Wed, May 27, 2026
Taiwan on Monday overtook India in stock market value, powered mainly by a breakneck rally in the world’s largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).Taiwan’s market capitalization climbed to US$4.95 trillion as of Monday, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. India’s value has
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers.If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national
REVIVED FORUM: The US wants the Quad to focus on deliverables rather than meetings, with cooperation progressing ‘aggressively,’ Rubio said The US, India, Australia and Japan yesterday announced new maritime and critical minerals cooperation, reviving a forum viewed suspiciously by China following questions over the US’ commitment and disagreement on Iran.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio took part in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue
China and Pakistan have reached a “new broad consensus” on deepening strategic ties to beef up the development of a joint economic corridor and establish the Port of Gwadar as a regional connectivity hub, the neighbors said yesterday.The remarks came in a joint statement as Pakistani Prime Minister
US SKEPTICISM: The latest cognitive warfare uses a three-pronged approach to prop up the fallacy that unification with China would bring peace, the NSB director said The National Security Bureau (NSB) identified nearly 100 suspicious account groups posting more than 9,000 divisive messages on social media following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) earlier this month, NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) sai
SAFER FLIGHTS: The Auto-GCAS uses data such as aircraft speed, heading and terrain information to assess the risk of a ground or sea collision, and alert the pilot Installation of an automatic ground collision avoidance system (Auto-GCAS) across Taiwan’s F-16V fleet would begin this summer, with all jets expected to be fully equipped with the system before the end of 2028, the air force said yesterday.Air force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Lee Ching-jan (
PRAISE: Taiwan’s success, despite being located next to an authoritarian regime, proves that democracy is ‘not a Western patent, but a universal value,’ Carl Gershman said Former foreign ministers from the Czech Republic and the Philippines are to speak at the inaugural Forum for Democratic Cooperation (FDC) in Taipei today. Tomas Petricek, the Czech Republic’s top diplomat from 2018 to 2021, and Delia Domingo Albert, who from 2003 to 2004 was the first woman to serve
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday proposed a draft act on Taiwan’s drone industry to spearhead domestic industries’ transition into the national defense supply chain. The legislators proposed a project to fund the domestic drone industry for NT$550 billion (US$17.49 billion) o
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said this year’s national defense education summer camp would include drone handling and the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) gear training to expose young people to simulated combat scenarios.The camp would be separated into four t
‘SOLE SOURCE OF INSTABILITY’: Wu said China had deployed more than 100 ships along the First Island Chain, and another official said they remain in place National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday said Chinese military activity near Taiwan was “unprovoked,” after Beijing launched its second “joint combat readiness patrol” in a week. Taipei is on high alert for further People’s Republic of China (PRC) actions after President
The legislature is scheduled to review an opposition-backed referendum proposal that would allow caning as a judicial punishment for people convicted of certain crimes.The motion, jointly sponsored by all 52 lawmakers of the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday, proposes punishing th
Taiwan is not expected to face electricity shortages through 2032, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, citing Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) calculations. Cho made the remarks in response to Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) call for more energy. Asked if Taiwan’s energy infrastructure would
The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation has been notified that it should provide the New Taipei City Government with data and documents regarding its finances in an ongoing investigation on alleged off-the-books NT$1 million (US$31,795) donation, the New Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs said yesterday
BE ALERT: The CDC urged doctors to be vigilant in testing and reporting cases of dengue fever after this year’s first case was confirmed last week, much earlier than last year’s A woman in her 60s from central Taiwan who died of meningococcal meningitis one day after the onset of symptoms is the first person in Taiwan to die of the disease this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.The woman, who had a history of hypertension, began experiencing acute s
EVALUATION: Drivers aged 70 to 74 would have until the end of May 2028 to renew their licenses, while drivers aged 75 or older would undergo more rigorous assessments A new policy that lowers the age at which drivers are required to renew their licenses to 70 from 75 is to take effect on Sunday, after a deadly crash involving a 78-year-old driver last year, the Highway Bureau said.The agency proposed the revision after a 78-year-old man surnamed Yu (余) sped throu
SEEKING SERVERS: Manufacturers of electronic components and computer devices adjusted their product portfolios and shipments in line with demand, an official said The industrial production index rose 14.16 percent year-on-year to 125.63 last month, driven by demand for servers and advanced semiconductors amid robust global investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.The manufacturing production in
RECOUPED ORDERS: The company said that to meet demand it must keep close to TSMC, as 3-nanometer chips are in hot demand, ‘even hotter than memory chips’ Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators, yesterday said it has recouped orders from a major customer and expects revenue to regain momentum this year after failing to secure orders from the cus
Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co (合庫金控) and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd (彰化銀行) yesterday struck an upbeat tone on their full-year profit outlook after posting solid earnings growth in the first quarter, underpinned by resilient corporate lending, expanding wealth management income and impro
Taiwanese illustrator Chuchumei (啾啾妹) was told she was not allowed to take part in the Hong Kong Illustration and Creative Show just two days before the exhibition started on Saturday last week. Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that the illustrator published a cartoon on social media in October
After a 29-year-old woman employed at a horror-themed escape room in Taipei died due to a performance accident earlier this month, the Taipei City Government said that it had already required escape room operators to incorporate public safety management measures and had issued safety guidelines.Some
In a Taiwanese university classroom, a lecturer asks in English: “Can anyone give me an example from Taiwan?” Students look down. No one answers. After class, one student writes on the course platform in Mandarin: “I understood the concept, but I didn’t know how to answer in English.” That moment hi
TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE: There is a hope that bonds formed during the All-Star Game weekend can tighten the teamwork between players before the APBC games The All-Star Game weekend of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 18 and 19, the third consecutive year the event would be held at the indoor venue.This year’s showcase features a matchup between a fan-voted “Team Star” squad and “Team Taiwan,
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter.Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evenin
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances.His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official —
Haiti’s first World Cup appearance since 1974 is a source of immense national pride, but Emile, a Haitian living in Ohio, is afraid to attend a match because of US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.“Singing my country’s national anthem in a stadium in front of the whole world is a histo
DEAL IN DOUBT: Hopes of a ceasefire agreement took another blow when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to ‘crush’ Hezbollah in Lebanon US forces on Monday attacked missile sites in southern Iran and ships trying to lay mines, the US Central Command said, imperiling a fragile ceasefire and casting new doubt on a deal to end the Middle East conflict.The strikes came as top Iranian negotiators arrived in Doha for the latest round of t
Forecasters in Europe yesterday warned of exceptional heat as record temperatures driven by a “heat dome” push temperatures well above seasonal norms across the continent.The surge follows a record-breaking Monday, with France logging its hottest day in the month of May on record, its weather agency
A search operation for seven villagers trapped inside a flooded cave in central Laos entered its seventh day yesterday, as rescuers encountered difficult terrain and weather as they tried to reach the group whose condition remains unknown.The villagers entered the cave in Xaisomboun Province on May
The arithmetic is straightforward and uncomfortable. By the end of 2025, Taiwan had committed itself to a 50-30-20 electricity mix — half natural gas, 30 per cent coal, 20 per cent renewables. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’s (MOEA) own monthly energy reports tell a different story. Natural gas re
Taiwan’s drone exports are taking off, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, as Taiwanese companies seek a stake in the fast-growing global market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).Low-cost drones used for reconnaissance and strikes are in high demand as governments around the world boost defense spending
Ajay Verma, a consultant gastroenterologist at Kettering general hospital in Northamptonshire, says our gut is a “complex machine.” “It is constantly providing us with the nutrition we need, initially to grow and develop, and then for us to survive, thrive and repair from injury and illness.” How ca
The animal kingdom is full of surprises that challenge our understanding of biology. From remarkable feeding mechanisms to extreme defense strategies, some creatures possess traits so unusual that they seem like pure fiction. Here are four fascinating examples that show nature’s endless creativity.
Taiwan Travelogue, the novel by Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and translated into English by Lin King, won the prestigious International Booker Prize in London on May 19.It marks the first time a Taiwanese literary work has received the International Booker Prize, setting a historic milestone both
對話 Dialogue清清：最近很多歌手到高雄開演唱會，你想去看嗎？Qīngqing: Zuìjìn hěn duō gēshǒu dào Gāoxióng kāi yǎnchànghuì, nǐ xiǎng qù kàn ma?華華：很想去，不過票真的很難買，而且常常一開賣就沒有了。Huáhua: Hěn xiǎng qù, búguò piào zhēn de hěn nán mǎi, érqiě chángcháng yì kāi mài jiù méiyǒu le.清清：我上次為了搶票，還特別提早準備，結果還是失敗了。Qīngqing: Wǒ shàng cì wèile qiǎng
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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