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launching system — which are standard equipment on destroyers worldwide — the systems aboard the Kao Hsiung are outdated.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
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS