A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
EMBRACE CHANGE: Jensen Huang told NTU graduates that instead of worrying about AI itself, they should worry that people with expertise in AI would be taking their jobs
Artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining the computer industry, and Taiwanese companies could play a major role in replacing the world’s traditional computers as they are the foundation of the industry, Nvidia Corp cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said in Taipei yesterday. Huang made the remarks while giving the keynote speech at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) commencement ceremony. AI has created immense opportunities, and versatile companies can be expected to take advantage and boost their position, while less flexible firms would perish, he said. “In every way, this is a rebirth of the computer industry and a golden opportunity for the companies of
GOING INTERNATIONAL: Rakuten Girls squad leader Ula Shen said she was surprised that baseball fans outside of Taiwan not only knew of them, but also knew their names
Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德). The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit. Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present. Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese
WAY OF THE RUKAI: ‘Values deemed worthy often exist amid discomfort, so when people go against the flow, nature becomes entwined with our lives,’ a student said
“Run, don’t walk” after your dreams, Nvidia cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told National Taiwan University (NTU) graduates yesterday, as several major universities held in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. “What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it. Run, don’t walk. Remember, either you’re running for food, or you are running from becoming food. Oftentimes, you can’t tell which. Either way, run,” he said. Huang was one of several tech executives addressing graduating students at Taiwanese universities. National Chengchi University held two ceremonies, with alumnus Patrick Pan (潘先國), who is head of Taiwan
‘ARCHAIC’: An interpretation of a law that considered Chinese as Taiwanese nationals was scrapped after the death of a Chinese in Kaohsiung led to state reparations
An administrative mandate to consider Chinese as Taiwanese citizens was outdated, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, a day after the Executive Yuan ordered that agencies disregard the 30-year-old interpretation. Chen made the remarks at an event held by the Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei following changes to the administrative mandate concerning the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例). The previous interpretation of the law was archaic and contrary to the workings of laws and regulations, he said, adding that the order was made to avoid unnecessary problems created by the mandate. The Mainland
NOT BUYING IT: One of the goals of Beijing’s Cross-Strait Media People Summit was to draw mainstream media executives to discuss the ‘one country, two systems’ formula
Taiwanese news media insist on press freedom and professionalism, and would never become a tool of China’s “united front” campaign, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday, responding to media queries about the lack of Taiwanese media executives at the Cross-Strait Media People Summit in Beijing. Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) was reportedly furious that no Taiwanese media representatives attended a scheduled meeting with him on Thursday last week. “Beijing should take Taiwan’s determination to pursue freedom and democracy seriously. We also hope that it will not use vicious means to interfere with Taiwan’s development into a
IMMIGRATION REFORM: The legislative amendments aim to protect the rights of families to reunify, and to attract skilled professionals to stay and work in Taiwan
Foreigners who are highly skilled professionals, top-prize winners in professional disciplines, investment immigration applicants or have made special contributions to Taiwan can soon apply for permanent residency on behalf of their spouses and minor or disabled children after the legislature approved amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法). The amendments, which were proposed by the Ministry of the Interior and approved by the Executive Yuan on Jan. 12, aim to attract foreign talent to Taiwan and encourage them to stay. They would take effect once they are signed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). The amendments involved changing 63 articles, making it the biggest
AID PACKAGE: The military already operates variants of the weapons delivered by the US, and they can be used as short-range missiles against aircraft flying at low altitudes
A batch of FIM-92 Stinger missiles arrived overnight on Thursday, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported yesterday, citing an unnamed source. The arms shipment delivered in a Boeing 747 cargo plane at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has been received by the Ministry of the National Defense, the newspaper reported. It is part of a US$500 million aid package to Taiwan utilizing the US’ presidential drawdown authority, which draws from US stocks of weaponry and has been used to expedite weapons deliveries to Ukraine, the report said. The air defense weapons are handheld portable variants of the Stinger missile system. The package is believed to
BE CAREFUL: Typhoon Mawar would mainly affect Taiwan from tomorrow to Thursday, and people have been warned to stay away from mountainous areas
A sea warning could be issued for Typhoon Mawar as soon as early tomorrow, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday. The typhoon is forecast to make its closest approach to Taiwan in the next two days, and as of 8pm yesterday, it was 1,200km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point. It was moving at 23kph in a westerly direction, with maximum sustained winds of 198kph and gusts of 244.8kph near the center, bureau data showed. The typhoon is forecast to continue moving westward until it nears the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, bureau forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said. Mawar would
AUTHORITARIAN THREAT: Nations have the right to determine their own destinies free from coercion, and democracies must support each other, Malcolm Turnbull said
The viewpoint of Taiwan is more important than ever for Asia- Pacific democracies when facing current challenges, former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said in Taipei yesterday. Turnbull made the remark in his keynote speech titled “Democratic Leadership in a Populist Age” at an annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI) think tank. The challenges posed by authoritarian governments are becoming more serious, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made NATO stronger and the Western world more united in defending democracy, he said. Ukrainians’ tenacious and courageous fight against Russia demonstrated that “democracies must support each other,” Turnbull said. Democracies
Beijing yesterday blamed US “provocation” for an incident last week in which a Chinese plane crossed in front of a US surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. The incident came at a time of frayed ties between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US this year. “The United States’ long-term and frequent sending of ships and planes to conduct close surveillance on China seriously harms China’s national sovereignty and security,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said when asked about the latest incident. “This
The Taipei Times bilingual pages are having a makeover, with professionally curated content for both English and Chinese learners of all levels. With our new partners Ivy English, English OK, and American Magazine Center (AMC), Taipei Times readers can improve their language studies while keeping abreast of important issues in Taiwan and abroad. 《台北時報》雙語版最優質的中英文內容，多年來一向受到讀者們的喜愛。近日起版面全新升級！每週和《常春藤解析英語》、《English OK中學英閱誌》、《AMC空中美語》……等專業英語機構合作，提供豐富多元且實用的英語學習內容，不但適合各種程度學生及上班族自修，老師、家長用它當教材也超便利。原先頗受歡迎的雙語新聞則予以保留，持續帶領大家了解國內外之重要議題，打造最強全方位中英文雙語版，精彩內容在網站上也看的到唷！
China’s aircraft carrier Shandong yesterday sailed through the Taiwan Strait accompanied by two other ships, the Ministry of National Defense said, adding that it was monitoring the situation and would respond accordingly. The presence of Chinese warships is constantly monitored and announced near-daily by Taipei, but the passage of the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, through the Strait is unusual. “A [Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy] flotilla of 3 ships, led by the Shangdong aircraft carrier, passed through the Taiwan Strait around noon today,” the ministry wrote in a statement. The flotilla went “to the west of the median line, heading northward,” it added. The
‘GLOBAL NETWORK’: The only way to deter a Chinese invasion is for the international community to unite in its resolve, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee said
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Roy Lee (李淳) yesterday urged democratic nations around the world to not let Beijing dictate the definition of their “one China” policies, saying that they should increase cooperation with Taiwan to build a resilient democratic network. Lee made the remarks during his speech, titled “Ukraine and Taiwan: Why Global Unity Matters,” at the annual Bratislava Forum in Slovakia. “People in Taiwan have been paying close attention to the situation in Ukraine and admire Ukrainians for defending their homeland. They are [also] fighting for Taiwan and democratic countries around the world,” Lee told forum participants. “The international
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi yesterday bowed out at the Malaysia Masters, defeated in the semi-finals a day after an epic quarter-final against the highest-ranked player left in the men’s singles draw. Lin lost to Weng Hongyang of China 21-13, 21-19 after a draining match against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka a day earlier in which the second game had 59 points. The 23-year-old left-hander had won his only previous BWF match against his Chinese opponent. However, Weng booked a place in today’s final after easing past the Taiwanese battler. He faces India’s H.S. Prannoy, who advanced when Indonesia’s Christian Adinata retired while trailing 19-17 in the
STATE SUBSIDIES: The talks over a factory in Dresden have a top end on par with what Japan is offering TSMC and outdo a cap other firms are being offered in Europe
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is in talks to receive German government subsidies for as much as 50 percent of the costs to build a new semiconductor fab in the country, people familiar with the matter said. The government is in ongoing negotiations with TSMC, as well as its partners on the project — Bosch Ltd, NXP Semiconductors NV and Infineon Technologies AG — the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. No final decisions have been made and the final subsidy amount could still change. Any state aid must also
A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei and it has people lining up — both for pictures and for a bite from this bowl of noodles. Since “The Ramen Boy” launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on Monday last week, declaring in a social media post that it had “finally got this dream ingredient,” more than 100 people have joined a waiting list to dine at the restaurant. “It is so attractive because of its appearance — it looks very cute,” said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be
Thirty-two cases of serious flu complications and seven flu-related deaths were confirmed last week, while the daily number of new hospitalized COVID-19 cases continued to increase and is expected to remain at a peak next month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said that the respiratory viruses identified from last week showed flu viruses accounted for 53.5 percent of the total, and that both the influenza A(H1N1) virus and the influenza A(H3N2) virus were the dominant circulating viruses. There were 75,897 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses last week, up 4.4 percent
A joint Taiwan-US After Action Review team has declared the recently concluded five-day tabletop war game phase of Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military exercises a success, a senior military official said yesterday. The team that observed the computerized wargames held from May 15 to 19 has concluded that the defensive force in the simulations was able to achieve all pre-set training goals and is therefore capable of defending itself, Major General Lin Wen-huang (林文皇), who is in charge of planning at the Ministry of National Defense, told a briefing yesterday. The five-day, around-the-clock war games were conducted using the US-built Joint Theater
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