National Security Bureau Director Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) yesterday contradicted a statement made by Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) on how long the country could withstand a Chinese attack.
Yen had said last week that Taiwan could survive “at least one month,” should China invade, without help from the US, adding the estimate was based on conclusions drawn from various war games.
Tsai was responding a request from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chien Tung-ming (簡東明) at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday to comment on Yen’s remarks.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“The Ministry of National Defense has a better understanding of the military strength of both sides, so it said Taiwan’s military will be able to withstand a Chinese attack for one month. Yet whether the nation is capable of resisting for a month depends on the public’s will to resist an invasion. If everyone wants to leave, [Taiwan] might not be able to withstand for a month,” Tsai said.
He added that modern warfare proceeds very quickly, unlike during World War I or World War II.
Meanwhile, regarding the Legislative Yuan’s review of the cross-strait services trade agreement that is slated to begin tomorrow, Tsai yesterday said that any increased cross-strait interaction runs the risk of compromising national security, as China would attempt to infiltrate Taiwan.
However, he added that the bureau has already made a security assessment last month and taken necessary precautions with all related government agencies, but that the risks were minimal.
The assessment was sent to the Legislative Yuan last week, he added.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said that 784 Chinese are known to have overstayed their visas, with the number of illegal Chinese in the country coming to more than 1,000 if those smuggled in were also included.
These Chinese are in every part of the country, and pose considerable risk to society and national security, Tsai Huang-liang said.
When asked by if the bureau could get an accurate number on Chinese in Taiwan, Tsai Der-sheng said that if the bureau did not know the whereabouts of a Chinese national, then it did not keep tabs on them.
“We will attempt to find out their location and residence to do our best at maintaining security,” Tsai Der-sheng said.
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
Air and rail traffic around Taiwan were disrupted today while power cuts occurred across the country as Typhoon Kong-rey, predicted to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon, continued edging closer to the country. A total of 241 passenger and cargo flights departing from or arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were canceled today due to the typhoon, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. As of 9:30am, 109 inbound flights, 103 outbound flights and 29 cargo flights had been canceled, the company said. Taiwan Railway Corp also canceled all express trains on its Western Trunk Line, Eastern Trunk Line, South-Link Line and attached branches
Typhoon Kong-rey is forecast to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon and would move out to sea sometime overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 9am today, Kong-rey's outer rim was covering most of Taiwan except for the north. The storm's center was 110km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost tip, and moving northwest at 28kph. It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of 184kph, and gusts of up to 227kph, the CWA said. At a news conference this morning, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said Kong-rey is moving "extremely fast," and is expected to make landfall between
RSS