■ DIPLOMACY
Philippines’ move rebuffed
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reiterated Taiwan’s historical claim to islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands. The ministry’s statement on Wednesday night came after both houses of the Philippine legislature passed bills to annex some isles and reefs of the Spratlys and Macclesfield Bank Islands as part of the Philippines’ territory. The ministry said Taiwan’s sovereignty claim was beyond doubt and challenge, stressing that all four groups of islands in the South China Sea — the Nansha, Jhongsha, Dongsha (Pratas) and Sisha (Paracel) — and their surrounding waters were Taiwan’s territories from a historical, geographical, factual and international law perspective. The ministry said the government would not recognize any move by another country that occupies or claims sovereignty over any of the four island groups. It called on the Philippines to negotiate with Taiwan on the sovereignty dispute to peacefully resolve the conflicting claims.
■ AGRICULTURE
Cold snap costs NT$67m
The cold weather before and during the Lunar New Year holiday caused more than NT$67.83 million (US$2.01 million) in agricultural sector losses, including more than NT$51.11 million in crop damage and NT$16.72 million in aquaculture damage, Council of Agriculture statistics showed yesterday. Twenty percent of the crops on a total of 509 hectares of farmland were lost, mainly bell fruit, tea, tangerines, bananas, pineapples, musk melons, rice and betel nuts, in Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Nantou and Pingtung counties. Aquaculture operations in five counties and cities were affected, including fish and shrimp farms in Yunlin and Chiayi counties, as well as milkfish farms in Tainan and Kaohsiung counties.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
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