President Chen Shui-bian (
Speaking via videoconference to an audience at a Washington think tank on Thursday, Chen said that Taiwan's legislature had approved the budget for the F-16 procurement plan in the hopes that the US would begin price negotiations for the deal next month.
However, Chen said, information available to him showed that the administration of US President George W. Bush seemed to be dragging its feet and may wait until after Taiwan's new president assumes office next year to approve the deal.
He told the audience at the American Enterprise Institute in the US capital that China continues to deploy ballistic missiles along its southeastern coast targeting Taiwan.
"The current number of missiles stands at nearly 1,000, and it is increasing by 120 to 150 per year," Chen said.
Moreover, he said, China's People's Liberation Army has formulated a three-stage military plan for possible war with Taiwan: establishing combat capabilities for a comprehensive contingency response by the end of this year, for large-scale military engagement by 2010, and for complete victory in a decisive battle by 2015.
According to media reports, the Bush administration may delay its decision on the fighter deal to show its displeasure with Chen's push for a referendum on Taiwan's bid for UN membership under the name Taiwan, which US officials worry could upset the delicate balance of power keeping peace in the Taiwan Strait by angering China.
Despite the absence of formal diplomatic ties, the US is permitted by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons.
Chen said it is hoped that the Bush administration could ratify the F-16 deal soon to help upgrade Taiwan's airborne arsenal and beef up its air defense.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
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