Residents of Matsu (
The planned cut is part of the MND's second-stage military restructuring project aimed at establishing an elite deterrent force in the face of China's threat.
According to the MND's newly sanctioned restructuring plan, the total number of military personnel stationed on the three outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu will be trimmed to about 10,000 by 2008.
Opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsao Erh-chung (
"Unless China renounces the option of using force against Taiwan, we should not unilaterally disarm ourselves. Without adequate defense deployment, Matsu's security will be at stake," Tsao said.
Chen Shu-lien (陳書廉), president of the Matsu Chamber of Commerce, and several senior executives of the organization paid a visit to Lienchiang County Commissioner Chen Shui-sheng (陳雪生) Thursday to express their concern about the MND's troops reduction plan.
"Because of the government's gradual reduction of garrison troops in Matsu in recent years, Chinese fishing boats have often poached in waters near Matsu or even come ashore for illegal trading. If the number of troops is cut further, the security situation will get even worse," Chen Shu-lien said.
Worse still, he said, Matsu's economic development will also be seriously affected if the number of garrison troops is further trimmed.
The Matsu island group is under the jurisdiction of the Lienchiang County Government. It has only a limited number of civilian residents. For years, its economy has relied heavily on garrison troops' consumption.
For security and economic well-being, Chen Shu-lien urged the county government to push the central government and the MND to rethink the Matsu troop reduction plan.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS