CHINA THREAT: Of the 127 people indicted since the act’s passage in 2020, only five have been convicted, with the sentences averaging three to six months, MAC said
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday urged lawmakers to approve proposed amendments to the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) given the light punishments meted out to offenders under current regulations.Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee reviewing the chan
The Taipei City Government is looking at options to limit smoking in public places, with one version of the policy likely to be implemented this year, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday.A “Taipei smoke-free city” plan is expected to be launched by the end of this year, Chiang said.City
US President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, as activists yesterday said the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.Iran had no direct reaction to Trump’s comm
US prosecutors have opened an inquiry threatening a “criminal indictment” against the US Federal Reserve, its chairman Jerome Powell said, denouncing new “threats and ongoing pressure” from the administration of US President Donald Trump.Powell said in a rare video statement on Sunday that the US ce
BROAD CAMPAIGN: Beijing has adopted a government-civilian partnership model to disseminate disinformation in Taiwan through bots, AI and more, an NSB report showed
Taiwan’s national intelligence community recorded 45,590 fake online accounts last year, up from 28,216 in 2024, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday.As part of its cognitive warfare against Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party has integrated the resources and techno
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships
A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Mari
A total of 1,624 illegal accommodations were reported last year, with fines totaling about NT$120.13 million (US$3.8 million), the Tourism Administration said. The agency recently released last year’s statistics, and said that the inspections of accommodation facilities — hotels and guesthouses — sh
At least 192 protesters have been killed in Iran’s biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years, a rights group said yesterday, as warnings grew that authorities were committing a “massacre” to quell the demonstrations. The protests, initially sparked by anger over the risi
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister has demanded a detailed “explanation” from Seoul over a drone it accused South Korea of flying over its territory, state media reported yesterday. The North said on Saturday that a craft crossed from the South Korean border county of Ganghwa into the North Ko
SMART LIVING: The government’s 10-year AI development initiative aims to build an AI innovation system and create circles that integrate AI across all aspects of life, Lai said
The government has set a goal of cultivating 500,000 artificial intelligence (AI) professionals by 2040 and plans to inject NT$100 billion (US$3.17 billion) into a venture capital fund to achieve it, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday at an AI talent forum in Taipei.“AI changing the world is
Eligibility for government-funded influenza antiviral drugs would be expanded from Jan. 20 to Feb. 28 to include seven groups considered to be at higher risk of spreading the virus, as the flu is predicted to enter an epidemic period at the end of the month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) sai
Pope Leo XIV, leader of the Holy See, Taiwan’s sole diplomatic ally in Europe, during his annual New Year’s address on Friday expressed concern over rising tensions in East Asia and called for peaceful dialogue.The New Year’s audience is considered a cornerstone of Vatican diplomacy, during which th
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering calling a general election in the coming weeks to capitalize on strong public support for her government, media reports said yesterday.Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister in October last year, and her Cabinet is enjoying an approv
NOT FOR SALE: Any attempt to entice Greenland with cash is doomed to fail and no amount of money could buy the people’s national soul, a Greenland representative said
Greenland’s parliament would bring forward a meeting to discuss its response to US threats to take control of the Arctic island, the leaders of the five political parties in the Greenlandic assembly said in a joint statement on Friday.US President Donald Trump on Friday said the US must own Greenlan
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024
Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday.The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number o
US President Donald Trump in an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday said that “it’s up to” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be “very unhappy” with a change in the “status quo.”“He [Xi] considers it to be a part of China, and that’s u
A former Marine Corps soldier has been indicted for allegedly pledging allegiance to China in exchange for money and selling military secrets, with prosecutors in Kaohsiung seeking a heavy sentence.Chen (陳), a petty officer second class who had served in a Marine Corps unit, became acquainted online
SELF-DEFENSE: Tokyo has accelerated its spending goal and its defense minister said the nation needs to discuss whether it should develop nuclear-powered submarines
China is ramping up objections to what it sees as Japan’s desire to acquire nuclear weapons, despite Tokyo’s longstanding renunciation of such arms, deepening another fissure in the two neighbors’ increasingly tense ties.In what appears to be a concerted effort, China’s foreign and defense ministrie
Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack, which killed at least four people, officials said yesterday. For only the second time, Moscow used a new ballistic missile that it says flies at 10 times the speed of sound and is unstoppable.T
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