Rising US-Iran tensions prompted President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday to convene a high-level national security meeting to discuss the government’s responses, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said.
Cabinet ministers and agency heads briefed Tsai on the impact of a potential escalation of the crisis and the president ordered officials to take steps to safeguard the nation’s financial system, energy supply, Taiwanese in the Middle East and peace in the Taiwan Strait, Huang told a press conference.
She also decided to raise the alert level for the military ahead of tomorrow’s elections, he said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Financial Supervisory Commission and the central bank were told to closely monitor the stock and currency markets, ensure their basic operational capabilities and take measures to stabilize the nation’s finances if necessary, Huang said.
“Taiwan has a solid economic base and such measures are aimed at possible short-term effects” from the potential deterioration of US-Iran relations, he cited Tsai as telling the meeting.
The president said that national crude reserves could provide energy for more than 100 days, so the public should not worry, as the authorities would ensure that prices remain balanced and that people’s daily lives would not be affected, Huang added.
Tsai told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to monitor developments, ensure that it can contact Taiwanese residents and travelers in the region and draw up a contingency plan for their evacuation, if necessary, he said.
The Ministry of National Defense was told to closely monitor the Strait to prevent China from making any moves while the US’ attention is focused on the Middle East, he said.
The security meeting was attended by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General David Lee (李大維), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發), Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通), Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津), National Security Bureau Director-General Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正), NSC Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) and NSC Adviser Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉).
The foreign ministry late on Wednesday night issued a red travel alert for Iraq and four Iranian provinces, its highest level alert.
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
RSS