Sat, Apr 18, 2026
PROTECTING YOUNG PEOPLE: The expansion covers the murder of young children, the abuse and obstruction of an adolescent’s well-being and sexual exploitation of minors The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed an amendment expanding “pre-emptive detention” to include suspects in the sexual exploitation of minors, the homicide of young children, fraud and drunk driving as stipulated in the Criminal Code, among other offenses.The expansion of the grounds for pre-emptive
Taiwan’s importance is rising as a key to artificial intelligence (AI) hardware resilience, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) holding the lifeline of the global AI hardware supply chain, according to this year’s AI Index report released this week by Stanford University’s Institu
Thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians yesterday took to the road, hoping a 10-day ceasefire with Israel would allow them to return to their homes in southern Beirut and the nation’s war-torn south.Roads heading south from the capital were clogged with traffic, despite Israel’s defense minister w
Former Burmese president Win Myint, detained since a 2021 military coup, was yesterday freed under a mass amnesty which, according to a source close to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, also reduced her sentence.Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi, the 80-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, led Mya
MARINE WATCH: Premier Cho Jung-tai said the first task should be to integrate 57 marine radar systems, which use different formats, across government agencies The government is building an ocean radar network to enhance monitoring capabilities in key strategic waters, including the Taiwan Shoal (台灣灘), the Luzon Strait and Pengjia Islet (彭佳嶼), the National Academy of Marine Research said yesterday.The project was launched last year amid a rise in ocean res
A bipartisan group of US senators on Tuesday sent a joint letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and lawmakers from each party, urging the passage of a special defense budget and assuring the upcoming announcement of further arms sales.The letter was cosigned by US senators Jeanne Shaheen, J
HEALTHIER CHOICES: The ‘red-yellow-green’ labeling system incorporates international studies to help consumers more easily understand product contents The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to introduce a traffic light labeling system for packaged foods, allowing consumers to more easily understand if products contain low, medium or high saturated fat, sugar and salt.Citing the WHO having listed “unhealthy diet” as a leading risk facto
Labor groups yesterday said key demands for this year’s May 1 labor march would include raising labor pension contribution rates under the new labor pension system to 12 percent, and removing the cap of 45 base units under the old labor pension system.The goal is to push the government to reform pen
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday said discrepancies between the new labor pension system and the old labor pension system have undermined workers’ rights and benefits under the old system, calling for reforms while ensuring protections for both employers and employees.DPP Legis
SHORT SHOWERS: Two weather fronts are expected to pass over Taiwan this week and next week, bringing short localized showers or storms, the CWA said A frontal weather system is forecast to pass through Taiwan today, bringing scattered showers or thunderstorms to northern and eastern areas, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said yesterday that localized brief showers or thunderstorms are forecast tod
Taiwanese researchers have unlocked a key mechanism of a so-called “superbug” in a breakthrough that could lead to improved vaccines and treatment strategies to counter the pathogen.National Sun Yat-sen University associate professor of marine biotechnology Lee I-ming (李益銘) and Academia Sinica Insti
DEFENSE PLEA: Technologies transferred via commercial sales are crucial for Taiwan’s ability to fight a war alongside the US, retired rear admiral Mark Montgomery said To strengthen military interoperability between Taiwan and the US, Taiwan should expand its procurement through direct commercial sales channel rather than relying solely on foreign military sales, a former US Navy rear admiral said in Taipei yesterday, adding that the legislature’s effort to separa
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported.After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said.Japan Self-Defense F
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for the swift passage of a special defense budget during an inspection of the Army Infantry Training Command in Kaohsiung, stressing the need to strengthen Taiwan’s military preparedness.The NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) budget, which the Cabinet
NEW LAW: The legislation would allow Taiwan to freely display its flag and be represented under its own name without the fear of Chinese interference A delegation of Japan’s Happiness Realization Party members yesterday unveiled plans for a law to facilitate visits by Taiwanese officials.The party would push for the Diet to pass a Japanese version of the US Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to create a legal framework for Taiwanese officials to transit
‘CONTAINED’: CPI is expected to rise by 1.98 percent, below the 2 percent threshold, as measures such as fuel subsidies and frozen electricity tariffs help with inflation, CIER said Taiwan’s economic outlook has improved this year despite persistent geopolitical risks in the Middle East, supported by robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中經院) said yesterday.CIER raised its full-year GDP growth forecas
CORE DRIVER: The company has capitalized on the AI boom, with cloud computing revenue accounting for 66.75 percent of total revenue, the company chairman said Foxconn Industrial Internet Co (FII, 工業富聯), a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday said it expects strong growth this year, driven by booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-end interconnects.FII, 84 percent owned by Hon Hai, was listed on the Shanghai Stock
Asia is more vulnerable to an energy shock than other regions because of its heavy reliance on Middle East fuel, an IMF executive said, warning of an acute hit to growth if a prolonged war triggers supply shortages.The region’s economies entered the year on solid footing due to lower-than-expected U
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 said that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as this year as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association.Signed in February 2024, the MOU sti
The IMF has issued a warning that it is revising its global economic growth forecasts downward, and inflation risks are on the rise.If the war in the Middle East continues, the world could be pushed toward recession. For Taiwan, this is not some distant news story; its effects are borne out material
On March 31, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released declassified diplomatic records from 1995 that drew wide domestic media attention. One revelation stood out: North Korea had once raised the possibility of diplomatic relations with Taiwan.In a meeting with visiting Chinese officials
‘AMPED UP’: The 16 teams for the post-season were finalized, with the Pacific Division an example of the challenges teams must face to hoist the Stanley Cup The path through the NHL Central Division to the Western Conference Final for Dallas and Minnesota is about as treacherous as it gets, with the Stars and the Wild — who respectively had the third and seventh-most points this season — to meet in the first round and the winners potentially facing the
Aston Villa demolished Bologna on Thursday, while Nottingham Forest beat Porto in the UEFA Europa League to set up an all-English showdown in the semi-finals.Leading 3-1 from the quarter-final first leg, Unai Emery’s team swatted aside Bologna with a 4-0 victory at Villa Park.Forest, 12 spots below
Crystal Palace on Thursday went down to a 2-1 defeat against ACF Fiorentina, but nonetheless progressed 4-2 on aggregate to the semi-finals of the UEFA Conference League, where they face Shakhtar Donetsk.On the other side of the draw, RC Strasbourg Alsace pulled off a fine comeback to book a spot in
Racing 92 center Joey Manu said that he would love to play for New Zealand at next year’s Rugby World Cup as the former rugby league star prepares for the Paris derby in the French Top 14 tomorrow.Manu has impressed during his first season at Racing after originally moving from Australia’s National
PROMISING: In a speech before the world’s oldest leader, the pope said the youth represents the nation’s hope and demanded that the ‘chains of corruption’ be broken Thousands of people yesterday turned out see Pope Leo XIV, who was celebrating a big Mass in Cameroon’s port city and then was to visit the country’s Catholic university on a day focused on encouraging young people.Leo traveled to Douala, the commercial and economic capital of Cameroon, to celebrate
RE-ENGAGEMENT: The bloc is to start formal talks with Syria’s transitional authorities next month, and has outlined measures on migration, trade and security The EU plans to deepen its engagement with Syria by relaunching formal political contacts and paving the way for closer economic and security ties, according to a document seen by Reuters, marking the latest step in a broader policy shift after years of frozen relations.The background paper, produce
Tourists crowded beneath the Door of No Return, an arch built by the beach at Ouidah in southern Benin in memory of those crammed onto slave ships bound for the New World.Benin has in the past few years leaned into its painful past to encourage tourism. Once a key departure point in the transatlanti
The entire Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) saga has been an ugly, complicated mess. Born in China’s Hunan Province, she moved to work in Shenzhen, where she met her future Taiwanese husband. Most accounts have her arriving in Taiwan and marrying somewhere between 1993 and 1999. She built a successful career in Tai
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry consumes electricity at rates that would strain most national grids. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) alone accounted for more than 9 percent, or 2,590 megawatts (MW), of the nation’s power demand last year.The factories that produce chips for the world’s
A pop star’s need for a new dress sets in motion David Lowery’s Mother Mary, a fitfully spellbinding chamber drama that grows more operatic with every stitch.What might be a fairly routine affair — some performers change outfits nearly every song — is in Lowery’s latest taken to beguiling extremes w
When you twist open a bottle of carbonated water, bubbles rush out with a hissing sound. This drink is simply water infused with carbon dioxide (CO2) under pressure, giving it that fizz on your tongue. But this basic description barely scratches the surface of the carbonated water family. Although
A: Apart from the Thai Water Festival, Taiwan’s three major Matsu pilgrimages are among Asia’s largest annual folk activities.B: This year, “Baisha-ma” of the Baishatun Gongtian Temple in Miaoli County was the first to kick off her pilgrimage, with the deity departing on April 12 and returning on th
A: Why didn’t you come to work earlier this week? Did you go anywhere for fun? B: I went to Thailand with friends to celebrate the 2026 Water Festival, also known as the Songkran Festival. The three-day annual celebrations ran from April 13 to 15. Everyone was having water fights in the streets.A:
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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