Tue, May 26, 2026
SAFER FLIGHTS: The Auto-GCAS uses data such as aircraft speed, heading and terrain information to assess the risk of a ground or sea collision, and alert the pilot Installation of an automatic ground collision avoidance system (Auto-GCAS) across Taiwan’s F-16V fleet would begin this summer, with all jets expected to be fully equipped with the system before the end of 2028, the air force said yesterday.Air force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Lee Ching-jan (
The nation’s usually punctual high-speed rail system yesterday was hit by major disruptions after all scheduled services were canceled and replaced with three hourly trains offering only non-reserved seating, affecting more than 200,000 passengers.Preliminary findings indicate the disruption was cau
Iran yesterday warned that, while some progress had been made, it was not yet close to striking a deal with the US to end the Middle East war, as US President Donald Trump also said he was in no hurry to sign.World oil prices tumbled on renewed optimism about an agreement, after US Secretary of Stat
About 20 people were injured at a luxury shopping complex in central Tokyo yesterday after a man sprayed a substance inside, police and fire department officials said.Tokyo police spokesman Yusuke Koide said that a man sprayed a substance at an ATM on the ground floor of the building, while a local
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections.The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-opera
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday.The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-
STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY? While Trump said that he would speak with President Lai, there have been no bilateral consultations about it so far, an official said Taiwan and the US maintain institutional channels of communication, and Taiwan has already received briefings from the US government following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday, adding
Taiwan must procure additional missile and artillery systems to counter improvements China has made to its strike, amphibious assault and joint operations capabilities, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday. Koo made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Af
The Nuclear Safety Commission yesterday said that its nuclear security plan includes response measures for drone attacks on the nation’s nuclear power plants, adding that similar scenarios would be simulated during its annual drills. The commission made the remarks at the legislature’s Education and
KNIVES OUT: Photos have been found showing Hsiao accepting money from a Xiamen-based businessman, but there are no records of the transaction, King Pu-tsung said Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) associates yesterday accused former Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) of reporting neither donations he received nor a meeting he had with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤). Former National Security Council secretary-general Kin
US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks that he was “not looking” for Taiwan to declare independence do not represent a change in Washington’s long-standing policy toward Taiwan, the president of The Jamestown Foundation said yesterday.Speaking at a press event in Taipei held by lawmakers of
A group of lawmakers are set to visit the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the disputed South China Sea this summer. If the trip takes place, it would mark the first trip by Taiwanese lawmakers to the island in eight years.According to a proposed agenda issued by Chine
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday.Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Oc
NEW BLEND: When the fee rises to NT$1,000, the tourism fund would only receive 35% of the revenue, while Taoyuan International Airport Corp would receive 65% The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said it plans to raise the airport service fee to NT$1,000 from NT$500 in two phases starting in September.In the first phase, the airport service fee would be increased to NT$750, taking effect on Sept. 1, the ministry said in a statement.
Researchers from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), Academia Sinica and National Tsing Hua University have developed a portable, low-cost widely deployable sensor system to monitor environmental sounds and generate noise maps.Noise pollution is a common but easily overlooked environmen
SOLID GROWTH: The cloud computing equipment supplier said it maintains close cooperation with clients and suppliers to ensure stable material supply and deliveries Cloud computing equipment supplier Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技) yesterday expressed optimism about its business performance this year, driven by robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and data centers, after posting better-than-expected revenue for the first quarter.The company earlier th
WORST OVER? Taiwan’s economic growth forecast could be revised upward if AI-related demand continued to accelerate in the second half of the year, TIER said Taiwan’s business sentiment improved across manufacturing, services and construction last month, as resilient artificial intelligence (AI) demand helped cushion the economy from geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said yesterday.The
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it is seeking to raise wafer prices in the second half of this year, as geopolitical tensions drive up manufacturing costs. GlobalWafers operates 18 silicon wafer manufacturing sites in nine countries around the
On Wednesday last week, Meta Platforms Inc began laying off employees at its offices around the globe. About 8,000 people, or 10 percent of the company’s total workforce, are set to be laid off as Meta continues restructuring and accelerates its artificial intelligence (AI) investments. The company
Three major drug-related car crashes have occurred in Changhua County over just 20 days this month, resulting in four deaths and eight injuries. Separately, another fatal accident in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和) occurred on Saturday at the hands of a drug-impaired driver. Lives were lost
The summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) did not formally change US policy toward Taiwan. The less reassuring part is that Trump’s rhetoric gave Beijing something it values greatly: the sound of a US president echoing parts of China’s preferred vocabulary o
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal.The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at th
Taiwanese golfer Tsai Pei-ying overtook former world No. 1 Yani Tseng in the final round of the WPG Ladies Open in Taoyuan on Sunday to win the title.Tsai finished with a four-round total of 17-under-par 271, carding a six-under 67 in the final round, with six birdies and one bogey.Tseng, nicknamed
Hair flapping out of his headband, Corbin Carroll races past second base as if a double is not an option.It is a last resort.Doubles are fine if that is what you want. Carroll needs one base more.“What’s a standup double to a majority of the people in the big leagues, it’s a standup triple to him,”
Italy clinched victory in the first America’s Cup preliminary regatta on Sunday, beating defenders New Zealand in a demonstration of speed and resilience on home waters.After eight fleet races between eight boats over three days, Luna Rossa’s principal crew came out top of the leaderboard, three sca
‘VERY FRIGHTENING NIGHT’: The Ukrainian air force said the Russian raid involved 600 drones and 90 missiles, of which 549 drones and 55 missiles were intercepted Russia pounded Kyiv with a massive bombardment that killed four people, authorities said on Sunday, with Moscow unleashing its nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik missile in one of the largest barrages in the more-than-four-year war.Multiple rounds of loud explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capi
War in Iran, strained US commitments in Asia and rising tensions over Taiwan are likely to dominate the agenda at this week’s annual Shangri-La Dialogue, the region’s premier defense forum.The free-wheeling informal gathering, running from Friday to Sunday, draws an eclectic mix of ministers, genera
Hundreds of inmates on Sunday took control of a prison in western Venezuela, claiming they were tortured and demanding its director be fired.Large columns of smoke from burning mattresses and sheets rose from the prison in the city of Barinas as inmates gathered on the roof, chanting: “No more tortu
Ajay Verma, a consultant gastroenterologist at Kettering general hospital in Northamptonshire, says our gut is a “complex machine.” “It is constantly providing us with the nutrition we need, initially to grow and develop, and then for us to survive, thrive and repair from injury and illness.” How ca
Last week US President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter whether he would speak on the phone to the President of Taiwan. “l’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody. We have that situation very well in hand,” Trump said.This marked the second time in a couple of weeks he had said he would talk to th
May 25 to May 31Few believed that apples could be cultivated on a commercial scale in Taiwan’s high mountains. When horticulturalist Cheng Chao-hsiung (程兆熊) first proposed the idea in 1955, both American and Taiwanese colleagues dismissed it as implausible, arguing that temperate fruit could not be
Taiwan Travelogue, the novel by Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi and translated into English by Lin King, won the prestigious International Booker Prize in London on May 19.It marks the first time a Taiwanese literary work has received the International Booker Prize, setting a historic milestone both
對話 Dialogue清清：最近很多歌手到高雄開演唱會，你想去看嗎？Qīngqing: Zuìjìn hěn duō gēshǒu dào Gāoxióng kāi yǎnchànghuì, nǐ xiǎng qù kàn ma?華華：很想去，不過票真的很難買，而且常常一開賣就沒有了。Huáhua: Hěn xiǎng qù, búguò piào zhēn de hěn nán mǎi, érqiě chángcháng yì kāi mài jiù méiyǒu le.清清：我上次為了搶票，還特別提早準備，結果還是失敗了。Qīngqing: Wǒ shàng cì wèile qiǎng
1. 該協會於全球九十個國家擁有逾一百萬名會員。ˇ The association consists of over 1 million members in 90 countries.χ The association consists in over 1 million members in 90 countries.註：consist of 是「由……組成」，而consist in是「在於」、「就是」，比較下列句子：Our department consists of three sections.Success consists in perseverance.Happiness co
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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