The China Post
Date: July 25, 2016
By: Joseph Yeh ,The China Post

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Armed Forces have asked a top military research facility to add extra safety measures before the launch of a missile, which would include a password, to prevent a deadly misfire incident from happening again, a source told local media on Sunday.

A senior military source who prefers to stay anonymous told the Central News Agency that the Defense Ministry had asked the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST, 中科院) to come up with new safety mechanism before a missile could be launched.

These measures include asking the NCSIST to design a new missile launch simulation mechanism that allows military officers to conduct drills without the risk of accidentally activating a missile as a Navy petty officer did during the July 1 incident.

The source noted that the military had also asked the research unit to add another safety measure: a password, to be entered launching a missile.

Only a warship’s commanding officer (CO) would know the password and it would have to be entered by the CO to initiate the launch, the source said.     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 24, 2016
By: Tsai Tsung-hsien and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Pingtung County’s Manzhou Township (滿州) Mayor Chuang Chi-wen (莊期文) proposed corralling Formosan sika deer living in the Kenting (墾丁) region after repeated complaints over the agricultural damage caused by the deer have gone unanswered by the government.

There are about 2,000 Formosan sika deer in the region, many of which are moving north, presumably due to a shortage of food caused by overpopulation, the Manzhou Township Council said.

Large groups of deer have moved into the vicinity of Donggang Township (東港) and have been seen near black soya bean and dragon fruit farms, Chuang said, adding that any further movements to the north — toward the Nanjenshan (南仁山) Ecological Conservation Area — would be an ecological disaster for Kenting National Park.

The “errant deer” must be detained, Chuang said.

Chuang proposed that a “detention center” be established to contain deer caught on agricultural lands, adding that the center should be open to tourists so that it could generate funds that would be distributed to farmers as compensation for their losses.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: July 24, 2016
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Navy Command Headquarters (MND) Saturday quashed reports suggesting that the delivery of a U.S. arms sales order to Taiwan had been postponed, claiming that Taipei maintains stable relations with Washington.

According to a report Liberty Times published early Saturday, the U.S. military had informed the MND only recently that an order of 36 AAV-7 assault amphibious vehicles would begin delivery in 2020.

An original contract had scheduled the first batch of the order to begin delivery in the second half of this year and to be completed by 2019.

The news outlet also reported that the down payment had already been made before the deferment was unilaterally decided.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/07/22
By: C.L Chen and Flor Wang

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Taiwan hopes China can understand that its recognition of the historical fact that understandings were reached between the two sides in 1992 is an important and friendly declaration, a Taiwanese official said Friday.

“Since May 20 when the government led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office, it has reiterated that it respects the historical fact that several joint acknowledgments and understanding were reached between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in 1992,” said Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正), a deputy minister of the Mainland Affairs Council.

“The government will handle cross-strait affairs in line with the Constitution and the Act Governing Relations between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area,” he told CNA.

“It is the joint responsibility of the two sides to maintain cross-strait peace and stability, and both sides should have the wisdom and patience to achieve the goal through dialogue.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 23, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with CNA

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) reiterated Taiwan’s stance of not accepting an international court’s ruling on the South China Sea in an interview with the Washington Post, calling for a peaceful resolution of the disputes.

“We will not accept their decision,” Tsai told the newspaper when asked about Tuesday last week’s ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Taiwan opposes the ruling because although it is an interested party in the South China Sea, the country was not invited to participate in the proceedings, Tsai said.

In a transcript of the interview released by the Presidential Office yesterday, the president also said Taiwan objected to the country being referred to as “the Taiwan Authority of China” and to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) being described as a “rock” rather than an “island” in the ruling.     [FULL  STORY]