Chinese seize Taiwanese cargo ship

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - China seized a Taiwanese freighter carrying supplies to the military outpost of Matsu Island on Saturday on suspicion of smuggling, the ship's owner said.

The Chinese towed the freighter and its crew of 10 to the nearby southern Chinese port of Mawei in Fujian province, said the vessel's owner, Feng Nen-ti, who denied any illegal activity.

The seizure near the Taiwanese-held island came as tensions are high between China and Taiwan because of remarks made this month by Tawanese President Lee Teng-hui.

Lee infuriated Beijing by saying Taiwan should have ``special state-to-state'' relations with the mainland. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and saw the claim as a step toward formal independence. The sides separated amid civil war in 1949.

A Taiwanese official insisted that the seizure was not related to the recent tensions. It was just a routine maritime dispute, said Jan Jyh-horng, of the Straits Exchange Foundation, the semi-official body that negotiates with the mainland.

The ship's owner said China accused the crew of smuggling electric appliances to the mainland, a charge he denied.

A Defense Ministry statement said the ship was chartered by the military to transport 900 tons of rice, gasoline and cans of food to troops in Matsu. No military personnel were aboard, it said.

Taiwanese lawmaker Tsao Er-chung, who is visiting Fujian, was negotiating with Chinese authorities for the crew's release, Feng said.

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Worth keeping an eye on !!

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), July 31, 1999

Answers

Folks, tensions are everywhere. And in a day's time, Y2K could become the least of our worries....

-- Jon Williamson (pssomerville@sprintmail.com), July 31, 1999.

It appears things are leaning in the Arch Crawford & LouisLouis direction.

-- Charles R. (chuck_roast@trans.net), July 31, 1999.

Charles... HUH?

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), July 31, 1999.

Linda, check this thread out for an explanation:

Thread

Charles, the couole of weeks should be interesting !!

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), July 31, 1999.

Never do my fingers leave my hand (or do they)!!

Above should read: next couple of weeks.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), July 31, 1999.

Blackout reveals Taiwan's vulnerability to Chinese attack

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TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwanese expressed worry Saturday that a mass blackout had exposed the island's vulnerability to a Chinese attack, and questioned whether Taiwan would be able to defend itself.

The outage that cut power to 7 million households for four hours early Friday served as evidence to some people that China could attack Taiwan without even sending troops. All China needed to do to paralyze the island was bomb a key utility tower or hack into the power company's computer system, observers said.

``How can we stand up tall in the world, and how can we expect the public to have confidence in our national security?'' Chen Shui-bian, presidential candidate from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, asked Saturday.

If the weakness existed in the power supply, it could also exist with Taiwan's telecommunications, aviation or banking systems, said Chen, an army colonel, in the China Times.

Despite 50 years of political division, China maintains that Taiwan is a rebel province to be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary.

The blackout hit at a time the media was reporting an increase in Chinese military activity and rising tensions with Beijing.

Plunged into darkness, Taiwanese speculated that the blackout was a prelude to a Chinese attack, and officials scrambled to find out the cause and allay fears.

After four hours of darkness they located the utility tower that caused the trouble lying on a caved-in mountainside in southern Tainan County. It was a vital tower that transferred power generated in the south to the power-short north, officials said.

Power was restored, but people continued to worry.

``China is capable of dealing us a major blow with their massive weapons,'' military analyst Lin Yu-fang said. ``Paralyzing our power and communications systems could be their vital first move.''

The blackout also caused massive damage to many factories, including one for computer chips and one for optical electronics. The island's industrial damage estimated at $87 million.

The computer industry is the backbone of Taiwan's economic development, and authorities have vowed to turn the island into a high-tech land in the next decade.

``We wonder if the base of our security and economic development is built on loose sand,'' a China Times editorial said.

There was no looting or other major public disturbance, however, during the blackout - testimony to Taiwan's social order and stability, Police Chief Ting Yuan-chin said.

Robberies and other petty crimes fell during the blackout because of intensified police patrols, he said.

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Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), July 31, 1999.