New Party legislator-at-large nominee Chiu Yi (邱毅) has been called a “traitor” on social media after appearing on Chinese television twice over the past week discussing Taiwan’s military defense systems.
Appearing on China Central Television (CCTV) political talk show The Two Sides of the Strait (海峽兩岸), Chiu discussed the navy’s Kao Hsiung LST-542-class tank landing ship, its missile and radar systems, as well as the military’s missile deployments in Taipei.
Speaking on the program on Friday, Chiu said that the Military Police Command’s deployment in October of Kestrel missiles at key government buildings in Taipei was ordered by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) out of fear of a “decapitation strike” by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Photo: screen grab by Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Government reports calling the Kestrel missiles “anti-tank missiles” were an exaggeration, Chiu said.
The Kestrel would be incapable of piercing the armor of China’s Type 98 and Type 99 tanks, he said.
However, the missiles — which were developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology — would be effective against light tanks or armored vehicles, he said.
While reports said the missiles would help defend government institutions, they were intended to protect only the president, and would be used for the defense of the Presidential Office Building and Tsai’s official residence, he said.
This is further evidenced by the formation of the Quick Reaction Company at the 202nd Military Police Command Headquarters in Taipei, the commander of which is a woman, Chiu said.
Appearing on the program again on Sunday, Chiu said that while the Kao Hsiung has a phased array radar system and a vertical launching system — which are standard equipment on destroyers worldwide — the systems aboard the Kao Hsiung are outdated.
Taiwanese media have reported on close US-Taiwan relations, with Washington helping Taipei with its indigenous shipbuilding program and providing technological assistance, which has become a bragging point for Tsai, Chiu said.
Tsai has been imploring the public to stand united against China and assuring them that the Taiwanese military can resist a PLA invasion, he said.
Both remarks are merely campaign promises ahead of the Jan. 11 elections, Chiu added.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that Chiu’s actions should be “strongly discouraged” and advised the public against discussing or speculating about military deployments or adjustments, which the nation’s security depends on.
The public should keep in mind that the Chinese Communist Party has never renounced the use of force against Taiwan, it said.
The ministry has “absolute confidence” that it can protect the nation, it added.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
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
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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