The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday promised to provide legal assistance to retired police officers and firefighters affected by the government’s refusal to budget pension increases mandated by a bill passed by the legislature and signed by President William Lai (賴清德).The KMT and the Taiwa
DEMOCRATIC PARTNERS: Italian politicians from across the political divide attended the meeting, where they affirmed the importance of Taiwanese investment in Italy
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Thursday met a cross-party delegation of the Taiwan-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group led by its cochair, Italian Deputy Member Alessandro Cattaneo.The delegation’s seven lawmakers are visiting Taiwan for the first time, and their meeting marked
The military has expanded the scope of its search-and-rescue operation for the missing pilot of an F-16V jet, deploying sea, air and ground forces around the clock, but had made no further progress as of noon yesterday.Army units stationed in Taitung County broadened their coastal search area during
The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted Internet influencer Holger Chen (陳之漢) for allegedly calling for the decapitation of President William Lai (賴清德) during a live stream in October last year.While Chen was commenting on Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “decapitation s
INVERTED PYRAMID: New US guidelines prioritizing red meat, whole milk and animal-based fats have sparked debate, with a local expert advising Taiwan to follow its own
The release of the newest national dietary guidelines could be postponed to the second quarter following the dramatic shift in the US’ dietary guidelines emphasizing protein and healthy fats, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.International dietary recommendations c
Many young Taiwanese are not unwilling to have children, but tend to be more cautious as they evaluate practical conditions before getting married and having kids, a counseling psychologist said.The latest Ministry of the Interior statistics showed the number of newborns plunging to a historical low
The Agriculture and Food Agency yesterday called on farmers to enhance measures to protect crops as the effects of a cold air mass and radiative cooling continued to affect the nation.Farmers are advised to refrain from planting rice seedlings during the cold surge and set up cold barriers around ri
A research team led by National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium assistant researcher Leu Ming-yih (呂明毅) has provided the first comprehensive account of natural spawning of Chaetodontoplus meridithii, or Queensland yellowtail angelfish, in an artificial environment.The study was published in th
VULNERABLE SPECIES: As the relict gull is not a regular migrant to Taiwan, it might be the same bird sighted in Changhua last year, birdwatchers said
A relict gull has been spotted in Tainan for the first time, in only the fifth recorded sighting of the vulnerable Central Asian species in Taiwan, the Wild Bird Society of Tainan said.Local birdwatcher Lin Kun-hui (林坤慧) spotted the gull on Wednesday after noticing it stood out among other birds at
Virtual YouTubers, or VTubers, have proliferated in Taiwan in the past few years, with their growing influence now extending into various sectors, experts said.VTubers are YouTubers who stream using virtual avatars, typically anime-style characters, as their “skin,” with motion capture technology tr
Handheld lanterns to be distributed at the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi County are pictured at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The lanterns’ design features tourism mascot “Oh Bear” riding a horse, symbolizing the upcoming Year of the Horse.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu, center left, gifts former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je, center right, a Lunar New Year couplet during the latter’s visit to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. The couplet, reading “Ma Shang Xing Fu,” or “ Soon to be happy,” is a play on the word “ho
Tourists look at graffiti on the walls of the graffiti street in Taipei’s Ximending District yesterday.
Road and pedestrian safety advocacy groups today called for reform of Taiwan’s driving test and certification system, citing five key demands. The system has long been dysfunctional and allows a large number of drivers with a lack of safety awareness onto the roads, the groups told a news conference
The Tourism Administration today unveiled the main lantern and handheld lantern designs for this year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi County, featuring a centerpiece inspired by the ancient forests of Alishan (阿里山).This year's festival is to open at 7pm on March 3, and is to run through 10pm on
Opposition legislators today for the sixth time blocked a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.8 billion) special defense budget bill from proceeding to the committee review stage.During today’s plenary session, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses voted down the proposal
Prosecutors recently indicted a former elementary-school swimming coach for sexually abusing four minors in a case from 19 years ago. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said it has completed the investigation into a swim coach from an elementary school in northern Taiwan. Last year, a livestrea
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山), Taiwan's highest mountain, at about 6am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.As of about 8am, the CWA's Yushan Weather Station in Nantou County had recorded 1cm of snow, with temperatures at minus-4.1°C and snowfall continuing.By 10am, tempera
US President Donald Trump said "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," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday.Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him wh
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