Fri, Mar 13, 2026
ON HOLD: KMT and TPP lawmakers declined to grant the Cabinet prior approval to sign an expected letter of acceptance to buy Altius’ 600 and 700M drones The three main political parties yesterday agreed to authorize the government to sign US agreements for four arms sales packages before the defense budget is passed, after officials warned that Taiwan would go to the back of the line if it missed the deadline.President William Lai’s (賴清德) administra
Nearly 60 percent of Taiwanese polled said they would be willing to resist “at all costs” if China attacks Taiwan and the US does not deploy forces to help, an Academia Sinica survey released yesterday found.The Institute of European and American Studies’ “American Portrait” survey found that 58.7 p
China yesterday passed a law on a “shared” national identity among the country’s 55 ethnic minority groups, a move critics say would further erode the identity of people who are not majority Han Chinese and risk making anyone challenging that “unity” a separatist punishable by law.The Law on Promoti
Iran’s unrelenting attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf yesterday pushed oil back above US$100 a barrel, as US and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.Iran is trying to inflict enough global economic pain to pre
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance.Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the afterm
MORE OPTIONS: The bill seeks to ‘harden a critical weak point’ in the Indo-Pacific region by finding ways to diversify and protect Taiwan’s energy infrastructure US Representative Pat Harrigan yesterday introduced the Taiwan Energy Security and Anti-Embargo Act of 2026, saying it would ensure “Taiwan isn’t left vulnerable to supply shocks, coercion by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP], or external geopolitical turmoil.”“Energy is leverage,” Harrigan, a Repub
TRAFFIC DATA: The most common accidents involved single-vehicle crashes, and Kaohsiung saw the highest number of traffic-related deaths at 307 people last year The nation last year failed to meet its annual goal of reducing traffic-related deaths by 7 percent, despite an overall downward trend, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.Last year, 2,858 people were killed nationwide within 30 days of traffic accidents, down 3.1 percen
The “running” animation of pedestrian lights is to be phased out by the end of this year to avoid encouraging pedestrians to rush across roads, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said yesterday.The decision was made during a road safety briefing at the Executive Yuan on Wednesd
Parents should teach their children about bodily autonomy and respect their wishes regarding personal space, Taiwan Fund for Children and Families goodwill ambassador Ruby Lin (林心如) said yesterday, after a poll showed that more than half of minors said they had been touched in a way that made them f
Taiwanese dancing-doll orchids account for 90 percent of the Japanese dancing-doll orchid market, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, adding that Japan has become Taiwan’s second-largest flower and seedling export market.A delegation led by Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) on Wed
INNOVATIVE: Yu Shao-min, who combines popped rice with produce such as tea, bean curd and peanut butter, said such processing approaches add value to the crop The Agriculture and Food Agency has set up a pavilion at the Taipei International Bakery Show to promote rice-based bakery products along with the domestic rice industry.The show began yesterday and runs through Sunday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.The average price for rice exports increa
LONG-ARM JURISDICTION: The law was passed as a legal base to attack and punish supporters of independence in Taiwan, MAC Deputy Minister Shen Yu-chung said Beijing is expected to intensify long-arm jurisdiction and transnational persecution against dissidents in China and abroad after the passage of the Act on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress at the Chinese National People’s Congress, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.The act
The General Association of Chinese Culture (GACC) is to convene a meeting on Tuesday next week to discuss altering the association’s English name to include “Taiwan,” association secretary-general Lee Hou-ching (李厚慶) said yesterday.Association members and officials have repeatedly called for the org
DELAYING THE REVIEW: DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu condemned the KMT for the ‘inspection,’ when the priority should be reviewing the government’s budgets Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday visited the military airbase at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to probe alleged misuse of funds by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on his one-day visit to Japan last week, while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused the opposit
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could have held off flying military aircraft close to Taiwan over the past two weeks over fear of defections by pilots, Taiwanese researchers said yesterday.The decline in sorties could be due to factors other than US President Donald Trump’s planned state
STABILITY MECHANISMS: Kung Ming-hsin said that oil supply sources are diversified across multiple countries, meaning that if some routes close, they could be redirected The government will prioritize price stability when considering electricity and fuel price adjustments amid volatile global energy markets, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, ahead of a meeting of the electricity price review committee later this month.Global prices of
Asian buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) are preparing for the war in the Middle East to disrupt deliveries for months, as a prolonged outage at the world’s largest export plant tightens supply and lifts prices.Companies in Thailand are looking to buy LNG cargoes for delivery through May, traders
NEW PRODUCTION LINES: E Ink chairman Johnson Lee said that he is bullish about the market for outdoor digital signage, ‘so we have to keep expanding capacity’ E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技) yesterday said it plans NT$5 billion to NT$8 billion (US$157.01 million to US$251.22 million) in capital expenditure this year, compared with NT$5 billion last year, as the world’s largest e-paper display supplier continues capacity expansion to produce electronic shelf lab
While tens of thousands of baseball fans watched Taiwan defeat the Czech Republic 14-0 to secure their first victory at the World Baseball Classic at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) was also at the game, marking the first visit to Japan by a sitting Taiwanese premier since the
If the recent escalation involving the US, Israel and Iran has demonstrated anything, it is that the international community must prepare for a period of heightened global uncertainty extending well beyond Europe and the Middle East. The Indo-Pacific region could well become the next focus. In many
The Iran war has exposed a fundamental vulnerability in the global energy system. The escalating confrontation between Iran, Israel and the US has begun to shake international energy markets, largely because Iran is disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway carries rough
CHELSEA TROUNCED: Despite there being six English teams in the last 16, none of them won on Wednesday and only two avoided defeat, with PSG beating Chelsea Federico Valverde on Wednesday scored an unlikely hat-trick as Real Madrid trounced Manchester City 3-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie, while holders Paris Saint-Germain beat Chelsea 5-2.Premier League leaders Arsenal snatched a 1-1 draw against Bayer 04 Leverkusen to pr
Canada on Wednesday advanced past the first round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time, beating Cuba 7-2 in a winner-take-all game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, behind Abraham Toro’s homer and Otto Lopez’s two-run single.Brothers Bo Naylor and Josh Naylor drove in runs, Owen Caissie ha
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hou
North Korea yesterday pledged that there would be no more sideline protests during their Women’s Asian Cup quarter-final against Australia after causing a stir against China.An incensed North Korea refused to play for several minutes in their 2-1 loss to China during a group game on Monday.They were
STILL IN POWER: US intelligence reports showed that the Iranian regime is not in danger of collapse and retains control of the public, casting doubt on Trump’s exit Nearly every US Senate Democrat on Wednesday signed a letter sent to US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requesting a “swift investigation” of airstrikes on a girls’ school in Iran that killed scores of children and any other potential US military actions causing civilian harm.Reuters reported on T
Since the war in the Middle East began nearly two weeks ago, the telephone at Ron Hubbard’s bomb shelter company in Texas has not stopped ringing.Foreign and US clients are rushing to buy his bunkers, seeking refuge in case of air raids, nuclear fallout or apocalypse.With the US and Israel pounding
ACTIONABLE ADVICE: The majority of chatbots tested provided guidance on weapons, tactics and target selections, with Perplexity and Meta AI deemed to be the least safe From school shootings to synagogue bombings, leading artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots helped researchers plot violent attacks, according to a study published on Wednesday that highlighted the technology’s potential for real-world harm.Researchers from the nonprofit watchdog Center for Counterin
When my friend invited me to take a tour of a wooden house hand-built by a Pingtung County resident, my curiosity was instantly piqued and I readily agreed to join him. If it was built by a single person, it would surely be quite small. If it was made of wood, it would surely be cramped, dingy and m
It starts out as a heartwarming clip. A young girl, clearly delighted to be in Tokyo, beams as she makes a peace sign to the camera. Seconds later, she is shoved to the ground from behind by a woman wearing a surgical mask. The assailant doesn’t skip a beat, striding out of shot of the clip filmed b
It is as captivating as it is divisive: the tale of two Chinese American athletes who have so much in common but make such different choices.Eileen Gu, a 22-year-old freestyle skier, and Alysa Liu, a 20-year-old figure skater, were both born to Chinese immigrants in California, and both were brought
A: Which team do you think will win the championship in the 2026 World Baseball Classic?B: The previous champion Japan and runner-up the US are exceptionally strong. A: The Taiwan team was captained by Chen Chieh-hsien with a roster of 16 pitchers, 3 catchers and 11 fielders, and was quite strong
A: Did you watch the preliminary games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic? Pool C included Australia, the Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. All the games in Tokyo were absolutely intense.B: Of course. Many teams called up star players from Major League Baseball this time. Going up aga
The English Lake District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017, is renowned for its landscapes, literary legacy and traditional farming. Yet, its esteemed status now sits at the center of a debate: is the designation protecting the region—or harming it? Conservationist Lee Schofield has sparked
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% | |
RSS