Former minister of defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) yesterday denied leaking military secrets about Taiwan’s development of medium-range missiles in his autobiography, saying that the information had already been made public.
“I would cooperate with any investigation if the Ministry of National Defense decides to probe the matter,” Tsai, who served as the first civilian minister of defense during the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, said on the sidelines of the launch of his memoir, titled God Bless Taiwan (天佑台灣).
Prior to the book launch, local media on Saturday reported that Tsai wrote in his book that Taiwan test-fired domestically produced medium-range missiles — which have credible performance in terms of speed, control, precision and error rates — in March 2008, raising concern from Washington. Following the report, the ministry said that it would not rule out initiating an investigation into the matter.
Tsai yesterday said that the development of the missiles has been reported by Taiwanese and US media and was discussed in legislative sessions, adding that the minsitry had also mentioned the development in its written and oral report to the legislature.
Former chief of the general staff Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) and former minister of defense Tang Fei (唐飛) revealed a lot more confidential military information in their memoirs, added Tsai, who headed the ministry for just three months in 2008 as the last defense minister of the DPP administration.
Tsai said that the revelation was positive and helped people regain confidence in the nation’s defense amid a growing military imbalance across the Taiwan Strait.
“People expressed strong support for making the revelation and for the missile project since the news was first reported as they understand that the ministry is doing its best to safeguard the country and Taiwanese,” Tsai told a seminar on cross-strait and regional security cooperation held after the book launch.
Tsai, who also once served as deputy representative to the US, underlined the role Washington plays in Taiwan’s security and would play in the case of another Taiwan Strait crisis.
The US played a pivotal role in three such crises in the past, including its military engagement in China’s bombardment of Kinmen in 1958 and in 1996, as well as the 319 shooting incident on the eve of Taiwan’s presidential election in 2004, Tsai said.
The former minister of defense reiterated his call for scrapping the all-voluntary recruitment of the military, saying that mandatory conscription remained necessary due to the increasing military threat from China, an insufficient defense budget and the nation’s low birthrate.
The ministry has elaborated the difficulties of implementing the system in the legislature, Tsai said, adding that countries facing the same military threats as Taiwan, such as South Korea and Singapore, have not implemented an all-volunteer system.
“I don’t know why President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) insisted on implementing the system when the time is not ripe,” he said.
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)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
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