The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it would reward people who report the presence of foreign military ships, including those from China, in waters around the nation, as it seeks the public’s help with monitoring “abnormal” activity.
China regularly deploys fighter jets, navy ships and coast guard vessels around Taiwan.
“The coast guard’s personnel are limited, but the people power at sea is unlimited,” the CGA said in a statement announcing the rewards.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, REUTERS
The coast guard called on people, including fishers, to “stay vigilant to abnormal maritime activities” to help counter the growing “threats from the sea” and “all kinds of gray zone harassment tactics” — actions that fall short of an act of war.
People who report homicide, piracy, arson or kidnapping to the coast guard could receive up to NT$200,000, while reports of Chinese “stowaways” would be rewarded with NT$50,000 and NT$10,000 for other foreign stowaways.
Verified reports to the coast guard about foreign military ships and other vessels would be rewarded with NT$3,000, it said.
China maintains a near-daily presence of naval vessels and warplanes around Taiwan.
China Coast Guard ships have also been spotted around Taiwan’s outlying islands, at times briefly entering its restricted waters.
Meanwhile, government announcements said test rocket launches are scheduled for this month in Pingtung County.
Feng Chia University plans to conduct a test launch of a small research rocket tomorrow in Mudan Township (牡丹), with the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) also scheduling test launches between Thursday next week and Nov. 21.
The university’s rocket launch is set for 6am to 8am, with backup dates scheduled for Monday or Sunday next week at the same time.
The NCSIST launch is scheduled for Thursday next week, as well as on Nov. 19, 20 and 21 at the Jiupeng military base in Manjhou Township (滿州).
Several NCSIST launches have been canceled for reasons such as bad weather or due to Chinese intelligence vessels patrolling the waters near the base.
To avoid espionage, the NCSIST has shifted its launch times and requested military assistance to remove Chinese vessels.
Additional reporting by Lo Tien-pin
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
A Control Yuan member yesterday said he would initiate an investigation into why the number of foreign nationals injured or killed in traffic incidents has nearly doubled in the past few years, and whether government agencies’ mechanisms were ineffective in ensuring road safety. Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said in a news release that Taiwan has been described as a “living hell for pedestrians” and traffic safety has become an important national security issue. According to a National Audit Office report released last year, more than 780,000 foreign nationals were legally residing in Taiwan in 2019, which grew to more than