The Ministry of National Defense spokesman yesterday referred to a media report claiming that locally-built cruise missiles have secretly begun to be deployed on the island as a "sheer fabrication"
Ministry spokesman Liu Chih-chian (
The government has begun deploying home-made cruise missiles on mobile launchers that are capable of hitting major military targets in southeast China, a Chinese-language newspaper reported in Taipei yesterday.
The daily said the Hsiung Feng missiles, which have a range of 1,000km, were deployed nationwide by the ministry's new missile command.
The missiles, which cost about NT$100 million (US$3.13 million) each, were developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the daily said.
The military-run institute was also developing cruise missiles with a range of 2,000km.
The newspaper said President Chen Shui-bian (
Taiwan reportedly successfully test-fired its first cruise missile earlier this year, which flew more than 500km before hitting its target.
The Pentagon released a report last month that warned that Beijing had deployed up to 730 ballistic missiles targeting Taiwan.
The report said Beijing's defense build-up could tip the military balance against Taiwan and pose a credible threat to other countries in the region.
In a bid to beef up defense capabilities, the Cabinet has approved a revised arms deal worth some US$15.5 billion for weapons from the US. Critics said the budget could further provoke China and heighten cross-strait tensions.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
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