Tue, Mar 17, 2026
Taiwan’s main weapons research-and-development unit is working to develop low-cost munitions to counter China’s potential use of similar weapons in a conflict that could deplete Taiwan’s stock of air defense missiles.Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Com
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE: The victory was Tang’s second gold medal in the World Cup series after he also won the horizontal bar title in Baku, Azerbaijan, earlier this month Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia- hung (唐嘉鴻) on Sunday won gold in the men’s horizontal bar event at the Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Antalya, Turkey, finishing with a score of 15.200.Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500, an execution s
US President Donald Trump might delay his China trip due to the Iran war, but US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent yesterday said that it is not to pressure Beijing on the Strait of Hormuz.Bessent said any delay to Trump’s trip to Beijing would not be because of disagreements over the Iran war
The Philippines yesterday said that it rejects Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, disputing a claim by China’s embassy that a Filipino diplomat had once conceded the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) was not part of Philippine territory.“China must be
RESILIENCE: The subsidies would fund disaster response equipment, air-raid shelters and protection of critical infrastructure, and bolster counterterrorism capabilities The Ministry of the Interior has announced subsidy standards for measures aimed at bolstering national security and resilience, with a NT$6.25 billion (US$195.8 million) budget earmarked. Following the passage of the special resilience act at the legislature last year, the ministry outlined details
LEGISLATION: Those who advocate, promote or support the initiation of war against Taiwan would face a NT$1 million fine under the draft amendments The Executive Yuan would prioritize pushing forward 13 national security bills during this legislative session, a government official familiar with the matter said yesterday, adding that these measures are crucial to Taiwan’s security and should receive cross-party support. In December last year, th
CLOSE COOPERATION The ninth Yushan Forum saw some old faces and some new ones as Lai spoke about building closer cooperation and trade in the Indo-Pacific President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for closer cooperation among democratic partners to strengthen supply chains and economic resilience, saying that Taiwan wanted to work with like-minded countries to form “international teams.”Speaking at the opening of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, Lai sai
Former Munich Security Conference Chair Christoph Heusgen has urged global democracies to stand united to preserve the rules-based international order, given the challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to Taiwan and the world.In an address delivered at a dinner during the annual
Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya yesterday suggested establishing exchanges between military bands of Taiwan, Japan and the US.Furuya, who is also head of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council and chair of the Japanese House of Representatives’ Commission on the Constitution, made the sugge
The Chinese public maintains relatively amicable sentiments toward Taiwan and strongly prefers non-military routes to improving cross-strait relations, a survey conducted by the US-based Carter Center and Emory University showed.The “China Pulse” research project, which polled 2,506 adults between O
The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) has ordered a retrial of the appeal of a case of a Chinese spouse whose permanent residency application was rejected due to her decades of employment by a Chinese state-owned bank, which the Ministry of the Interior considers “a Chinese political institution.”L
DUBIOUS LEGITIMACY Li Zhenxiu’s saga continues as Executive Yuan officials chose not to respond to her questions or provide information she requested Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) was granted permission not to respond to questions from Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) during Li’s first legislative inquiry yesterday, as questions over her eligibility to serve continued to loom.Although Li has held a Taiwanese
Bills to support families, children and childcare are being prioritized by a group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.DPP lawmakers Fan Yun (范雲), Huang Jie (黃捷) and Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) formed the “Fight for the Next Generation Alliance,” and highlighted 11 bills to push for approval durin
The number of workers placed on formal unpaid leave programs in Taiwan in the first half of this month stood at about 3,800, with more than 70 percent affected by US tariffs on Taiwanese exports, according to the Ministry of Labor (MOL).A total of 3,839 workers at 240 companies were furloughed as of
DOWNTREND: Births last year fell for a 10th year to a record 107,812, far below official projections of 126,000, as fewer people are getting married or having children With Taiwan’s birthrate falling to an all-time low last year, the National Development Council (NDC) yesterday conceded that the government’s birthrate projections in a report published in 2024 were “too optimistic.”“The previous estimates were too optimistic, resulting in a relatively large discrep
OPTIMISTIC: Inflation still has a chance of remaining below the central bank’s 2 percent alert level, as Taiwan’s economy is resilient with healthy exports, the NDC minister said Taiwan’s inflation could exceed 2 percent this year if oil prices continue to surge amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, prompting the government to reassess its economic outlook, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.DGBAS Minister Chen Shu-tzu
WAIT AND SEE: The central bank needs more time to observe the situation in the Middle East and how energy prices could rise before changing rates, analysts said The central bank is expected to leave its key interest rates unchanged for the ninth consecutive quarter due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, economists said, ahead of the bank’s upcoming policymaking meeting slated for Thursday.Amid the Middle East conflict, global energy prices have surged,
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) yesterday adjusted upward its forecast for the nation’s GDP growth this year from 3 percent to 5.8 percent, citing robust growth momentum seen so far this year, driven by artificial intelligence (AI)-related exports and investment demand.As the situation in the Mid
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday last week announced it is launching investigations into 16 US trading partners, including Taiwan, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine whether they have engaged in unfair trade practices, such as overproduction. A day l
After Taiwan’s 13-0 defeat to Japan in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on March 6, some people on social media brought up the Legislative Yuan’s slashing of sports budgets. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liao Wei-hsiang (廖偉翔) responded: “What size budget would it take to beat Shohei Oht
Taiwan is not invited to the table. It never has been, but this year, with the Philippines holding the ASEAN chair, the question that matters is no longer who gets formally named, it is who becomes structurally indispensable.The “one China” formula continues to do its job. It sets the outer boundary
THRILLING GAME: The loaded US roster featuring Paul Skenes, Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge reached their third straight WBC final game, after 2017 and 2023 Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony on Sunday homered, and the US limited the Dominican Republic’s electric offense to win a thrilling semi-final 2-1 and move one win from capturing their second World Baseball Classic (WBC) championship. The loaded US roster led by NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skene
Home runs are greeted with a celebratory shot of espresso and the donning of an Armani jacket. Victories are marked with bottles of red wine while the soaring voice of opera singer Andrea Bocelli echoes through the locker room. Welcome to baseball, Italian-style. Written off as 80-1 underdogs before
Troubled Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday rescued a 1-1 draw at Liverpool thanks to Richarlison’s late leveler, while Manchester United bolstered their bid to qualify for the UEFA Champions League with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa. Igor Tudor’s relegation-haunted side trailed to Dominic Szoboszlai’s fir
Jannik Sinner on Sunday beat Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4), winning seven straight points to rally from a 4-0 deficit in the second-set tiebreak and claim the title without dropping a single set. The No. 2-ranked Italian beat Medvedev for the ninth time in their last 10
MICHIGAN SHOOTING: The Israeli military alleges that Ayman Ghazali’s brother was a Hezbollah commander who managed weapons for a unit that fired rockets at Israel The man who attacked a Michigan synagogue was the brother of a Hezbollah commander killed earlier this month in an Israeli airstrike, Israel’s military said on Sunday.Ibrahim Ghazali was killed in the March 5 strike in Lebanon along with three other relatives of the attacker in Michigan — a week bef
A Swedish court on Sunday ordered the detention of the Russian captain of a ship that was suspected to be sailing under a false flag in the Baltic Sea and was boarded by authorities last week.The commander of the Sea Owl 1, whose name has not been released, was arrested on Friday last week — the day
‘HEALTH ISSUE’: More than 250 women are hospitalized every day due to complications from unsafe abortions, and about three die, a study showed Jane had been bleeding heavily for days before finally seeking help, not from a hospital, but from the man who sold her the pills meant to end her six-week pregnancy.Abortions are strictly outlawed in the mainly Catholic Philippines, forcing women to turn to a patchwork of providers operating in the
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” was crowned best picture at the 98th Academy Awards, handing Hollywood’s top honor to a comic, multi-generational American saga of political resistance.The ceremony Sunday, which also saw Michael B. Jordan win best actor and “Sinners” cinematographer
In Kaohsiung’s Indigenous People’s Park (原住民主題公園), the dance group Push Hands is training.All its members are from Taiwan’s indigenous community, but their vibe is closer to that of a modern, urban hip-hop posse.MIXING CULTURES“The name Push Hands comes from the idea of pushing away tradition to exp
Last week the government announced that by year’s end Taiwan will have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world. Its inventory could exceed 1,400, or enough for the opening two hours of an invasion from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Snark aside, it sounds impressive. But an imp
Every few years, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) offers sports fans a real World Series. At its finest, as in the shocking upset on Tuesday last week of the US team by Italy, the games generate the kind of electricity fans feel at the FIFA World Cup.That’s exactly how Major League Baseball (MLB), w
對話 Dialogue清清：華華，別忘了這禮拜五晚上，老闆請喝春酒喔！Q?ngqing: Huahua, bie wangle zhe l?baiw? w?nshang, l?ob?n q?ng h? ch?nji? o!華華：啊！我差點忘了，謝謝提醒。Huahua: A! W? chadi?n wangle, xiexie tix?ng.清清：老闆人真好，過年前請我們吃尾牙，過完年又請吃春酒。Q?ngqing: L?ob?n ren zh?n h?o, guonian qian q?ng w?men ch? W?iya, guowan nian you q?ng ch? ch?nji?.華華
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？1. 她德語說得和她老師一樣流利。ˇ Her German is as fluent as her teacher’s.ˇ She speaks German as fluently as her teacher (does).χ Her German is as fluent as her teacher.註︰這裏所比的是「她的德語」和「她老師的德語」，而不是把她的德語和她的老師這個人相比，所以必須說 her teacher’s，即 her teacher’s German。或把「她說德語」和「她老師說德語」比較。2. 一般認為北部人
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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