DEMOGRAPHICS
Population decreases
The population decreased last month, marking the 14th consecutive month of declines, Ministry of the Interior data showed. Taiwan’s population at the end of last month was 23,384,614, down 11,435 from the end of January, the data showed. The birthrate of 5.80 per 1,000 people was lower than the death rate of 12.20 per 1,000, the data showed. Net migration had a minimal effect, with 122,992 people moving in during the month, while 122,946 departed, the data showed.
POLITICS
Buddhists sign petition
At least 1,500 Buddhists, including 200 Buddhist masters, had signed a petition in support of a recall campaign against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as of yesterday, United Microelectronics founder and former chief executive officer Robert Tsao (曹興誠) told a news conference in Taipei. Tsao, the spokesman for the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Volunteers Alliance heading the recall movement, called on Buddhists to support the recall campaign as a way of practicing dana (“generosity” in Sanskrit) by giving “the gift of freedom from fear.” Buddhist master Shih Cheng-ding (釋正定) told the same news conference that Taiwan’s Buddhism has long been affected by the Chinese Communist Party’s “united front” tactics.
GOVERNMENT
Foundations tout initiatives
The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy and the London-based Westminster Foundation for Democracy on Thursday issued a joint statement promoting “smart parliament” initiatives. The statement outlines a mutual commitment to developing “safety, multi-stakeholder participation, artificial intelligence, responsiveness and transparency,” Westminster foundation board member Duncan Hames told a signing ceremony in Taipei. “We hope that our cooperation will help foster democratic values, practices and wider partnerships among our democracies.” That 47 of Taiwan’s 113 legislators are women reflects Taiwan’s democratic achievements and its progress on gender equality, said Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), chairman of the Taiwan foundation.
GOVERNMENT
NPA, Taipei police censured
The Control Yuan yesterday censured the National Police Agency (NPA), the Taipei City Police Department and a Taipei police precinct for failing to properly supervise officers in their handling of a child abuse case last year. Improper use of restraints on a suspect and failure to uphold investigative confidentiality were among the issues in the case related to a social worker surnamed Chen (陳), the Control Yuan said in a report. The case involved two sisters who worked as foster caregivers. They were accused of abusing a one-year-old boy, leading to his death in late 2023. Chen was under investigation on suspicion of falsifying reports of visits to where the sisters housed the child and negligence leading to his death. She was handcuffed while being transferred for questioning on March 12 last year. The decision to cuff her in full view of the media sparked a public outcry. Police planned Chen’s transfer route to maximize media exposure and even persuaded her to briefly pose for photographers, the report said. Officers contravened multiple regulations regarding criminal procedure, the use of restraints and confidentiality in investigations, while the prosecutor in charge also failed to remove Chen’s handcuffs during questioning, breaching judicial procedures, it said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS