CHRISTMAS DRAW: The KMT is to send lawmakers Ko Ju-chun and Lee Yen-hsiu as its representatives on the delegation, which is to be in the US from Jan. 18 to 24
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) is to lead a delegation of officials to US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next month, Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee in Taipei y
The US’ National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) enhances US support for Taiwan and counters China’s misrepresentation of UN Resolution 2758, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) said in a statement on Tuesday.The Washington-based Taiwanese nonprofit promotes cooperation between Taiwa
Christians on Tuesday gathered at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to mark a solemn Christmas overshadowed by war, while Pope Francis led mass in the Vatican.In Bethlehem, festive decorations were missing for a second consecutive year.The crowd of several hundred paled in comparison to the th
An Azerbaijani airliner with 67 people on board crashed yesterday near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, with more than 30 people likely dead, officials said.The Kazakhstani Ministry of Emergencies said in a statement on Telegram that five crew were among those on board.At least 29 had been hospitalize
CONSIDERING OPTIONS: Lai’s office said he regrets, but respects the outcome, and his administration is looking at all legal and constitutional means to maintain democracy
The Legislative Yuan yesterday rejected all seven nominees for the Constitutional Court, an expected outcome that could immobilize the court.President William Lai (賴清德) nominated the justice candidates, including the nominees for the president and vice president of the Judicial Yuan, at the end of A
TRAINING DAY: The group said it created eight types of training simulators, including a virtual reality system designed to prepare remote pilots in takeoffs and landings
The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology received an order from the navy for a domestically developed exploding drone, the state-owned defense technology research group said yesterday.The institute is conducting the final certification tests before delivering Loitering Munition 1 to the nav
Taiwanese scientists have developed the world’s first ultra-high-speed four-dimensional microscope in a breakthrough that enables the observation of electric activity in living neurons.A multidisciplinary group of researchers from National Taiwan University (NTU) and National Tsing Hua University cr
Hong Kong yesterday offered bounties of HK$1 million (US$128,748) for six more democracy campaigners deemed to have contravened national security laws, and revoked the passports of seven more, as the territory keeps up a security campaign.The move to add more names to Hong Kong’s wanted list comes a
South Korea’s main opposition party yesterday vowed to impeach South Korean Prime Minister and acting president Han Duck-soo, but reversed an earlier plan and would wait until later in the week, party officials said, as the risk of further political uncertainty heightened.The move came as the countr
The Legislative Yuan rejected all seven nominees for the Constitutional Court today after holding a vote in the morning.The seven had been nominated by President William Lai (賴清德) to sit on the Constitutional Court at the end of August, including to serve as the president and vice president of the J
SECURITY RISK: President William Lai said the amendments passed on Friday could compromise the nation’s combat capacity and undermine the safety of Taiwanese
Amendments regulating the allocation of funding between central and local governments that passed the legislature on Friday would necessitate a complete reformulation of next year’s general budget, the Cabinet said. Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) at a news conference yesterday said that if P
HEALTH INSURANCE: Taiwanese who stay abroad for longer than four years must live in Taiwan for six months to re-enroll in the NHI system
New rules introduced yesterday have eliminated a scheme allowing people to suspend their National Health Insurance (NHI) contributions while living abroad for more than six months. Previously, Taiwanese who suspended their contributions only had to pay three months of premiums to regain access to NH
Taiwanese would be able to work in the Czech Republic without a work permit starting from next year, Czech news outlet Novinky.cz reported on Thursday last week. Since July, the Czech government has granted people from nine non-EU countries — Australia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, the U
More than 1,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in Russia’s war with Ukraine, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said yesterday. The new figure follows a report by Seoul’s spy agency to lawmakers last week, which said at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed sin
The Philippine military yesterday said it plans to acquire the US Typhon missile system to protect its maritime interests, some of which overlap with regional power China. The US Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exerci
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace
US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at t
HOTEL WASTE: Rules prohibiting hotels from providing guests with free single-use toiletries are expected to cut the use of 460 million plastic containers every year
A series of new government policies are to take effect on Jan. 1 next year, from levying carbon fees, raising deductibles for filing income taxes and a ban on free single-use toiletries at hotels.Starting next year, the nation’s 500 largest carbon emitters must report their emissions from this year
The Taipei 101 skyscraper was lit up last night to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Guatemala. The building flashed a message in Mandarin Chinese that read: “Celebrating the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations” as well as the flags of Rep
Hamas and two other Palestinian militant groups on Saturday said that a Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel is “closer than ever,” provided Israel does not impose new conditions. Last week, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US were held in Doha, rekindling
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