Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

US frigate sale to boost security: MND

Taipei Times

A file handout image released by the US Navy Media Content Service on June 6 shows US Navy Perry-class frigate the USS Elrod assisting in the rescue of distressed persons in the Mediterranean Sea.
Photo: EPA

Taiwan is grateful to the US for agreeing to sell four Perry-class guided missile frigates, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday, adding that they would enhance the nation’s defense capabilities and contribute to peace and stability in the region.

China reacted by lodging a formal complaint with the US and calling for an end to arms sales to Taiwan.

Study urges US-Taiwan intelligence cooperation

Taipei Times

A new study urges the White House to improve US intelligence ties to Taiwan and to support the nation’s indigenous submarine program.

Published this week by the Project 2049 Institute, the study calls for a massive intelligence-sharing system that would include the exchange of everything from radar and sonar data to secret information from signals, human agents and imagery.

Japanese show thanks for relief aid with event

Taipei Times

The six prefectures in Japan’s Tohoku region jointly organized a four-day event in Taipei that starts today to thank Taiwan for its relief assistance in the wake of a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011.

The “Tohoku Japan Thank You” event will feature a variety of performances, including Japanese sansa folk dance, taiko drumming and shamisen music, said the Interchange Association Japan’s Taipei office, which represents Japan’s interests in Taiwan.

Times in Taiwan ‘Are a-Changin’

Wayne Pajunen

Bob Dylan sang in his song The Times They Are a-Changin: “Come gather ‘round people, wherever you roam … you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changin’.”

This year is likely to be remembered as the year young people in the Sunflower movement spurred independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to win the Taipei mayoral election and rocked the nation’s political paradigm to the core.

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