China prefers to win without firing a shot in its bid to strangle Taiwan’s strategic autonomy. Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (孫子) would have approved. Its central tool at sea is the “cabbage strategy”: the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) layers fishing boats, maritime militia, coast guard cutters and warships around Taiwan’s contested waters in overlapping rings. Each layer normalizes daily coercion, narrows Taiwan’s freedom of movement and chips away at its maritime sovereignty — all while staying below the threshold of armed conflict. This is “gray zone” warfare at its most cost-effective — one of Beijing’s most promising
During a tour of Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) on Sept. 22, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) proposed a seemingly appealing urban-planning vision for the area: linking Xinfu Market (新富市場), East Sanshui Street Market (東三水街市場), Longshan Temple (龍山寺), Bopiliao Historical Block (剝皮寮歷史街區), Bangka Park (艋舺公園), the underground mall and surrounding commercial areas through neighborhood redevelopment and environmental improvements, while encouraging specialty and boutique business. It would create what Chiang called Taipei’s version of Omotesando — an upscale, tree-lined boulevard and shopping district in Tokyo — to attract young people and international tourists. The idea is not new. More than NT$200 million (US$6.28
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) received two different welcomes within the space of 10 days — one in New Delhi and the other in Washington. In diplomatic protocol, the two could hardly have been more different. Yet, in their own ways, neither appeared particularly easy for Xi to digest. The discomfort seemed to show not merely in diplomacy, but almost physically. Xi appeared distinctly uneasy in India. At one point during the BRICS summit, it was noticeable enough for host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to interrupt himself and ask Xi: “Are you OK?” Xi did not attend the dinner that evening
Recently, reports of Line account hacking have surged. On Sept. 9, Line announced that customer service reports related to such incidents in August had nearly doubled, increasing by 97 percent from July. Among these scams, requests to “vote for my child” and “help my pet get more votes” have become common ploys designed to exploit the trust of friends and acquaintances. Victims lose access to their accounts, but the public response to these scams often questions whether they clicked suspicious links or gave out verification codes. If anti-fraud efforts only focus on victim blaming, platforms and telecommunications operators easily escape
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