Taiwan Today
Date: July 4, 2016

President Tsai Ing-wen issued July 3 on her personal Facebook page six directives concerning

the accidental launch two days before of an anti-ship missile by a Republic of China (Taiwan) navy corvette resulting in the death of a fishing boat captain and injury to three other crew members.

First, Tsai reiterated her profound condolences to the captain and his family and apologized to those injured. “The government takes full responsibility and all related agencies will assist the families in seeking compensation.”

Second, the president wrote that the incident shows there are “serious problems” with some military units. “It is unforgivable. As commander in chief of the armed forces, I cannot endure what has happened.”

Within the context of this directive, Tsai wrote that she has instructed the minister of national defense and the commander of the navy to implement reforms immediately across all aspects of fleet management. In addition, she directed the minister of national defense to implement a plan within two months on the control and management of precision weapons.     [FULL  STORY]

TAKING CHARGE:The president said that she would not evade problems within the armed forces and would not shirk her responsibility as commander-in-chief

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 05, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday urged the military to stride forward at a steady pace

amid public criticism over recent controversial incidents implicating military officers, pledging to not shirk her responsibility as commander-in-chief of the nation’s armed forces and to push for drastic reforms.

“Over the past few days, some incidents occurred within the armed forces. I believe all of you are worried and, in the face of criticism from all sectors of society, upset or even feel dispirited just like me,” Tsai said in a speech during a joint graduation ceremony of the Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, National Defense University and National Defense Medical Center in Kaohsiung yesterday morning.

Calling on the military to have the courage to face its mistakes and challenges, Tsai said the greater the frustration soldiers encounter, the larger steps they should take in their march forward.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 5, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Tsai Ing-wen, in her capacity as commander-in-chief, extended

her deepest regrets and condolences on Monday to the family of a Taiwanese skipper killed by a misfired missile last week.

Holding an incense stick, Tsai paid tribute to the slain fisherman Huang Wen-chung and promised his grieving family that the government would get to the bottom of the situation and ensure that justice is served.

On Friday, a military vessel in Zuoying Military Harbor of Kaohsiung accidentally fired a missile that punctured a fishing vessel in the waters off of Penghu two minutes later.

The Defense Ministry later revealed that the locally produced Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile was responsible for the incident, which killed one and injured three.

Tsai said she had instructed the Defense Ministry and Justice Ministry to work on the incident as part of a cross-ministerial team.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/03
By: Tai Ya-chen and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) Over 70 percent of Taiwanese people believe that military discipline has become lax, as shown by a missile blunder that caused one civilian death and three injured July 1, according to a Taiwan Thinktank survey released Sunday.

A locally-developed anti-ship Hsiung Feng III missile was launched by mistake from a Chinchiang-class corvette at Zuoying Military Harbor in Kaohsiung at 8:15 a.m. Friday, when the Navy was examining and testing the Hsiung Feng III missile system.

The missile hit the fishing boat “Hsiang Li Sheng” (翔利昇), which was at estimated 40 nautical miles from the harbor, located in southern Taiwan, about two minutes after it was fired. The skipper, Huang Wen-chung (黃文忠), died during the strike, which wounded three other crew members on board.

The survey shows that 74.6 percent of the respondents said they agree that the fatal accident reflects slack military discipline, while 16.8 percent expressed disagreement with the idea.    [FULL  STORY]

CONTENTIOUS TITLE:While on her first international trip, President Tsai Ing-wen signed a guest book at the expanded Panama Canal as “President of Taiwan (ROC)”

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 04, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

Despite strong criticism from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), more than 70 percent of

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/07/04/2003650324

Taiwanese approve of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) identifying herself as the “president of Taiwan” during her first overseas state visit, according to a survey released yesterday by the Taiwan Thinktank.

The telephone-based poll, conducted on Thursday and Friday, showed that 72.4 percent of respondents supported Tsai’s description of herself as “President of Taiwan (ROC) [Republic of China]” in a message she left in a guest book after touring sluice gates of the expanded Panama Canal on June 26, compared with 19.4 percent who thought otherwise.

A further breakdown of the data found that a high percentage — between 84 percent and 85 percent — of adults in the 20-39 age group were in favor of Tsai’s reference to herself as “president of Taiwan” rather than as “president of the ROC.”

However, when asked whether Tsai should refer to herself as “president of Taiwan” or use the nation’s official title in future overseas visits, 44.7 percent of those polled opted for the latter, while 39.8 percent preferred the former.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 4, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — In the wake of a fatal missile misfire, the Navy Command Headquarters on

Sunday tightened the authorization policy for warhead firing on military vessels.

The new policy places missile firing under the supervision of the ship’s captain or another commanding officer.

The new order will apply to various military vessel types, including patrol vessels such as the Ching-chiang class involved in the recent accident, and also to Keelung, Cheng-kung, Kang-ding and Chi-yang class destroyers and frigates. Standard operating procedures for warheads in other military branches are currently under scrutiny and evaluation as well.

On Friday, a military vessel located at Zuoying Military Harbor in Kaohsiung accidentally fired a missile, which hit a fishing vessel two minutes later, approximately 40 nautical miles away.

Following the disaster, Navy Commander Huang Shu-kuang stated that the missile was fired by petty officer second class Kao Chia-chun, who failed to follow standard operating procedures. Superior officers were not present when the missile was fired while set to the wrong launch mode.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 3, 2016
By: CNA

CNA — In this photograph taken Saturday, July 2, Taipei police stage a drill in the capital city’s Xinyi District as part of an anti-ketamine campaign. The drill caught the attention of many passersby in the busy shopping district on the weekend. The drill was mainly aimed at promoting public awareness of the police force’s campaign of zero tolerance for illegal drugs.     [SOURCE]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-07-02
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The director-general of the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, Wang Tien-sheng, made a rare trip to Kaohsiung Saturday to take charge personally of the investigation into the misfiring of a missile, according to media reports.

On Saturday morning, a Navy corvette in Kaohsiung fired off a Hsiung Feng III missile by accident, hitting a fishing trawler and killing its captain.

During a meeting Friday evening, the Ministry of Justice reportedly decided to put Wang in charge of the investigation. He was due to chair a meeting at the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office Saturday afternoon, reports said.     [FULL  STORY]