Tue, Apr 14, 2026
SERIOUSLY DAMAGING: TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang said that legislators-at-large should meet party supporters’ expectations, rather than pursue personal interests The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Central Evaluation Committee yesterday voted to expel party member Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀), effective immediately, following a series of controversies. The decision also resulted in Li’s loss of her legislator-at-large seat.Li, who took office in February as a legislator-at-
The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation yesterday said it has identified material evidence of suspected financial misconduct by its former chief executive officer Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) and former deputy chief executive officer Wang Kuang-tzu (王光慈).The foundation has dissociated itself from Hsiao — who is also Ch
Congratulations from across Europe poured in yesterday for Hungarian political newcomer Peter Magyar, who defeated nationalist Viktor Orban in elections seen as a blow to right-wing populism worldwide.Orban, a self-described “thorn” in the EU’s side and defender of “illiberal democracy” endorsed by
The US military yesterday vowed to blockade all Iranian ports, part of efforts to force Tehran into agreeing to open the Strait of Hormuz and accepting a peace deal. Iran responded with threats on all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, taking aim at US-allied nations.That set the stage
The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) today expelled at-large Legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) following a series of controversies, effectively stripping her of her legislative seat.The party’s Central Review Committee reached the decision during a meeting this afternoon, with the expulsion effective immediate
President William Lai (賴清德) is to lead a delegation to Eswatini from Wednesday next week to April 27 to celebrate King Mswati III’s 40-year anniversary on the throne, the Presidential Office said today, marking the president’s second overseas trip since taking office in May 2024.The King is to mark
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday.PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meetin
Beijing is employing a “carrot and stick” strategy that combines engagement with coercion, as Chinese military incursions around Taiwan peaked on the day Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), underscoring that party exchanges would
MODERN TROJAN HORSE: Cheng’s meeting with Xi was never authorized by Taiwanese, and it was not a dialogue, but curated political theater, they said Civic groups yesterday said that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) was acting as a political puppet for Beijing, calling for an investigation of alleged collusion with external enemies.Cheng on Friday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing. On Sunday, Chin
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chang Rong-kung (張榮恭) yesterday called on President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration to respond to China’s new “incentive measures” for Taiwan in kind.The government rebuked the measures, which were unveiled on Sunday after KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday protested to Brazil’s top envoy to Taiwan after he reiterated in an interview that his government considers Taiwan to be part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).“MOFA expressed strong dissatisfaction over [Commercial Office of Brazil to Taipei] D
Seven Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) yesterday said they are launching a campaign to hold a referendum proposing caning as a punishment for people convicted of “major crimes,” such as large-scale fraud, child abuse and sexual assault.The purpose of the referendu
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding.Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from
INTEROPERABILITY: A health ministry initiative would integrate medical data across hospitals, enhancing diagnostic efficiency and quality, a health official said The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) aims to complete an initiative integrating hospitals’ electronic health record (EHR) systems by the end of the year to make it easier to share patients’ data when they are referred to other healthcare facilities, health officials said in Taipei yesterday.Ta
The maker of a kombucha brand is under investigation for allegedly relabeling expired products and using expired ingredients, prosecutors in Taoyuan said yesterday.Chung Chun-jen (鍾淳仁), founder of kombucha brand All Good Gene’s (好菌好俊康普茶), and his wife were released on bail of NT$1 million (US$31,461
OIL EFFECTS: The economic conditions powering Taiwan’s recent ascendancy could shift, leaving the economy in more treacherous waters, DBS analysts said Taiwan’s “Goldilocks” economic environment could be approaching a tide change as rising energy costs threaten to stoke inflation and dampen private investment if tensions in the Middle East persist, DBS Bank Ltd warned yesterday.While the bank maintained its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth at
STABILITY OVER PROTECTION: The central bank is looking to keep prices on an even keel over protecting local exporters, the bank’s deputy governor said The nation’s central bank said yesterday that its interventions in the foreign exchange market have been aimed at maintaining price stability rather than supporting local exporters.At a legislative session on the long-term impact of the war on Iran on energy and consumer prices, central bank Deputy
Convertible bond issuance in Taiwan surged to a first-quarter record, driven by technology companies raising funds in one of the world’s most prominent artificial intelligence (AI) hubs.Local firms sold US$4.4 billion worth of bonds convertible to shares in domestic and overseas markets in the Janua
Taiwan’s headline inflation unexpectedly pulled back last month — led by declines in fruit and communications device prices — offsetting gains in fuel, transport and meat prices. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2 percent year-on-year, down from 1.75 percent in February and remaining below the
On April 2, Taipei Times contributing reporter David Frazier published his review of my recent book Echoes from the Sino-Burmese Borderlands: Untold Stories of Overland Chinese Migrants During the Cold War (“Echoes from a fractured frontier,” April 2, page 11). The primary part of his review is a su
Swiftly following the conclusion of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) China trip, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office unveiled 10 new policy measures for Taiwan. The measures, covering youth exchanges, agricultural and fishery imports, resumption of certain flights and cultur
SEASON ENDING: The Nuggets took the third seed in the Western Conference and are to face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round The Denver Nuggets, fueled by 23 first-half points from Nikola Jokic, on Sunday beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118, notching their 12th straight victory to clinch the Western Conference third seed on the last day of the NBA regular season. On a day when coaches rested dozens of players in preparatio
Rory McIlroy on Sunday overcame early stumbles and a late scare to win the US Masters, capturing his sixth major title to become only the fourth back-to-back champion at Augusta National. The world No. 2 from Northern Ireland made a double bogey at the fourth and a bogey at the sixth, but responded
An 11-year-old Taiwanese on Sunday won a silver medal in the junior category at the Asian Skateboarding Championships in Sichuan, China. Yeh Tzu-yang scored 128.34 points in the street competition final, landing his final run after two failed attempts to secure a podium finish. Team coach Lin Ta-wei
Houston Astros pitcher Teng Kai-wei, the only active Taiwanese player in MLB, is expected to take on a larger role as the team struggles with an injury-plagued pitching staff, its general manager said. During a radio show before Sunday’s away game against the Seattle Mariners, Dana Brown, who took o
‘FRAUD’: About 63,000 voters were unable to cast their ballots the election on Sunday, prompting the authorities to declare that 13 polling stations would open in Lima yesterday Peru’s Keiko Fujimori on Sunday looked set to face a runoff against a conservative rival after a troubled first-round presidential election marred by logistics foul-ups, police raids and allegations of fraud.First counts and exit polls showed the 50-year-old daughter of disgraced former Peruvian pre
A stampede at a mountaintop fortress popular with tourists in northern Haiti has killed at least 25 people and injured dozens of others, authorities said, revising an earlier, higher number of fatalities.Municipal authorities in the city of Cap-Haitien in a statement said that Saturday’s stampede in
Australia yesterday said that a woman would lead its army for the first time in history, as part of a reshuffle of the nation’s defense force leadership.Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, the current chief of joint capabilities, is to become chief of army in July, the government said in a statement. Sh
As mega K-pop group BTS returns to the stage after a hiatus of more than three years, one major market is conspicuously missing from its 12-month world tour: China.The omission of one of the group’s biggest fan bases comes as no surprise. In fact, just the opposite would have been huge news. China h
Chasing after your dog, catching yourself before you fall, jumping over a big puddle. These activities all have something in common, and it’s not just that they’re the makings of a very bad day. They rely on power: the ability to generate force quickly. It’s an often overlooked part of the fitness m
A recent report from the Environmental Management Administration of the Ministry of Environment highlights a perennial problem: illegal dumping of construction waste.In Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅) and Hsinchu’s Longtan District (龍潭) criminals leased 10,000 square meters of farmland, saying they
Handing down a name over generations is a central part of the Japanese traditional theater art of Kabuki, and that ceremony gets celebrated at theaters and special events every few years.Now, the ritual is taking place with the eighth Kikugoro, who is having that honor passed down from his 83-year-o
對話 Dialogue清清：你看過螢火蟲嗎？我聽新聞說，四到五月是螢火蟲的季節。Qîngqîng: Nǐ kànguò yínghuǒchóng ma? Wǒ tîng xînwén shuô, sì dào wǔ yuè shì yínghuǒchóng de jìjié. 華華：是喔？我從來沒親眼看過螢火蟲，只在電視上看過。Huáhua: Shì o? Wǒ cónglái méi qînyǎn kàn guò yínghuǒchóng, zhǐ zài diànshì shàng kàn guò.清清：你想一起去看嗎？我們可以去山上走走，那裡比較容易看到。Qîngqîng: Nǐ xiǎ
1. 明天她將談法國環境保護的情形。ˇ Tomorrow she will speak on environmental protection in France.χ Tomorrow she will speak environmental protection in France.註︰speak 作「談論」解時，是不及物動詞，按照不同的意義，後面接 on, of 或 about。一般說 to speak on a subject ( / a point); to speak of / about a person or thing; to speak to / with a person。
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% | |
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