Fri, Feb 06, 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) held back-to-back calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump this week, which analysts said was rare and significant as Beijing positions itself as a stable global power.Xi’s video call with Putin on Wednesday afternoon was followed j
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions.TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its seco
A bill aimed at deepening space cooperation between Taiwan and the US cleared the committee stage in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday.The Taiwan and American Space Assistance Act (TASA Act) was included as an amendment to the NASA Reauthorization Act, which the US House Committee on Scie
MORE WORK: Russia said talks were progressing in a good direction, but there has been no update on the issue of territory or any sign of concession from Moscow Ukraine and Russia swapped more than 300 prisoners following “productive” talks in Abu Dhabi yesterday, while a US mediator conceded that “significant” work lay ahead in the quest for a broader deal to end the war. As talks were underway, large swathes of the Ukrainian capital were still without hea
Relations between Taiwan and the US are "rock-solid" and cooperation programs would continue and not change, President William Lai (賴清德) said today after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan with US President Donald Trump.In a call yesterday, Xi told Trump that the US should "carefull
GLOBAL COMMITMENT: US senators have expressed concern over the opposition-controlled legislature holding up defense plans, despite rising threats from China If the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan continues to block a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget, the international community could misunderstand Taiwan’s determination to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.Pressure from politicians in the
MANIPULATION: China set unreasonable restrictions on cross-strait tourism, and only now allows Shanghai residents, who are less likely to visit, the MAC said Beijing’s decision to allow Shanghai residents to travel to Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties is nothing more than political manipulation disguised as a gesture of goodwill, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism made the announcement after
UNCERTAINTY: Chen Pei-yu said it is worrying that the KMT added Qin to its Central Standing Committee, where she could interfere in the nation’s democratic system A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker yesterday urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to rethink its appointment of a China-born businesswoman to the party’s Central Standing Committee, saying it poses a national security threat.Qin Pengzhen (勤彭蓁), a native of Sichuan Province, was one o
Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said she hopes all ministers would follow the Ministry of the Interior’s guidelines, the day after she said that the ministry would not provide a new China-born legislator with any classified information.On Wednesday, Liu told a local media outl
Naval missions by foreign countries in the Taiwan Strait are about asserting international law, rather than offering provocation, French Office in Taipei Director Franck Paris said yesterday.Beijing views the narrow, highly strategic strait as Chinese territorial waters and has responded aggressivel
Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine, Hai Kun (海鯤), sailed from its shipyard in Kaohsiung yesterday morning for its latest round of submerged tests, one week after a previous round was deemed successful.The submarine was spotted heading out to sea from CSBC Corp, Taiwan, at about 8:30am for its thi
Various types of wheeled infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) cruised through the streets of Taipei Thursday as the military police conducted a drill to protect key facilities in Taiwan’s capital, the Military News Agency reported.The "combat reconnaissance patrol drill," conducted by the 239th Military
GOODWILL TOUR The circumnavigation next month is a gesture of thanks for Taiwan’s rock-steady support of Japan following the catastrophic 2011 earthquake A group of Japanese cyclists is to cycle around the nation next month to thank Taiwan for its support for Japan in the aftermath of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011.The magnitude 8.4 earthquake on March 11, 2011, and subsequent tsunami devastated Japan’s northeast region, killing more than 19,0
A NOSE FOR NEWS An artificial intelligence-powered plug-in could help users by identifying misinformation, unsubstantiated ‘facts’ or propaganda aimed at Taiwan Taiwanese groups yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) fact-checking tool called “True or False Meow” (真假meow一下), which can be enabled as a Google Chrome browser extension. The app can be used to help evaluate the reliability of Web pages, including news articles and social media pos
Taiwanese doctors warned against using artificial intelligence (AI) for health advice, after a German study showed that Google AI cited YouTube videos in answers about medicine read by billions of people each month.SE Ranking, a search engine optimization platform, found that YouTube videos made up
ROSY PROSPECTS: Given robust demand for tech products and more favorable tariffs, several institutions have raised forecast GDP growth to 5% to 6%, Kung Ming-hsin said After expanding by a robust 8.63 percent last year, the Taiwanese economy should continue growing this year and is likely to exceed the 3.54 percent forecast that the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) made in November last year, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-h
Taiwan’s inflation cooled further at the start of the year, underscoring muted price pressures and giving the central bank room to remain patient as domestic demand holds steady.The consumer price index (CPI) edged up 0.69 percent last month from a year earlier, marking the ninth straight month it s
ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday said it was increasing capital expenditure to a record US$7 billion this year to meet demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and a broader recovery in non-AI sectors.That
While the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) senior personnel were meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in China on Tuesday for “economic interactions,” President William Lai (賴清德) in Taipei asserted that Taiwan should cooperate with like-minded democracies instead to advan
I imagine that Chinese People’s Liberation Army General Zhang Youxia (張又俠) had no idea just how powerful he truly was. Just by being removed, he triggered a myriad of possible futures, all of them equally dramatic, ranging from single-handedly causing the apocalypse of Taiwan to triggering the downf
On a political figure’s first day in office, they are expected to lay out their governing direction, institutional responsibilities and public commitments. However, when the conversation immediately revolves around passports, the issue is less about the law and more about managing anxiety. By emphas
‘LIKE A NIGHTCLUB’: Four minutes into the start of competition on Wednesday, a power outage halted play, which Scotsman Mouat called ‘a bit of a boogie’ Italy’s Olympic mixed doubles curling title defense yesterday got off to a winning start, while the US fought back to earn victory on the second day of the round-robin matches at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.The eight teams playing mixed doubles opened the long curling tournament on Wednesday,
Manchester City are to face Arsenal in the League Cup final after ending Newcastle United’s reign as holders with a first-half blitz in their 3-1 victory on Wednesday.Pep Guardiola’s side were already in pole position after winning the semi-final first leg on Tyneside last month and they finished th
Italy are finally heading to the World Cup — just not in the sport most people might expect.Amid dark times for the country’s storied, but ailing soccer team, some salvation comes in the form of the Azzurri’s unheralded cricketers after their first-ever qualification for a global tournament.Add Ital
Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif revealed in an interview with French sports daily L’Equipe that she had undergone hormone treatments to lower her testosterone levels ahead of the 2024 Paris Games, but reaffirmed that she is not “transgender.”Khelif was embroiled in a gender row at the Games whe
NO GO: Washington wants Beijing to join the pact, but although China said it regrets the expiration of the treaty, it has balked at any restrictions on its growing nuclear arsenal The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the US expired yesterday, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century.The termination of the New START Treaty could set the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms
Italy has thwarted a series of Russian cyberattacks targeting the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the Italian minister of foreign affairs said on Wednesday.The attacks were “on foreign ministry offices, starting with Washington, and also some Winter Olympics sites, including hotels in Cortina,” Itali
As countries step up their use of Internet shutdowns to muzzle dissent, some are also taking advantage of the blackouts to increase censorship firewalls, Internet privacy company Proton said.Proton, known for its encrypted e-mail and virtual private network (VPN) services, has for years observed how
As much as I’m a mountain person, I have to admit that the ocean has a singular power to clear my head. The rhythmic push and pull of the waves is profoundly restorative. I’ve found that fixing my gaze on the horizon quickly shifts my mental gearbox into neutral.I’m not alone in savoring this kind o
On a recent weeknight, long after the swarms of tourists had left Rome’s Colosseum, a small group of people walked around outside the darkened amphitheater, pausing every so often to take in a new aspect of its history, art or architecture with every sense but sight.Michela Marcato, 54, has been bli
In all the dystopian visions of the future that the movies have trotted out over the last few decades, the one that sticks the most, surprisingly, is WALL-E. That’s not just because of the chastening sight of an over-polluted Earth or those sedentary humans glued to their screens. It’s because those
A: Apart from Pokemon, ancient Egyptian relics have attracted much attention lately.B: Are you talking about the “King of Egypt: Pharaoh” exhibition at Tainan’s Chimei Museum? Apparently, it’s the largest exhibit of its kind ever in Taiwan.A: Yup, Chimei is displaying 280 relics from The British
A: The world’s first Pokemon-themed “PokePark Kanto” in Tokyo’s Yomiuriland amusement park is opening today.B: Nintendo Co.’s Pokemon series has swept across the world ever since its launch in 1996. Anything special about this new park?A: PokePark Kanto includes two main zones featuring about 600
Many animals spend the winter in a deep, low-energy state known as “hibernation.” When food becomes scarce and cold conditions drain body heat, bats, hedgehogs, and some ground squirrels retreat to safe shelters. Their bodies slow down to save energy: heart rates drop, breathing becomes shallow, and
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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