CURRENCY VOLATILITY: The shift would streamline capital outflows by eliminating the conversion process that adds friction to the market, proponents of the change said
Taiwan is weighing a proposal to permit listed companies to distribute dividends in US dollars, a change from the rule requiring payouts in the local currency, people familiar with the matter said.The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is evaluating operational details, they said, asking not to
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey.By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,
Philippine and US forces are to carry out maritime strike drills on a remote Philippine island near Taiwan during annual exercises that started yesterday, which the Philippine military chief said would test their readiness under “real-world conditions.” The exercises known as “Balikatan,” or “should
Pakistan yesterday moved ahead with preparations for a new round of talks between the US and Iran two days before a tenuous ceasefire is set to expire, even as renewed conflict around the Strait of Hormuz raised questions about whether the meeting would take place.Over the weekend, the US attacked a
President William Lai (賴清德) has been formally welcomed ahead of his trip to Africa this week by more than 40 political figures from 11 African nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.Lai is to make his first official trip to the continent when he visits Eswatini — Taiwan’s only diplomati
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan at 3:53pm today, as authorities urged residents to stay away from coastal areas where tsunami waves of up to 3m were expected.The tremor had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean and was 10km deep, the Japan Meteorological Agency s
CANCELED OUT: Although Beijing promoted its ‘incentives’ as favorable to Taiwan, high tariffs still apply, which would affect products’ competitiveness, sources said
Pineapple prices have risen despite pressure on the market from China, officials said yesterday. Pineapples are Taiwan’s top fruit export. China suspended imports of the fruit in March 2021, citing pest concerns, in a move that Taiwan said lacked scientific basis, contravened normal trade practice a
A scheme to develop urban forests is coming, with the goal of allowing people to walk under seamless shade from MRT stations to their workplace, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said yesterday.The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a weekend market at Taipei’s Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園
PROJECTIONS: It expects the economy to grow by 4 percent next year, if AI demand moderates, and headline inflation to edge up by 1.8 percent this year
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected Taiwan’s economy would grow 7.6 percent this year, as surging demand for advanced semiconductors underpins the nation’s technology exports and investments despite higher energy prices amid the Middle East conflict. The figure was up 3.6 percentage points fr
US President Donald Trump said that US negotiators would be in Pakistan today for talks with Iran, but did not detail which officials would be sent to the second round of in-person talks.Trump in a post on social media said Iran violated the ceasefire agreement by firing bullets on Saturday in the S
North Korea yesterday test-fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea’s military said, the latest in a recent flurry of launches by the nuclear-armed state.The launches add to a series of weapons tests Pyongyang has carried out in recent weeks, including ballistic missiles, anti-wars
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said
China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed.The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halv
Japan’s rare two-pronged deployment near Taiwan during its first-ever participation in Philippine drills as an “operational combat unit” underscores a shift in first island chain posture and reflects Tokyo’s efforts to play a more central role in regional alliances, analysts said.Japanese destroyer
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA
Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday.The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishin
Iran yesterday rowed back on its decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and fired on a tanker attempting to pass through the waterway. It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.Confusion over the critical chok
Australia and Japan yesterday signed contracts to deliver the first three of a A$10 billion (US$7.2 billion) order of Japanese-designed warships, with the first due for delivery in three years.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries would build the first three Mogami-class frigates in Japan, while Australia pla
BIPARTISAN PUSH: In a letter, US lawmakers reiterated the importance of enabling procurement of US equipment and domestic production of asymmetric capabilities
The US is likely to approve pending weapons sales to Taiwan in the coming weeks, a bipartisan group of senators assured Taiwanese lawmakers in a letter, urging Taipei to hasten its stalled defense spending in the face of pressure from China.The letter comes ahead of a planned May 14 to 15 trip to Ch
PROTECTING YOUNG PEOPLE: The expansion covers the murder of young children, the abuse and obstruction of an adolescent’s well-being and sexual exploitation of minors
The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed an amendment expanding “pre-emptive detention” to include suspects in the sexual exploitation of minors, the homicide of young children, fraud and drunk driving as stipulated in the Criminal Code, among other offenses.The expansion of the grounds for pre-emptive
Taiwan’s importance is rising as a key to artificial intelligence (AI) hardware resilience, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) holding the lifeline of the global AI hardware supply chain, according to this year’s AI Index report released this week by Stanford University’s Institu
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