Eighty-seven percent of Taiwan’s energy supply this year came from burning fossil fuels, with more than 47 percent of that from gas-fired power generation. The figures attracted international attention since they were in October published in a Reuters report, which highlighted the fragility and stru
Taiwan’s clinical trials alliance is a smart move — if it treats speed as a means to earn trust, not as the mission itself. A national push to recruit personnel faster can widen access to new therapies, but only if it simultaneously makes participation safer, clearer and more worthwhile for ordinary
Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) was attacked over her remark that school and work could “continue as usual” in the event of a war. The real issue with Miao’s statement was not her tone, but the reality — does the outbreak of war bring society to a complete halt? Observing history and contempo
EDITORIAL CARTOON
In the realm of horror, it was hard to beat the headlines in February that people were carrying around the equivalent of a plastic spoon’s worth of microplastics in their brains. The findings, reported in Nature Medicine, generated lots of outrage on morning talk shows and were even repeated as fact
Spiraling diplomatic ties between Japan and China are sure to affect some businesses, but one company is poised to stand its ground: Toyota Motor Corp. After all, the world’s biggest automaker has already survived a much bigger challenge — a tectonic shift in China’s auto industry that devastated mo
When someone says they are struggling, it is generally a good rule of thumb to take them seriously. So it was not the best political move for US President Donald Trump to call the affordability issue a “hoax.” Too many Americans are trying to cope with rising food prices, and high costs for housing,
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Wednesday criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government for initiating a one-year restriction on Shanghai-based social platform Xiaohongshu (小紅書, also known as RedNote in English), describing the ban as “anti-democratic” and claiming it deprives
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators have twice blocked President William Lai’s (賴清德) special defense budget bill in the Procedure Committee, preventing it from entering discussion or review. Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) proposed amendments that would enable lawmakers to use bu
President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposal of a US$40 billion defense supplemental budget is welcome news in Washington and among Taiwan’s supporters. It is also a critical test, seen outside of Taiwan as almost must-pass legislation. Many in US President Donald Trump’s administration and elsewhere beli
Hit South Korean girl group Twice held two concerts at the Kaohsiung National Stadium on Nov. 22 and 23, their first performances in Taiwan since their debut about 10 years ago. Taiwanese fans were thrilled.On the eve of the first concert, President William Lai (賴清德) said that “Taiwanese have money
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Most of the world knows how to respond to the US’ new National Security Strategy. As my colleague Marc Champion has written, Russia loves it. Liberal Europeans are dismayed and the Gulf monarchies are overjoyed.In the rest of Asia — and what, until now, Washington has called the Indo-Pacific — the d
In Germany, a political reality is taking shape that was long unthinkable. For the first time since World War II, a far-right party is close enough to power that it is planning to govern rather than just grow and disrupt. To prepare for a scenario where it might rule and fill public offices, the ant
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have become adept at scrambling to deal with the latest bad news from Washington. Their meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Downing Street on Monday was so hastily arranged
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the
News about expanding security cooperation between Israel and Taiwan, including the visits of Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) in September and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) this month, as well as growing ties in areas such as missile defense and cybersec
“Can you tell me where the time and motivation will come from to get students to improve their English proficiency in four years of university?” The teacher’s question — not accusatory, just slightly exasperated — was directed at the panelists at the end of a recent conference on English language le
On Friday, the Legislative Assistant Union protested a bill introduced by a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator that would decriminalize certain misconduct involving publicly funded assistant expenses. Ahead of the rally, 252 assistants from 75 offices and two legislative caucuses cosigned a
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