Sun, Apr 26, 2026
MEDICAL STRATEGY: The government aims to improve the working conditions of healthcare providers, Lai said, adding that ‘simply put — we need to raise their pay’ The government would keep increasing subsidies for complex medical procedures and reforming the compensation system after the National Health Insurance (NHI) budget surpassed NT$1 trillion (US$31.73 billion) for the first time this year, President William Lai (賴清德) told the opening ceremony of the T
Long-term care shortage looms, with the nation projected to see a sharp rise in elderly people needing care, governmental data suggested. The National Development Council’s (NDC) in its 2024 population projections report said that according to the medium projection scenario, Taiwan’s population of p
US envoys yesterday headed to Islamabad to start a new round of peace negotiations with Iran, although Iranian state media said Tehran’s envoys had no immediate plans to hold face-to-face talks. As Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner set off for the Pakistani capital, the White House said they would hol
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday belatedly released his annual medical report, saying that doctors had removed a small “early-stage malignant tumor” from his prostate. In a post on X, the Israeli leader said he had undergone an operation 18 months ago “for an enlarged benign prost
ESWATINI TRIP: The ‘irresponsible actions’ of three African nations set a dangerous precedent and they should be held accountable, a US representative said The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday urged Washington not to normalize Chinese pressure, while a US lawmaker called on the US government to hold countries accountable for yielding to Beijing’s pressure to block President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned trip to Eswatini.Lai had been sche
BROAD-BASED GROWTH: The institute’s president said the upgrade was mainly due to AI-related technologies, which have boosted export and investment prospects Taiwan’s economic outlook has brightened, despite mounting geopolitical risks, as robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) drives exports and investment, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台經院) said yesterday.The Taipei-based think tank raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth
UNFOUNDED CONCERNS: Public concerns that allowing Indian workers to come and work in Taiwan would lead to increased sex crimes are baseless, the labor ministry said Amid public concern over the government’s plan to bring Indian workers to Taiwan, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) pointed to past intake and said that public safety remained stable.Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 told the legislature that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as
One member of a Taiwanese tour group was killed and 12 others were injured when their tour bus rolled over in China’s Gansu Province on Friday, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said yesterdayThe SEF said the group, comprising more than 30 Taiwanese travelers, departed for China on Monday. T
LAPSE IN JUDGEMENT: The squad leader admitted to dereliction of duty and endangering the security of the military unit by falling asleep on his 4am to 6am shift A soldier caught sleeping on duty after playing online games all night has been sentenced to three months’ probation for dereliction of guard duties, the Taichung District Court said in a ruling on Wednesday.The soldier, surnamed Lung (龍), was assigned to the Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade and was re
A court has ruled that a deceased physician’s estate worth several billion New Taiwan dollars must be redistributed among all heirs after invalidating a handwritten will that left the assets to his spouse.The ruling handed down by the High Court on April 8 found procedural defects in the will prepar
The Hualien District Court has sentenced a man to one year in prison for robbing an elementary-school student of NT$100 (US$3.18) to buy a bowl of noodles, citing the defendant’s exploitation of a vulnerable child.The man, surnamed Lee (李), in his late 30s, was found guilty of robbery committed by a
A man was arrested after allegedly kicking a two-year-old Filipino girl in the abdomen in the lobby of Taipei Main Station yesterday afternoon, the Railway Police Bureau said.The bureau’s Taipei Precinct said it received a report at 2:25pm that a member of the public had been pushed and assaulted at
Officials and festivalgoers attending the three- day Thai Festival yesterday both highlighted the strong people-to-people ties between Taiwan and Thailand and the many areas of life, including democracy, that connect the two sides.Speaking at yesterday’s official opening ceremony for the festiva
SHOW OF SUPPORT: An Italian lawmaker said Taiwan should be able to engage in global dialogue without interference, while a German MP advocated for Taipei’s ICAO inclusion Several lawmakers from Germany and Italy on Friday raised concerns over China pressuring three island countries to revoke overflight rights for President William Lai’s (賴清德) charter, which led to the cancelation of his planned trip to Eswatini this week.On Tuesday, less than one day before Lai was t
The Presidential Office yesterday denied a claim that President William Lai’s (賴清德) charter flight was never granted overflight permissions for his trip to Eswatini, calling the claim “rumor mongering.”Lai was on Wednesday scheduled to leave for Eswatini, Taiwan’s sole diplomatic ally in Africa, but
Late every summer, hulking white bears gather outside a tiny Alaska native village on the edge of the continent, far above the arctic circle, to feast on whale carcasses left behind by hunters and to wait for the deep cold to freeze the sea.It is a spectacle that once brought 1,000 or more tourists
As he threaded his way through the scrub in Serbia’s southern hills, Slobodan Velickovic stopped to inspect the small indigo berries that have made the Balkans a key part of the global gin industry.Although still months from the autumn harvest, the 34-year-old picker — who has collected juniper in t
TRANSFORMED: Lip-Bu Tan said that Intel is a fundamentally different company compared with last year, when he became chief executive officer, due to AI demand Intel Corp on Thursday delivered a blockbuster sales forecast that shattered Wall Street expectations, signaling that the long-struggling chipmaker is benefiting from the giant build-out of artificial intelligence (AI) computing.Revenue is expected to be US$13.8 billion to US$14.8 billion in the Jun
On Tuesday last week, the Presidential Office announced, less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to depart, that President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned official trip to Eswatini, Taiwan’s sole diplomatic ally in Africa, had been delayed. It said that the three island nations of Seychelles, Mauriti
Beijing favors the language of kinship to describe cross-strait relations. We are told that people on both sides are “one family,” bound by history and blood. It is a carefully chosen lexicon: warm, intimate and reassuring. Families reconcile. Families support one another. Families do not seek humil
Recent political developments in two very different regions have drawn global attention, with cautious optimism about democracy alongside concerns about instability. Viewing these events from a Taiwanese perspective, we are reassured that not all small democracies are predestined to be dictated by g
WRIST INJURY: The tennis champion was injured at the Barcelona Open earlier in the month, withdrawing from that tournament and upsetting his future schedule Carlos Alcaraz is not playing for a third successive French Open title due to a right wrist injury.Alcaraz said in a social media post on Friday that he would not appear in the Italian Open in Rome, which he won last year.No. 2-ranked Alcaraz was injured at the Barcelona Open this month during his f
When Paddy Dwyer arrived in China in 1976, crowds jostled to catch a glimpse of him and his companions — the first Western soccer team to play in the country.China was emerging from the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, and on the brink of market reforms that would take the country from economic sta
After being accused of sexism in a social media post, Leipzig defeated Union Berlin 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday and dealt coach Marie-Louise Eta her second defeat in as many games in charge.Max Finkgrafe, Romulo and Ridle Baku scored for Leipzig to consolidate third place and move closer to Cham
Before the puck dropped in Friday’s pivotal NHL playoff match, hundreds of Montreal Canadiens fans took their seats in a two century-old Catholic cathedral. However, they were not there to pray that the Canadiens beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 3 of their first round series — they were there to
‘NO EFFECT’: With no legislative elections held since 2006, municipal councils are one of the few functioning democratic institutions under the Palestinian Authority Palestinians in the West Bank and a central area of Gaza yesterday began voting in municipal elections in the first vote since the Gaza war, marked by a narrow political field and widespread disillusionment. About 1.5 million people are registered to vote in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well a
TREND: The rise of natural contraceptive methods, driven by promises of ‘taking control of one’s body,’ is part of the booming wellness industry, a sociologist said After taking the pill for a decade, Elodie Monnier Legrand decided to try “natural” birth control, an increasingly popular trend that requires tracking fertility to avoid becoming pregnant. “I wanted my body to return to its natural state,” the 30-year-old business owner from France said. However, a
The Syrian Ministry of the Interior on Friday said it had arrested the main suspect in the 2013 Tadamon massacre, one of the worst acts of violence attributed to the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, in which 288 civilians were killed. The ministry released footage of Amjad Yous
April 27 to May 3Everything about Castrated Chicken (閹雞) followed the rules — until the Taiwanese folk songs began. As the male choir sang Diu Diu Deng (丟丟銅仔) and June Fields (六月田水), the audience danced and sang along, even calling for the songs to be repeated several times.It was a bold move by the
The January 2028 presidential election is already stirring to life. In seven or eight months, the primary season will kick into high gear following this November’s local elections. By this point next year, we will likely know the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate and whether the Taiwan Pe
Every actor in kabuki — a traditional Japanese performing art celebrated for its striking makeup and elaborate costumes — relies on one final, essential element to fully inhabit their role: the wig.Ahead of a show at the famed Kabuki-za theater in central Tokyo, wig master Tadashi Kamoji carefully p
One reason pistachios have taken the food world by storm compared to other nuts is their soft, green color. When ground down into a cream or butter, the green hue __6__ nicely with golden pastries or dark-brown chocolate, making it perfect for Instagram photos and TikTok videos. Their labor-intensiv
It seems like every year, new foods or drinks start trending and suddenly show up everywhere. A decade ago, avocado __1__ restaurant menus, while oat milk became the must-have addition to your coffee in cafes around five years back. The latest trend to hit this list is the pistachio. This flavorful
A: Besides hit TV drama series like “Pursuit of Jade,” Disney+’s South Korean fortune-telling reality show “Battle of Fates” is also quite eye-catching.B: Fortune-telling reality show? That’s new. Are the competitors all fortune-tellers?A: Yup, 49 top shamans and fortune-tellers compete through d
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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