EXECUTION GAP: Taiwan’s reform agenda continues to advance, but is inconsistent across agencies and policy domains, the chamber’s annual white paper said
US-Taiwan economic ties are deepening even as uneven policy execution continues to weigh on reform momentum, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham) said yesterday in its annual white paper on Taiwan.Bilateral trade reached US$256 billion last year, making Taiwan the US’ fourth-largest t
A recent wave of Facebook, Instagram and Threads account suspensions was caused by a technical glitch in Meta Platforms’s age-verification system, with users being locked out of their accounts from Sunday, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said yesterday.As part of its worldwide youth online sa
US allies at the G7 summit of major industrialized democracies yesterday worked to push the war in Ukraine back up the agenda of US President Donald Trump after more than four years of fighting sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion.The Iran conflict has in recent weeks overshadowed Ukraine, but fo
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday said that “justice has been done” after two men were convicted of arson attacks on his property, ordered online by a Russian-speaking handler.The British media have linked the attacks to Russia, with the BBC reporting it had uncovered evidence suggesting
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today condemned China for pressuring Kenya to block Taiwan from participating in the Our Ocean Conference, accusing Beijing of political interference and urging it to stop undermining global ocean cooperation.Kenya is hosting the 11th Our Ocean Conference from
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President William Lai (賴清德) today said he would "not give up" on increasing defense spending, after the opposition-led legislature last month passed just two-thirds of a NT$1.25 trillion special (US$39.5 billion) defense budget.The government is prioritizing drones and other asymmetric systems for
66 FIGHTER JETS: The aircraft is likely undergoing preparations for its transfer to Taiwan — a significant step forward in the nation’s modernization program, a lawmaker said
The first of Taiwan’s order of F-16V Block 70 aircraft has been sighted in Texas ahead of delivery, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.Taiwan’s first F-16V Block 70 two-seat aircraft, tail number 6831, was seen flying from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in G
Taiwanese support for cross-strait negotiations has fallen to 62 percent from nearly a decade earlier, with the majority preferring to maintain the “status quo,” a survey released yesterday by the Taoyuan National Development Education Foundation showed.The tracking survey was first conducted in 201
While the US and Iran yesterday reached an initial agreement that would extend their shaky ceasefire and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, significant challenges remain to ending the war, including whether Israel would continue its offensive in Lebanon.Details of the deal were not immed
Taiwanese aviator Roger Lin (林睿哲) returned to Taiwan on Saturday after completing a nine-day round-the-world journey in a single-engine aircraft, becoming the first Taiwanese pilot to achieve the feat. Lin departed on June 5 from Los Angeles, California, and continued through Alaska, Japan, Taiwan,
‘UNHAPPY’ CHILDREN: The British prime minister said that he hoped to pass the regulation by late December and the prohibition to come into force in spring next year
Children under 16 are to be banned from using social media in the UK, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday, saying such platforms were making young people “unhappy.”Some children’s charities welcomed the sweeping change, which is likely to trigger a major fight with US tech giants
The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began.Details of the deal were not immediately available and Iran signaled implementation would not start until the signing,
NOT JUST NUMBERS: What matters to intelligence work is crucial, reliable information, so even a few credible leads can be highly valuable to national security, a legislator said
The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday said it has finished the establishment of an information-reporting channel for Chinese nationals, the aim of which is to broaden intelligence gathering on China’s political, military, economic and social developments.Chinese nationals can submit informati
The National Atomic Research Institute (NARI) has stepped up research into small modular reactors (SMRs) and nuclear fusion, as the government has signaled willingness to consider next-generation nuclear technologies, the institute said.President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) have
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said Taiwan would deepen cooperation with democratic partners to bolster supply chain and economic resilience, while helping maintain regional peace and stability.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Rotary International Convention in Taipei, Lai said Taiwan
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hailed increasing defense cooperation with the UK during a meeting with her British counterpart Keir Starmer yesterday, despite uncertainty about a new fighter jet program.“The UK is a very important partner to Japan given the deepening of ties across a wide ra
‘JUSTIFIED’: An official said Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons were a strong guarantee of peace and stability, given US arms sales to S Korea and Japan
North Korea yesterday said its status as a nuclear weapons state was “irreversible” and key to ensuring regional stability, rejecting calls by the US and its allies for denuclearization.Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted it would not abandon its nuclear arsenal, portraying it as essential to deterren
TWO-PRONGED APPROACH: China harasses Taiwan while promoting ‘integrated development’ and exchanges to conceal its annexation intention, the MAC said
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday criticized Beijing’s two-pronged “fake integration, real pressure” approach toward Taiwan as deceptive, and said it laid bare its intention to annex the nation.The council issued the remarks after Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairma
BOLSTERING THE SYSTEM: The amendment includes a minimum one-year prison term and more jail time to deter conscripts from evading their duties, the interior ministry said
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said it has drafted tougher penalties for evading alternative military service, given recent cases of conscripts avoiding the draft.To prevent conscripts from evading their duty, the ministry said it proposed amendments to Article 55-1 of the Enforcement Statute fo
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