‘OVER THE TOP’: The US, Australia and Japan voiced concern over China’s increased air incursions, with the White House urging Beijing to halt its provocations/ Staff writer, with Reuters and CNA
Taiwan needs to be on alert for China’s “over the top” military activities, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday, after a record 56 Chinese aircraft flew into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday.
Taiwan has reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern and southwestern part of its air defense zone over four days beginning on Friday, the same day China marked its National Day.
The tensions are being viewed with increasing concern by the international community. Japan and Australia yesterday urged the two nations to talk, while the US said it has been “conveying clear messages” after what it
New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida yesterday unveiled his government, mixing holdovers with newcomers, after lawmakers voted him the new leader of the world’s third-largest economy.
The soft-spoken scion of a Hiroshima political family, 64-year-old Kishida last week beat popular Japanese Minister of Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform Taro Kono to win the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
He easily won yesterday’s vote in parliament approving him as prime minister thanks to the party’s commanding majority.
Kishida bowed to his fellow lawmakers after the vote, but did not immediately speak. Earlier, he told reporters he was ready for the top
CHINA
<strong>Ex-justice minister probed</strong>
China’s top anti-corruption watchdog yesterday said it is investigating a former Minister of Justice Fu Zhenghua (傅政華) for suspected serious breaches of discipline and national laws. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced the probe in a statement without giving details about the investigation. Fu could not be reached for comment. He was deputy minister of public security before taking the helm at the Ministry of Justice in 2018. He had led a number of high-profile investigations and crackdowns, including a probe into former Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary Zhou Yongkang (周永康), who was found guilty
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi last week announced that Tokyo would donate another 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan, bringing the total number of vaccine shots it has given Taiwan to 3.9 million.
The Japanese government also announced that it would send an additional 400,000 doses to Vietnam, bringing its total to that nation to 3.1 million.
To date, Japan has donated more than 23 million shots of COVID-19 vaccine. Taiwan and Vietnam being the top two recipients of Japanese donations is revealing. Under the US-Japan security alliance, Tokyo has a responsibility to protect Taiwan, while Tokyo