Sun, Mar 22, 2026
MORE VISIBILITY: The nation’s participation as an adviser is an upgrade from its observer status and signaled a deepening Taiwan-US supply chain cooperation Taiwan last week joined a US-led initiative in an advisory capacity, which discussed bolstering the defense industrial resilience of the US and its partners for the Indo-Pacific region, a US Pentagon official said.The Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) on Wednesday convened i
Supporting Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations remains a key part of the US Mission to the UN, US Representative to the UN Mike Waltz said on Friday.He also reiterated the US’ opposition to China’s distortion of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, saying it was an attem
US President Donald Trump has allowed the sale of some Iranian oil to contain surging crude prices and floated “winding down” military efforts.Trump’s comments came shortly after he ruled out a ceasefire and kept the door open to deploying ground troops. The conflict has roiled financial markets and
The presidents of Kenya and Uganda yesterday met near their shared border to mark the multi-billion dollar, long-delayed extension of a Chinese-built railway that has left Kenya heavily in debt.The Standard Gauge Railway, built from 2013 to 2019, connects the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Nairobi and on
CONNECTIONS: Taiwan thanked the two world leaders for reaffirming that cross-strait peace and stability are indispensable to regional security and global prosperity US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday affirmed their shared commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposition to any attempts to unilaterally change the “status quo.”The two leaders met at the White House to discuss trade and coopera
Tensions between the US and Japan over the Iran war remained evident as US President Donald Trump on Thursday hosted Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, even as he said Tokyo was answering his call for support in the effort.“They are really stepping up to the plate,” unlike NATO allies, Trump sa
ABOUT-FACE? Taiwan’s energy shortage and global realities forced the government to make a U-turn, proving that the DPP lied to the public, a TPP spokeswoman said President William Lai’s (賴清德) announcement that the government is contemplating restarting operations of two nuclear power plants is a belated acknowledgement of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) years-long energy policy mistakes, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday. Lai earlie
Restarting the use of nuclear power in Taiwan would pass the nuclear waste problem to the next generation and is not in line with environmental justice, several anti-nuclear groups said yesterday, citing the country’s proneness to natural disasters and the lack of a nuclear waste disposal site. Pres
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year.A delegation led by Deputy Minist
CSBC Corp, Taiwan, the main contractor for Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, has pledged to promptly address issues in the vessel’s interior raised by an opposition lawmaker on Friday, but said that it did not expect ongoing tests to be affected. In a statement later on Friday, CSBC categorized t
NO PROSECUTION: Former Control Yuan secretary-general Lee Chun-yi covered his vehicle’s expenses, Taipei prosecutors said Taipei prosecutors on Friday said they would not prosecute Control Yuan officials who were accused of alleged misuse of official vehicles for personal business. The officials, including former Control Yuan secretary-general Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋), Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), had no crim
Control Yuan member Tien Chiu-chin (田秋菫) yesterday urged the Ministry of Environment to improve oversight on fly ash and reduce dioxin levels in it, citing an investigation into residual toxins and public concern over waste management. The probe was launched following media reports in 2024 on residu
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday.The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics
Currently, 95 percent of the world’s robot “brains” are manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday.Wei made the remarks after being awarded an honorary doctorate by Asia University yesterday for his long-standing leadership of the compan
GRIEVOUS MAULING: The 76-year-old was treated for more than 200 wounds after three dogs attacked her, with dog problems reported around the nation A 76-year-old woman in Changhua County’s Pitou Township (埤頭) was attacked by three dogs resulting in more than 200 wounds after working on her farm on March 11, prompting calls from locals for the country government to address the threat of dog attacks.The woman was quoted as saying that she was cha
The return of the world’s biggest boy band, BTS, after their almost four-year hiatus looks set to be a major money-spinner — potentially beating Taylor Swift.The K-pop giants were to hold a massive comeback concert in Seoul yesterday ahead of a world tour starting next month, one way that the mega-g
A federal jury in California on Friday ruled that tech tycoon Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders, driving down the company’s share price as he was poised to buy it in a US$44 billion deal.The verdict in the class-action securities lawsuit means the world’s richest person could be ordered to pay b
As a boom in online gambling across Africa gathers pace, governments are hiking taxes to contain addiction risks and fill depleted state coffers. In by far the biggest market of South Africa, the industry is pushing back.Once a niche activity, gambling has exploded across the continent as a result o
In the week leading up to the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct presidential elections, former Polish president Lech Walesa visited the nation.Over the past three decades, he has come to Taiwan numerous times, the first being soon after the first direct election, delivering a speech at the L
The decision by five members of Iran’s women’s national soccer team to withdraw their asylum application in Australia has drawn global attention. Reports suggest that the captain’s mother was summoned and pressured by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, forcing her and other team members
The debate over restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County has been amplified by certain groups amid rising tensions in the Middle East, creating the impression that Taiwan is on the verge of an energy crisis and acting as if all energy-related issues could be solved by bringing
‘POINT OF EMPHASIS’: Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said that his team prepared for the game by ‘trying to figure out how our defense can create that chaos’ The Detroit Pistons beat the Golden State Warriors 115-101 on Friday to become the first Eastern Conference team to clinch an NBA playoffs berth.Jalen Duren scored 23 points and Daniss Jenkins added 22 for the Pistons, who grabbed their 51st victory of the season despite the absence of star guard Ca
Audi, who are just two races into their Formula One journey, have parted company with team principal Jonathan Wheatley “with immediate effect,” the German team said on Friday.The 58-year-old Briton, who spent almost two decades with Red Bull, joined Sauber in April last year.Sauber were subsequently
The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots, defending champions of Taiwan’s P.League+, on Friday secured their second straight berth in the East Asia Super League (EASL) championship game by trouncing Alvark Tokyo 102-76 at Studio City Event Center in Macau.William Artino recorded a double-double, including a game-h
About 80,000 fans were hoping to see Lionel Messi take on Lamine Yamal in Doha, while thousands more were gearing up for the Formula One grand prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but the war in the Middle East had other plans.The Gulf countries have invested vast sums of money in bringing global sport
SAFETY NEEDED: South Korea’s president has called for better worker protections, with data showing that more than 10,000 workers have died on the job from 2020 to 2024 Rescuers combed the charred wreckage of a South Korean car parts factory for missing people after a fire killed at least 11 people and injured dozens more, authorities said yesterday.Fire crews were initially unable to enter the factory in the central city of Daejeon due to the risk of the building
In Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, women perform a traditional dance, their long dresses spinning, gold tassels and heavy necklaces catching the firelight, as smaller crowds than usual celebrate Nowruz, overshadowed by the Middle East conflict.Among them were Iranian Kurds Sirwa Mustafazada and Kw
A ship that appears to be taking on the identity of a scrapped gas carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, showing how strategies to get through the waterway are evolving as the Middle East war progresses.The vessel identifying as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Jamal left the Strait on F
March 23 to March 29Kao Chang (高長) set strict rules for his descendants: women were to learn music or cooking, and the men medicine or theology. No matter what life path they chose, they were to use their skills in service of the Presbyterian Church and society. As a result, musical ability — partic
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on March 14 held a joint “Chasing Dreams in Taiwan, Building Our Future” press conference headlined by their respective chairs, Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文). They laid out a joint framework for cross-party cooper
A man walks through the crowd, naked except for a G-string made from rope, his body fully adorned with intricate artwork that makes him look like the hero of a seventies Hong Kong movie.This is a common sight at the Taiwan Tattoo Convention, which is currently being held in Kaohsiung until tomorrow.
A new international study revealed that spruce trees in an Italian forest can respond to a solar eclipse. To be more specific, they actually anticipate it by synchronizing their bioelectrical signals hours before the event. To monitor this phenomenon, scientists attached special sensors to the tree
Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Ragasa caused the barrier lake above Matai’an Creek in Hualien’s Guangfu Township to overflow on Sept. 23 of last year. The sudden rush of water and mud destroyed a major bridge and swept through nearby villages, leaving significant damage in its wake. The barrier lake
A: K-pop supergroup BTS is set to tour Taiwan at the end of the year, putting on three shows in Kaohsiung on Nov. 19, 21 and 22.B: But before that, VieShow Cinemas across Taiwan will launch the “BTS World Tour ‘Arirang’ in Japan Live Viewing” from the Tokyo Dome on April 18.A: In recent years, BTS’
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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