Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have accused their counterparts from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of weakening national security, following proposed budget cuts to the submarine program and draft amendments to the Civil Defense Act (民防法).
DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) and legislators Michelle Lin (林楚茵) and Puma Shen (沈伯洋) held a news conference yesterday to discuss concerns about the proposals that they said could undermine national security goals.
Taiwan’s defense has serious challenges, Wu said, adding that KMT legislators Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), Huang Jen (黃仁) and Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) blocked funding for construction of domestic submarines.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The total submarine budget for the next 14 years is NT$28.4 billion (US$873 million), with the budget for next year set at NT$1.9 billion.
However, Hsu proposed a budget cut of NT$1.7 billion for next year, leaving just NT$200 million, while Ma and Huang proposed cutting the budget entirely.
China’s military activities near Taiwan’s airspace have increased in frequency, but the KMT has not allowed for Taiwan to strengthen its defensive capabilities since the Chen Shui-bian administration (陳水扁), Wu said.
During the administration of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the government prioritized domestic submarine construction, but the KMT has repeatedly blocked those plans through budget freezes and proposed cuts, he said.
National defense requires unity, just as Taiwanese showed unity when cheering for “Team Taiwan” — the national baseball team who won the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 championship in Tokyo this weekend, Lin said.
Comparing the budget for next year to a deposit on purchasing a home, Lin said that if the proposed budget cuts go through, it would announce to the world that Taiwan is abandoning its submarine program.
That behavior only benefits the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), she said, adding that the KMT should consider whether it wants to be the CPP’s “local collaborator” or support Taiwan instead.
Shen compared Taiwan’s national defense to winning a baseball championship — the frontline armed forces, the civil defense systems, and the people’s self-defense determination must all come together to achieve success.
By cutting the submarine budget and amending the Civil Defense Act and All-out Defense Mobilization Readiness Act (全民防衛動員準備法), the KMT undermines Taiwan’s frontline defense systems, reduces its logistical support and weakens the ability for citizens to participate in its defense, Shen said.
Recent actions by the KMT, including the proposed changes to the Constitutional Court and Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), “hollow out” the country, Shen added.
Thirty-five earthquakes have exceeded 5.5 on the Richter scale so far this year, the most in 14 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Facebook on Thursday. A large earthquake in Hualien County on April 3 released five times as much the energy as the 921 Earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the agency said in its latest earthquake report for this year. Hualien County has had the most national earthquake alerts so far this year at 64, with Yilan County second with 23 and Changhua County third with nine, the agency said. The April 3 earthquake was what caused the increase in
INTIMIDATION: In addition to the likely military drills near Taiwan, China has also been waging a disinformation campaign to sow division between Taiwan and the US Beijing is poised to encircle Taiwan proper in military exercise “Joint Sword-2024C,” starting today or tomorrow, as President William Lai (賴清德) returns from his visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a national security official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said that multiple intelligence sources showed that China is “highly likely” to launch new drills around Taiwan. Although the drills’ scale is unknown, there is little doubt that they are part of the military activities China initiated before Lai’s departure, they said. Beijing at the same time is conducting information warfare by fanning skepticism of the US and
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
DEFENSE: This month’s shipment of 38 modern M1A2T tanks would begin to replace the US-made M60A3 and indigenous CM11 tanks, whose designs date to the 1980s The M1A2T tanks that Taiwan expects to take delivery of later this month are to spark a “qualitative leap” in the operational capabilities of the nation’s armored forces, a retired general told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday. On Tuesday, the army in a statement said it anticipates receiving the first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks from the US, out of 108 tanks ordered, in the coming weeks. The M1 Abrams main battle tank is a generation ahead of the Taiwanese army’s US-made M60A3 and indigenously developed CM11 tanks, which have
RSS