Sun, May 17, 2026
US Republican and Democratic lawmakers have urged US President Donald Trump’s administration to continue with weapons sales to Taiwan after Trump on Friday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with an arms package for the nation.Trump made the statement en route to Washington a
GLOBAL STANDARDS: Taiwan would be watching the Radiocommunication Conference and developments abroad for internationally acknowledged bands, Chen Wei-cheng said Taiwan has begun planning for 6G, with a spectrum strategy expected to be proposed by the end of this year, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday.The government has been examining next-generation communication spectrums and techniques in preparation for 6G commercial operations, Department
Israel yesterday launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon, despite the extension of the truce between the two countries.Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah, but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages. The continuing bombardment has only increased skep
A senior Islamic State (IS) group leader has been killed in a joint operation by US and Nigerian forces in the west African country, the two countries’ presidents said.Under US sanctions since 2023, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki was the second-in-command of IS worldwide, according to US President Donald Trump
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks i
US President Donald Trump said he had made “fantastic trade deals” and settled “a lot of different problems” in his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) this week, but hours after the summit ended yesterday, details on exact agreements remained scarce.Trump had arrived in Beijing seeking
NO RESPONSE: During the talks between the two leaders, ‘Trump did not allow Xi to negotiate or haggle with him over Taiwan arms sales,’ an official said US President Donald Trump has kept China out of decision about arms sales to Taiwan, a Taiwanese national security official said yesterday while highlighting steady US-Taiwan policy signals following Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).Trump on Friday wrapped up his state visit i
Tainan’s Sishu Beach (喜樹海灘) is to host its first large-scale artillery exercise, amid the rapid acceleration of the military’s combat training at so-called “red beaches” to enhance defense capabilities, a source said yesterday.Sishu Beach, in Tainan’s South District (南區), is south of Anping Harbor (
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink.Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Frid
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises.Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with
LABOR SHORTAGE: People aged 45 to 64 are expected to account for more than half of Taiwan’s population by 2037, further reshaping the nation’s job market Taiwan’s elderly workforce has continued to expand since the country entered “super-aged society” status last year, reflecting a growing desire among elderly people to work and highlighting labor shortages that need to be filled. Trends documented by official government statistics and an online job
Sun An-tso (孫安佐), the son of television celebrities Sun Peng (孫鵬) and Di Ying (狄鶯), was questioned by police yesterday after posting a video on social media showing a homemade flamethrower being tested on a riverbank. The police’s Beitou Precinct said Sun An-tso and another person involved were deta
TREND: Migrant workers mainly come from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, driving strong demand for Southeast Asian products, FamilyMart said As migrant workers, foreign students and new immigrants increasingly rely on convenience stores for daily necessities and services, such chains are focusing on Taiwan’s growing Southeast Asian consumer base. Retailers have expanded efforts ranging from store layouts and Southeast Asian food offering
Convenience stores are increasingly employing migrant workers to meet demands among a worsening labor shortage. As labor shortages continue across industries, convenience store chains have over the past few years turned to foreign students, “new immigrants” and other migrant communities to help staf
The Ciaotou District Court has sentenced a man in Kaohsiung to three months in prison for stalking a female university student over a three-month period. The sentence can be converted to a fine of NT$90,000 and the ruling can be appealed. The man, surnamed Su (蘇), who began pursuing the woman, ident
Stomach bugs on cruise ships hit a nearly two-decade high as more people than ever board the vessels, underscoring how easily viruses spread on contained voyages.While cruises are in a global spotlight after a rare hantavirus outbreak killed three people on a cruise ship last month, mild gastrointes
Global warming is causing rivers to slowly lose oxygen, threatening fish and other lives in the waterways, a new study shows.Researchers in China used satellites and artificial intelligence to track and analyze oxygen levels in more than 21,000 rivers across the globe since 1985. They found oxygen l
A new exhibition in central Taiwan is revisiting the rise of Taiwan’s comics culture in the late 1980s and early 1990s through the legacy of an ambitious weekly magazine that sought to build a local comics industry.The exhibition, titled “1989, A Sunday Comics Dream,” centers on the weekly magazine
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is often accused of getting close to, and even conspiring with, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There are certainly good reasons behind these accusations, yet the confounding truth is that it makes neither historical nor logical sense for it to do so. Whether o
The Taipei First Girls’ High School (TFG) principal’s office has finally responded to a public backlash over recent controversial remarks made in an interview by Chinese literature teacher Alice Ou (區桂芝), who teaches at the school, including “reject all arms procurement” and “peace will come when Ta
As geopolitical disputes erupt across the Venice Biennale over contested pavilions, protests and questions of national identity, Taiwan has once again secured a place at the world’s most prestigious art exhibition through a carefully negotiated arrangement that allows it to participate without offic
WESTERN FINALS: Timberwolves star man Anthony Edwards fought back after a strong start by the Spurs, but San Antonio shut him out after the halftime break The San Antonio Spurs on Friday booked their ticket to the NBA Western Conference Finals with an emphatic 139-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the resilient Detroit Pistons stayed alive in the East by defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers.The Spurs arrived in Minnesota with a 3-2 lead in t
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez on Friday called their 4-2 Premier League defeat against Aston Villa “frustrating” and urged his side to respond by beating Brentford in their final game of the season to secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League.Friday’s loss dropped Liverpool to fifth place on
Dangling above field level at the biggest stadium to be used at the FIFA World Cup, 18 giant metal arms flood a newly laid grass pitch in an eerie pink glow.The mission: Make sure the turf at the AT&T Stadium is match-ready — and controversy free — by the time the tournament begins.The 94,000-capaci
Morocco have won the international tug-of-war for highly rated Lille OSC midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was born in France to Moroccan parents, after FIFA approved his switch of allegiance, handing the Atlas Lions a significant boost just weeks before the FIFA World Cup in North America.The Royal Mo
RIVAL DEMONSTRATIONS: The police estimates about 50,000 people would attend the far-right rally, while 30,000 are expected at the rival demonstration marking Nakba Day London police yesterday braced for their busiest day in years, when tens of thousands of protesters were expected to attend the latest rally staged by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.The Metropolitan Police said it would deploy 4,000 officers — alongside horses, dogs, drones and helicopters — to m
HURDLES: The affected area’s remoteness complicates medical response, while crowded mining settlements and constant movement of workers risk accelerating transmission A rare strain of Ebola with no approved vaccine or treatment might have circulated undetected for weeks in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) before killing dozens of people.Laboratory testing by the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa confirmed the outbreak
US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although China gave no indication it would weigh in.Trump said he was considering whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer
May 18 to May 24Gathered on Yangtou Mountain (羊頭山) on Dec. 5, 1972, Taiwan’s hiking enthusiasts formally declared the formation of the “100 Peaks Club” (百岳俱樂部) and unveiled the final list of mountains.Famed mountaineer Lin Wen-an (林文安) led this effort for the Chinese Alpine Association (中華山岳協會). Wor
Nested in Taiwan’s historical Walled City, a new exhibition invites visitors into the worlds of architect Chan Yi-chung (詹益忠) and illustrator Lin Li (林俐).During his opening remarks, National Taiwan Museum (NTM) Director Chen Teng-chin (陳登欽) said that the exhibition, A Living Museum: Sketches of the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), alongside their smaller allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), are often accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Some go so far as to call them “traitors.”It is not hard to see why. They regularly pass legislation to stymie the normal f
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日）https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/langFor the most part, the idea of “Blue Monday” has been rejected as a myth. Some mental health experts also say there is a danger in labeling a certain day as the most depressing time of the entire year. Some argue that if people expe
Since 2005, the third Monday in January has come to be known as “Blue Monday.” In other words, that day is believed to be the most depressing day of the year. This concept seems logical at first. After all, Monday marks the start of the school or workweek after two days of rest and fun. Also, blue i
A: Also in May, CTBC Brothers’ Channel B Music Festival will feature K-pop icon Psy, while K-Spark Concert will feature G-Dragon, Tae-yeon and FTIsland.B: In addition to multiple live concerts, Japan’s supergroup Arashi will put on a farewell concert on May 31, while offering a paid online livest
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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