Thu, May 14, 2026
INDEPENDENCE: China’s move ‘essentially amounts to asking Taiwanese media to cooperate with the CCP’s transnational repression against Taiwan,’ the MAC said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Tuesday condemned Beijing for urging local media firms to “expose” Taiwan independence activities, saying that local media representatives could face prosecution if they help China target Taiwanese.Chinese authorities have “summoned certain Taiwanese media outle
BEIJING SUMMIT: Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tesla’s Elon Musk and other tech CEOs are also traveling to China, with the US president expected to focus on trade US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would ask Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to “open up” China to US firms as he headed to Beijing for a summit.“I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their m
The US Department of State on Tuesday reiterated Washington’s commitments to Taiwan after US President Donald Trump seemed prepared to undermine one of those promises in remarks about his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, ahe
The Drone Diplomacy Task Force on Tuesday signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the Arlington, Virginia-based Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) to promote talent exchanges and international certification.The LOI was signed at XPONENTIAL, an autonomy and robotics exhibitio
Philippine Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the former chief of police during the administration of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, yesterday urged the military to stop Philippine government attempts to arrest and fly him to the Netherlands to stand trial on charges of crimes against humanity.
UNDETERRED: Taiwan will continue to bolster cooperation with the US and seek to demonstrate to the world its resolve to defend itself, a MOFA spokesman said Taiwan will continue to work with the US to protect peace and stability in the region by building strong deterrence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, adding that China’s opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan is unreasonable, groundless and an attempt to distort the truth.MOFA s
The National Taiwan Library on Monday announced the publication of the first complete Chinese translation of a 350-year-old work documenting Taiwan during the 17th century.The 1669 publication, titled A Short Description of a Nine-Year East Indian Journey (Eine kurtze Beschreibung eines neunjahrigen
China is the “sole risk to regional peace and stability,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in response to today’s meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump in Beijing, where Xi said that Taiwan was “the most important issue” in US-China relations.The
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) today said he has instructed the Ministry of National Defense to consider proposing another special act or budget, or expanding the scale of the annual budget, in response to the exclusion of defense procurement items in the supplementary budget act passed on Friday last w
The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) and the Center for Drug Evaluation on Monday renewed their partnership agreement virtually with the British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).NHIA Director-General Chen Lian-Yu (陳亮妤) signed the two-year agreement in Taipei, w
The Supreme Court early this month rejected the appeal of a Taoyuan chemistry teacher convicted of helping manufacture narcotics, making his sentence of seven years and nine months final.The man, surnamed Liang (梁), was found guilty by the Taoyuan District Court in December 2024 of manufacturing nar
The Legislative Yuan today held a second hearing in the impeachment case against President William Lai (賴清德), who was not in attendance. Lai, the first Taiwanese president to be targeted by an impeachment motion, declined an invitation to attend, while the ruling Democratic Progressive Party also bo
US President Donald Trump today told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing that “it’s an honor to be your friend,” even as his Chinese counterpart offered warnings about avoiding a possible clash between the two nations during their meeting.Asked how the talks with Xi went, Trump said: “Grea
The body of a university student who jumped into Tamsui River (淡水河) to rescue a 93-year-old man near Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕) in Taipei on Tuesday was recovered early today, local authorities said.The body of the 24-year-old Chinese Culture University student, surnamed Lee (李), was found at 6am about
INVITATION: If Mao Zedong could come out of his grave, he would tell Xi to reflect on his policies, and visit Taiwan to learn from its healthcare experience, an official said Taiwan would show the world it can contribute to global health and excluding the nation from the WHO is a loss for the organization and the world, the deputy ministers of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. The Foundation of Medical Profes
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector.Taiwan’s weighting in the MSC
Industrial computer maker ADLINK Technology Inc (凌華科技) yesterday said it expects strong growth momentum to continue this quarter, following record-high sales last quarter, driven by robust demand in North America, front-loading orders from semiconductor and automation equipment clients, and robotics
In support of the government’s ambition to build Taiwan into a leading Asian asset management hub, Standard Chartered Bank continues to broaden its suite of diversified wealth management solutions for high-net-worth clients. On Wednesday last week, Standard Chartered announced the launch of its new
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) has proposed adding one month to paid parental leave, bringing the total to seven months, provided both parents take the full entitlement.The proposal, intended to encourage a more equal sharing of childcare responsibilities, comes alongside ideas such as extending childca
As Air Force One prepares to descend into Beijing for a summit overshadowed by wars in Iran and Ukraine, much of the international discussion has centered on whether Taiwan could become part of a geopolitical bargain.Speculation has intensified over possible adjustments in US policy language, arms s
From the Iran war and nuclear weapons to tariffs and artificial intelligence, the agenda for this week’s Beijing summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is packed. Xi would almost certainly bring up Taiwan, if only to demonstrate his inflexibility on the matte
POWERLESS: Minnesota struggled to counter the French superstar, with Anthony Edwards saying he just kind of hoped that Wembanyama would miss Victor Wembanyama on Tuesday had at least one teammate who hoped the San Antonio Spurs superstar would return angry, while his coach expected a mature approach from Wembanyama after his first career ejection a game earlier.The Spurs got both, much to the dismay of the Minnesota Timberwolves.“They ai
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer.
Paul Skenes on Tuesday night slowly sauntered back to the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout at the end of the top of the eighth inning, his loping and deliberate strides giving the PNC Park crowd plenty of time to rise for the kind of standing ovation that is becoming commonplace at the end of his starts.Th
Curious spectators clutching rule books watch as a batsman smacks a six into the sand and weeds surrounding Japan’s brand-new cricket ground, four months before it hosts matches at the Asian Games.Japanese fans might be familiar with many of the events at the Olympic-like multisport competition when
‘UNDER CONTROL’: Donald Trump said the US has ‘Iran very much under control,’ with Pete Hegseth adding that US forces control access to the Strait of Hormuz Kuwait on Tuesday said that Iran launched a failed attack earlier this month on an island where China is helping build a port in the Gulf Arab country.Kuwait said that a paramilitary Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps team tried to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf
SEEKING SOURCE: Argentina said a team of experts would investigate the origin of outbreak, including at a dump where rodents carrying the disease are known to live A French woman infected in a hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship is critically ill and being treated with an artificial lung, a doctor at the Paris hospital caring for the sickened passenger said on Tuesday.The outbreak has reached 11 total reported cases, nine of which have been confirmed.Three pe
Organized crime in South America is a threat to the Amazon rainforest, according to a report published on Tuesday, as the encroachment of criminal groups into protected areas fuels violence and sets back environmental preservation in the world’s largest tropical rainforest.The report by the Internat
Yesterday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominated legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) as their Taipei mayoral candidate, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) put their stamp of approval on Wei Ping-cheng (魏平政) as their candidate for Changhua County commissioner and former legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如)
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its sock puppet, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), passed their version of the government’s proposed supplementary defense spending bill last week, engendering much commentary. While all eyes were on the defense budget, the PRC’s assault on Taiwan was advancing
From famine to nuclear war, North Koreans have had plenty to worry about over the years. Now, the upwardly mobile residents of Pyongyang face a more prosaic concern: Finding a parking spot.North Korea’s capital is experiencing a surge in passenger cars, creating traffic jams for the first time and n
A: In early May, there were concerts by Icyball, Chyi Yu, Korea’s EXO and Japan’s Anisama, but I missed them all. What a shame.B: That’s OK. There are shows coming up by various artists, including Power Station, Accusefive, Japanese singer Mika Nakashima, Chinese-Icelandic jazzer Laufey, and even
Have you ever wondered how people navigate the world when they can’t see a map? For individuals with visual impairments, conventional maps are nearly impossible to use. This is where tactile maps come in — essential tools that allow people to “see” the world through touch. A tactile map is speciall
An outbreak aboard a cruise ship of a rare rodent-borne illness called hantavirus has left three passengers dead and sickened others, but global health officials say the risk to the general public remains low because the germ does not easily spread between people.“This is not the next COVID, but it
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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