Fri, May 15, 2026
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said in Beijing that US policy on Taiwan has not changed, following the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).“US policy on the issue of Taiwan is unchanged as of today and as of the meeting that we had here today,
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday met in Beijing for talks, discussing economic cooperation, the Iran war and other issues.The pair met for about two hours behind closed doors at the Great Hall of the People and discussed trade and other issues.Trump told Xi
DRONE ISSUES: A defense official said that the legislature’s downsized budget would cut funding for person-portable counterdrone systems The Cabinet is considering ways to fund key weapons programs excluded from a supplementary budget bill passed by the legislature last week, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.The options include proposing another supplementary budget or increasing the Ministry of National Defense’s annual bud
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption o
Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the “biggest common denominator" between China and the US, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Beijing today, while warning that disagreements over Taiwan could send relations down a d
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
A passenger who was aboard a hantavirus-infected cruise ship is in quarantine in Taiwan and has so far tested negative for hantavirus and Andes virus, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said today. The traveler arrived in Taiwan on Thursday last week, the CDC said.As they had been aboard the hant
Urban tree planting across Taiwan would be tailored to local conditions and consider expert input, as several commonly used species — including cherry blossom, cotton, blackboard and banyan trees — may be unsuitable for urban settings, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啓明) said in an interview
An Australian man who went missing following a suspected domestic dispute a week ago was rescued from a remote cave in Taitung County’s Donghe Township (東河) today.The 50-year-old man identified as "Matthew," who disappeared on Friday last week after getting into an argument with his wife, descended
Dachang Hospital today confirmed that a 53-year-old woman in Kaohsiung died last month following complications from a mini gastric bypass surgery, saying it would cooperate with an investigation into potential medical malpractice. Surgeon Sung Tian-chou (宋天洲) treated the woman on April 21, although
An employee at an escape room in Taipei died this morning after suffocating in a work accident on Sunday while performing a hanging ghost character, her family said in a statement.Taipei police and firefighters said they received a report at about 7pm on Sunday that the 29-year-old employee, surname
A bipartisan group of 26 US lawmakers yesterday sent a letter to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressing “serious concern” over Taiwan’s exclusion from a ministerial conference in Cameroon in March.The letter — signed by US representatives including Ted Lieu, Judy Chu, Ami Bera and Raja
The White House's decision not to mention Taiwan in its official summary of talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) suggests Washington does not see the issue as up for negotiation, analysts said yesterday.Trump and Xi held more than two hours of talks in Beiji
The Legislative Yuan today voted to extend the current legislative session through Aug. 31, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) using their majority to pass the proposal over Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opposition.The Legislative Yuan holds two regular ses
Hundreds of hermit crabs have been found trapped in pits baited with toasted rice bran throughout the coastal forests of Pingtung County’s Houwan (後灣), local conservationists said today.Up to 30 traps were found, each containing dozens to hundreds of hermit crabs that were ensnared when gathering to
AI OPTIMISM: Cloud and networking products, such as AI servers, were the largest contributors to Hon Hai’s profit in the first quarter, demonstrating strong AI demand Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported a stronger-than-expected increase in quarterly profit, highlighting sustained spending on hardware essential for artificial intelligence (AI).Net profit for the first quarter of this year rose 19 percent year-on-year to NT$49.92 billion (US$1.5
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) yesterday said artificial intelligence (AI) server revenue this quarter would continue to grow by a double-digit percentage sequentially, after server revenue last quarter increased by 30 percent quarter-on-quarter and accounted for 75 percent of total server revenue.Servers
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) on Wednesday reported its highest-ever net profit for the first quarter, citing strong demand during the Lunar New Year holiday and the winter vacation period.The company in a statement said it posted NT$8.27 billion (US$262.46 million) in net profit during the January-to-Mar
Official statistics showed that Taiwan’s drone exports in the first quarter of this year surged past US$100 million, exceeding last year’s full-year total and signaling rapid growth in domestic drone production. However, the Legislative Yuan, dominated by opposition parties, cut the government’s spe
The inter-Korean relationship, long defined by national division, offers the clearest mirror within East Asia for cross-strait relations. Yet even there, reunification language is breaking down. The South Korean government disclosed on Wednesday last week that North Korea’s constitutional revision i
From Monday to Saturday next week, delegates will convene in Geneva, Switzerland, for the World Health Assembly (WHA), one year after member states reached a landmark Pandemic Agreement. However, the agreement remains stalled on its most difficult component: the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (
UNWELCOME LANDMARK: The Brothers set a franchise record in a game that was just the fourth time in league history a team has given up at least 13 runs in a frame CTBC Brothers starter Cheng Hao-chun on Wednesday night endured another early meltdown, exiting after recording just one out in a 17-2 home loss to the Fubon Guardians that echoed his rough outing against Japan at the World Baseball Classic in March.At Tokyo Dome on March 6, the right-hander allowed
One in four games at this year’s FIFA World Cup could take place in dangerous heat, researchers said yesterday.Concerns about heat have already prompted FIFA to mandate a cooling break during each half of the World Cup matches that are to take place between June 11 and July 19 in 16 stadiums across
Iran on Wednesday night hosted a FIFA World Cup departure rally attended by thousands of fans in Tehran’s Enqelab Square amid concerns about the team getting into the US and competing at the tournament.The players, who will continue their preparations at a training camp in Turkey next week, were che
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night allowed just four hits over seven shutout innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers backed the four-time Most Valuable Player with his most run support of the season in a 4-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.The Dodgers snapped their season-high skid at four games on a
DELA ROSA CASE: The whereabouts of the senator, who is wanted by the ICC, was unclear, while President Marcos faces a political test over the senate situation Philippine authorities yesterday were seeking confirmation of reports that a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) had fled, a day after gunfire rang out at the Philippine Senate where he had taken refuge fearing his arrest.Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the former nation
HELP DENIED? The US Department of State said that the Cuban leadership refuses to allow the US to provide aid to Cubans, ‘who are in desperate need of assistance’ US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said that Cuba’s leadership must change, as Washington renewed an offer of US$100 million in aid if the communist nation agrees to cooperate.Cuba has been suffering severe economic tumult led by an energy shortage that plunged 65 percent of the country
Myanmar yesterday published a parliamentary bill proposing the death sentence for those who detain or violently coerce people into working in online scam centers.Internet fraud factories have flourished in Myanmar, part of Southeast Asia’s scam economy, targeting Internet users worldwide with romanc
A demanding North Second Section loop links four of Taiwan’s 100 Peaks, testing hikers with washed-out roads, scarce water and rope-assisted climbs through astonishing beautiful alpine terrain The Wuming Cliffs (無明) in Taroko National Park have such a bad reputation that many hikers opt to make two separate trips to summit all the nearby peaks, approaching from either side of the cliffs but never actually going through them. Before the open mountain policy was enacted in 2019, the Park ac
In a sudden move last week, opposition lawmakers of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) passed a NT$780 billion special defense budget as a preemptive measure to stop either Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) or US President Donald Trump from blocking US arms sales to Ta
Billie Eilish is levitating. Or so it seems. When the pop star first emerges on screen in the mouthful Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), she is suspended above a cube built of LED screens, surrounded by a sold-out crowd of over 23,000 fans in the center of the UK’s largest
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
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
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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