As a teacher working on the front lines of education, I face young people every day who are about to go out into the big, wide world. Their concerns are not about how much they can travel, or whether or not they can enjoy lavish meals in retirement. They are far simpler: If they work hard, would the
For many, the escalation in intensity of military exercises around Taiwan has ceased to be shocking and is now a familiar, yet hard-to-ignore background noise. They have seeped into everyday life in the form of breaking news notifications during the early morning commute, military alerts that pop up
Taiwan has long been accustomed to political rivalry. Today it is facing a more serious constitutional moment. Sharp debate, shifting alliances and public protest are familiar features of its democratic life, but Taiwan is grappling with an executive-legislative deadlock triggered by the government’
As Taiwan confronts the dual crises of a plunging birthrate and a rapidly aging population, public debate has largely centered on “hard infrastructure” measures: Childcare subsidies, parental leave and housing support. While necessary, these measures only address the surface of a deeper challenge. T
EDITORIAL CARTOON
This is the season when columnists turn to prophecy, and then congratulate themselves a year later for getting some of it right. I am afraid I am about to join the club. As I predicted at the end of 2024, Asia last year revolved around three main forces: the blossoming bromance between US President
The withdrawal of Emirati forces from Yemen following a Saudi Arabian airstrike might help defuse a confrontation between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, but the incident has exposed simmering distrust between two Gulf oil powers with long-running differences.The airstrike by a Saud
Nearly a week after US President Donald Trump first announced what he said was the first US ground strike in a four-month-long military pressure campaign against Venezuela, details remain very thin on the ground.CNN and the New York Times on Monday reported that they confirmed the CIA had used a dro
The Ministry of Environment on Monday announced new plastic-reduction targets, including proposed restrictions on plastic wrapping for e-commerce and retail products. The measures mark a renewed effort to curb plastic use after years of underwhelming results.The ministry said it has promoted plastic
When the line “you speak Chinese, so you are Chinese” is repeated again and again by the overly self-assured online, it betrays a lack of knowledge and a level of political insecurity. Anxieties over nationality often lead to language usage being invoked in debate as if this alone can define and sub
Climate change escalates its impacts through inequalities, with one such being gender. When climate situations worsen, they disproportionately affect women. For women, access to financial and technological resources is often limited, and they bear a larger share of household responsibilities. Undere
On Monday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command abruptly announced a joint drill code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” staging 10 hours of live-fire drills across five maritime and air zones surrounding Taiwan. On the surface, it looked like yet another rapid-fire, high-
EDITORIAL CARTOON
When India overtook China as the world’s largest producer of rice last year, Indian politicians and the agriculture lobby marked the moment by praising resilient farmers and innovative government policy. India has almost doubled the amount of rice it exports over the past decade, with shipments cros
South Korea is promising to shrink its reliance on coal power as part of its pledge to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, but that ambition is at odds with the US’ push for more natural gas exports under US President Donald Trump. At last year’s UN climate talks, the South Ko
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) provided several reasons for military drills it conducted in five zones around Taiwan on Monday and yesterday.The first was as a warning to “Taiwanese independence forces” to cease and desist. This is a consistent line from the Chinese authorities. The seco
In 2009, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) made a welcome move to offer in-house contracts to all outsourced employees. It was a step forward for labor relations and the enterprise facing long-standing issues around outsourcing. TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) once said: “Anything that go
With the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in a period of enforced dormancy and India-Japan-Australia not attempting a trilateral engagement, the fortunes of each of the three nations have a bearing on the others. In this context, Japan and China might close the year in a sharper configuration: deep s
This year, Taiwan-Indonesia relations continued their steady upward trajectory, driven by expanding economic cooperation, cultural and educational exchanges, and growing people-to-people ties — despite the enduring constraints imposed by Jakarta’s adherence to its “one China” policy. Against a backd
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