Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Spying penalties should be stricter

Chao Hsuey-wen 趙萃文

In the wake of several Chinese espionage cases in the past few years, legislators have urged the Ministry of Defense to reinstate military trials during peacetime to deter spying-related offenses.

Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) has signaled his approval, saying military trials would not be problematic if they follow the right procedures.

Lithuania ties moving ‘in right direction’: delegation

Taipei Times

Lithuania is expecting more cooperation with Taiwan on defense, security and the economy after fruitful discussions during a visit to the nation, a visiting Lithuanian delegation told a news conference yesterday.

The nine-member parliamentary delegation from the National Security and Defense Committee arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a six-day visit.

Sending a cross-party delegation to Taiwan shows “quite a strong consensus in Lithuania on our relations with Taiwan,” committee head Laurynas Kasciunas told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei.

Wu shows a path forward for DPP

Tommy Lin 林逸民

Enoch Wu (吳怡農) faced tough odds in a predominantly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) constituency in Taipei’s legislative by-election on Sunday. As the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate in an area covering Zhongshan (中山) and northern Songshan (松山) districts, Wu early in the campaign resisted pressure from within his party to change what they saw as a losing strategy.

Although he was defeated, Wu managed to secure a record number of votes for the DPP in a KMT stronghold.

Germany has lessons on all-out defense

Kao Chih-yun 高志耘

I fully approve of the structural changes the government has made to Taiwan’s military service system to enhance the battle preparedness of draftees.

However, there remains a lack of complementary provisions to cultivate a level of preparedness among the general public, such that any talk of “all-out national defense,” including the nation as a whole, remains empty words.

Despite the arrangements for the annual Wan An air drills — the series of military exercises and civil defense drills preparing Taiwanese for emergency situations — the majority of the public are still going about their everyday lives as if there is no immediate danger.

More Articles...