Tue, Jun 09, 2026
WARNING: Chinese marines ‘are attempting to first claim the eastern waters as their domain, like casting a large spider’s web over the area,’ an official said Chinese Coast Guard patrols to the east of Taiwan are a “provocative act” and the military would closely coordinate with the Coast Guard Administration in responding, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.China reacted after Japan and the Philippines said last month they w
Shares in Taiwan recorded their third-heaviest point decline in history yesterday after a plunge on Wall Street on Friday amid renewed fears over the US Federal Reserve turning hawkish. The technology sector bore the brunt of losses as investors cashed out following a breathtaking surge over the pas
Iran yesterday signaled an end to its military operations against Israel just after US President Donald Trump said the two sides were looking to agree to an immediate ceasefire following a series of tit-for-tat strikes that threatened to derail talks aimed at ending the war in the Middle East. Iran’
A magnitude-7.8 earthquake in the southern Philippines yesterday killed at least 35 people, provincial authorities said. The earthquake toppled buildings and sparked tsunami warnings across the region. National disaster authorities said at least a dozen people were still missing, while 134 were inju
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enf
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan.The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat."The potential threat zone incl
Prosecutors yesterday sought a prison sentence of at least 12 years and six months for independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅), who was indicted on suspicion of embezzling more than NT$7.87 million (US$249,208) in fraudulent assistant salaries and subsidies, and illegally importing medical devices du
TRUMP-XI SUMMIT: US-China relations might have improved after the meeting, but this would not reduce Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, a survey showed Nearly 80 percent of Taiwanese do not think China has reduced its military pressure on Taiwan after the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing last month, a survey released by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research showed.The ins
SELECT LIST: Questioned about the presence of a Chinese suspected of doing ‘united front’ work, the KMT said only Taiwanese expatriates and their associates were invited Banquets held in honor of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) during her US trip are open only to Taiwanese expatriates, and non-Taiwanese attendees are there at the invitation of Taiwanese expatriates, the party said yesterday.The KMT released the statement after Taiwan St
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is “distorting her political record” on Taiwan’s defense policy and misrepresenting her political stance to US audiences, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) mission in the US said in a news release on Sunday.Cheng’s trip, her first to
Taiwan-based Gusa Press editor-in-chief Li Yanhe (李延賀) was released from a Chinese prison last month, but is barred from leaving China due to a one-year deprivation of political rights imposed as part of his sentence, preventing his return to Taiwan, a source said yesterday.Li, better known by his p
Taiwan could experience its heaviest rainfall of the week today and tomorrow as a weather front and seasonal southeasterly winds continue to affect the island, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).Short bursts of heavy rain are expected across the island, with thunderstorms possible
CYBERSECURITY COLLABORATION: Microsoft, which fields 100 trillion cybersecurity signals each day, will work with NICS to address threats and protect crucial utilities The National Institute of Cyber Security (NICS) and Microsoft Corp yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly address cybersecurity threats, use artificial intelligence to buttress the resilience of critical infrastructure and promote the adoption of a “Zero Trust” cybersecurity
THROW THE BOOK: The reclassification as a Category 1 drug would open up the possibility of the death penalty for cases involving making, selling or moving the drug The Ministry of Justice is planning to classify etomidate as a Category 1 narcotic, with drug trafficking punishable by death, Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) said yesterday.Cheng made the remark at the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee when reporting on drug
The Yilan District Court has sentenced the owner of a private Taoist temple in Yilan to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting a female devotee.The court found the temple’s owner, Huang Kuo-ching (黃國靖), guilty of 39 counts of sexual assault committed between December 2020 and November 2023, the
BRIGHT FUTURE: When asked about the global chip stock rout, Huang waved off concerns, saying everybody should be excited as they can buy stock at a cheaper price Nvidia Corp yesterday announced a series of deals in South Korea with tech giants including SK Hynix Inc and Naver Corp, as it looks to secure crucial memory chips to power its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions and entice new customers.The agreements come during a high-profile trip to South Kor
The New Taiwan fell sharply against the US dollar yesterday to close at its lowest level since May 22 amid a massive outflow of funds from the country because of investors panicking over global equity markets.The NT dollar ended at NT$31.580 against the US dollar, slightly lower than a previous reco
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is now ranked ninth among the world’s 100 most valuable companies after its market capitalization more than doubled over the past year, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Taiwan said in a report last month.TSMC’s market capitalization surged 101 percent ye
After completing investigations into the US’ major trading partners over the importation of goods produced with forced labor under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Tuesday last week announced that it had proposed additional tariffs on 60 econo
Yesterday morning delivered a reminder of our shared geological vulnerability. At 7:37am, a massive magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Mindanao in the Philippines, sending shockwaves through the region and triggering immediate alerts across the Pacific Ring of Fire. Southeast Asia is facing an escalati
As semiconductor manufacturing crosses the 2-nanometer threshold into the era of the angstrom, the global chip race is now about much more than shrinking dimensions. It has become a broader system of competition encompassing transistor architecture, backside power delivery, advanced packaging, manuf
YEARS OF NEAR-MISSES: Zverev revealed that he experienced ‘mental cramps’ during the match, but in the end they helped him get over the line Alexander Zverev on Sunday said that he hopes winning his first Grand Slam crown at the French Open would unblock the path to more major titles after years of near-misses and heartbreak on the biggest stage.Zverev broke his major drought at the fourth time of asking by beating Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-
Kyle Freeland on Sunday stepped off the mound and tipped his cap to the cheering fans and then in the direction of his family.Just a brief pause to soak in the moment before returning right back to work.Freeland, the left-handed pitcher who grew up going to games at Coors Field, became the Colorado
The Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) season concluded on Sunday, when Taipower charged to a 3-0 win over MCU Desafio of Taipei in the relegation match at Kaohsiung’s Nanzih Soccer Field.Forwards Yang Cheng-ying and Lai Wei scored before halftime for Taipower to go ahead by two at halftime, then
Ollie Robinson on Sunday insisted his return to England duty was “just the start” of his second act as an international cricketer after starring in a 115-run win in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s in London.Robinson spent more than two years in England exile as he faced questions about
IMPERFECT ALLIANCE: North Korea’s commitment to its nuclear program has been a thorn in the relationship, as Beijing wants to see a denuclearized Korean Peninsula Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday made a rare visit to North Korea, where he met an emboldened North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who has drawn closer to Moscow while expanding his country’s nuclear weapons program. Xi’s trip to Pyongyang was his first since 2019 and came after he hosted a s
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling party has won parliamentary elections, preliminary results showed yesterday, cementing the nation’s Westward tilt after threats from Moscow and claims of Russian interference. Pashinyan has sought to loosen the ex-Soviet republic’s dependence on Mosco
‘BIG MISTAKE’? Diego Garcia’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it a military installation of significant importance to the US, a US official said The White House is considering a plan to buy the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, the Telegraph reported on Sunday. US officials have drawn up a proposal to bypass the UK and make their own deal to take control of Diego Garcia, the report said. The plan is among several options being drafted by the Wh
Audiences in Leicester, Cardiff, London and Sheffield will this month gather to watch a series of black-and-white Taiwanese-language films made more than 70 years ago. On the surface, these screenings commemorate the seventieth anniversary of taiyupian (台語片) — Taiwanese-language cinema. Yet the sign
In December of 2008 Lee E-tin (李乙廷), a Miaoli county legislative hopeful, was convicted of vote-buying. Rather than buy votes retail, voter by voter, in the usual manner, Lee had done it wholesale, in a commendably efficient manner: he had visited local temples and made donations to gain their suppo
June 8 to June 14It was once said that flowers bloomed throughout the four seasons in Yunxiaocuo (雲霄厝). Not real ones, but “incense flowers,” referring to a radiating circular formation of freshly cut incense sticks set out to dry.Up until the 1970s, almost every woman in the settlement in Chiayi Ci
Laptop chipmakers such as Intel and AMD should be worried about their new rival Nvidia, experts say, after the US hardware titan announced on June 1 a push into the personal computer market. But despite Nvidia boss Jensen Huang’s assertion that homes will soon contain AI supercomputers, the race is
對話 Dialogue清清：華華，你剛剛做的那份簡報太頂了！內容好完整。Qīngqing: Huáhua, nǐ gānggāng zuò de nà fèn jiǎnbào tài dǐng le! Nèiróng hǎo wánzhěng.華華：真的嗎？我連續熬夜改了好幾次，還很擔心不夠好。Huáhua: Zhēnde ma? Wǒ liánxù áoyè gǎile hǎojǐ cì, hái hěn dānxīn búgòu hǎo.清清：不會啦！我看見經理頻頻點頭，應該很滿意。Qīngqing: Búhuì la! Wǒ kànjiàn jīnglǐ pínpín diǎntóu,
1. 部長由總統任命，直接對總統負責。ˇ The Secretary serves at the pleasure of the President and is responsible directly to the President.χ The Secretary serves at the pleasure of the President and is responsible directly for the President.註：「對人負責」，用 to be responsible to；說「對事負責」，用 to be responsible for。例如： The govern
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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