Sun, Dec 21, 2025
REBUFFED: In response to Chinese criticism over recent arms sales, Washington urged Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue instead of threats and intimidation Washington’s long-term commitment to Taiwan would not change, the US Department of State said yesterday, urging Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan and engage in meaningful bilateral dialogues.The remarks came in response to a backlash from Beijing about Washington’s latest approval of arms sales to T
The Ministry of Environment said it is planning to require carbon storage projects to undergo an environmental impact assessment (EIA) regardless of size.The ministry on Friday announced draft amendments to articles 29, 42 and 46 of the Standards for Determining Specific Items and Scope of Environme
The US Department of Justice on Friday began releasing a long-awaited cache of records from its investigations into the politically explosive case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — although much of the material remained heavily redacted.Among the trove are numerous photographs depicting fo
US President Donald Trump left open the possibility of war with Venezuela, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday vowed to enforce a blockade on the country’s oil wealth.Asked in an interview with NBC News conducted on Thursday about a war with Venezuela, Trump said: “I don’t rule it out, no
‘ILLEGAL RULING’: The KMT and the TPP slammed the Constitutional Court judgement, saying it contravened the law and was trying to clear the way for a ‘green dictatorship’ The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year are unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers.The Legislative Yuan on Dec. 20 last year passed amendments st
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night.The
SUSPICIOUS TIMING: KMT lawmakers have a habit of visiting China before votes, with major implications for defense and cross-straits issues, a DPP lawmaker said Visits by multiple Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers to China’s Xiamen yesterday have sparked concern.Lawmakers Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) and Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) were among those identified visiting.In response to media queries, Lin said he was invited by the organizers to attend the Xiamen Taiwa
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: The US blockade of the oil-rich South American country could be used as a legal pretext by China against Taiwan in a future conflict US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a partial blockade on Venezuela is a dramatic escalation in US pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but it risks undermining a top US policy goal: deterring a potential Chinese naval encirclement of Taiwan.Trump on Tuesday last week ordered
The Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025 initiative has successfully showcased Taiwan’s freedom, openness and diversity through cultural events in Europe, a senior Taiwanese diplomat has said.The initiative, launched this year by the Ministry of Culture and National Palace Museum, has held more than 70 art
NUMBERS TALK: A recent poll showed that a significant majority of respondents oppose the KMT’s recent pension amendment drafts Almost half the public are opposed to suspension of the pension reform program, according to a poll conducted by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation.Draft amendments for two pension laws proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to raise pensions for retired civil servants and public schoo
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday.National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 2
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said.The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Statio
The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday confirmed that one of the injured people in Friday’s random stabbing incident in Taipei is HIV positive, urging people who were wounded during the incident or who had contact with blood to call the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) hotline. Minister of
The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) yesterday said it is offering three free psychological counseling sessions to anyone who has been mentally affected by the random stabbing in Taipei on Friday evening.Department of Mental Health Director-General Chen Po-hsi (陳柏熹) said the Taipei City Communi
Kaohsiung police are tracing a copycat threat made on social media after Friday’s deadly knife attack in Taipei that killed three people and injured 11.A user on Threads on Friday wrote that the suspect in the Taipei Main Station attack was his “brother” and that they belonged to the same organizati
In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and weapons central to Western military dom
INFLATION CONSIDERATION: The BOJ governor said that it would ‘keep making appropriate decisions’ and would adjust depending on the economy and prices The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest in 30 years and said more increases are in the pipeline if conditions allow, in a sign of growing conviction that it can attain the stable inflation target it has pursued for more than a decade.Bank of Japan Governor
TAIWAN VALUE CHAIN: Foxtron is to fully own Luxgen following the transaction and it plans to launch a new electric model, the Foxtron Bria, in Taiwan next year Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said that its board of directors approved the disposal of its electric vehicle (EV) unit, Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) for NT$787.6 million (US$24.98 million).Foxtron, a half-half joint venture between Yulon affiliate Hua-Chuang A
The most recent My Formosa opinion poll was released on Dec. 1, outlining findings of opinions last month on issues such as the level of trust in President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), as well as the degree of satisfaction with their performances, the state of the nation’s econo
The saga of Sarah Dzafce, the disgraced former Miss Finland, is far more significant than a mere beauty pageant controversy. It serves as a potent and painful contemporary lesson in global cultural ethics and the absolute necessity of racial respect. Her public career was instantly pulverized not by
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Monday announced that he would not countersign or promulgate amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) passed by the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan. Cho argued that the legislation would force the central go
LACKLUSTER FIGHT: At one stage, the referee lost patience with the two fighters, warning them in the fourth round that ‘the fans did not pay to see this crap’ Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami. The fight at the Kaseya Center, which saw both men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of US$184 million, had triggered alarm across boxing due
The NBA Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday suffered just their third defeat of the season, in a last-minute 112-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. A whopping 35 points from reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not enough to prevent the reverse —
Aston Villa are the English Premier League’s form side, with Unai Emery’s men surging into Premier League title contention alongside Arsenal and Manchester City. After failing to win any of their opening six games of the season, Villa have won 15 of their past 17 in all competitions, including 10 of
Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah apologized to his Liverpool teammates following his recent explosive interview, midfielder Curtis Jones has said. Jones told Sky Sports in an interview published on Friday that Salah had addressed the squad to explain his comments, stressing that the situation did not
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers.“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pe
FAMINE RISKS: A new report by the IPC said that while famine had been averted in Gaza, the situation remains critical due to the unstable ceasefire and insufficient aid Israeli troops fired over the ceasefire line in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, killing at least five Palestinians, including a baby, according to a local hospital that received the casualties. The killings came as the tenuous Israel-Hamas truce has stalled in recent weeks.The five died in Tuffah
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said.The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency br
Dec. 22 to Dec. 28About 200 years ago, a Taoist statue drifted down the Guizikeng River (貴子坑) and was retrieved by a resident of the Indigenous settlement of Kipatauw.Decades later, in the late 1800s, it’s said that a descendant of the original caretaker suddenly entered into a trance and identified
Taiwan’s democracy is at risk.Be very alarmed. This is not a drill.The current constitutional crisis progressed slowly, then suddenly. Political tensions, partisan hostility and emotions are all running high right when cool heads and calm negotiation are most needed. Oxford defines brinkmanship as:
Like much in the world today, theater has experienced major disruptions over the six years since COVID-19. The pandemic, the war in Ukraine and social media have created a new normal of geopolitical and information uncertainty, and the performing arts are not immune to these effects. “Ten years ago
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日)The study also uncovered a correlation between breathing patterns and mental well-being. Participants with higher scores on anxiety questionnaires exhibited shorter inhalation periods and more frequent breath pauses during sleep. “We intuitively assume that how depress
Just like fingerprints, your breathing patterns may serve as a definitive identifier. In a recent study, scientists have demonstrated an astonishing 96.8% accuracy in identifying individuals based on their respiratory patterns. This revelation could open up new possibilities in biometrics and person
A: Apart from the Taipei Music Center’s exhibit and concert, US pop rock band OneRepublic and rapper Doja Cat are touring Kaohsiung this weekend.B: OneRepublic is so popular that after tonight’s show at the K-Arena, they are set to return to Taiwan again in March next year.A: And Doja will also per
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 | 27-28 | 20% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Hsinchu City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Taipei City | 27-28 | 20% |  |
| Miaoli County | 24-26 | 10% | |
| Taoyuan City | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Keelung City | 27-28 | 20% | |
| Yunlin County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Taichung City | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Nantou County | 25-26 | 10% | |
| Changhua County | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Chiayi County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Chiayi City | 25-27 | 10% | |
| Tainan City | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Pingtung County | 26-27 | 10% | |
| Yilan County | 25-26 | 30% |  |
| Hualien County | 25-26 | 30% | |
| Taitung County | 25-27 | 30% | |
| Kinmen County | 27-28 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 27-27 | 20% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-28 | 20% | |
RSS