PORCUPINE BILL: The legislation would put Taiwan into the NATO Plus category for shorter congressional notification times and higher weapons value thresholds
Two US senators have introduced legislation to streamline arms sales to Taiwan by adopting similar rules as those used for “NATO Plus” countries.The providing our regional companions upgraded protections in nefarious environments act, or PORCUPINE Act, was introduced on Tuesday by US senators Pete R
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.The chipmaker buil
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday did not show up for proposed direct peace talks in Turkey with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was waiting for Putin in the capital, Ankara, after challenging him to face-to-face discussions on ending their countries’ more than three-year war.W
Deforestation last year slowed in all of Brazil’s nature biomes for the first time in six years, according to a report issued months before the country hosts a major UN climate conference at the end of this year.The total area deforested in South America’s biggest country was 32.4 percent lower than
CHINESE PARTS: Military drones should be entirely free from Chinese components, the defense minister said after reports about problems with the Rui Yuan II UAVs
Strict controls would be implemented when indigenous drones enter mass production, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said at the legislature in Taipei yesterday, following reports that Taiwan’s Rui Yuan II (銳鳶, Sharp Hawk) contains Chinese-made components.Chinese-language media repor
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates
Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned.The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigat
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world.“Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defend
US President Donald Trump yesterday met with Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.The meeting, on
Cambodia and China yesterday began their largest-ever joint military exercises, involving advanced Chinese military hardware including artillery, warships and robot battle dogs.Cambodia has long been an ally of China, receiving billions of dollars in investments, while Washington has voiced concerns
UNITY NEEDED: The president called for Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and the US to show unity and face China’s military intimidation head-on
Japan and other regional partners should work together to counter Chinese military coercion and build a “non-red” supply chain, President William Lai (賴清德) said in an interview published by Nikkei Asia yesterday.As Lai approaches one year in office, he granted his first foreign media interview this
CONSENSUS REQUIRED: DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu said that the continued use of nuclear power is a serious issue and should not be politicized
The legislature yesterday passed an amendment to extend the operating license of nuclear reactors, potentially pushing back the implementation of Taiwan’s “nuclear-free homeland” policy by another two decades.The No. 2 reactor of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County is set to shut do
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down ove
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was elected mayor of his home city by a landslide, official results showed yesterday, despite his detention by the International Criminal Court.The Davao election board proclaimed Duterte won the race for Davao mayor, with the official tally showing that h
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday vowed to deepen ties with Latin America and condemned “bullying” in a thinly veiled swipe at the US, as he addressed regional leaders in Beijing.Leaders and officials from Latin America and the Caribbean have descended on the Chinese capital for the China
PRECISION-GUIDED ROCKETS: Colonel Ho Chih-chung told reporters that US technical personnel were present at the live-fire drill and helped to resolve a ‘signal error’
The military yesterday conducted its first live-firing of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) purchased from the US, as the nation upgrades its capabilities to repel a potential Chinese attack.The US is Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.Tai
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said yesterday.Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday last week, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the c
‘ABSURD’: A KMT lawmaker said the site recognized the ethnicity of minority groups comprising only 3.8% of the population, but referred to the majority as simply ‘the rest’
The removal of the term “Han Chinese” from the Executive Yuan’s Web site, which has sparked an online backlash, was intended to improve ethnic equality in Taiwan based on advice from the Control Yuan and was not politically motivated, Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said on Sunday.A user on t
The US and China are to temporarily lower tariffs on each other’s products, according to a joint statement, in a move to cool trade tensions and give the world’s two largest economies three more months to resolve their differences.The combined 145 percent US levies on most Chinese imports would be r
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to address the nation yesterday for the first time since a weekend ceasefire with Pakistan that brought the nuclear-armed rivals back from the brink of all-out war.Modi’s office said the television address would start at 8pm. US President Donald Trump anno
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