taiwan-subdivisions: 花蓮 臺南市 臺北 花蓮縣 臺東縣 雲林縣 新北市 彰化縣 嘉義縣 連江縣 雲林 恆春 臺東 新竹縣 基隆 高雄市 綠島 貢寮 嘉義 東沙 臺中市 澎湖縣 南投縣 蘭嶼 臺南 新竹市 屏東 臺北市 金門縣 桃園 宜蘭縣 屏東縣 基隆市 高雄 南投 澎湖 苗栗縣 瑞芳

title: 鳳凰颱風12日高屏登陸　全台11縣市、花蓮3鄉鎮1校停班課

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墨新聞｜楊秉鈞

根據中央氣象署11日深夜11時30最新資料顯示，鳳凰颱風中心目前在鵝鑾鼻西南西方海面，向東北移動，暴風圈已進入臺灣西南方近海，週三颱風及其外圍環流影響，基隆北海岸、大臺北、南部及東半部地區有局部大雨或豪雨發生的機率，全臺有11縣市、花蓮3鄉鎮1校停班課；週四颱風減弱並逐漸遠離，除北部地區仍有局部大雨發生，其他地區雨勢趨緩。

氣象署表示，鳳凰颱風11日23時的中心位置在北緯 21.0 度，東經 119.0 度，即在鵝鑾鼻的西南西方約 220 公里之處，以每小時8轉19公里速度，向東北轉東北東進行，中心氣壓985百帕，近中心最大風速每秒 25 公尺（約每小時 90 公里），相當於 10 級風，瞬間最大陣風每秒 33 公尺（約每小時 119 公里），相當於 12 級風，七級風平均暴風半徑200公里。

（圖／氣象署）陸上警戒：花蓮、南投、雲林、嘉義、臺南、高雄、臺東、屏東、恆春半島、澎湖應嚴加戒備。

降雨警戒：宜蘭縣、新北市(瑞芳、貢寮)。

海上警戒：臺灣海峽、臺灣東北部海面、臺灣東南部海面、巴士海峽、東沙島海面航行及作業船隻應嚴加戒備。

氣象署發布豪(大)雨特報，颱風及其外圍環流及東北季風影響，易有短延時強降雨，11日晚至12日宜蘭縣地區及北海岸有局部大豪雨或超大豪雨，基隆市地區、新北市地區、臺東縣山區、臺北市山區、桃園市山區、花蓮縣山區及屏東縣山區有局部大雨或豪雨，臺北地區及高雄、屏東及澎湖地區有局部大雨發生的機率，山區請嚴防坍方、落石、土石流及山洪暴發，低窪地區請慎防積淹水。超大豪雨地區：新北市、宜蘭縣。

（圖／氣象署）氣象署也發布陸上強風特報，颱風及其外圍環流及東北風明顯偏強，11日晚至12日桃園市、彰化縣、雲林縣、高雄市、屏東縣、澎湖縣、連江縣局部地區有平均風9級以上或陣風11級以上發生的機率(橙色燈號)，蘭嶼、綠島、基隆市、臺北市、新北市、新竹市、新竹縣、苗栗縣、臺中市、南投縣、嘉義縣、臺南市、宜蘭縣、金門縣局部地區有平均風6級以上或陣風8級以上發生的機率(黃色燈號)，請注意防範。

暴風圈預計12日清晨觸碰屏東陸地，下午抵達西南方近海，傍晚至晚間從高屏登陸，其中又以屏東機率較大，並於當日深夜至隔日清晨從花東出海，目前預估從臺東出海機率較大，並於週四解除海上陸上颱風警報。

此篇文章最開始出處為: 鳳凰颱風12日高屏登陸 全台11縣市、花蓮3鄉鎮1校停班課


taiwan-subdivisions: 大城 獅子

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墨新聞｜記者梁偉華／台北報導

「情歌王子」張信哲（Jeff）於英國時間9日假倫敦 「OVO Arena Wembley」舉辦《未來式 OUR STORY 世界巡迴演唱會》倫敦站，也是他生平第二度插旗英倫開唱！這場倫敦站好事多磨，原本早在五年前就要舉辦，但因疫情阻隔，終於在2025年的現在圓滿了。這場相隔五年的演出是整個巡演的第103場，也是他七年「未來式」旅程中的重要里程碑，睽違多年再唱進歐洲，來自全球各地的觀眾熱情參與，共同見證這場久違的重逢！

照片提供：潮水音樂緣自2019年9月，張信哲便曾赴英，在前艾爾頓強（Elton John）經紀人哈維・歌德史密斯（Harvey Goldsmith）的安排下舉辦國際記者會，宣布成為繼李宗盛、E神」陳奕迅後登上「皇家亞伯廳」（Royal Albert Hall）的華語歌手，與披頭四樂團（The Beatles）、阿巴合唱團（ABBA）、羅比威廉斯（Robbie Williams）、女神卡卡（Lady Gaga）與愛岱兒（Adele）齊驅的超級巨星，當下轟動不已，上遍當時英國主流媒體！

照片提供：潮水音樂而今時隔五年，《未來式》終於重返倫敦。張信哲登上舞台，滿懷感慨地向全場觀眾致意：「謝謝、謝謝，這個讓大家久等了！」隨即興奮喊出：「我在這邊還忍不住要講-倫敦，我來啦！」全場掌聲與歡呼聲瞬間掀起。他笑問觀眾：「也不知道今天是暖氣太強，還是大家太熱情？」又說：「太熱情嗎？都有嗎？」語畢脫下外套，掀起全場第一個高潮！

照片提供：潮水音樂阿哲哥在台上回憶：「其實，本來《未來式》演唱會的海外第一站要設在倫敦，可是呢，好事多磨，遇到了疫情。對，隔了五年，才在倫敦上演。」又感性表示：「本來是想在倫敦開頭，把祝福帶向世界的每一地，但沒有關係，我們終還是相聚在一起了！」觀眾報以掌聲回應，氣氛溫暖動人。

照片提供：潮水音樂在演唱過程中，張信哲激勵說：「謝謝大家今天到現場來給我加油、鼓勵。」他開心看到台下粉絲殷殷期盼的臉龐，有老朋友、大朋友，也有小朋友，笑說：「大家看起來都年輕、氣色好！」也問候大家身體健康，全場觀眾齊聲回應「健康！」讓他開懷：「真的非常感謝大家，我也很健康，終於熬過了這個疫情，重新聚集在倫敦，一起實現之前約好的演唱會。」

照片提供：潮水音樂最令人驚喜的是，〈太想愛你〉作曲人葉良俊（Jimmy）也現身倫敦站，親臨現場力挺張信哲，兩人重逢畫面引發觀眾驚呼與熱烈掌聲。張信哲深情說：「其實對我來說，我非常珍惜跟你們相聚的每一刻、每一分、每一秒。謝謝。我知道有很多朋友從世界各地飛過來，對吧？謝謝！」他溫柔地問：「下一站，還會繼續陪嗎？」觀眾齊聲回應「會！」他笑著說：「真的，謝謝非常可愛的你們。」並在壓軸曲〈愛如潮水〉的大合唱中，倫敦的夜空被情歌聲浪淹沒，《未來式 OUR STORY》倫敦站在滿滿的愛與掌聲中，劃下最動人的句點。

張信哲《未來式》演唱會歷經七年旅程，至今走遍全球各大城市。倫敦站為整個巡演的第103場，也象徵張信哲的國際音樂篇章，由亞洲經美洲又空降至歐洲，而這段屬於「未來式」的故事，即將於下週的巴黎場完美收官！

張信哲信守承諾回到英國開唱，更將於11/14（五）空降巴黎站，售票大開紅盤，僅餘零星門票正於 Ticketmaster.fr 熱賣中，敬請樂迷把握！而哲粉更用力敲碗雪梨、墨爾本、奧克蘭與東京站。張信哲感性說「希望見到大家，一起唱響屬於我們的故事！」

而提到與英國的再續前緣，張信哲此行也特別與音樂老朋友-「接招」（Take That）之「英倫天王」蓋瑞巴洛（Gary Barlow）再相逢，兩人曾於2019年攜手合作英文新歌〈A Matter of Love〉（當年那份愛），蓋瑞譜的旋律優雅動聽，更破天荒請到曾為電影《獅子王》、《阿拉丁》主題曲、音樂劇《萬世巨星》、《艾薇塔》填詞的「英國詞神」提姆萊斯爵士（Tim Rice）操刀歌詞，〈A Matter of Love〉的英文詞美得就像一首詩，三方合作超級愉快，而該次的英倫合作，更成為張信哲音樂生涯相當重要的里程碑！

照片提供：潮水音樂有趣地是，2019 年當阿哲哥和蓋瑞兩人初次碰面時，見面都在聊音樂，當下忘了合照留念，張信哲原以為隔年「皇家亞伯廳」演唱會就會再見面，沒想到一別六年，連一張合照都沒有。這次一重逢，兩人見面就笑說：「這次要先拍照！」畫面溫馨又逗趣。如今事隔6年再和蓋瑞巴洛重聚，新的音樂合作勢必再啟動！

此篇文章最開始出處為: 張信哲二度插旗倫敦終實現! 情歌王子溫柔宣告:「倫敦,我來啦!」

title: 張信哲二度插旗倫敦終實現! 情歌王子溫柔宣告:「倫敦,我來啦!」


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墨新聞｜記者梁偉華／台北報導

三立八點台劇《百味人生》中飾演趙家會長的江國賓，戲外同樣行程滿檔。近期他除了首度代言牛樟芝品牌外，還驚喜現身多年粉絲的婚禮，親自獻唱祝福新婚，展現暖心的一面。

照片提供：三立電視江國賓表示，這次代言牛樟芝品牌，最主要的原因是自己對「健康」有了全新的體悟。「自從手術後，我真的深刻明白健康無價。這次希望藉由代言，讓更多中壯年朋友重視保健與身體管理。」為了更了解產品，他特地前往苗栗山區探訪牛樟芝培育基地。品牌團隊歷時十多年打造出仿天然環境的培植場域，重現原始森林生態系統。當他親眼看到珍貴的「白色牛樟芝」時直呼震撼，感嘆這是「台灣生技的驕傲」。

出道三十多年來，江國賓長年在高壓、緊湊的拍攝環境中工作，近年來他逐漸學會放慢腳步。「以前總覺得身體撐一下就過去了，但到了這個年紀才知道，健康才是最不能透支的本錢。」他笑說現在會固定運動、早睡早起，讓身體恢復平衡，「拍戲之外，我也希望觀眾看到我更健康、更自然的一面。」

照片提供：三立電視除了代言活動，江國賓日前也在粉絲婚禮擔任婚禮歌手。他透露，一位多年資深粉絲的婚禮新郎早在一年前就透過經紀人秘密聯絡，希望能給新娘一個驚喜。「新娘從小就喜歡我，還抽中過我的簽名照一次，新郎說她常開玩笑要找一個跟我同姓的男人，沒想到真的如願！」婚禮當天，新娘入場後播放了一段介紹她最愛偶像江國賓的VCR，接著江國賓在《給你們》這首歌的旋律中登場獻唱，全場驚呼連連。他笑說：「看到新娘那種又驚又喜的表情，我也很感動，覺得能成就一樁美事是很棒的事。」他也大讚新郎的體貼與大度，「願意讓偶像來搶風頭，真的不容易！」

照片提供：三立電視在戲劇部分，江國賓目前在《百味人生》中飾演的角色造型也頗具巧思。為展現「日式會長風格」，特別請合作二十年的髮型師每兩週清晨八點為他修剪造型，並由老師傅手工訂製無西領西裝。他出場時以「老頑童」的方式登場，既幽默又有氣勢，角色個性鮮明，為劇情增添亮點。劇中他維護趙家名聲與利益的堅毅一面，加上與岳虹之間深曖昧又糾結的情感線，也讓粉絲津津樂道，觀眾留言表示兩人不停打嘴鼓好有趣，兩人在一起太速配了。江國賓笑說，這陣子真的忙到分身乏術，但能同時兼顧工作、健康與粉絲情誼，是人生最幸福的狀態。「我希望自己不只是戲裡的角色，也能在生活中傳達溫暖與正能量。」

此篇文章最開始出處為: 江國賓代言牛樟芝提倡健康人生 驚喜現身粉絲婚禮變身歌手送祝福

title: 江國賓代言牛樟芝提倡健康人生　驚喜現身粉絲婚禮變身歌手送祝福


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記者陳木隆/宜蘭報導

鳳凰颱風環流及東北季風持續肆虐，雨彈狂炸宜蘭地區，多處地方一片汪洋，有些住戶被迫垂直避難！蘇澳鎮南方澳漁村因逢滿潮期，港區排水孔被海水漲滿無法渲洩出去，11月11日晚間，水淹南建里福安新村，積水淹到小腿肚，並且淹進七、八十戶住家。居民表示，以前曾經發生淹水，但沒有這麼嚴重。

title: 影音/雨彈炸不停 宜蘭多處地方淹水 福安新村首遇嚴重水患

taiwan-subdivisions: 宜蘭 蘇澳


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Live Nation 的《Living for Live》報告涵蓋 15 個國家/地區，揭示現場音樂表演現在如何較體育、電影和串流媒體受歡迎，以及粉絲文化如何重塑全球文化、聯繫與經濟。

紐約2025年11月11日 /美通社/ — 今日，全球現場娛樂領袖 Live Nation 發佈迄今最大規模全球報告《 Living for Live 》。該報告揭示現場音樂表演已超越體育、電影和（甚至）性行為，成為全球最受歡迎娛樂形式。

該報告根據 15 個國家/地區內 40,000 人的調查訪問，揭示受訪者如何透過現場表演體驗，而於消閒、表達身份認同與人際聯繫的巨大轉變。

Live Nation 全球傳媒與贊助主席 Russell Wallach 表示：「這份報告確認我們於各個地點所目睹的情況。現場音樂表演不僅正在增長，還即時塑造經濟、影響品牌和定義文化。粉絲們已將現場表演成為全球娛樂脈搏，而現在成為推動全球聯繫與成長的最強大力量之一。」

粉絲選擇演唱會為全球 #1 娛樂全球近 40% 受訪者 (39%) 表示，如果一生僅可選擇一種娛樂方式，便選擇現場音樂表演——位列於電影和體育之上。面對更難選擇時，70% 受訪表示欣賞最喜歡歌手的現場演出，而不進行性行為。

粉絲欣賞表演，展現身份認同。85% 粉絲認為音樂定義自身身份，84% 粉絲認為現場體驗給予他們大部份生活。他們在演唱會的穿著、分享和體驗，已經成為他們表達自己和聯繫他人方式的一部份。

演唱會是新人生里程碑粉絲們預留時間、計劃，甚至永遠懷念多場演唱會。75% 粉絲表示會提前安排時間，觀看演唱會。四分之一粉絲為了現場音樂表演留念，而接受暫時或永久紋身。近 80% 粉絲表示，演唱會令自身家庭更加緊密。

全球舞台，全球粉絲粉絲們正在證明，音樂超越語言界限。2024 年，粉絲為了欣賞演唱會，而遨遊 400 億英里，相當於登陸月球 83,000 次。全球 71% 粉絲收聽非母語歌手的歌曲，84% 粉絲表示現場音樂表演超越國界，團結人類。

粉絲旅遊，帶動經濟。每年近六成粉絲為了觀看演出而旅遊，而於酒店、餐廳和零售業造成連鎖反應。從體育館巡迴演唱會到音樂節週末，多個演唱會促進旅遊業與當地經濟增長。

粉絲渴望現場體驗。在數碼資訊飽和的時代，93% 粉絲表示欣賞演出。這是因為渴望現場體驗，而非虛擬體驗。80% 粉絲寧願花費於體驗，而非物品。對大多數粉絲而言，演唱會仍然是地球上最能觸動情感的集體體驗。

現場音樂表演已成為全球文化核心驅動力——關注、忠誠與影響的薈萃。過去的娛樂現已成為基礎設施，而未來十年的文化，將於現場活動中建立。

如欲查看《Living for Live》及其九大全球粉絲趨勢，請瀏覽 livingforlive.com。

資料來源：

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title: 全球 40,000 人調查報告發現，全球最受歡迎娛樂形式是現場音樂表演


title: Thousands evacuated ahead of storm

content_text:
PREPARATION:  Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work

Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening.

Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm.

The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春).

As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes.

Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Keelung, and Taitung, Nantou, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, as well as Hsinchu city and county announced that today would be a regular work day, as has Hualien County except for Guangfu (光復), Wanrong (萬榮) and Fonglin (鳳林) townships.

The combined influence of the northeast monsoon with the storm have led to average wind speeds of 9 on the Beaufort scale in Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties, the agency said.

By 1pm yesterday, the highest accumulated rainfall was reported on Yilan County’s Dongao (東澳), Taitung County’s Nioutou Hill (牛頭山) and New Taipei City’s Dacukeng (大粗坑) at 72.4cm, 40cm and 36cm respectively.

Fung-wong is expected to bring heavy rain, particularly to northern and eastern Taiwan, along with brief bouts of intense rainfall in central and southern Taiwan as the storm approaches, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said.

As of 9pm yesterday, the storm was centered 260km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), moving northeast at 23kph. The maximum wind speed reached 90kph, with a 200km radius.

taiwan-subdivisions: 恆春 萬榮 光復 鳳林


title: Taiwan must decide own future: German lawmaker

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SELF-DETERMINATION: German lawmakers add earth to an art installation in front of the Reichstag to show that the face of a nation lies with its people, Tsai Ing-wen said

Taiwan’s future should be decided by Taiwanese, German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Till Steffen said yesterday, while giving former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a tour of the German parliament building.

Tsai arrived in Berlin on Sunday and the following day delivered a keynote speech at the Berlin Freedom Conference titled “Threats facing democracies: Taiwan’s experience defending freedom.”

Tsai yesterday attended a tea gathering at the Bundestag, joined by former friendship group chairman of 15 years Klaus-Peter Willsch, German defense affairs specialist Roderich Kiesewetter and Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Parliamentary State Secretary Michael Brand.

Former president Tsai Ing-wen, front left, and German-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group chairman Till Steffen, front right, tour the German parliament building in Berlin yesterday. Photo: Screen grab from Tsai’s Facebook page

Noting that the Reichstag, the building that houses the German parliament, is at the former border between East and West Germany, Steffen said he wanted to convey to Taiwan that “Germany’s unification was decided by the parliaments freely elected by both East and West Germany.”

“Similarly, Taiwan’s future should be decided by a parliament freely elected by the Taiwanese people. This is the democratic choice we support,” he added.

Tsai said that Taiwan and Germany have many opportunities to work together, citing Germany’s strong industrial capabilities and Taiwan’s own technological prowess.

The two countries can work together on many issues, and both sides should make efforts to achieve these goals, she added.

Later writing on Facebook about Der Bevolkerung in the Reichstag, Tsai said that each lawmaker adds in a bag of earth from their constituency to the art installation.

It symbolizes that the fate of the nation should be determined by the people who live in it, she said.

In an interview with the German-language daily Die Welt, Tsai reiterated that Taiwan is determined to increase is self-defense capabilities.

In an age in which artificial intelligence is quickly gaining prevalence, Taiwan is critical for the continued development of global technology and economy, she said, adding that in semiconductors, Taiwan is irreplaceable in the near future.

As long as democratic partners worldwide continue to support Taiwan, it would be able to go from “Taiwan can help” to “Taiwan is supporting,” Tsai said.

Prior to her visit, Tsai said that as a trustworthy member of the international community, Taiwan would continue to stand with Europe and other like-minded countries to demonstrate its commitment to freedom and democracy.

Additional reporting by CNA


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By Laio Chia-ning and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hope that Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) would step forward to lead cross-party legislators in supporting Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), whom China is investigating for promoting “Taiwanese independence.”

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency late last month reported that Shen is being probed by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau on allegations of “secession-related” criminal activities, including launching the civil defense organization Kuma Academy.

The investigation is being carried out under China’s criminal law and a set of Beijing’s judicial guidelines on how to penalize “Taiwanese independence separatists,” the Xinhua report said.

President William Lai speaks to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

Beijing has no legal authority to charge any Taiwanese for engaging in legal activities in their own nation, Lai said.

Shen has every right to champion the nation’s sovereignty and democratic constitutional order under Taiwanese law, he added.

Lai said he hoped Han would make a statement in support of free speech, which is broadly supported across Taiwan’s political spectrum.

China should conduct itself in a manner befitting a great power instead of issuing inappropriate calls for transnational searches for democracy advocates living outside its borders, he added.

The legislature has shamed itself before the world in failing to pass any resolution to protect its own lawmaker or denounce China’s threats, Taiwanese democracy advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) said.

Beijing’s branding of lawmakers of foreign governments as wanted criminals is tantamount to a military act of aggression, he said.

Shen on Sunday said that China is too enchanted with its salami slicing tactics to act on its threats with any urgency, adding that he is not worried about his safety.

“China aims to use psychological warfare to scare people like me from doing their jobs, such as carrying out legislative diplomacy,” he said.

Additional reporting by Chen Yun, Hsieh Chun-lin and Chen Yu-fu

title: Lai urges Han Kuo-yu to support Puma Shen

people: 賴清德 韓國瑜 李明哲


title: India and Pakistan rocked by separate deadly explosions

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday called a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital a “conspiracy,” vowing those responsible will face justice, while in a separate attack in Islamabad, a suicide bombing outside district court buildings killed at least 12 people and wounded 27 others.

Indian Police have yet to give exact details of what caused Monday’s incident near the historic Red Fort, one of India’s most well-known landmarks, and the site of the prime minister’s annual Independence Day speech.

The blast killed at least eight people, and 19 others were injured when flames ripped through several vehicles.

Police officers and forensic experts work at the site of an explosion in the old quarter of Delhi, India, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

It was the first significant security incident since a shooting attack in late April that left 26 mainly Hindu civilians dead at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.

“I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy,” Modi said, in a speech during a state visit to neighboring Bhutan, without giving further details. “All those involved will be brought to justice.”

Indian authorities have stepped short of calling the blast an attack, saying they were awaiting forensic analysis.

However, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs said that the National Investigation Agency are leading the probe.

The explosion on Monday came hours after Indian police said they had arrested a gang and seized explosive materials and assault rifles.

Police said the men were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based radical Muslim group, and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a Kashmir offshoot of al-Qaeda.

The Press Trust of India news agency yesterday reported that the death toll had risen to 12, although that figure had not been confirmed.

Witnesses described how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.

“People were on fire and we tried to save them... Cars and people were burning — people inside the cars were burning,” Dharmindra Dhaga, 27, said.

“I was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos,” he said.

In Islamabad, tThe first such attack to hit the city in years sent people fleeing in panic, leaving shattered glass and charred vehicles on the road.

“A suicide attack was carried out,” Pakistani Minister of Interior Mohsin Naqvi told journalists. “So far 12 people have been martyred and around 27 are wounded.”

Paramilitary troops cordoned off the area where the minister said the assailant detonated explosives near a police vehicle.

“We are trying to identify who he [the attacker] is and where he came from,” Naqvi said after the blast, which struck an area that also houses several government offices.

The Pakistani Taliban militant group later claimed the attack, saying in a statement they had targeted judicial officials.

“Our fighter attacked the judicial commission in Islamabad. Judges, lawyers and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted,” the group said, threatening to carry out more attacks “until Islamic Shariah law is implemented.”


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US Senate passes bill to end government shutdown; plans to send to House today

The US Senate on Monday approved a compromise that would end the longest government shutdown in US history, breaking a weeks-long stalemate that has disrupted food benefits for millions, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers unpaid and snarled air traffic.

The 60-40 vote passed with the support of nearly all of the chamber’s Republicans and eight Democrats, who unsuccessfully sought to tie government funding to health subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year.

While the agreement sets up a vote next month on those subsidies, which benefit 24 million Americans, it does not guarantee they will continue.

Cars drive toward the US Capitol Building in Washington on Monday, after the US Senate on Monday passed legislation to reopen the government. Photo: AFP

The deal, which would restore funding for federal agencies, includes a reversal of mass firings of federal workers since the shutdown started on Oct. 1 and would stall US President Donald Trump’s campaign to continue downsizing the federal workforce, preventing any layoffs until Jan. 30 next year.

The legislation next heads to the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would like to pass it as soon as today and send it on to Trump to sign into law.

“It appears our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end,” said Johnson, who has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding.

The deal would extend funding through Jan. 30, leaving the federal government, for now, on a path to keep adding about US$1.8 trillion a year to its US$38 trillion in debt.

Coming a week after Democrats won high-profile local elections in New Jersey, Virginia and elected a democratic socialist as the next mayor of New York, the deal has provoked anger among many Democrats who said there is no guarantee that the Republican-controlled Senate or House would agree to extend the health insurance subsidies.

“We wish we could do more,” said US Senator Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat. “The government shutting down seemed to be an opportunity to lead us to better policy. It didn’t work.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not “in good faith” support it after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours on Sunday.

“We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said, adding that Democrats have “sounded the alarm” on healthcare.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll from late last month found that 50 percent of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown, while 43 percent blamed Democrats.


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FAMILY RESERVATIONS: To help stabilize housing, the government would designate 20 percent of public housing as family housing, the interior ministry said   By Hsu Yi-ping and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The supply of public housing is expected to reach nearly 100,000 units by 2029, with one-fifth reserved for newlyweds and families, as officials seek to address the challenges of affordable housing and a low birthrate, the Ministry of the Interior said on Sunday.

About 60,000 new public housing units are expected to be completed nationwide by 2029, bringing the total to nearly 100,000 when added to the 36,000 units already completed, data from the ministry’s Real Estate Information Platform showed.

A portion of the housing would be reserved for families as part of efforts to boost the birthrate, the ministry said.

The number of newborns in Taiwan has been less than 200,000 for eight consecutive years since 2017, ministry data showed.

The crude birth rate — the number of live births per 1,000 people per year — has been below 10 since 2004, the data showed.

Last year, about 134,800 births were recorded, or a crude birth rate of 5.76 — a record low since data collection began.

Taiwan’s low birthrate stems from multiple factors, including wage structures, housing policies and changing life attitudes, a source said, citing surveys.

“It has become increasingly common for young Taiwanese not to marry, while even among those who do marry, many hesitate over whether to have children,” the source said. “Newlyweds often face the difficult choice of either having children or buying a home.”

The government should stabilize housing supply and improve wage structures, they said.

As part of a policy to stabilize housing, the government would designate 20 percent of public housing as “family housing,” giving priority to newlyweds and families with children, the ministry said.

From next year to 2028, the central government plans to open 41,000 new public housing units for rent, it said, adding that by the end of that period, it would manage more than 45,000 rental units, becoming Taiwan’s largest landlord.

“About 9,000 units are to be reserved for newlyweds and families with children, bringing the total number of family housing units to about 11,000 when combined with units built previously,” it said.

Colliers International Taiwan director Huang Shu-wei (黃舒衛) said that with the National Housing and Urban Regeneration Center to be the nation’s largest landlord, its responsibilities would extend beyond management of the number of units.

Each public housing complex functions as an independent community, requiring effective operations, facility management, equipment maintenance and coordination of social welfare services, Huang said.

Support services include things such as childcare, after-school programs and school zoning, the provision of which would be a major challenge, he said.

Improving such services to build a social safety net has long been an underdeveloped area in national policy and urban planning, he added.

Separately, housing researcher Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said that increasing the supply is only the first step of an effective public housing policy.

The next step would be to “ensure sound management,” Ho said.

“As the number of public housing units expands, disputes and administrative challenges will follow, and the demand for management personnel will surge,” he said. “The government should plan ahead to address these issues.”

title: Public housing supply expected to near 100,000


content_text:
A project in which drones carry items to and from rural regions that could be used in emergency situations has shown success, the Institute of Transportation said.

“In collaboration with Chunghwa Post, drones have proved their high-mobility and quick-deployment capability in a pilot project to deliver items in rural townships,” the institute said in a statement.

Drones have shown that they can deliver medicine and emergency relief supplies in a timely manner when road access is cut to remote areas, boosting disaster relief efforts, it said.

A drone carries a package in a rural area of Hualien County in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Institute of Transportation

Three capabilities were tested: daily services, emergency support and disaster relief, the institute said.

Drones can deliver daily needs in rural regions and carry farm products out, it said.

They can rapidly deliver medicine and medical devices during an emergency, it said, adding that when a rural area is cut off due to flooding or landslides, they can carry supplies to isolated residents.

A proof of concept phase was conducted from 2020 to 2022, testing drones on a route from Donggang Port (東港漁港) in Pingtung County to Siaouliouciou Island (小琉球) about 14km to sea, and to a site on Lala Mountain (拉拉山) in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興) to prove the devices are capable of overcoming the many technical challenges of flying over seas and mountains, it said.

Since 2023, the institute has conducted a proof of service phase, testing the ability of drones to carry packages to Cimei (奇美) and Dali (大禮), rural areas in Hualien County, it said.

“This year, the proof of business phase began in collaboration with Chunghwa Post, as well as other public agencies and private firms,” the institute said.

“Sustainable business models for delivery drones have been identified, while drones have carried supplies during actual emergencies,” it said.

Institute Deputy Director Wang Mu-heng (王穆衡) said that delivery drones were not deployed after the barrier lake collapse on the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in Hualien County in September, as the work there was coordinated by the Disaster Relief Command Center.

title: Institute touts the success of a drone delivery project

taiwan-subdivisions: 東港 復興 琉球


title: New process may help geothermal projects

content_text:
SLATE STUDY: Researchers conducted tests on samples from a bore hole to propose an evaluation method that can be conducted on unassessed sites, a professor said

Examining the relationship between permeability and depth of slate might provide an easier means to evaluate the feasibility of geothermal projects before a detailed site investigation, Chinese-language media reported on Monday, citing a National Central University researcher.

Dong Jia-jyun (董家均) — a professor in the university’s Graduate Institute of Applied Geology and a contributing author to the paper “Estimating the Permeability-Depth Relation of Slate Formation for Geothermal Project,” which the Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering journal published on May 4 — said that Taiwan’s location on the Eurasian and the Philippine tectonic plates means that rapid mountain-building activity has raised hot slate to shallower regions, making the region a viable candidate for developing geothermal power generation.

“While the fluid flow capability of slate formations has not been well investigated internationally, the study proposes a procedure to evaluate the permeability-depth relationship in slate formations,” Dong said.

The researchers primarily studied the Hungyeh Formation in Taitung to gauge the permeability and gap size of fractures in the rock.

Using equipment donated by Japanese professors during a previous project, the group conducted tests on samples taken from a bore hole to propose the evaluation method, which can be conducted on unassessed sites before boreholes are dug, Dong said.

As emphasis on rock mechanics and rock engineering increases with national infrastructure projects such as the High Speed Railway, dams, tunnels and renewable energy development, the pre-assessment can provide a scientific basis for geothermal power generation projects and allow local governments to gauge the economic viability of such ventures, he said.

The method could provide authorities in regions outside Taiwan that have similar geological parameters, such as the Harz Mountains in Germany’s Gottingen region, to gauge the viability of developing geothermal power generation, he added.


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A doctor was slightly injured yesterday after a 30-year-old allegedly stabbed him at Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital in New Taipei City, authorities said.

Chiang Han-sun (江漢聲), a urologist and a former president of Fu Jen Catholic University, was seeing patients at the hospital at about 2pm when the incident occurred, police sources said.

The suspect, surnamed Tseng (曾), took out a utility knife when he entered Chiang’s office and slashed him on his right wrist and the left side of his stomach before being tackled and restrained by hospital security, the sources said.

Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital is pictured in New Taipei City in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital

The New Taipei City Police Department’s Sinjhuang Precinct said that it had taken Tseng into custody and, after questioning, would turn him over to prosecutors on suspicion of causing bodily harm and breaches of the Medical Care Act (醫療法).

The hospital said in a statement that its medical staff had quickly gone to the aid of Chiang, whose injuries were not life-threatening.

It also pledged to fully comply with the police investigation and condemned the alleged act of violence against a medical professional.

Police have yet to confirm Tseng’s motive.

Chinese-language media, citing anonymous police sources, reported that Tseng was a Fu Jen University dropout who had been accused, but cleared, of embezzling university funds while Chiang was university president.

title: Doctor slightly injured in stabbing incident


content_text:
Chinese Professional Baseball (CPB) has denied claims that the league has added a team called the “Shanghai Brothers,” saying that a message announcing the team did not originate from the league, the Taipei-based Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) said yesterday.

The Chinese Baseball Association is preparing to launch the CPB next year, with five cities participating, the BFA said in a statement.

A message that appeared to be posted online last week by the CPB showed five team names and their logos, including the Shanghai Brothers, whose logo closely resembled that of the CTBC Brothers team in Taiwan’s CPBL.

The logos of the CTBC Brothers baseball team is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Taipei Times

CTBC said that it was unaware of the Shanghai Brothers team, but would take action if necessary, and prioritize Taiwan’s interests and its baseball fans.

The BFA said that the CPB organizers informed the federation that there is no team called the Shanghai Brothers.

Information about this team did not originate from the CPB and should not be trusted, the federation said.

The CPB aims to improve the standard of baseball in China and support the establishment of an Asian Major League, the BFA said.

The BFA added that it had proposed an Asian Major League to push its member countries to improve.

Other BFA members, including Thailand, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, also have plans to form professional leagues, the BFA said.

As the level of baseball improves across Asia, competition between professional leagues is expected to drive the development of the Asian Major League, it said.

Asian teams would hopefully compete with North American teams, helping to raise the level of Asian baseball and eventually lead to competition with Major League Baseball in the US, it said.

As the BFA is headquartered in Taiwan, the rise of baseball in Asia positions the nation — ranked second globally by the World Baseball Softball Confederation — as a growing international hub for baseball.

title: Chinese baseball league denies it has Brothers team


content_text:
Taiwanese literature gains ground overseas, faces challenges: Translators

Taiwanese literature is gaining readers abroad, particularly in South Korea, but still struggles to sustain long-term momentum, translators said yesterday, citing challenges such as limited funding, shrinking translator networks, and uneven exposure in foreign markets.

At the 2025 International Forum on Taiwan Literature Translation and Publishing in Tainan, Korean translator Kim Tae-sung said Taiwanese literature has made “remarkable progress” in South Korea in recent years, as far fewer works from China have been translated and published, prompting readers to turn to Taiwan’s diverse, mature storytelling.

“In less than two years, the South Korean edition of ‘Ghost Town’ sold more than 30,000 copies,” Kim said. “Taiwanese literature has become more sophisticated in theme and style, and its quality is what draws South Korean readers,” he said.

Books by Taiwanese authors are displayed in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Taiwan Literature

“In Japan, Wu Ming-yi (吳明益) is the most popular Taiwanese author, and several of his works have even been reissued in pocket-sized editions,” said veteran translator Etsuko Uozumi, who has long been dedicated to promoting Taiwan’s Indigenous writing.

“It is rare for Taiwanese literature to be published in that format, which shows a growing readership despite the small scale of the market,” she said.

However, Uozumi also highlighted the hurdles facing literature in Japan, particularly limited funding and a decline in translators, which she said have made it increasingly difficult to sustain the momentum of translated works in the country.

Meanwhile, Polish translator Maciej Artur Gaca said promoting Taiwanese literature overseas remains challenging if readers are not exposed to an author’s name, noting that “continuity” is a benchmark of success in a small market.

“If the book is discussed in literary magazines, cited in universities, or translated from Polish into other languages, that’s a real impact,” added Gaca, a former Polish representative to Taiwan.

The forum gathered translators, editors, publishers and scholars from seven countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.

It coincided with a literary translation workshop led by Singaporean translator Jeremy Tiang (程異) and Anna Goode, managing director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, held for the first time in Taiwan after four editions in the UK.

Both events are part of the inaugural Taiwan Writers Festival, which runs through Nov. 30.

Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳), head of the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, the events’ main organizer, said the festival was inspired by the strong reception of Taiwanese writers at international literary events.

“It is about time for Taiwan to have a writers’ festival for our own authors,” she said.


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NON-PROPORTIONAL JUDGEMENT:  China uses money or sex to lure Taiwanese officers, while local judges are too easy on those convicted of espionage, a security expert said   By Pao Chien-shin, Fang Wei-li and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writer

An armed forces reserve captain has been indicted on charges of selling secrets to China for NT$150,000, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release yesterday.

The suspect, surnamed You (尤), served as a budget and finance officer at the Southern District Armed Forces Reserve Command, is accused of trading state secrets via Telegram in 2022 and 2023.

He is facing charges connected to bribery and contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the office said.

The entrance to the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Pao Chien-hsin, Taipei Times

A Chinese person known only by their Internet handle Shengyin Haoting (聲音好聽, pleasant voice) is believed to have solicited You for national secrets via the Internet after the latter expressed an interest in taking out loans, it said.

You supplied Beijing photocopies of the armed forces’ doctrinal manuals and a list of the telephone numbers of service personnel in the Northern District Armed Forces Reserves Command, the office said.

He allegedly received payment in the form of the cryptocurrency tether, it added.

Modern Chinese espionage mainly targets Taiwanese who are motivated by financial gain, and not ideology, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a researcher at the state-run Institute for National Defense and Security Research.

Chinese intelligence services are embedded in illegal money lenders operating in Taiwan to cultivate sources among people from all walks of life who are desperate for money, he said.

The contacts are systematically questioned to submit names of other people who might need money and have intelligence value to help refine China’s list of potentially useful assets, he said.

Chinese intelligence also uses promises of perks and trade privileges to lure retired senior officers doing business in China into developing and maintaining rings of Taiwanese informants via their personal social network, Su said.

Taiwanese officials should make better use of the rewards for reporting suspected Chinese spies as authorized by the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), he said.

The law stipulates rewards of NT$5 million (US$161,020) and NT$10 million for reporting suspected spies and spy rings respectively — which are far larger than the pittance that China pays for Taiwanese officers to commit treason, Su said.

Law enforcement authorities should organize a task force to surveil or neutralize money lenders that act as fronts for Chinese espionage, he said.

The armed forces could also enhance national security education among service members through educational films and short drama features, Su said.

Too many service members are oblivious to the fact that even selling intelligence of trivial value can be used as material for blackmail to coerce more important information from them in the future, he said.

Chinese spies might use money or sex to bait service members into volunteering information at first, and then use evidence of the initial compromise to pressure reluctant sources into compliance, Su said.

The reluctance of Taiwanese courts to punish Taiwanese agents of China has impeded the government’s efforts to secure the nation against Beijing-directed infiltration, he said.

Judges are too eager to reduce substantial sentences, including convicting failed spies on lesser charges of attempted espionage, perhaps out of a desire to protect the free and democratic constitutional order, he said.

Under Taiwan’s national security laws, foreign agents can be sentenced to death, but those convicted of spying for China — which is not a legally recognized foreign government — would not serve more than 12 years in prison, he said.

The average sentence imposed on those convicted of foreign espionage abroad is 19 years in prison, compared with less than nine months in prison for those found guilty of spying for China in Taiwan, he said.

Sending an officer to years in prison for stealing an NT$8,000 laundry machine while permitting convicted Beijing agents to serve suspended sentences is an absurd legal contradiction, he said.

Taiwanese courts’ sentencing patterns have substantially weakened national security at a time when most nations are fighting to harden themselves against espionage, Su added.

title: Captain charged with spying for China


title: FEATURE: Coast guards face PRC might near Kinmen

content_text:
With a clear view of China’s skyscraper-studded coastline, Taiwanese Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Captain Huang Heng-chun steers his patrol boat through choppy waters around a group of islands controlled by Taipei.

Huang and his crew are on alert for China Coast Guard ships, which have been entering sensitive waters around Kinmen with greater frequency as Beijing dials up pressure on Taiwan.

China claims all of Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

A Taiwanese coast guard officer looks at the Chinese city of Xiamen from the Coast Guard Administration’s ship PP-10081 in Kinmen County on Oct. 28.  Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP

Just 2km from the closest point in China and 200km from Taiwan’s main island, Kinmen has been on the frontline of friction between Beijing and Taipei for decades.

Late last month, Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists were given the rare opportunity to join Huang and his colleagues as they scanned the waters around Kinmen for Chinese ships.

China’s coastguard began increasing patrols near Kinmen after two Chinese nationals died during a chase by Taiwan’s coastguard near the tiny archipelago in February last year.

A monitor on the Coast Guard Administration’s PP-10081 ship displays the maritime conditions around Kinmen on Oct. 28. Photo by I-Hwa Cheng, AFP

Since then, “their presence has become much more frequent,” said Huang, a veteran of Taiwan’s coastguard in Kinmen.

Chinese coastguard ships enter Kinmen’s waters about four times a month and, as a result, “our law enforcement operations have become much more tense,” Huang said.

Across the narrow strip of water, AFP could see the skyline of the Chinese city of Xiamen, the piers of China’s unfinished Xiamen-Kinmen bridge and Xiamen’s new international airport, due to open next year.

China’s patrols around Kinmen are part of Beijing’s “gray-zone” operations against Taiwan — coercive tactics that fall short of acts of war — Taipei and analysts say.

They are also a way for China to test tactics that could be used in a potential blockade of Taiwan.

“Their goal is to make people feel that the waters belong to them,” Huang said. “But that of course has never been true, neither in the past nor now.”

The CGA conducts law enforcement patrols around Kinmen 24 hours a day, assisted by coastal radar and thermal imaging systems to detect Chinese fishing boats, smugglers and swimmers.

In more recent years, it has played an “increasingly important” role in national security, said Chia Chih-kuo (賈治國), deputy director of the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch.

That includes shadowing Chinese coastguard ships and responding to suspicious vessels lingering near Taiwan’s subsea cables.

However, the agency’s resources and workforce are “insufficient” for their “increasingly complex and diverse missions,” Chia said, adding that it hoped to secure more funding.

The CGA is massively outmatched by China’s fleet, the largest in the world.

When China’s 1,000-tonne ships enter Kinmen’s waters, Taiwan follows them with 100-tonne boats — the biggest it has there due to shallow waters closer to shore. Taiwanese personnel use radios, loudspeakers and LED signs to order the Chinese out.

The Taiwanese boats also have water cannon and a 20mm static machine gun, but are careful to avoid a confrontation that “could lead to unimaginable consequences,” Huang said.

“In most countries, the Chinese coastguard would be seen as a major regional navy,” said Alessio Patalano, a specialist in maritime strategy at King’s College London.

“You want to push back, but you can’t really suggest to push back too hard,” Patalano said. “Who’s going to risk further escalation with China these days ... over a couple of islands that most people don’t know about?”

Anti-landing spikes positioned along Kinmen’s shores and old military forts facing China are grim reminders of the archipelago’s past battles.

When Chinese communist fighters won a civil war in 1949, their Nationalist enemies fled to Taiwan, but managed to hold Kinmen.

The islands were a flashpoint during the Cold War and were heavily shelled by China in the 1950s.

However, they retain strong links with their far larger neighbor. China supplies water to Kinmen, and a ferry service takes islanders to Xiamen for shopping or business, bringing Chinese tourists in return.

Beijing has made it clear it wants to integrate Kinmen by deepening its economic and infrastructure connections with China.

Coastguard patrols are “central” to those efforts, Erik Green, an expert on China’s “gray-zone” activities at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in July.

Some Kinmen residents said they supported closer ties with China, if only to avoid a future conflict.

“No one wants a war,” said a woman surnamed Chen (陳), whose guesthouse and eatery have a view of Xiamen’s shiny skyscrapers.

Chinese tourists were emphatic in their desire for Taiwan to be part of China.

“It must be,” said Ye, a 62-year-old man who, like Chen, asked to be identified by his surname. “It feels like home when we come here.”

Despite the risk of war, Huang is clear-eyed about the coastguard’s role in defending Taiwan’s “sovereignty and jurisdiction” over the waters.

“It’s a necessary act of national duty,” he said.

“As long as we’re here doing our job, it shows we have both the authority and the ability to govern,” he said.


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REPRESSION: Beijing has been using its state media to threaten DPP Legislator Puma Shen, whom it calls a ‘die-hard’ separatist, MAC said in a legislative report

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said it would work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and international allies to discuss measures to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) transnational repression.

The council made the statement in a report to the legislature’s Transportation Committee regarding a news broadcast by the Beijing government-owned China Central Television (CCTV) targeting Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋).

In the video that aired on Sunday, it threatened Shen with “cross-border repression,” saying: “Stop now, or you will be next.”

Taipei officials said it was an attempt to intimidate not only Shen, but also the Taiwanese public in general.

The video follows a report by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency late last month that said Shen is under investigation by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau on allegations of “secession-related” criminal activities, including launching the civil defense organization Kuma Academy.

In June last year, China issued “22 guidelines” to penalize “die-hard” Taiwanese independence separatists, including with the death penalty.

In the face of CCP’s “transnational repression,” the council emphasized in the report that China has no judicial jurisdiction over Taiwan, and its so-called laws and regulations have no binding force on Taiwanese citizens.

The CCP is trampling on the rules-based international order, and Taiwan is not the only victim of transnational repression, it added.

Saying it would cooperate with MOFA and international allies to discuss countermeasures against China’s transnational repression, the council urged the global community to refuse to recognize Beijing’s arrest warrants or bounties, and to refuse to cooperate with the CCP’s abuse of the “global law enforcement” system.

President William Lai (賴清德) recently reiterated his firm stance against the CCP’s threats of annexation, aggression and push for “unification,” while expressing the hope that Beijing authorities would demonstrate greater power responsibility by abandoning the use of force to change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and uphold the spirit that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait should seek peace,” the council’s report said.

The council called on China to recognize the objective fact that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, as well as the current situation in the Taiwan Strait.

It also urged Beijing to adopt a pragmatic and rational approach to dialogue with the Taiwanese government, and to jointly assume responsibility for maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the report said.

title: MAC working with MOFA, allies to counter China


people: 賴士葆 卓榮泰

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Taiwan, US hoping to conclude tariff talks soon: premier

Taiwan-US tariff negotiations have reached the final stage and progress is within sight, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told legislators yesterday.

Both sides hope to conclude the talks as soon as possible, despite the US government shutdown, Cho said, pledging that the government would work hard to expedite the process.

Taiwan’s exports to the US are currently subject to a 20 percent tariff.

A decision on the tariffs is not up to Taipei, but some progress is expected soon, Cho said in response to a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) about whether the government could finalize a deal by the end of the year.

After the fifth round of in-person talks at the end of September, the two sides held another videoconference during which progress was made, Office of Trade Negotiations Executive Secretary Benjamin Hsu (徐崇欽) said at the time.

The two sides are exchanging and discussing written documents, Hsu said.

A concluding meeting is to be held to finalize the deal once a consensus is reached, Hsu added.

Lai also asked whether the government has conducted scenario planning regarding the US Supreme Court’s recent debate on the legality of US President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose reciprocal tariffs, requesting that the Ministry of Economic Affairs submit a report.

The Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling, and a pre-emptive report might affect Taiwan-US interactions, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.

The ministry will submit a report within two weeks after the ruling is out, he said.

The government will fight for the rights of domestic manufacturers if a tariff refund mechanism is later established, he added.


title: MOFA asks Hanoi for fair processing of CPTPP bid

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Taiwan has urged Vietnam to “fairly and effectively” process its application to join a major 12-member regional economic bloc, as the Southeast Asian country will be the bloc’s chair next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Lien Yu-ping (連玉蘋) made the appeal at a routine press conference in response to media queries about Taiwan’s prospects to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Vietnam is to serve as chair of the CPTPP council next year, and its responsibilities would include hosting commission meetings and handling administrative duties related to the accession process for potential new members.

Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Director-General Lien Yu-ping is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Taipei Times

Asked whether she was concerned that Vietnam, known for its close ties with China, could have a negative impact on Taiwan’s hope for accession, Lien said Taiwan simply would like Vietnam to process Taiwan’s application in a fair and timely manner.

Taiwan’s accession could benefit Vietnam more than other CPTPP members, as that the two sides would get reciprocal tariff-free treatment if Taiwan becomes a member, Lien said, adding that Taiwanese companies have a huge presence in Vietnam’s supply chain.

The CPTPP is one of the biggest trade blocs in the world, representing about 15 percent of the global economy.

It has 12 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the UK.

China applied to join the CPTPP on Sept. 16, 2021, about a week before Taiwan applied to join on Sept. 22 that same year.

Beijing, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, has opposed Taiwan’s accession to the CPTPP. This has led to concern in Taiwan that a successful bid by China could sink Taiwan’s hopes of joining the bloc.

The requirements set by the CPTPP for new members include meeting the trade pact’s high standards, demonstrating a strong track record of meeting trade obligations and garnering a consensus among all members.


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Lithuania’s top diplomat looks forward to expanding relations with Taiwan

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kestutis Budrys on Monday lauded his country’s good relations with Taiwan, and said he hoped to expand cooperation and build “strategic partnerships” with Taiwan amid increasing threats from authoritarian regimes.

Asked to comment on Lithuania’s policy toward Taiwan during a think tank event in Washington, Budrys told reporters that the two sides already have “really good cooperation.”

“And we are looking forward to expanding it, and especially in the sectors and fields where we need technological cooperation to [make] us stronger,” he said.

Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kestutis Budrys, right, attends a discussion at a think tank in Washington on Monday. Photo: CNA

The two sides have to build strategic partnerships, in particular in fields “targeted by authoritarian regimes across the globe,” he said, without elaborating.

Lithuania and Taiwan are connected by “cooperation and an intense partnership” because of Russia and China, and the fates of the Indo-Pacific region and Europe are closely intertwined, he said.

When a major conflict occurs in the Indo-Pacific region, it is bound to have consequences for Europe, and if something were to happen on the NATO side with Russia, there would also be consequences for the Indo-Pacific region, he said.

Beijing could even learn from Moscow’s example and do the same in the Indo-Pacific region, Budrys said.

That is why he understood the US’ ongoing push for European countries to boost their defense spending, Budrys said, stressing the “peace through strength” concept.

Budrys is a security expert who has served as Lithuania’s foreign minister since a new government took over in the Baltic country on Dec. 12 last year.

The ties between Lithuania and Taiwan have warmed up in recent years after both countries opened reciprocal representative offices.

Beijing strongly objected to Lithuania’s 2021 decision to include the name “Taiwanese” in Taiwan’s representative office in Lithuania, because it implies that Taiwan is a sovereign country, separate from China.

China responded by recalling its ambassador to Vilnius, expelling Lithuania’s ambassador to Beijing, suspending direct freight rail service to Lithuania and severely restricting Lithuanian exports’ access to the Chinese market.

Although Lithuania tried to restore diplomatic links with China after the new government assumed power late last year, it has remained insistent on not changing the name of Taiwan’s representative office in Vilnius.


content_text: Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che, front, fourth left, holds a fake milkfish as he poses with guests at a news conference in Tainan yesterday, promoting the upcoming Tainan Milkfish Cultural Festival. The festival’s main event takes place on Sunday, which includes a farmers’ market and educational workshops about milkfish and seafood.

title: A Tainan delicacy


content_text: Ministry of Education officials and guests hold placards at a news conference in Taipei yesterday to promote “Cool English,” an online English-language learning platform that features a new self-assessment system. The platform incorporates artificial intelligence technology to provide resources that help students improve their speaking, listening and writing skills.

title: Cool English


content_text: Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Mach Ngoc Tran, front row, right, poses with fellow lawmakers from the TPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and “new immigrant” representatives at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, calling on the Executive Yuan to establish a “New Immigrant Development Agency” as required by the New Immigrants Basic Act the legislature passed last year.

title: Immigrants’ rights


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PRUDENCE: To meet demand, ChipMOS plans to moderately expand capacity through enhancing productivity of existing manufacturing equipment, a company official said

Chip packaging services provider ChipMOS Technologies Inc (南茂科技) yesterday said it expects next year to be a promising one for the global memory industry, driven mainly by strong demand for chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

The company’s upbeat forecast echoed the sentiment of local memorychip makers and memory module suppliers including Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) and Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子).

“Next year will be a good year for the memory [chip industry]. It will be a quite good year for high-bandwidth memory, [DRAM] DDR5, DDR4, NAND or for NOR flash,” ChipMOS chairman Cheng Chih-chieh (鄭世杰) said at an earnings conference.

The signage of ChipMOS Technologies Inc outside the company’s headquarters in the Hsinchu Science Park is pictured on Nov. 13, 2014. Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times

ChipMOS’ memory packaging revenue grew 16 percent sequentially last quarter, an annual growth of 24.9 percent, Cheng said.

Memory-related business accounted for 48.9 percent of the company’s revenue last quarter, up from 45.3 percent in the previous quarter and 36.3 percent a year earlier. The company posted NT$6.14 billion (US$197.7 million) in overall revenue, the highest in about three years.

To meet customer demand, ChipMOS plans to moderately expand DRAM and flash memory packaging capacity through enhancing productivity of existing manufacturing equipment, Cheng said.

The company would be prudent about adding large-scale chip packaging capacity, unless it secures long-term supply agreements with new chip prices, he said.

ChipMOS is looking at raising prices again to pass on rising costs to customers, as the costs of gold and raw materials such as silicon substrates have been increasing, he said.

The company last quarter hiked prices by 5 to 8 percent, he added.

ChipMOS recorded a net profit of NT$352.2 million last quarter after booking a foreign exchange gain of NT$84 million, from a net loss of NT$533.1 million in the second quarter, when it recorded a foreign exchange loss of NT$690 million.

On an annual basis, net profit expanded 17.6 percent from NT$299.4 million, the company said.

Cheng said ChipMOS expects the growth momentum in the memory market to persist this quarter on the back of robust enterprise demand for DRAM and flash memory used in AI data centers.

Additionally, the number of memory chips installed on a single device is increasing, he said.

However, the driver integrated circuit (IC) testing and packaging business is expected to remain weak this quarter, following an end to front-loading demand in the TV and smartphone segments, the company.

Separately, high-speed data transmission chip designer ASMedia Technology Inc (祥碩) yesterday said it has secured a deal to design application-specific ICs for a second customer and expects the deal to generate a revenue stream in the second half of next year.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) has been ASMedia’s only customer for years. ASMedia helps design motherboard chipsets for AMD desktop platforms.

ASMedia expects record revenue next year, company president Lin Che-wei (林哲偉) said.

Chip designing business accounted for about 60 percent of the company’s revenue in the third quarter. Its net profit surged 41 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$1.58 billion. That represented an annual growth of 62 percent from NT$974 million.

Earnings per share jumped to NT$21.21 from NT$15.02 in the second quarter and NT$13.06 a year earlier.

title: ChipMOS bullish on AI memory drive


content_text:
Contract electronics manufacturer Inventec Corp (英業達) yesterday forecast revenue would continue to grow next year, saying that sales of notebook computers, servers and smart devices are expected to surpass this year’s levels.

The company expects its notebook computer sales to increase by a single-digit percentage next year, driven by replacement demand following Microsoft Corp’s end of service for its Windows 10 operating system, while revenue contribution from artificial intelligence (AI) PCs is also expected to materialize, Inventec president Jack Tsai (蔡枝安) told an earnings conference in Taipei.

Inventec also aims to grow its server sales by a double-digit percentage, while smart device business is expected to expand by a single-digit percentage next year, Tsai said.

Signage of Inventec Corp is pictured at a trade show in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times

Notebook computers accounted for 51 to 55 percent of Inventec’s revenue in the third quarter, followed by servers at 41 to 45 percent and smart devices at 1 to 5 percent, the company said.

Shipments of AI servers have increased 40 percent from last year’s level and account for 40 to 50 percent of total server revenue, Tsai said.

Inventec is a major assembly partner of the so-called “level 6” and “level 10” servers for Dell Technologies Inc, HP Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想).

Most servers shipped by Inventec this quarter are those running on Nvidia Corp’s B200 HGX chips, Tsai said.

Next year, shipments of AI servers — including those equipped with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc chips, as well as other models powered by application-specific integrated circuits — are expected to continue growing and account for more than 50 percent of the company’s server revenue, he said.

Inventec’s notebook computer and server shipments this quarter are likely to edge down from last quarter and return to levels seen in the first quarter, as customers pulled in orders earlier in the year amid tariff uncertainties, Tsai said.

The company reported that third-quarter net profit soared 24.65 percent from the previous quarter to NT$2.73 billion (US$87.92 million), and climbed 36.7 percent year-on-year.

Earnings per share increased to NT$0.76 from NT$0.61 from the prior quarter and from NT$0.56 the previous year, it said.

Revenue last quarter decreased 5.6 percent quarterly, but climbed 7.57 percent annually to NT$176.29 billion, a record for the period.

Gross margin fell to 5 percent from 5.1 percent last quarter and 5.3 percent a year earlier, but the figure is likely to improve to above 5 percent this quarter, Inventec chief financial officer Yu Chin-pao (游進寶) said.

Inventec reported net profit of NT$6.62 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 35.22 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$1.85 over the period.

Cumulative revenue in the first three quarters increased 15.92 percent to NT$519.9 billion, while gross margin rose 1 percentage point to 5.3 percent.

Capital expenditure this year is expected to range between US$400 million and US$450 million, mainly due to expansion in Thailand and the US, and up to NT$500 million next year, Yu said.

title: Inventec expects revenue growth in 2026


content_text:
Last month’s tax revenue an October record, data show

Tax revenue from securities transactions last month increased 41.9 percent from a year earlier to NT$30.3 billion (US$975.8 million), rising on an annual basis for the third consecutive month and marking the highest for the month of October as Taiwanese stocks continued to perform strongly, data released by the Ministry of Finance showed yesterday.

Last month, the TAIEX surged 2,412.81 points, or 9.34 percent, marking its largest-ever monthly rise for October as market sentiment was buoyed by a nearly 15 percent gain in contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which accounts for more than 40 percent of the main board’s capitalization. The TAIEX also surpassed the 28,000-point mark for the first time.

Average daily turnover of the local stock market rose to NT$626.7 billion last month, up 45.4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement.

A man looks at his mobile phone in front of an electronic stock board at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei on Wednesday last week. Photo: CNA

However, the US government shutdown, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish remarks and concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble have dampened the market’s risk appetite. Coupled with mixed corporate earnings results lately, the TAIEX is likely to shift to a consolidation pattern in the near term, casting a shadow over securities transaction tax revenue this month.

The TAIEX yesterday closed down 84.56 points, or 0.30 percent, at 27,784.95, after several large-cap tech stocks, including TSMC, pared early gains on profit-taking.

In the first 10 months of this year, cumulative tax revenue from securities transactions totaled NT$228.6 billion, down 5.5 percent from the same period last year, ministry data showed.

The decline came as the local bourse was affected by US tariff policies during the first half of the year, with average daily turnover dropping 5.1 percent to NT$463.2 billion over the period, the ministry said.

Overall, the nation last month collected NT$417.4 billion in tax revenue, up NT$67.6 billion, or 19.3 percent, from a year earlier, the ministry said.

The ministry attributed the growth mainly to increases in corporate income tax revenue, which rose NT$60 billion year-on-year, and securities transaction tax revenue, which climbed NT$8.9 billion from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, business tax revenue posted the largest decline of NT$3 billion year-on-year, and land value increment tax revenue fell by NT$1.7 billion, it said.

In the first 10 months of the year, cumulative tax revenue decreased by NT$6.7 billion, or 0.2 percent, year-on-year to NT$3.29 trillion, mainly as decreases in revenues from securities transactions, business, land value increment and commodity taxes offset the increases in revenue from personal income and corporate income taxes, the ministry said.

The January-to-October figure was 2.2 percent below the government’s budget target for the 10 months and reached 86.5 percent of its full-year target, it said.


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The nation’s four major international carriers — China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and Tigerair Taiwan Ltd (台灣虎航) — reported record sales last month, helped by three holiday weekends during the month.

CAL said its consolidated sales rose 5.7 percent from a year earlier to NT$18.11 billion (US$583.2 million), benefiting from an increase in passenger demand helped by the holidays.

Last month, there were three long weekends: Oct. 4 to 6, Mid-Autumn Festival; Oct. 10 to 12, Double Ten National Day; and Oct. 25 to 26, Taiwan Restocession Day.

Aircraft operated by China Airlines Ltd, Eva Airways Corp and Starlux Airlines Co are pictured at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Aug. 25. Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times

CAL said sales generated from its passenger flights rose 8.98 percent from a year earlier to NT$10.99 billion, also an October record, with demand for flights to Australia particularly strong.

Its load factor — an industry metric that measures percentage of passenger capacity used — on Australian routes topped 90 percent last month.

Demand for travel to Japan and South Korea was also strong, and growth is expected to continue this month, as about 90 percent of available seats to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Seoul and Busan are booked, the airline said.

With Taiwan’s exports, paced by artificial intelligence (AI) servers and other electronic items, continuing to boom, CAL’s cargo revenue also rose 3.32 percent from a year earlier to NT$5.55 billion.

CAL said the fourth quarter is a traditional peak season for cargo services, and revenue growth is expected to continue.

EVA Air said its consolidated sales rose 3.66 percent year-on-year to NT$18.90 billion, with revenue from passenger flights and cargo services hitting NT$11.95 billion and NT$4.70 billion respectively.

The airline said the three holiday weekends lifted its passenger sales as its load factor to destinations in Europe nearly hit 90 percent last month.

At the same time, AI server and semiconductor shipments gave a boost to its cargo service revenue during the month, it said.

Meanwhile, Starlux Airlines said its consolidated sales rose 19 percent from a year earlier to about NT$3.70 billion, while Tigerair Taiwan posted consolidated sales of NT$1.57 billion, up 20.3 percent from a year earlier as its average load factor surpassed 86 percent.

title: Holidays boost carriers’ sales to record numbers


content_text:
TRUMP EFFECT: Due to the US’ tariffs, customers only place orders when there is need, which decreases order visibility to less than three months, Chuo Wen-heng said

Machinery maker Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) yesterday reported net profit in the third quarter surged 230 percent to NT$446 million (US$14.36 million) from three months earlier, thanks to the contribution of foreign exchange gains.

The company — which supplies linear guideways, ball screws, bearings and industrial robots — booked NT$218 million in foreign exchange gains, reversing losses of NT$490 million in the second quarter, it said in an earnings report.

On an annual basis, net profit fell 33 percent, and earnings per share fell to NT$1.26 from NT$1.88, it said.

Hiwin Technologies Inc chairman Chuo Wen-heng, second left, and other company executives attend an earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

Revenue last quarter was the highest in three quarters at NT$5.995 billion, with linear guideways accounting for 63 percent, followed by ball screws at 20 percent, robots at 7 percent, and bearings and other items at 9 percent.

In the first three quarters, net profit decreased 35.2 percent year-on-year to NT$1.06 billion, and earnings per share declined to NT$3.01 from NT$4.64, while total revenue fell 1.4 percent to NT$17.76 billion, it added.

At an earnings conference in Taipei, Hiwin chairman Chuo Wen-heng (卓文恒) said the company expects increasing orders for semiconductor-related machinery equipment next year, as the semiconductor industry is still in its upcycle, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported.

Hiwin has been accelerating shipments of subsystem products, such as wafer robots, equipment front end module systems and robotic arms, to offset the impact of general demand weakness in the machinery industry.

The company expects robot revenue to account for 9 to 10 percent for the whole year and above 10 percent next year, Chuo said, adding that is because Hiwin targets to start shipments of logistics-specific robotic arms in small batches next year.

Humanoid robot components such as planetary roller screws are also expected to be launched next year, he added.

Chuo said he is optimistic that specialized artificial intelligence robots for logistics and agriculture segments would see stable development in the next two to three years.

Due to the impact of the US’ “retaliatory” tariffs, the business outlook would not become clearer until after March next year, he said.

While customers continue to place orders with Hiwin, they no longer place orders for as long as six months or a year at once as they used to, but only place orders when there is need, he said, adding that the company’s order visibility is about two and a half months or less.

title: Hiwin’s Q3 profit surges 230% amid forex gains


title: Citi launches AI tools for Taiwan employees

content_text:
Citi has launched Citi AI in Taiwan, a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for employees, and a “Citi AI Day” featuring a series of trainings and practical workshops to promote and encourage adoption of the tools.

Citi Taiwan CEO and Citibank Taiwan Ltd chairman Christie Chang (張聖心) said, “AI is reshaping how we operate, serve our clients and scale our business. We firmly believe that to be competitive in this digital evolution, we must think ahead. Generative AI (Gen AI) can bring new possibilities to the workplace and by adopting new AI tools, we look forward to strengthening our service efficiency and creating greater value for our clients.”

Citi’s technology head for Asia Pacific, Asia North and Australia Hector Garcia, left, and Citi Taiwan CEO and Citibank Taiwan Ltd chairman Christie Chang hold placards at an event in Taipei. Photo courtesy of Citibank Taiwan Ltd

Citi AI tools include:

‧ Citi Stylus and Citi Stylus Workspaces: Document intelligence and virtual, conversational assistant tools for content generation, adaptation, summarization, research and brainstorming.

‧ Citi Assist: Helps navigate Citi policies and procedures in Compliance, Risk, Human Resources and Finance.

‧ Citi Squad: Helps in-house developers write code more efficiently and bring products to market faster.

Citi AI is currently available to almost 185,000 employees in 84 jurisdictions. In September, Citi launched an enhanced version of Citi Stylus Workspaces powered by Agentic AI, enabling employees to tackle longer, more complex objectives and tasks with greater speed, efficiency and insight. Thousands of employees have gained early access, which will be followed by further expansion across the firm.


content_text: A truck loaded with vegetables and boxes of produce is pictured at a wholesale market in Yunlin County’s Siluo Township yesterday. A total of 8.4 million tonnes of vegetables arrived at the market yesterday at an average price of NT$34 per kilogram. The price is expected to show a slight increase after Tropical Storm Fung-wong passes by Taiwan, the market said.

title: Marketplace


content_text:
Taiwan’s solar industry over the past few years has faced new headwinds from within as flawed rules, exacerbated by disinformation, stoked safety concerns about adopting this renewable energy source. The situation is completely different from what the industry encountered about a decade ago, when overcapacity and drastic pricing competition from China took a toll on local solar firms. This time, companies are seeking government support and overseas expansion to survive.

Solar projects are obstructed by a nonstop flow of disinformation, including false claims that they hamper farming and fishery development, while the risks of photovoltaic waste are overstated. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and industry representatives have fought disinformation by providing correct information, but their efforts are swamped by the volume of material that needs addressing.

Moreover, some local government officials have been embroiled in corruption scandals, which deepened concerns among the public over solar energy adoption and prompted the central government to tighten its grip on approving new projects. Projects require a legislator’s endorsement, while city councilors need to host public meetings — the process is stricter than launching a house construction project. That all comes before lengthy reviews by government agencies.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have called for the nation’s overall energy policies to be reassessed, which seems to have made the government passive about promoting solar panel installations to avoid political attacks. That is despite the government’s struggles to reach its goal of deploying 35 gigawatts of solar capacity by the end of 2035, which would mean Taiwan’s solar capacity was 36 percent of all electricity resources.

The government’s passive attitude was reflected in the absence of President William Lai (賴清德) and Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) from this year’s Energy Taiwan Show, a stark contrast to former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) regular participation during her eight years in office from 2016. Attendance among industry players also dropped. Some renewable energy developers did not showcase their latest products, while the number of participants dropped to 450 from 480 last year. Visitor numbers were also down, with 20,000 attending, falling short of the organizers’ expectations of 28,000.

Amid the unfavorable business environment, many local solar firms have swung into losses in the past few years. The nation’s major solar cell and module manufacturers — Motech Industries Inc, TSEC Corp and United Renewable Energy Co — are recalibrating their business strategies and planning to explore opportunities in overseas markets such as the US and Japan. Motech expects the overseas market to account for 70 percent of its shipments soon, up from 50 percent, while TSEC expects overseas market contribution to rise to 50 percent.

Green energy scarcity has driven prices up to NT$5.4 per kilowatt-hour last year from NT$4.65 in 2020 while the government’s feed-in tariffs have decreased, Taiwan Power Co data showed.

The government should step up its efforts to help the local solar industry, not only to pull the industry out of a slump, but to boost the deployment of solar energy to meet fast-growing demand with wind power and other emerging renewable energy technologies in limbo.

title: EDITORIAL: Slumping solar industry

people: 賴清德 蔡英文


title: Vulnerabilities of ‘Fujian’ carrier

content_text:
China’s third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, entered service this week after a commissioning ceremony in China’s Hainan Province on Wednesday last week. Chinese state media reported that the Fujian would be deployed to the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and the western Pacific.

It seemed that the Taiwan Strait being one of its priorities meant greater military pressure on Taiwan, but it would actually put the Fujian at greater risk of being compromised.

If the carrier were to leave its home port of Sanya and sail to the East China Sea or the Yellow Sea, it would have to transit the Taiwan Strait or face a longer journey through the Luzon Strait. Upon entering the Taiwan Strait, the vessel’s movements would be closely monitored by Taiwan and be within range of Taiwan’s dense array of anti-ship missiles.

When the Fujian enters the Taiwan Strait, it would be at its most vulnerable.

The Luzon Strait route would not be a better option, as the US military has bolstered its deployments around the Batan Islands in the middle of the Luzon Strait — enough to bring the entire waterway within range of its air defense and anti-ship missiles.

The Fujian requires refueling every few days. The longer the detour, the greater the logistical pressure.

When Chinese state media say the vessel is to be deployed to the Taiwan Strait, it is repackaging weakness as strength. Such tactics are only scary to uninformed people.

Huang Wei-ping works in public service.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen


title: Reality of data on elderly drivers

content_text:
At the end of 2022, a CNN report on Taiwan’s “living hell” of a traffic situation made waves domestically and dealt a blow to Taiwan’s international reputation. The government at the time made noises about road safety reform, but more than two years later the nation is still teetering on “hell’s edge.”

In May, public debate over elderly drivers once again came to the fore when an elderly driver caused a fatal crash in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). On Oct. 30, there was another crash in Hualien County’s Jian Township (吉安) in which an unlicensed driver slammed into trees on the roadside.

The need for traffic reform is urgent, but it should avoid targeting a specific group or age bracket. Instead, what is needed is a comprehensive re-evaluation of the driver licensing system and traffic safety regulations, including testing thresholds and assessments of drivers’ physical and mental fitness.

The fact that the Sansia crash was caused by a 78-year-old raised concerns over elderly drivers. The government soon after the incident announced that the age at which drivers must apply to renew their license would be lowered from 75 to 70, alongside other reforms to testing and retraining programs to promote road safety.

However, some have criticized the approach as being based on an unfair assumption that older drivers pose a greater danger and have called it discriminatory.

Policy should be guided by data and strategic planning, not intuition. Using statistics on crash rates, fatalities, injuries and causes, the suitability of current policies can be assessed.

Regarding traffic incident injuries and fatalities, the total number of incidents rose to 402,926 in 2023 from 362,393 in 2020, then dropped slightly to 393,882 last year. The number of injuries and fatalities stratified according to the age of the responsible party from 2020 to last year shows that younger drivers cause more incidents than elderly drivers. While the number of incidents involving drivers aged 18 to 24 dropped to 113,965 from 130,430, the number among those aged 25 to 64 rose to 306,746 from 266,718. For drivers older than 65, it rose to 76,009 from 59,827.

Regarding incident rates, the National Police Agency in 2021 published a report analyzing data from 2020. It showed that the number of incidents per 100,000 people decreased with age, from 2,940 for drivers aged 18 to 29, to 1,411 for the 65-to-69 age group and 1,115 for those aged 70 or older.

Turning to causes of crashes, the 40-to-49 age group had the highest rate of drunk driving-related incidents. The number of crashes caused by pedestrian or passenger error per 100,000 people increased according to age. It was 11 per 100,000 people for drivers aged 18 to 29; 27 for the 65-to-69 age group and 47 the 70-or-older age group.

The data can also be broken down to show that driving is not the only contributor to the rate of incidents attributed to elderly people.

Among incidents caused by pedestrians, not using designated crosswalks, overpasses or underpasses accounted for 1,996 incidents, or 46.08 percent. The next most common cause was failing to look both ways before crossing the street at 839, or 19.37 percent. There were 663 incidents attributed to ignoring traffic signals, signs or traffic-controller directions, or 15.3 percent.

There were 1,066 incidents caused by pedestrians involving people aged 70 or older, or 24.61 percent of the total, which mitigates the raw data on traffic incidents involving elderly drivers. The incidents are not always caused by a person behind the wheel.

Despite the headlines after a few incidents recently, labeling elderly drivers a greater risk on the roads is inconsistent with the evidence.

More importantly, the risk factors for drivers go beyond age and alcohol use. Medications, including for cold, hypertension and muscle relaxants, can lead to dizziness, drowsiness and impaired alertness, which is why, after a proposal by the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee, the Highway Bureau on Aug. 19 issued guidelines for people taking prescription drug to help drivers assess their own risk levels and reduce crash rates.

Reforms slated to take effect next year would not only adjust the license management system for elderly drivers, but also overhaul the wider licensing system, including updates to testing. The reforms are designed to address systemic issues, not target specific demographics.

Other steps include the new medication guidelines and revisions to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) passed at the end of last month, which raised the maximum penalty for driving without a license to NT$36,000 for scooter riders and NT$60,000 for drivers.

With these steps, hopefully Taiwan can lose the label of being a “traffic hell.”

Huang Jin-shun is president of the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists’ Association.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader

taiwan-subdivisions: 吉安 三峽


title: Guardrails are needed for Taiwan, not gestures

content_text:
The 2022 visit to Taiwan by then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi has been analyzed to exhaustion. The lesson that matters is clear: Symbolism without policy raises the risk for Taiwan. What Taiwan and its partners need is a standing, boring-by-design playbook that lowers the chance of miscalculation while strengthening day-to-day resilience.

Start with communications. Senior, non-executive US visits should run on pre-agreed protocols, not improvisation. Before wheels-up, officials should lock in what will and will not be said, clarify itineraries and align force postures to avoid tit-for-tat theatrics. A staffed, tested hotline — used for itinerary clarification, air and maritime safety, and quick correction of misread messages — should be automatic, not optional.

Next, set a Taiwan Strait notification standard. All sides should give early, reciprocal notice for major drills and missile tests that could affect flight corridors or exclusive economic zones. When these zones intersect with the airspace and waters of Japan or the Philippines, automatic deconfliction should kick in. This is not a concession; it is routine safety management.

Allies are not bystanders. Missiles splashing down near Japan, rerouted flights and hurried consultations showed how quickly tensions in the Taiwan Strait can spill across borders.

A risk-coordination cell linking Japan, the Philippines, Australia and South Korea should be created. Its remit: shared thresholds for contingency moves, synchronized evacuation and logistics planning, and pre-baked public messaging.

For Taipei, substance must outrank spectacle. Publish a “substance over symbolism” ledger that directs political energy and budgets toward what actually hardens deterrence and social resilience. Priorities include asymmetric, survivable capabilities; realistic joint training; robust civil defense; and continuity plans that keep power, data and essential goods flowing under stress.

Add two Taiwan-first tools that would have helped in 2022 and will help next time. A civil-economic continuity clause in any US-Taiwan package, and a deconfliction trigger with Japan and the Philippines whenever identification zones, economic zones or flight corridors overlap.

These guardrails do not reward coercion. They reduce the payoff from theatrics by making dangerous ambiguity rarer and mistakes easier to correct. They also make calibrated penalties more credible: When the rules are clear, violations carry reputational and diplomatic costs.

None of this means canceling visits or muting support. Taiwan should not be isolated. The standard is pragmatic: If a trip cannot pass a basic safety and coordination check — communications, notifications and allied readiness — it should be delayed until it can. In an environment where the signal-to-noise ratio is a challenge, prudence is deterrence.

Markets already understand the difference between noise and structure. After the 2022 shock following Pelosi’s visit, flights normalized and fundamentals held. What remained exposed was structural: deep cross-strait trade and Taiwan’s centrality in global tech supply chains. Guardrails are not a favor to Taiwan; they are a regional necessity.

The metrics of success are modest and measurable: fewer close calls, shorter disruptions and predictable behavior.

Make high-profile visits boring again. If the region can routinize crisis communications, notification standards and allied coordination — and if Taipei keeps investing in asymmetric defense, civil preparedness and economic continuity — Taiwan will be safer, not just more visible.

Guardrails beat grand gestures.

Y. Tony Yang is an endowed professor at George Washington University in Washington.


title: [ LETTER ]

content_text:
Migrant workers

As Taiwan continues to navigate the realities of its growing migrant workforce — especially in care and domestic roles — questions around the moral and practical dimensions of their lives remain pressing. The migrant workforce quietly sustains Taiwan’s aging society, forming the invisible foundation that holds countless households together.

As of last year, Taiwan had about 680,000 migrant workers, mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Many of them are women who care for elderly or disabled people — work that keeps Taiwan’s social fabric from fraying. Yet these same women often lose their contracts when they become pregnant, forced to return home and leave their children there before seeking work again.

It is a heartbreak repeated thousands of times: Mothers are separated from their families to care for someone else’s.

Public opinion splits sharply. Some argue that it is unjust for women to abandon their families to work abroad; others say that migration is their only escape from harsh economic realities.

Both can be true.

Host societies such as Taiwan, Japan and Singapore face their own crises — shrinking fertility and rising longevity. They must balance compassion with capacity, opening doors to migrant workers while managing finite resources. Taiwan’s long-term retention program for skilled workers, launched in 2022, was a step forward, but in the care economy, retention alone is not enough. Loyalty does not automatically equal growth.

Conflicts between employers and caregivers often stem not from cruelty, but from cultural anxiety. Some families, for instance, have asked Indonesian workers to remove headscarves. Many caregivers learn to read their employers’ moods like nurses read pulse rates, yet that emotional labor goes unseen.

Defensiveness is survival learned at home, while dignity is often the only resource they have left to protect, which are issues that are difficult to convey in training courses. No short training course can undo those issues, but cultural acclimation and understanding could help with the transition phase new migrant workers face.

Perhaps what is missing is not more training, but a way to understand each caregiver’s emotional readiness and cultural adaptability before they begin the training. After all, the same course can empower one person and overwhelm another.

Taiwan should begin treating caregiving not as “unskilled labor,” but as specialized work that demands emotional and cultural competence. If emotional readiness and cultural orientation were integrated into caregiver training, families and workers could meet each other halfway. Recognizing the differences early could make programs far more humane, ensuring that learning feels like an opportunity, not correction.

Care is the quiet labor that keeps societies humane. The more it is treated as a craft — and the people who practice it as professionals — the stronger the compassion that holds everyone together.

Gita T

Taipei


title: EDITORIAL CARTOON

content_text:
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge

By Lin Yung-zen 林應然


title: Why climate finance is not enough

content_text:
Rich countries could demonstrate good faith by sharing the knowledge, technology and intellectual property that underpin the green transition

With the UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, commencing on Monday, it is clear that the world’s widely shared commitment to a just energy transition is falling by the wayside. In the year since governments signed on to the agreement at COP29 to scale up climate finance — with a goal of mobilizing US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035 — wealthy countries have been retreating from their financial pledges. Worse, these signs of bad faith are coming just as the costs of climate adaptation and decarbonization in developing countries are mounting.

If the global north is no longer willing to meet its funding promises, it can still demonstrate good faith through another form of solidarity: sharing the knowledge, technology and intellectual property that underpin the green transition.

This is not an issue that can be deferred. The shift to a green economy is already reproducing the same asymmetries that have long defined global trade. Instead of fostering inclusive development, climate policy is increasingly being shaped by protectionist measures and intellectual property (IP) regimes that entrench technological monopolies in the global north. For example, the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism might be billed as a safeguard against carbon leakage, but it also illustrates how climate policy can be used to justify protectionist trade measures.

Moreover, China’s recent complaint against India for its electric-vehicle and battery subsidies shows how green industrial policies are increasingly becoming grounds for trade disputes. Together, these developments signal a growing tension between climate goals and WTO rules. Could measures to address climate change soon become a new impetus for economic exclusion?

At the heart of this issue lies a stark imbalance: Larger powers like China, the US and the EU are producing high-value green technologies, while most developing countries are stuck exporting low-value green commodities — primarily critical minerals. This mirrors the colonial-era division of labor, whereby the global south supplied raw materials, and the north supplied innovation, monopolized production and reaped the largest profits.

Data from the World Intellectual Property Organization underscore the depth of this divide. Green patents (relating to renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate adaptation) are overwhelmingly concentrated in a handful of countries, such as China, the US, Japan and Germany. From 2000 to last year, the top 10 economies accounted for nearly 90 percent of international patent filings in solar and wind technologies. Brazil, despite ranking sixth globally in installed wind capacity, contributed only 0.4 percent of global wind patents. For solar, its share was a mere 0.19 percent.

This technological concentration is not accidental. It is the result of a global IP regime that privileges monopoly profits over public goods. Efforts to foster more global coordination, including through the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, have failed to address the fundamental problem.

Without access to affordable technologies, the global south cannot fully participate in the climate transition. Worse, the current system risks locking developing countries into a new form of dependency, supplying the minerals for batteries and solar panels, but lacking the means to produce them.

Climate finance is not sufficient to break this cycle. Instead, technology transfers and reforms to the global IP regime must be at the center of climate negotiations. While the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris climate agreement do acknowledge this, little progress has been made.

Fortunately, there is a precedent for the necessary changes. Back in the 2000s, Brazil played a pivotal role in categorizing access to HIV/AIDS medicines as a public good, rather than as a commodity governed solely by IP rights. This shift was driven by a combination of legal, political and civil-society actions that challenged the global pharmaceutical patent regime and put public health first.

As the Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz has said, such mechanisms are essential to correct market failures and ensure equitable access to innovation. That is why the International Court of Justice, in its recent advisory opinion on climate change, underscored the obligation of all states to cooperate — beyond the provision of finance — on the development and diffusion of green technologies, including by sharing knowledge and engaging in technology transfers.

The Technology Implementation Program (TIP) that was agreed at COP28 offers a means to foster such cooperation. Under Brazil’s leadership at COP30, the program can become a platform for strengthening national innovation systems, enabling countries to adapt technologies to local contexts and build capacity for climate solutions. The idea is to use a mix of public and private money to support trial projects, and then to scale those that prove effective.

For example, we could support a pilot that aims to produce low-carbon fertilizer using green hydrogen. Currently, ammonia — the key input for nitrogen fertilizers — is made using hydrogen from fossil fuels, which is why the sector is responsible for roughly 1 to 2 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. By replacing fossil-based hydrogen with renewable (green) hydrogen, the same ammonia output would produce far fewer emissions, as well as offer a scalable, locally adaptable solution. If the pilot succeeds in this hard-to-abate sector, it would create a replicable model for other countries.

Brazil’s COP30 presidency can rally the global south behind a vision of TIP that delivers climate justice through innovation. This is not just a technical agenda, but a political one. Only by empowering countries with access to green technologies can they build the capacity they need. And by helping the rest of the world decarbonize, wealthy countries would be helping themselves.

Laura Carvalho is director of economic and climate prosperity at Open Society Foundations and associate professor of economics at the University of Sao Paulo.

Copyright: Project Syndicate