the incident by attempting to ram the Philippine vessel.
He said it was impossible for his boat to ram the much larger Philippine ship, and his crew had not taken any aggressive actions, as a Philippine Presidential Office spokeswoman had claimed.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) visited Hung Shih-cheng’s family on Pingtung County’s Siaoliouchio (小琉球) Island yesterday and promised that the government would not let the matter rest until Manila had offered an official apology and provided compensation.
Taiwan has called on the Philippines to issue a formal apology, compensate the victim’s family, investigate the incident, punish the perpetrators and start fishery talks with Taiwan as soon as possible, the Presidential Office said in a statement late on Saturday.
If the Philippines fails to respond by midnight tomorrow, Taiwan will suspend importation of Philippine labor, recall its representative in Manila and ask the Philippine envoy in Taiwan to return home, the Presidential Office said.
Philippine authorities offered their “deepest sympathies and condolences” on Saturday and vowed to conduct an “impartial, transparent and expeditious” investigation into the tragedy.
“As the Philippine Coast Guard has stated, we express our heartfelt sorrow on the unfortunate situation that occurred during one of the anti-illegal fishing patrols conducted by a Philippine fishery law enforcement vessel [MCS 3001] within the maritime jurisdiction [waters off the Batanes group of islands] of the Philippines on the morning of May 9, 2013, which tragically resulted in the death of a fisherman from one of the fishing vessels reportedly poaching in the area,” Philippine Presidential Office deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said in the statement.
“We extend our sincere and deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family of the victim,” Valte said.
The commander and crew of the MCS 3001 have been relieved of their duties, she said.
“The Philippine Coast Guard, together with other agencies, assures everyone that this investigation will be conducted in an impartial, transparent and expeditious manner,” Valte said.
The Philippines will look into ways of preventing similar incidents in the future, she said.
Reacting to the apology, Li said the Philippine government would pay the price if it continued to respond to the incident with “flippant remarks.”
“The Philippine government’s casual attitude toward the incident shows its insincerity in attempting to resolve the issue,” she said.
“We hope the Philippine government will face the issue with the respect and dignity the incident requires,” Li said.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has also been informed of the 72-hour ultimatum, a Philippine official said.
Amadeo Perez Jr, chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), which represents the Philippines’ interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties, said in Manila that he has informed Aquino about the Taiwanese government’s demands.
Perez declined to comment on the ultimatum, but said he has been sad since MECO Managing Director Antonio Basilio reported on his visit to Hung’s family.
Commenting on the threat of sanctions against the Philippines over the incident, a labor official said that suspending the importation of Philippine labor would adversely affect Taiwan’s high-tech industry.
The technology industry will bear the brunt of such a move because it relies mainly on Philippine workers, who tend to have a good command of English, to operate machinery, said Lin San-quei (林三貴), head of the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training.
The bureau put the number of Philippine workers in Taiwan at about 87,000, most of whom are working in the manufacturing sector, while the others are mainly domestic caregivers.
Lin said that Philippine workers’ strong command of English gives them options other than Taiwan when considering overseas work. Taiwan is not necessarily their first choice, he added.
Meanwhile, some Philippine workers in Taiwan said they were aware of the threats of sanctions. Others expressed sympathy for Hung’s family and said they favor an apology by the Philippines.
A Filipina who identified herself as Amor, 38, said that she and her compatriots usually work Monday to Saturday and did not know about the shooting incident. She said it would be unfair for Taiwan to freeze the importation of workers from country.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS