Minister of National Defense (MND) Michael Tsai’s (蔡明憲) planned trip to Taiping Island (太平島) was at the center of discussion at a meeting of the legislature’s Diplomacy and National Defense Committee yesterday, with lawmakers undecided on whether to accompany him.
The trip is scheduled for Wednesday and will be the last visit by Tsai and the committee’s lawmakers to the southern tip of the nation’s territory before the new government takes office on May 20.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that the trip would cost NT$17.5 million (US$583,000) and that it had drawn criticism by an anonymous MND official as “a waste of money.”
The paper also reported that Tsai’s invitations to lawmakers from the committee were perceived as an attempt to justify his trip by claiming he must “accompany lawmakers from the committee to make sure national defense mechanisms in Taiping Island are on the right track.”
At the committee meeting yesterday morning, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民) said he would accept the invitation.
“As a committee member, I feel obligated to go there in person to learn what is going on and make sure that everything is in good shape,” Shuai said. “We have been discussing this trip for a long time.”
KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said that he could not decide. He felt the trip was necessary, but also believed that Tsai should not waste public funds. The trip should be organized by the incoming defense minister, he said.
“I also feel that the trip is necessary, but that does not mean I will go. We still have responsibilities here at the legislature. Such a trip should be organized during our recess,” Lin said.
MND Spokeswoman Lisa Chi (池玉蘭) said that Tsai’s trip to Taiping Island was a part of the minister’s regular schedule and “necessary.”
Taiping is the largest of the Spratly Islands, a string of rocky outcrops possibly sitting on oil and gas deposits. In addition to Taiwan, five other countries claim sovereignty over the islands.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS