The US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the US and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Friday introduced a bill that would approve US$120 million to be spent on supporting Taiwan’s international space and tackling coercion by China.The bipartisan legislatio
EUROPE TRIP: Beijing hopes being friendly toward France will help China-EU relations, although Xi’s visit would not affect the EU’s derisking policies as a whole, the report said
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is attempting to sow division among EU states and sour EU-US relations, with the added aim of impeding the EU’s support for Taiwan, a National Security Bureau report says.The report discusses Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to Europe from Sunday last week
North Korea plans to equip its military with a new 240mm multiple rocket launcher starting this year, state media said yesterday, adding a “significant change” in the army’s artillery combat capabilities was under way.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday oversaw a live-fire test of the “technic
Israel yesterday ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its operation, while saying that it is also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of R
US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to impose major new tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China, a US official and another person familiar with the plan said.Tariffs on EVs, in particular, could quadruple — from the exist
QUESTIONS? A state of the nation address allows the president to explain their policy to the people, but does not make them answerable to the legislature, an expert said
Ruling and opposition lawmakers yesterday agreed to invite president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to give a state of the nation address at the Legislative Yuan after his inauguration on May 20.The consensus was reached during cross-caucus negotiations convened by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).Deta
Premier-designate Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced the latest list of deputy ministers who are to take office after the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) on May 20.The list, a mixture of old and new officials, ensures continuity, with officials who have performed well staying o
MEDIA HUB: Taiwan’s commitment to freedom of the press has made it home to 176 correspondents from 86 media outlets from 22 countries, Tsai Ing-wen said
The Human Rights Press Awards for Asia yesterday hosted its annual ceremony in Taiwan for the first time, celebrating journalism and human rights in a nation ranked best in Asia for press freedom.Taiwan boasts freedom of the press and has become an important hub for international media, being home t
Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano yesterday called for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral in a significant escalation of a bitter row over the South China Sea.China’s embassy in Manila had orchestrated “repeated acts o
The UN General Assembly was yesterday expected to back a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and sending the application back to the UN Security Council to “reconsider the matter favorably.”The Palestinians are reviving their bid to become a full UN memb
FIGHT WITH FRAUD: Severe fraud would be punishable by a sentence of three to 10 years and a fine of up to NT$30 million, Cabinet officials told a news conference
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a slew of bills targeting fraud by raising the penalty for convicted scammers, increasing police surveillance powers and compelling social media platforms to remove scam advertisements.The bills aim to build a legal framework to aid the government’s fight agains
SECURITY CONCERNS: The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Taipei wishes for healthy exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, but is against ‘united front’ tactics
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said that any collaboration between the Lienchiang (Matsu) County Government and China’s Fujian Provincial Government to promote an international transportation card would contravene cross-strait law.In early March, Chinese media reported that the Fujian
The military was fully aware of an operation by the US Navy on Wednesday that involved the passage of a warship through the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday.The US Navy’s 7th Fleet in a statement on Wednesday said that the USS Halsey “conducted a routine Taiwan Strai
Israel yesterday shelled Rafah as US President Joe Biden offered his starkest warning yet over the conduct of its war against Hamas, vowing to cut off arms transfers if an offensive into the southern Gaza city goes ahead.Israel has already defied international objections by sending in tanks and cond
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is set to announce a range of new investments in Budapest as he touts Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Hungary as a model for what the EU’s relationship could look like with the world’s second-largest economy.Xi was received by Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok yesterd
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: The government needs to convey regulations to advertising platforms based overseas and access to the offenders could be restricted, Minister said
The government is considering asking TikTok and other large digital advertising platforms to have agents based in Taiwan in accordance with the draft act on the prevention and control of fraud and crime, which is scheduled to be reviewed at an Executive Yuan meeting today, the Ministry of Digital Af
CHANGE NEEDED: If nothing is done, summers could last up to seven months, affecting farmers, and rising sea levels would also threaten Yunlin County, Tainan and Keelung
Two government agencies have jointly published a climate change report to provide industry with a scientific basis for reducing carbon emissions. The National Science and Technology Council and the National Environment Research Academy yesterday said that their 2024 National Scientific Report on Cli
Masks are no longer to be required in medical institutions from Sunday next week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced yesterday, officially ending all COVID-19 mask restrictions.Masks would be recommended rather than mandatory in all medical institutions and centers for the elderly, CDC
US and Philippine forces yesterday sank a decommissioned China-made Philippine Navy ship during South China Sea war games simulating an attack on an enemy vessel, officials said.The exercises are being held near the city of Laoag, about 400km south of Taiwan, amid a backdrop of increased confrontati
The Israeli military yesterday said that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby.However, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refuge