Wed, Jun 03, 2026
‘TRAGEDY’: The air force has grounded all T-34C trainer aircraft as it investigates the cause of the crash that killed the pilots carrying out a simulated engine-failure exercise The air force yesterday said that pilots reported no anomalies or malfunctions before a T-34C trainer aircraft crashed at an air base in Kaohsiung while carrying out a simulated engine-failure exercise earlier in the day.Following the crash yesterday morning, killing two pilots, the air force ground
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea.The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by
Kenyan President William Ruto yesterday defended the opening of an Ebola quarantine center for US nationals after a court halted the plan and security forces teargassed protesters fearing the deadly virus could spread in the country.The US-built facility at Kenya’s Laikipia Air Base was due to open
Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least 18 civilians and wounding 131 others, authorities said yesterday.Russian President Vladimir Putin has escalated Moscow’s aerial campaign in the past few weeks in an apparent
MAKING FRIENDS: Chinese pressure to squeeze Taiwan’s international space should not hinder the nation from engaging with the world with confidence, a lawmaker said Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) is to embark on a five-day visit to Palau later this week to bolster diplomatic relations with the Pacific ally, the Presidential Office said yesterday.Hsiao is to meet with Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr and other government officials during her visit from S
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled the company’s first chip to power a new breed of laptops on Microsoft Corp’s operating system, addressing growing demand for agentic artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities on edge devices for consumers.During the company’s GTC event in Taipei, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huan
BRIDGE BUILDER: The award is in recognition of the Czech senate president’s efforts to tighten ties between the Czech Republic and Taiwan since his conspicuous 2020 visit President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday presented the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon to Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil in recognition of his longstanding support for Taiwan, efforts to advance Taiwan-Czech relations and commitment to defending democracy worldwide.Vystrcil
PAY TO PLAY: The surgeon referred patients needing organ transplants to brokers in China for a subtantial payout over several years, many of whom died soon after The Ministry of Health and Welfare has revoked the medical license of a surgeon for illegally brokering organ transplants for Taiwanese in China, in Taiwan’s first medical license revocation for such an offense, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.Chen Yao-li (陳堯俐) w
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two active-duty soldiers and a civilian for allegedly selling classified military documents to a Chinese espionage ring, urging the court to impose heavy sentences against the soldiers.A 22-year-old army sergeant surnamed Su (蘇), a 19-year-
The first large-scale export of Taiwanese summer fruits to Europe left Pingtung County yesterday after meeting stringent EU import and quarantine requirements.Speaking at a send-off ceremony for the 6 tonnes of mangoes, lychees and dragon fruit, Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said that
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday called on the Philippines and Japan not to infringe on Taiwan’s rights in its territorial waters, after both countries said last week they were beginning talks on maritime delimitation in their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs), which also p
The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the law governing recycling, its most significant overhaul in more than two decades, expanding regulatory oversight to cover the entire life cycle of products.The passage of the third reading of the Resource Circulation Promotion Act (資源循環推動法) symb
The third edition of the Hong Kong Human Rights Art Exhibition opened in Taipei on Tuesday, with organizers hoping the artwork by Hong Kong, Taiwanese and overseas creators will highlight the importance of protecting freedom, human rights and historical memory.Titled “Protection, Hope and Resistance
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY: Newly developed AI-powered software provides real-time, automatic detection and differentiation of liver tumors during ultrasound exams Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) yesterday said the ministry is expanding efforts to eliminate hepatitis B and enhance early detection of liver cancer. Taiwan achieved the WHO’s hepatitis C elimination goals in December last year, ahead of the global health body’s timeline. The
CLUSTER: The infected man had direct contact with a previous imported measles case, and he contacted his local health department, an official said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a local case of measles had been reported, and 491 contacts have been instructed to self-monitor for symptoms until June 16, adding that the person was a close contact of a previously confirmed case from Thailand. The new case is a man in his
‘SIMBA’ UPGRADED: The rapid development of agentic and physical AI models could lead to the deployment of more than 1 billion AI agents, an executive said The artificial intelligence (AI) industry is entering a new phase centered on agentic and physical models, shifting from generative AI and creating new opportunities across Taiwan’s technology supply chain, Pegatron Corp (和碩) chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) said yesterday.Agentic AI is capable of carr
By Lisa WangStaff reporterIntel Corp regards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as a longstanding partner, as the US chipmaker would continue outsourcing production of advanced chips to TSMC, Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) said yesterday.“I don’t look at people as comp
HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd and HSBC Securities (Taiwan) Corp Ltd cohosted the HSBC Taiwan Conference 2026 in Taipei on Monday and Tuesday.The event brought together more than 30 Taiwan-listed companies for investors’ meetings, and has attracted about 550 institutional investors and corporate clients fro
Taiwan’s high-tech industry is undergoing a major shift. Local companies are becoming deeply integrated with global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chains through engagement with customers and operational restructuring, while technology shifts to agentic AI from generative models.That increases
Taiwan and South Korea are like-minded democracies in the Indo-Pacific region, where people have the right to elect their own governors, mayors and local council members. South Korea is holding nationwide local elections today, while Taiwan has its own local elections scheduled for November.Diplomac
A recent report concerning a student who is suing his teacher posed the question in its headline: Does failing a student in two subjects constitute bullying?The college student in Chiayi County apparently sought NT$2 million (US$63,603) in state compensation, but a court dismissed the case.The first
SERIES OPENER: Lee Hao-yu blasted a solo shot in the sixth and then led off the eighth with a single before scoring his side’s ninth run in a 10-9 victory Detroit Tigers second baseman Lee Hao-yu, the only active Taiwanese batter in the major leagues, on Monday hit his second MLB home run in his team’s 10-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.Batting eighth in the three-game series opener at Tropicana Field, Lee went two-for-five with a solo homer, two ru
Victor Wembanyama today will aim to cement his status as the new face of basketball when he leads the San Antonio Spurs into Game 1 of the NBA Finals against a New Yorks Knicks lineup bidding to end a 53-year title drought.Just three years after landing in the NBA as the top pick in the 2023 draft,
Anthony Joshua on Monday said that he would not celebrate that a deal has finally been struck for a heavyweight clash with rival Tyson Fury until after he won.“I’m not pleased because the pleasure really comes after victory,” Joshua said. “Signing a contract doesn’t mean anything. Winning is the onl
Aryna Sabalenka on Monday overpowered fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the French Open last 16, after Matteo Berrettini reached his first major quarter-final in four years.World No. 1 Sabalenka was too strong for a battling Osaka, winning 7-5, 6-3 in the first women’s night-sessio
TRUCE? Despite Trump expressing hope that the two sides would stop fighting ‘for ETERNITY,’ Israel struck southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah fired into northern Israel Israel yesterday conducted strikes on south Lebanon and Hezbollah fired into northern Israel, after US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to halt attacks that neither side has publicly accepted.According to Lebanese authorities, Hezbollah would no longer fire into Israel under the agreeme
‘TRILOGUE’: Critics compared the plan to the US’ secret agreements with countries around the world to deport thousands of people to countries that are not their own The EU has moved forward with a vast overhaul of its migration policy, aiming to ramp up deportations and ink controversial deals to build detention centers abroad, in what rights groups compare to the aggressive immigration policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration.“The new regulation
The Mozambique government said five of its nationals were killed in “xenophobic attacks” in South Africa at the weekend, with local police yesterday confirming two deaths. The killings in the southern coastal town of Mossel Bay are the first to be officially linked to the latest wave of protests aga
Taiwan’s English education system is being pulled apart by three opposing forces. Bilingual Nation 2030 pulls students toward English and global communication. Artificial Intelligence (AI) readiness pulls them toward digital judgment, verification and AI-mediated work. But Taiwan’s old exam culture
The pavements of Hanoi’s wide boulevards and narrow lanes have long been clogged with bustling food stalls, weaving scooters and crowds of coffee and beer drinkers sitting on low plastic stools.But the spontaneity that charmed tourists and supported street vendors in Vietnam’s capital has subsided i
Over the years, springtime has become synonymous with bold choreographic exploration at Cloud Gate Theater (雲門劇場) through its annual Spring Riot program. Initiated in 2001 by former artistic director Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) but paused for five editions, the program resumed in 2024 under Cheng Tsung-lung
In 2023, an 80-year-old woman in Taipei suffocated her paralyzed son after over five decades of caring for him. Turning herself in immediately, she confessed that worsening health and anxiety about who would care for him after her death had driven her to act. The court, acknowledging her difficult s
★ Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。The mango looked perfect. It sat on the fruit stand like a small sunset, red on one side and gold on the other. “I’ll take this one,” said Daniel. The fruit seller shook her head. “Not that one.” Daniel was surprised. “Why not? It looks be
對話 Dialogue清清：嗨！早安！Q?ngqing: H?i! Z?o?n!?華華：早！你今天穿的這套衣服好看喔！很貴吧？Huahua: Z?o! N? j?nti?n chu?n de zhe tao y?fu h?o kan o! H?n gui ba?清清：多謝誇獎。還好啦！之前百貨公司週年慶時買的，比平常便宜。Q?ngqing: Du?xie ku?ji?ng. Haih?o la! Zh?qian b?ihuo g?ngs? zh?unianqing shi m?i de, b? pingchang pianyi.華華：你是打幾折買的？Huahua: N? shi d? j? z
Two moves show Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is gunning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) party chair and the 2028 presidential election. Technically, these are not yet “officially” official, but by the rules of Taiwan politics, she is now on the dance floor. Earlier this month Lu confirmed in an interview in Japan’s Nikkei that she was considering running for KMT chair. This is not new news, but according to reports from her camp she previously was still considering the case for and against running. By choosing a respected, international news outlet, she declared it to the world. While the outside world likely paid little attention, domestically the message was unmistakable: She is moving on to a larger stage. Part of the dance is to leave options open before formally committing, and with the chair race due in late September, she has time. If something goes wrong in the meantime, or if power brokers in the party offer her a deal that provides more benefits than taking on the role of chair, she can pivot accordingly. Earlier this year, I suggested that strategically, she would be better off concentrating on her job as Taichung mayor until she is term-limited out of office in December next year. Taichung mayor is obviously a full-time job, and concurrently running the Taipei-headquartered party runs the risk of doing one or both jobs poorly and making mistakes that could imperil her shot at the presidency in 2028. The situation has changed. Current KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), knowing he is likely to face challengers of a higher caliber than the three relative nobodies already declared, has gone all in on appealing to the base. The base is more likely to turn out to vote in the chair election, so this makes some strategic sense in the short term.
Among Thailand’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) villages, a certain rivalry exists between Arunothai, the largest of these villages, and Mae Salong, which is currently the most prosperous. Historically, the rivalry stems from a split in KMT military factions in the early 1960s, which divided command and opium territories after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) cut off open support in 1961 due to international pressure (see part two, “The KMT opium lords of the Golden Triangle,” on May 20). But today this rivalry manifests as a different kind of split, with Arunothai leading a pro-China faction and Mae Salong staunchly aligned to Taiwan. Last spring at Arunothai’s Jiaolian School, principal Wang Mingming (王明明) had forewarned me of the division between villages, saying, “We are not like the people in Mae Salong. They are rich. Because of the Taiwanese.” Arunothai has in recent years become split in its loyalties between Taiwan and China (see part one, “A tale of two schools,” on May 15), but in Mae Salong, links to Taiwan remain strong. Taiwan-funded monuments pay homage to the Lost Army, villagers wear T-shirts emblazoned with the Republic of China (ROC) flag and tea plantations grown Taiwan’s most famous tea varieties, including Dong Ding (“frozen peak”) Oolong, Oriental Beauty and Jin Xuan (Golden Daylily or Milk Oolong). Even the numerical classifications of the teas — Oolong No. 12 or No. 17, for example — are the same, and the shops resemble those found on Alishan. At the tomb of General Tuan Hsi-wen (段希文) — perched on a Mae Salong hilltop with a view of his ancestral homeland in China’s Yunnan province — a third generation villager wearing a vintage KMT army uniform, Yan Si-Chung (岩思中), greets visitors with sharp military salutes. “Both my father and my grandfather were soldiers in the KMT army,” the 44-year-old
| New Taipei City | 27-28 | 20% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Hsinchu City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Taipei City | 27-28 | 20% |  |
| Miaoli County | 24-26 | 10% | |
| Taoyuan City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Keelung City | 27-28 | 20% | |
| Yunlin County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Taichung City | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Nantou County | 25-26 | 10% | |
| Changhua County | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Chiayi County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Chiayi City | 25-27 | 10% | |
| Tainan City | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Pingtung County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Yilan County | 25-26 | 30% |  |
| Hualien County | 25-26 | 30% | |
| Taitung County | 25-27 | 30% | |
| Kinmen County | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 27-27 | 20% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-28 | 20% | |
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