Two US lawmakers on Saturday said they discussed the possibility of bringing Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite system into Taiwan with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), to help Taipei’s deterrence against China.
US Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and US Representative French Hill, among a congressional delegation that visited Taipei last week, said it was one of the “constructive takeaways” in their talks with Tsai on Saturday.
The Presidential Office said it had no comment on Starlink, but issued a statement saying that McCaul and his delegation met with Taiwanese leaders from various industries including semiconductors and aerospace technology.
Photo: AFP
The Republican lawmakers did not say if they had discussed the idea with Musk or Starlink, the fleet operated and launched by the billionaire’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp, which has more than 3,000 satellites in orbit.
Last year, Musk angered Taipei by proposing his own solution for the tensions between China and Taiwan — handing some control to Beijing.
He also said then that Beijing had sought assurances that he would not offer Starlink’s Internet service in China.
“Communist China is very good at what we call intelligence surveillance reconnaissance,” McCaul told reporters on Saturday. “They have great eyes on — they can see everything in the Pacific. In some cases, better than we can in this area. Taiwan has none of that.”
Taiwan would benefit from Starlink’s satellites because of vulnerabilities in its undersea cables, Hill said, adding that it would have to make a national security exception for the company to operate.
The visit by the US congressional delegation, which arrived on Thursday and departed on Saturday, was part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region, the American Institute in Taiwan said.
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
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
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