Taiwan president vows to boost island's defence budget as China threats rise
Taipei (AP/PTI): Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te pledged to strengthen the island's defences in the face of escalating Chinese threats, saying in a New Year's address on Wednesday that Taiwan was a crucial part of the “line of defence of democracy” globally.
China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, is part of its territory and has vowed to annex the island by force if necessary.
“Authoritarian countries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are still collaborating to threaten the international order that is based on rules. This has severely influenced the Indo-Pacific region and the world's peace and stability,” Lai said in his address.
Beijing has used a variety of tactics in recent years to increase pressure on Taiwan, from sending warships and fighter jets toward the island on a near-daily basis to pressuring Taiwan's diplomatic allies to switch their recognition to China.
In response, Taiwan has been reforming its military and buying weapons from the United States, its biggest unofficial ally.
“Taiwan must be prepared for danger in times of peace. It must keep increasing the national defence budget to strengthen its defence capabilities in order to show the determination to defend the country. Every single person has the duty to protect Taiwan's democracy and security," Lai said.
Lai also issued a warning about the need to uphold democracy domestically, addressing recent political controversies in Taiwan.
The Kuomingtang-led opposition passed three bills last month after legislators got into a physical tussle over them. The bills are designed to make recall votes for politicians more difficult and change the budget allocation for the central government. Critics said another of the bills would paralyse the Constitutional Court.
Lai's party has said the bills, which still need to be accepted by the executive branch, are a threat to democracy.
“Domestic competition among political parties is a part of democracy. But domestic political disputes must be resolved democratically, within the constitutional system. This is the only way democracy can continue to grow," Lai said.
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Interstate cyber-fraud racket busted in UP's Baghpat, 7 held
Baghpat (PTI): An interstate cyber-fraud racket involved in duping people on the pretext of providing bank jobs was busted by police in this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday with the arrest of seven people, including two women, officials said.
Police said the accused were running a fake call centre and luring job seekers from several states by issuing forged appointment letters and fabricated agreements in the name of bank recruitment, collecting large sums of money in return.
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Twelve mobile phones, two laptops, two SIM cards on fake names, several forged appointment letters and agreements, 15 bank passbooks, two chequebooks, UPI QR codes, ATM cards and 11 other cards were seized from the possession of the accused, police said, adding that the data of around 6,450 people from different states was found stored in the laptops.
According to the officials, the gang misused information obtained from online platforms, such as OLX and job-related websites, to target unsuspecting victims.
The racket was uncovered following complaints received on the Union home ministry's "Pratibimb" portal and subsequent technical surveillance.
Investigations revealed at least 20 complaints from various states, including Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Meghalaya.
The arrested accused were identified as Mohit Kumar, Puneet Kumar, Vardaan, Anuj Kumar and Akshay, besides the two women.
They were arrested at around 11:30 am from under the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in the Kotwali Baghpat area.
A case has been registered at the cyber crime police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the Information Technology Act, police said.
