Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

China triples detentions of Taiwanese

Taipei Times

The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.

MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare.

Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.”

Report details arms delivery status

Taipei Times

While several US arms procurements are facing delays, 18 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) are expected to arrive ahead of schedule by the end of next year, a Ministry of National Defense report showed.

The ministry is to brief the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee today on the progress of major procurement projects, including the HIMARS, F-16V Block 70 jets, AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapons and Mark 48 heavy torpedoes.

The report, delivered to the legislature yesterday, said that the second batch of HIMARS was originally scheduled for delivery in 2027.

Fu’s Guangfu meeting just a show

Yeh Yu-cheng 葉昱呈

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) organized a meeting at the Dahua Activity Center in Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) to discuss post-disaster reconstruction efforts following the flood caused by the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪).

The meeting — which should have been transparent and open to the public — was kept a secret, and only those friendly to Fu were informed that it was taking place.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Guangfu residents — the actual victims of the disaster — were locked outside.

KMT’s pension moves threaten nation

Taipei Times Editorial

While negotiations on next year’s government budget are stalemated, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has proposed an amendment to suspend reform of the pension system for civil servants, school teachers and military personnel, which would benefit the party, but would be a blow to the government and the nation.

The KMT caucus said that the suspension of the pension reform is its top priority this legislative term, and the KMT convener of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee on Monday initiated a review of the draft amendment of the Act Governing Retirement, Severance and Bereavement Compensation for the Teaching and other Staff Members of Public Schools (公立學校教職員退休資遣撫卹條例), which aims to restore the controversially high payments of civil servants’ pensions.

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