Thu, Mar 26, 2026
EAST-WEST DIVIDE: The areas with the worst air quality in Taiwan were Kinmen, Kaohsiung and Matsu, while the best were Taitung, Hualien City and Yilan Taiwan’s air quality improved last year, with the annual average concentration of harmful fine-particle matter, or PM2.5, falling to 13.3 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m3), from 17.5mg/m3 in 2024, a report released on Tuesday by IQAir Group showed.Taiwan’s ranking among the world’s most polluted co
The nation’s three major telecoms yesterday pledged to jointly invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to improve mobile phone reception along the high-speed rail (HSR) line to provide uninterrupted, low-latency service, the Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said yesterday.The project is part of the
A rights group yesterday warned that Hong Kong was becoming “increasingly dystopian” after a bookstore owner and his staff were reportedly arrested on suspicion of selling seditious publications, including a biography of jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英).Pong Yat-ming (龐一鳴) and three
Japan yesterday said that it was “regrettable” that a member of its military broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, while Beijing called for the perpetrator to be punished.The Tuesday morning break-in has further soured relations between Beijing and Tokyo, which nosedived over Japanese Prime Minis
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures.The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.”The decision goes against EU
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday thanked a group of US senators for proposing a resolution to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election and to reaffirm US commitment to Taiwan as established in the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances.”Th
Alleged contact between Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) — a resident of Taiwan by marriage since 1998 and director of the Taiwan New Immigrant Development Association — and Chinese officials have raised fresh concerns about Beijing’s attempts to influence Taiwan’s politics.Prosecutors yesterday indicted Xu on sus
A NT$380 billion (US$11.89 billion) spending cap on weapons systems approved by Washington for sale to Taiwan proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is “highly unfeasible” and should be raised to at least NT$800 billion, former KMT lawmaker Jason Hsu (許 毓仁) said yesterday.The KMT’s defens
The US has “quite a high” sense of urgency in helping Taiwan bolster its military capabilities and is working on speeding up delayed weapons deliveries, Minister of Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.Taiwan has complained of repeated delays in weapons ordered from the US, the nation’s top i
DISRUPTION: Most of the medical devices can be made domestically, so as long as the supply of raw materials is maintained, people do not have to worry, an official said Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) yesterday said that the ministry is working with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to ask local plastic material suppliers to prioritize healthcare-related manufacturers to avoid a shortage.The minister was responding to reporters’ question
Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday urged the government to take measures to stabilize the cost of packaging materials made of petrochemical products and prevent hoarding, saying that the war in the Middle East has impacted Taiwanese farmers negatively. Following the disru
Members of youth rights and welfare groups and high-school students yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, urging the Ministry of Health and Welfare to amend what they called the “outdated” Child and Juvenile Welfare and Rights Protection Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法). Since the act was e
DENIAL: Lithuania’s president refuted comments that he agreed to change the office’s name to ‘Taipei,’ saying changes would have to be agreed upon by both governments Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Tuesday said Vilnius would not revisit its decision to allow the Taiwan representative office to operate under its current name — a public break from Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene’s statements.“We must understand that the issue of the name of the Ta
Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil plans to lead a large business delegation to Taiwan in the early summer, although his visit could be complicated by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ planned visit to China around the same time, Czech media outlet Respekt reported on Tuesday. Beijing discourage
EFFECTIVE: Since the trial of the system, which alerts users in Chinese and Taiwanese that the incoming call is from a hidden number, the number of fraud cases has fallen The National Communications Commission (NCC) has been working with mobile telecoms on an alert system for incoming calls from hidden numbers, as part of efforts to combat fraud. Chunghwa Telecom has been testing the system with its mobile users since March 2. Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far
services slipping: Holiday spending in February helped cushion the decline of the services business climate, a survey by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said Taiwan’s business climate weakened last month as manufacturing, services and construction sectors all cooled, although firms remained cautiously optimistic about the longer-term outlook, a survey released yesterday by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) showed.The manufacturing
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding
Air Liquide Electronics Systems yesterday unveiled its first advanced materials plant in Taiwan to supply materials used in the production of 3-nanometer chips and more advanced chips driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.The company has continued to strengthen its presence in Asia by ramp
The Control Yuan on Monday urged the judiciary to impose stricter punishments on military personnel convicted of spying for China and called on the armed forces to strengthen the management of classified information.The government watchdog investigated two cases involving military personnel. One inv
At a time when uncertainty is growing in US-China relations — highlighted by the delay of a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — political parties in Taiwan face increasing pressure to clarify their strategic positions.Yet developments within t
When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stood beside US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday last week, the question was inevitable: Would Japan send naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz?For Taiwan, watching closely, the answer mattered not only for the Middle East, but for how
‘NOT COME EASY’: Jack Roslovic had no comment when asked about Connor McDavid’s claim that he is not a natural at scoring goals, despite two in the game Connor McDavid kept a straight face while making a curious revelation to a group of reporters after surpassing 400 career goals.“Goal scoring is something that has not come easy to me,” the Edmonton Oilers star said on Tuesday after scoring twice in their 5-2 win over the Utah Mammoth, giving him 40
There were some big games to be played yesterday in the NBA, with the Atlanta Hawks to play the Detroit Pistons in a matchup pitting a Hawks team who are rolling against a Pistons team trying to lock up the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed.The Oklahoma City Thunder were to play the Boston Celtics, a
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah on Tuesday said that he would leave the English club at the end of the Premier League season, marking an earlier-than-planned departure for one of the club’s greatest-ever scorers and soccer’s biggest names.The 33-year-old Egypt forward, who has scored 255 goals in 435 a
Soccer fans on Tuesday launched a formal complaint with the European Commission against FIFA over World Cup ticket prices.Football Supporters Europe (FSE) said it joined with consumer group Euroconsumers to allege that soccer’s world governing body had abused its position to impose excessive prices.
BUILDUP: The US is to send at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, in addition to about 5,000 marines, sources said Iran has received a US 15-point plan for a ceasefire for the Iran war through intermediaries from Pakistan, officials in Islamabad said yesterday.The proposal was sent even as Washington began to move paratroopers to the Middle East to back up a contingent of US Marines already heading there.Iran’s
PART ONE: In the next phase of the trial a judge would determine whether Meta should pay for public programs to address the harms social media causes A New Mexico jury on Tuesday determined that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms, a verdict that signals a changing tide against tech companies and the government’s willingness to crack down.The landm
The US space agency is to invest US$20 billion to develop a base on the moon, while suspending its plans to create the lunar orbital space station known as Gateway, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on Tuesday.“The agency intends to pause Gateway in its current form and shift focus to infrastru
Big news this last week as President William Lai (賴清德) came out in support of restarting at least two of the nation’s mothballed nuclear plants. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has long advocated a “nuclear-free” homeland. This possibility had been building since 2023 during the run-up to the
All eyes are on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) and whether internal divisions within the party could bring her down. Comparisons to a previous and unpopular KMT chair, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), abound. That both local and international press are intensely focused on Cheng i
Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan — more from seniors than babies — but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease of life, one hot mess at a time.A pilot project, billed as a world first, reuses the main ingredient in nappies to make new ones, offering h
A: Popular humorous Japanese manga series “Chibi Maruko-chan” and “Crayon Shin-chan” will collaborate for their respective 40th and 35th anniversaries, publishing three crossover stories in April.B: Both were made into TV animation series, becoming huge hits in Asia. What are the crossover stories
In 2024, the number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed 1.31 million, a 50 percent jump from 2022. This sharp rise shows a growing interest in cat ownership. But with more cats comes a type of household waste many people overlook: used cat litter. Unlike food scraps or packaging, it’s harder to manage a
K-pop oozes with talent, flair and hard work, but the spectacularly successful South Korean music industry also has a dark side — sometimes with tragic results.After BTS’s comeback concert on Saturday, AFP looks at the intense competition, the grueling training, the tight control over stars’ lives a
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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