Taiwan’s Defense Ministry issues an alert saying China has launched a satellite and urging caution

By SIMINA MISTREANU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has issued an alert saying China has launched a satellite and urging caution days before the island’s elections. Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday that China has described as a choice between war and peace. The bilingual alert sent to residents’ mobile phones cautioned in English that there was a missile flyover. The government later apologized for the faulty English translation and said China had launched a satellite, not a missile. Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province that must come under its control. It has intensified its military harassment of Taiwan in recent months, sending military vessels and aircraft near it almost daily.