DEFENSE
Tainan drills planned
The government plans to hold a small-scale exercise in Tainan on March 27 to assess civil defense and disaster preparedness, a national security official said on Tuesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the planned exercise would be aimed at examining civilians’ ability to find air raid shelters and other cover in emergencies. The exercise would also involve familiarizing people with civil defense policies, and helping the public prepare emergency kits and other items, the official said. The official said the exercise is aimed at equipping people with the ability to respond to high-intensity conflicts, natural disasters and other scenarios. It would build on last year’s unscripted tabletop exercises at the Presidential Office. The efforts were launched under the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, an advisory group established by the Presidential Office. The official said that following the drill, the government would proceed with Urban Resilience Exercises from April to July, which combine the Wan An air raid drills and Min An disaster response drills.
ENVIRONMENT
OAC advises on strandings
The Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) on Monday released a report on whale, dolphin and sea turtle strandings, urging people not to push beached animals back into the water and instead report them to the authorities to increase their chances of survival. “Cetaceans and sea turtles are lung-breathing animals,” said the report published by the OAC’s Marine Animal Rescue Network and Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA). “If they are pushed back into the sea without being evaluated, they might be unable to float to breathe due to physical exhaustion, or they might lose balance and inhale seawater into their respiratory tract, causing harm similar to drowning in humans,” the report said. There were 159 whale and dolphin strandings reported last year, with 135 of those animals found dead and 24 alive, the OAC said. In addition, 237 dead and 88 living sea turtles were found washed up on Taiwan’s beaches last year. The OCA urged the public to contact the coast guard by calling 118 or local marine conservation authorities, if they come across stranded or endangered marine wildlife.
TRANSPORT
Motorbike poll reopened
The Freeway Bureau on Tuesday said that it has relaunched an opinion poll this month on whether heavy motorcycles should be allowed on national freeways, adding that the results of the survey would be released in the second half of this year. Previous surveys showed that 60 percent of respondents were against the proposal. An amendment to the Road Traffic Management Punishment Regulations was passed by the legislature on Nov. 23, 2011, allowing motorcycles with engine displacement of 550cc or more to travel on freeway sections during times specified by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. However, the legislature also passed a resolution requiring the ministry to plan the freeway sections and times that could be opened based on the principles of safety and effective risk control, as the public still has concerns about opening up freeways for heavy motorcycles. So far, no freeway section is open to 500cc or larger motorcycles. The bureau also launched a 12-month survey of rider behavior from November last year. The bureau would consider the feasibility of allowing heavy motorcycles on freeways based on the results of the opinion poll and the survey.
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
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
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
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
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