CROSS-STRAIT
Chinese students coming
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) foundation yesterday said the central government had approved its application to invite a group of Chinese students to visit Taiwan. Foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said in a statement that the 40 students from seven universities would be led by China Tsinghua University Committee Secretary of the Communist Party Qiu Yong (邱勇). The visiting students would include double Olympic table tennis champion Ma Long (馬龍) of Beijing Sport University, and 2020 Tokyo Olympic shooting gold medalist Yang Qian (楊倩) of Tsinghua University. They are expected to arrive on Nov. 27 and depart on Dec. 5. Hsiao said the government approval is meaningful at a time of increasingly tense cross-strait relations. The Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday said that no major flaws were identified during the application review, and that it would ask the visiting group that no political statements be made and no actions detrimental to Taiwan’s status be taken.
TECHNOLOGY
More funding coming
The government has allocated NT$196.5 billion (US$6.1 billion) in next year’s budget to support the tech industry, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said on Thursday. Speaking at the EdTech Taiwan at the Taipei World Trade Center, Cho said the government plans to “make step-by-step efforts” to transform Taiwan into a “digital nation and ‘smart’ island.” The government has earmarked NT$14.6 billion for the semiconductor industry, NT$10.1 billion for net-zero technology, NT$9.4 billion for artificial intelligence (AI), NT$6 billion for aerospace and communications industries and NT$5.3 billion for digital humanities, Cho said. The remainder of the tech budget would be spent on areas including the arms industry, security-related technologies and next-generation communications, he added. “Through its policy approach, the Executive Yuan hopes to establish Taiwan’s sovereign AI and enter the era of AI applications,” the premier said. Next year’s proposed budget represents an increase of more than 25 percent from the NT$156.9 billion allocated for this year.
TRANSPORT
Speed limit increased
The Danhai Light Rail Transit in New Taipei City has significantly improved service efficiency between the two stations by increasing the speed limit sixfold. Starting yesterday, light rail trains on the elevated section between Xinshi 1st Road Station and Danjin Beixin (Beitouzi) Station can travel up to 60kph, operator New Taipei Metro said in a statement. The two stations are 470m apart, and the higher speed limit reduces travel time by about one minute, it said, adding that the change was made possible by covering rarely used railroad switches between the stations.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
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