‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said
The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as th
The Executive Yuan yesterday proposed amendments to the National Pension Act (國民年金法), with the government expecting to invest about NT$86 billion (US$2.72 billion) annually and an estimated 1.76 million people set to benefit.The draft changes aim to raise benefit levels, ease means-testing threshold
A framework deal on Greenland agreed with US President Donald Trump would require NATO allies to step up on arctic security and the first results of this would be seen this year, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters in an interview yesterday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum i
Members of Philippine civil society groups yesterday filed an impeachment complaint against Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, accusing him of systematically bilking taxpayers out of billions of dollars for bogus flood control projects.Rage over so-called ghost infrastructure projects has bee
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game.The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year.
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said
The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan.The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiati
‘AUTHORITARIAN GAZE’: The level of Chinese state involvement in the corporate sector poses a significant and unavoidable national security risk, an analyst said
Chinese-linked artificial intelligence (AI) programs are allegedly sending Beijing information, so democratic countries should ban them and establish mutually agreed-upon rules for AI, the Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology Research Institute said in a report released yesterday.Taiwan and it
The Philippines yesterday repatriated 17 Taiwanese suspected of financial fraud to face trial in Taiwan after arresting them in a joint law enforcement operation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.In May, Philippine police detained the suspects in Cebu following an 11-month investigation conducte
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi yesterday issued the most direct threat yet against the US after Tehran’s bloody crackdown on protesters, warning that the nation would be “firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack.”The comments by Araghchi, who saw his in
A Japanese court yesterday sentenced a man who admitted to assassinating former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to life imprisonment.Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, earlier pleaded guilty to killing Abe in July 2022 during an election campaign speech in the western city of Nara.Abe, one of Japan’s most inf
HIGH-TECH DEAL: Chipmakers that expand in the US would be able to import up to 2.5 times their new capacity with no extra tariffs during an approved construction period
Taiwan aims to build a “democratic” high-tech supply chain with the US and form a strategic artificial intelligence (AI) partnership under the new tariffs deal it sealed with Washington last week, Taipei’s top negotiator in the talks said yesterday.US President Donald Trump has pushed Taiwan, a majo
COURT RULING: Zhou Manzhi planned and implemented activities with clear ‘united front’ objectives, posing a threat to national security and social stability, the court said
The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court yesterday sentenced a Chinese immigrant to eight years in prison for creating immigrant associations sponsored by Chinese “united front” groups, overturning a previous acquittal after the Supreme Court remanded the case for retrial.The court sentenced Zhou Manz
Taiwan could enter another influenza epidemic period as soon as this week, and cases might continue to increase to about 130,000 per week at the Lunar New Year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said flu viruses r
US President Donald Trump has made an astonishing series of attacks apparently designed to humiliate allies France, the UK and Canada as the row over Greenland threatens to engulf the Davos forum.In a flurry of social media posts and comments to reporters a day before he leaves for the elite gatheri
Australian politicians yesterday voted in favor of tougher hate crime and gun laws, weeks after gunmen targeting Jewish people on Bondi Beach killed 15 people.Lawmakers in the House of Representatives backed the legislation in response to the Dec. 14 shooting at the famous Sydney beach.Sajid Akram a
The “Taiwan model” trade agreement reached with Washington is not about relocating supply chains, but expanding industrial capabilities in the US, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said today.Taiwan and the US last week reached an agreement in tariff negotiations with Taiwan securing most-favored-na
CLASSIFIED BRIEFING: The ministry said the special budget focuses on building a comprehensive defense system and strengthening the domestic defense industry
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday released information on seven categories of weapons systems to be procured under a stalled NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.57 billion) special defense budget, including precision artillery, long-range missiles, air defense anti-tank missiles and more than 200,000 u
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC
China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday.Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the re
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected appeals by Reunification Alliance Party members Chang Tsun-feng (張存逢) and Huang Jung-te (黃榮德), upholding their prison sentences for espionage and electoral fraud.Chang and Huang, who were the chairman and chief executive officer of the pro-Beijing party’s Pingtun
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