We have now moved into the new year, and Taiwan has mounting challenges both external and internal. Evidently, even with the fresh start of the opening days of 2025, little is going to change.According to a new poll, President William Lai’s (賴清德) approval rating is more than 50 percent, and the Demo
Our opponent is not a competitor, but an enemy. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) coalition to “control Taiwan by using Taiwan” to achieve its goal of unification. The enemy has launched a battle of unrestricted warfare — a
On Monday evening, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party, but would stay on as prime minister until a successor is selected. He had been in office since November 2015. At the end of last year — as a result of an economic downturn and a series
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When Jaguar’s “copy nothing” brand reboot hit late last year, one self-styled car enthusiast wrote on X: “What the actual hell is this.” Jaguar’s response: “The future.” That remains to be seen, but the ad, unfamiliar and unsettling, does at least work as a portent of what is coming for the global a
As apprehension grows in China, Europe and Japan about a possible trade war triggered by the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, spare a thought for developing countries. Their tried-and-tested method of expanding beyond agriculture to achieve middle-income status has been to
The Ministry of Economic Affairs last week kept most renewable energy feed-in tariffs (FIT) for this year unchanged and eased cuts to solar energy subsidies, highlighting the government’s determination to catch up after delays in solar panel installations amid rampant bribery scandals.The adjustment
Although former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo — known for being the most pro-Taiwan official to hold the post — is not in the second administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, he has maintained close ties with the former president and involved himself in think tank activities, giving him
“Bolstering national strength through democracy to enter a new global landscape” was the core of President William Lai’s (賴清德) New Year’s address, but even that has upset politicians in the pan-blue camp.Democracy has not been a value of the fascist Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and “entering a gl
Politics in Taiwan and South Korea have descended into chaos, resulting in tense standoffs, with one shared cause being the legislative majority wielded by the opposition parties in both countries.Suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached by opposition lawmakers for attempting to
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Like so many of us, I was dispirited to wake up a few weeks ago to learn that Donald Trump would be back in the White House. This time he was aided by the world’s richest man and professional spaceship-crasher, Elon Musk. Among the many charming aspects of their partnership is a fondness for some hi
When the international criminal court in November last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials, the response from the country’s government was all too familiar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected outright the warrants for alleged war crimes in Gaza against him and former Is
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) last week released the latest job vacancy data in Taiwan, which highlighted how many job openings firms had yet to be filled at the end of August last year. The data also revealed how the vacant positions were closely related to th
The passage of amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) marks a milestone in the country’s financial governance. After 25 years of deliberation and discussion, that legislation is now able to reshape the distribution of resources between the ce
Last year’s Romanian presidential election saw the rise of Calin Georgescu, an “independent” candidate who made it into the second round. His unexpected advance to the runoff election, where he was set to face pro-EU and pro-NATO Elena Lasconi, raised concerns among observers due to Georgescu’s favo
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has expended considerable resources to source Taiwanese online influencers willing to collaborate on “united front” propaganda videos and other pro-China multimedia projects, with the intent of influencing Taiwanese and politics.Beijing must be wondering if it neede
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India’s national security advisor met Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) for the first time since 2019 last month. This get-together was previously an annual affair, but it had not been held since Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed on the border in the summer of 2020. Its resumption i
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