Tue, Mar 24, 2026
A government-proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$38.95 billion) special defense budget is the most comprehensive among competing proposals, as it supports long-term domestic weapons production, Minister of National Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday, adding that the US is unlikely to acc
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has established a “diplomatic allies prosperity economic and trade office” to encourage local companies to invest in the nation’s allies, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in New Taipei City yesterday, as he also confirmed that the Kingdom of
President Donald Trump said Monday the United States and Iran had held "very good" talks towards ending the three-week Middle East war, putting threatened US attacks on Iran’s power plants on hold in a stunning about-turn.In a social media post that immediately sent oil prices tumbling, Trump said W
THE BIG THREE: Left-wing candidates won in Paris, Marseille and Lyon, while the far-right RN was left with several medium-sized southern enclaves Leftists retained control of France’s three largest cities while the far right failed to take any major urban centers in Sunday’s municipal elections, closely watched for an indication of next year’s presidential race. The far right won several medium-sized southern enclaves, but failed to capture a
An Air Canada Express plane with 76 people aboard collided with a fire truck shortly after landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late on Sunday, killing the two pilots.The captain and copilot died in the collision that occurred at about 11:40pm, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said e
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yester
FORWARD FOCUSED: The DPP said that starting the approval process is a possible response to need, not a hard plan to bring the two reactors back online It is a misinterpretation to say that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has a definite intention to restart nuclear plants, DPP caucus chief executive Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said yesterday.President William Lai (賴清德) on Saturday said the government has begun the approval process for
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday made six demands regarding the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) energy policy after President William Lai (賴清德) on Saturday confirmed that work has begun to secure approvals for restarting the decommissioned Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New
Members of the Taiwan Go Go Front alliance yesterday called for suspension of plan to restart the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春).The alliance, including the Green Party Taiwan (GP
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday honored the 30th anniversary of the first direct presidential election in Taiwan, calling on the legislature to pass a special defense budget to “safeguard” the country’s democracy and freedom.In a social media post, Lai said that March 23, 1996, was the day the
Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official yesterday refused to answer questions from China-born Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Li Chen-hsiu (李貞秀) during a legislative committee session, saying it would be "illegal" to answer someone not legally qualified to hold office."If an administrativ
NOMINAL NAMINGS: Dissatisfaction has flared up over Taiwan’s designation in the Republic of Korea’s e-arrival system with ultimatums issued Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Sunday said that Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation in its online immigration entry system to “Korea (South)” if Seoul continues to ignore Taipei’s requests to correct its labeling of Taiwan in its e-arrival system by the end of this mont
DIVERSE TALENT POOL: A Google Taiwan official said that the Employment Gold Card program allows the company to attract international talent to the nation The government has issued 1,124 Employment Gold Cards to foreign professionals in the digital field since 2023, with about 60 percent of them being software developers, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. Applications for the Employment Gold Card in the digital field ranked fourth among
Tri-Service General Hospital (TSGH) yesterday reported the nation’s first case of diaphragm pacing system (DPS) implantation in a woman with a high cervical spinal cord injury, saying that the procedure helped the woman come off ventilator support and begin rehabilitation. The patient is a 37-year-o
Taiwan’s population of endangered Formosan black bears has been initially estimated at about 1,200, but the figure could still be revised, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said yesterday. The estimate was based on recent nationwide monitoring data, with duplicate infrared camera records r
BARRIER TO ENTRY: The TAIEX’s rally has attracted younger investors, but some complained that cumbersome requirements discouraged them from new ETFs A majority of Taiwanese investors remain optimistic about local equities despite heightened market volatility, a joint survey released yesterday by Line Bank Taiwan Ltd (連線商業銀行) and JPMorgan Asset Management’s Taiwan unit showed.About 58 percent of respondents expressed a positive outlook on Taiwane
M&A DEALS: Zeiss said it is seeking potential M&A opportunities after last year acquiring local contact lens supplier Brighten Optix Corp for NT$5.4 billion Carl Zeiss AG plans to increase investment and workforce in Taiwan this year to meet growing demand for advanced chip manufacturing and packaging inspections, the German company said yesterday.It attributed robust demand for sophisticated packaging, such as 2.5D or 3D packaging, to an artificial int
Taiwan’s natural gas supply remains stable through the end of May, despite rising concerns about potential disruptions to Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.The ministry in a statement said that
The central bank on Thursday last week kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 2 percent for the eighth consecutive quarter, after board directors met for the first time since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran late last month. The decision was unanimous and aligned with market expectati
Thailand’s western Ratchaburi province is a major producer of aromatic coconuts, but in the past few years, Chinese firms have invested heavily in establishing collection and export hubs. From leasing land for cultivation to procurement, grading, packaging and export, Chinese companies have graduall
India’s semiconductor ambitions have been framed in sweeping terms: strategic autonomy, supply chain resilience and a long-awaited entry into the most critical industry of the digital age. Yet, a report by the Indian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology (2025
‘NOT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE’: Pep Guardiola was ecstatic after Nico O’Reilly’s second goal, embarking on a sprint down the touchline that earned him a booking Pep Guardiola on Sunday hailed Manchester City’s 2-0 win against Arsenal in the EFL Cup final as a “special” moment after a difficult period that threatened to derail their season.Nico O’Reilly capitalized on a blunder by Arsenal goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to head City’s second-half opener and the
The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots on Sunday fell short in their bid for a first East Asia Super League (EASL) title after a 90-81 loss to Japan’s Utsunomiya Brex in Macau.The defeat marked the second straight year the defending P.League+ champions missed out on the EASL crown, but they remain the first team
Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday slipped ever closer to relegation from the English Premier League with a 3-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest, as Sunderland stretched their hex over local rivals Newcastle United.Spurs have not tasted life outside the English top flight since 1978, but remai
The Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday shrugged off the injury absence of Anthony Edwards to complete a come-from-behind 102-92 road victory over the Boston Celtics.Minnesota trailed by 15 points early in the second quarter, but rallied decisively in the fourth with a 16-0 run to outscore the Celtics
‘STATE OF EMERGENCY’: The increase in concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases to their highest level in 800,000 years has upset the Earth’s energy equilibrium The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels last year, with the consequences of such warming feared to last for thousands of years, the UN said yesterday.The 11 hottest years ever recorded were all between 2015 and last year, the UN’s World Metrological Organization (WMO) confirmed
ANTI-SEMITISM: The prime minister and London mayor condemned the attack, while the chief rabbi called it a ‘sickening assault’ on the Jewish community Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service have been set on fire in Golders Green, north London, with police saying they were treating the incident as an anti-Semitic hate crime.British Prime Miniter Keir Starmer denounced it as a shocking attack on London’s Jewish community
A majority of Japanese people oppose sending warships to the Middle East in response to the war in Iran, according to two polls conducted over the weekend amid continued US pressure on allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.In a Yomiuri Shimbun survey, 67 percent voiced opposition to sending the
During her first year of college, Elisabeth Bradley was inspired to try weightlifting after she followed a woman tracking her fitness transformation on social media, one barbell at a time.Then, Bradley found herself to be the only woman in the weight room at San Diego State University.“I felt like I
The game-changing K-pop boy band BTS has returned after a nearly four-year musical hiatus. ARIRANG, the 14-track, fifth studio album from the septet — RM, Jin, Jimin, V, Suga, Jung Kook and j-hope — is here. And it is appropriately massive.ARIRANG — titled after a popular, traditional Korean folk so
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year
K-pop oozes with talent, flair and hard work, but the spectacularly successful South Korean music industry also has a dark side — sometimes with tragic results.After BTS’s comeback concert on Saturday, AFP looks at the intense competition, the grueling training, the tight control over stars’ lives a
對話 Dialogue清清：今天來上班的路上，經過好幾條開滿了花的路，心情都跟著好起來了。Qīngqing: Jīntiān lái shàngbān de lùshàng, jīngguò hǎojǐ tiáo kāimǎnle huā de lù, xīnqíng dōu gēnzhe hǎo qǐlái le.華華：這就是春天哪！天氣暖和了，花也都開了。Huáhua: Zhè jiùshì chūntiān na! Tiānqì nuǎnhuo le, huā yě dōu kāi le.清清：對啊！朋友也都在網上曬參加花季的照片，隨便拍都好美。Qīngqing: Duì a! Pé
1. 他們昨天早上七點到那裡。ˇ They got there at seven yesterday morning.χ They got to there at seven yesterday morning.註：there 是副詞，通常前面不該有介詞，也不可用 *I come to here，應說 I come here。但from here/there, near here/there, over there, up here/there 等都可以用。例如：Let’s go up there.Do you see that man over there?I can’t see it f
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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