Thu, Mar 19, 2026
EXPANDED HIRING ELIGIBILITY: Under the new regulations, families with one child younger than 12 would be eligible to apply for a foreign domestic helper, officials said The Executive Yuan today is expected to approve a proposal to expand the eligibility criteria for hiring foreign domestic helpers, allowing families with at least one child younger than 12 to apply from as early as April 13.The Ministry of Labor is to present the proposal at an Executive Yuan meetin
The US’ war against Iran has not delayed shipments of weapons to Taiwan or changed US policy toward the nation, officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration told the US Congress on Tuesday, despite the demands of the intense air campaign.“Have we delayed moving things to Taiwan? We have
Iran yesterday launched strikes toward Israel and neighboring Gulf countries, with explosions heard in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, and interceptions reported in Saudi Arabia.The attacks came hours after Iranian state media confirmed that Israel’s military had killed top Iranian security offi
Venezuela on Tuesday won the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time, defeating the US 3-2 in the championship game at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Eugenio Suarez’s tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth inning.Suarez and his Venezuela teammates stood on the stage behind second base with m
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported.The army has issued a sources sought notic
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣).The documen
CHANGE: The movement reshaped Taiwan’s economic trajectory, shifting from Chinese dependence to diverse trade, which helped sustain its growth, an official said The Sunflower movement prompted Taiwanese to re-examine the dangers of overrelying on the Chinese market and the shift toward participation in the global trade system, which paved the way for economic growth and societal stability, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, on the 12th anniversary
PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH: The ability to maintain defense and operations during a crisis would signal that any attempt to alter the ‘status quo’ is impractical, the official said Taiwan’s “peace through strength” strategy seeks to make any Chinese attempt at coercion prohibitively costly by reinforcing military deterrence, societal resilience and government continuity, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article.Writing in the ina
Former Munich Security Conference (MSC) Chairman Christoph Heusgen said Tuesday that ongoing pushback in Taiwan against a NT $1.25 trillion (US$39.26 billion) defense bill due to political differences could send the wrong message to the world.Speaking to CNA in an interview in Taipei, Heusgen, who c
Tariffs and military preparedness came up during her trip to the US, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said on Tuesday.Speaking to reporters in Washington, Lu said she has conveyed “our needs and our views” during the trip, and expressed Taiwan’s sincerity in deepening cooperation with the US.As an
Lawmakers are to review the three special defense budget proposals — from the Cabinet, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) — during the legislative committee sessions next week, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator and Foreign Affairs and National Defense
‘GUIDELINES NEEDED’: East Asian countires are under great diplomatic pressure to choose between EU and US regulatory frameworks on AI, an official said The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) yesterday said that it would closely monitor the evolution of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) before making any decisions about its integration into government systems. Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-jing (林宜敬) made the remarks at a meeting of the legi
The Ministry of Agriculture has launched a series of drought-response measures as rainfall in central and southern Taiwan has fallen to its lowest level in decades, with officials warning that conditions in some areas are particularly severe. Rotational irrigation has been introduced in hard-hit Hsi
Taiwan has become one of the few countries in the world that systematically reveals the operational status of its undersea cables, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) said yesterday. The real-time submarine cable disruption map was launched in September last year, the ministry said. The system ad
The Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange (TCX) and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) yesterday in Taipei signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on exchanges in climate finance.The MOU was signed by TCX chief executive officer Seren Chen (陳脩文) and CABEI chief sustainability of
PRICE HIKES: The war in the Middle East would not significantly disrupt supply in the short term, but semiconductor companies are facing price surges for materials Taiwan’s semiconductor companies are not facing imminent supply disruptions of essential chemicals or raw materials due to the war in the Middle East, but surges in material costs loom large, industry association SEMI Taiwan said yesterday.The association’s comments came amid growing concerns that s
CHINA MARKET REOPENS: The US has given permission for Nvidia and AMD to sell their chips to Chinese customers with preapproved licenses and export conditions Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang said the company is spinning up manufacturing of the H200 artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators for customers in China, a sign of progress in the chipmaker’s effort to re-enter the market.At a news conference on Tuesday, Huang said Nvidia had been
Continental Holdings Corp (CHC, 欣陸投控) yesterday said it expects stable growth in the coming years, supported by a strong project backlog across its construction, property development and environmental engineering businesses.The Taipei-based conglomerate said combined backlog across its three main se
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva on Monday said that Manila’s claims in the South China Sea are backed by international law. Villanueva was responding to a social media post by the Chinese embassy alleging that a former Philippine ambassador
Ever since I was a child, I’ve adored watching glove puppetry — also known as budaixi (布袋戲). The moment a puppet appears on stage, combined with the puppeteer’s gestures and voice acting, the character comes to life. To my surprise, I recently saw a similar scene unfold in the Legislative Yuan.Durin
A recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. It is a fair question, but it focuses o
FEEL THE LOVE: Venezuela captain Salvador Perez said they felt so much positivity from people even in the smallest parts of Venezuela, motivating them to victory Aaron Judge on Tuesday night walked slowly back and forth in the US dugout while Venezuelan players shed tears and fell to their knees to celebrate the country’s first World Baseball Classic title.Other players from the US’ US$320 million roster stood frozen for several minutes before receiving thei
Pablo Cuerta was watching batting practice before the US-Venezuela championship game at the World Baseball Classic, when the realization hit him — he could not lose.There were thousands of Venezuelans at the game in Miami on Tuesday night. There were thousands of Americans, too, and some — like Cuer
Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes on Tuesday night cruised to a repeat victory in the Iditarod, the about 1,609km sled dog race in Alaska.Holmes guided his dog team across the finish line in the old Gold Rush town of Nome, a Bering Sea coastal community.The race started on March 8 in Willow, a da
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Tuesday delivered a 40-point scoring performance as the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to punch their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a 113-108 defeat of the Orlando Magic.Gilgeous-Alexander was backed with 20 points and 12 rebounds from Chet Holmgren, while A
BORDER INCIDENT: Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the bomb was ‘maybe dropped’ unintentionally and landed 100m from the home of a poor family The leaders of Colombia and Ecuador on Tuesday sparred over allegations that the Ecuadoran bombing of suspected criminal hideouts near their shared border had spilled into Colombian territory.Months of tension between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa spiked on M
‘DECISIONS’: Cuba is open to talks with Washington and allowing additional investment, but it will not discuss changing its political system, a Cuban envoy said Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Tuesday said that the US would face “unbreakable resistance” if it tries to take over the island nation, as authorities scrambled to fix a nationwide electricity blackout.Cuba’s government is under pressure, with Washington enforcing an oil blockade and saying th
In the heart of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a “prisonometer” keeps a live tally of people jailed due to Latin America’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition system, but its successes have been marred by mistaken arrests.The digital counter stands outside the Smart Sampa monitoring center,
A key feature of Taiwan’s environmental impact assessments (EIA) is that they seldom stop projects, especially once the project has passed its second stage EIA review (the original Suhua Highway proposal, killed after passing the second stage review, seems to be the lone exception). Mingjian Townshi
It sounded innocuous enough. On the morning of March 12, a group of Taichung political powerbrokers held a press conference in support of Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang’s (江啟臣) bid to win the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) primary in the Taichung mayoral race. Big deal, right?It was a big
When the bell rang, William let out a cry drowned out by the crowd: that night, the Greenlandic teen was boxing for his mother, who killed herself two years ago.Suicide is one of Greenland’s leading causes of premature death and the autonomous Danish territory has one of the highest suicide rates in
A: South Korean supergroup BTS is finally staging a comeback tomorrow, releasing their new album in nearly four years: “Arirang.” B: And to promote their new album, BTS will hold a comeback concert at the Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul this weekend. According to police estimates, the show could
When people think of Spain, they often picture bullfights and flamenco—but there’s another celebration you shouldn’t miss. Every March, Valencia comes alive with “Las Fallas.” Its origins go back centuries to when carpenters burned wooden scraps they no longer needed to welcome spring as winter ende
Every few years, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) offers sports fans a real World Series. At its finest, as in the shocking upset on Tuesday last week of the US team by Italy, the games generate the kind of electricity fans feel at the FIFA World Cup.That’s exactly how Major League Baseball (MLB), w
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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