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DENY, DEFLECT, DISSEMBLE:  The party has denied claims that Beijing has made crippling the special defense budget a condition of future meetings

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) yesterday denied allegations that Beijing asked the party “to increase mutual trust” by boycotting the defense budget bill, saying they were fabricated statements.

Beijing reportedly asked the KMT to “take concrete actions” — such as hindering the passage of the defense budget — to resume the KMT-Chinese Communist Party forum and facilitate a potential meeting between KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

The KMT would consider legal actions against such allegations, which is cognitive warfare that aims to depict the party’s efforts to review the defense budget as an attempt to meet with Xi, Hsiao said.

The defense budgets is NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion), but arms procurement from the US only required US$300 billion, he cited Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) as saying.

The Cabinet last year approved a NT$1.25 trillion defense budget bill with an eight-year span and sent it to the legislature for review. However, opposition lawmakers have been excluding the bill from agendas since Dec. 2 last year, saying the Executive Yuan has not incorporated the increased military and police pay in its general budget draft.

The KMT’s exchanges with China and the potential Cheng-Xi meeting are irrelevant to defense budgets, Hsiao said, adding that associating the budget issue with the party’s visits to China was a malicious attempt to influence this year’s elections.

KMT caucus secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said President William Lai (賴清德) was the one hindering the passage of defense budgets and jeopardizing national security.

He urged Lai to increase the salaries of military personnel and attend a legislative meeting to report on the state of the nation.

Exorbitant defense budgets undermine safety in the Taiwan Strait, Lo said, adding that Chinese warplanes never crossed the Strait’s median line during the KMT’s rule.

Democratic Progressive Party spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said the KMT is jeopardizing Taiwan’s security by hindering arms procurement and boycotting the security bill in the legislature.

That fact is aligned with media reports, he said, calling on the KMT to stop boycotting the defense budget bill and put it on the agenda.

Additional reporting by Chen Yun

people: 賴清德 習近平 羅智強 鄭麗文 黃國昌

title: KMT denies Beijing leaning on party


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By Chen Chih-cheng and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus whip and party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday announced the TPP’s version of a special national defense bill, which would allocate NT$400 billion (US$12.7 billion) for various weapons systems.

The announcement comes amid an impasse over a special defense budget introduced by the Executive Yuan in November last year totaling NT$1.25 trillion, which the opposition TPP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have repeatedly refused to review at the legislature.

The TPP version of the bill would limit purchases to 60 M109A self-propelled howitzers, 82 HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems, 70 Javelin anti-tank missile systems, 24 TOW-2B anti-tank missile systems and anti-armor uncrewed aerial vehicle missile systems.

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus whip and Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, second left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

Within the NT$400 billion ceiling, the TPP proposal includes an additional NT$88.1 billion to address government assessments of urgent needs to rapidly enhance combat capabilities, which could be used upon obtaining consent from foreign governments.

TPP caucus director Vicky Chen (陳智菡) said the proposal focuses on clearly itemizing procurement categories, quantities and amounts, rationalizing the scale of the budget, shifting to annual appropriations and requiring regular special reports on procurement progress to enhance oversight and transparency.

“Taiwanese have never regarded freedom as free, but how could national security be strengthened if defense budgets are allocated and paid for while equipment fails to arrive on schedule?” Huang said.

During former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration, two special military bills were proposed, including a NT$247.2 billion special budget for F-16V jets, of which NT$143.4 billion was spent but “zero” aircraft were delivered, he said.

“Budget figures alone do not guarantee improvements in combat capability. Arms procurement should be handled in a strategic and militarily professional way to ensure stable policy direction and force development,” Huang said.

Security conditions in the Taiwan Strait have deteriorated in the past few years, with China continuing to exert institutionalized and routine military pressure on Taiwan through joint exercises, live-fire drills and “gray zone” operations, he said.

“In the face of complex threats, building a defense system with effective deterrence, dispersed survivability and sustainable combat capabilities has become an urgent task for Taiwan’s defense policy,” Huang said.

The TPP proposal seeks to ensure that every dollar of defense spending aligns with strategic objectives, effectiveness assessments and democratic deliberation, he said.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said that defense procurement is a highly classified administrative process that must be led through negotiations among executive agencies.

As such, it is essentially impossible for any political party or the legislature to independently propose a special military procurement budget, he said, adding that the DPP caucus believes deliberations should be based on the Executive Yuan’s version and subjected to legislative scrutiny.

Separately, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s Division of Defense Strategy and Resources director Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said lawmakers have the right to express differing views, but those views must be grounded in fact.

The NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget proposed by the Ministry of National Defense and the Executive Yuan was calculated through discussions with the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and falls under the Monterey Strategic Dialogue framework, he said.

The opposition party’s proposal was relatively rough, and not coordinated with the US executive branch, he said, adding that it should be regarded only as reference material or expressions of opinion.

Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan and Chen Yu-fu

people: 黃國昌 鍾佳濱 蔡英文

title: TPP presents own cherry-picked defense budget


title: Groups speak out against opposition budget stalling

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Opposition parties’ obstruction of the special defense budget would weaken national security planning, as it cripples the smooth functioning of the government, which threatens Taiwan’s economic prospects, the Taiwan Team Alliance said yesterday.

Stalling the budget has rendered the central government unable to administer policies, delaying important national and local projects, and could derail economic development programs, Taiwan Society chairman Weng Ming-jang (翁銘章) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, adding that it could shake the international community’s confidence in Taiwan.

Opposition parties are impeding review of the 2026 general budget as well as the NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget, undermining the central government by crippling Taiwan’s military capability, Weng said.

People hold placards at a news conference hosted by the Taiwan Team Alliance in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party are on a path of “pro-China, anti-US” policies, which sends the wrong message internationally, he said.

Defense analyst Su Szu-yun (蘇紫雲) said that maintaining strong national defense is a nonpartisan issue that all parties should support, while the US Congress passed a defense bill, allocating US$1.15 billion for security cooperation with Taiwan.

Su said that in its latest National Security Strategy the US clearly said it aims to bolster Taiwan’s self-defense to deter assault by a foreign state.

Many democratic countries are concerned with Taiwan’s situation, and American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene has stressed that “freedom is not free,” Su added.

Among the items sought with the defense budget, most important is the “T-Dome,” he said.

“To invest in the ‘T-Dome’ is to invest in security and peace,” Su said.

The “T-Dome” is an air-defense architecture that coordinates sensors in a certain volume of airspace, detecting threats and allocating defensive fires against incoming aircraft or missiles at speeds human senses cannot match, he said.

It is vital for Taiwan to strengthen its defensive and combat capabilities, proving to the community that the country would fight to defend itself so that other countries would stand with Taiwan in the case of a conflict, Su said.


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USEFUL HABIT?  Consuming two cups (about 500ml) of green tea or coffee per week can reduce the risk of developing NPC, a head and neck cancer, NTUH said

Dietary choices, such as drinking green tea and coffee, could reduce the risk of developing nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), one of the most common head and neck cancers in Taiwan, a physician at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) said yesterday.

NPC is a head and neck cancer that starts in the nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat, behind the nose, and is closely associated with genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and exposure to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), NTUH Department of Otolaryngology attending physician Wang Cheng-ping (王成平) said.

About 1,500 people are diagnosed with NPC in Taiwan every year, and it is about three times more common in men than women, while people aged 40 to 55 comprise the biggest group of diagnoses, but it can occur at any age, he said.

Early symptoms of the cancer include unilateral hearing loss, tinnitus (a sensation of noise such as a ringing or roaring), chronic unilateral nasal obstruction or stuffiness, blood-stained nasal discharge or saliva, and a painless lump in the neck, and they are often overlooked as they are relatively subtle, Wang said.

More than 70 percent of cases are diagnosed at advanced stages, and the disease is primarily treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which typically lasts for about two to four months, he said.

NTUH had a mission to seek the cause, and identify high-risk groups and ways of early diagnosis, as well as to improve patients’ survival rate and life quality, he said.

NTUH said its NPC research team, in collaboration with the US National Cancer Institute and Academia Sinica, established Taiwan’s first multi-case familial NPC cohort (1996 to 2004 and 2006 to 2020).

A series of long-term follow-up studies revealed a significantly higher prevalence of EBV antibody positivity among family members of NPC patients, it said.

Familial aggregation and EBV antibody positivity are major risk factors for NPC, it said.

The hospital said that through a study including about 1,800 NPC patients and a control group of 2,000 people, it also found that drinking two cups (about 500ml) of green tea or coffee per week can reduce the risk of developing NPC.

Other dietary choices, including eating more fresh fish or vegetables high in vitamin A (such as carrots), were also associated with reduced NPC risk, Wang said.

People who tested positive in a serum anti-EBV antibodies test, or have family members diagnosed with NPC, should get regular checkups with an ear, nose and throat doctor.

Moreover, people who tested positive in a plasma EBV DNA test and those who have NPC symptoms for more than two weeks are recommended to see a doctor as soon as possible, he said.

The age-adjusted five-year survival rate for NPC patients treated at NTUH is 78 percent, exceeding the national average of 74 percent and surpassing the global average of 62 percent, the hospital said.

title: Tea, coffee can prevent cancer: study


title: More black bear sighting reported near Alishan

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The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Chiayi branch yesterday said that since Jan. 1, there have been eight incidents of Taiwan black bears entering construction sites or residential areas on Alishan, highlighting an increasing overlap between bear habitats and human activity.

The office said it has launched monitoring and trapping operations, and urged residents and visitors to take precautions to ensure peaceful coexistence with the bears.

Frequent sightings have been reported around Dabang (達邦), Leye (樂野) and Lijia (里佳) villages, at elevations of 989m to 1,230m, the office said, adding that residents have also reported damage to beehives and food being rummaged from construction site refrigerators.

A bear is caught on camera in Chiayi County in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Chiayi branch

The office said it has installed traps with longan honey, bananas and wild winter honey baits, and set up infrared cameras to monitor bear activity in real time.

While no bears have been captured on camera or in traps, there are about 10 known active bears near the Shihshan (石山) water diversion channel, it added.

Bear hotspots have mainly been concentrated in the Zengwen River (曾文溪) to Tanniku River (塔乃庫溪) basin, it said.

Proper food management is crucial in preventing bears from approaching human settlements, the office said.

Outdoor trash, kitchen waste, fertilizers and pet food should be stored indoors, and food with strong smells, such as barbecued or camping food, should be cleaned up immediately, it added.

People are advised not to leave food in forests to avoid feeding wildlife and to keep a safe distance from bears, it said, adding that any sighting or signs of black bears should be reported to the Forestry Conservation Department at 0800-000-930.


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‘NOT NERVOUS’:  Taiwan’s exposure to US dollar-denominated assets was 20 times its foreign exchange market size, the central bank head said, disputing an IMF estimate

The central bank has adopted dynamic adjustments in its portfolio management of Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves to reduce possible risks from fluctuations in US Treasury bonds, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said yesterday.

Yang made the statement at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in response to questions about reports that Danish pension operator AkademikerPension was planning to sell US$100 million of US Treasuries amid unease over US President Donald Trump’s push for control of Greenland.

Amid increasing efforts by several countries to decouple from the US, US Treasuries have encountered growing volatility, lawmakers said, expressing concern about the stability of Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves.

Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

As Taiwan is the 10th-largest holder of US Treasury bonds, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) asked whether the central bank would cut its position in US government bonds or adjust its foreign exchange reserves portfolio to reduce risk.

Yang said the central bank would seek to lower risks in foreign exchange reserves by cutting or adjusting US Treasury bond positions.

“That goes without saying,” he said.

As of the end of last year, Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves was US$602.55 billion, its second-highest ever, central bank data showed.

During the legislative meeting, Yang downplayed concerns raised by the IMF over Taiwan’s exposure to US dollar-denominated assets.

In its latest Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF said Taiwan’s exposure to US dollar-denominated assets was 45 times its foreign exchange market size, compared with South Korea, where the exposure was 25 times its foreign exchange market size.

However, the central bank has a different exposure estimate, which is only 20 times the size of its foreign exchange market, Yang said.

“We are not nervous,” he said, adding that some of the IMF’s past forecasts of Taiwan’s economic growth have been far off the mark.

While Taiwan has agreed in a trade deal to provide US$250 billion in credit guarantees for financial institutions to invest in the US market, the country still maintains adequate foreign currency-denominated capital in the domestic market, he said.

Therefore, the central bank would have no need to use any of the country’s foreign exchange reserves as credit guarantees in the short term, Yang added.

Taiwan’s surplus savings is NT$5.42 trillion (US$172.02 billion), enough to support overseas investments by Taiwanese enterprises, the central bank said.

people: 楊金龍 王鴻薇

title: Central bank adjusting forex reserves


title: TIER bumps its growth forecast to 4.05 percent

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The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its economic growth forecast for this year to 4.05 percent, up from the 2.6 percent estimate it made in November last year, citing a better-than-expected outlook for net external demand, domestic investment and private consumption.

US tariff policies and China’s overcapacity continue to drive divergent economic performance around the world this year, but the latest Taiwan-US tariff deal and global tech giants’ artificial intelligence (AI) investments are expected to support export growth and domestic demand momentum, the Taipei-based institute said in a report.

Exports are expected to grow 7.22 percent and imports are projected to increase 6.82 percent this year, up from previous estimates of 3.08 percent and 2.84 percent growth respectively, TIER said.

People gather to watch American climber Alex Honnold free solo Taipei 101 on Sunday. Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters

Private consumption is expected to increase 2.5 percent, up from a previous estimate of 2 percent, it said.

Growth in domestic investment and fixed capital formation were also adjusted upward to 2.88 percent and 3.05 percent, from 2.36 percent and 2.15 percent respectively, it added.

“For 2026, growth is expected to shift toward ‘warm’ both domestically and externally, with recovering private consumption and improved industry divergence,” the institute said, after releasing its business climate survey of local manufacturing, services and construction sectors last month.

The survey showed the composite indicators for local manufacturing, services and construction sectors all rose last month, with the manufacturing index rising for the sixth consecutive month, the services index advancing for the third month in a row and the construction index ending the previous month’s decline to return to an upward trajectory.

The institute’s manufacturing index reached 97.22 points last month, up 3.61 points from 93.61 in the previous month, as robust demand for cloud services, and AI and high-performance computing products drove momentum in domestic manufacturing, as uncertainties about US tariffs faded.

A separate survey of manufacturing firms found that 34.5 percent of firms last month anticipated an improvement in their business over the next six months, a 12.5-percentage-point increase from the 22 percent in November.

Conversely, 18.4 percent of firms foresee a deteriorating economic outlook, down 6.8 percentage points from the 25.2 percent reported one month earlier, TIER said.

The services index climbed 1.21 points to 92.44 last month, up from the previous month’s 91.23, as the sector benefited from Christmas celebrations, New Year’s Eve gatherings, year-end banquets and concerts, along with operators’ partnerships, promotions, new product launches and overseas expansion, the institute said.

The construction index was up 2.31 points to 102.45, from November’s 100.14, boosted by the acceleration of year-end public works projects and semiconductor facility projects.

However, the government’s new soil disposal regulations create challenges in disposal channels and execution, potentially affecting project progress, TIER said.

Moreover, lenders’ mortgage policies, the central bank’s continued credit controls, developers’ inventory adjustments and the implementation of the new soil disposal policy could influence the real-estate market, it added.


title: MediaTek shares surge 19% on Google chip tie-up

companies: Google 台積電

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MediaTek Inc (聯發科) shares yesterday notched their best two-day rally on record, as investors flock to the Taiwanese chip designer on excitement over its tie-up with Google.

The Taipei-listed stock jumped 8.59 percent, capping a two-session surge of 19 percent and closing at a fresh all-time high of NT$1,770.

That extended a two-month rally on growing awareness of MediaTek’s work on Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs), which are chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

The MediaTek Inc logo is displayed on a cellphone lying on a laptop keyboard in an illustration photograph taken on Aug. 25 last year. Photo: Reuters

It also highlights how fund managers faced with single-stock limits on their holding of market titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) are diversifying into other AI-related firms. MediaTek’s pivot from its core smartphone chip business into high-margin custom AI offerings has positioned it as a top alternative.

“We see large potential” in MediaTek’s AI application-specific integrated circuits, Morgan Stanley analysts including Charlie Chan (詹家鴻) wrote in a note on Friday.

While Google is also working with Broadcom Inc on its TPUs, MediaTek might see more growth as it converts more of its smartphone-related resources to AI-related chips, the Morgan Stanley analysts added.

MediaTek helped power Taiwan’s benchmark TAIEX to a new record, along with other major tech names including chipmakers Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科), which rose 5.34 percent to close at NT$286, and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), up 6.94 percent to NT$69.3. TSMC shares fell 0.85 percent to end at NT$1,755.

The TAIEX closed up 0.32 percent at 32,064.52 points, Taiwan Stock Exchange’s data showed.

MediaTek’s latest guidance looks conservative, as it only factors in the outlook as of October last year and just orders from Google, Morningstar Inc analyst Phelix Lee (李旭暘) said.

The market might be hoping for the company to overshoot its targets, he said.


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US President Donald Trump last week stole the spotlight during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, before artificial intelligence (AI) took center stage. Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on European allies over his ambitions to take Greenland triggered a sell-off in global equities. It was only after walking back the trade threats and ambitions to take Greenland by force that markets returned to calm and AI took over, with debate about the good and the bad the technology could unleash.

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva at a panel on the global economic outlook said an “AI tsunami” was hitting the labor market, and it would wipe out many entry-level jobs, mostly affecting young people.

As the technology becomes increasingly widespread, the demand for skills would undergo a significant transformation, she said, citing IMF data.

AI is likely to affect about 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies and 40 percent globally, Georgieva said, adding that some people stand to benefit from the technology, but others face lower wages and fewer job opportunities.

Georgieva urged employers to discuss the role of AI tools with employees before adopting their use in the workplace, especially as the technology rapidly advances.

Still, no one knows how to make it safe and inclusive, she said, adding that her biggest worry is the potential harm that unregulated, market-driven deployment of AI would create.

Dario Amodei — CEO of Anthropic, one of the world’s most powerful AI creators — also expressed concern about high unemployment and underemployment brought on by widespread AI use.

Nevertheless, he said he believes the good from the technology would outweigh the bad, Bloomberg News reported.

Amodei has long warned about AI’s effects on the job market. During an interview last year, he said the emerging technology could wipe out 50 percent of entry-level jobs across technology, finance, law, consulting and other clerical positions, leading to a “white-collar bloodbath.”

Yet, not every business executive speaking at Davos agreed that AI is destined to wreak havoc on the labor market. Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) made a case for realistic optimism, based on the history of technological advancements.

The massive build-out of AI infrastructure would create swaths of blue-collar jobs, Huang said, adding that he expected great demand for skilled vocational workers such as electricians, plumbers and construction workers, along with a substantial income.

“You don’t need to have a PhD in computer science to do so,” Bloomberg News quoted him as saying.

Just as people’s responses to any developing technology in the past, there are mixed views on the impact of AI on the labor market. The emergence of new technologies generally has three effects on labor demand: displacement, productivity and reinstatement, academic studies have shown.

The displacement effect means that the emergence of new technologies would replace the existing workforce, reducing labor demand. According to the productivity effect, new technologies would increase manufacturers’ productivity and profit, prompting them to further expand their operations and thus increasing labor demand. Meanwhile, the reinstatement effect states that new technologies create new types of jobs and demands, and in those jobs, labor would have a comparative advantage over machines, which would boost labor demand.

For pessimists, the displacement effect of AI would be significant, while optimists believe that the productivity and reinstatement effects of the technology would be sufficient to offset the displacement effect.

AI could be viewed as a form of creative destruction, which transforms jobs, rather than eliminating them. Regardless, as the technology is evolving rapidly, its long-term effects on economic growth and employment remain to be seen.

Most importantly, policymakers and officials should start looking into the workforce changes AI could create, develop policies to address the issues, and inform and educate the public on how AI might change their lives, positively and negatively.

title: EDITORIAL: Brace for AI’s labor disruption


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After Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last week announced her plans to dissolve the Japanese parliament and call a snap election, some people saw this as a potential model for institutional reform. However, what people should pay attention to is whether Taiwan’s political parties have the capacity to ensure the country’s regular functioning.

Taiwan and Japan share the conundrum of the governing party holding a minority of seats. However, unlike in Taiwan, the Japanese prime minister can dissolve parliament in the event of a political deadlock and call snap elections to seek a new mandate.

Taiwan’s system is closer to a presidential model with separation of powers. It features checks and balances between the government branches, but lacks institutional mechanisms for resolving deadlocks. Once political parties refuse to cooperate, governance grinds to a halt.

The budget debacle last year was evidence enough. The opposition made history with the scale of their budget reductions, and forced the Executive Yuan to file for reconsideration six times. Meanwhile, procedural committees have repeatedly blocked filings and raised black-box proposals, gradually paralyzing democratic controls. The outcome has not been bolstered oversight, and checks and balances, but a stagnation of government functions.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party must take their positions seriously. Being in opposition does not necessitate blanket rejections, and oversight need not equal total paralysis.

Multi-party democracies have long demonstrated that cooperation and policy negotiations are key to preventing national derailment. When the opposition always angles for confrontation and indiscriminately blocks whatever they can, it comes at the expense of Taiwanese.

The challenge is not whether Taiwan could recreate Japan’s mechanism for parliamentary dissolution, but whether it could bring politics and the legislature back to reality.

An unwillingness to shoulder governance responsibility only exacerbates systemic failures. Democracy is not a race to shut down the government, it is a test of who can work together to keep the country moving forward despite disagreements.

Yang Chih-chiang is a teacher.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader

title: Japanese political system lessons


title: Navigating sanctions and trade

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When commercial vessels are seized or taken off their routes under tightening sanctions enforcement, disruption rarely stops at the intended boundary. What begins as a geopolitical signal quickly turns into an operational shock — felt most acutely by economies that depend on smooth global trade.

As a highly open, export-oriented economy embedded in global manufacturing and technology supply chains, Taiwan experiences sanctions not as distant instruments of diplomacy, but with immediacy, affecting costs, risk and continuity. When trade routes are disrupted or compliance rules shift abruptly, the impact is absorbed first by firms, ports, insurers and producers — not by policymakers.

Sanctions are no longer exceptional tools deployed sparingly in moments of crisis. They have become routine instruments of power projection. Financial restrictions, export controls, trade bans and punitive tariffs are now used repeatedly, often pre-emptively, so economic decision-making is increasingly shaped by geopolitical calculation rather than commercial logic.

Sanctions are often presented as a restrained alternative to military action. However, sanctions disperse risk across global markets in diffuse and unpredictable ways. Firms retool supply chains, insurers withdraw coverage, banks tighten scrutiny and investment decisions are postponed or abandoned. These costs accumulate quietly, long after the political moment has passed.

Taiwan’s economic strength is in connectivity — its ability to source inputs globally, transform them through advanced manufacturing and serve markets worldwide. That becomes a vulnerability when sanctions begin shaping third-party behavior. Secondary and extraterritorial measures increasingly compel companies to comply with rules set elsewhere, often without clear guidance or consistency.

This uncertainty impacts the core of Taiwan’s economic model. Semiconductor manufacturing depends on uninterrupted access to equipment, materials and customers across jurisdictions. Energy security relies on stable maritime routes and insurable shipping. Financial institutions must navigate overlapping compliance expectations that evolve faster than legal frameworks can adapt. Each new sanction introduces ambiguity that cannot be easily priced or planned for.

As restrictions multiply, markets adjust — but not always healthily. Trade is rerouted through less transparent channels. Financial flows shift to alternative intermediaries. Risk becomes harder to assess. Repeated sanctions weaken transparency and undermine the predictability on which global commerce depends.

Taiwan cannot assume that economic interdependence would shield it from disruption. It does not design sanctions, but it must operate within them. Its task is not to contest sanctions, but to manage their economic consequences with clarity and foresight.

This requires a deliberate focus on resilience. Supply chains must be diversified, not abandoned. Logistics and insurance arrangements must include redundancy. Energy procurement must account for geopolitical and market risk. Firms need regulatory clarity and institutional support to navigate compliance without freezing investment or innovation. These are adjustments needed in a more fragmented global economy.

Other countries have responded to sanctions pressure by quietly reconfiguring commercial arrangements — adjusting payment mechanisms, shipping structures and sourcing strategies without dramatic political signaling. Taiwan is different, but the underlying insight is relevant: economic adaptability matters as much as diplomatic alignment.

There is little reason to expect sanctions to recede. As competition intensifies, economic measures would remain attractive, because they appear controllable and scalable. The greater risk is cumulative: that repeated sanctions erode confidence in the global trading system. When rules become fluid and enforcement unpredictable, investment retreats and fragmentation accelerates.

Taiwan must figure out how to function effectively in a world where sanctions are increasingly normal. Economic openness must be paired with institutional preparedness. Integration must be balanced with safeguards. Growth would depend not only on innovation, but on the capacity to absorb shocks beyond Taiwan’s control.

In this environment, resilience is not retreat. It is about maintaining room to maneuver. Taiwan’s success would depend on remaining indispensable to global production while reducing exposure to geopolitical spillovers it did not create. Sanctions might define the global order — but the economies that thrive would be those that learn to operate despite them.

Shishir Priyadarshi is president of the Chintan Research Foundation and a former director of the WTO.


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The kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture was again forced to suspend operations after a control rod alarm malfunction. Although there was no radioactive fallout, it exposed a long-underestimated reality: Nuclear safety risks often stem not from a single equipment failure, but from shortcomings in institutional execution and a failure to embed a robust safety culture.

Control rods are the most critical safety components of a nuclear reactor, and an abnormal trigger is not just an engineering issue; it also reflects gaps in process design, testing, cross-departmental coordination and quality control. That such problems recur in Japan — one of the countries with the most extensive experience in nuclear power operations and the strictest safety regulations — show gaps in inspections and safety controls that cannot be overlooked.

Genuine safety culture means that even under the pressure of schedules and political expectations, the system still empowers on-site personnel to shut down operations and make corrections when necessary — even if that means shouldering the costs.

The suspension of the plant’s restart highlights that even when well-designed systems are in place, safety culture could still erode in practice.

For Taiwan, this point is particularly salient. Nuclear policy debates tend to focus on supply stability, carbon reduction needs and cost-effectiveness, while failing to examine the deeper issues. Do nuclear safety regulators truly possess institutional independence? Can information regarding review processes and resumption of operations be disclosed in a timely manner? Does the system allow for shutdown and corrective mechanisms to be triggered, even under political pressure? If such questions are not addressed, technical compliance alone would not ease the public’s doubts.

Nuclear safety is also a matter of trust. More than a decade after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the subsequent nuclear disaster, Japan is still struggling to rebuild public trust. Taiwan, too, has long felt public unease over nuclear safety amid last year’s referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant and long-standing energy debates. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant serves as a reminder that it is far more difficult to restore lost trust than to pass equipment inspections.

Talks about restarting nuclear power plants is a test of governance. The real question should be whether institutions can ensure that safety practices are consistently enforced, and oversight is transparent and verifiable. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa blunder is a wake-up call that nuclear safety cannot be a mere slogan — it must be a core principle of decisionmaking and operations.

If Taiwan wishes to seriously contemplate restarting nuclear power, it must first revive institutional trust and governance capacity.

Lin Ren-bin is a Taiwan Environmental Protection Union member and Chinese Culture University Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering associate professor.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen

title: Japan’s nuclear blunder a reminder


title: Dying alone is China’s  latest tech obsession

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The virality of ‘Are You Dead?’ has exposed a demand for personal connections in an isolating tech era where you do not even have to say a word to a real person to hail a ride or order food

This time last year, the hottest Chinese tech product was DeepSeek’s market-moving artificial intelligence (AI) model. This year, it is something far simpler: An app for people worried about dying alone. The bluntly named “Are You Dead?” platform rocketed to the top of the app store charts in China before going viral globally. The interface is almost aggressively plain. Users, largely people living alone, tap to confirm they are still alive. Miss two days in a row and an emergency contact gets notified.

Besides its provocative moniker, there is a reason the app went mega-viral without spending a dime on advertising — and did not even have to pretend to be a buzzy new AI product. Its surge coincided with the nation’s birthrate plunging to its lowest on record, at a time when marriage figures are falling and divorces are ticking up.

While many assumed it was developed for elderly users seeking to hold on to their independence, it was actually created by a team of Gen-Z developers who said in interviews they were inspired by their own experiences of isolating urban life. One-person households are expected to swell to as many as 200 million in China by 2030.

These demographic changes are not unique to modern China, but they are definitely not the kind of publicity Beijing wants right now. The platform was quietly removed from Chinese app stores last week. In a culture where frank mentions of dying are seen as taboo and inauspicious, the creators said on Weibo that they were planning on rebranding. The new international name, “Demumu,” is a Labubu-fied riff on the word “death.” It did not catch on as expected, and the developers are now crowdsourcing a new idea via social media.

Despite striking a nerve in Beijing and around the world, the product’s concept is annoyingly good. I am jealous I did not think of it. As Big Tech and start-ups race to come up with the next hit AI application, the most common complaint I hear from actual humans is that many of these tools are solutions hunting for a problem. I do not need a model to summarize a two-line message from a friend, and having software interpose itself in basic intimacy could feel more intrusive than helpful.

“Are You Dead?” does the opposite. It is not trying to be clever, but purely practical. It offers a small sense of security to people living solo — even as its existence makes plain a rising loneliness epidemic. The name, a dark twist on the popular “Are You Hungry?” food delivery platform, channels the nihilistic Gen-Z humor of the lay-flat generation. Online, many Chinese youth did not treat it as offensive, but rather as a kind of memento mori.

Efforts to force AI into more facets of our life have rightly commanded the spotlight, but across Asia and beyond, eldercare tech is poised to boom.

Beijing has been touting the silver economy as a future engine of growth, pointing to seniors’ rising spending power and willingness to adopt new digital platforms. Rather than discourage these innovations and the uncomfortable questions they raise, the government should welcome these tools.

The American Association of Retired Persons forecasted that older Americans’ spending on technology would rise to US$120 billion by 2030, despite 59 percent of adults older than 50 feeling it is not designed with their age in mind. There is a ballooning opportunity globally for developers to tap into this market and ameliorate that disconnect.

The deeper debate unleashed by the app’s virality is something that would be even harder for the industry to address: Is technology making us more or less lonely? Globally, social media has made it much more convenient to avoid meeting in person. In China, super-apps have optimized everything — you do not have to say a word to a real person to hail a ride or order delivery meals and essentials. And in the pursuit of AI supremacy, people are working longer hours, driven by a grueling (and technically illegal) 996 culture that encourages more time away from home.

DeepSeek was China’s splashy tech moment; “Are You Dead?” is the hangover. The no-frills check-in app did not top the charts because of brilliant engineering. It went viral because it translated demographic and social anxiety into a push notification. Beijing could scrub it from the stores and its creators could try to Labubu-fy “death.” The underlying demand it exposed for connection would not disappear.

It is also a warning shot for the AI industry: The next hit product likely would not be built on summarizing our conversations. It would be one that confronts why we are having fewer of them. In the race to make machines more human, China’s first breakout app of the year just asks if you still have a pulse.

Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. Previously she was a tech reporter at CNN and ABC News. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.


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Jessica Pegula yesterday sent reigning champion and podcast cohost Madison Keys spinning out of the Australian Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles in 33°C heat.

Fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti battled the stifling conditions to set up a last-eight showdown with Novak Djokovic.

Keys and Pegula launched day nine in a clash at Rod Laver Arena between two Americans who know each other well.

Jessica Pegula of the US returns to fellow countrywoman Madison Keys in their Australian Open women’s singles match in Melbourne yesterday. Photo: EPA

They are good friends and also host a tennis podcast together, The Player’s Box, and had even been planning to record an episode on the eve of their match.

All that was put aside as a clinical Pegula dominated 6-3, 6-4 to set up a last-eight encounter with another American, fourth seed Amanda Anisimova.

Anisimova, the beaten finalist at last year’s US Open and Wimbledon, cooled herself off with bags of ice before taming China’s Wang Xinyu 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

Pegula, the sixth seed, is chasing an elusive Grand Slam title aged 31, her best performance to date reaching the US Open final in 2024.

An erratic Keys made 27 unforced errors to Pegula’s 17 and fired down six double faults as her title defense ended in the last 16.

The forfeit, as a part of a jokey bet with Pegula, would be a slice of apple pie with melted cheddar cheese on top.

“A bet is a bet, so I’ll do it. I hope it’s less gross than I think it’s going to be, but we will find out,” said Keys, who described herself as proud despite the defeat.

Fifth seed Elena Rybakina dismantled 21st seed Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-1, 6-3.

After brutal weather caused the suspension of matches on Saturday, temperatures rose sharply again.

Longer matches had 10-minute breaks in certain circumstances as part of measures to protect player health.

Temperatures are forecast to hit a blistering 45°C today, meaning matches are likely to be played under roofs on the three courts that have them.

Melbourne Park king Djokovic was supposed to play 20-year-old Jakub Mensik in a night match, but the Czech player pulled out injured on Sunday, sending 10-time champion Djokovic into the quarter-finals eight without hitting a ball.

The 38-year-old Serb is to play Musetti after the Italian defeated American ninth seed Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.

Djokovic has won nine of their 10 previous meetings, but Musetti said: “I feel ready to try to push him to his maximum.”

In the women’s doubles, third seeds Hsieh and Ostapenko defeated Laura Siegemund of Germany and Sofia Kenin of the US 6-3, 6-2 to set up a quarter-final against fifth seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Luisa Stefani of Brazil.

Additional reporting by staff writer

title: Keys ousted by Pegula, Hsieh advances


title: Juventus deal a hammer blow to Napoli title hopes

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Juventus on Sunday dealt a huge blow to SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense with a 3-0 win in Turin which left the reigning champions nine points behind league leaders Inter, who are pulling away from the chasing pack.

Jonathan David, Kenan Yildiz and Filip Kostic netted in Turin as Juve, a revitalized team under Luciano Spalletti, moved into fourth with a statement win.

Juve are fifth and one point behind both Napoli and AS Roma, who lifted themselves into third with a 1-1 draw with second-placed AC Milan in Rome.

Kenan Yildiz of Juventus, front, scores past SSC Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret, left, in their Serie A match in Turin, Italy, on Sunday. Photo: AFP

“We played really well and had fun ... today we were great,” Yildiz told DAZN. “We had fun on the pitch and with our fans today, let’s hope we can keep going like this.”

Napoli, in fourth, are also looking over their shoulders at Como who are three points behind them in sixth following a six-goal hammering of Torino on Saturday.

Antonio Conte’s Napoli now turn their attentions to tomorrow’s visit of Chelsea, a huge match which would decide whether they stay in the UEFA Champions League.

Conte has had awful luck with injuries this season, and the only positive news from an awful evening for Napoli was the return of Romelu Lukaku, who played his first minutes of the season as a late substitute.

“I can’t criticize the lads, they gave everything,” Conte told Sky. “Sometimes you manage to overcome the hurdles, sometimes you don’t... We know what the situation is [with injuries], but you can’t cry about it, you’ve got to keep going.”

Belgium striker Lukaku was set to be introduced just as Yildiz effectively sealed the points in the 77nd minute, coolly rolling home Juve’s second after a Napoli defender sloppily gave the ball to Fabio Miretti.

That was the pivotal moment as Napoli were well in the game, even if they created next to nothing, after David netted the opener midway through the first half.

Jovic stuck the knife in with four minutes remaining, rifling home a powerful low finish, which gave the hosts a margin of victory that did not truly reflect the balance of play.

Napoli were overtaken on goal-difference by Roma, who claimed a draw thanks to Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty, which also gave Inter a five-point lead over city rivals Milan at the top of the league.

Roma looked set for another defeat in a big game in the 62nd minute when Koni de Winter headed home Luka Modric’s brilliant cross to give Milan the lead at the Stadio Olimpico.

The hosts had dominated the first half and were frustrated by Mike Maignan, who was again excellent in the AC Milan goal, so De Winter’s first Serie A goal felt like a sucker punch, but Pellegrini was ice cold from the penalty spot, after Davide Bartesaghi was penalized for handball, pushing his team into the top three after a first draw of the season.

“Had we scored first we’d have had a really good chance to win,” Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini said. “The table says that Milan are the second-best team in the country, and we come out of this game stronger than we were before it. To concede so little against a team as good as Milan is the result of a lot of application and hard work.”

Former Napoli man Giacomo Raspadori scored on his full debut for Atalanta BC as the Bergamo club thumped Parma 4-0 to bounce back from a painful midweek defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

Gianluca Scamacca, Marten de Roon and Nikola Krstovic scored the other goals in a comfortable victory for Raffaele Palladino’s team, who next weekend face high-flying Como.

Bologna are 10 points away from Como, who are in the UEFA Conference League spot, after throwing away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Genoa, who pulled six points clear of the relegation zone with a stunning comeback.

Elsewhere, US Sassuolo defeated US Cremonese 1-0.

Additional reporting by staff writer


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OPPOSITION: The Senate Democratic leader vowed to block a massive spending bill unless Republicans strip funding for homeland security, raising risks of a shutdown

Congressional Republicans showed signs of wavering on US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the wake of another shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota.

While the weakening resolve was far from a full break with Trump, it signals growing unease with the administration’s aggressive actions as Democrats threaten another government shutdown and November’s midterm elections come into view. Until now, Republicans have backed Trump, as he deploys federal agents and National Guard to US cities.

Hundreds of videos have shown the agents using pepper spray, shoving, punching and kicking protesters who have stayed largely peaceful and are recording the agents’ actions. On Saturday, agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a nurse at a VA hospital, while he was subdued and on his knees after they discovered a gun he had a permit to carry.

Federal agents on Sunday try to clear protesters near a hotel in Minneapolis, using tear gas during a noise demonstration in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city. Photo: AP

“We’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

“I don’t like any shooting,” he added. “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun.”

US House of Representatives Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer suggested on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that Trump should consider going “to another city and then maybe let the people of Minneapolis decide” how to proceed on immigration.

He also defended immigration agents.

New York Republican Andrew Garbarino, the chairman of the House Homeland Security panel, has requested public testimony from top immigration officials, telling them in a letter on Saturday that Congress “has an important responsibility to ensure the safety of law enforcement and the people they serve and protect.”

Other Republicans who have previously broken with Trump on other matters — including retiring Senator Thom Tillis and Representative Thomas Massie — were more frank.

“There must be a thorough and impartial investigation into yesterday’s Minneapolis shooting, which is the basic standard that law enforcement and the American people expect following any officer-involved shooting,” Tillis wrote on X.

Republican Representative Michael McCaul also called in a post on X for an investigation “both to get to the bottom of these incidents and to maintain Americans’ confidence in our justice system.”

US Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said on CNN’s State of the Union that the agents involved in Pretti’s killing were “most likely” being placed on administrative leave and sent from Minneapolis.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana also broke sharply from the White House’s messaging and demanded “a full joint federal and state investigation.”

Cassidy called the events in Minneapolis “incredibly disturbing” and said the credibility of and homeland security are at stake.

“We can trust the American people with the truth,” Cassidy said.

However, silence from other leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, suggest that many in the party are still weighing how to respond to Pretti’s killing.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vowed late on Saturday to block a massive spending package next week unless Republicans strip funding for the Department of Homeland Security, dramatically increasing the risk for a partial US government shutdown.

Democratic opposition to the funding package potentially affects not just Homeland Security, but also the departments of defense, labor, education, state, Treasury and health and human services.

None of the Republicans speaking on Sunday mentioned the looming shutdown fight.

The spending legislation needs votes from at least seven Democrats to pass the Senate.

Several moderates in the party quickly announced on Saturday they would oppose the bill.

At least one other American, Renee Good, was killed by an ICE agent when he stopped her for partly blocking a street with her car, claiming she tried to run him over.

“What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city,” Schumer said. “Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE.”

Forcing a shutdown risks hard-fought Democratic victories in the spending deal, including reversing many Trump cuts to medical research, foreign aid, education grants and mass transit. However, the situation in Minnesota has alienated key Democratic senators.

Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who voted to end the last shutdown, said in statements on Saturday they would oppose funding for homeland security without changes.

Rosen said she would oppose funding “until we have guardrails in place to curtail these abuses of power and ensure more accountability and transparency.”

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said the resistance is not about his party or politics.

“It’s about our country and our Congress, and what we need to do to impose some safeguards on an out-of-control agency which is imbued with a culture of lawlessness and seems to be committing murder in Minneapolis,” he said.

Former US president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, called Pretti’s killing a “heartbreaking tragedy.”

“It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” they said in a statement.

title: Republicans waver after fatal shooting


title: Myanmar’s pro-military party claims poll win

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JUNTA-RUN ELECTIONS:  USDP said it has won a majority and is in a position to form a government. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing is widely expected to serve as president

Myanmar’s dominant pro-military party has won junta-run elections, a party source said yesterday, after a monthlong vote that democracy watchdogs dismissed as a rebranding of army rule.

The military snatched power in a 2021 coup, ending Myanmar’s experiment with civilian rule and triggering civil war, but pledged a three-phase vote, which finished on Sunday, would return power to the people.

With popular democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi detained and her party dissolved, critics say the ballot was stacked with army allies to prolong their grip on power.

Officials count advance votes at a polling station in Mandalay on Sunday after voting ended for the third and final phase of Myanmar’s general election. Photo: AFP

Voting was not held in huge patches of the country controlled by rebel factions fighting in the civil war — another hurdle cited by those questioning the poll’s mandate.

“We won a majority already,” a senior official from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) said on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to share preliminary results.

“We are in the position to form a new government,” they said. “As we won in the election, we will move forward.”

Many analysts describe the USDP — which is staffed by retired senior officers — as a civilian proxy of the military, which has stage-managed the poll to give its rule a veneer of civilian legitimacy.

“They won since before the election,” said one 28-year-old Yangon resident, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“They were the only ones in the race, and they were the referee,” they added. “Almost everyone won’t have faith in the government they will form.”

Official results are expected later this week.

The USDP comfortably won the opening two phases of the election on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11.

A quarter of unelected parliamentary seats are to be reserved for members of the armed forces, under the terms of a constitution drafted during a previous stint of military rule.

A combined house majority of MPs are to elect the president after parliament convenes in March.

Touring Mandalay city polling stations in civilian dress on Sunday, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing again declined to rule out serving as the new government’s president.

While the military has touted the poll as an opportunity for reconciliation, rebel factions regard it as illegitimate, and conflict monitors say it is unlikely to stymie the civil war.

Elections were called off in one in five of Myanmar’s townships amid the fighting, but the military waged a withering pre-poll offensive, including attacks rights groups allege may include war crimes.

In junta-held territory, dissent has been purged, with new laws punishing protest or criticism of the election with up to a decade in prison.

Parties that won 90 percent of seats in 2020 did not appear on the ballot this time, the Asian Network for Free Elections said.

More than 22,000 people are languishing in junta jails, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.

“While the election results within Myanmar have never been in doubt, the election result that matters most is the response of the international community,” UN expert Tom Andrews said last week. “International acceptance of this fraudulent exercise would set back the clock on genuine resolution to this crisis.”


title: Historic winter storm in US kills at least 10 people

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A monster storm barreling across swathes of the US has killed at least 10 people and prompted warnings to stay off the roads, mass flight cancelations and power outages, as freezing conditions persisted into yesterday.

As the storm dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain across the wide expanse, officials cautioned that an arctic air mass behind the system would see temperatures fall dangerously low for days, prolonging disruptions to daily life.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) told Americans to expect more of the same weather conditions into yesterday morning.

People walk across Sixth Avenue, as snow falls in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Sunday. Photo: AFP

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said five people were found dead outside over the weekend in freezing temperatures.

While he did not confirm the deaths were weather-related, he told reporters “there is no more powerful reminder of the danger of extreme cold.”

In Texas, authorities confirmed three deaths, including a 16-year-old girl killed in a sledding accident.

Two people died in Louisiana from hypothermia, the southern state’s health department said.

The PowerOutage.com tracking site showed more than 840,000 customers without electricity as of Sunday night, mostly in the US south where the storm intensified on Saturday.

In Tennessee, where a band of ice has downed power lines, more than 300,000 residential and commercial customers were without electricity, while Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia — where such storms are less common — each had more than 100,000 outages.

The outages are particularly dangerous, as the south is being walloped by treacherous cold that the NWS warns could set records.

Authorities from Texas to North Carolina and New York urged residents to stay home due to the perilous conditions.

“Stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary,” Texas’s Emergency Management Division posted on X.

The storm was moving on Sunday into the northeast, dumping snow and sleet on heavily populated cities, including Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

At least 20 states and the US capital, Washington, have declared states of emergency.

Residents in Washington awoke to a blanket of several inches of snow on sidewalks and roads, followed by heavy sleet.

Federal offices were pre-emptively closed yesterday.

Several major airports in Washington, Philadelphia and New York had nearly all flights canceled for the day.

Tracking site Flightaware.com showed more than 19,000 flights into and out of the country had been scrapped since Saturday.

US President Donald Trump, who was riding out the storm at the White House, said on his Truth Social platform on Saturday: “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm!”

The brutal storm system is the result of a stretched polar vortex, an arctic region of cold, low-pressure air that normally forms a relatively compact, circular system, but sometimes morphs into a more oval shape, sending cold air spilling across North America.

Scientists say the increasing frequency of such disruptions might be linked to climate change, though the debate is not settled and natural variability plays a role.

However, Trump — who scoffs at climate change science and has rolled back green energy policies — questioned how the cold front fit into broader climatic shifts.

“WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???” he posted.

The NWS warned that heavy ice could cause “long-duration power outages, extensive tree damage, and extremely dangerous or impassable travel conditions,” including in many states less accustomed to intense winter weather.

Authorities warned of life-threatening cold that could last a week post-storm, especially in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, where wind chill lows were forecast to dip to extremes under minus-50oF (minus-45oC).

Such temperatures can cause frostbite within minutes.


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Laurent Kone’s wattle-and-daub house, with its tarpaulin roof and no electricity, lies down a bumpy red-earth track in western Ivory Coast.

For 30 years, he has been growing cocoa and is typical of the smallholders who have been the backbone in making the west African country the world’s leading producer of the crop.

However, the country now faces major difficulties in selling its cocoa, hit by a slowdown in exports amid buyers’ liquidity problems and a drop in global prices.

Workers move cocoa beans during the drying process in Sokoura, Ivory Coast, on Jan. 16. Photo: AFP

For growers who were already battling to eke out a living, the situation has only added to their plight.

In its last report on the sector in 2019, the World Bank estimated that more than half (54.9 percent) of cocoa producers lived on less than 757 CFA francs (US$1.36) a day.

“I started planting in 1996 and I still don’t have a roof because there’s no money,” 54-year-old Kone said at his home, 20km from the city of Guiglo.

“It’s not dignified,” he said.

The Ivorian government insists that conditions for growers are a priority and, following a rise in global prices, increased the amount it pays to producers to a record 2,800 CFA francs per kilogram.

“Producers are standing tall and are able to eat their fill, find housing, get medical treatment, enjoy the benefits of electricity and drinking water, and send their children to school and university,” then-Ivorian agriculture minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, who was replaced in a government reshuffle on Friday, said in October.

However, with the recent fall in exports, the hike in the price paid to producers has not had the desired effect. Some growers say they have not been paid in months.

Near Kone’s house in Betykro, about 50 families live without electricity or a mobile phone network and share a single pump for water.

The nearest medical clinic is 10km away along a rough track and, according to many growers, the universal health coverage put in place by the state does not adequately cover healthcare costs.

“We’re disappointed,” 64-year-old village chief Boniface Djabia said, sounding dejected.

“The farmers are the poorest people in Ivory Coast,” he added, showing his threadbare clothes.

Farmers are “increasingly vulnerable,” said Oscar Toukpo, a sociologist at Felix Houphouet Boigny University in Abidjan.

He blamed lower yields due to soil exhaustion and the rising cost of living.

“Smallholders run up debts with cooperatives and sellers of crop protection products to try to improve production” and this worsens the cycle of poverty, he added.

In his field, just a stone’s throw from his house, Kone still works only with a machete and wears open-toed shoes.

“A bag of fertilizer costs 22,000 CFA francs, but there’s no money,” he said.

Maintaining production volume still depends on expanding plantations. However, the strategy is limited, as Ivory Coast has already lost 90 percent of its forest cover in 60 years.

According to the World Bank, productivity in Ivorian cocoa groves has stagnated in the past 20 years, at about 450kg to 550kg per hectare.

The global lender said the cocoa sector was not fulfilling its role as a driver of economic development and suggested that some see “brown gold” as a “curse” due to the destruction of forests and persistent poverty.

Additionally, Ivory Coast receives only 6 percent of the profits from the global cocoa industry. In recent years, the government has invested in cocoa processing facilities to transform the raw material on site.

To get by, some producers are diversifying by planting oil palms or hevea trees used to make rubber, which, unlike cocoa’s seasonal harvest, produce 11 months of the year.

“We manage with the rubber plantations,” said Alidou Traore, a 24-year-old farmer who has taken over his father’s land.

In his village, a few kilometers from Kone’s, the houses look sturdier, but despondency is setting in.

“The current situation with cocoa doesn’t give me any motivation,” he added.

“I don’t want my children to be planters like me,” Kone said. “It’s a life of suffering.”

title: Ivorian cocoa growers rue ‘curse of brown gold’


title: Taiwan’s LGBT mecca

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Over the past decade, Kaohsiung has undergone massive cultural development, with an emphasis on arts and performances — which has greatly helped its LGBT community

William Liu (劉家君) moved to Kaohsiung from Nantou to live with his boyfriend Reg Hong (洪嘉佑).

“In Nantou, people do not support gay rights at all and never even talk about it. Living here made me optimistic and made me realize how much I can express myself,” Liu tells the Taipei Times.

Hong and his friend Cony Hsieh (謝昀希) are both active in several LGBT groups and organizations in Kaohsiung. They were among the people behind the city’s 16th Pride event in November last year, which gathered over 35,000 people.

This time the Pride parade happened near Kaohsiung city’s government buildings as a form of political statement. Photo courtesy of Danny Chu

Along with others, they clearly see Kaohsiung as the nexus of LGBT rights.

“The feedback you receive from people in Kaohsiung makes you feel supported,” Hsieh says.

Over the past decade, Kaohsiung has undergone massive economic development, through infrastructure projects, and also cultural development, with an emphasis on arts and performances. This has greatly helped LGBT acceptance.


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以色列軍方今天宣布，已在加薩尋獲最後一名已故人質的遺體，這是自2014年以來，加薩首次沒有以色列人質，也完成美國總統川普為結束加薩戰爭所提計畫中，初步階段的一項關鍵條件。

路透社報導，以軍在聲明中指出，警官吉維利（Ran Gvili）遭扣押在加薩超過840天，他的遺體已經過身分確認，將送返安葬。

這次尋獲遺體可能可為加薩與埃及之間的拉法關卡（Rafah Crossing）有限度重啟鋪路，也符合以色列先前的承諾。拉法關卡是遭受重創的加薩通往外界的主要通道。

美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）報導，2023年10月7日遇害並被擄到加薩的以色列警官吉維利，是當天遭綁人質中最後一位遺體仍留在加薩的人。以色列政府表示，他在死後被追授一級中士（First Sergeant）軍銜。

以色列總統赫佐格（Isaac Herzog）說：「全體國民都在祈禱，並等待這一刻來臨，現在圓滿結束了。」

以色列國防軍在聲明中指出：「經國家法醫中心（National Center of Forensic Medicine）與以色列警察和軍事拉比局（Military Rabbinate）共同進行身分鑑定後，官員已通知家屬遺骸身分，並將安排下葬。」

以色列已表示，要開放拉法關卡與推動加薩和平計畫進入第2階段，條件是尋回並交還所有生還與已故人質。

以色列總理尼坦雅胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）回應這個消息時說，吉維利遺體的歸來是「以色列國家的傑出成就」。

他在國會（Knesset）向媒體表示：「我們承諾將把每個人帶回家，如今也確實帶回所有人，直到最後一位。藍尼（Rani，吉維利小名）是英雄，他是第一個進去、最後一個出來，現在他正在回家的路上。」（編譯：張曉雯）1150127

countries: 美國 埃及 以色列

title: 以軍尋獲加薩最後人質遺體　為重啟拉法關卡鋪路


content_text:
印度與歐盟已完成一項備受期待的貿易協議談判，將於27日正式宣布。圖為歐盟主管貿易事務的執行委員塞夫柯維奇（Maros Sefcovic）。（歐新社檔案照）

印度政府官員26日表示，印度與歐盟已完成一項備受期待的貿易協議談判，將於27日正式宣布。正值印度及歐盟與美國關係緊張之際，雙方皆稱此一協議具有歷史意義。

這項協議將為由27個歐洲國家組成的歐盟，與印度之間的商品自由貿易鋪路。雙方合計約占全球國內生產毛額（GDP）的4分之1，市場規模達20億人。

印度商業與工業部秘書亞格拉沃（Rajesh Agrawal）表示，這將是一項平衡且具前瞻性的協議，有助於與歐盟進行更深層的經濟整合，推動雙方的貿易與投資。

截至2025年3月的財政年度，印歐雙邊貿易額達1365億美元（約4.3兆台幣）。

一名熟悉內情的印度政府官員表示，正式簽署將在完成法律審查後進行，相關程序預計需時5至6個月，「我們預期這項協議將在1年內正式生效。」

這項協議的達成，正值歐盟日前與南美洲的南方共同市場（Mercosur）簽署關鍵協議之後；歐盟去年也與印尼、墨西哥與瑞士完成貿易協議。同一期間，新德里也已與英國、紐西蘭及阿曼完成相關貿易協定。

這一連串協議凸顯各國試圖降低對美國的依賴，因美國總統川普企圖接管格陵蘭，以及對歐洲國家發出關稅威脅，正考驗西方國家之間長期建立的同盟關係。

在歷經近20年斷斷續續的談判後，這項協議將使印度這個全球最大且高度保護的市場，對其最大貿易夥伴歐盟開放自由貿易。

在印度總理莫迪（Narendra Modi）與歐盟執委會主席馮德萊恩（Ursula von der Leyen）去年同意加速談判後，雙方積極推動協議定案。雙邊談判於2022年在中斷9年後重新啟動，並在川普對多個貿易夥伴實施進口關稅後，包括對印度商品課徵50％關稅，進一步加速。

印度與美國的貿易協議，則於去年因雙方政府溝通破裂而破局。

歐盟與印度在協議最後階段，仍就汽車與鋼鐵貿易等議題，進行最後的讓步與磋商。歐盟一直要求印度大幅削減汽車進口關稅，目前相關稅率可高達100％以上；而做為主要鋼鐵生產國的印度，則持續敦促歐盟放寬對其鋼鐵出口的貿易限制。

《路透》25日報導，印度計畫依協議內容，將自歐盟進口汽車的關稅，從最高110％調降至40％。談判內容排除部分敏感的農產品與乳製品項目，因新德里堅持必須保護數以百萬計的自給型農民。

countries: 印尼 格陵蘭 紐西蘭 墨西哥 瑞士 英國 美國 印度 阿曼 歐盟

title: 降低對美依賴 印歐完成歷史性貿易協議談判 市場涵蓋20億人口


title: 健康網》朴新陽不引退曝甲亢纏身 醫：治療至少2年勿輕意斷藥

content_text:
韓星朴新陽飽受甲狀腺亢進的困擾，甚至連要站個30分鐘都有困難。中國醫藥大學附設醫院指出，一般治療甲亢的療程至少2年，醫病要保持長期溝通與互動。 （緯來戲劇台提供）

〔健康頻道／綜合報導〕韓星朴新陽飽受甲狀腺亢進的困擾，甚至連要站個30分鐘都有困難，過去他撐過腰椎間盤突出導致左腳麻痺，歷經4次手術，拍戲靠著吞止痛藥、拄拐杖才熬過來，因此，他表示，從未想過引退，會努力讓自己狀態好起來。

根據中國醫藥大學附設醫院衛教資料指出，甲狀腺機能亢進常見的症狀有心悸、緊張、多汗、怕熱、手發抖、體重減輕、大便次數增加、月經異常、部分病人會合併凸眼。

57歲朴新陽表示，愈來愈了解自己的身體後，反而不會太懼怕，過去一直是在不知道狀態下撐過來，好幾次還連站都站不起來。中醫大指出，甲狀腺機能亢進的原因很多，例如甲狀腺毒性結節、腦下垂體腺瘤、妊娠絨毛膜癌等。最常見的原因為瀰漫性甲狀腺毒症，即葛瑞夫氏病。

目前有3種治療方式，需依不同之病情，宜採不同之治療，例如病人的年齡、是否伴有心臟病、是否急於懷孕生子、是否為再次復發、是否有嚴重甲狀腺腫大，皆需納入評估，醫病長期配合，一個療程至少2年，尤其是在飲食上，必須禁吃紫菜、海苔、海帶，更要避免咖啡、茶及抽菸。

中醫大指出，若使用甲狀腺藥物治療時發生喉嚨痛、發燒、扁桃腺化膿，請驗白血球，若低於3,000/ul請與醫師聯絡。服藥病患在3個月內有可能會過敏。

此外，要避免甲狀腺功能過高或過低，更要減少眼睛刺激，包括光線、風沙、化學藥品，建議睡覺戴眼罩、強光下戴墨鏡，更禁止配戴隱形眼鏡。

☆健康新聞不漏接，按讚追蹤粉絲頁。

☆更多重要醫藥新聞訊息，請上自由健康網。


content_text:
愛麗絲將於3月訪台演出費爾德的夜曲與貝多芬的鋼琴奏鳴曲（©Pete Woodhead，MNA提供）

〔記者凌美雪／台北報導〕德日混血鋼琴家愛麗絲・紗良・奧特 （Alice Sara Ott ） ，19歲便以李斯特的「12首超技練習曲」專輯驚艷樂壇， 16年來錄音作品在全球累計超過5億次串流量。這位不侷限於傳統路徑的鋼琴家，予樂迷最獨特的印象就是「赤足登台」，像極在古典樂壇中翩翩起舞的蝴蝶；今年3月，她帶著她的「夜曲」美學登台。

愛麗絲的演奏風格橫跨極端炫技與極致細膩，《衛報》盛讚她在兩者間轉換的造詣「驚人且不可思議」；去年發行的錄音計畫《費爾德：夜曲全集》，挖掘被譽為「夜曲之父」的費爾德（John Field）作品，橫掃數位平台，《紐約時報》亦將其選為年度「必聽」專輯，盛讚是在當代語境下重新定義了夜曲美學，成功將200年前的費爾德夜曲，轉化為當代串流時代最受關注的藝術風景。

此次訪台演出曲目，源於愛麗絲享譽全球樂壇的「夜曲」主題獨奏會製作，包括在全球數位平台創造現象級成功的《費爾德：夜曲全集》精粹，以及最受樂迷喜愛的貝多芬《月光奏鳴曲》。

音樂會採取開創性編排，將9首費爾德的夜曲與貝多芬含《月光奏鳴曲》的3首鋼琴奏鳴曲交織演出，構築一場橫跨浪漫主義源流的夜之對話。主辦牛耳藝術表示，這套節目源於愛麗絲對19世紀初音樂語言轉變的深刻觀察，雖然兩位作曲家走向截然不同的風格，卻同樣在音樂中追尋詩意深度。愛麗絲讓費爾德的靜謐美感與貝多芬的激盪層次互為表裡，展現她身為當代藝術家對經典曲目的重塑能力。

3月21日在台北國家音樂廳、22日在台南文化中心演出。詳詢MNA。

☆藝文新聞不漏接，按讚追蹤粉絲頁。

☆更多重要藝文新聞訊息，請上自由藝文網。

title: 5億串流赤足天使  德日混血鋼琴家愛麗絲3月登台


title: 以軍尋獲加薩最後人質遺體　為重啟拉法關卡鋪路

countries: 以色列 美國 埃及


title: 降低對美依賴 印歐完成歷史性貿易協議談判 市場涵蓋20億人口

countries: 美國 英國 瑞士 印度 印尼 格陵蘭 墨西哥 紐西蘭 阿曼 歐盟


countries: 台灣 中國 日本

content_text:
中國常駐聯合國代表傅聰，回應日本首相高市早苗涉台言論，敦促日方正視歷史，反思糾錯。

傅聰出席聯合國安理會國際法治公開辯論會發言時表示，高市早苗關於台灣的謬論，粗暴干涉中國內政，背棄日本作為戰敗國必須履行的國際義務，公然挑戰以國際法為基礎的國際秩序，嚴重違反以《聯合國憲章》宗旨和原則為基礎的國際關係基本準則。

傅聰說，中方敦促日方正視歷史，反思糾錯，以實際行動給國際社會一個負責任的交代。

title: 傅聰回應高市早苗涉台言論　敦促日方正視歷史反思糾錯


title: 傅聰回應高市早苗涉台言論　敦促日方正視歷史反思糾錯

countries: 中國 日本 台灣


content_text:
（中央社華盛頓26日綜合外電報導）美國聯邦航空總署今天表示，一架私人商務飛機昨晚在緬因州班戈國際機場起飛時墜毀，這起空難造成7人喪命，但有1名機組員受重傷倖存。

這架載有8人的龐巴迪挑戰者600型（Bombardier Challenger 600）飛機25日晚間7時45分左右起飛卻不幸墜毀，當時新英格蘭地區（New England）和美國大多數區域正遭受大規模冬季暴風雪侵襲。

美聯社報導，位於麻薩諸塞州大城波士頓東北方大約300多公里處的班戈國際機場（Bangor International Airport），在發生空難後就關閉。事發時，當地降下大雪。

美國聯邦航空總署（Federal Aviation Administration）與國家運輸安全委員會（National Transportation Safety Board）正在調查這起航空事故。

國家運輸安全委員會指出，初步資訊顯示，這架飛機於起飛時就墜毀，之後機體還起火燃燒。

國家運輸安全委員會提到，他們不負責發布罹難者的相關資訊，此類訊息是由地方當局處理。

班戈國際機場官員薩維德拉（Jose Saavedra）則拒絕置評，他於今天的記者會說道，自己「正等待聯邦合作夥伴的指導及支援」。（編譯：陳彥鈞）1150127

taiwan-subdivisions: 大城 和美

title: 私人飛機墜毀緬因州 美聯邦航空總署證實7死1傷 | 國際


content_text:
（中央社耶路撒冷26日綜合外電報導）以色列軍方今天宣布，已在加薩尋獲最後一名已故人質的遺體，這是自2014年以來，加薩首次沒有以色列人質，也完成美國總統川普為結束加薩戰爭所提計畫中，初步階段的一項關鍵條件。

路透社報導，以軍在聲明中指出，警官吉維利（Ran Gvili）遭扣押在加薩超過840天，他的遺體已經過身分確認，將送返安葬。

這次尋獲遺體可能可為加薩與埃及之間的拉法關卡（Rafah Crossing）有限度重啟鋪路，也符合以色列先前的承諾。拉法關卡是遭受重創的加薩通往外界的主要通道。

美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）報導，2023年10月7日遇害並被擄到加薩的以色列警官吉維利，是當天遭綁人質中最後一位遺體仍留在加薩的人。以色列政府表示，他在死後被追授一級中士（First Sergeant）軍銜。

以色列總統赫佐格（Isaac Herzog）說：「全體國民都在祈禱，並等待這一刻來臨，現在圓滿結束了。」

以色列國防軍在聲明中指出：「經國家法醫中心（National Center of Forensic Medicine）與以色列警察和軍事拉比局（Military Rabbinate）共同進行身分鑑定後，官員已通知家屬遺骸身分，並將安排下葬。」

以色列已表示，要開放拉法關卡與推動加薩和平計畫進入第2階段，條件是尋回並交還所有生還與已故人質。

以色列總理尼坦雅胡（Benjamin Netanyahu）回應這個消息時說，吉維利遺體的歸來是「以色列國家的傑出成就」。

他在國會（Knesset）向媒體表示：「我們承諾將把每個人帶回家，如今也確實帶回所有人，直到最後一位。藍尼（Rani，吉維利小名）是英雄，他是第一個進去、最後一個出來，現在他正在回家的路上。」（編譯：張曉雯）1150127

countries: 埃及 美國 以色列

title: 以軍尋獲加薩最後人質遺體 為重啟拉法關卡鋪路 | 國際


content_text: 中評社快評／針對賴當局提出的1.25兆（新台幣、下同）軍購特別條例，台灣民眾黨“立院”黨團自提版本，相關條文26日曝光，軍購預算規模大砍8500億，至僅4000億，草案內文並刪除院版提案原有的“重層攔截網”、“台灣之盾”、“非紅供應鏈”等名詞。 賴當局提出的軍購特別條例草案已遭在野“立委”9度封殺，迄今尚未付委審查。 民眾黨大砍軍購預算，賴當局嚥不下，黨、政、軍昨天都回應民眾黨版本，攻擊、指責。民進黨團指民眾黨版本是“淘寶版拼多多條例”；“行政院”發言人李慧芝指“在野黨所提草案版本，缺乏戰略構想、沒有建軍規劃、悖離軍購實務程序，且無視‘國防’自主，不僅將使台美軍購窒礙難行，更嚴重影響台灣永續戰力。”台灣軍方指民眾黨版本內容不完整，缺乏專業評估。 綠營黨、政、軍大戰白營，1.25兆軍購特別條例想過相信會更難了。此前美國在台協會（AIT）處長谷立言多次公開力挺巨額軍購，甚至喊話“自由不是免費的”，在野黨至今仍不為所動。 賴當局提出的8年高達1.25兆元天價軍購預算，對台灣民生、經濟發展將造成重大排擠。在野指賴當局不斷刻意塑造兩岸恐慌氛圍，藉此合理化高額軍購預算，進行選舉政治操作。台灣民眾黨質疑，天價1.25兆“國防”特別預算到底要買啥？沒人知道。民眾黨要求賴清德赴“立院”“國情報告”說清楚，有超過6成6以上的民意背書。 因為朝野各不相讓，1.25兆元天價軍購預算可能會繼續被封殺。 快評：“萬年總召”不想退 衝著綠白合而來？ (2026-01-25 01:01:38) 快評：兩岸復談有底線 衹有一條路徑 (2026-01-24 00:39:51) 快評：“自由不是免費” 索討保護費的話術 (2026-01-23 00:35:25) 快評：“國共論壇”籌備中 重啟意義重大 (2026-01-22 14:18:14) 快評：鄭麗文團結黨內 還有誰的心結難解？ (2026-01-21 01:10:27) 快評：民調反超 國民黨高雄有機會再贏一次 (2026-01-20 01:03:12) 快評：重建對華關係 加拿大對台轉向 (2026-01-18 00:41:52) 快評：美國空手套白狼 台灣核心產業被出賣 (2026-01-17 00:39:10) 快評：大陸再提解方 台當局無意打破僵局 (2026-01-15 01:00:17) 快評：蘇嘉全掌海基會 冷衙門吹暖風？ (2026-01-14 01:31:23)

countries: 美國 加拿大 台灣

people: 賴清德 鄭麗文 蘇嘉全

title: 快評：民眾黨大砍軍購預算 賴當局嚥不下


content_text: 中評社台北1月27日電（記者 莊亦軒）美國總統特朗普大動作退出多達66個國際組織，其中聯合國附屬組織即占31個，涵蓋氣候變遷、經濟社會、人權與法治等領域。淡江大學國際事務與戰略研究所助理教授馬準威接受中評社專訪指出，特朗普“退群”的核心邏輯，在於美國不再願意為世界提供公共財，而是回歸以安全與利益為優先的選擇性霸權。 馬準威指出，在邏輯下，美國另行推動“和平委員會”並非偶發，而是刻意建立一個不受中俄制衡的新機制。特朗普對聯合國安理會早已不耐，認為其決策功能被中俄掣肘，實質失效。和平委員會短期內將削弱安理會影響力，長期甚至可能取而代之。 馬準威為台灣大學政治系國際關係博士，曾擔任亞太和平研究基金會研究員兼主任，現為淡江大學國際事務與戰略研究所助理教授。研究專長包括國際關係理論、國際戰略研究、大陸對台政策等。 馬準威指出，聯合國成立的初衷是透過集體安全機制避免戰爭，屬於相對消極的國際治理模式；1970年代後，聯合國開始在經濟社會與人權議題上更積極介入，冷戰結束後更成為全球治理的重要平台。然而，霸權的本質向來具有兩面性，一是軍事與實力優勢，二是承擔公共財的成本與義務，特朗普顯然選擇前者，刻意迴避後者。 馬準威分析，特朗普退群的標準相當清楚，凡是與美國安全無直接關聯、卻需承擔制度性義務的組織，幾乎全數退出。他認為，氣候變遷、人權、婦幼保障等議題，在特朗普眼中屬於各國內政，美國沒有義務替相關議題背書。 不過，這並不代表美國全面退出國際事務，馬準威指出，特朗普仍高度重視區域安全，只是手段與過去不同。所謂“唐羅主義”與19世紀門羅主義的差異，在於當年美國尚無能力介入歐洲事務，只能排除外力；而特朗普時代的美國，已具備全球介入能力，但核心原則是“他國不得干預美國勢力範圍”。

journalist: 莊亦軒

countries: 台灣 美國

things: 人權 經濟

title: 馬準威：和平委員會將削弱聯合國安理會影響


content_text: 中評社香港1月26日電（記者 盧哲）自由黨黨魁張宇人、四位立法會議員及常委易志明26日會見香港特區政府財政司司長陳茂波，提交自由黨對2026/2027年度財政預算案的期望。自由黨建議，為進一步振興經濟，政府應鼓勵不同團體及機構增辦類似墟市活動，集中推廣海味、電器等具香港特色的商品。同時，政府亦應考慮推出新措施持續振興夜間經濟。 自由黨相關代表26日傍晚會見傳媒表示，當前香港經濟正穩步發展，在經濟結構調整階段，作為國際金融、貿易、航運、創科中心，香港除了要鞏固自身優勢，更要聚焦開拓更多新的經濟增長點，投資法治建設以優化投資環境，特區政府要為社會創造更多元、更多的優質就業機會，讓發展的成果更廣泛惠及不同階層，包括中產及夾心階層的市民。 自由黨建議，為了進一步振興經濟，政府應鼓勵不同團體及機構增辦類似墟市，例如參考零售業的“開倉特賣日”模式，集中推廣海味、電器、小型家電等具香港特色的商品。此外，政府亦應考慮推出新措施，如鼓勵公共交通營辦商推出晚間乘車月票或優惠車票、戲院提供夜場特惠票，或推動商場食肆在周末晚間設限時折扣，甚至可邀請明星或歌星舉辦快閃活動，舉辦夜間盛事，藉以帶動不同商圈的人流，持續振興夜間經濟特別是飲食業及零售業，期望能把旅客留在香港。 自由黨指出，現時香港處於經濟轉型期，建議推出更多支援中小企的措施，包括由政府牽頭在轄下的商業用地，為合資格租戶提供租金減免，以減輕各行業經營者的成本壓力，同時發揮示範作用，帶動私人業主跟隨。醫療方面，自由黨建議政府把醫療券計劃進一步擴大至更多內地三甲醫院使用，同時將長者醫療券的使用範圍擴展至社區藥房。

journalist: 盧哲

title: 自由黨提財政預算案建議 倡振興夜經濟


content_text: 中評社新竹1月27日電（記者 盧誠輝）台灣民眾黨前主席柯文哲日前透露，已向民進黨“立法院”黨團總召柯建銘提議，若綠營能支持修正“人工生殖法”，他就會處理總預算及軍購案，遭到抨擊。民眾黨新竹黨部榮譽主委、新竹市議員李國璋接受中評社訪問認為，柯文哲的說法只是談判技巧，也凸顯民眾黨在“立法院”關鍵少數的力量，但絕對不會因此影響藍白合。 李國璋，新竹清華大學公共政策碩士，曾任新竹農產運銷公司總經理，2005年首次代表親民黨參選新竹市議員當選，後改披中國國民黨戰袍連任2屆新竹市議員，2022年代表台灣民眾黨又順利連任，曾任民眾黨中央委員、民眾黨新竹黨部主委，現為民眾黨新竹黨部榮譽主委。 李國璋強調，柯文哲的說法並非交換說，只是在政黨協商上常用的談判技巧，也凸顯民眾黨在“立法院”關鍵少數的力量，因為願意談跟最後雙方是否真的合作是兩回事，但至少願意談比什麼都不願意談來得好，所以民眾黨才會抱持開放的態度，絕對不會因此影響到藍白合。 他提到，柯文哲的個性本來就心直口快，這也是柯的個人魅力，但柯25日的用詞是“處理”，而非“交換”，從頭到尾也沒提到所謂的“綠白合”，因此他呼籲外界不必過度解讀。他相信柯文哲是因為非常在意民眾黨“立法委員”陳昭姿主推的“人工生殖法”，所以才會希望能夠爭取民進黨“立法院”黨團的支持。 李國璋表示，柯文哲日前為了“人工生殖法”，親自帶著陳昭姿在“立法院”拜會藍綠黨團，也向民進黨“立法院”黨團總召柯建銘遞出橄欖枝，希望能以綠營目前最在意的總預算及軍購案當成雙方談判的籌碼，這也凸顯民眾黨在“立法院”扮演關鍵少數力量的重要角色。 李國璋指出，民眾黨長期以來本來就非常支持合理的軍購預算，民眾黨主席黃國昌日前為此還特地率團飛到華府一趟，為的就是想要充分瞭解“行政院”所提出的新台幣1.25兆元軍購預算是怎麼來的？從黃國昌返台後召開記者的說明也可以看出，黃並未因此就被美國摸頭，而是主張要提出民眾黨版本的軍購特別條例。 他說，在野黨監督執政黨本來就是天經地義的事情，但就像柯文哲說的，“立法院”現在的朝野僵局，全都是因為賴清德猶如明朝崇禎皇帝的剛愎自用所造成，而民眾黨在“立法院”身為關鍵少數的角色，當然不希望台灣因為賴清德一個人的專斷獨行，就讓台灣整個社會停滯不前。 李國璋強調，他相信民眾黨在“立法院”不管對藍營還是對綠營，協商大門永遠是敞開的，願意談跟最後是否真的合作是兩回事，但若連談都不願意，那什麼都不可能了，所以民眾黨才會抱持開放的態度，只要朝野願意談都是好事，總比什麼都不願意談來得好，畢竟現在朝野若持續陷入僵局，對台灣來說真的不是什麼好事。

journalist: 盧誠輝

countries: 美國 台灣

people: 李國璋 柯文哲 柯建銘 賴清德 黃國昌

political-parties: 親民黨 中國國民黨 綠黨

taiwan-subdivisions: 新竹 新竹市

title: 柯文哲與綠交易？李國璋：只是談判技巧


people: 柯文哲 李國璋 黃國昌 賴清德 柯建銘

political-parties: 中國國民黨 綠黨 親民黨

taiwan-subdivisions: 新竹市 新竹

title: 柯文哲與綠交易？李國璋：只是談判技巧


people: 李國璋 柯文哲 黃國昌 賴清德 柯建銘

political-parties: 中國國民黨 綠黨 親民黨

title: 柯文哲與綠交易？李國璋：只是談判技巧


countries: 台灣 美國 加拿大

people: 蘇嘉全 賴清德 鄭麗文

title: 快評：民眾黨大砍軍購預算 賴當局嚥不下


content_text: 中評社台北1月27日電（評論員 林淑玲）台灣民眾黨創黨主席柯文哲日前自曝曾拿《人工生殖法》要跟民進黨換總預算、軍購特別條例，震驚政壇。這不止是他個人理念、價值問題，而是讓民眾黨淪為雙頭馬車的“亂黨”，柯之舉不止是藍白合破口，更是非綠破口，也有毀掉民眾黨的強烈危機。 柯文哲25日在一場公開活動中自曝，他曾跟柯建銘說讓《人工生殖法》修法通過，“總預算、軍購案我來處理”，民進黨不願意。 柯文哲積極推動修正《人工生殖法》納入代理孕母條款，是為完成民眾黨“立委”陳昭姿心願。陳昭姿也獲得柯文哲豁免不分區“立委”兩年條款，不必在1月31日隨黃國昌等其它“立委”卸任。 但充滿爭議的代理孕母條款，不僅藍綠都未接受，在民眾黨內部也沒有共識，甚至並未經過嚴謹的社會溝通流程、方方面面的專家認可，所謂的“黨版”《人工生殖法》僅是柯文哲一個人說了算，黨主席黃國昌都沒有背書。 柯文哲自曝拿《人工生殖法》欲跟民進黨換總預算、軍購特別條例這事可從多個層面來看。 首先，柯P已非黨主席，他去跟民進黨“立院”總召柯建銘談條件，是何身分，有沒有經過黨的決策程序？黨主席黃國昌是否知情？如果連黃國昌都不知情，柯就用前主席身分去跟綠營談交易，民眾黨不是“亂黨”是什麼？民進黨如果同意柯文哲的交易，到時8席白委是要聽前主席還是主席的，民眾黨不就崩了？ 更何況，民眾黨目前對軍購預算的態度是，反對“政院”版，另推自己的版本，把官方版新台幣1.25兆的軍購規模，降到4000億，並強調不與大陸做軍備競賽。黃國昌訪美歸來所推的“民眾黨版軍購條例”相當於折衷版，不全盤反對，也不接受高達1.25兆元的規模。但若依柯文哲的說法，民進黨只要接受了代理孕母入法，民眾黨就可以接受1.25兆軍購條例。黃國昌應不會接受吧！否則豈不把自己的臉打得很腫？ 其次，柯文哲此舉形同“藍白合”的破口。到目前為止，藍白在總預算、軍購特別條例都是站在同一條陣線，以“立院”席次牽制綠營。國民黨事先肯定不知道柯文哲的大交易，如果民進黨點頭同意了，“藍白合”也崩了。

people: 柯文哲 柯建銘 黃國昌

title: 中評專論：柯文哲會把台灣民眾黨搞垮？


people: 柯文哲 黃國昌 柯建銘

title: 中評專論：柯文哲會把台灣民眾黨搞垮？


countries: 加拿大 美國 台灣

title: 快評：民眾黨大砍軍購預算 賴當局嚥不下


content_text: 中評社首爾1月27日電（記者 崔銀珍編譯）韓國《中央日報》1月19日刊載專欄文章，介紹了本月15日由“打造韓半島和平”基金會以“韓日首腦會談評價”為主題舉行的韓日願景論壇，與會專家的集體觀點。韓國各界日本問題專家在論壇中形成共識，認為此次首腦會談跨越了“進步韓國政府”與“保守日本政府”之間的意識形態差異，取得了具有現實意義的務實成果。與此同時，與會專家指出，在巨大的經濟性威脅成為韓日共同分母的背景下，推動面向未來的雙邊合作，解決歷史問題具有不可或缺的重要性；並應夯實即便政權更迭亦能夠持續執行的制度性基礎。以下為專欄全文： 日本奈良縣13日舉行的李在明總統與日本首相高市早苗首腦會談，是繼去年10月30日慶州會談之後的第二次。雙方在兩個多月內完成雙向互訪。兩國領導人通過此次會談，就協助確認“長生煤礦”水沒受害者身份達成一致，使歷史問題取得進展。與此相呼應，“打造韓半島和平”（理事長為中央控股會長洪錫鉉）於15日以“韓日首腦會談評價”為主題舉行韓日願景論壇。與會者一致認為，此次會談跨越“進步韓國政府”與“保守日本政府”之間的意識形態落差，取得了務實成果。 超越法律責任、以人道合作邁出歷史問題第一步 國立外交院教授曺良鉉：此次會談尤其在歷史議題“長生煤礦”問題上，高市首相首先承諾將對遺骸收集與送還作出應對，這是重要成果。日方發布的聲明中出現“歡迎韓日之間協調取得進展”的表述，這意味著日方並非以既有的法律責任層面的道歉來對待歷史問題，而是從人道合作的角度切入。李在明政府所謂務實外交，歸根結底是“兩軌外交”：即便在歷史問題上存在立場差異，也不應妨礙未來合作，不正是這一邏輯嗎？若重新提出慰安婦、強制征用等問題，韓日關係可能再度動搖，這是現實判斷；在此判斷之下，為爭取在歷史問題上的合作，韓方提供了日方可以接受的“人道合作”邏輯作為替代方案。 對於目前因基金不足而中斷的第三方代位清償，日方的誠意、尤其是財界捐助亦十分迫切；此次會談也為日本政府在國內營造使本國企業能夠採取行動的環境作了鋪墊。與此同時，韓國作為與日本開展高層次經濟合作的夥伴，其意義也進一步得到鞏固，這是此次會談的最大要點。李總統正式表明加入《全面與進步跨太平洋夥伴關係協定》（CPTPP）的意向，也應被評價為對福島產食品進口問題採取正面突破的意志。此外，韓國在中日矛盾中堅持保持中立立場。日本強調韓美日同盟，而韓方則明確表明採取雙軌並行的對外方針。

journalist: 崔銀珍編譯

countries: 日本 韓國

taiwan-subdivisions: 太平 和平

title: 中評編譯：韓日首腦會談成果務實


people: 李國璋 柯文哲 黃國昌 柯建銘 賴清德

political-parties: 綠黨 中國國民黨 親民黨

title: 柯文哲與綠交易？李國璋：只是談判技巧


things: 經濟 人權

title: 馬準威：和平委員會將削弱聯合國安理會影響


countries: 韓國 日本

taiwan-subdivisions: 和平 太平

title: 中評編譯：韓日首腦會談成果務實


content_text:
据荷兰广播公司NOS报道，荷兰民众对禁止未成年人使用社交媒体的支持度正持续攀升，其中尤以年轻一代——即Gen Z（16至28岁）群体的支持率增长最为显著，这一变化打破了“年轻人抵触规则”的固有认知。

上述结论来自市场研究公司Newcom开展的年度社交媒体调查，该调查覆盖了6685名具有代表性的受访者，能够较为全面地反映荷兰民众对社交媒体相关议题的态度。

调研数据同时揭示了社交媒体对荷兰民众心理健康的持续影响：在荷兰约1460万活跃社交媒体用户中，有260万人表示，使用WhatsApp、Facebook、TikTok等主流平台后自身幸福感有所降低，这一数字较去年的240万出现明显增长；与此同时，认为社交媒体的浏览、点赞、分享等行为会对心理健康构成危险的民众达到720万人，同样高于去年的690万。

受此影响，荷兰社会对严格规范乃至禁止未成年人使用社交媒体的呼声日益高涨。当前，约63%的荷兰人支持禁止16岁以下青少年使用社交媒体，相较于去年57%的支持率，增幅显著。

值得注意的是，这一支持率的增长覆盖了所有年龄段，但在Gen Z群体中表现最为突出：目前约60%的Gen Z支持该项未成年人社交媒体禁令，而去年这一比例仅为44%，一年间增幅达到16个百分点。

Newcom总监Neil van der Veer针对这一变化表示，这一趋势“突破了年轻人不喜欢规则的刻板印象”，他认为，Gen Z作为伴随社交媒体成长的一代，“拥有更丰富的使用经验，也更能清晰地认识到社交媒体背后潜藏的风险”。

受访者支持禁止未成年人使用社交媒体的主要原因集中在三个方面：一是未成年人身心发展尚未成熟，无法妥善应对社交媒体带来的各类负面影响；二是禁止使用能够有效减轻未成年人面临的在线压力，减少社交攀比、网络霸凌等问题带来的伤害；三是可以更好地保护未成年人免受平台上不当内容的侵扰，为其成长营造更安全的环境。

不过，也有部分民众对该项禁令持反对态度，他们认为，社交媒体并非全是负面影响，合理使用社交媒体也能让孩子学到一些积极的技能，例如沟通表达、信息搜集、团队协作等。

事实上，未成年人社交媒体年龄限制已成为全球范围内的关注焦点，除荷兰外，多个国家已开始采取相关举措。例如澳大利亚已从去年起正式实施规定，禁止16岁以下儿童在社交媒体平台上注册账号，若平台违反相关规定，可能会面临巨额罚款。而荷兰政府此前也曾发布相关指南，建议15岁以下儿童避免使用TikTok、Instagram等社交平台，并对不同年龄段儿童的屏幕使用时间作出明确限制，引导未成年人健康使用电子设备与社交媒体。

消息来源：NOS

本文由中荷商报整理编译，转载请注明出处！

journalist: Bing Song

title: 荷兰人对未成年人社交媒体禁令支持度上升，Z世代成支持增长主力 - 中荷商報 China Times


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荷兰皇家航空公司（KLM）宣布，自2026年1月22日起，将在其欧洲航线上逐步推出免费WiFi服务，进一步优化旅客出行体验。

大多数荷航欧洲航班将提供免费上网

作为首批在欧洲航线上为乘客提供免费WiFi的航空公司之一，荷航此次举措填补了其欧洲短途航线的服务空白。目前，阿联酋航空、卡塔尔航空等航空公司也已为乘客提供免费机上上网服务，荷航的加入进一步丰富了行业内的优质服务选择。

免费WiFi服务将分阶段在荷航欧洲机队中落地推行。截至1月22日服务启动当日，荷航已有一半的欧洲航线机队完成WiFi部署，可向乘客提供免费上网服务。荷航在官方新闻稿中明确表示：“在未来几年内，所有A321neo、Embraer 195-E2机型，以及部分B737-800机型都将全面配备WiFi设备，实现欧洲航线免费WiFi全覆盖。”

在此之前，乘客若想在荷航欧洲航班上使用互联网，需支付18欧元的费用。如今，这一收费门槛正式取消，乘客只需完成简单注册，即可免费使用机上WiFi，全程保持网络连接。

荷航称免费WiFi将提升乘客舒适度

荷航方面表示，推出免费WiFi服务的核心目的，是提升欧洲航线乘客的出行体验。不同于洲际长途航班，荷航欧洲短途航班的飞机并未配备座椅背后的娱乐屏幕，而免费WiFi恰好可以填补这一空白，为乘客提供多样化的旅途娱乐选择。乘客只需登录或注册成为荷航Flying Blue常旅客计划会员，便可在整个飞行过程中自由使用网络，包括发送电子邮件、浏览网页、聆听音乐、畅玩游戏，或是观看电影和电视剧等，让短途旅途更具趣味性。

“我们非常重视乘客的需求，而免费上网服务早已列在他们的愿望清单上。”荷航客户体验副总裁斯蒂芬妮·普策斯特（Stephanie Putzeist）表示，“通过这一举措，我们让欧洲境内的出行变得更加个性化和舒适：每个人都可以按照自己的方式安排旅程，并始终保持在线连接，无需担心与外界失联。”

值得注意的是，就在去年，荷航曾被评为欧洲第五差的航空公司，在该排名中，客户满意度是其表现最为薄弱的环节之一。此次推出免费WiFi服务，被外界视为荷航改善服务质量、提升客户满意度的重要举措。

消息来源：NOS

本文由中荷商报整理编译，转载请注明出处！

title: 急挽口碑！被评“欧洲第五差”的荷航放大招，欧洲航班WiFi免费 - 中荷商報 China Times


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最新版《亨利护照指数》（Henley Passport Index）正式揭晓！荷兰护照成功蝉联全球第四强，其公民可免签畅行185个国家和地区，轻松享受全球便捷出行福利，含金量依旧在线。

亨利护照指数 2026：全球护照含金量的权威标尺

作为全球公认的护照通行力权威参考，《亨利护照指数》由国际权威咨询机构Henley & Partners（亨利合伙人）每年定期编制，核心目的就是评选出全球护照实力TOP榜单。该排名数据覆盖面极广，基于全球199本不同护照、227个不同旅行目的地，全面精准反映各国公民的全球出行便利度。

其评估标准清晰且公正，全程依据国际航空运输协会（IATA）的独家Timatic全球签证数据库：只要护照持有人无需提前申请签证，或是可通过落地签、简易访客许可、电子旅行授权（ETA）入境的国家和地区，每个目的地均计1分。

反之，若入境某国需提前办理签证，或出发前必须获得该国政府专门批准，则该目的地不计分。这种量化评估方式，让榜单的客观性、公正性得到充分保障，也成为全球各国衡量自身护照含金量的核心参考依据。

值得一提的是，2026年1月13日发布的这份榜单，恰逢该指数发布二十周年。榜单显示，新加坡护照凭借绝对优势蝉联全球榜首，日本、韩国护照并列第二，亚洲国家直接包揽前三名，尽显亚洲在全球签证互惠、国际通行便利化领域的领先地位。

具体来看，新加坡公民可免签进入192个国家和地区，连续多年稳坐榜首宝座；日本、韩国公民则可免签畅行188个国家和地区，与新加坡的差距不大，实力同样强劲。

荷兰护照稳居全球第四！10国欧洲梯队并肩发力

回顾2025年榜单，荷兰护照已成功跻身全球第四强。而在2026年最新榜单中，荷兰护照势头稳健，继续牢牢守住第四名位置，与奥地利、比利时、芬兰、法国、德国、希腊、爱尔兰、意大利、挪威共10个欧洲国家并列，组成欧洲强国护照第一梯队，充分彰显了欧洲国家整体强劲的国际通行实力。

对于计划申请荷兰国籍的荷兰居民来说，有一个细节需要重点关注：目前荷兰护照持有人可免签进入185个国家和地区，较2025年减少了3个。不过好在，免签目的地数量的小幅缩减，并未影响其全球第四的核心排名，护照含金量依旧坚挺。

Henley & Partners相关负责人也明确表示，荷兰护照的排名长期处于稳定区间，通常在全球第三至五名之间波动，但始终稳居全球前十名。这一稳定表现，离不开荷兰稳定的政治环境、良好的外交信誉，也是其综合国力的直接体现。

2026全球护照实力TOP10完整榜单（附免签数量）

截至2026年1月，结合Henley & Partners公布的官方数据，全球护照实力排名前十名单新鲜出炉，具体如下（括号内为免签/便利入境国家和地区数量）：

1. 新加坡（192）

2. 日本、韩国（188）

3. 丹麦、卢森堡、西班牙、瑞典、瑞士（186）

4. 奥地利、比利时、芬兰、法国、德国、希腊、爱尔兰、意大利、荷兰、挪威（185）

5. 匈牙利、葡萄牙、斯洛伐克、斯洛文尼亚、阿拉伯联合酋长国（184）

6. 克罗地亚、捷克、爱沙尼亚、马耳他、新西兰、波兰（183）

7. 澳大利亚、拉脱维亚、列支敦士登、英国（182）

8. 加拿大、冰岛、立陶宛（181）

9. 马来西亚（180）

10. 美国（179）

除此之外，本次榜单还揭示了一个关键现状：全球流动性鸿沟正日益扩大，目前全球最强与最弱护照之间的免签目的地差距已达168个，较2006年有显著加剧。如需了解更多细节、查看完整排名，可参阅《亨利护照指数》官方报告。

消息来源：iamexpat.nl

countries: 新加坡 匈牙利 斯洛伐克 捷克 瑞士 日本 挪威 葡萄牙 瑞典 西班牙 加拿大 立陶宛

title: 2026亨利护照指数出炉！荷兰护照稳居全球第四，免签185国 - 中荷商報 China Times


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加拿大同意將中國電動車進口關稅，從 100% 大幅下調至 6.1%，換取中方降低對加拿大農產品的關稅。此舉不但引起美國總統川普的不滿，揚言 100% 關稅威脅，就連加拿大內部也不支持這ㄧ決定，安大略省省長 Doug Ford 猛烈抨擊這舉動將危害加拿大當地汽車行業。

加拿大同意將中國電動車進口關稅，從 100% 大幅下調至 6.1%，安大略省省長 Doug Ford 猛烈抨擊。

外媒報導，安大略省省長 Doug Ford 警告，此舉會對加拿大汽車產業造成嚴重打擊，並要求加拿大人完全避開中國電動車，且進行抵制。Doug Ford 認為，這項交易會危及當地就業，並破壞加拿大的製造業基礎。

他指稱，如果決定這樣做，代價就是你對街的汽車行業鄰居因此沒了工作，抵制中國電動汽車，支持在加拿大本土生產汽車的公司，這是加拿大團隊的行動，必須團結一致。

安大略省省長 Doug Ford

他表示，加拿大總理卡尼（Mark Carney）歡迎中國品牌在加拿大設廠，但他批評就算來了，零件全都來自中國，這毫無意義，必須要確保加拿大製造的汽車是由加拿大人生產的，研發、規格等環節都由加拿大完成，鋼材和鋁材也來自加拿大，就這麼簡單。

在關稅確認前，Doug Ford 就堅決反對與中國達成任何與汽車相關的貿易協議，他更直言加拿大總理卡尼（Mark Carney）沒有進行充分磋商的情況下，強行通過這項協議。

成為粉絲，看更多汽車情報->《自由時報汽車頻道粉絲團》

Toyota RAV4 第六代 兩車型交車期需等 6 個月

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輔助駕駛釀逾 300 起國道緩撞車追撞！只有一家車廠零事故

更多試駕影片

countries: 中國 加拿大 台灣 美國

taiwan-subdivisions: 大同 大內

title: 加拿大調降中國電動車關稅引發內部抨擊！地方首長怒批：危及當地就業 - 自由電子報汽車頻道


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【記者鄭禮頤報導】近日北竿地區有民眾出現疑似中風症狀情形，也再次提醒民眾留意中風相關身體警訊。隨著近期天氣變化明顯，氣溫下降或冷熱交替，可能影響血壓與血管狀態，進而增加中風發生風險，民眾應多加留意自身健康狀況，及早辨識異常徵象。

依據衛生福利部最新公布的國人死因統計資料顯示，腦血管疾病長期位居十大死因前列，每年造成上萬人死亡，仍是國內不可忽視的健康問題。中風除具有一定死亡風險外，部分患者即使經治療存活，仍可能留下肢體無力、語言障礙或行動不便等後遺症，對日常生活造成影響。

衛生單位指出，民眾可透過「FAST」原則初步辨識中風徵兆，包括觀察臉部是否歪斜（Face）、手臂是否出現單側無力（Arm）、說話是否含糊不清（Speech），只要出現其中任一症狀，應立即就醫，並清楚記下發作時間（Time），以利後續醫療判斷。

此外，冷氣團影響期間，低溫環境下血壓較易上升，具有高血壓、糖尿病、心臟病或高血脂等心血管疾病風險者，應注意保暖，避免清晨或低溫時段外出活動，並留意頭暈、胸悶、肢體麻木等不適情形。若出現異常警訊，應儘速就醫檢查，以降低中風及相關心血管疾病發生風險。

journalist: 記者鄭禮頤報導

title: 掌握「FAST」原則辨識中風徵兆 把握黃金時間盡速就醫 - 馬祖日報


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【記者馮紹夫報導】為因應馬祖小三通航線春節連續假期旅運需求，連江縣交通旅遊局協調航商依實際交通需求規劃加班，目前暫定春節前、收假前黃岐每天增加一班，實際班表後續經審核後公告。

農曆春節連續假期即將到來，馬祖民眾赴陸旅遊、過節人數激增，船班需求迫切，目前春節連假前段（2月14日、15日、17日、18日）南竿往黃岐訂位客滿，以及收假前2月19日、20日、21日、22日、23日黃岐往南竿回程都訂位客滿。

琅岐航線同樣訂位熱烈，收假前都是訂位客滿。為了滿足小三通往返旅運需求，交旅局已經協調航商於放假前、收假前安排加班船，待船班確認後即公告班表。

journalist: 記者馮紹夫報導

taiwan-subdivisions: 南竿 連江縣

title: 春節小三通訂位客滿 交旅局規劃加班船 - 馬祖日報


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【記者馮紹夫報導】國內線航線營運成本持續上漲，民航局證實收到航空業者票價調漲送件。若國內機票上漲勢必衝擊地方旅遊產業，並增加民眾出行成本，立委陳雪生獲知後表示，近期將邀集民航局、航空業者說明票價調漲機制。

據媒體報導，現行國內線票價機制是民航局於民國88年11月，依航空公司提報的14項成本，訂定各航線票價上下限，由業者在區間內自行訂價，103年僅針對燃油成本改採油價公式浮動調整。

立榮、華信航空指出，國內線機票票價制度長年未全面檢討，以人事成本上升、新機引進與維修支出增加、營運壓力持續加重為由，向民航局送交票價調整申請。

若按照華信航空的建議票價調漲一成，則每位遊客往返馬祖交通成本將再增加400多元，對馬祖旅遊競爭力造成衝擊，旅遊業者也擔心影響遊客來馬意願。立委陳雪生表示，將盡快邀請民航局、華信、立榮說明票價調漲機制。

title: 國內航空票價喊漲 民航局證實收到業者送件 - 馬祖日報


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【本報訊】為表達對戍守金門、馬祖、東引、烏坵、南沙群島及東沙群島等地區國軍將士的崇高敬意，中華郵政公司自115年1月27日起至2月4日止，舉辦春節勞軍包裹優惠活動，郵資按8折優待，歡迎多加利用。

中華郵政公司表示，凡在前述期間寄往上述地區的國軍將士衣服、日用品及不易腐壞食品等包裹，除報值費等特種資費外，其餘郵資按8折優待，但以便利箱／袋、i郵箱取件、自郵領件、存局候領及單點多件等方式交寄者，則不再享優惠折扣。

為維護包裹安全，中華郵政公司籲請民眾交寄時，儘量利用郵政紙箱或自備紙箱妥為封裝，其堅韌程度安全無虞者方可交寄。包裹封面請用不褪色簽字筆寫明收件人服務地區之特種信箱號碼 (勿書寫部隊名稱或番號)、郵遞區號及收件人姓名，如屬食品包裹，並請在封面註明「食品」字樣，以便郵局特別留意處理。

taiwan-subdivisions: 東沙 金門 東引 烏坵 南沙

title: 向外島國軍致敬 春節勞軍包裹郵資8折 - 馬祖日報


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【本報訊】農曆春節將至，為感謝第一線海巡及岸巡官兵長年守護馬祖海域安全的辛勞付出，縣長王忠銘昨（26）日率領財稅局長陳歲金及縣府同仁，前往海巡署艦隊分署第十海巡隊及海巡署金馬澎分署第一○岸巡隊駐地慰問，致贈春節水果禮盒，向堅守崗位的官兵表達誠摯的祝福與敬意，並提前祝賀新春平安順遂。

在慰問過程中，王忠銘關心大家的生活狀況與勤務情形，並對同仁們不分晝夜、無懼風雨，長期堅守海岸與海域第一線，維護馬祖周邊安全的努力，表達高度肯定與感謝。他表示，馬祖地處離島，海域遼闊，海巡與岸巡人員肩負的責任格外重大，無論是巡防執法、查緝非法入侵、打擊走私，或是協助處理海上救援與緊急事故，都是守護地方安全不可或缺的重要力量。

縣府指出，海巡及岸巡同仁長期站在「保境安民」最前線，默默付出專業與心力，為鄉親打造安全、穩定的生活環境，是馬祖最堅實的後盾。尤其在節慶期間，官兵仍需輪值執勤，犧牲與家人團聚的時光，更顯其責任感與使命感，令人敬佩。

王忠銘也特別提到，春節是家人團圓的重要時刻，縣府藉由致贈象徵平安與祝福的水果禮盒，傳達對官兵的關懷與支持，盼讓大家在忙碌的勤務中，仍能感受到來自地方政府與鄉親的溫暖心意。縣長最後祝福所有海巡及岸巡同仁新春快樂、身體健康、勤務平安，並期盼未來持續攜手合作，共同守護馬祖海域與家園安全。

title: 農曆春節近 縣長王忠銘慰勉海岸巡辛勞 - 馬祖日報


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南竿鄉介壽村曹嬌燕女士歡慶94歲大壽，縣長王忠銘等人登門祝壽，同時關心生活近況，祝福她身體健康、福壽綿長。（圖／文：王致潔）

【記者王致潔報導】南竿鄉介壽村曹嬌燕女士歡慶94歲大壽，縣長王忠銘昨（26）日上午9時偕同民社處長曾玉花、南竿鄉長林志東等人親自登門祝壽，關心生活近況，為壽星戴上金戒指、致贈生日禮金，送上溫暖祝福。曹嬌燕依嬤看見大家到訪，開心地握著縣長的手寒暄，其子陳有春、女兒陳麗珠及侄輩也特地返家齊聚，屋內一片其樂融融。

曹嬌燕依嬤教子有方，子女在社會各界皆頗有成就，其子陳有春曾任職於地檢署法警，長期致力守護司法秩序；女兒陳麗珠則任仁愛國小教導主任，深耕在地教育。

雖已年逾九旬，依嬤依然談吐流暢、行走自如。談起長壽祕訣，陳有春分享，媽媽年輕時就下田務農，種了一輩子的田，直到現在仍每天去山隴蔬菜公園種菜，這份「活到老、動到老」的勞動習慣，讓她身體較同齡人更為強健、心情也格外開朗。陳麗珠笑說：「媽媽種菜種得很開心，而且特別樂於分享，常常把剛採收的菜揀好分送給鄰里親友。」她更打趣表示，媽媽很有公關天分，之前去看醫生時，還不忘帶上一包自種蔬菜送給醫師，讓在場眾人不禁豎起大拇指，紛紛稱讚依嬤的熱情大方。

此外，由於依嬤住家鄰近縣府，地緣之便讓她常與往來的縣府人員及鄉親互動。陳麗珠說，許多人經過時都會駐足與媽媽寒暄，彼此分享生活點滴，讓媽媽每天都有愉快心情。這種互相關照、沒有距離的鄰里情感，體現了馬祖特有的人情味與溫暖。

縣長王忠銘感佩曹嬌燕依嬤勤奮開朗的生活態度，讚許她至今仍能下田耕作、健康生活，且子女優秀孝順，是馬祖長壽之島的最佳見證。

taiwan-subdivisions: 南竿 仁愛

title: 介壽村曹嬌燕94歲生日 勤奮開朗 王忠銘讚許長壽之島最佳見證 - 馬祖日報


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【本報訊】華信航空機隊持續擴大更新，預計2026年上半年完成現階段ATR 2.0機隊引進計畫，今年2、3月將再從法國引進兩架ATR新機，預計3月底13架飛機全數到齊，並適時評估高雄-馬祖航線增至每週2班。

華信航空總經理莊明哲表示，高雄-馬祖航線自去年6月以每週一班開航後，旅遊旺季及暑假期間，平均載客率約9成左右；進入冬季市場淡季，載客率約降至5~6成左右。考量台灣本島南部往返馬祖基本旅運需求，華信航空今年3月底第13架ATR航機引進後，將適時評估高雄-馬祖航線增至每週2班。

華信航空董事長陳大鈞表示，華信航空深耕國內離島航線，目前從台北、台中、高雄出發的國內及離島航線總共達11條。展望2026年，因應市場需求及機隊規模，華信航空將優先以旺季加密本島往返澎湖、金門離島班次服務，並視情況搭配集團窄體機支援運能，提供離島居民及旅客更完整便利的航網服務，以滿足民眾返鄉、旅遊或商務需求。

華信航空表示，未來配合離島當地政府將持續關注鄉親返鄉、就醫等需求，並積極推廣國內旅遊行程，協助帶動地方觀光發展與整體經濟效益。國外旅客到台灣旅遊，亦可搭乘華信航空班機前往國內離島旅遊，行程安排更加便捷舒適。

countries: 台灣 法國

taiwan-subdivisions: 金門 高雄 澎湖

title: 3月底13架ATR航機全數到齊 華信航空：評估高馬航線增班 - 馬祖日報


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縣長王忠銘一行登門為復興村劉菊金女士賀壽。依嬤雖高齡近百仍談吐清晰，那份開朗健康的生命力，正是馬祖長壽之島的最佳見證。（圖／文：王致潔）

【記者王致潔報導】復興村劉菊金女士歡慶97歲大壽，縣長王忠銘昨（26）日上午9時許偕同民社處長曾玉花、南竿鄉長林志東等人登門祝壽，親切關心依嬤生活起居，為其戴上象徵福壽的金戒指，並致贈壽禮與公所生日禮金，祝福依嬤健康長壽。

劉菊金依嬤對此次祝壽展現高度重視，清晨即起盛裝打扮，穿上由其大姑親手縫製、質感上乘的綢緞衣裳，以最美麗的身影迎接賀壽嘉賓；臉上盈盈笑意，與髮間簪花相互輝映，現場氣氛喜慶溫馨。女兒曹木鳳分享，媽媽得知縣長將前來祝壽後，連著期待了好幾天，連精神都較平時更好。

祝壽現場，王忠銘握著依嬤的手時驚訝表示，依嬤雖已97高齡，仍血液循環良好，即使在寒冬時節，雙手依然十分溫暖。兒子曹榕瑞也表示，媽媽至今仍思緒敏銳、對答如流，可能與三餐作息規律、茹素多年有關。此外，依嬤直到兩三年前仍親手種菜，那份健康老化的樂活精神，正是馬祖長壽之島的真實例證。

劉菊金女士育有4男3女，長子曹榕瑞回憶，當年全靠母親養豬種田拉拔7個孩子長大，如今各個皆正直懂事，在各行各業發揮所長，更有5位服務於公職，其中曹榕瑞服務於機場、曹榕全服務於台電。曹榕全表示，媽媽一生雖沒有轟轟烈烈的故事，但她那50多歲便微微駝起的背影，卻無聲訴說著女性的堅韌與付出；那是用歲月與勞動撐起一個家的痕跡。

依嬤的勤勞與善良，也換來了晚年的福報。不僅媳婦將她視如親生母親般細心照顧，孫女夜間也貼心陪伴入睡，一家人情誼深厚。此次為慶祝大壽，子女們也紛紛請假返家，或自台灣專程跨海團聚，全家人齊聚一堂、談笑風生，讓屋內洋溢著其樂融融的幸福氛圍。

taiwan-subdivisions: 復興 南竿

title: 復興村劉菊金97大壽 滿心期待 盛裝打扮迎縣府祝壽團隊 - 馬祖日報


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北竿輔具服務便利站提供諮詢、試用、評估及租借服務，並可安排專業治療師到宅評估或線上申辦，方便民眾申請與使用。（圖：民社處）

【記者王致潔報導】關於近期有民眾詢問，是否能在馬祖進行輔具評估，以及應前往何處辦理。連江縣政府民社處表示，縣內已設有完整的輔具評估與服務管道，民眾可依需求就近洽詢與申請。

民社處已於114年在北竿設置「輔具服務便利站」，位於社福館三樓，提供輔具諮詢、試用與適配評估、申請協助，以及輔具租借與回收等服務。

民社處進一步指出，若所申請之輔具補助項目需檢附專業治療師評估報告，縣府也設有特約物理治療師評估服務，能依個案需求安排輔具中心或指定地點評估，提供線上或到宅評估審查，並針對輔具使用提供到宅指導，確保使用安全與適配度。

此外，縣府提供「輔具線上申辦系統」，讓設籍連江縣但居住外地的民眾也能線上完成申請，減少紙本往返與交通郵寄的不便。民眾如方便，可先提供預計申請的輔具種類及目前主要功能需求（如行走、移位、臥床或如廁需求等），以利縣府進一步確認評估方式並安排服務流程。

民眾如有相關需求，可洽詢連江縣政府民社處0836-25022分機302葉小姐，或北竿輔具便利站0836-55200陳小姐，了解更多輔具服務資訊。

taiwan-subdivisions: 連江縣 北竿

title: 輔具評估 民社處：縣內設有完整服務管道 - 馬祖日報


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連江縣紅十字會秉持人道關懷，前往連江看守所慰問受刑人，致贈禦寒物資，傳遞社會關懷與祝福。（圖：連江縣紅十字會）

【記者王致潔報導】新年伊始，連江縣紅十字會秉持人道關懷精神，由會長陳宗憑、副會長柯水旺、常務監事余盈德，以及理監事林德建、林建國等會務人員，前往連江看守所慰問探視受刑人，並致贈毛帽、手套、睡袋、雙人棉被及毛毯等生活物資，以表達新年的關懷與祝福。

會長陳宗憑在慰問過程中，與受刑人分享人生體悟。他指出，一般人往往將幸福理解為「有」－有車、有房、有權、有錢，但真正的幸福應為「無」－無病、無災、無憂、無慮。他勉勵受刑人安心、寬心，善用在所時間多學習、自我沉澱，並期盼大家早日重返家庭，與親人團聚。

此次慰問活動，不僅傳遞了紅十字會的人道精神，也讓受刑人在新年伊始感受到社會的關懷與溫暖。

title: 連江縣紅會探視受刑人 傳遞社會關懷與祝福 - 馬祖日報


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【福州晚報訊】走進福州新區（長樂區）羅聯鄉馬厝村，就能看見道路兩旁綿延的茉莉花田。不遠處有幾座極具現代感的銀白色「星宿空間」智慧小屋，與村中那座歷經近400年、青磚黛瓦的馬氏宗祠遙相呼應。數位智慧的靈動與歷史文化的厚重在此交融，構成一幅鄉村振興的生動畫面。

塑宜居之形 多元投入賦能鄉村煥新

「以前村裡晚上黑燈瞎火，現在公園、步道、體育館都亮堂堂的，熱鬧得很！」在由橋下空間改造而成的公園裡，馬厝村村民馬老伯帶著孫子悠閒散步，滿面笑容。

馬厝村的蝶變，始於系統規劃與持續投入。面對基礎設施薄弱的狀況，該村探索「區級配套+鎮村自籌+專案補助」多元籌資模式。自2021年以來，村里累計規劃投入1,800萬元推動系列民生計畫。其中，2021年都市化計畫、2023年鄉村振興專案經費計畫已完工驗收，2024年省級示範創建村計畫正穩步推進。

如今，橋下公園、標準化體育館、後斗山公園、沉浸式步道相繼建成；「一米菜園」等項目正將閒置地塊變為生態田園。村莊實現了從單一整治到「休閒+健身+生態」綜合配套的升級。

2023年，馬厝村獲評福州市鄉村振興四星級村；2024年，馬厝村躋身省級鄉村振興示範創建村行列。村莊實踐綠色發展理念，相繼入選福建省「森林村莊」和高級版「綠盈鄉村」。

強產業之基 雙輪驅動促進產業發展

產業興旺是鄉村振興的核心。馬厝村建構了傳統產業升級與新興業態導入的雙輪驅動格局。

茉莉花是馬厝村最鮮明的產業印記。村里大力發展茉莉花特色農業，推動土地流轉，建成百畝種植基地，並於2023年獲評省級「一村一品」（茉莉花）示範村。村裡註冊了「東來茉莉花」商標，成立農民專業合作社，興建集加工、觀光於一體的廠房。 「我們要讓茉莉花香變成'錢景'，把農產品升級為旅遊商品。」合作社負責人說。

「星宿空間」智慧小屋則代表著對前沿模式的探索。馬厝村與福建航力公司合作，引進戶外移動式自助共享茶室、觀景客房等產品，裡面智慧家居一應俱全，輕觸遙控，屋頂天窗緩緩打開，夜幕下可臥看星空。

「我們在馬厝村投放了10多間智慧小屋作為體驗基地。」企業負責人介紹，該專案應用物聯網、人工智慧等技術，形成了全產業鏈閉環，為鄉村引入了「建築IP+」的新文旅業態。

鑄文化之魂

讓「狀元故裡」在當代閃光

馬厝村擁有深厚的歷史文化底蘊。馬厝村馬氏祖上馬鐸，是明朝永樂年間狀元。從馬厝村走出去的馬思理，官至禮部尚書，有「親民尚書」的稱號，他一生勤政廉潔、剛正不阿、愛民如子，為後世楷模。

村中馬氏宗祠建於明崇禎七年（1634），佔地360平方米，歷經近400年風雨保存完好。祠內高懸的「狀元及第代駕郊天」「同科三進士」等匾額，訴說著家族榮光。

村中珍存「馬厝四寶」││《馬鐸代駕郊天圖》、假山太湖石、馬思理寶亭、明成化窯瓷瓶。其中，《馬鐸代駕郊天圖》高3米，畫中50多位人物情態各異，採用瀝粉貼金技法的祥雲至今閃耀。每年正月十五「排暝」祭祖，此圖與雕刻精湛的馬思理寶亭等一同展出。

目前，馬厝村正計畫打造主題研發路線，運用新媒體講好馬厝故事，讓歷史文化底蘊轉化為發展「軟實力」。

聚人才之力

引育並重夯實智力支撐

人才是鄉村振興的活力之源。馬厝村，馬建開介紹，馬厝村實施「引育並重」策略，破解人才瓶頸。

一方面，用鄉情感召喚和政策吸引在外人才返鄉。另一方面，注重培育本土「領頭雁」。針對種植能手、經營骨幹進行「訂單式」培訓，並選拔優秀分子進入村莊或集體經濟組織，發揮帶動作用。村莊也完善人才服務與激勵機制，讓人才在這裡有平台、有收益、歸屬感。

從人居改善到產業融合，從文化喚醒到人才匯聚，馬厝村的振興之路，是一次多維度協同並進的系統實踐。它詮釋了一個村莊如何立足自身，將傳統與現代融合，走出永續發展的特色之路。

交通小貼士

從福州市區出發，沿福州繞城高速或沈海高速行駛，之後轉省道203線至羅聯鄉，從鄉道至馬厝村，全程約40分鐘。

title: 茉莉花田織錦繡「星宿」小屋映古祠／長樂馬厝村：多維協同促振興 - 馬祖日報


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北市副市長林奕華與連江縣副縣長陳冠人等代表，共同簽署「推動智慧學習與科技輔助教學合作備忘錄」，攜手推動智慧教育。（圖：縣府教育處）

【本報訊】臺北市政府昨（26）日於市府大樓召開「酷AI教學手冊發布暨跨縣市合作記者會」，由臺北市副市長林奕華與連江縣副縣長陳冠人，聯同澎湖縣、雲林縣代表共同簽署「推動智慧學習與科技輔助教學合作備忘錄」。

陳冠人於致詞時表示，馬祖與臺北市的教育情誼自民國98年起便深深扎根，透過資源共享，不僅開闊了學子視野，更構築了多元教育藍圖；他特別引用「跟著台北走，幸福會一直有」一語，感謝臺北市展現首都格局，長期無條件分享資訊教材與酷課雲資源，協助離島師生跨越海峽限制、縮短數位落差，落實「只有網路、沒有距離」的教育理想。

本次合作的核心在於全面引進「酷AI學習系統」，其強大功能涵蓋AI助教與小幫手、AI自動批改、智慧出題、語音聽力練習及學習診斷分析等進階工具。教育處處長王禮民指出，未來將加快平臺帳號介接進度，確保本縣師生能順暢使用酷AI各項功能。陳冠人亦強調，這套系統對離島意義非凡，尤其是AI語音練習能顯著輔助英語教學，而大數據驅動的學習診斷則能實現因材施教，幫助師生精確定位學習程度，提升教學成效。

在此合作備忘錄的架構下，未來雙方將秉持資源共享互惠原則，由臺北市維持系統運作並提供API技術支援與統計數據，本縣則將推廣各校師生利用「酷AI」發展出的優質教材回饋予北市。透過兩縣市的緊密協作，共同運用頂尖科技打破城鄉隔閡，為離島學子開創智慧教育的全新未來。

taiwan-subdivisions: 連江縣 臺北市 雲林縣 澎湖縣

title: 智慧教育 臺北市、連江縣簽署科技輔助教學合作備忘錄 - 馬祖日報


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【記者鄭禮頤報導】春季腳步逐漸靠近，周邊環境也悄悄出現季節轉換的跡象。一株櫻花近日提早綻放，枝頭上浮現桃紅色的花朵，在多數花況尚未全面展開前率先現身，為今年的春季景觀揭開序幕，也讓沿線景觀多了一分明亮的變化。

這株櫻花的花朵自然垂掛在樹枝上，目前開花數量雖然不多，但在周邊綠意襯托下格外醒目，為附近景觀增添一處視覺亮點，也使春天逐漸到來的氣息更加明顯，呈現出季節轉換的細微變化。

懷恩道場前方道路一帶向來是北竿春季重要的賞櫻地點之一，櫻花多沿道路周邊分布，花季期間常形成具有季節感的景觀路段。這株率先綻放的櫻花，也被視為今年櫻花季的「前哨」，為後續春季花況揭開序幕。

隨著季節推進，部分櫻花提早綻放，讓周邊景觀逐漸浮現淡淡的春天氣息，也為後續的季節變化先暖身。

title: 北竿懷恩道場櫻花搶先綻放 春意初現 - 馬祖日報


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配合新年到來，橋仔社區發展協會辦理永生花手作活動，參與者動手完成充滿年節氣息的作品。（圖／文：鄭禮頤）

【記者鄭禮頤報導】橋仔社區發展協會25日舉辦「永生花手作活動」，配合新年到來，邀請喜愛花藝的鄉親透過手作體驗，親手製作充滿年節氛圍的永生花作品，為社區提前營造喜氣洋洋的新春氣息。活動於橋仔老人活動中心舉行，吸引不少鄉親到場參與。

活動中，在講師萬啟秀引導下，學員依序進行花材配置與組合，完成各具特色的永生花作品。過程中，大家專注投入創作，並不時交流製作技巧與搭配想法，現場氣氛輕鬆溫馨，也讓活動中心洋溢著濃厚的年節氛圍。

橋仔社區發展協會表示，此次活動以迎接新年為主題，透過課程安排與講師引導，帶領參與者投入花藝創作，完成象徵祝福與喜氣的作品，為新的一年增添節慶儀式感；未來也將持續規劃相關活動。

title: 喜氣洋洋 橋仔社協「永生花手作」迎新年 - 馬祖日報


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台美關稅底定，雖然關稅稅率降至百分之十五且不疊加，但台灣承諾投資美國，各界憂心不利台灣未來發展。台經院院長張建一指出，整體談判結果「談得不錯」，但他也提醒，真正的挑戰仍在後續第二階段，未來談判焦點將集中在農產品、汽車等重點市場開放項目，以及立法院審議等政治層面變數，將成為能否順利推進的關鍵。

六大財經部會首長昨赴立法院財委會報告台美關稅貿易協議內容對國家整體影響，經濟部次長何晉滄指出，過去台美之間未簽署貿易協定，台灣工業產品出口美國關稅稅率相較日本、南韓高，而台美關稅底定後，稅率表面上與日韓齊平，但實際上相對於過往出口的高關稅，台灣業者反而獲得相對優勢。

對於政府承諾以信用保證機制支撐金融機構提供最高兩千五百億美元授信，國發會副主委高仙桂指出，保證專款將落在六十至一百億美元，而資金分五期，第一期資金今年會到位，約為台幣三百至四百億元。

國民黨立委林德幅憂心，台灣承諾投資美國，大量資金出走，不利台灣未來發展。高仙桂則說，企業自主投資是應客戶要求，且是分年逐步推動，台積電百分之七十五營收來自北美客戶，且此次是雙向投資，美國會投資台灣人工智慧（ＡＩ）、半導體、五大信賴產業等，有助台美戰略夥伴關係的鞏固。

台美關稅談判第一階段落幕。台經院院長張建一指出，對於兩千五百億美元的企業自主投資，他認為相關金額並非額外新增壓力，單是評估台積電在美國的長期投資布局，加上中油參與阿拉斯加天然氣相關投資，合計金額已接近門檻，另有其他企業既有或規畫中的自主投資挹注，不致排擠國內投資動能。

不過，張建一也提醒，真正具挑戰性的將是第二階段對等貿易談判。

他說，未來談判焦點將集中在市場開放項目，包括農產品、汽車及相關零組件等，關鍵在於進口產品關稅水準的調整，這將直接影響國內產業競爭結構。如汽車關稅若下調，雖有助消費者端價格下降，但對國產汽車業勢必帶來壓力，政府須同步評估是否調整進口零組件關稅，協助業者降低成本、維持競爭力。

除產業層面外，第二階段談判更大的變數來自政治面。張建一表示，相關協議勢必要送交立法院審議，在野黨態度、產業反彈及社會共識，皆可能影響談判進度與落實時程，若立法院未能通過協議，恐對台美經貿互信造成衝擊，不排除引發後續變數。

journalist: 聯合報／ 記者林海、洪安怡／台北報導

countries: 美國 台灣 日本

title: 二階關稅談判 台經院：農產、汽車最挑戰


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美國知名極限攀岩選手艾力克斯．霍諾德（Alex Honnold）昨（25）日上午徒手攀登台北101，自9時12分開始攀爬，於10時43分順利登頂，全程僅耗時約91分鐘，遠超外界原先預估的4小時，引發全球關注。霍諾德攀爬過程全程直播，不僅展現霍諾德驚人的體能與技巧，也吸引台北101各樓層民眾在窗邊揮手加油，緊張刺激又充滿互動感。網友也好奇，這一爬最大品牌受益者是誰？

除了極限挑戰本身，直播畫面中出現的各種元素也成為網友討論焦點。有網友在PTT發文指出，攀爬過程中畫面不斷出現「台北市」、「台北101」，以及大樓外牆與室內的品牌廣告，霍諾德身上穿著的衣服、褲子、鞋子與攀岩裝備也相當醒目，讓他忍不住好奇直問：「這波將近兩小時的直播，賺最大的是誰？」

貼文曝光後引發熱烈回應，不少網友點名Netflix（網飛）因直播與轉播效益受益最大，也有人認為北面（The North Face）、La Sportiva攀岩鞋、Black Diamond粉袋等專業戶外品牌獲得高度曝光，另有網友提到台北101外牆可見的南山人壽與多項保健食品品牌，直言「收視高點曝光效果驚人」。

不過，討論中最具話題性的並非大型企業，而是攀爬途中意外入鏡、被民眾擺放在窗邊替霍諾德加油的寶可夢角色「可達鴨」。呆萌造型與高風險攀爬畫面形成強烈對比，讓不少網友直呼「可達鴨大獲全勝」，成為這場極限挑戰直播中，意外搶下最多討論度的存在。

references: 網友 PTT

title: 霍諾德徒手征服台北101…品牌曝光誰賺最大？網友一致喊：它完勝


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在韓流、韓劇等流行偶像和社群網紅影響下，愈來愈多青少年追求「完美外型」，一項「兒少化妝品使用行為」網路調查發現，超過一成的受訪者在七歲前就使用過化妝品、近七成受訪青少年使用過化妝品，其中，高中職學生近八成，就連國小學生也近五成，化妝文化已成眾多兒少的日常。

不過，食藥署最新一波化妝品抽驗發現，廿項化妝品爆出含工業用色素「蘇丹紅」，韓國美白霜更檢出含有禁止添加的汞成分。兒少接觸與使用化妝品的情況普遍，且可能購買廉價、成分不明的化妝品，兒少團體昨天呼籲，衛福部盡快制定「兒少化妝品友善選購指引」，讓青少年與一般消費者清楚美妝產品含有哪些成分，進而選擇適合自己的化妝品、保養品。

台灣桃湛公民培⼒協會、全國中學學⽣權益研究會發布「兒少化妝品使用行為」調查報告顯示，多數兒少在八至十三歲就開始接觸化妝品，百分之十一點五受訪者七歲前就已使用化妝品；整體而言，百分之六十八受訪者曾使用化妝品，其中近半數在國小就用過化妝品，近八成高中職學生用過化妝品。

台灣桃湛公民培力協會榮譽理事長鄒新猷說，青少年觀賞網路短片，在K-POP偶像及眾多網紅等影響下，男女生嘗試美妝比率愈來愈高，學著打扮化妝，令人擔憂的是，網購發達，許多青少年跨境購買低價彩妝，因缺乏辨識能力，長期使用劣質產品，可能引發皮膚疾病，甚至讓荷爾蒙分泌異常。

調查發現，兒少對美妝資訊的主要認知來自美妝店廣告與促銷ＤＭ，占百分之六十四點一。此外，大多數兒少欠缺足夠判斷能力，僅二成自認可分辨化妝品品質，六成高中受訪者不確定產品是否適合自己膚質。

皮膚專科醫師蔡文騫說，兒童與青少年的皮膚質地較薄，易被化學物質滲透，若使用不良化妝品，容易引發刺激性或過敏性皮膚炎，加重異位性皮膚炎、氣喘等過敏疾病；再者，部分劣質產品含有塑化劑、染料或重金屬，如長期使用，恐干擾發育。

立委林月琴指出，兒童的化妝、保養品等安全標準與使用指引應比成年人更嚴格，以常見的抗痘成分「水楊酸」為例，成人適用的濃度就可能傷及兒童、青少年的皮膚。現行「供兒童使用之化妝品安全指引」僅供廠商參考，並非針對家長與兒少所設計，呼籲衛福部制定友善選購指引，推廣兒少專屬的保養、化妝及清潔等基本教育課程。

衛福部食藥署品質監督管理組副組長陳映樺說，現有化妝品產品管理辦法中已有專供兒童使用的指引，並要求外包裝註記「兒童不得使用、成人監督使用」等字樣，讓家長判斷跟選擇；至於宣導指引，建議教育部將其融入學校教育。

journalist: 聯合報／ 記者廖靜清／台北報導

countries: 台灣 韓國 蘇丹

title: 近8成高中生、5成國小生化妝 民團籲制定選購指引


content_text:
美國極限攀岩好手艾力克斯霍諾德（Alex Honnold）成功完成徒手攀爬台北101挑戰，而且透過Netflix直播讓全球看見台灣，台北101董事長賈永婕在21日就帶領著美國 Netflix 團隊與英國極限運動拍攝製作團隊，依照台灣的習俗舉行祈福儀式，祈求活動一切順利，而Netflix也在直播當天播出片段，不過網友看一畫面都笑翻。

有網友在Threads上分享拍下的畫面，只見賈永婕手捧著一顆鳳梨正在閉眼祈求，而站在她一旁的霍諾德則一臉疑惑的看著，原PO寫道「Oh Taiwanese, weird but cute 這麼莊嚴地舉著一顆大鳳梨祈福，讓老美全部安靜嚴肅。我們根本是海綿寶寶那一族。」

其他網友則爆笑留言表示「Alex表情有點疑惑但超級可愛」、「頂尖科技+傳統信仰並存，就是台灣最強大的力量」、「我相信現場一定有綠色乖乖，但是我無法證實」、「我跟我澳洲男友一起看，他也是疑惑問我 is that a pineapple? What does it mean?（那是鳳梨嗎？這有什麼含義？）」、「Alex的臉：不理解，但謝謝」。

當然也有網友幫忙解釋，貼出拍到供桌上還有其他水果及兩箱綠色乖乖零食「拜蘋果平平安安、橘子是吉祥如意，鳳梨是求好運到來」、「祈求在地神靈庇祐是很重要的，我很喜歡這次Netflix的安排，在過程中介紹了很多台灣文化。」

countries: 美國 英國 台灣 澳洲

title: 賈永婕「捧鳳梨祈福」霍諾德滿臉疑惑畫面瘋傳 網笑：一定有綠色乖乖


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美國自由攀岩好手艾力克斯霍諾德（Alex Honnold）昨日再創歷史，以Free Solo（無繩索、無保護）徒手攀登方式，僅費時91分鐘就站上508公尺的台北101最高點。而事前，關於台北101決定開放攀登一事，引發許多正反討論聲音。台北101董事長賈永婕在社群回應大家最想知道的一件事，如果最壞、最糟糕的事情如果真的發生了，怎麼辦？她回答「萬一真的發生事情，就是我來扛」。

如果Alex Honnold攀爬過程中，最壞、最糟糕的事情如果真的發生了，怎麼辦？賈永婕說，她當然有想過這件事，萬一真的發生事情，就是她來扛。她一定會面對。

她說，因為她有非常強大的中心思想，就是「理念」。她認為「我做的是對的事情、對的決定。就算發生意外，我也沒有做錯事。意外，不等於錯誤。挑戰可能會失敗，那就因為這樣不挑戰了嗎？我當然也可以選擇什麼都不做，不犯錯，當一個傳統官派、保守型的董事長。不做最簡單，拒絕最輕鬆。但我沒有。因為我知道，這對台灣而言是一個千載難逢的好機會。就算我被罵到翻，就算最後我必須滾蛋，我也要拚這一次」。

賈永婕也寫下雙方洽談這次跨國合作的時間點，時間為2024年9月底。「那時候我剛上任還不到一個月，屁股都還沒坐熱，就收到Alex的來信。「我立刻跟團隊說：這個一定要做」。她坦言，那時候她收到很多難聽的聲音，且有不少人私下操作、想拉她下來，各種髒水一直潑，她全部都記得清清楚楚。同年11月中，賈永婕跑完芝加哥馬拉松、回到台灣之後，執行製作人James飛來台灣，正式跟101提案。

接下來的事情，就是一連串不可能的任務。在這個過程中有沒有後悔答應要做這件事？賈永婕寫下「我的答案是：我沒有一秒鐘、一個念頭是後悔的。因為我就是有堅若磐石的信念。我相信，台灣，值得這一次拼搏」。

title: 賈永婕談為何讓霍諾德挑戰台北101 她寫下：「最壞情況我來扛」


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國防部新設最高層級「聯合火力協調中心」，傳出台美軍方已實施多次聯合幕僚作業，國防部長顧立雄昨天前往立院報告並備詢，會前受訪時證實此事。但他強調，所謂「監軍」之說絕非事實。

國防部近期新設立「聯合火力協調中心」。顧立雄說，台灣與美國軍事交流，本來就有制度化的機制，深化各領域合作，但細節不便透露。他強調，我方既有的相關指揮機制都存在，沒有什麼「監軍」說法。

journalist: 聯合報／ 記者程嘉文、洪哲政／台北報導

title: 顧立雄：聯合火力協調中心 美軍非監軍


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對獎囉！全家便利商店稍早也發出114年11～12月期統一發票大獎清單，全台一口氣誕生9位中獎幸運兒，包括台北、新北、新竹、雲林、高雄、屏東通通都有好運降臨，這2個月有在全家消費的民眾快拿出發票仔細對獎，別讓財神爺擦身而過。

本期特別獎1,000萬元共開出2組，分別落在淡水新江店與高雄西灣店。其中一名幸運兒只花49元購買「媽媽煮藝」黃金霸王腿條，就直接抱回千萬獎金；另一位則以不到200元購入夯番薯、金飯糰系列麻油雞飯糰、經典原味熱狗等熟食，同樣晉升千萬富翁。

特獎200萬元本期也開出2組，中獎門市為新竹鐵支店及屏東南州庄頭店，兩位得主皆以不到300元的日常消費，就將200萬大獎帶回家。頭獎20萬元則有5位消費者幸運中獎，開出店舖包含屏東昌賢店、新北三重興富店、中和雙捷店、湖捷店及雲林斗六榮大店。其中最低僅花69元購買人氣鮮食「椒麻香蔥雞涼拌麵」就中獎；其他中獎品項還包括129元的Let's Café熱拿鐵、鮪魚起司溏心蛋三明治等，日常補充能量也能補進荷包。

為鼓勵使用電子發票載具，財政部設有雲端發票專屬百萬元獎，本期全家共開出5組，中獎門市分別為五股蓬萊店、土城欣隆店、平鎮台達店、台南新宅店及三重中央店。中獎商品從茶葉蛋、FMC古早味紅茶、麻油雞飯糰到高麗菜都有，最低僅花9元就幸運抱走100萬。呼籲民眾趕快整理錢包裡的發票，若中獎也要記得盡速辦理兌領，別讓好運溜走。

全家便利商店本期114年11～12月中獎發票清單一次看。圖／全家便利商店提供

taiwan-subdivisions: 中和 五股 斗六 三重 南州 淡水 雲林 平鎮 新北 高雄 屏東 新竹 土城

title: 花49元買鮮食中千萬！全家統一發票9位大獎幸運兒消費清單一次看