Tue, Mar 31, 2026
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday.Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegat
Judicial authorities have carried out raids at 49 locations in Hsinchu and northern Taiwan as part of a probe on talent poaching and alleged industrial espionage activities by 11 Chinese enterprises, for engaging in unlawful recruiting of Taiwanese who work in IC design, artificial intelligence, vis
China yesterday announced sanctions against a Japanese lawmaker over his visits to Taiwan, as Beijing and Tokyo locked horns in a months-long diplomatic row.Relations between China and Japan have deteriorated since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November last year that Tokyo cou
US President Donald Trump yesterday threatened widespread destruction of Iran’s energy resources and other vital infrastructure, including desalination plants, if a deal to end the war with Tehran is not reached “shortly.”On the ground, the conflict showed no sign of letting up: Tehran struck a key
A group of visiting US senators today highlighted the importance of "peace through strength," while calling on Taiwan to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill to fund planned purchases of US weapons systems for self-defense."Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are essential to the global e
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait.“I am g
QUESTIONS OF TIMING: Beijing arranging for Cheng’s visit amid stalled defense budget talks raised concerns the KMT was trading favors with China, the DPP said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) to take the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) pressure and coercion against Taiwan seriously, avoid endorsing its political agenda and steer clear of its “united front” tactics aimed at sow
HOLDUP: While the legislature authorized the Cabinet to sign LOAs with the US, opposition parties continue to block a special defense budget, delaying payments The US has agreed to Taiwan’s request to defer the deadline for an initial payment on a key US-made weapons system amid a budget impasse, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday told lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan.Koo confirmed that the first payment for High Mobility Artiller
An alternative to the Executive Yuan’s special defense budget should prioritize drones over submarines and range from NT$800 billion to NT$1 trillion (US$25 billion to US$31.25 billion), Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday.Speaking to reporters ahe
Taiwan has on three occasions missed out on joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), an official said yesterday, calling for decoupling Taiwan’s accession from China’s.In her resignation, citing chronic health issues, late deputy trade representative
OB-GYN CRISIS: Higher public payments for child deliveries and guaranteed access to maternity health services in remote areas could be implemented later this year The government is planning to significantly increase public payments to maternity health services to stabilize frontline medical capacity, with the new regulations expected to take effect as early as the second half of this year, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.S
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease.The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on t
The average hotel occupancy rate during the first three days of the upcoming Tomb Sweeping and Children’s Day holiday is estimated to reach 52.52 percent, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The holiday this year begins on Friday and ends on Monday next week. Taipei surpassed other cities and
Starlux Airlines is expanding its operations in central Taiwan, starting with the launch yesterday of its Taichung-Tokyo route and Taichung-Kumamoto service today.The carrier held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Taichung International Airport yesterday, ahead of the inaugural flight to Tokyo.Starlux is
The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday vowed to speed up the construction projects at Taichung International Airport in light of significant growth of air passengers in central Taiwan.Taichung airport handled 1.71 million passengers last year, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level by
FORECAST: Crude oil prices are highly volatile and could fall to about US$70 per barrel if hostilities in the Middle East end quickly, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long said Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) could rise about 1.9 percent this year, if crude oil prices average US$100 a barrel, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said yesterday, signaling that price pressures remain broadly contained for the time being. The central bank on March 19 raised its infl
Taiwan plans to launch a US$250 billion credit guarantee program to support domestic companies investing in the US, part of a broader effort to deepen supply chain cooperation with Washington following conclusion of tariff negotiations earlier this year, National Development Council Minister Yeh Chu
Industrial computer maker Ennoconn Corp (樺漢科技) yesterday said it expects first-quarter revenue to remain flat from NT$34.47 billion (US$1.08 billion) a year earlier, as geopolitical uncertainties, sharp fluctuations in memory supply and prices are likely to defer some orders to the second and third
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) sparked a heated debate during his acceptance speech for an honorary doctorate at Taichung’s Asia University when he dismissed Chinese robots as “useless” and “just for show.” Some commenters said that no one should underestimate C
Out of 64 participating universities in this year’s Stars Program — through which schools directly recommend their top students to universities for admission — only 19 filled their admissions quotas. There were 922 vacancies, down more than 200 from last year; top universities had 37 unfilled places
Taiwan-South Korea relations face a critical test, as a deadline forces both sides to confront a long-simmering issue.Taipei has requested that Seoul correct its classification of Taiwan in South Korea’s e-arrival system, where it has been labeled as “China (Taiwan)” since Feb. 24 last year. The Min
INTO THE WATER: This year’s tour sees fierce competition in the women’s side as seasoned winners return to the game against a new group of up-and-comers Surfing’s elite world tour kicks off this week at Australia’s Bells Beach with Stephanie Gilmore, Carissa Moore and Gabriel Medina returning to the circuit to face off against a new guard that has raised the performance level in their absence.The trio, who stepped away for a variety of reasons, migh
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut.Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the As
Amnesty International warned this summer’s World Cup, spread across three North American countries and beginning in June, risks becoming a “stage for repression” in a report published Monday.The London-based human rights organization’s report, titled Humanity Must Win, called on FIFA and host countr
Egypt’s national team director Ibrahim Hassan has cautioned Mohamed Salah against moving to US Major League Soccer (MLS) after he leaves Liverpool at the end of the season, as it could send him sinking into obscurity.Salah, 33, has yet to decide his next move as he ends a hugely successful nine-year
PROXY ARRANGEMENT: Min Aung Hlaing is expected to be voted in as president after handing over the reins of the military to Ye Win Oo, his ‘most trusted loyalist’ Myanmar yesterday cleared the way for coup-leading general Min Aung Hlaing to become president and maintain his rule as a civilian, with lawmakers nominating him as a vice presidential candidate and the junta replacing him as military commander.Min Aung Hlaing has ruled Myanmar since 2021 when he or
MUCH-NEEDED FUEL: Cuba lost its main regional ally and oil supplier in January when US forces captured then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that Moscow could send oil to Cuba despite Washington’s de facto fuel blockade, as a Russian tanker was expected to deliver some much-needed crude oil to the crisis-hit island.While the shipment would give the nation some relief, Trump renewed his threats aga
Australian police yesterday said that they shot a fugitive wanted for killing two police officers, ending a seven-month manhunt for one of the nation’s most-wanted criminals.Desmond Freeman fled into dense bushland in August last year after shooting and killing two police officers who came to search
Nuclear power is getting a second look in Southeast Asia as countries prepare to meet surging energy demand as they vie for artificial intelligence-focused data centers.Several Southeast Asian nations are reviving mothballed nuclear plans and setting ambitious targets and nearly half of the region c
The tiny Caribbean island of Terre-de-Haut boasts pristine turquoise waters and deserted coves. It also has goats, hundreds of them.There are as many goats as humans on the island and, while they charm the tourists as they roam on the beaches and graze in the gardens, there is a darker side to this
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must h
Many consumers are guilty of filling drawers or closets with old laptops, cellphones, fitness trackers and other electronic devices once they are no longer needed. It’s hard to know where to recycle such items, or it seems costly and inconvenient to do so.The world generates millions of tons of elec
對話 Dialogue清清：這禮拜又有連假了，這次一共放四天。Qīngqing: Zhè lǐbài yòu yǒu liánjià le, zhè cì yígòng fàng sì tiān.華華：你是要過兒童節還是清明節？Huáhua: Nǐ shì yào guò Értóng jié háishì Qīngmíng jié?清清：都要過啊！不管幾歲，都要有童心，才能永遠都年輕，知道嗎？Qīngqing: Dōu yào guò a! Bùguǎn jǐ suì, dōu yào yǒu tóngxīn, cái néng yǒngyuǎn dōu niánqīng, zhīdào m
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？1. 我們很早到達電影院。ˇ We arrived at the theater very early.χ We arrived the theater very early.註︰arrive 為不及物動詞，後面如果有受詞要用 at 或 in。例如：They arrived in Taipei yesterday.。一般大地方，如國家、省、大城市等前面用 in，凡小地方城鎮、學校等則用 at。 2. 開車半小時以後，我們到達了海灘。ˇ After half an hour’s drive, we got to the beach.χ 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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