Seven DPP legislators drafted a bill yesterday aiming at curbing the use of foul language by superiors against their subordinates in the military. Physician-turned legislator Lin Chin-hsing (林進興) of the DPP said his office had recently received a number of phone calls from parents of conscript soldiers complaining about language abuse by their superiors. The situation is so bad that some soldiers have become suicidal and developed stress disorders, Lin said. As a result, in the draft bill, the lawmakers suggest that military personnel who use bad language to humiliate their subordinates should be reprimanded appropriately to protect the dignity of the military rank and file. Repeated violators should be transferred to new posting or discharged, the lawmakers suggested. Officers or superiors who condone the wrong-doing should also be punished with prison terms of up to three years and/or fines of up to NT$300,000 (US$8,696).
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
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