Sat, Sep 06, 2025
The Taipei District Court yesterday granted bail to former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), after the completion of cross-examinations in the Core Pacific City corruption case.The two were granted bail of NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) and NT$30 million resp
Broadcom Inc is helping OpenAI design and produce an artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator, getting into a lucrative sphere dominated by Nvidia Corp.The two firms plan to ship the first chips in that lineup starting next year, a person familiar with the matter said.OpenAI would initially use the
The Lebanese government yesterday was discussing an army plan to disarm Hezbollah, which the Iran-backed militant group said plays into the hands of Israel and the US.Last month, under heavy US pressure and fearing Israel would intensify its strikes, Lebanon’s government ordered the army to draw up
READINESS: South Korea, Japan and the US said they are to conduct defensive drills on Sept. 15 to upgrade the countries’ capabilities against Pyongyang’s missile threats North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that it was his “steadfast will” to “steadily develop” bilateral relations, state media said yesterday.The two leaders held talks on Thursday evening at the Great Hall of the People, where Kim affirmed the “friendly feelings” be
TENANCY: The Stable Housing Plan would ensure that 20 percent of social housing is allocated to families with young children and newlywed couples, an official said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a suite of measures aimed at making housing more affordable for young families and offering flexible parental leave.The policies include the “Stable Housing Plan” to provide more social housing for newlyweds and parents of preschoolers, as well as protections fo
TRUCK SYSTEMS: In a separate military procurement, the air force has NT$4.9 billion to purchase missile launcher trucks and 11 other items across six years The army has placed an order with the US for thousands of FIM-92 Stinger missiles worth NT$11.02 billion (US$358.91 million) on top of a previous order by the Ministry of National Defense for 2,621 Stinger systems for NT$69 billion, a military source said yesterday.The army ordered the missiles to i
DELEGATION: Italian Senator Adriano Paroli said that he admires Taiwan for its prowess in semiconductor technology, as well as its economy and democracy The bilateral relationship with Italy is bearing fruit, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday, a day after meeting with a delegation led by Italian Senator Adriano Paroli.Lin wrote on Facebook that progress has been made in Taiwan-Italian ties and said that he urged the Euro
OIL RIGS: China is using ‘strategic ambiguity within a focused warfare strategy’ to normalize encroachments and force acceptance of new norms, a lawmaker said The government must boost capacity for ships to patrol islands under its control in the South China Sea and join with friendly nations to file a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice in response to China’s oil rig activity near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), a lawmaker and security exp
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and President William Lai (賴清德) are to begin a tour of Taiwan’s 22 administrative regions today to pay their respects at temples, hold public forums, and listen to the concerns and opinions of members of the public.The tour would touch every corner of Tai
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday.Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow
REBOUND: A total of 123,188 overseas students were enrolled last year, nearly returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, the Ministry of Education reported The Ministry of Education yesterday released its latest census on overseas students, showing that international enrollment has nearly returned to pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels, driven by a surge in Vietnamese students and more Indonesians pursuing full degrees.A total of 123,188 international student
SHORTAGE: Schools have faced challenges recruiting STEM teachers, as many people have opted for higher-paying jobs in the semiconductor and AI industries The Ministry of Education on Thursday announced that it plans to propose an amendment to make the hiring of teachers for technology and information-based subjects more flexible.Schools have faced increasing difficulty recruiting educators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fi
The Ministry of Agriculture yesterday reported progress in its drive to digitize farming, saying initial policy targets have been met, including early warning systems for pests and diseases, as well as reductions in labor and energy costs.The ministry said in a statement that Deputy Minister of Agri
Fines for illegal parking, bringing pets into protected zones and setting off fireworks at Taroko National Park were raised yesterday, the Taroko Gorge National Park Administration Office said.Penalties for illegal parking have increased from NT$600 to NT$1,500, with repeat offenses subject to fines
Water drawn from Nantou County’s Jiji Weir (集集攔河堰) to meet industrial demand from a naphtha cracker should be redirected to farmland once desalinated seawater becomes available later this month, environmental groups said yesterday, urging authorities to add such clauses when renewing the plant’s wat
STABLE: While faster than July’s 1.54% growth, it was still within the central bank’s 2% threshold, leaving policymakers room to keep borrowing costs unchanged The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.6 percent last month from a year earlier, quickening slightly from July’s 1.54 percent as Typhoon Podul and heavy rainfall drove up food prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.The modest uptick kept inflation
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp, yesterday said that revenue last month rose 10.61 percent year-on-year, driven by strong growth in cloud and networking products amid continued front-loading orders for artificial intelligence (AI) server racks.Consolidat
TECHNOLOGY SHIFT: Panel-level packaging technology is expected to succeed CoWoS, as its larger capacity can accommodate more AI chips, CEO George Yi said Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Skytech Inc (天虹科技) yesterday said it expects to outpace its rivals in a major chip packaging technology shift by delivering in November its first equipment for commercializing fan-out panel-level packaging (PLP) technology .That would put Skytech ahead of its ri
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) is expected to be summoned by the Taipei City Police Department after a rally in Taipei on Saturday last week resulted in injuries to eight police officers. The Ministry of the Interior on Sunday said that police had collected evidence of ob
Following the defeat of the recall campaigns, President William Lai (賴清德) met with former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Their meeting led me to reflect on Tsai’s tenure: a globally lauded success in pandemic control, yet a dismal performance in the 2022 local elections, which reduced the Democratic
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang’s (黃國昌) so-called “walk and read” event on Saturday last week was a reckless, thinly veiled political stunt that defied legal norms, endangered public order and left eight police officers injured — including one hospitalized.Although packaged as a
‘DREAM COME TRUE’: Amanda Anisimova’s stunning display two months after her brutal Wimbledon final defeat lit up Arthur Ashe Stadium Amanda Anisimova on Thursday rallied from a set down to defeat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 and reach the US Open final, where she is to take on holder Aryna Sabalenka for another shot at a maiden major crown.World No. 1 Sabalenka came through her own thriller,
Germany on Thursday went down to a shock 2-0 defeat in Slovakia in their opening World Cup qualifier, while Spain kicked off their bid to reach next year’s finals with a comfortable 3-0 victory in Bulgaria.Atletico Madrid’s David Hancko burst untracked into the penalty area to fire Slovakia into the
Lionel Messi on Thursday scored twice for Argentina in emotional scenes in Buenos Aires, while Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay joined the reigning champions at next year’s World Cup.In his last home qualifier for his nation and with Argentina having already booked their place in North America, Messi
Trea Turner on Thursday snapped a scoreless tie with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning and Ranger Suarez tossed six shutout innings to pace the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the decider of the three-game series between division leaders.Alec Bo
‘COALITION OF THE WILLING’: Twenty-six countries committed to deploy a ‘reassurance force’ in Ukraine to prevent Russian aggression after a peace deal, France’s president said Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday warned that any Western forces deployed to Ukraine would be a “legitimate” target for Moscow’s army, a day after Kyiv’s allies said they had committed to a troop presence in the event of a peace deal.Two dozen countries, led by France and the UK, pledged Th
Veteran Thai politician Anutin Charnvirakul won a vote in Parliament yesterday to become the country’s next prime minister, according to an unofficial running tally broadcast live on television.Anutin, leader of the Bhumjaithai party, won more than 247 votes — the required majority — from the House
A French couple kept Louise, a playful black panther, in an apartment in northern France, triggering panic when she was spotted roaming nearby rooftops.The pair were were handed suspended jail sentences on Thursday for illegally keeping a wild animal, despite protesting that they saw Louise as their
Cheng Ching-hsiang (鄭青祥) turned a small triangle of concrete jammed between two old shops into a cool little bar called 9dimension.In front of the shop, a steampunk-like structure was welded by himself to serve as a booth where he prepares cocktails.“Yancheng used to be just old people,” he says, “b
Iconic movie props from a galaxy far, far away, and from a search for the Holy Grail much closer to home, are for sale in a blockbuster auction in California featuring a trove of silver screen history.Darth Vader’s lightsaber from the final two films of the original Star Wars trilogy is the most val
Sitting on a bus bound for Heping Island (和平島), at the start of my first visit to Keelung in years, I was hell-bent on visiting a place of considerable historical interest, even though I knew that it wasn’t officially open to the public. In 2011, archaeologists working in the densely populated south
Have you ever wondered why “Manila envelopes” carry that name? The answer lies in a plant native to the Philippines. Though a fruit-producing plant, abaca is most valued for its leaf stalks, which are __1__ to extract fibers known as “Manila hemp.” These fibers are known for their strength and resis
A: In addition to boyband Energy’s concerts, Taiwan’s first major male dance revue has attracted attention.B: Several South Korean male dance revues and Australia’s Thunder from Down Under often tour Taiwan. Now Taiwan’s first all-male revue has finally appeared. A: According to the Liberty Times
A: Any fun events happening this weekend?B: Boyband Energy’s concerts and Taiwan’s first major male dance revue have both sparked anticipation recently.A: Energy staged a comeback last year — 15 years after they disbanded — and they’re now more popular than ever.B: Their megahit “Friday Night” e
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 | 27-37 | 10% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 26-35 | 10% | |
| Hsinchu City | 26-33 | 10% | |
| Taipei City | 28-35 | 10% | |
| Miaoli County | 25-33 | 10% |  |
| Taoyuan City | 26-36 | 10% | |
| Keelung City | 27-33 | 10% | |
| Yunlin County | 26-35 | 10% | |
| Taichung City | 26-35 | 10% | |
| Nantou County | 26-34 | 10% | |
| Changhua County | 27-34 | 10% | |
| Chiayi County | 26-34 | 30% |  |
| Chiayi City | 25-35 | 30% | |
| Tainan City | 28-32 | 30% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 28-33 | 30% |  |
| Pingtung County | 27-34 | 30% | |
| Yilan County | 26-32 | 30% |  |
| Hualien County | 26-32 | 10% | |
| Taitung County | 26-33 | 30% | |
| Kinmen County | 27-34 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 27-32 | 10% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-32 | 30% | |
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