DEFENSE
Missile could reach Beijing
Taiwan has developed a missile capable of reaching Beijing and tested it successfully three years ago, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported yesterday, citing a former defense minister. Taiwan’s military successfully fired the medium-range missile in early 2008 in a secret test attended by then--president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), former defense minister Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) said in memoirs released this week. Tsai did not specify the range of the missile, but the United Daily News said it was capable of reaching major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Chengdu and Shenyang 2,000km away. The newspaper said Tsai is the first official to confirm Taiwan has developed the technology, though local media have previously reported that Taiwan possessed mid-range missile capabilities. Stephen Young, Washington’s then de facto envoy to Taipei, had expressed concern over the test, but Tsai assured him that Taiwan would not initiate any attack, the former minister said in the book. The Chinese military was prepared to go to war if Beijing-friendly candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) lost the 2008 president election, Tsai wrote, citing Taiwanese and US intelligence.
POLITICS
Envoys to attend memorial
China is sending two representatives to attend the memorial service of former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) mother today. Li Bingcai (李炳才), vice president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, and Wang Yuwen (王育文), deputy director of the political party department of the Taiwan Affairs Office, will attend the ceremony in Taipei, Lien’s spokesman, Ting Yuan-chao (丁遠超), said yesterday. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), as well as ambassadors and representatives stationed in Taipei from other countries — including the US, Singapore and El Salvador — will also pay their respects, Ting said. Lien’s mother, Chao Lan-kun (趙蘭坤), died in Taipei on April 17 at the age of 103.
SOCIETY
Women died of starvation
Two elderly sisters found dead in their home probably starved to death, police said yesterday, in a case that has highlighted rising concern over care of the nation’s aging population. The women, aged 77 and 79, were severely emaciated when their partially decomposed bodies were found on Tuesday in an apartment in Taipei, police said. Their 74-year-old brother, who appeared to be suffering from dementia, stayed with the corpses for several days before telling a neighbor. The neighbor contacted the police, who had to force their way into the apartment to remove the bodies. Police said they suspected that the sisters, who were apparently also suffering from dementia, had died of malnutrition because of a lack of care. Apart from their brother, they had no other living relatives.
TRAVEL
Ivory Coast under ‘red alert’
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday placed the Ivory Coast under “red travel alert” and strongly advised people to postpone trips or to avoid crowds if they visit the country. People planning to visit were also advised to register with the ministry’s Bureau of Consular Affairs so the government could locate them in the shortest time should they encounter any problems, the ministry said. The capture of the former Ivory Coast president ended a standoff on April 11, but the situation is still in turmoil, with shootings and robberies reported in Abobo, Treichville, Adjame and Yopougon districts in the capital, Abidjan, the ministry said.
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
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
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
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