Sat, Sep 19, 2026
The US remains committed to maintaining deterrence along the First Island Chain, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Shen Yu-chung (沈有忠) said yesterday.Taiwan remained in close communication with the US, Shen said, adding that messages received by Taipei indicated that maintaining deterre
MOUNTING PRESSURE: Taipower has accumulated losses of more than NT$400 billion, as it has been absorbing rising global oil prices for the past few years The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would delay setting new electricity rates until its meeting in December, in a bid to help curb increases in consumer prices.Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) proposed raising electricity rates by about 12.83 percent to NT$4.2675 per kilowatt-hour, refl
Russians yesterday began voting in a tightly controlled three-day election that is set to tighten Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 26-year grip on power, in the country’s fifth year of war with Ukraine.It is Russia’s first parliamentary election since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ruled out sending troops to the Strait of Hormuz to join the US war against Iran, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump, as Lee fights to reverse hemorrhaging public support and get his policy agenda back on track.Lee has seen his approval ratings plung
GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The CGA’s nonmilitary role makes it a tool to avert diplomatic issues, an official said, while confirming the donation of a ship to Manila Coast Guard Administration (CGA) ships are scheduled to sail to the Philippines bearing the words “Taiwan Coast Guard” in a high-profile visit in October next year, the first such visit by a Taiwanese maritime law enforcement vessel to the Southeast Asian nation, the agency said yesterday.The CGA al
FED UP: The governor of Taiwan’s central bank said that there is still time to observe, while stock markets around the world mostly rose after the US Fed hiked interest rates The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a 10th straight quarter while easing housing credit controls, signaling confidence that property lending has cooled enough to allow a targeted relaxation without undermining financial stability.The central bank left its discount ra
INDUSTRY UPGRADES: Institute president Chang Pei-zen said it is facilitating the development of critical mineral refining and copackaged optics in Taiwan The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is spearheading Taiwan’s drive to enhance technological collaboration with the US, Japan and Europe in critical fields, institute president Chang Pei-zen (張培仁) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei
DATABASE WORKAROUND? Prosecutors alleged that Hsu Hsih-chung and others used a software tool to obtain data amid frustration over system shortcomings The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted a former official of the National Institute of Cyber Security’s research and acquisition center for allegedly hacking into a classified institute database.Hsu Hsih-chung (許世璋), a former deputy director of the center, and three of his subordi
Minister of Sports Lee Yang (李洋) attended an Asian Games flag-raising ceremony in Japan yesterday after an hour-long delay amid a dispute over an alleged attempt to bar him from the event.The ceremony, held ahead of the opening of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, was held at 1:30pm, with Taiwan, Timor-
Changhua County Council Speaker Hsieh Dien-lin (謝典霖) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and his father, Hsieh Hsin-lung (謝新隆), were ordered detained and held incommunicado by a court late on Thursday in connection with a June banquet that prosecutors allege involved vote-buying.Hsieh Dien-lin’s
The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted New Taipei City council candidate Chang Chao-long (張昭隆) on suspicion of violating election laws by distributing red envelopes and radish cakes to voters.Chang, a former deputy spokesperson for the New Taipei chapter of the Taiwan People’
Taiwan welcomed disaster management officials and experts from around the world yesterday ahead of the launch of a new international alliance aimed at strengthening disaster preparedness and response.Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) j
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday inspected a large-scale earthquake disaster response drill in eastern Taiwan that involved more than 150 international search-and-rescue and medical personnel.“Disasters know no borders,” Lai said in remarks after the inspection, stressing the importance of cond
OCT. 31: The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Eraflu have been distributed to about 4,000 medical facilities nationwide for people in seven groups who develop flu-like symptoms As the domestic influenza epidemic enters its peak season and continues to escalate, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday announced that publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs for seven eligible groups have been extended to Oct. 31, allowing those who develop flu-like symptoms to recei
Environmental advocates yesterday protested the selection of the site for the Shalun Science Park project, urging the environmental impact assessment committee to prioritize eastern grass-owl conservation over industrial development.The site is located at the Shalun Farm (沙崙農場) in Tainan’s Gueiren D
SAFEGUARDING AI: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang maintained a bullish stance despite concerns about artificial intelligence safety and growing calls for an industry slowdown Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) expects to sell twice as many chips in the coming year, fueled by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) across different industries.AI is of great benefit to a variety of sectors, Huang told reporters on the sidelines of an event convened b
The US is expected to hold off announcing new tariffs on China and other trading partners until after next week’s summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter, a delay that could preserve such a threat as leverage in th
GLOBAL POLICY SHIFT: The hikes come as the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank address the fallout from the Iran war with raised rates The Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised its benchmark interest rate in a split decision showing dissent within the board as it confronts mounting inflation risks and unusually explicit calls for further policy normalization from Washington.The BOJ lifted its policy rate by a quarter point to 1.25 percent yes
Taiwan ranked seventh worldwide for civil participation in The Global State of Democracy 2026: Democracy in an Age of Conflict report published on Tuesday by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. The Stockholm-based intergovernmental organization, which has more than 30
Prior to next week’s expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), reports have emerged that Beijing has sought to use Xi’s visit to the US as leverage in hopes that Washington would delay new arms sales to Taiwan. Some in US policy circles have also call
Taiwanese companies have been part of Vietnam’s manufacturing landscape since the 1990s. They have established a presence across sectors including electronics, textiles and materials.However, the conditions for manufacturing are changing. Vietnam is pushing toward net zero emissions by 2050, while g
COMPLAINTS ABOUND: Long delays, unsuitable accommodation and transport issues have overshadowed the lead-up to the Games, which are to open today The Asian Games in Japan on Friday faced more accusations of poor organization with a world champion gymnast “totally exhausted,” the public drafted in to rescue stranded athletes and South Korea lodging a complaint about a Japanese warlord.The continent’s premier sporting spectacle opens in Nagoya
Police are on red alert as the English Championship braces for the renewal of two bitter feuds when Millwall face West Ham and Wolves meet West Brom this weekend.Leaders West Ham travel to the Den tomorrow for the first “Dockers Derby” against London rivals Millwall in 14 years.Wolves host fourth-pl
Prominent Australian rowing figures have criticized the approval of Rockhampton’s crocodile-inhabited Fitzroy River as the venue for the sport at the Brisbane Olympics, arguing the course would require extensive investment and leave little lasting legacy.Worries about the venue initially focused on
ASIAN GAMESKoreas’ anthems confusedSouth Korean field hockey players were perplexed yesterday when the national anthem of North Korea was played — instead of their own — before a men’s field hockey match against Bangladesh at the Asian Games. South Korean players looked on, unsure of how to respond.
SECURITY COOPERATION: The sale will improve Riyadh’s homeland defense and will not alter the military balance in the region, the US Department of State said The US has approved a US$24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia, the US Department of State said on Thursday, the kingdom’s latest major arms purchase since the start of the Iran war.Saudi Arabia has long sought to buy F-35s, but officials from Israel has voiced concern about
French President Emmanuel Macron today embarks on a rare and symbolic visit to a remote French territory in the North Atlantic, hosting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at a time of growing tensions with Washington.The three-day visit to Saint Pierre and Miquelon, a three-island archipelago of le
A cherished 16th-century Mexican manuscript that tells the history of the Aztecs in pictograms on Thursday went on display in Mexico City, nearly two centuries after it was whisked off to France.The Codex Azcatitlan recounts the history of the Aztec civilization, from the creation of the Aztec Empir
At National Cheng Kung University, researchers began with magnets from discarded electric-vehicle motors supplied by a local recycler. They dissolved a one-gram sample and tested how to separate dysprosium, a valuable rare-earth metal, from neodymium and praseodymium.A 2022 paper in Materials, by Ch
The one-day trip begins at the geographical center of Taiwan: Puli Township’s (埔里) Hutou Mountain Geographic Center of Taiwan Monument (臺灣地理中心碑), embedded at the foot of Nantou County’s dense forested slopes. It sits entrenched in forest vegetation amid the tall, spindly bodies and spiky heads of th
Before rushing your next big decision, let the quiet energy of the scales help you weigh your true priorities.When the gods left Earth because of humanity’s descent, Astraea, the goddess of justice, was the last deity to remain behind, teaching peace to humankind. Eventually, she grew tired of the c
Sitting down with a cup of coffee is one of life’s simple pleasures. However, many people are not fully aware of the actual differences between different types of coffee beyond their names. For example, what exactly is espresso? Although the name may sound like “express,” it is more closely related
A: Wow, the 20th Asian Games will open tomorrow in Nagoya, Japan, with over 11,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions competing in 43 sports.B: To save costs, instead of building an athletes’ village, Nagoya’s renting a cruise ship and some container houses. The quality and quantity of accommo
A: The 2026 Nagoya Asian Games will open on Sept. 19 and run through Oct. 4.B: How many athletes will Taiwan send to the games?A: It will send 482 athletes to compete in 34 sports this time, including 45-year-old senior shooter Lin Yi-chun, an eight-time Asian Games veteran.B: And the news says
| New Taipei City | 29-32 | 10% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 29-32 | 0% | |
| Hsinchu City | 29-31 | 0% | |
| Taipei City | 28-32 | 10% | |
| Miaoli County | 28-31 | 0% | |
| Taoyuan City | 29-32 | 0% | |
| Keelung City | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Yunlin County | 29-33 | 0% | |
| Taichung City | 30-33 | 0% | |
| Nantou County | 30-34 | 20% | |
| Changhua County | 29-32 | 0% | |
| Chiayi County | 30-33 | 20% | |
| Chiayi City | 30-34 | 20% | |
| Tainan City | 30-32 | 20% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 30-32 | 20% | |
| Pingtung County | 30-34 | 20% | |
| Yilan County | 28-32 | 10% | |
| Hualien County | 28-31 | 10% | |
| Taitung County | 28-31 | 10% | |
| Kinmen County | 28-32 | 0% | |
| Penghu County | 27-29 | 0% | |
| Lienchiang County | 26-29 | 0% | |
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