title: 《一字千金》參賽者遇到這一句竟全軍覆沒

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墨新聞｜記者梁偉華／台北報導

公視《一字千金》新一季主持人 Sandy 吳姍儒與參賽的親子檔合照。照片提供：公視

公視旗艦益智節目《一字千金》日前錄製八位親子檔同場較勁，也分享親子暖心時刻，林口長庚醫院臨床毒物科護理師譚敦慈分享，小兒子林浩楨是貼心小棉襖，她說：「我兒子每次跟我出門，只要過馬路或是有凹凸不平的路，他一定會停下來牽我一起走，直到現在都還是，覺得滿溫暖的。」此言一出，感動現場來賓與工作人員。

而在醫院實習的林浩楨，心中印象深刻的暖心時刻，是去年台大醫學系畢業典禮暴雨，他等待媽媽出現，沒想到往外面一看，看到哥哥跟媽媽淋著雨，沒帶雨傘，直奔現場獻花給他，他心存感謝！

公視《一字千金》新一季主持人Sandy吳姍儒（中）與譚敦慈的小兒子林浩楨(左)東森購物專家彤瑤的兒子何安傑(右)合照。照片提供：公視

《一字千金》主持人Sandy吳姍儒則自曝，小時父親吳宗憲最常講的床邊故事是年獸的故事，不過，吳宗憲真的累到爆，眼皮不聽使喚直闔眼，「所以每次他都跟我說，有一個年獸，然後我們小孩就啊啊啊尖叫…，然後他就睡著了！」直到我大約16歲才知道完整的年獸故事，引來現場笑聲不斷。

本集參賽的八位親子檔橫跨不同領域，除了譚敦慈與林浩楨母子檔，還有恩主公醫院外科醫師劉曉東與劉志浩父子檔、東森購物專家彤瑤與何安傑母子檔、前任《世界一把抓》主持人郭莉芳和吳宇柔母女檔。

林浩楨與媽媽一同上《一字千金》PK中文。照片提供：公視

他們八位比拼「見微知著」、「按部就搬」、「拾字路口2.0」、「洞築機先」四關，前兩關親子對抗比積分，後兩關由晉級組同台PK、淘汰。各平台收看的觀眾在節目開始前打開《一字千金》APP，到「洞築機先」關卡就可以即時答題，同步感受棚內參賽者接受考驗時的緊張感。

第一關經典題型「見微知著」，參賽者必須從一幅四字成語的局部圖案中，推敲出正確成語，每題限時三十秒。當題目「暴殄天物」僅透露「天」、「勿」、「日」、「氺」等部件，讓參賽者各自腦補。沒想到這一暖身題戰況慘烈，劉曉東沒寫完，譚敦慈直到時間到才想到已來不及更改，郭莉芳與林浩楨、吳宇柔是唯一有把握的三位，卻都寫錯「殄」字，全軍覆沒！

譚敦慈(左)與小兒子林浩楨(右)一同上《一字千金》PK中文。照片提供：公視

吳姍儒說，大家最常記得要唸對「殄」三聲的讀音，卻常寫錯。臺灣師範大學國文系教授季旭昇解析，「暴殄天物」意指把很好的東西浪費了，成語大家都會，但是都不會寫「殄」字，而且，當「殄」的「歹」部換成「玊」部唸作「珍」，換成「氵」部唸作「沴」，變化很多。

接續的題目，八位參賽者漸入佳境。最後林浩楨與另一位參賽者晉級「洞築機先」PK，戰況緊張、刺激，讓人頻頻捏把冷汗，直到最後一刻才分出勝負。

此篇文章最開始出處為: 《一字千金》參賽者遇到這一句竟全軍覆沒


people: 習近平 林佳龍

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LONG-HELD POSITION:  Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks.

“I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia.

“No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, attends a bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, both not pictured, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Photo: Reuters

A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters that the US and China on Saturday conducted “very constructive” trade talks in Malaysia, ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea on Thursday.

“Today’s talks have concluded. They have been very constructive, and we expect them to resume in the morning,” the spokesman said, referring to the meeting between the world’s two superpowers led by US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) in Kuala Lumpur.

The meeting took place one day before the APEC summit in South Korea.

Trump said that he hopes to reach a “good” deal with China and end the trade war.

On Friday, he told reporters that he would bring up the Taiwan issue during his meeting with Xi.

“I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump said before departing for his trip to Asia.

The US president also expressed “a lot of respect for Taiwan.”

Taiwan is not the most pressing issue for Washington and Beijing to deal with, and Trump is not expected to make any major adjustment to Washington’s long-held stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty when meeting Xi, two Taiwanese academics said.

However, the Taiwan issue is still the most “sensitive, critical, and core issue” in their bilateral relationship, Tamkang University Center for Cross-Strait Relations director Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳) said.

That is why the US’ and China’s top leaders need to make sure both understand the other’s “bottom line” on the issue to avoid misjudgement by either side, which could lead to confrontations, Chang said.

Meanwhile, Wang Hsin-hsien (王信賢), chair of the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University, said that Trump wanted to focus the bilateral talks with Xi on rare earths, fentanyl and soybeans.

Wang said it is Beijing that brought up the Taiwan issue for discussions between Xi and Trump.

Trump is unlikely to make any major concessions on Taiwan, and is likely to keep the same stance as former US president Joe Biden, Wang said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) on Wednesday said that the US has assured Taiwan that Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed when Trump meets with Xi.

“The US side has repeatedly told us that it remains steadfast in its support for Taiwan and that its exchanges with China will not harm Taiwan’s interests,” Lin said during a legislative session.

Lin thanked the US for once more publicly stating its firm stance on Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

In Trump’s second term as US president, Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, including a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the US, Japan and South Korea during the UN General Assembly last month in New York, and the G7 leaders’ support for peace and stability in the Strait, the ministry said.

title: Taiwan is no bargaining chip: Rubio


title: Thailand, Cambodia sign ceasefire deal in Malaysia

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ASIA TOUR:  On arriving in Malaysia, Trump stopped on the red carpet to dance with a troupe of dancers before taking US and Malaysian flags in his hands

The leaders of Thailand and Cambodia yesterday signed an expanded ceasefire deal watched over by US President Donald Trump, who landed in Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit and to oversee a series of pivotal trade talks.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Manet signed the agreement at a ceasefire ceremony in front of a backdrop covered in US insignia and the words “delivering peace,” building on a truce signed three months ago.

“This declaration, if fully implemented, will provide the building blocks for a lasting peace, but more importantly, it will begin the process of mending our ties,” Hun Manet said. “Our border communities have been divided by conflict, and innocent civilians have suffered immense losses.”

US President Donald Trump, right, looks on as Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, center, and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul hold up a ceasefire agreement in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Photo: AFP

Trump helped broker an end to the five-day conflict in July by calling the then-leaders of the two countries and urging them to end hostilities — their worst fighting in recent history — or risk their respective trade talks with Washington being put on hold.

“The United States will have a robust commerce and cooperation, transactions, lots of them, with both nations, as long as they live in peace,” Trump said.

On arriving in Malaysia, Trump was greeted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and a troupe of ceremonial dancers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He stopped on the red carpet to dance with the performers before taking a US flag in one hand and a Malaysian flag in the other before getting into his limousine to travel to the city with Anwar.

Malaysia yesterday agreed to refrain from banning or imposing quotas on exports to the US of critical minerals or rare earth elements, the two countries said in a statement.

They did not specify whether Malaysia’s pledge applied to raw or processed rare earths.

Trump also announced a wider trade deal with Cambodia while the White House said an agreement had also been reached with Vietnam to allow “both countries’ exporters unprecedented access to each other’s markets.”

The US would maintain a tariff rate of 19 percent on most exports from Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia, while a 20 percent rate on Vietnam would also be retained, the White House said.

Meanwhile, East Timor yesterday became the 11th member of the ASEAN bloc, fulfilling a vision set out by its president about a half-century ago while the country was a Portuguese colony.


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Liu Yu-yun wins Taiwan’s first gold in taekwondo championship in 10 years

Liu Yu-yun (劉侑芸) on Saturday won Taiwan’s first gold medal in 10 years at the World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China.

Liu rallied to defeat Turkey’s Elif Sude Akgul 2-1 in the final of the women’s under-49kg division.

Liu, who represented Taiwan at the Summer World University Games in Germany in July, demonstrated superb form throughout the championships last week.

Liu Yu-yun holds up the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag at the World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China, on Saturday. Photo: screengrab from the World Taekwondo’s Web site

After advancing through the opening rounds, she defeated Spanish Olympic silver medalist Adriana Cerezo Iglesias in the quarter-finals, then overcame Kazakhstan’s Nodira Akhmedova to reach the gold medal bout.

Facing Akgul in the final, Liu dropped the first round, but refused to back down. With no room for error, she launched a fierce comeback in the second round, landing a spinning head kick to seize the momentum and capitalize on scoring opportunities to tie the match 8-3.

In the decisive third round, Liu broke a back-and-forth battle, landing another precise head kick just before the final whistle. After a video review confirmed the three points, Liu sealed the 3-1 victory to capture the gold.

It was Taiwan’s first world taekwondo gold since Chuang Chia-chia (莊佳佳) in 2015. Liu, 18, is following in Chuang’s footsteps.

Head coach Su Tai-yuan (蘇泰源) praised Liu, saying that her 175cm height is a natural fit for the under-49kg class.

In related news, the national team won 17 medals at the Kettlebell World Championships, which concluded last week in Poland.

Taiwan won five gold, three silver, and nine bronze medals, with the gold medals going to Ting Ya-han (丁亞涵) and Tseng Yung-lin (曾詠麟).

Taiwanese athletes said they were moved when the Polish organizers played the Republic of China (ROC) national anthem, during which the athletes raised the ROC flag.

“I had never heard our national anthem played at an international competition in my life. The emotions I felt at that moment are something I’ll never forget,” Tseng wrote on Facebook.

The Taipei Representative Office in Poland also commended the athletes’ achievements, writing on Facebook: “Taiwanese athletes Ting Ya-han and Tseng Yung-lin captured gold medals with their outstanding performances. The organizers played our national anthem, which was a moment of pride and honor for Taiwan. At that moment, Taiwan shone — and we couldn’t be prouder. Thank you for letting the world see Taiwan!”


title: Film by Taiwanese director wins Best Film prize in Rome

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Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won Best Film at the Rome Film Festival on Saturday.

Shot entirely on an iPhone, the plot of the film follows the eponymous character who is forced to move to Taipei from the countryside with her sister and mother. Narrated from the perspective of the left-handed girl, each member of the family has to find their place in a new environment while negotiating family dynamics.

The Taiwanese film was a part of the Progressive Cinema Competition of the festival.

A screenshot from the movie Left-Handed Girl directed by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching. Photo courtesy of Light Year Images

A panel of judges headed by Italian comedian, actress, screenwriter, author and director Paola Cortellesi, and including US author and illustrator Brian Selznick, British director and screenwriter William Oldroyd, French-Finnish actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz, as well as Finnish director and screenwriter Teemu Nikki, awarded the honor to Tsou’s film, which was translated into Italian as La mia famiglia a Taipei (“My Family in Taipei”).

The film was honored with the top accolade of the competition, and Tsou and lead actress Nina Ye (葉子綺) gave acceptance speeches in English in pre-recorded videos.

“Hello everyone! This is Nina Ye, and I am so happy and honored that Left-Handed Girl can receive the Best Picture in the Rome Film Festival,” the child actress said in her video. “I hope you guys can love this movie as much as I do.”

Meanwhile, Tsou thanked the jury.

“I am deeply honored that our film has received the first prize at the Rome Film Festival,” Tsou said. “This film began as a very personal story and took over 20 years to bring to the screen. To have it embraced here in Rome, where cinema and humanity are celebrated so beautifully, means the world to me.”

Tsou went on to acknowledge her cast and crew as well as her international producing partners for making the film possible. While shot in Taiwan, Left-Handed Girl included a plethora of international influences, including Baker, who cowrote the script, as well as editing and producing the film.

Baker and Tsou have collaborated on many projects since 2004, first with Take Out, an independent film written and directed by the duo.

Baker in March won Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture at the 97th Academy Awards for Anora, the lead actress of which, Mikey Madison, won Best Actress at the Oscars.

Left-Handed Girl had its world premiere at the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival on May 15, where the film won its first award, the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution.

Aside from being nominated for many categories at next month’s 62nd Golden Horse Awards, the film has also been selected as the Taiwanese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards which is to be held in March next year.


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Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly on Saturday won the race to be Ireland’s new president, comfortably beating her centrist opponent in a contest marred by record numbers of spoilt ballots.

Connolly, 68, secured more than 63 percent of the votes, well ahead of Heather Humphreys of the Fine Gael party on 29.5 percent, according to the official count.

However, the seemingly comprehensive victory was marred by the number of spoilt votes and criticism over the lack of right-wing candidates, amid frustration over issues including immigration and crime.

Irish president-elect Catherine Connolly speaks after being declared the winner of the election in Dublin on Saturday. Photo: AFP

About 13 percent of the 1.65 million ballots cast were “invalid,” a record in a modern Irish elections.

“It will be an absolute privilege to serve you,” Connolly said in her acceptance speech at the count declaration.

The lawyer is an outspoken critic of the US and the EU.

“For those who didn’t vote for me and those who spoilt their votes: Let me tell you, I will be an inclusive president to listen to all of you,” she said.

She vowed to be “a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality” as well as a “voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change.”

Connolly’s election to a role with limited political power could nonetheless herald an era of increased friction between Ireland’s largely ceremonial presidency and government.

Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin — who heads Fianna Fail, the larger party in Ireland’s power-sharing coalition with Fine Gael — had earlier congratulated her for an “impactful campaign.”

“I look forward to working with the new president... as Ireland continues to play a significant role on the global stage,” he said.

Conservative figures had urged voters to mar their voting paper in protest at the two-horse race and other issues.

title: Catherine Connolly wins Ireland’s presidential vote


title: Trump is wrong about Taiwan chips: tech writer

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TECH DNA: The core of TSMC’s culture is that people do not point fingers, and instead work to fix problems so they do not happen again, a former employee said

US President Donald Trump got it wrong when he said that Taiwan had “taken about 100 percent of our chips business,” technology reporter Owen Lin (林宏文) said on Saturday.

“Taiwan creates more jobs for Americans and makes affordable, efficient chips for many US companies such as Apple, Nvidia and Broadcom, allowing their products to be marketed worldwide,” he said.

Lin made the remarks at a launch event in Taipei for the English edition of his book Chip Champion: The Triumph of TSMC and Taiwan, about the success of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) based on his close observation of the world-leading contract chipmaker since its founding in 1987.

Owen Lin poses with a copy of the English edition of his book Chip Champion: The Triumph of TSMC and Taiwan during a launch event in Taipei on Saturday. Photo: CNA

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick’s ambition to have Taiwanese companies manufacture half of the chips for the US market in the US would be difficult to achieve within 10 years, Lin said, citing talent and culture as two primary challenges.

In its effort to revive domestic chip manufacturing, the US “needs to collaborate with Asian allies such as Japan, South Korea and especially Taiwan,” which hold advantages in equipment, materials, memory chips and wafer foundry, he said.

While TSMC’s significance has come under the spotlight in the past few years amid rising geopolitical tensions, Lin wrote in the Chinese edition of the book that he aimed to reveal the keys to the company’s success, which had long been overlooked.

“In my view, Taiwan’s transformation into a ‘chip island’ is a testament to visionary leadership, strategic planning and relentless innovation,” he wrote in the English foreword.

Lin was joined at Saturday’s event by former TSMC deputy spokeswoman Elizabeth Sun (孫又文) and Alpha Ring International chairman Peter Kurz.

Sun, who retired six years ago from the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said she found the book entertaining and accurate in many areas, especially Lin’s attribution of TSMC’s success to government support, founder Morris Chang’s (張忠謀) leadership and the contributions of its employees.

However, she expressed hope that the media would no longer “describe the company’s hardworking employees as people who are willing to sell their liver to earn a living,” calling such portrayals “disrespectful,” as the staff work with “a sense of achievement, pride and mission.”

TSMC is “a learning organization that learns from its mistakes” to prevent them from recurring, she said.

“When problems occur, people do not point fingers at each other, but instead get to the root cause to fix it and make sure it does not happen again. That’s TSMC’s culture,” she said.

That characteristic, which Sun referred to as the “solid DNA inside TSMC,” is also detailed in Lin’s book.

The English edition, published by Good Morning Press, is the fourth language version following the original traditional Chinese edition release in 2023, and subsequent Japanese and Korean versions.


title: Taiwan must step up defense: expert

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BUY-IN: While polls shows young Taiwanese are willing to fight, many also have a negative view of the military based on their conscription experience, the expert said

Taiwan should step up its military professional training, organize specialized and realistic reserve force training, and improve intelligence accuracy to enhance national defense in the face of China’s accelerating military buildup and the potential of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, a US-China relations expert said.

Peter Mattis, president of the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based nonpartisan defense policy think tank, gave a speech titled “The Illusion of Stability in Taiwan” in an international conference on US-China relations in Taipei on Tuesday last week. The following day, he sat down with the Taipei Times to talk about China’s ambitions, Taiwan’s national defense preparedness and Taiwan-US relations.

In his speech, Mattis addressed what some perceive as a 2027 invasion date for China, based on comments made in March 2021 by then-US admiral Philip Davidson.

Jamestown Foundation president Peter Mattis speaks in an interview with the Taipei Times in Taipei on Wednesday last week. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Some local media reported that Mattis was saying that China was unlikely to attack by 2027, but he clarified to the Taipei Times that he meant it was an order from Beijing that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) be able to fight and win a conflict in the Strait by 2027.

“It was a readiness benchmark,” he said. “It wasn’t a ‘let’s be ready to invade’ or ‘let’s go do that.’ It was ‘be ready by this time.’”

However, it is concerning to see the rapid expansion of the PLA’s operations since 2022, such as the construction of more warehouses at ports of embarkation for an amphibious force, he said.

Improved PLA readiness is apparent in the quick deployment of units from garrisons and their participation in exercises hundreds of kilometers from where they are stationed with less warning, which is “a bigger warning problem to be paying attention to,” he added.

Compared with the quality intelligence collected by the US and its partners in the lead-up to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the US and its partners have less knowledge of China, so they might not believe the early warning signs amid the PLA’s efforts to obfuscate its actions, he said.

In his speech and articles on the Strait, Mattis has been critical of Taiwan’s slow buildup of its national defense capabilities and using funds inefficiently, while failing to accurately track the PLA’s day-to-day activities in real time. He has also criticized some politicians for their lack of urgency in addressing the China threat.

To prepare for a potential threat, Taiwan must do four things, he said.

First, local polls suggest that most young Taiwanese would fight if they were called up, but most Taiwanese do not respect the military, which could stem from their personal experience during mandatory military service, which did not provide adequate combat training.

“There’s something wrong in the military if people don’t go in for a year or two and come out with something meaningful, let’s call it professional skill, that is recognized from the outside,” he said, adding that the one-year service should move the needle on a person’s desirability as an employee, such as a recognition of a certain kind of discipline or attitude toward getting things done.

Institutions must make plenty of changes to bring young people who would fight in line with respect for the institution, he said.

Second, given the limited size of Taiwan’s armed forces, the channeling of emergency services, police, firefighters and civil society into a military setting through “the reserve forces” is important to success, Mattis said.

“If you want to shoot a rifle with a high level of proficiency, you have to go out and you have to spend time ... going through several boxes of ammunition,” he said, adding that soldiers should be trained to have a specialization, such as in firearms, or anti-aircraft, electronic warfare or uncrewed systems.

Many sources have told him that the reserve forces do not get enough training, and that they are called upon to join reservist training in other cities and counties, but “you don’t want people reporting to their unit 150 miles [241km] away, you want them reporting to their [local] unit,” and “make sure that every city, every locality has something organized to come,” Mattis said.

Third, Taiwan must purchase enough weapons to ensure that thousands of people — including active-duty military and reserve forces — have trained with the systems and that everyone has used them several times to ensure readiness, he said.

In dealing with international partners, especially the US, Taiwan should consider getting a waiver or agreement to acquire a constant supply of ammunition to sustain realistic training, he said.

Last, Taiwan needs accurate intelligence and targeting capabilities, Mattis said.

The domestically made Hsiung Feng III (雄風三型, “Brave Wind III”) medium-range supersonic missile, which has extended targeting range, needs the intelligence and sensing capability to “hit what is desired to be hit,” he said.

While there is a fear in the US that Taiwan might start a war if it had long-range precision strike capabilities, that does not match Taiwan’s ambitions, he said.

However, if the PLA prepares to deploy ships and planes for an attack, it would be easier for Taiwan to strike them at ports and airfields in China, to jam up ports, damages facilities and ensure that embarkation points cannot be used again, rather than waiting to strike while their at sea, Mattis said.

Regarding attempts by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators to hobble national defense budgets, he said a slide in the military began during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) presidency from 2008 to 2016.

“Ma Ying-jeou repeatedly promised we [Taiwan] will have 3 percent GDP defense spending, and all we did was watch it slide,” he said, adding that his move to an “all-volunteer force” was unsuccessful and shortened conscription “to the point where it’s not useful.”

If KMT lawmakers have doubts over the domestic submarine project or believe taxpayers’ money are better used elsewhere, they should have a clear plan of where it should go, who it should be used, how to replenish the volunteer military force and how to change conscription rules, he said.

However, he said he has not seen a positive national defense policy from the KMT.

In remarks to the US Congress, Mattis suggested that Washington should better publicize what it is doing to protect Taiwan.

Asked if Taiwan should do more to inform Taiwanese about China’s actions, he said the government should consider it.

“There’s definitely the case on talking more frankly and clearly about what China is doing,” he said, adding that a president should have the right to speak to its people in their own words about national defense and preparing society for what could come, without concerns of whether the message would upset other countries.

The US has not always been supportive of Taiwanese presidents talking about national security, and people on the outside have questioned and criticized the Taiwan-US defense relationship, feeding “US abandonment narratives,” Mattis said.

“The proper balance has not been found of talking about sort of the level of cooperation [between Taiwan and the US] that is there,” and that “the lack of balance is feeding some of these concerns,” he said.

“I think that this is one where the US and Taiwan both have an interest in being a little more explicit about, a little more open about the kinds of things that are being done,” he said.

“The scope of the US-Taiwan relationship is stronger and bigger than government to government, than anyone really talks about, and I think it would be good to have more of that kind of thing out in the open,” he said.

It is also in the US’ interest to defend Taiwan and not let a democracy fall to an authoritarian system, he said.

Mattis was a senior fellow with the US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and had previously worked as a counterintelligence analyst at the CIA, where he earned awards for analytic leadership and community support.

He became president of the Jamestown Foundation in 2023, after serving as the foundation’s editor of China Brief from 2011 to 2013, and as a fellow in the China program from 2013 to 2018.


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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強).

In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ logo is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Huang Ching-hsuan, Taipei Times

MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading performance in terms of political freedom, economic development and global competitiveness.

“Taiwan’s future can only be decided by Taiwanese people,” it said in a statement.

Singapore should respect that the Republic of China is a sovereign state and not make comments that could hurt their long-standing friendship, MOFA said.

Like most states around the world, Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and not the Republic of China, with Singapore’s leaders consistently saying that the city-state maintains a “one China” policy and opposes Taiwanese independence.

Despite the lack of official ties, Taipei and Singapore share close informal and economic ties.

Taiwan and Singapore on Nov. 7, 2013, signed the Agreement on Economic Partnership. The comprehensive economic agreement, which went into effect the following year, strengthened bilateral trade and investment.

Based on a 1975 agreement, Singaporean soldiers are sent to Taiwan for military training, given the limited land and air space in their own country.

title: MOFA expresses concerns over Singapore remarks


companies: Google Apple

content_text:
By Chen Yu-fu and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday dismissed online rumors about a Chinese-made app for Taiwanese to register to “surrender” as disinformation aimed at creating the false impression that many people want to defect to China.

Images of the app, called “Homecoming (歸家),” circulated on social media, stating that more than 28,000 Taiwanese had already used it to register to “return to the motherland.”

People reportedly use their legal name to register and gain reward points by inviting others to join. The points can be redeemed for prizes including mobile phones.

A screenshot from a video features an alleged Chinese app called “Homecoming,” which the Mainland Affairs Council said does not exist. Photo: screenshot from whyyoutouzhele’s X account

The Ministry of Digital Affairs said it could not find the app when searching for it online, adding that it is not available on Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android systems in Taiwan or China, and researchers did not locate it on the WeChat or Tencent app stores.

The MAC confirmed that the app is not available on any platforms and said that if it is found, it would promptly be blocked, adding that it would not be protected as free speech, as its purpose is to eliminate the Republic of China.

If the ministry cannot find the app, then it does not exist, so it is utter nonsense that so many people have registered, an official familiar with the matter said.

“This is fake news designed to unsettle Taiwanese and weaken their resolve to defend themselves,” the official said.

“It is meant to create the false impression that many people are betraying Taiwan and that everyone should join,” they said.

The official called it a textbook example of foreign-origin disinformation meant to confuse the public and exaggerate that public opinion is trending towards reunification with China.

title: MAC dismisses rumors of Chinese ‘surrender’ app


content_text:
UPDATE: As of yesterday, no abnormalities were found in 152 of the 168 hog farms in Taichung, or in the 5,441 farms nationwide, the ASF response unit director said

A ban on transporting and slaughtering pigs would continue until Thursday next week, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, adding that border checks would be tightened and that authorities would clamp down on smuggling.

The ban was extended for another 10 days to ensure tight control of the situation during the 15-day incubation period of the African swine fever (ASF) virus, he said.

Hog farms must report any abnormality and cooperate with inspections, Cho said.

Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih, center, speaks at the Central Emergency Operations Center for African swine fever in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times

The government would also strictly inspect inbound travelers, parcels and packages, and clamp down on smuggling, he said, adding that he has asked the Customs Administration to deploy its full workforce.

According to the Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例), people who import packages containing pork products would be fined NT$200,000 (US$6,490) for the first offense and NT$1 million for every incident thereafter.

Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said Taiwan produced about 808,000 tonnes of pork last year, accounting for about 90 percent of domestic demand.

Taiwan’s pork exports reached 2,821 tonnes last year, accounting for only 0.3 percent of total production, so the pork export suspension would not greatly affect the pork industry, he added.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and director of the Taichung ASF response unit Tu Wen-jane (杜文珍) said that of the 168 hog farms in Taichung, 152 reported no abnormalities and 16 were suspended as of yesterday.

Chen said no abnormalities were found in the 5,441 hog farms nationwide, adding that samples taken from the farms tested negative for ASF.

There was a discrepancy between the number of dead pigs reported by the ASF-affected farm, which was 117, and the number of carcasses the rendering plant received (106), he said.

These issues would be clarified in the next round of investigations, he added.

A subsidy scheme for pig farmers and business operators would be announced by the end of this week, Chen said, adding that the scheme would be retroactive from the first day of the ban period.

Minister of the Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) said Taiwan produces more than 2 tonnes of kitchen waste per day, of which about 1.3 tonnes are used to feed pigs.

The amount of kitchen waste being produced during the ban period is straining processing capacity, he said, urging people to reduce kitchen waste.

Asked why many pork stalls or eateries temporarily closed, despite there being enough frozen pork supply, Chen said that most vendors use freshly slaughtered pork.

As for a truck spotted transporting pigs in Tainan’s Houbi District (後壁), Chen expressed strong disapproval and said: “All transportation of pigs are prohibited, including transporting pigs between different farms of the same owner.”

title: Pig ban extended to next week: Cho


title: Ban on buying meat products from abroad urged

content_text:
By Hsieh Chun-lin, Huang Hsu-chia and Jason Pan / Staff reporters

The government should ban the purchase and delivery of meat products from foreign-based shopping Web sites, such as Taobao and Pinduoduo, to better prevent African swine flu (ASF) outbreak in Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said yesterday.

Taobao has more than 130,000 meat-related products for sale, she said, adding that the loophole undermines food safety and could be a national security issue.

She urged the Cabinet to prohibit the purchase and delivery of meat products from foreign-based online platforms, and to perform strict checks on food items at customs.

Chunghwa Post Co personnel load a delivery vehicle in an undated photograph. Photo: Huang Hsu-lei, Taipei Times

People are ordering sausages, pork floss, pork jerky, canned meat products and other pork or meat items on Taobao and Pinduoduo, Wu said.

“They come in small packages, so they could fly under the radar of Taiwan’s border inspection authorities,” she said.

“We did an online search for ‘Taobao meat products,’ and an advertisement jumped out saying, ‘You can buy all kinds of foodstuffs here,’ followed by a tagline that said the platform currently has 130,873 meat-related items for sale,” Wu said.

“Taobao and Pinduoduo are based in China, and meat products they sell to Taiwanese customers could potentially contain ASF or other contagious viral diseases,” she said. “Each of them could be seen as a biological weapon that could endanger our food supply chain and wreak havoc on Taiwan’s economy.”

“This is an crisis that is encroaching on Taiwan,” Wu said, adding that Chunghwa Post has been processing massive numbers of Taobao and Pinduoduo packages since August, with orders coming in at ports in Taichung and Kaohsiung and delivered to warehouses across the country.

Chunghwa Post has since August processed more than 50 cargo containers containing more than 60,000 packages in Taichung and about 60 cargo containers, with more than 90,000 packages, in Kaohsiung, she said.

“Even Chunghwa Post employees were scared of handling food packages from China, because many were sausages, meat items or moon cakes containing pork,” she added.

The Ministry of Agriculture has already mandated a ban on purchasing meat products from PChome and Shopee, e-commerce Web sites with offices based in Taiwan, “but they did not impose such a ban on foreign-based shopping sites,” she said.

Wu called for the loophole to be patched up by amending the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act (海關緝私條例) and the Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Disease (動物傳染病防治條例).

“Cabinet officials must take action now,” she said, calling for stricter border control checks, and more severe fines and punishment for those who contravene the meat policy.

In related news, Chunghua Post regional supervisors said that since August, they have needed to work extra shifts and pay higher wages due to the increase in overtime work to process the large volume of packages arriving from China.

The packages were mainly online purchases from Taobao and Pinduoduo, they said, adding that many were labeled as containing meat products, sausages and items with pork ingredient.

All inbound parcels must undergo X-ray checks at customs and those suspected to contain animal or plant matter would be reported to local authorities for further inspections, Chunghwa Post said, adding that dogs would also used to help occasionally.

Additional reporting by Esme Yeh


content_text:
By Tsai Yun-jung and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday protested at the EVA Air Marathon, handing out white roses outside the Presidential Office Building to mourn a flight attendant who reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight despite being ill.

Members of the union held up white roses and chanted, “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime,” during the opening ceremony of the marathon.

Several union members crossed the track to post their demands on the stage, which prompted a brief police intervention.

Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union members hold white roses during a protest at the EVA Air Marathon, in front of the Presidential Office plaza yesterday. Photo: CNA

The union urged the company’s chairman and president to accept their three demands.

First, sick leave, special leave and disaster leave should not affect employee performance evaluations, and punishments such as heavier performance evaluation deductions for taking leave on weekends, national holidays and peak days should be canceled.

Second, special annual leave should be treated the same as working a scheduled shift, with no negative impact on performance evaluations, scheduling rights and shift swaps.

Third, the company should not restrict or prohibit shift swaps when a flight attendant takes leave, as shift swaps are not a reward, but an arrangement that helps flight attendant balance work and their personal lives.

EVA Air proposed to have an assistant manager accept the petition, union secretary-general Chou Sheng-kai (周聖凱) said, adding that they were disappointed and rejected the proposal, as only a higher-level executive could make commitments.

The company did not respond further.

EVA Air management greeted the runners on the stage, but ignored the union members who shouted in tears during the protest, Chou said.

The company has not issued a a condolence letter since the flight attendant’s death, he added.

The Ministry of Labor said it reached a consensus with EVA Air that taking sick leave would not affect performance evaluation, but the company did not make any commitment during its negotiation with the union nor in its statement regarding its investigation, Chou said, adding that they would protest outside the ministry on Thursday.

EVA Air’s policies discourage flight attendants from taking sick or special leave, which ultimately harms passengers, union president Steven Chang (張書元) said.

The union has been negotiating improvements to the leave system for 10 years, but supervisors always blame the flight attendants and say they “love taking leave,” union executive director and EVA Air flight attendant Lin Yu-chia (林昱嘉) said.

Flight attendants worry about being seen as “irresponsible” and feel guilty for taking leave, Lin added.

“Flight attendants are human beings,” she said. “They have the right to rest, to maintain their lives and to protect themselves. Sick leave, special leave and natural disaster leave should not be penalized.”

EVA Airways on Friday last week outlined possible policy, such as requiring chief and deputy pursers, who oversee flight attendants onboard the aircraft, to relieve any cabin crew member deemed unfit for duty and to report the situation to the company.

Under the proposal, a crew member who feels unwell would be sent back to Taiwan as a passenger, while other crew on the flight would receive a bonus for taking on extra work.

The airline said it also plans to revise its job performance review system by the end of the year to “allow margin for sick leave,” but did not say what measures would be implemented.

Additional reporting by CNA

title: Union calls for better leave policy for flight attendants


content_text:
Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) at a National Day event in Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture yesterday said that he expected Taiwan-Japan relations to deepen under Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has continued former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s support for Taiwanese pineapples.

Lee thanked the Yamanashi Taiwan Association for hosting the event, in celebration of Taiwan’s Double Ten National Day, and said that Taiwan and the prefecture was deepening cooperation in economic, education and cultural fields.

Japan is Taiwan’s biggest market for pineapples, bananas and mangoes, while Taiwan buys the most Japanese apples and grapes, which shows the friendship between the two nations, he said.

Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang speaks at an event celebrating Taiwan’s Double Ten National Day in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, yesterday. Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan

More than 90 percent of Taiwan’s pineapple and banana exports go to Japan, as well as 57 percent of its mangoes, Lee said.

Meanwhile, 77.5 percent of Japan’s apples, 58.6 percent of its grapes and 42.5 percent of its persimmons are exported to Taiwan, he said, adding that the nation was also the second-largest importer of Japanese peaches, strawberries and wagyu.

It is incredible that Taiwan so strongly supports Japanese products, despite having a population of only 23 million people and being the 57th-largest country in the world, Lee said.

The prefecture is known for its fruits, and its grapes and peaches are especially popular in Taiwan, he said.

This exchange deepens the friendship between Taiwan and Yamanashi, and supports both sides’ development, he added.

Lee thanked the citizens of Yamanashi for supporting disaster relief efforts in Hualien, after it was flooded last month.

Taiwan and the prefecture also cooperated on hydrogen energy technology, which helped support decarbonization, Lee said, adding that schools in Yamanashi have built sister school relationships with schools in Kaohsiung and Taichung, and organized exchanges between students.

Representatives of Mount Fuji and Jade Mountain (玉山) have even signed an agreement, he said.

Taiwan and Japan are strong partners that share mutual values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, Lee said.

Japan is Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan’s fourth, and the two nations cooperate closely in investments and across industries, he said.

A record 7.36 million people traveled between Taiwan and Japan last year, and is expected to reach 8 million this year, he added.

title: Envoy touts deepening relations with Japan prefecture


content_text:
Professor given award for inspiring students, dedication

KEEP GOING:  Although professor Wang Chih-yuan had to have his limbs amputated, he continues to live an optimistic life, sharing his experience and inspiring those he teaches

National Sun Yat-sen University business management associate professor Wang Chih-yuan (王致遠), whose limbs were amputated after an atypical infection during a mountain hike, has been awarded the National Excellent Teacher Award this year for his exemplary devotion to teaching.

Wang went on the life-changing hike in 2015, when what he thought was a cold soon spiraled into multiorgan failure and septic shock. He survived, but his arms and legs had to be amputated.

Wang got prosthetic hands and legs, and returned to teaching at the university the following year. However, he eventually wanted better capabilities, so he seized the chance to get a double hand transplant, making him the first person in Taiwan to receive the surgery.

Encouraged by his spirit of exploring possibilities, Wang underwent rehabilitation and used his life experience to inspire his students, efforts that were recognized by the Ministry of Education.

Although the incident took away the life he was once comfortable with, Wang said he never wears trousers to cover up his prosthetic legs.

Wang said he was not a natural at teaching and felt uneasy in front of students, as he used to focus only on his research while he was studying abroad.

As students were eager for knowledge, Wang said he thought about how he could “breathe life” into his lectures.

For example, he found that most students tended not to ask questions during class, so he designed interactive activities to lift their spirits.

Each student has a different learning style and having unrealistic expectations would be a waste of effort, so Wang said he would specify the class requirements in the online course introduction in advance.

“The course is tough and offers no easy credits. Goof-offs are not welcome,” he said, adding that it helps retain only students who are willing to learn.

Wang said his experience has attracted many students who are depressed or facing major life choices, seeking advice from him.

As he has no counseling background and dislikes preaching, he said he would not give advice, but would share his experience.

Real enlightenment happens only when listeners realize something from hearing someone else’s stories, he added.

Wang said he opened up new possibilities for his life when he received the transplant eight years ago.

The process was far from easy, as he had to give up on the prosthetic arms that he had mastered and start over, he said, adding that he also had to take anti-rejection medication long term.

Described by many people as an optimistic person, Wang said he focuses on how to solve the problems he faces in life.

“Along the bumpy road of life, just step forward, and you will make progress, even if you move at slower pace,” he said.


title: Taiwan News Quick Take

content_text:
AVIATION

China Airlines to get 787s

China Airlines expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 787 aircraft in the first quarter of next year and begin operations with the new model in June on routes to Bangkok or Tokyo, company president Chen Han-ming (陳漢銘) said. Flight tests on the Boeing 787s are under way, and three to five aircraft are expected to arrive next year, he said. The airline ordered 16 of the aircraft in August 2022 and an additional eight in May 2023. Six of the aircraft would be the higher-capacity 787-10 variant. The new jets would gradually replace the carrier’s aging Airbus A330s, Chen said. The airline has also purchased 10 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, which are expected to arrive starting in 2029, as well as 10 777-9s and four 777-8F cargo aircraft from Boeing, expected to arrive starting in 2030, he said.

China Airlines planes are pictured at the Taoyuan International Airport in an undated photo. Photo: Yun-Jung Tsai, Taipei Times

SPORTS

Ngare, Clark win marathon

Kenya’s Joseph Mwangi Ngare won the men’s title and Australia’s Amelia Clark claimed the women’s crown at the EVA Air Marathon in Taipei yesterday. Ngare finished in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 12 seconds, while Clark clocked 2:47:25. In the half-marathon, Kenya’s Paul Ndungu Muchai won the men’s race in 1:07:11, and Taiwan’s Chen Mei-tung (陳美彤) took the women’s title with 1:22:00. Taiwan’s Huang Wei-sheng (黃為勝) and Lin Chien-i (林千藝) won the men’s and women’s 10km races respectively.

DIPLOMACY

Youth group visits Japan

A delegation from the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Youth Division, led by legislators Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) and Huang Jie (黃捷), departed to Japan yesterday to improve ties and promote direct dialogue. The trip is the division’s first official overseas mission since its establishment in April, Chen said. Arrangements have been made for meetings to discuss regional security, cooperation in technology industries, sustainable economic development and the cultivation of young political leaders, he said. The delegation also is to meet with senior officials and younger Japanese Diet members from major political parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party, the Japan Innovation Party, the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito, he added. Party-to-party exchanges are another channel for diplomatic engagement beyond government and parliamentary institutions, and help build stronger bilateral ties, Chen said.

DIPLOMACY

Unification ‘perks’ no appeal

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Saturday said that the “benefits after unification” touted by Chinese authorities at an event in Beijing marking “the 80th anniversary of Taiwan’s restoration to China” hold no appeal for the people of Taiwan. “The crux of cross-strait relations lies in systemic differences, and the Chinese Communist Party’s so-called ‘benefits after unification’ hold no appeal for the people of Taiwan,” the MAC said in a statement. Beijing is attempting to unilaterally draw a blueprint for unification and tout its supposed advantages to “entice” Taiwan, it said, adding that “the essence of cross-strait relations is a contest of systems, where democracy and authoritarianism cannot be reconciled.” At the Beijing event, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) said that after “peaceful unification,” Taiwan would have the support of a “powerful motherland” and that seven aspects of life, including economic development and energy security, would “be better.”


content_text: People dressed in traditional Hakka clothing take part a parade in Taipei yesterday. The parade was part of the three-day Taipei Hakka Yimin Festival, an annual event to promote the diverse and rich aspects of Hakka culture in Taiwan.

title: Hakka celebration


title: Bon voyage

content_text: People ride in a traditional wooden boat near the Lanyang Museum in Yilan County yesterday. The museum and the Ocean Affairs Council cooperated in a project to restore traditional canoes to help revitalize local culture. They yesterday held a trial voyage ceremony at the old site of the Wushi Harbor near the museum.


title: Traditional celebration

content_text:
A newlywed couple in traditional Tsou indigenous clothing hold wedlock wine cups during the Akishan Tsou Fo’na Festival in Chiayi County yesterday. The festival is held annually as a collective wedding ceremony. Thirteen couples joined the festival this year.

Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health


content_text:
TRADE: The US and China held ‘constructive, far-reaching and in-depth’ discussions to prepare for the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said

US and Chinese officials reached a “very successful” framework for the upcoming leaders’ summit, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said after two days of talks in Malaysia.

Bessent told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning that the two sides discussed agricultural purchases, TikTok, fentanyl, trade, rare earths and the overall bilateral relationship.

He described the talks as “constructive, far-reaching and in-depth, and giving us the ability to move forward to set the stage for the leaders’ meeting in a very positive framework.”

US President Donald Trump, center, speaks as US White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, left, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, second left, and US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan, right, look on at the 47th ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday.  Photo: Reuters

The negotiations took place at the skyscraper Merdeka 118 as US President Donald Trump met with Southeast Asian leaders at a nearby convention center.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) led the Chinese side and was joined by Chinese Trade Representative Li Chenggang (李成鋼) and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min (廖岷). US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was part of the US team.

Trump landed in Malaysia yesterday to begin his first tour of the region during his second term. He was greeted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the tarmac and oversaw the signing of a peace declaration between Thailand and Cambodia.

Trump and Anwar Ibrahim signed a trade agreement and critical minerals pact, as the US leader looked to boost trade across Southeast Asia and respond to China’s tightening of access to rare earths.

Greer said at the signing in Kuala Lumpur that the critical minerals deal made sure that trade and investment in the rare earths would make trade “as free as possible and resilient as possible.”

The deal with Malaysia is set to ease concerns surrounding its exports to China. Trump set a 19 percent tariff on the country in August, lower than the 25 percent he had threatened in July.

Malaysia had been seeking less onerous US trade conditions for months, and has vowed to crack down on the smuggling of advanced semiconductors through the country to China.

Anwar called the deals “a significant milestone” that would improve the relationship between the nations beyond trade.

Earlier in the day, Trump also announced a broad trade agreement with Cambodia and a critical minerals pact with Thailand, although the latter was mostly an aspirational pledge to work together. The Cambodia deal would see hundreds of types of goods exempted from the reciprocal tariff rate on exports imposed by Trump earlier this year.

The US president is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings in Malaysia and later in Japan and South Korea, where he is also expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit.

Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said he hopes the talks with Xi would yield “a complete deal.”

The meeting would be the first face-to-face between the leaders of the two biggest economies since Trump returned to the White House in January. The two have spoken at least three times this year, and Trump has said direct talks are the best way to resolve issues, including tariffs, export curbs, agricultural purchases, fentanyl trafficking, geopolitical flashpoints such as Taiwan and the war in Ukraine.

“We’ll be talking about a lot of things. I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal,” he said.

title: ‘Positive’ agenda set for Trump-Xi talks


content_text:
US President Donald Trump announced an additional 10 percent in tariffs on Canada in response to an advertisement by the province of Ontario that is critical of the levies, escalating tensions in one of the world’s biggest bilateral trade relationships.

Trump’s Truth Social post follows days of public clashes over the ad, which invoked former US president Ronald Reagan’s stance as a free trader and triggered the current US president’s ire, prompting him to suspend trade negotiations with Canada.

“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10 percent over and above what they are paying now,” Trump said on Saturday.

The national flags of the US, left, and Canada flutter next to the Blue Water Bridge border crossing in Point Edward, Ontario, on Friday. Photo: AFP

The US president did not specify the scope of his new measure.

While Canada faces a US base tariff of 35 percent, the rate does not apply to most Canadian goods because of an exemption for products and shipments made within the rules of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

For example. that means millions of barrels of oil per day still flow from Canada to the US tariff-free.

Steel and aluminum products do not have that waiver — they are subject to 50 percent US tariffs on foreign metals — and Canadian-made cars and trucks are only partially eligible for exemption from Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on most foreign autos.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been engaged in talks with the US to lower the levies, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford has pledged to pause the Ontario-funded ads in the US today after speaking to Carney in hopes that the talks could resume.

The clash has reignited uncertainty between two partners that exchanged US$900 billion in goods and services last year and have closely interwoven supply chains for major industries.

Ontario, with a population of 16 million just across the border, has been at the trade war’s center because of its steel and automotive industries — two sectors Trump has hit with his import taxes. About three-quarters of Canada’s goods exports went to the US last year.

The US president on Thursday said he would end all talks with Canada because of the ad, which used excerpts from a 1987 Reagan speech defending free trade and slamming tariffs as an outdated notion that stifles innovation, drives up prices and hurts US workers.

When Reagan delivered the radio address, he had just placed “select” tariffs on Japanese electronics for what he considered unfair trade practices. At the same time, he used the speech to urge the US Congress against passing a protectionist trade bill aimed at Japan.

The Reagan quotations were edited together from different parts of his speech, prompting the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute to complain that the ad misrepresented the full address. The foundation said it is reviewing its legal options.

Trump made his latest announcement while en route to a three-country trip to Asia that includes stops at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia and the APEC summit in South Korea.

Carney is on an extended trip to Asia, where he is also scheduled to attend those summits and is working on boosting trade ties with other nations.

Asked if he had any plans to meet Carney during the two summits, the US president said as he began his trip that “I don’t have any intention of it, no.”

title: US to increase Canada tariffs by 10%: Trump


content_text:
The EU is developing a new plan to curb its reliance on Chinese critical raw materials, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday, as she criticized Beijing for its expanded restrictions on the export of rare earths.

The EU has for years attempted to reduce its dependence on China for the minerals that are needed for the transition to cleaner energy, the defense sector and electric vehicle production.

Von der Leyen said the EU would seek to speed up critical raw materials partnerships with countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the Berlin Global Dialogue in Germany on Saturday. Photo: Bloomberg

The plan would also include greater efforts to recycle critical raw materials in products sold in Europe, she said.

“The aim is to secure access to alternative sources of critical raw materials in the short, medium and long term for our European industries,” she told a conference in Berlin.

The scheme, called RESourceEU, would be similar to a plan the EU developed after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to cut its reliance on Russian energy, known as REPowerEU, she said.

“We will focus on everything from joint purchasing to stockpiling. We will boost investment in strategic projects for the production and processing of critical raw materials here in the European Union,” she added.

On Oct. 9, China imposed export restrictions on rare earths and battery materials. Western governments and analysts view the increased curbs as part of China’s response to trade tariffs imposed by the US.

However, Von der Leyen said it also had a huge impact on Europe, in industrial sectors, including automotive, defense, aerospace, artificial intelligence chips and data centers.

“If you consider that over 90 percent of our consumption of rare earth magnets comes from imports from China, you see the risks here for Europe and its most strategic industrial sectors,” she said.

“In the short term, we are focusing on finding solutions with our Chinese counterparts, but we are ready to use all of the instruments in our toolbox to respond if needed,” she added.

title: EU steps up efforts to cut Chinese rare earth reliance


content_text:
Gasoline and diesel prices are to increase NT$0.5 and NT$0.6 per liter respectively this week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday, as global crude oil prices last week posted their biggest weekly gain since June.

Gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27, NT$28.5 and NT$30.5 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements.

Premium diesel is to cost NT$25.5 per liter at CPC stations and NT$25.3 at Formosa pumps, they added.

The latest adjustments come as oil prices moved higher after US President Donald Trump said meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a waste of time, and amid concerns over potential global supply disruptions due to new US sanctions on Russia’s two largest crude producers, Lukoil PJSC and Rosneft PJSC, the companies said.

Additionally, a US Energy Information Administration report showed that US commercial crude oil stockpiles posted an unexpected decline for the first time in four weeks in the week ending on Oct. 17, which further supported oil prices, the companies said.

Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — last week rose 7.59 percent to settle at US$65.94 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures — the US oil gauge — gained 7.61 percent to close at US$61.5 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

title: Gasoline, diesel prices to rise NT$0.5 and NT$0.6


content_text:
Sentiment among manufacturers rises for third consecutive month on AI boom

OUTLOOK:  Rising exports of electronic components and ICT devices boosted manufacturing confidence, but uncertainty over trade talks tempered optimism

Business sentiment in Taiwan’s export-oriented manufacturing sector improved for the third consecutive month last month, buoyed by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and stronger consumer electronics orders, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said on Thursday.

TIER data showed that the composite index for the manufacturing sector rose 2.52 points from a month earlier to 91.65.

By contrast, the index for the services sector fell 2.88 points to 85.23, while the construction sector index edged up 0.80 points to 97.35, they showed.

A model interacts with an artificial intelligence (AI) robot from Solomon Technology Corporation’s AI technology during the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center on Aug. 20. Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP

The institute attributed the uptick in manufacturing sentiment to a sharp increase in exports of electronic components and information and communications (ICT) devices, which surged 33.8 percent year-on-year last month, prompting more manufacturers to be more upbeat about their operations

However, lingering concerns over US-China trade negotiations and the slow progress of bilateral trade talks between Washington and Taipei continued to weigh on manufacturers’ outlook, the institute said.

As for the decline in the services sector index, the institute said the local stock market’s strong performance — highlighted by a 6.55 percent rise in the benchmark TAIEX — helped boost sentiment among financial firms.

However, the traditional “Ghost Month” period dampened consumer demand for durable goods such as cars, furniture and home appliances, offsetting those gains, it said.

In Taiwan, many people avoid buying durable goods during Ghost Month, which fell between Aug. 23 and Sept. 21 this year, due to longstanding superstitions, it added.

With the end of summer vacation, retail and food-and-beverage sales weakened, further weighing on last month’s composite index, the institute said.

The local housing market also showed signs of consolidation, with property transactions down 3.5 percent from August, it said.

TIER forecast that total home sales for the year would decline by more than 20 percent year-on-year, citing the central bank’s selective credit controls and tighter bank lending.

Uncertainty about the domestic economy due to the Trump administration’s tariff policies is expected to keep many potential home buyers on the sidelines, it added.


title: Autumn Colors

content_text: People visit Fushoushan Farm in Taichung’s Heping District yesterday. Maple leaves at the farm, situated 2,100m to 2,614m above sea level, have begun turning red as cooler autumn weather arrives.


title: EDITORIAL: Pork crisis a chance to improve safety

content_text:
Taiwan’s first case of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed on Tuesday evening at a hog farm in Taichung’s Wuci District (梧棲), trigging nationwide emergency measures and stripping Taiwan of its status as the only Asian country free of classical swine fever, ASF and foot-and-mouth disease, a certification it received on May 29. The government on Wednesday set up a Central Emergency Operations Center in Taichung and instituted an immediate five-day ban on transporting and slaughtering hogs, and on feeding pigs kitchen waste. The ban was later extended to 15 days, to account for the incubation period of the virus that causes ASF.

ASF is highly contagious and deadly to hogs, and although it cannot be transmitted to people and properly cooked pork products are safe to eat, its high mortality can cause pork shortages and other economic impacts.

No new cases were found in the first round of inspections of about 80 percent of the nation’s pig farms. However, the Ministry of Agriculture still described the situation as “tense,” while many pig farmers have expressed concern that the 15-day ban would cause overcrowding on their farms, increasing the likelihood of other outbreaks, while increasing expenses. At the core of the investigation is how the virus entered the nation. Many experts have speculated that it came from contaminated kitchen waste fed to the pigs at the Wuci farm. That kitchen waste likely contained infected pork that was smuggled into Taiwan, they said.

Among 9,507 tested pork samples seized at national borders in the past seven years, 996 tested positive for the ASF virus — a positivity rate of about 10 percent, government data showed. Most of the ASF-positive pork (about 85 percent) was from China and Southeast Asia. While the government in the past few years has implemented stricter customs checks to prevent smuggled pork products from entering Taiwan, it is still difficult to totally block them from international parcels containing pastries, snacks and dried pet food purchased online.

Another issue is whether kitchen waste should be allowed as pig feed. Only a few local governments have banned it since 2018. Among Taiwan’s more than 150,000 pig farms, only about 8 percent feed their pigs kitchen waste, but hogs consume up to 62.5 percent of the nation’s kitchen waste. If banned, properly disposing about 2,115 tonnes of kitchen waste produced daily would create a new challenge for local governments. Pig farmers have accused the Taichung City Government of not responding fast enough. They said the city received a report of the deaths of more than a dozen pigs at the farm on Oct. 14, but did not test for pathogens, and did not collect specimens for testing until Monday last week, after 117 pigs had died. Local news agencies reported that Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) had asked them to promote a city shopping event, instead of answering questions about the ASF incident.

While prosecutors have stepped in to investigate, the local government should set aside political partisanship and work with the central government to resolve the ASF crisis, as pork is a central part of the nation’s agricultural industry, generating more than NT$80 billion (US$2.6 billion) annually. The central government should take this opportunity to re-evaluate the nation’s kitchen waste and disease prevention policies, while people must strictly follow customs rules and not smuggle pork products into Taiwan.


title: Michael Mazza On Taiwan: Israel’s victory is China’s defeat

content_text:
The ceasefire in the Middle East is a rare cause for celebration in that war-torn region. Hamas has released all of the living hostages it captured on Oct. 7, 2023, regular combat operations have ceased, and Israel has drawn closer to its Arab neighbors. Israel, with crucial support from the United States, has achieved all of this despite concerted efforts from the forces of darkness to prevent it.

Hamas, of course, is a longtime client of Iran, which in turn is a client of China. Two years ago, when Hamas invaded Israel — killing 1,200, kidnapping 251, and brutalizing countless others — it was driven by a genocidal impulse. China, itself guilty of carrying out a genocide in Xinjiang, was quick to take Hamas’s side in the conflict, at least implicitly. Beijing never condemned the Oct. 7 attacks and never called out Hamas by name. It called for all parties to cease fighting because it wanted Hamas to survive. It turned to antisemitic and pro-Palestinian messaging in an attempt to weaken the Abraham accords and to cleave America’s Arab allies away from Washington.

It might seem counterintuitive for China to despair of Israeli victory. After all, Beijing well recognizes the instability that terrorism can cause. But that instability is exactly why Beijing took the side of evil in the Middle East. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is an agent of disorder, as are his pals in Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang. He believes the postwar international order — with norms favoring unhindered economic flows, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and liberal conceptions of freedom of the seas — no longer suit China’s purposes.

China aims to be a regional, if not a global, hegemon. To achieve that end, it believes it must tear down the presiding order. Xi thinks that China can excel, and most effectively dominate, in a world in which might makes right, democracies are under pressure, and mercantilism is the name of the game.

To bring about that world, Beijing acts both directly and indirectly. Its direct efforts are plain to see in its behavior toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea, in its transnational repression, in its economic exploitation of weaker partners, in its efforts to entrench political corruption overseas, in its undersea cable-cutting in Europe, and in its political warfare campaigns in democratic societies. Indirectly, Beijing cozies up to the world’s worst regimes, underwrites wars of aggression in which it has no direct stake, and throws its moral weight (such as it is) behind the likes of Hamas.

In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, China envisioned a Middle East in which American influence was diluted, Israel was isolated, and Iran could run wild — a state of affairs that would have further undermined the rules and norms from which the world has amply benefited since World War II.

But China failed. In spite of its best efforts to sow discord and to ensure that a regimented band of rapists and murderers would prosper, Beijing achieved none of its aims. Hamas lives but is a shell of its former self. Iran has not only been chastened but defanged. American power and influence are further entrenched in the Middle East and Israel is poised for more normal — if not formal — relations with a host of countries in the Muslim world.

China’s threats to the international system are significant. It is doing real damage. But events of the past two years demonstrate that order can be successfully defended, preserved, and even improved. With the effective application of American and allied power — military force, economic leverage, and diplomatic muscle — the forces of disorder can be defeated.

Michael Mazza is senior director for research at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security (formerly the Project 2049 Institute) and a senior non-resident fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute.


content_text:
Three decades ago, I could not even finish a 600m run and was mocked by my classmates for being effeminate because I did not like sports. To my utter shock, I was drafted into the Marine Corps, and for a three-year term, while others were only required to serve two. I stood there speechless as the conscripts around me erupted into thunderous applause, celebrating that there was one fewer Marine Corps slot left in the draw.

I was sent to a military academy for training, but I graduated top of my class. I also participated in the last formal military parade held on Double Ten National Day in 1991, marching in perfect step. I endured grueling training for six months. Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) was in office at the time. Later, with the shortening of compulsory military service, I only ended up serving for two years and 45 days. I left the military with eight-pack abs and the rank of sergeant, and often went jogging near my home. My former classmates could hardly believe how much I had changed.

Military training taught me to calmly face many challenges in a highly competitive environment, and it was that experience that gave me the ability to repay my family’s debts after returning to civilian life.

Today, mandatory military service is significantly shorter and alternative service options are available. Many celebrities, such as singer-songwriter Chang Yu-sheng (張雨生), actors Ming Dao (明道) and Leon Dai (戴立忍), TV entertainer He Yi-hang (賀一航), TV show host Hu Gua (胡瓜) and actor and singer Greg Hsu (許光漢) all served in the military and maintained their fame after doing so.

Male celebrities who dodge their military duty should acknowledge their wrongdoing, apologize to society and complete their service to erase the dishonor of draft dodging.

Serving in the military is a duty one must fulfill. Rather than burying your head in the sand, it is better to face it head-on. At the very least, you do not have to worry about one day being exposed, ruining years of hard-earned success in the entertainment industry in a single instant. Nor would someone be able to hold such a thing over you later to blackmail you after you have earned your fame. A single act of foolishness can create endless trouble down the line — the wise avoid such behavior.

Jimmy Hsu is a farmer.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen

title: Serving is easier than draft dodging


title: Harsher penalties for draft fraud

content_text:
The number of celebrities involved in the military draft dodging scandal has continued to rise. Prosecutors and police during the third round of probes took several celebrities into custody — including actors Hsiu Chieh-kai (修杰楷) and Chen Bo-lin (陳柏霖), boy band Energy member Chang Shu-wei (張書偉) and former boy band Lollipop member Leow Jun-jie (廖俊傑) — on suspicion of evading service by forging medical documents. Several of them confessed.

The Ministry of the Interior said that after comparing the case files of a group suspected of faking blood pressure reports to be fully or partially exempted from service, it found 92 cases with a high degree of overlap with the current investigation. The ministry said it forwarded the cases to 16 district prosecutors’ offices for further investigation and requested that the local governments where the people are registered expedite their conscription.

Under articles 3, 4 and 13 of the Punishment Act for Violation to Military Service System (妨害兵役治罪條例), those who evade conscription or recall by fabricating a reason for exemption or intentionally injuring themselves are subject to a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

However, judges typically only hand down sentences of three to four months — close to the minimum of two months. The sentences can often be fulfilled through paying a fine, which effectively allows offenders to pay their way out of doing time.

Since men older than 36 and those who obtain an “exempt” physical classification are permanently exempted from military service and recalls, it is no surprise that cases of draft evasion have continued to surface.

Given the tensions across the Taiwan Strait and the looming threat, the government should look to German military law to prevent the growing number of draft dodging cases from undermining military morale and creating a copycats.

The German military penal code stipulates that to maintain military discipline, the court cannot impose a fine on a soldier if there are circumstances to their crime that necessitate a prison sentence. For prison sentences that exceed six months, the court must refuse to grant the offender probation if maintaining discipline requires it.

Taiwan could amend the articles 3, 4 and 13 of the act to raise the minimum penalty for evading military service from two months to six months or one year of imprisonment. This would eliminate the loophole that allows judges to easily grant offenders probation or commute their sentences to monetary fines.

To address the loophole in Article 3, which states, “A man aged 18 starts his military service day from January 1st of the proceeding year and be discharged on December 31st of the year at the age of 36” — the Ministry of National Defense and the interior ministry should consider the Legislative Yuan’s Legal Affairs Bureau’s proposal to extend the discharge age for those who intentionally dodge the draft. That would also help maintain fairness within Taiwan’s military.

Chao Hsuey-wen is an assistant professor and holds a doctorate in law from Fu Jen Catholic University.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen


title: New KMT chair bodes ill for Taiwan

content_text:
Beijing has come out in support of incoming Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), particularly her call for Taiwanese to proudly say “I am Chinese.” It marks a shift in their Taiwan strategy, moving away from military threats and toward the infiltration of institutions and manipulation of narratives.

The Republic of China is downplayed as a nation, and the democratic process is used as a tool for the legitimization of a pro-Chinese government. There is a Taiwanese role to play in promoting “one China, two systems.” The risk of Weimarization is real — democratic structures are being wielded by anti-democratic forces to erode Taiwan’s resilience and sovereignty.

It is the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) long-term goal to make Taiwan into another Hong Kong with a system of government that follows Beijing’s desires without being subject to direct rule. A minority of voices in opposition might serve as a front for democracy, but ultimately would not encroach on Beijing’s “long arm” of control.

A strategy of soft unification is less likely to incite a crisis or US intervention, but still undermines Taiwan as a stronghold of democracy and support for the US narrative ambition for freedom in the Indo-Pacific region.

The “Hong Kongification” of Taiwan would lead to legislative and judicial erosion, marginalization of social movements, and media suppression, driving a degradation of democratic institutions and ultimately the imposition of a quasi-unification model under CCP terms.

It would not only affect Taiwan, but also be an attack on the free order of the broader Western Pacific. If the first island chain fractures, US military capacity for reconnaissance and cooperative intelligence operations around Taiwan is likely to be interrupted — Japan’s line of defense and the situation in the South and East China Seas would tilt in Beijing’s favor.

For the US to fail to notice or act would mean facing geopolitical defeat without a fight. If Taiwan’s political system buckles, it is the beginning of democracy’s retreat from the Indo-Pacific region and the supplanting of US democratic ideals with Beijing’s peaceful unification rhetoric. The White House is not just a leader of a military alliance, but a representative for democracy. It must be strategic and forward-thinking. A critical measure would be to establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which would provide meaningful support for its institutional security.

The KMT chair election was the typical reshuffling of a political party — it was a watershed moment for Taiwanese democracy. If President William Lai (賴清德) can muster an effective strategy to regain control of the narrative, resist the infiltration of domestic discourse, and prevent total system failure, Taiwan might become a beacon for democracy.

If the White House can keep in step and offer measures for the protection of democratic institutions, it would not only serve to defend Taiwan, but also stabilize the wider regional order. Conversely, if nothing is done, Taiwan is set to face the same fate as Hong Kong and watch as its democracy is swallowed up at the ballot box while the Indo-Pacific region’s defenses crumble.

Is the White House ready? Alarm bells are beginning to sound.

Joshua Tin is an economist.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader

people: 鄭麗文 賴清德


title: EDITORIAL CARTOON

content_text:
The US Senate’s passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which urges Taiwan’s inclusion in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise and allocates US$1 billion in military aid, marks yet another milestone in Washington’s growing support for Taipei. On paper, it reflects the steadiness of US commitment, but beneath this show of solidarity lies contradiction. While the US Congress builds a stable, bipartisan architecture of deterrence, US President Donald Trump repeatedly undercuts it through erratic decisions and transactional diplomacy. This dissonance not only weakens the US’ credibility abroad — it also fractures public trust within Taiwan.For decades,

By Meng Chih-cheng 蒙志成

In 1976, the Gang of Four was ousted. The Gang of Four was a leftist political group comprising Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members: Jiang Qing (江青), its leading figure and Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) last wife; Zhang Chunqiao (張春橋); Yao Wenyuan (姚文元); and Wang Hongwen (王洪文).The four wielded supreme power during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but when Mao died, they were overthrown and charged with crimes against China in what was in essence a political coup of the right against the left.The same type of thing might be happening again as the CCP has expelled nine top generals. Rather than a

By Bruce Elleman

Taiwan Retrocession Day is observed on Oct. 25 every year. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government removed it from the list of annual holidays immediately following the first successful transition of power in 2000, but the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led opposition reinstated it this year. For ideological reasons, it has been something of a political football in the democratic era. This year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) designated yesterday as “Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration,” turning the event into a conceptual staging post for its “restoration” to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Mainland Affairs Council on Friday criticized


content_text:
Economic aid needs to address the most urgent issue: fighting the war

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has received US$145 billion in international financial assistance. While this support, generously provided by partner countries and other donors, has been immensely valuable, it comes with strings attached. The most significant restriction is that these funds can be used only for non-military purposes, such as healthcare, education and public servants’ salaries.

Consider the World Bank-managed Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance Fund, which provides financing for government salaries, including ministry staff, teachers, emergency responders and healthcare workers, as well as pensions and other social services, through the state budget. With this civilian-focused approach, Ukraine’s Western allies have sought to avoid the Kremlin’s ire. However, economic aid delivered this way encourages Russia, while also creating distortions that undermine Ukraine’s war effort and generate waste.

For example, the Ukrainian parliament was forced to increase the state budget last year by about 12 percent, or 495 billion hryvnia (US$11.8 billion), to cover military expenditures. In July, the Ukrainian government further raised defense spending by about 400 billion hryvnia, and on Wednesday last week, it allocated more than 300 billion hryvnia in additional financing for the ministry of defense.

At the same time, the Ukrainian government recently allocated more money to school meals and other social programs. And since October last year, it has spent 4 billion hryvnia on a rebate program for domestic products — a project with an unclear economic impact. While this money constitutes a small portion of overall expenses, it could finance about 276,000 first-person view drones, a weapon which accounts for 80 percent of Russian losses.

These budgetary developments illustrate how the constraints of the current foreign aid structure create perverse incentives. To make international assistance for Ukraine more efficient, we must recognize two facts. First, defense is the most important spending item, because all other considerations — from social programs to reconstruction — depend on the continued existence of the Ukrainian state. Second, the war-ravaged Ukrainian economy cannot keep pace with Russian military expenditures, which totaled US$149 billion last year, compared with Ukraine’s significantly smaller US$65 billion.

Given this, Kyiv’s partners should support military spending, rather than social programs. Reinforcing Ukrainian defenses protects Europe’s security, and the Ukrainian army imposes the most forceful “sanctions” on Russia.

Ensuring the effectiveness of foreign aid is particularly important, as European leaders discuss using frozen Russian assets to provide a “reparations loan” to Ukraine. While these funds could help sustain Ukraine’s people and economy, it is more important to fund their defense, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed — in other words, to tackle the existential challenge posed by Russia’s invasion.

Ukraine’s allies should be laser-focused on winning the war, which is the sole precondition for peace, Ukraine’s reconstruction and EU integration. This implies placing more emphasis on helping Ukraine repel Russian aggression than on designing security guarantees for “when the war stops” or preparing a European defense plan to be ready by 2030.

Various reports suggested that Ukraine uses only one-third of its drone production capacity, owing to limited funding. With direct financial support from foreign donors, Kyiv could quickly increase its drone output, helping to blunt Russian assaults. It would also send the signal that Ukraine’s will to fight is backed by a robust financial lifeline from the West. These measures would make the war more costly for the Kremlin and might even motivate Russia to engage in genuine peace talks.

This “victory first” mindset should guide the conditions Ukraine’s partners attach to their financial assistance. At this point, any reforms should support Ukraine’s current, not future, defense capacity. For example, reforms of tax administration can create fiscal space and should be welcomed, whereas stronger environmental regulations that impose additional costs on businesses should be passed over — especially because Russian aggression is significantly more harmful to the environment than the Ukrainian industry is. However, climate policies that build resilience — such as constructing decentralized “green” power plants — should be implemented immediately.

International donors should also fund defense, because it forces the Ukrainian government to finance social programs with tax revenues. This incentivizes Ukrainian authorities to improve the effectiveness of tax collection, and address other long-standing issues related to tax administration and customs enforcement.

Foreign aid to Ukraine should reflect the reality on the ground. Above all, the country must protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty. Efforts to close funding gaps in areas other than defense — no matter how worthy — distract attention from this primary goal and create waste. Even with international support, Ukraine has far fewer resources than Russia. The efficiency of every penny must be maximized.

Anastassia Fedyk is assistant professor of finance at the University of California, Berkeley. Yuriy Gorodnichenko is professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Ilona Sologoub is Editor of VoxUkraine.

Copyright: Project Syndicate

title: Strings attached to Ukrainian aid unhelpful for warfighting


title: All together now: ASEAN ought to work as a bloc

content_text:
By pulling in the same direction, the group could amplify political weight as its nations balance the US and China

Despite its geopolitical weight, Southeast Asia has rarely been more divided. In separately seeking tariff relief from the US, nations from Malaysia to Indonesia have undermined their collective leverage. They have a chance to present a united front at a regional forum this weekend — a move that would ensure they remain credible as a bloc capable of charting its own future.

US President Donald Trump is attending the 10-member ASEAN meeting in Malaysia, which began yesterday. Sitting at the heart of the Indo-Pacific — a zone central to both US and Chinese strategic ambitions — the region is vital to global trade and security, with a combined GDP of about US$4 trillion.

ASEAN is not living up to its unity in diversity motto. Trump’s “art of the deal” thrives on bilateral bargaining, and many leaders seem eager to play along in the hopes of securing short-term gains.

In the run-up to the summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim personally extended an invitation to Trump in an attempt to secure preferential trade terms, despite domestic opposition. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was caught on a hot mic asking the US leader if he could meet his son, discussing what reportedly appeared to be a business venture. Thailand and Cambodia, locked in a volatile border dispute, credited Trump for mediating an uneasy truce. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet even said he is nominating the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Bilateral dealmaking has helped some Southeast Asian states avoid the worst-case scenario from Trump’s tariffs, but this approach is not sustainable.

Each concession chips away at the bloc’s shared influence, said Joanne Lin, a senior fellow and coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

“The absence of a free-trade agreement between the two sides does not mean there are not other ways for the region to act collectively,” she said. “Members can still coordinate positions and signal shared principles on trade. That would carry weight.”

ASEAN’s divisions extend beyond trade. The group has failed to meaningfully respond to the Thai-Cambodia dispute and the Myanmar crisis, despite various high-level meetings.

Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan called these setbacks “not just for peace and stability, but for the credibility of ASEAN.”

The bloc remains similarly split on how to address Beijing’s growing aggressiveness on the South China Sea.

The consequences are showing up in public sentiment.

About 35 percent of respondents across the region view ASEAN as too slow to handle fast-moving crises, and fear it risks sliding into irrelevance, the institute’s State of Southeast Asia 2025 survey showed.

Southeast Asia has always been at the heart of great power rivalry, but the stakes are rising as the US and China compete more fiercely for influence. Trump’s presence in Malaysia could open the door to a broader US-ASEAN trade agreement, helping to ease the bloc’s economic anxieties. China, the group’s largest trading partner, is sending Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) as it pushes for an upgraded free trade deal before the end of the year.

Washington and Beijing are due to hold talks at the summit. Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to make her diplomatic debut at the summit. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly skipping the gathering.

The forum comes days before Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) are scheduled to meet at the APEC summit in South Korea. That encounter, if it happens, could define the trajectory of US-China relations. Any thaw or escalation is going to directly impact Southeast Asia.

To avoid being reduced to a pawn in the superpower competition, ASEAN needs to act on tariffs and territorial disputes. The bloc could present Washington with a joint tariff framework and outline shared principles. Granted, this would require coordination among states used to bilateral dealmaking, but the stakes are high enough. Malaysia, as this year’s chair, has taken a step in that direction through its new Geo-Economics Council, which is exploring ways to deepen regional cooperation.

ASEAN also has the tools to rebuild a credible way to manage border or maritime disputes. Past efforts were largely symbolic, but they proved cooperation is possible.

Trump might leave Malaysia with another headline about deals and diplomacy. ASEAN risks leaving without agency. That is far worse for its future than tough tariffs.

Karishma Vaswani is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia politics with a special focus on China. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.


title: Amazon outage a warning shot for the future of the Internet

content_text:
Relying on foreign nations for cloud services threatens sovereignty

An outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) a week ago disrupted apps and Web sites around the world, affecting more than 2,000 companies and leaving millions of users unable to access apps such as Snapchat, Roblox, Signal, Duolingo and Amazon itself. Removing the tech from our tech-dependent existence led to workers being sent home and exams delayed. The 15-hour crash underlined how deeply our digital lives depend on a small number of cloud providers — and how vulnerable many everyday systems are to a single failure.

If data is the new oil, then cloud computing is the pipeline, the refinery, the tanker fleet and, increasingly, the pump, too. The big three — AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud — account for 60 percent of global cloud computing. They own the networks and cables that move data across the world. Their platforms do not just turn data into useful insights — they do it with proprietary tools that make switching providers costly and complex. Finally, through Amazon’s Alexa, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, they are shaping how people interact with data and services.

It is easy to forget that all the information processing has to happen in buildings full of servers connected to the Internet via fiber-optic cables. Amazon’s biggest and most critical cloud region, known as US-EAST-1, is in northern Virginia and is home to 70 percent of the world’s Internet traffic. Virginia’s role in Web traffic is comparable to the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers — a narrow choke point through which vital commerce flows. It is vulnerable not only to technical error, but also to cyberattacks, geopolitical sabotage and terrorism. This was the cluster’s third major outage in five years, each leading to an Internet meltdown.

In a paper for University College London (UCL), Francesca Bria, Paul Timmers and Fausto Gernone warned that cloud computing is the power grid of the 21st century economy. Europe’s public services, industrial innovation and artificial intelligence ambitions are increasingly built on a digital backbone it does not own, regulate or even fully understand. In that respect, this week’s outage is no technical blip, it is a warning shot.

The authors recommended scaling up sovereign cloud infrastructure, diversifying hardware supply chains and developing open source standards. It is hard to argue that Europe and the UK do otherwise: Continuing in this vein risks the continent becoming a colony in the US’ — or China’s — digital empire. Nations are acting already. India and Brazil are prioritizing development of public digital systems to reduce reliance on foreign cloud providers. Germany and France have pushed Gaia-X, a European framework for secure cloud services. The supermarket Lidl is building its own cloud tech. Troublingly, the UK has no coherent cloud strategy, leaving its systems dominated by AWS and Microsoft.

In a debate organized by UCL this summer, Mike Bracken, who used to run the UK’s Government Digital Service, pushed back against ownership being a problem.

By adopting open standards, the UK could gain all the advantages of cloud computing without having to reinvent the wheel, he said. This risks strategic vulnerability that comes from becoming dependent on private, foreign-owned cloud giants.

Sovereignty is not just the right to choose policy. It is the power to execute it without asking for permission. True resilience means not relying on foreign servers to keep passengers flying, hospitals running, banking apps working — and government services online.