China’s assertion of power in the South China Sea has been a gradual yet systematic process. From building military outposts on artificial islands to deploying its vast maritime militia, Beijing has ensured that it is the most formidable presence in these waters.Satellite imagery over the past decad
Italy stands committed to defending peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and in the Taiwan Strait, as well as supporting Taiwan’s inclusion in the international arena.In support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the Italian Navy last year carried out joint submarine exercises with th
The mass recall movement targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators has become an invincible civic movement. Instead of calling upon his party members to make amends before it is too late, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) put the cart before the horse — those who plant the mines blame those wh
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South Korea’s birthrate, the lowest in the world, rose last year for the first time in nine years, as more couples tied the knot after pandemic delays, and as policy efforts to incentivize companies and individuals to embrace parenthood start to pay off.Nam Hyun-jin, 35, who had her second daughter
What is the difference between an egg and a computer chip? There are several answers, but an important financial one is that recent fundamental market changes have been much more disruptive for egg buyers than computer-processing users. Avian flu has caused egg prices to oscillate from less than US$
Amid intensifying public anxiety over controversial cuts to the central government budget by the opposition-led legislature, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Tuesday last week convened a cross-caucus meeting, hoping to reduce political differences and possibly salvage the budget. However, his
Today is Feb. 28, a day that Taiwan associates with two tragic historical memories. The 228 Incident, which started on Feb. 28, 1947, began from protests sparked by a cigarette seizure that took place the day before in front of the Tianma Tea House in Taipei’s Datong District (大同). It turned into a
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House once again brings forth the “America First” principle. His administration’s policies, marked by a rejection of multilateral commitments — such as withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and the WHO — symbolize his skepticism toward international coo
Emergency rooms across the nation are overcrowded and healthcare workers are stretched too thin. As a result, patients in critical condition are unable to receive proper and timely treatment. Days ago, a person in Kaohsiung urgently needed to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), but had to t
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The UN has declared this year to be the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, making it a fitting moment to confront the stark reality that the world’s ice sheets are melting. Climate change is accelerating this trend, particularly in the Hindu Kush Himalayas — a region known as the Earth’s
Energy is destiny. That is an underappreciated rule that applies across history, economics and diplomacy. The countries with access to the best resources — whether the wind and peat-powered 17th century Dutch Republic, coal-fired 19th century UK or the oil-fueled 20th century US — have always been g
The rumblings prompted by US President Donald Trump’s re-election soon gathered force. First came tariffs and threats of territorial annexation; then the greater shocks of US Vice President J.D. Vance’s Valentine’s Day massacre of European values and Trump’s enthusiastic amplification of Kremlin lin
Tomorrow is the 78th anniversary of the 228 Incident. On Monday, at a meeting with the Overseas 2-28 Survivors Homecoming Group at the Presidential Office, President William Lai (賴清德) spoke of the importance of protecting the nation’s freedom and sovereignty. The 228 Incident is in the past, but the
Last month, amid the intensified partisan strife against the minority Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration under President William Lai (賴清德), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the largest opposition party, and its smaller ally, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), made a substantial budg
South Korea has announced a ban on new downloads of DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) application, due to concerns over user data privacy. The South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission found that DeepSeek was transmitting data to ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok,
Recently, several Facebook groups have shared a post by someone named Wayne Boyle, which says that the participation of Palauan officials in last week’s Halifax International Security Forum (HFX) in Taipei might contravene Beijing’s “one China” principle. The post emphasized that Palau should not be
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