Premier orders investigation into why Chinese drones were used in National Day show

For this year’s National Day celebrations, the night sky above Chiayi was lit up with hundreds of drones forming the national flag. The show delighted spectators, among whom was President Tsai Ing-wen herself. Now, a KMT lawmaker is slamming the event, saying the drones posed a security risk, as they were made in China.

Lu Ming-che (Nov. 8)
KMT lawmaker
I can’t believe that the people at the central government were stupid to this extent with the drone show. The drones in the formation were made in Shenzhen, in mainland China. They’re the new generation model of drones, the EMO model.

The lawmaker says the frame, batteries, control system and flight patterns were all made in China, saying the only Taiwanese thing about them was the power source. He says the fact is an embarrassment for Taiwan.

Lu Ming-che (Nov. 8)
KMT lawmaker
You get a drone in Kinmen and rush to destroy it at all costs. But you get 500, or 600 drones flying above the president and the legislative speaker, and nobody knows it. You treat the drones as part of Team Taiwan. This is not our country. It’s a national disgrace.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
If that’s the case, then it may be better to not have a show at all.

Premier Su Tseng-chang said an investigation would be launched to find how the Chinese drones had ended up in the celebration. Separately, the minister of defense dispelled concerns that the availability of China-made civilian drones in Taiwan could pose a security risk if the military were to use them.

Chiu Kuo-cheng
Defense minister
Our military drones are developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. We can use civilian drones too, and we have incorporated some into the military. But in that case, there are several rules. The first is that they cannot be made in China. The second is that anything related to classified information must follow our regulations.

Chang Chung-cheng
National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology
The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology has strict rules. We don’t allow Chinese funding or China-made products.

The defense minister and the military R&D center said there was no risk of China-made drones accidentally making it into Taiwan’s defenses.



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