Ongoing delays in teacher hiring is a growing concern. In the past, schools typically completed all hiring prior to the start of the school year. Now, many are still recruiting teachers after classes have begun, reflecting a serious phenomenon: a lack of new talent in education.The proportion of tea
Since leaving office last year, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been journeying across continents. Her ability to connect with international audiences and foster goodwill toward her country continues to enhance understanding of Taiwan. It is possible because she can now walk through doors in
The tactics of online trolls are expanding and becoming increasingly sophisticated. Some specialize in hurling insults, while others pose as experts and spout half-baked “scientific theories.” They are adept at manipulating social media algorithms — they know which words are the most likely to enrag
EDITORIAL CARTOON
In 1986, “Anne,” a data entry clerk, watches an IBM PC land on her desk. Within a year, her job is gone. Four decades later, “Natalie,” a social-media manager, looks on as ChatGPT drafts the posts she once wrote. However, her exit might come even faster than Anne’s.In July, a new report from Microso
On Tehran’s bustling streets, signs of change are unmistakable. Women walk unveiled in jeans and sneakers, men and women linger together in coffee shops where Western music hums softly, and couples stroll hand-in-hand — subtle acts that chip away at the rigid social codes that have long defined the
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators once again collaborated to vote against the appointments of four new National Communications Commission (NCC) commissioners. This decision has further mired the already dysfunctional agency in uncertainty.The commission, whi
“Si ambulat loquitur tetrissitatque sicut anas, anas est” is, in customary international law, the three-part test of anatine ambulation, articulation and tetrissitation. And it is essential to Taiwan’s existence. Apocryphally, it can be traced as far back as Suetonius (蘇埃托尼烏斯) in late first-century
Hsinchu Baseball Stadium should have been a source of pride for the city, but due to suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao’s (高虹安) political manipulation and administrative incompetence, it has instead become synonymous with an absurd farce. The Hsinchu City Government in 2023 found that the stadium had a
EDITORIAL CARTOON
The world has, for the most part, welcomed the trade truce between the US and China. Exporters, in particular, are hoping for a period of quiet that would allow them to adjust to a new world with higher tariffs and more restrictions.Yet for workers and companies across the developing world, the poss
Everything in Japan has a recognizable mascot, from tourist sites to the Tokyo police force.However, one of the most beloved is soon to be no more. East Japan Railway Co, better known as JR East, on Tuesday last week announced that it is retiring the iconic penguin that has long adorned Suica, the c
What does the experience of women at the top tell us about the rest? Those most vulnerable to sexual harassment, assault and abuse are, unsurprisingly, those who have less power or are treated with less respect: undocumented migrants, women in precarious employment, women with disabilities, LGBTQ wo
Chinese agents often target Taiwanese officials who are motivated by financial gain rather than ideology, while people who are found guilty of spying face lenient punishments in Taiwan, a researcher said on Tuesday.While the law says that foreign agents can be sentenced to death, people who are conv
Before 1945, the most widely spoken language in Taiwan was Tai-gi (also known as Taiwanese, Taiwanese Hokkien or Hoklo).However, due to almost a century of language repression policies, many Taiwanese believe that Tai-gi is at risk of disappearing. To understand this crisis, I interviewed academics
With Taiwan becoming a “super-aged” society, the demand for long-term care has surged. In August, the government launched a new policy allowing people aged 80 or older to hire live-in foreign caregivers without undergoing health evaluations based on the Barthel index — a clinical scale used to asses
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Should the US and Russia resume nuclear testing? The answer to that question must be a resounding “No.” Yet US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, eager to project strength, have raised fears that they might be moving to revive the dangerous practice. While the significance
Australia risks undermining efforts to establish itself as a leader in the green energy transition and letting down its vulnerable Pacific island neighbours if its bid to host next year’s biggest climate summit fails, diplomats and analysts say. Australia was long considered the front-runner to hold
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