Fri, Aug 15, 2025
CONCERNS: Allowing a foreign lawyer to advocate in the nation’s judicial system without proper vetting would set a detrimental precedent, an attorney said Officials yesterday vowed to review regulations governing the entry of Chinese into Taiwan for lawsuits, following the Taichung District Court’s rejection a day earlier of a petition by a Chinese lawyer to represent a defendant in a civil case.The lawsuit was filed by a Taiwanese bicycle manufacture
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday unveiled the first images of a bomber drone, a loitering munition and a prototype of a vehicle armed with a 105mm gun developed by the Armaments Bureau.The bomber drone is a quadcopter capable of attacking ground targets with a heavy explosive and features
The Pacific islands bloc yesterday did not overturn a decision to exclude 21 donor countries, including Taiwan, China and the US, from the region’s top political meeting after a lengthy debate, officials said, following Beijing’s pressuring of the host to keep Taiwan out of the meeting.Pacific Islan
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday praised “sincere efforts” by Washington to end the war in Ukraine and floated the prospect of a nuclear arms deal ahead of a summit with US President Donald Trump, an issue in which Europe has urged the US to stand firm.Putin was speaking to his most senior
SOME PROTECTION: A worker whose hours were cut could make up some of their wages through the subsidy and more through another program, the labor ministry said Workers on reduced hours in nine industries would be eligible to receive up to NT$12,100 per month under an expanded employment subsidy, the Ministry of Labor announced yesterday.The policy is to be effective retroactively from Aug. 1.Changes in the global economy, such as US tariffs and fluctuation
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions.Lai, who is also the chairman of the D
FARM HARM: The typhoon inflicted NT$355.4 million in damage to agriculture, with NT$305 million in Taitung County alone, the Ministry of Agriculture said As of 5pm yesterday, power had been restored to 97 percent of the 310,000 homes that were cut off from the grid when Typhoon Podul swept across southern Taiwan on Wednesday, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) said, while a man suspected to have been swept into the sea while fishing remained missing.The outa
REJECTED: The environmental impact committee advised against the project due to unaddressed impacts on local wildlife and private property rights Representatives from Changhua County’s Dacheng Township (大城) yesterday gathered in front of the Ministry of Environment in Taipei to protest a construction project that aims to install three onshore wind turbines near local private residences and aquaculture farms, urging the environmental impact as
The Tourism Administration on Monday defended its policy of subsidizing international charter flights landing in Hualien and Taitung counties, saying that it has helped bring more than 5,600 international visitors to Taiwan and generated more than NT$60 million (US$2 million) in economic benefits. T
Secondhand smoke exposure in non-smoking areas has risen to 7.1 percent, up from 4 percent in 2022, with hospitals being the areas where violations occur most often, the Health Promotion Administration said in a report released yesterday.Agency employee Chen Li-chuan (陳麗娟) said that non-smoking regu
‘RIGHT TO KNOW’: Women’s rights groups have been urging the government to build a museum honoring women’s rights and gender equality, but to no avail The history of Taiwanese “comfort women” — whom the Japanese military forced into sexual slavery during World War II — should be listed as a specific subject in the 108 School Curriculum Guidelines, the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation said yesterday as the world observed International Comfort Women
President William Lai (賴清德) expressed hope of reaching a consensus with the US on an avoidance of double taxation agreement (ADTA), as well as “reciprocal” tariffs, as he met with a delegation from the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.L
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved an NT$87.84 billion (US$2.93 billion) supplementary budget to meet financial needs of local governments and ministries, and to compensate indigenous groups and improve military benefits.The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics put together th
INJUSTICE: People who are 18 years old are eligible to serve their mandatory military service and pay taxes, but they cannot vote in elections, Liu Pin-chen said Four minor opposition parties, alongside the Better Together for NextGen Taiwan organization, yesterday urged a speedy and rational review of a draft youth basic act, ensuring the law would become the principal legislation for youth-related policies, as the legislature’s Education and Culture Commit
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current government officials and certain former ones from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing will hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War."This year marks th
AI SERVER DEMAND: ‘Overall industry demand continues to outpace supply and we are expanding capacity to meet it,’ the company’s chief executive officer said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported that net profit last quarter rose 27 percent from the same quarter last year on the back of demand for cloud services and high-performance computing products.Net profit surged to NT$44.36 billion (US$1.48 billion) from NT$35.04 billion a year e
BATTERY FACTORY: The holding company said that the blaze at a Kaohsiung plant prompted accelerated efforts to expand ties with foreign service providers TCC Group Holdings Co (台泥) on Wednesday said that it would incur a financial loss of NT$11 billion (US$366.81 million) from a fire that badly damaged its lithium-ion battery cell “gigafactory” in Kaohsiung last month.To shoulder responsibility, the management team, led by TCC chief executive officer
Where the Story Begins — Asset Management 2.0.As the Asset Management 2.0 policy is rolled out in 2025, the government aims to transform Taiwan into a regional wealth management hub by attracting high-net-worth (HNW) individuals by way of expanding its financial services capabilities.Leveraging on i
Taiwan is to hold a referendum on Saturday next week to decide whether the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, which was shut down in May after 40 years of service, should restart operations for as long as another 20 years. The referendum was proposed by the opposition Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and pas
Eighty years ago, on Aug. 6, 1945, the US dropped an atomic bomb in Hiroshima; three days later, Nagasaki would receive the same fate. On Aug. 15, 1945, Japan proclaimed its unconditional surrender, bringing World War II to an end. I have been revisiting Genbaku Shishu (“Poems of the Atomic Bomb”),
On May 13, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to Article 6 of the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Control Act (核子反應器設施管制法). Proposed by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators, it allows nuclear power units to extend their operating periods. On May 20, the Legislative Yuan also approved the TPP’s p
DOUBLE COMEBACK: PSG manager Luis Enrique said ‘sometimes football is unfair’ after his side came back from 2-0 down in regulation time and the shoot-out Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday produced a dramatic late rally before beating Tottenham Hotspur in a penalty shoot-out to win the UEFA Super Cup, securing a fifth trophy of the year for the French club.Nuno Mendes converted the clinching spot-kick in the shoot-out to complete a PSG comeback that lo
Taiwan’s national basketball team on Wednesday suffered a heartbreaking loss, ending their FIBA Asia Cup run after Iran staged a dramatic comeback to secure a 78-75 victory in the quarter-finals at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia.Taiwan were in front for 38 minutes, 30 seconds of the 40-mi
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own.Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/
Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) new team to play in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) club competition needs a name, and the country’s rugby league-mad citizens have been asked to provide one — but will they opt for the Bees, Butterflies or Boars?“Rugby league is in our DNA,” PNG Prime Minister James
‘UNIQUE’: Trump said he wants to replicate the move in other Democratic-controlled cities, but a former prosecutor said there was no basis to attempt similar takeovers US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would ask the US Congress to extend federal control of Washington’s police force beyond 30 days, with the White House adding that the number of US National Guard troops in the nation’s capital would ramp up and federal officers would be on the streets a
NOT ALL QUIET: Pyongyang might be anticipating more conciliatory gestures from Seoul and might be trying to pace the development, an analyst said The North Korean leader’s powerful sister yesterday said that the country has never taken down propaganda loudspeakers and would not do so, calling South Korea’s belief that Pyongyang was responding to its peace overtures a “pipedream.”Kim Yo-jong, who is a senior official in North Korea’s ruling Wo
Scientists have documented a surprising rate of sex reversal in wild Australian birds, a phenomenon that could be explained by rising pollution or other environmental triggers.A study of five common Australian species, including kookaburras, magpies and lorikeets, found that about 6 percent of birds
It’s Aug. 8, Father’s Day in Taiwan. I asked a Chinese chatbot a simple question: “How is Father’s Day celebrated in Taiwan and China?” The answer was as ideological as it was unexpected.The AI said Taiwan is “a region” (地區) and “a province of China” (中國的省份). It then adopted the collective pronoun “
Two years ago, American footballer Travis Kelce famously used the New Heights podcast — which he hosts with his brother Jason — to announce that he wanted to date Taylor Swift. This was after he failed to get her attention at her Eras tour show at Arrowhead Stadium, home to his team, the Kansas City
Before Kristin Scott Thomas turned 12, she lost her father and stepfather. Both were Royal Navy pilots who died in crashes. The first happened when she was 5. The second at age 11. Thomas uses these facts, a kind of origin story, as the basis for her directorial debut, My Mother’s Wedding, a comedic
A: Apart from US singer Camila Cabello, Singaporean pop diva Sun Yanzi has two concerts scheduled at the K-Arena this weekend.B: Having debuted in 2000, Sun is now touring again to celebrate her career that has spanned over a quarter century.A: I like all of her 13 albums, but she hasn’t released on
A: Wow, Taiwanese pop band Sodagreen just held two concerts in Kaohsiung to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut.B: I’m glad they’re continuing to perform, even after taking several long breaks.A: Canadian singer Elijah Woods also staged a show in New Taipei on Tuesday, followed by US singer Cam
Peacocks are among the most beautiful birds in the world. Their bright feathers and graceful movements have fascinated humans for centuries. These magnificent creatures belong to the pheasant family and are found in regions across Asia and Africa. Let’s explore peacocks’ unique characteristics and c
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 | 27-29 | 0% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Hsinchu City | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Taipei City | 27-29 | 10% | |
| Miaoli County | 25-27 | 10% |  |
| Taoyuan City | 27-28 | 0% | |
| Keelung City | 27-28 | 20% | |
| Yunlin County | 25-28 | 10% | |
| Taichung City | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Nantou County | 25-27 | 10% | |
| Changhua County | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Chiayi County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Chiayi City | 25-26 | 10% | |
| Tainan City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Pingtung County | 25-26 | 10% | |
| Yilan County | 26-27 | 20% | |
| Hualien County | 25-26 | 40% |  |
| Taitung County | 25-27 | 40% | |
| Kinmen County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-27 | 10% | |
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