A mountain scops owl recently flew into a temple in rural Miaoli County, delighting and then worrying staff as it remained perched on a Matsu statue's head for two nights and three days, before departing late yesterday.A temple custodian noticed the owl perched on top of Matsu's crown at about 2pm o
The central bank today announced that it would hold a public vote on 12 proposed themes for the redesign of Taiwan’s banknotes, with the new bills expected two and a half years afterward.The redesign of Taiwan’s banknotes was launched on Oct. 23 last year, with the new designs centered around the be
An exchange between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would be held in Beijing next week if the KMT blocked the special defense budget today, people familiar with the matter said. The KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) later blocked the Executive Yuan’s NT$1.25 t
Reports last year of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China were four times higher than the previous year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said today.Last year, 221 Taiwanese nationals who traveled to China were reported mis
The High Court today rejected the appeal of two sisters who were found guilty of torturing a one-year-old boy to death, upholding a life sentence for the older sister and an 18-year sentence for the younger sister. The ruling can be appealed. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23, 2023, the two licensed at-home c
Taiwan is monitoring “abnormal” changes to China's military leadership after its most senior general was put under investigation, and would not lower its guard as the threat level remains high, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.Beijing on Saturday announced that Zhang
The Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted 11 members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for forging more than 1,900 signatures in a petition to recall Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠).Chang Chia-ming (張嘉銘), secretary-general of the KMT's Chiayi City bra
Wet, cooler weather is today set to return across Taiwan as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, with temperatures in the north dropping to about 15°C, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday.A cloud system moving east from southern China would combine with the northeasterly wind
RECRUITED AND TASKED: The former Executive Yuan official was allegedly angling to recruit former military members and new-blood politicians from all parties
A former Executive Yuan official and another man were indicted yesterday for their alleged involvement in a 2021 espionage case. Cheng Ming-chia (鄭明嘉) is suspected of recruiting retired Executive Yuan official Hu Peng-nian (胡鵬年) to help enlist active-duty and retired military personnel, and target y
Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or “Narwhal,” continued sea trials yesterday, drawing many naval enthusiasts to Kaohsiung’s waterfront.People were spotted waving the Taiwanese flag and holding banners to show support for the submarine project.The submarine sailed out to sea fr
DENY, DEFLECT, DISSEMBLE: The party has denied claims that Beijing has made crippling the special defense budget a condition of future meetings
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) yesterday denied allegations that Beijing asked the party “to increase mutual trust” by boycotting the defense budget bill, saying they were fabricated statements.Beijing reportedly asked the KMT to “take concrete actions” — such as
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus whip and party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday announced the TPP’s version of a special national defense bill, which would allocate NT$400 billion (US$12.7 billion) for various weapons systems. The announcement comes amid an impasse over a special defense
Opposition parties’ obstruction of the special defense budget would weaken national security planning, as it cripples the smooth functioning of the government, which threatens Taiwan’s economic prospects, the Taiwan Team Alliance said yesterday.Stalling the budget has rendered the central government
Taichung Prison said it would "enforce supervision" of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is on medical parole, after he announced plans yesterday to give a public speech early next month.Taichung Prison, which is operated by the Ministry of Justice’s Agency of Corrections, said it would han
USEFUL HABIT? Consuming two cups (about 500ml) of green tea or coffee per week can reduce the risk of developing NPC, a head and neck cancer, NTUH said
Dietary choices, such as drinking green tea and coffee, could reduce the risk of developing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), one of the most common head and neck cancers in Taiwan, a physician at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) said yesterday. NPC is a head and neck cancer that starts in t
HEALTH CONCERN: An eighth-grader student representative said some of her classmates wear masks in classroom due to anxiety over their appearance
Schools should provide education on cosmetics use, as more teenagers wear makeup and need help in choosing safe products, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Yueh-chin (林月琴) said yesterday. Sudan red dye is a carcinogenic chemical banned in foods, medicines and cosmetics in Taiwan, but
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Chiayi branch yesterday said that since Jan. 1, there have been eight incidents of Taiwan black bears entering construction sites or residential areas on Alishan, highlighting an increasing overlap between bear habitats and human activity.The office said
Transportation officials in Taipei and New Taipei City are testing whether artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to answer people’s questions about bus services.The two cities in August last year launched a one-week trial using an AI chatbot, dubbed “Bus Station Master Ah-Ming (公車站長阿明),” at Taipe
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced that this year’s “Youth Overseas Dream Fund Program” is to be expanded, with more slots and a larger scale. Lai made the remarks during a meeting with the visiting groups of last year’s “International Youth Ambassador Exchange” and the “Agricultural Yo
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