Wed, Feb 18, 2026
‘COLLECTIVE DEFENSE’: The US pledged to help modernize the Philippine armed forces, and increase deployments of cutting-edge missiles and uncrewed systems to the Philippines The US and the Philippines on Monday reaffirmed the importance of regional security in the Taiwan Strait following the 12th Philippines-United States Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Manila.Washington and Manila in a joint statement released by the US Department of State emphasized collective defense
Manila takes “strong exception” to a statement by the Chinese embassy in Manila that the simmering diplomatic spat between the two countries could result in millions of jobs being lost, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said, adding that such comments could be seen as coercive.The Philipp
Traditional prayers, fireworks and fairs yesterday marked the Lunar New Year — alongside 21st-century humanoid robots.The activities ushered in the Year of the Horse, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, succeeding the Year of the Snake.The solemn peal of a temple bell rang out 108 times — an au
Charismatic US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, an eloquent Baptist minister raised in the segregated south who became a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr and twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, has died at age 84, his family said in a statement yesterday.“Our father was a
TEAMWORK: All parties should prioritize national defense and key security issues, which requires cooperation and long-term, stable support, the DPP’s Chen Pei-yu said A proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.66 billion) special defense budget would be a top priority for the Legislative Yuan when it reconvenes after the Lunar New Year holiday, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said yesterday after a group of 37 US lawmakers sent letters to Taiwanese politicians expre
HOT AND COLD: Seasonal winds were expected to affect Taiwan today, with the CWA urging people to remain alert to big day-night temperature drops The Freeway Bureau yesterday warned of heavy traffic and potential congestion on 12 major sections of freeways and highways today, the first day of the Lunar New Year, when people typically make courtesy calls to relatives and friends, or visit temples and scenic spots.Traffic volume on national hig
CONSENSUS? The legislative speaker and his deputy have said that the special defense budget would be a top priority when the legislature reconvenes after the holiday President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called on lawmakers across party lines to promptly pass a special defense budget and the central government’s general budget once the legislature reconvenes after the Lunar New Year recess.Lai made the remarks at Longshan Temple (龍山寺) in Taipei’s Wanhua District
US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) warned him not to do so.“I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump said, adding tha
Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) was hospitalized yesterday after falling down a flight of stairs while attending a Lunar New Year event at the Penghu County Performance Hall in Magong City.The incident occurred at about 3pm as Chen was entering the venue. He struck his head in the fal
CALLIGRAPHY: Aside from training the brain, eyes and hands, writing auspicious messages on bright, red paper can lift the mind and the soul Writing spring couplets is good for one’s health, as it trains hand-eye coordination, concentration and cognitive ability, and can even help ease anxiety and loneliness, Taiwanese academics said.Calligraphy trains coordination between the eyes, hands and brain, as the eyes follow the brushstrokes an
The public is advised to use serving utensils during holiday banquets to reduce the risk of Helicobacter pylori infection, which is a common cause of stomach cancer, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.With Lunar New Year reunion dinners in full swing, diners passing dishes back
Some 280 artifacts from the days of Egypt’s pharaohs are now on display in Tainan, courtesy of the prestigious British Museum, in what has been hailed as the biggest Egyptology exhibition to ever be held in Taiwan.The show at Chimei Museum, which runs until January 2027, is the Tainan museum’s
Heavy traffic congests the southbound lane of the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) near New Taipei City’s Sansia District yesterday, the first day of the Lunar New Year.
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget.The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons
Representatives to Taiwan from the US and Japan earlier this month showcased signature New Year dishes from their countries, including Japanese mochi and Kentucky bourbon, ahead of the arrival of the Year of the Horse that begins today.Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), American Instit
BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE: India is seeking a larger role in shaping how AI is built and deployed globally, and does not see itself strictly as a ‘rule maker or rule taker’ India is hoping to garner as much as US$200 billion in investments for data centers over the next few years as it scales up its ambitions to become a hub for artificial intelligence (AI), Indian Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said yesterday.The investments under
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) is partnering with Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) to deploy the US chipmaker’s latest artificial intelligence (AI) data center technology in India, challenging Nvidia Corp in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.AMD is to offer its Helios data center bluep
TRIPLE WHAMMY: Weather brought the harvest forward, with fruit arriving too early for the Lunar New Year, while Chinese consumers’ purchasing power has deteriorated Chile notched a second disappointing season of cherry sales in China after exporting too much fruit too far ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, when consumption traditionally peaks.Weather conditions brought Chile’s harvest forward by about 10 days, concentrating a larger volume of fruit in the ear
To our readers:Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Feb. 15, through Sunday, Feb. 22, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Mondy to Thursday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at
With the Year of the Snake reaching its conclusion on Monday next week, now is an opportune moment to reflect on the past year — a year marked by institutional strain and national resilience. For Taiwan, the Year of the Snake was a composite of political friction, economic momentum, social unease an
There is a story in India about a boy called Prahlad who was an ardent worshipper of Lord Narayana, whom his father considered an enemy. His son’s devotion vexed the father to the extent that he asked his sister, Holika, who could not be burned by fire, to sit with the boy in her lap and burn him to
‘EVERYONE SAW’: The visitors were left fuming after Jules Kounde was fouled by Claudio Echeverri in the buildup to the winning goal and it went unpunished Spanish champions Barcelona on Monday fell to a damaging 2-1 defeat at Girona to leave them trailing Real Madrid by two points at the top of La Liga.Los Blancos beat Real Sociedad on Saturday to overtake the Catalans and Hansi Flick’s side could not defeat Girona in an gripping derby clash to reclai
Marie-Philip Poulin will not dispute how good the US have looked in romping through the women’s ice hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina Games, and Canada’s captain will readily acknowledge her team has yet to come close to playing their best.What matters to Poulin, who continues building upon he
Jannik Sinner on Monday cruised to victory over Tomas Machac in the opening round of the Qatar Open in his first match since his unsuccessful Australian Open title defense.The world No. 2 eased past the 31st-ranked Czech 6-1, 6-4 to set up a second-round meeting with Alexei Popyrin in Doha, where Ca
Amanda Anisimova on Monday was handed a walkover into the last 16 of the Dubai Open after her opponent Barbora Krejcikova was forced to withdraw from the WTA 1000 event.The American second seed enters the round-of-16 against Janice Tjen without swinging a racket as two-time Grand Slam winner Krejcik
POST-UPRISING: Bangladesh Nationalist Party lawmakers were yesterday expected to formally elect Tarique Rahman as their leader and new head of government Bangladesh’s prime minister-to-be Tarique Rahman and lawmakers were yesterday sworn into parliament, becoming the first elected representatives since a deadly 2024 uprising.Rahman is set to take over from an interim government that has steered the country of 170 million people for 18 months since t
‘ISLAMIC STATE BRIDES’: Returnees would face prosecution if they are linked to crimes, Home Affairs said, while a right-wing party gains support Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday said that his government would not help Australians in a Syrian camp holding families of suspected Islamic State (IS) militants return home, with the government open to prosecutions if they make it back.“We have a very firm view that we won’t be p
LUNAR NEW YEAR: The Japanese prime minister’s refusal to relent over Taiwan comments on defense brought more criticism and travel warnings from Beijing Chinese tourists are continuing to shun Japan in large numbers, with the country falling out of the top 10 destinations for those celebrating the Lunar New Year with a trip abroad.Japan has had a dramatic drop in the number of Chinese visitors since the end of last year, as a diplomatic row between
Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Feb. 15, through Sunday, Feb. 22, there will be no Features pages. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 23, when Features will also be resumed. Kung Hsi Fa Tsai!
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moving the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds before midnight last month symbolized the closest humanity has ever been to global catastropheIn this context, the legislature remains gridlocked over the general budget, mirroring tensions simmering across the globe. Acco
Feb. 16 to Feb. 22Pai Ko’s (白克) film career appeared poised to reach new heights in 1962 with the completion of the highly-anticipated, star-studded Romance of Longshan Temple (龍山寺之戀). Despite being mainly in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), the film promoted harmony between those born in China
Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Feb. 15, through Sunday, Feb. 22, there will be no Bilingual Pages. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 23, when Bilingual Pages will also be resumed.
A tragic case in California has brought renewed attention to the risks of using artificial intelligence. The parents of a 16-year-old boy, Adam Raine, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT provided harmful information that encouraged his suicide. According to the com
A: Have you suddenly become so obsessed with ice sports because of the ongoing 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics?B: Apart from this, it’s also because of my obsession with an ice hockey-themed TV series, “Heated Rivalry.” A: Is that the gay romance drama where two ice hockey stars unexpectedly f
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