FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized
About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (
The French National Assembly’s Taiwan Friendship Group on Friday issued a statement rejecting claims made in a report on Europe-China relations by French Legislator Sophia Chikirou of the La France Insoumise (LFI) party as replicating Beijing’s lies and distorting a UN resolution.French newspaper Le
The Russian and Chinese navies are carrying out artillery and anti-submarine drills in the Sea of Japan as part of scheduled joint exercises, the Russian Pacific Fleet was quoted as saying yesterday.The drills are taking place two days after US President Donald Trump said he had ordered two nuclear
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands.“The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said o
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028
Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed.The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next
HANDOUTS: The Cabinet believes that the legislature’s version of the cash handout is not constitutional, although its own version would retain the provision
The Executive Yuan would propose a special budget of NT$545 billion (US$18.15 billion) that includes a nationwide cash handout of NT$10,000, sources said yesterday, adding that a clause would be included to exclude wealthy households from receiving the cash handout.The legislature on July 11 passed
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).The bill was introduced by US repres
In a warning to Russia, US President Donald Trump on Friday said he was ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines “based on the highly provocative statements” of former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who has raised the prospect of war online.Trump wrote on social media that, based
The people of Gaza did not need this week’s official confirmation from UN-backed hunger experts that the “worst-case scenario of famine” was unfolding there. For months they have watched as their children waste away.Over the course of the week, Gaza passed two appalling milestones. The official Pale
NEGOTIATIONS: The nation hopes to lower the 20 percent tariff rate through ongoing negotiations, with chips exempt for now as a US review is still pending
The new 20 percent tariff rate the US set on goods from Taiwan is “temporary,” and the government expects to negotiate a lower figure, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.Tariff rates on semiconductors, electronics, and information and communications technology products are to be determined s
HEADWINDS: The new tariffs add to the challenges already faced by Taiwanese manufacturers, who have been squeezed by unfavorable foreign exchange rates
Local manufacturers of machine tools, molds, plastic products and electronic materials are expected to bear the brunt of the newly announced 20 percent US tariff, as their main competitors from Japan and South Korea face lower rates, an impact assessment report obtained by the Taipei Times showed ye
Some Asian nations reacted with relief yesterday after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs that in some cases were lower than threatened, and delayed by a week to Thursday.However, while countries such as Taiwan still hope to negotiate lower rates, uncertainty remains over transshipments and
The Ministry of National Defense is to propose a NT$600 billion to NT$900 billion (US$19.98 billion to US$29.98 billion) special budget to purchase command and control systems, as well as air defense missiles, from the US, a senior official said yesterday.Taiwan is in negotiations with the US over t
Ukraine’s Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that restores the independence of two of the country’s key anti-corruption watchdogs, reversing his contentious move last week that curbed their power and brought an outcry.Last week’
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday.The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than
TRENDSETTING: DPP lawmakers across Taiwan urged KMT-led local governments to also issue cash handouts using surplus tax revenue, citing the precedent set by the legislature
The Executive Yuan yesterday said it would not ask the legislature to reconsider a special act that includes a universal cash handout of NT$10,000 (US$334.27), but would seek a Constitutional Court review of the provision.Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference in Taipei
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said
Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire to
STRUCTURALLY STRONG: A DGBAS executive officer said that exports’ momentum is unlikely to vanish overnight, even if it faces tariff headwinds in the second half
Taiwan’s economy expanded by a stronger-than-expected 7.96 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2021, fueled by surging exports of high-tech products and robust capital formation, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterd
More than 12,000 children were injured or died as a result of traffic incidents last year, the third consecutive year that the number of child casualties rose in Taiwan, a National Audit Office report showed.Last year’s 393,882 traffic incidents resulted in 2,950 deaths, including 366 pedestrian fat
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