China yesterday denied that it had imposed a no-fly zone in the seas north of Taiwan for tomorrow, even though Taipei said it was told by Beijing that China would impose one.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that Beijing had initially notified Taipei it would impose a no-fly zone from tomorrow to Tuesday, but later said that was reduced to just 27 minutes tomorrow morning after it protested.
However, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) seemingly contradicted that claim in remarks at a regular media briefing yesterday.
Photo: AP
“I have noticed that there were previous reports pointing out that the no-fly zone was set up by the Chinese side, which is inaccurate. The relevant authorities will implement measures to ensure flight safety,” Wang said.
China’s civil aviation authority would forewarn and issue notices in advance for any space activities, Wang said.
However, Taiwan has already issued a notice to airmen, or NOTAM, that says “airspace blocked due to aerospace flight activity.”
The area covers busy flight routes between Taiwan and China and Taiwan and South Korea, among others.
On Thursday, the China Maritime Safety Administration said that potential rocket debris would fall in the East China Sea tomorrow between 9am and 3pm, and banned shipping vessels from the area.
“Relevant parties in the mainland have issued advance notices and announcements of space activities affecting the airspace,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement yesterday.
The hype around China’s space activities is a political trick, and an attempt to escalate cross-strait confrontation, Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said in the statement.
On Wednesday, an airline association said its individual member airlines would cover the costs incurred from China’s imposition of the no-fly zone if they are forced to reroute.
Wang Kuo-an (王國安), chairman of the 50-member Airlines Operating Committee, said that a limited number of flights would be affected by the airspace restrictions between 9:30am and 9:57am.
In addition, members of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport-based committee are willing to cooperate and absorb extra costs to protect their own assets if forced to reroute, Wang said.
Flights to and from Japan, South Korea and the US could be affected, as the zone sits at a critical juncture for flights between Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, Wang said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS