There were no signs of unusual military deployments by China’s military ahead of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) visit to the US and Central America this week, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) said yesterday.
Tsai departs for New York tomorrow for a stopover before heading to Guatemala and Belize. On her way back to Taiwan, she is scheduled to transit through Los Angeles, where she is expected to meet US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Responding to lawmakers’ questions at the Legislative Yuan, Po said China has three or four warships operating around Taiwan daily, which has become a “new normal.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
If there are any changes in China’s military deployment, Taiwan must be prepared for a worst-case scenario, he said.
“So far there is no sign of any special military deployment,” he added.
Separately, Hon Hai Precision Industry founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) yesterday departed for the US for a 12-day visit, Gou’s office said in a statement.
Gou aims to build a cooperation framework between Taiwan and the US, it said.
His trip comes as Taiwan becomes a more frequent topic at international forums amid growing concerns over security in the Asia-Pacific region, and the risks of a potential conflict have highlighted Taiwan’s global economic and security importance, it said.
Gou is also planning a visit to Japan, the former Foxonn CEO’s office said.
The statement did not make any reference to Gou’s political ambitions, but his trip has drawn attention given that Gou has expressed interest in vying for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) nomination for next year’s presidential race.
Taiwan’s presidential hopefuls often take overseas trips, mostly to the US, to establish foreign policy credentials early in their bids for office.
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is scheduled to visit the US next month in his capacity as the the party’s presidential hopeful.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its