Sat, Feb 21, 2026
Lithuania aims to better harness the economic potential of cooperation with Taiwan, while also restoring “normal diplomatic relations” with China, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda was quoted as saying on Thursday.“We are interested in normal diplomatic relations with China, but at the same time
JOINT EFFORT: Taiwan welcomed Japan’s remarks about the importance of peace in the Strait and urged countries to work together to defend regional security Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday warned of growing Chinese “coercion” in her first post-election speech to the Japanese parliament, pledging to overhaul defense strategy, ease curbs on military exports and bolster critical supply chains.Takaichi’s tenure has been marked by a diplomat
US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula this week, Yonhap News agency reported, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers.About 10 US fighter jets on Wednesday departed an airbase in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, for drills above in
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to lift living standards as he opened a landmark congress, state media said yesterday, offering a glimpse of economic strains within the sanctions-hit nation. Kim took center stage with a speech to start the Workers’ Party congress, a gathering that directs stat
VACILLATING? Some US officials are concerned that Trump’s April visit to Beijing might be affected if Washington pushes through additional weapons sales to Taiwan A major US arms sales package for Taiwan is in limbo following pressure from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and concerns among some US officials that greenlighting the deal would derail US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Bejing, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday.Trum
The Legislative Yuan could begin reviewing the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on March 12, a day after the election of conveners of legislative committees, sources said.Based on the bilateral agreement signed on Thursday last week, the US would cap tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15 percent w
Latin America stands to benefit from President Donald Trump’s greater involvement, said Paraguay President Santiago Pena, who has emerged as one of the staunchest US allies in the region, as he also insisted on Paraguay’s ties to Taiwan. “When the new national security strategy came out and they sta
The Utah State Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution supporting Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, as Taiwan donated US$200,000 to Washington State for flood recovery.The resolution was introduced by Utah State Senator Scott Sandall and also calls for stronger bilate
EFFECTIVE PREVENTION: Solid vaccination rates this year against the annual wave of flu infections is being credited by health agencies for the low hospital visits Taiwanese emergency rooms reported 3,966 patients with influenza-like symptoms on Wednesday, the second day of the Lunar New Year, the lowest number during the holiday period in four years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.The figure represents about 60 percent of the 6,693 patie
Temperatures should rise through Tuesday next week, with highs of more than 20°C and possibly as warm as 30°C in the south over the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday.Next week, most of the nation would see cloudy to sunny skies with only light, sporadic rainfall in win
Officials yesterday said they are investigating video footage to determine whether a boat’s speed or watercraft zoning were factors in a boating accident on Thursday that resulted in the death of a nine-year-old boy in Hualien County.The boy was among a group of family members from Hualien who arriv
The Taiwan Blood Services Foundation yesterday urged the public to donate blood, saying that the nationwide supply averages just 3.8 days’ worth — below the safe level of seven to 10 days — with O-type blood supplies being particularly low.At the Taichung Blood Center, O-type reserves are sufficient
Taiwan’s first indigenous lawyer, Pawan Yumin (楊志航), an Atayal, died at the age of 66 on Monday last week.His family held a memorial yesterday at his community, M’bwanan, in Miaoli County’s Taian Township (泰安), where Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Tseng Chih-yung (曾智勇) presented a posthumous
As Taiwanese households gather for Lunar New Year celebrations, many Vietnamese workers abroad unable to return home for Tết, resort to video calls to spend the holiday with loved ones thousands of kilometers from home.Tết, Vietnam's Lunar New Year and the country's most important holiday, is tradit
HYGIENE: People should wash their hands before eating or preparing food, and clean contaminated surfaces with a diluted bleach solution, the CDC said More than 7,500 people sought medical attention for diarrhea during the first three days of the Lunar New Year holiday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that nearly 90 percent of the cluster diarrhea outbreaks were caused by norovirus.Norovirus-triggered symptoms drew pub
‘WIN-WIN’: The agreement excludes top Indonesian export palm oil from the levy, removes tariff barriers on most US products and addresses non-tariff barrier issues Indonesia and the US on Thursday finalized a trade deal to cut US levies to 19 percent from 32 percent on goods shipped from Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, with Jakarta securing tariff exemptions for its top export, palm oil, and several other commodities.The agreement was signed in Washington by
The US trade deficit widened sharply in December amid a surge in imports, and the goods shortfall last year was the highest on record, despite US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign manufactured merchandise.The second straight monthly deterioration in the trade deficit reported by the US Dep
2 PERCENT GAIN: Softer food inflation and government measures to reduce fuel costs were the two main drivers of the inflation slowdown, an economist said Japan’s key inflation gauge eased to the slowest pace in two years, posing a communication challenge for a central bank that would likely stay determined to raise the benchmark interest rate when the timing is right. Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2 percent from a year earlier last month,
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
CHAMPS DETHRONED: Megan Keller’s spectacular overtime strike secured the US 2-1 win over defending champions Canada in the women’s ice hockey final Alysa Liu on Thursday saw off her Japanese rivals to claim the US’ first Olympic women’s figure skating gold in a generation, while the US beat fierce rivals Canada in the women’s ice hockey final.Liu danced her way to the top of the podium in the free skate, surging from third place behind Japan’s
A dominant Cade Cunningham on Thursday scored 42 points as the NBA-leading Detroit Pistons swatted aside the New York Knicks 126-111 on the NBA’s return from its brief All-Star Game break.Billed as a must-watch clash between two Eastern Conference rivals each in red-hot form, the game at Madison Squ
Amanda Anisimova on Thursday ended a tearful Mirra Andreeva’s Dubai title defense with a comeback 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) victory in the quarter-finals.The second-seeded American trailed fifth seed Andreeva by a set and a break before rallying to complete a 2 hour, 38 minute win.She booked a place in th
Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday came from behind to beat Karen Khachanov and book his spot in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open, but it was the end of the road for Jannik Sinner as he lost in three sets to Jakub Mensik.Playing his first tournament since completing his career Grand Slam at the Australian
BIG GOALS The Japanese prime minister, fresh off a major win for her party in a snap election, said she aims to substantially update the nation’s defense strategy Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged yesterday to make Japan “strong and prosperous,” while hitting out at China and pledging to keep “hitting the growth button” following her party’s landslide election win.“China is intensifying its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coerci
HELD RESPONSIBLE Charged and convicted for attempting to declare martial law in 2024, the ex-president dodged the death penalty, sentenced instead to life in prison Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol apologized yesterday for his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024, a day after a Seoul court sentenced him to life in prison for masterminding an insurrection.In a statement released by his lawyers, Yoon said that while he was sorry for
FEROCIOUS FISH-EATER Scientists have found a new species of dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period, a ‘hell heron’ that stalked the rivers, deep in the Saharan desert At a remote Sahara desert site in Niger, scientists have unearthed fossils of a new species of Spinosaurus, among the biggest of the meat-eating dinosaurs, notable for its large blade-shaped head crest and jaws bearing interlocking teeth for snaring fish.It prowled a forested inland environment and
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% | |
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