The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a bill governing childcare, including requiring institutions to install surveillance cameras and imposing penalties of up to NT$600,000 for childcare providers found guilty of abuse or harassment.The Executive Yuan in May last year approved the draft Childcare S
Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) yesterday announced the launch of a “One ID” smart travel service, enabling international travelers to access airport services using facial recognition after completing a one-time registration.The airport is the nation’s first and only airport offering
PROMOTING PEACE: The Spanish PM said that China can play an ‘important role’ in the Middle East, while Xi Jinping spoke about a return to the ‘law of the jungle’
China yesterday accused the US of “dangerous and irresponsible” behavior over its blockade of Iranian ports, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) vowing Beijing would play a “constructive role” in promoting peace in the Middle East.US President Donald Trump has threatened to sink ships entering o
The Philippines discovered cyanide on Chinese boats operating around a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, Philippine security officials said on Monday.Authorities said laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the highly toxic substance in bottles seized by the Philippine Navy in operations at
SECOND OVERSEAS TRIP: Apart from attending anniversary and birthday celebrations, William Lai and his delegation are also to visit a planned industrial innovation park
President William Lai (賴清德) is to visit Taiwan’s sole African ally, the Kingdom of Eswatini, later this month, in what would be his second official overseas trip since taking office in May 2024, the Presidential Office said yesterday.Eswatini is one of 12 UN member nations worldwide that have formal
SERIOUSLY DAMAGING: TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang said that legislators-at-large should meet party supporters’ expectations, rather than pursue personal interests
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Central Evaluation Committee yesterday voted to expel party member Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀), effective immediately, following a series of controversies. The decision also resulted in Li’s loss of her legislator-at-large seat.Li, who took office in February as a legislator-at-
The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation yesterday said it has identified material evidence of suspected financial misconduct by its former chief executive officer Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) and former deputy chief executive officer Wang Kuang-tzu (王光慈).The foundation has dissociated itself from Hsiao — who is also Ch
Congratulations from across Europe poured in yesterday for Hungarian political newcomer Peter Magyar, who defeated nationalist Viktor Orban in elections seen as a blow to right-wing populism worldwide.Orban, a self-described “thorn” in the EU’s side and defender of “illiberal democracy” endorsed by
The US military yesterday vowed to blockade all Iranian ports, part of efforts to force Tehran into agreeing to open the Strait of Hormuz and accepting a peace deal. Iran responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, taking aim at US-allied nations.That set the stage
The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) today expelled at-large Legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) following a series of controversies, effectively stripping her of her legislative seat.The party’s Central Review Committee reached the decision during a meeting this afternoon, with the expulsion effective immediate
President William Lai (賴清德) is to lead a delegation to Eswatini from Wednesday next week to April 27 to celebrate King Mswati III’s 40-year anniversary on the throne, the Presidential Office said today, marking the president’s second overseas trip since taking office in May 2024.The King is to mark
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said
The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remar
DETERRENCE FIRST: ‘If Taiwan can have sufficient deterrence capability, it can take the option of war off the table,’ American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said
The top US diplomat in Taiwan said China should abandon its threats and military pressure against Taiwan and talk to its leaders, as that would avoid misunderstandings and stabilize relations. American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene, the de facto US ambassador, said the consistent
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of ille
US President Donald Trump yesterday ordered a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s “unyielding” refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions during peace talks in Islamabad. While acknowledging that the marathon negotiations in Pakistan had gone “well” and “most points were ag
Ukraine’s military command accused Russia of repeatedly violating a truce to mark the Orthodox Easter Saturday with about 470 incidents ranging from airstrikes and drone attacks to shelling. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered the ceasefire, more than a week after Ukrainian Presiden
READINESS: Building a democratic shield should be done during peacetime, as systems that could be paralyzed during a crisis are not a credible deterrent, Lin Chia-lung said
In light of China’s authoritarian expansion and military threat, democratic countries should reconceptualize the First Island Chain as a single theater, and build a collective and coordinated democratic shield to deter aggression, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told a forum in Taipe
NO REST: Continuous Chinese aggression shows that Beijing is not interested in showing goodwill and has no intention of giving ‘moderates’ any room to operate, an expert said
The Ministry of National Defense said it spotted 16 Chinese warplanes operating near the nation on Friday, about the same time Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was meeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing.The two met in Beijing, where Xi said he “absolutely
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides.South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its onl
RSS