China's top military strategy against Taiwan is a sudden strike that will paralyze air force defenses without giving the US sufficient time to come to Taiwan's aid, according to a report released by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday.
The party's China Affairs Department published a report on China's basic military capabilities in which it is said that Beijing has developed a "sudden strike" strategy to attack Taiwan.
Such an attack would consist of an initial "seven minute shock and strike" missile barrage to paralyze Taiwan's command system, followed by 17 minutes in which Taiwan's air space will be invaded by fighter jets. Within 24 hours of the strike 258,000 Chinese troops could be deployed in Taiwan.
According to the report, prepared by the Institute for Taiwan Defense and Strategic Studies (
China's fast-growing military modernization and expansion is aimed at a possible war between 2005 and 2010, according to the report.
"China's non-stop military expansion is a result of its wanting to keep playing an active role in Asia, outmatch neighboring countries such as Japan and India and counter the effects of US forces in the region. Taiwan must seek to improve its military capabilities in the coming six to 10 years in the face of China's military ambitions signifying a war between 2005 and 2010," the report states.
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
"China's annual military spen-ding is seven times that of Taiwan and is expected to increase up to 10 times along with its ongoing economic development in the near future.
"Taiwan will never be able to compete with China's military expansion ? We should move some of the money budgeted for defensive missile capabilities to the development of pre-emptive missile-strike capabilities," Lee said.
The rate of China's military expansion has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years, with an estimated US$60 billion being spent on military purposes annually.
Taiwan's military spending is US$8 billion a year, half of which is used for personnel expenses, Lee said.
To counter the military imbalance in the Taiwan Strait, Lee said Taiwan should use both military and political means to ease the growing military threats from China.
The political approach would include bringing the issue of cross-strait military tensions to the attention of the international community, which would deter China from using force against Taiwan.
Lee said President Chen Shui-bian's (
Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強), a former senior advisor to the National Security Council, yesterday warned that the Taiwanese should not be so dazzled by the attraction of China's markets that they ignore the underlying military threat.
Shu said China's definition of Taiwanese independence, which has led to threats of war, varies from time to time.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS