Any Chinese “spy” balloon flying through Taiwan’s airspace should be taken down, Democratic Progressive Party caucus director Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said yesterday.
A US fighter jet on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon using an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile after it was detected flying over the US on Thursday.
While China said the balloon ended up in the US’ airspace after being blown off course, the world believes that is unlikely, as China is capable of maneuvering balloon satellites, Cheng said.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
The balloon demonstrates China’s expansionist ambitions, he said.
Instead of using balloons, China has been openly carrying out actual threats against Taiwan that involve military aircraft, naval vessels and even missiles, Cheng said.
Some pro-unification advocates in Taiwan considered the incident an opportunity for Taiwan to show friendliness to China, which was “a terrible insult to Taiwan,” he said.
Their view also sent the wrong signal regarding Taiwan’s international status and sovereignty, and could undermine the international community’s respect for the nation, Cheng said.
China’s ambition to invade Taiwan is more serious than sending in a balloon, he said.
“If a Chinese spy balloon drifted into Taiwan’s territory, I would say it should be shot down,” Cheng said, adding that shooting down the device would not be an act of provocation, as “it should not be there in the first place.”
He called on all political parties to take a united stand on the matter to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty, dignity, democratic system, economic development and way of life.
Separately, Institute of National Defense and Security Research director Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) and Defence International magazine director Chen Kuo-ming (陳國銘) on Sunday said that high-altitude surveillance balloons can detect and collect atmospheric data related to artillery.
The US waited until the balloon flew to the open sea before shooting it down to ensure the safety of the people on the ground, which is worth learning from, they said.
However, whether using missiles to shoot down a balloon is cost-effective requires further deliberation, they said.
The Ministry of National Defense said that a Chinese meteorological balloon passed over northern and central Taiwan shortly after the Lunar New Year holiday in February last year, adding that it did not shoot it down, but had at the time closely monitored it.
The military monitors all aerial devices, including balloons, around Taiwan and would react accordingly, it said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow