Sat, Jan 10, 2026
US President Donald Trump in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday said that “it’s up to” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be “very unhappy” with a change in the “status quo.”“He [Xi] considers it to be a part of China, and that’s u
A former Marine Corps soldier has been indicted for allegedly pledging allegiance to China in exchange for money and selling military secrets, with prosecutors in Kaohsiung seeking a heavy sentence.Chen (陳), a petty officer second class who had served in a Marine Corps unit, became acquainted online
SELF-DEFENSE: Tokyo has accelerated its spending goal and its defense minister said the nation needs to discuss whether it should develop nuclear-powered submarines China is ramping up objections to what it sees as Japan’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons, despite Tokyo’s longstanding renunciation of such arms, deepening another fissure in the two neighbors’ increasingly tense ties.In what appears to be a concerted effort, China’s foreign and defense ministrie
Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack, which killed at least four people, officials said yesterday. For only the second time, Moscow used a new ballistic missile that it says flies at 10 times the speed of sound and is unstoppable.T
With 20.06 percent of its population now 65 years old or older, Taiwan has officially become a super-aged society, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said today.The WHO defines a society as “super-aged” when at least 20 percent of people are 65 or older.The ministry released data about last year’s p
SIX REGIONS: The fiscal allocation formula unfairly disadvantages regions that rely heavily on agriculture, as well as outlying counties, Premier Cho Jung-tai said Six local governments might be forced to borrow due to a funding shortfall of NT$299.2 billion (US$9.48 billion) due to opposition lawmakers blocking this year’s budget, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.This year marks the first time in constitutional history that January has started withou
‘WASTE OF TIME’: The Executive Yuan criticized the blocking as an unnecessary drain on the public’s time, as it hinders government measures and development Opposition parties yesterday again blocked a special budget aimed at bolstering the nation’s overall defense posture and the general budget for this year because of what they said was the government’s failure to prepare a budget in accordance with the law.The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucu
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday promised to provide legal assistance to retired police officers and firefighters affected by the government’s refusal to budget pension increases mandated by a bill passed by the legislature and signed by President William Lai (賴清德).The KMT and the Taiwa
DEMOCRATIC PARTNERS: Italian politicians from across the political divide attended the meeting, where they affirmed the importance of Taiwanese investment in Italy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Thursday met a cross-party delegation of the Taiwan-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group led by its cochair, Italian Deputy Member Alessandro Cattaneo.The delegation’s seven lawmakers are visiting Taiwan for the first time, and their meeting marked
The military has expanded the scope of its search-and-rescue operation for the missing pilot of an F-16V jet, deploying sea, air and ground forces around the clock, but had made no further progress as of noon yesterday.Army units stationed in Taitung County broadened their coastal search area during
The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted Internet influencer Holger Chen (陳之漢) for allegedly calling for the decapitation of President William Lai (賴清德) during a live stream in October last year.While Chen was commenting on Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “decapitation s
INVERTED PYRAMID: New US guidelines prioritizing red meat, whole milk and animal-based fats have sparked debate, with a local expert advising Taiwan to follow its own The release of the newest national dietary guidelines could be postponed to the second quarter following the dramatic shift in the US’ dietary guidelines emphasizing protein and healthy fats, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.International dietary recommendations c
Many young Taiwanese are not unwilling to have children, but tend to be more cautious as they evaluate practical conditions before getting married and having kids, a counseling psychologist said.The latest Ministry of the Interior statistics showed the number of newborns plunging to a historical low
The Agriculture and Food Agency yesterday called on farmers to enhance measures to protect crops as the effects of a cold air mass and radiative cooling continued to affect the nation.Farmers are advised to refrain from planting rice seedlings during the cold surge and set up cold barriers around ri
A research team led by National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium assistant researcher Leu Ming-yih (呂明毅) has provided the first comprehensive account of natural spawning of Chaetodontoplus meridithii, or Queensland yellowtail angelfish, in an artificial environment.The study was published in th
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.Exports surged 43.4 percent from a y
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of it
Cloud computing equipment supplier Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技) on Thursday reported a 95.7 percent year-on-year surge in net profit last quarter to NT$13.79 billion (US$436.46 million), a record high for the period, driven by strong customer demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers and data center equ
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday last week accused China of “digital authoritarianism” and transnational repression after Strait Plus (今日海峽), a Chinese state-controlled media channel, disseminated personal information about Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), in
A succession of disasters of natural and human origin over the course of last year have hit Taiwan hard. From earthquakes and extreme weather events to public security incidents, disasters became a part of everyday life.Earthquakes give immediate rise to damage reports and safety checks across socia
For Taiwan, the intensifying confrontation between the US and China is often discussed through arms sales, military exercises and diplomatic statements in the Indo-Pacific region. Yet events in Latin America suggest that Washington’s approach to deterring Beijing is no longer confined to Asia alone.
GOALLESS DRAW: The closest either team came to scoring before the late altercation was when Conor Bradley hit the crossbar after chipping the goalkeeper Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli on Thursday apologized to Conor Bradley after bundling the injured Liverpool defender off the field in the final seconds of their 0-0 draw in the Premier League.Bradley was writhing in pain near the sideline after landing awkwardly on his left knee making a clearanc
Cheng Tsung-che, who was designated for assignment by the MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates in the middle of last month, has been claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays.The Rays’ decision to add Cheng to their 40-man roster is a positive turn for the 24-year-old middle infielder, who had been designated f
Taiwanese go ace and Asian Games gold medalist Hsu Hao-hung yesterday was named “Mr Popular” and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the sport last year at an annual awards ceremony in Taipei.In a public round, Hsu won 151 of 630 votes (32.5 percent) to narrowly defeat fellow 9-dan professional Hsiao
A rematch yesterday at the Brisbane International between last year’s Australian Open (AO) finalists was lopsided, with Aryna Sabalenka flipping the outcome with a straight-sets win over Madison Keys, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei reached the final in the women’s doubles and Joanna Garland made the fi
RICH DEPOSITS: The area around Minami Torishima contains about 730 years’ worth of dysprosium, for high-strength magnets, and 780 years’ worth of yttrium, used in lasers Japan would tomorrow embark on what it said is the world’s first bid to tap deep sea rare earths at a depth of 6,000m — greater than the height of Mount Fuji — to curb dependence on China.A Japanese deep-sea scientific drilling boat called the Chikyu would set sail for the remote island of Minami To
Tens of thousands of Filipino Catholics yesterday twirled white cloths and chanted “Viva, viva,” as a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ was paraded through the streets of Manila in the nation’s biggest annual religious event.The day-long procession began before dawn, with barefoot volunteers pull
A German juvenile court yesterday started the so-called “White Tiger” trial in which a man is accused of multiple sadistic online crimes, including coercing a 13-year-old to die by suicide.The defendant, a 21-year-old German-Iranian national living in Hamburg, has been only partially identified as S
The primaries for this year’s nine-in-one local elections in November began early in this election cycle, starting last autumn. The local press has been full of tales of intrigue, betrayal, infighting and drama going back to the summer of 2024. This is not widely covered in the English-language pres
There’s a few special words that will perk the ears of many a dog — hungry, park and of course T-R-E-A-T.But a choice group of gifted canines appear to have remarkable capacity for learning human vocabulary, to the point that they acquire language by eavesdropping the way young toddlers do.That’s ac
Hsu Pu-liao (許不了) never lived to see the premiere of his most successful film, The Clown and the Swan (小丑與天鵝, 1985).The movie, which starred Hsu, the “Taiwanese Charlie Chaplin,” outgrossed Jackie Chan’s Heart of Dragon (龍的心), earning NT$9.2 million at the local box office. Forty years after its pre
Have you ever gazed at the night sky and felt as though the Moon loomed larger than usual? Your eyes were not deceiving you. The Moon’s apparent size can __1__ subtly depending on where it is in its orbit. On certain occasions, it reaches its fullest phase while at its closest point to Earth. When t
A: Aside from K-pop, what were the English chart-toppers?B: Billboard’s top three singles for 2025 were “Die with a Smile” by Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars, “Luther” by Kendrick Lamar/SZA and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey. Plus, pop diva Mariah Carey’s 1994 megahit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” won
A: South Korea’s Golden Disc Awards ceremony is taking place at the Taipei Dome on Saturday. Eighteen acts are taking to the stage, including Blackpink’s Jennie.B: The hottest boy group CORTIS is also performing. I can’t wait to see James, the Taiwanese member of the band, perform. A: Who else ar
Two moves show Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is gunning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) party chair and the 2028 presidential election. Technically, these are not yet “officially” official, but by the rules of Taiwan politics, she is now on the dance floor. Earlier this month Lu confirmed in an interview in Japan’s Nikkei that she was considering running for KMT chair. This is not new news, but according to reports from her camp she previously was still considering the case for and against running. By choosing a respected, international news outlet, she declared it to the world. While the outside world likely paid little attention, domestically the message was unmistakable: She is moving on to a larger stage. Part of the dance is to leave options open before formally committing, and with the chair race due in late September, she has time. If something goes wrong in the meantime, or if power brokers in the party offer her a deal that provides more benefits than taking on the role of chair, she can pivot accordingly. Earlier this year, I suggested that strategically, she would be better off concentrating on her job as Taichung mayor until she is term-limited out of office in December next year. Taichung mayor is obviously a full-time job, and concurrently running the Taipei-headquartered party runs the risk of doing one or both jobs poorly and making mistakes that could imperil her shot at the presidency in 2028. The situation has changed. Current KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), knowing he is likely to face challengers of a higher caliber than the three relative nobodies already declared, has gone all in on appealing to the base. The base is more likely to turn out to vote in the chair election, so this makes some strategic sense in the short term.
Among Thailand’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) villages, a certain rivalry exists between Arunothai, the largest of these villages, and Mae Salong, which is currently the most prosperous. Historically, the rivalry stems from a split in KMT military factions in the early 1960s, which divided command and opium territories after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) cut off open support in 1961 due to international pressure (see part two, “The KMT opium lords of the Golden Triangle,” on May 20). But today this rivalry manifests as a different kind of split, with Arunothai leading a pro-China faction and Mae Salong staunchly aligned to Taiwan. Last spring at Arunothai’s Jiaolian School, principal Wang Mingming (王明明) had forewarned me of the division between villages, saying, “We are not like the people in Mae Salong. They are rich. Because of the Taiwanese.” Arunothai has in recent years become split in its loyalties between Taiwan and China (see part one, “A tale of two schools,” on May 15), but in Mae Salong, links to Taiwan remain strong. Taiwan-funded monuments pay homage to the Lost Army, villagers wear T-shirts emblazoned with the Republic of China (ROC) flag and tea plantations grown Taiwan’s most famous tea varieties, including Dong Ding (“frozen peak”) Oolong, Oriental Beauty and Jin Xuan (Golden Daylily or Milk Oolong). Even the numerical classifications of the teas — Oolong No. 12 or No. 17, for example — are the same, and the shops resemble those found on Alishan. At the tomb of General Tuan Hsi-wen (段希文) — perched on a Mae Salong hilltop with a view of his ancestral homeland in China’s Yunnan province — a third generation villager wearing a vintage KMT army uniform, Yan Si-Chung (岩思中), greets visitors with sharp military salutes. “Both my father and my grandfather were soldiers in the KMT army,” the 44-year-old
| New Taipei City | 27-28 | 20% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Hsinchu City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Taipei City | 27-28 | 20% |  |
| Miaoli County | 24-26 | 10% | |
| Taoyuan City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Keelung City | 27-28 | 20% | |
| Yunlin County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Taichung City | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Nantou County | 25-26 | 10% | |
| Changhua County | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Chiayi County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Chiayi City | 25-27 | 10% | |
| Tainan City | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Pingtung County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Yilan County | 25-26 | 30% |  |
| Hualien County | 25-26 | 30% | |
| Taitung County | 25-27 | 30% | |
| Kinmen County | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 27-27 | 20% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-28 | 20% | |
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