Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Taiwan is scheduled to launch a new research vessel in late October to conduct marine research in the waters south of the country that might involve scientists from the Philippines and Vietnam to enhance its research capability and increase its international visibility.

The 2,629-ton ship named the Legend (勵進), constructed in Vietnam by Triyards Marine Services, a Singapore shipbuilder, has the capacity to accommodate 19 crew members and 24 researchers. It can sail up to 30 days without refueling, according to National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs).

NARLabs will have discussions with local marine researchers in the coming days to determine topics to be researched during the ship’s maiden voyage, including such possible options as underwater exploration and combustible ice exploration, said Wang Chau-chang (王兆璋), director of the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute at NARLabs.

Noting that international cooperation is critical to marine research, as seen in the development of the field in the United States, Japan and South Korea, Wang said NARLabs has been exploring the possibility of inviting Philippine and Vietnamese researchers to sail on board with local counterparts.

The ship was procured to strengthen Taiwan’s oceanography research capabilities after the country’s 2,700-ton research vessel the RV Ocean Researcher 5 sank in waters off Penghu in 2014.

NARLabs purchased the Legend at a cost of about NT$870 million (US$28.09 million). The ship, which was delivered in Januray, has a top speed of 12 knots and was inaugurated at Kaohsiung’s Banana Pier in May.

“We have learnt lessons to prevent a repeat tragedy of the RV Ocean Researcher 5,” Wang said.

For one thing, Wang said, unlike the single-hull RV Ocean Researcher 5, the double-hull structure used for the Legend enforces its ability to withstand collision damage.

The Legend has been equipped with standby safety vessels and life rafts on both sides of the ship that can accommodate four times the number of individuals the ship can hold, Wang added.

Meanwhile, the crew members who will participate in the Legend’s missions have been selected through a rigorous screening process and have received training from the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute.

(By Chu Tse-wei and Shih Hsiu-chuan)
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Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Taiwan on Tuesday thanked the United States for approving the sale of a new arms package that will replenish the supply of spare parts for a number of Taiwan’s military aircraft, including its F-16s, to beef up its defense capabilities.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) under the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced Monday that the State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II covering requisitions worth an estimated US$330 million.

The possible sale includes the replenishment of standard spare parts and the repair and replacement of spare parts in support of the F-16, C-130, F-5, Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) and other aircraft systems and subsystems, the DSCA statement said.

Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) expressed gratitude for the move, saying it will beef up Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and shows that Washington is keeping its promise to Taipei to provide defensive weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances.

“It will also give Taiwan’s people more confidence in facing increasing security challenges in the region and ensure that our country has enough of a capability to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said.

The government will also continue to beef up its investment in national defense and develop an indigenous defense industry while maintaining close communications and cooperation with the U.S. on security issues, Huang said.

According to the DSCA, the proposed sale of spare and repair parts is required to maintain the recipient’s defensive and transport aerial fleet and will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

This notice of a potential sale to the U.S. Congress is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded, according to the DSCA.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said the deal is expected to officially take effect in one month.

According to a nine-step flow chart Taiwan’s Defense Ministry published earlier this year that shows the standard procedures used by Taiwan in pursuing Foreign Military Sales (FMS) from the U.S. government, Taiwan first decides what weapons it needs and then submits a Letter of Request to the U.S. for review.

Should the U.S. give the request a green light, it sends an answer to Taiwan detailing its offer.

Taipei then reviews the offer and completes a proposal for the procurement project that it sends back to the U.S.

Different government branches on the U.S. side then look over the proposal before the U.S. government notifies Congress of the sale and the DSCA makes the deal public.

The process is completed once the two sides sign a letter of offer and acceptance, according to the MND-released chart.

Congress does not have to approve the sale separately but it has the power to block the sale, though such a move is highly unlikely in this case.

(By Joseph Yeh)
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Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Wednesday accused Beijing of trying to weaken Taiwan’s state sovereignty by issuing new residence permits for Taiwanese living, working and studying in China.

In a statement, the MAC said the initiative is aimed at undermining Taiwan’s state sovereignty and altering cross-strait relations, and it urged Taiwanese who have applied for the cards not to enable Chinese authorities in their united-front tactics against Taiwan.

The council also warned Taiwanese of other downsides to China’s new residence permits, such as increased taxes and social insurance and compromised privacy protection.

The MAC issued the statement in response to remarks earlier in the day by An Fengshan (安峰山), spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, who said that more than 22,000 Taiwanese had applied for the Chinese residency permits since it was launched on Sept. 1.

The MAC, however, disputed the figure, saying it has been collecting relevant information via different channels, which will serve as reference for drafting future policies.

The new residence permits for Taiwanese are different from China’s resident identity cards, according to An.

He said the permits will serve as “identity cards” to allow greater convenience for Taiwanese living, working and studying in China and are not linked to any political agenda.

(By Miao Zong-han and Romulo Huang)
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Washington, Sept. 14 (CNA) U.S. Republican Representative Chris Smith on Friday urged his country’s executive branch to fully implement the Taiwan Travel Act to bring about an increase in exchanges of high-level officials from Taiwan and the United States.

In a letter to U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo, Smith said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)’s recent visit to the U.S. showed the positive development of bilateral ties between Washington and Taipei.

“Building on this, I urge you to fully implement the Taiwan Travel Act to allow regular and high-level exchanges between U.S. and Taiwanese officials,” Smith said to Pompeo in the letter.

Tsai made stopovers in two American cities, one in Los Angeles and the other in Houston, during her visits to Paraguay and Belize, two of Taiwan’s 17 diplomatic allies, in August.

Tsai’s U.S. stopovers were closely watched as they were the first since U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act into law in March.

The Taiwan Travel Act encourages high-level U.S. officials to visit Taiwan and vice versa. It could lead to a change in previous U.S. practice that restricted bilateral visits by Cabinet-level ministers but allowed Taiwanese presidents to transit through U.S. cities en route to other countries.

During Tsai’s recent transits in the U.S., she made a public address while visiting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in southern California, her first public address in the U.S. since she took office as president.

Taiwan-based reporters traveling with the president were allowed to file stories at the scene, which was also a first.

Previously, only U.S.-based Taiwanese reporters could report on the president’s activities during a stopover, while those traveling with the president could only file their stories after leaving U.S. soil.

In addition to calling for the full implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act, Smith also urged the U.S. administration to “work diligently to ensure Taiwan’s participation in the United Nations and other international organizations.”

Smith said China has stepped up measures to diplomatically isolate Taiwan and intensify threats against the island, which has altered the status quo in the Indo-Pacific region.

“China has launched a multi-domain campaign against Taiwan that includes many aggressive and provocative actions, such as the dispatching of warships, bombers, and fighter jets, to encircle the island, as well as conducting live-fire military exercises near Taiwan’s waters,” Smith said.

“Furthermore, in the diplomatic space, China has worked assiduously to cut off Taiwan’s diplomatic partners and block Taiwan from participating in international organizations,” Smith added.

“China’s provocations are brazen and the U.S. must publicly protest China’s continued alteration of the status quo in the South China Sea and its multi-pronged effort to threaten and isolate Taiwan,” the congressman said.

Smith also urged the U.S. State Department to reaffirm the U.S.’s unwavering commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances since they form the foundation of U.S. relations with Taiwan.

“I applaud the administration’s commitment to building a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Supporting Taiwan is crucial in realizing this goal,” he said.

(By Chiang Chin-yeh and Frances Huang)
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On September 12, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) thanked the European Parliament (EP) for approving the EU-China relations report voicing strong support for Taiwan.

The EU-China relations report urged an end to Beijing’s military intimidation and expressed support for Taiwan’s international participation.

Adopted during a plenary session the same day, the report reaffirms the EP’s backing for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement in international bodies including the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization. It also reiterates support for a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement.

Pointing out the contrasting political developments in Taiwan and China, with a multiparty democracy on one side of the strait and an increasingly authoritarian regime on the other, the report also calls on the EU and its member states to do their upmost in urging Beijing to refrain from further military provocation toward Taiwan and endangering regional peace and stability.

The EP also voiced concern over China’s unilateral decision to start using new flight routes in the Taiwan Strait. All cross-strait disputes should be settled by peaceful means on the basis of international law, the report stated, adding that it encourages the resumption of official dialogue between Taipei and Beijing.

As a responsible member of the global community, Taiwan will continue to uphold regional security and stability, and fulfill its international responsibilities through close cooperation with like-minded countries, the Office of the President said in a statement released on September 13.

Image taken from Pixabay

London, Aug. 13 (CNA) Taipei has moved up two places in the rankings of the world’s most livable cities to 58th place, according to the 2018 Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Livability Ranking. Taipei edged past the South Korean capital Seoul, which dropped one spot to 59th from last year, according to the report released Monday.

For the first time, the Austrian capital Vienna topped the list of 140 cities surveyed by the EIU, dislodging Australia’s Melbourne, which had held first place for a record seven consecutive years.

Although both Melbourne and Vienna have registered improvements in livability over the last six months, increases in Vienna’s ratings, particularly in the stability category, have been enough for the city to overtake Melbourne, the report said.

Vienna’s top ranking also reflected improvements in stability and safety in Europe, which has had to step up security due to a higher perceived threat of terrorism, according to the report.

Vienna, with a score of 99.1, and Melbourne (98.4) were followed by Osaka in Japan (97.7); the Canadian city of Calgary (97.5); Sydney, Australia (97.4); and Vancouver, Canada (97.3).

Rounding out the top 10 were the Canadian city of Toronto and Japan’s capital Tokyo, both with a score of 97.2, Copenhagen in Denmark (96.8), and Adelaide in Australia (96.6).

In Asia, after Osaka and Tokyo, the third most livable city was Hong Kong, which rose 10 spots in the rankings to 35th overall, followed by Singapore at 37th in the world rankings.

China’s best ranked cites were Suzhou (74th worldwide), Beijing (75th), Tianjin (77th), and Shanghai (81st).

The survey assesses living conditions in 140 cities worldwide, scoring them on the basis of some 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories, namely stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

It gives an overall score of 0-100, where 1 is “intolerable” and 100 is “ideal.”

At the bottom of the list this year was Syria’s war-torn capital Damascus, with an overall score of 30.7.

(By Tai Ya-chen and Lee Hsin-Yin)
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