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.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
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