Fri, Mar 27, 2026
ON TRACK: The defense minister said the next US arms sales package was proceeding as expected, with the government receiving a letter of guarantee from Washington Legislative committee members yesterday failed to reach a consensus on most articles of the three versions of the special defense budget bill.Over the past two days, a joint session of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and Finance Committee conducted article-by-article deliberations
The Water Resources Agency (WRA) has imposed rationing and authorized unallocated water reserves for household use until July, after the driest winter in 75 years in Taiwan’s western region.Reservoirs south of the Hsinchu-Yilan line this winter reported between 7 and 37 percent of rainfall compared
US President Donald Trump plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in May during his first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip postponed due to the Iran war.Trump’s effort to reschedule the trip reflected the Republican president’s eagerness to project confidence in a chall
Iran and the US yesterday appeared at an impasse, with each side hardening its position over talks and setting the stage for another potential escalation in the Middle East war.US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Tehran on social media to “get serious soon” on negotiating a deal to end the
Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has been sentenced to 17 years in jail and deprived of his civil rights for six years.The ruling can be appealed.Ko, who also founded and chaired the Taiwan People’s Party, was accused of receiving bribes from Core Pacific Group (威京集團) chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈
TEAMWORK: Taiwan and US collaboration on drones has turned a buyer-seller relationship into a national defense industrial partnership, the vice president said Taiwan’s manufacturing strengths, in combination with the US’ technological expertise, could bolster the nations’ trade resilience by enhancing supply chain resilience and tapping into emerging markets, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday.Industrial development
‘DEMAND JUSTICE’: TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang said that a ‘national mobilization order’ would be issued calling on TPP supporters to gather on Sunday Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday denied any wrongdoing and accused the ruling party of political reprisal at a news conference following a ruling sentencing the former Taipei mayor to 17 years in prison for corruption and misusing political donations.“I will not
The Taipei District Court’s guilty ruling yesterday in the corruption trial of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has potentially cut short a once-promising political career.The verdict is not final.Ko, formerly a trauma surgeon at National Taiwan University Hospital, first entered
FOURFOLD INCREASE: People should continue to assess the potential risks before traveling to China after 221 cases were reported last year The number of reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China has reached 313 since Jan. 1, 2024, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) data showed.Last month, 17 Taiwanese were reported missing or detained in China, with half of th
A Taipei-based think tank yesterday urged the government to fix loopholes in regulations governing chip exports to China, after Super Micro executives were indicted by the US Department of Justice for allegedly smuggling Nvidia chips into China via Taiwan.The indictment alleged that three people — t
Perceived restrictions on free speech under proposed amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) are “an unrealistic and impractical fantasy,” Deputy Minister of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said yesterday.Article 4 of the Executive Yuan’s draft amendment would prohibit individuals from using
Taiwan has been targeted by a wave of online disinformation claiming the self-ruled island’s gas supplies will soon be completely depleted due to disruptions from the Middle East war -- a narrative officials say could cause panic and undermine confidence in the government. The false social media pos
The United States’ de facto ambassador to Taiwan on Thursday urged lawmakers across party lines to pass a special defense budget to fund planned purchases of U.S. weapon systems for self-defense.Speaking at an annual event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taiwan, American Insti
Two US lawmakers on Wednesday criticized China for allegedly interfering in the WTO ministerial conference in Cameroon, which they said led to Taiwan’s exclusion from the event.“Cameroon’s decision to effectively exclude Taiwan from the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Yaounde is another troubling
EASY TO USE: People could report accidents without having to wonder which agency to call, and the ministry would relay the information to the appropriate agency The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday launched a dedicated hotline (0800-365-917), which people could call to report public transport accidents.The hotline, which is open all day, every day, was created at the suggestion of the Taroko Express train crash survivors.On Apr
STRATEGIC MOVES: The DRAM maker has sold shares to four international companies all hoping to leverage its technological strength amid the AI boom Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) shares rallied early yesterday after the DRAM chipmaker raised NT$78.72 billion (US$2.47 billion) from four international investors, before paring gains to close down 0.44 percent at NT$225.50.The fundraising comes as chipmakers are boosting production capacity and their
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom.The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which
Taiwan’s unemployment rate edged up to 3.32 percent last month as post-Lunar New Year holiday job switching prompted more people to leave their positions, although overall labor market conditions remained stable, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.The
The US’ Annual Threat Assessment report released on Wednesday last week said China is not planning to invade Taiwan next year. According to the “Davidson window,” a concept raised by US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson in 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liber
The Hong Kong government on Monday gazetted sweeping amendments to the implementation rules of Article 43 of its National Security Law. There was no legislative debate, no public consultation and no transition period. By the time the ink dried on the gazette, the new powers were already in force.Thi
The number of newborns is falling each year and the population structure is being flipped on its head, yet we are still mired in debate over what to do and how much money to spend. The problem is simple. It is not that young people do not want children, but that they are struggling with life, as it
PLAYOFF CONSIDERATIONS: After a dunk by Alperen Sengun put the Rockets up 108-95, capping a 26-2 run, the Timberwolves refused to lie down in the pivotal game With a game-closing 15-0 run, the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday came back from 13 points down for a 110-108 victory over the Houston Rockets.No other NBA teams have overcome an overtime deficit that big since the league began logging play-by-play details in the 1997-1998 season.The Timberwolve
Two-time reigning American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge on Wednesday went hitless on opening day for the first time in his big-league career and had four strikeouts in a game for the first time since September 2024 in the New York Yankees’ 7-0 win over the San Francisco Giants, while the
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online.Vid
France star Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday denied media reports that said that his Real Madrid club examined the wrong leg when he sustained a knee injury late last year.The soccer show After Foot on French broadcaster RMC Sport reported this week that the Spanish club had initially scanned his right kn
PETALS FROM PUTIN: Lukashenko, who has supported Moscow since it invaded Ukraine in 2022, laid a bouquet on behalf of the Russian president at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun North Korea and Belarus yesterday signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave a lavish welcome to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on his maiden visit.Besides supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine — about 2,000 North Korean soldiers are thought
NO PAY: Some airports are experiencing more than 40% callout rates and more than 480 TSA officers have quit amid the funding shutdown, the acting TSA head said Pressure is mounting on the US Congress to end a funding shutdown that has resulted in travel disruptions, missed paychecks and even warnings of airport closures, but lawmakers have yet to resolve the underlying issue of reining in US President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement operations.Senat
A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of an addictive design of their social media platforms, ordering the companies to pay US$6 million in damages, including US$3 million in punitive damages.The verdict hands plaintiffs in more than a thousa
Just after 6am, I walked up to the ticket gate at Taipei Main Station and entered the Taiwan Railway platform without scanning any ticket; instead, I flashed the Sanrio Fun Rail pass on my phone to the gate worker and was admitted. I found my train and prepared to board. My destination? This very sa
All seven members log onto a livestream, broadcast from a beach. A few years ago, it was a common image. But after the K-pop boy band BTS pressed pause on their full-band duties for nearly four years, it was revelatory.That’s the scene that begins BTS: The Return, a new Netflix documentary from dire
The assignment involves no laptop, no chatbot and no technology of any kind. In fact, there’s no pen or paper, either.Instead, students in Chris Schaffer’s biomedical engineering class at Cornell University are required to speak directly to an instructor in what he calls an “oral defense.”It’s a tes
A: Apart from collaborating on crossover comics, “Chibi Maruko-chan” and “Crayon Shin-chan” will launch co-branded merchandise and pop-up stores this time.B: Actually, you don’t need to fly to Japan. Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park is hosting multiple anime-themed pop-up stores — including one
A: Popular humorous Japanese manga series “Chibi Maruko-chan” and “Crayon Shin-chan” will collaborate for their respective 40th and 35th anniversaries, publishing three crossover stories in April.B: Both were made into TV animation series, becoming huge hits in Asia. What are the crossover stories
In 2024, the number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed 1.31 million, a 50 percent jump from 2022. This sharp rise shows a growing interest in cat ownership. But with more cats comes a type of household waste many people overlook: used cat litter. Unlike food scraps or packaging, it’s harder to manage a
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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