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SHORT SHOWERS: Two weather fronts are expected to pass over Taiwan this week and next week, bringing short localized showers or storms, the CWA said

A frontal weather system is forecast to pass through Taiwan today, bringing scattered showers or thunderstorms to northern and eastern areas, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.

CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said yesterday that localized brief showers or thunderstorms are forecast today for northern Taiwan and in eastern areas.

The rain is expected to ease after nightfall, he added.

A graphic shows expected rainfall around Taiwan from today until Wednesday. Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration

Tomorrow, there are expected to be scattered short-term showers in Hualien and Taitung counties as well as mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan, while other regions could see isolated rainfall before turning partly cloudy or sunny, Huang said.

A similar weather pattern is expected from Monday to Wednesday, with easterly winds bringing scattered showers to Hualien and Taitung on Monday and Tuesday, while other regions remain mostly cloudy to sunny.

Another weather front is forecast to approach from Thursday next week to Friday, Huang said, adding that it could bring an increased chance of short-term showers or thunderstorms across central and northern Taiwan, with other areas likely to see scattered rainfall.

Temperature highs are expected to reach 24 to 26°C in northern Taiwan, Yilan and Hualien on Saturday, with lows of 19 to 21°C.

Central and southern regions, as well as Taitung, are forecast to see highs of 28 to 31°C and lows of 21 to 24°C, Huang said, adding that the weather could turn warmer from Monday, with highs of around 30°C and lows of 21 to 23°C.

title: Weather system to bring showers today: CWA


content_text:
Taiwanese researchers have unlocked a key mechanism of a so-called “superbug” in a breakthrough that could lead to improved vaccines and treatment strategies to counter the pathogen.

National Sun Yat-sen University associate professor of marine biotechnology Lee I-ming (李益銘) and Academia Sinica Institute of Biological Chemistry adjunct research fellow Wu Shih-hsiung (吳世雄) headed the team that cracked a crucial molecule in Acinetobacter baumannii, the university said in a news release on Thursday.

The highly drug-resistant germ has a mortality rate of between 30 percent and 70 percent in patients and is listed by the WHO as a “top priority pathogen” that urgently requires new treatment options, the university said.

National Sun Yat-sen University associate professor of marine biotechnology Lee I-ming holds a sample of bacterial outer membrane polysaccharides extracted for analysis in an undated photograph. Photo: Hsu Li-chuan, Taipei Times

The bacterium has an exopolysaccharide coating that acts as a form of armor, protecting the germ from antibiotics and detection by the human immune system, while triggering severe inflammatory responses that could lead to pneumonia or sepsis, it said.

Using a phage, a virus that targets bacteria, the team cracked the germ’s shell to find fragments composed of O-acetylated pentasaccharide, the “chemical switch” that causes inflammation, the university said.

The acetylation marks are catalysts that activate the toll-like receptor 4 in immune cells, which governs inflammation, it said.

The research has significant implications, as finding a method to eliminate the markers would counter harmful inflammatory responses, it said.

The discovery could be utilized to develop vaccines that target specific acetylation sites instead of the whole exopolysaccharide coating, allowing jabs with superior therapeutic effectiveness and fewer side-effects than conventional designs, the news release cited Lee as saying.

The research team also proposes an alternative medical strategy of using phage-derived enzymes to pry gaps in the bacterium’s exopolysaccharide armor, rendering the pathogen vulnerable to drugs and natural immune responses, the university said.

title: Researchers make breakthrough with ‘superbug’ pathogen


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A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported.

After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said.

Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

The Ikazuchi, a Murasame-class destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: screen grab from the Seaforces.org Web site

Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan Strait.

Since Takaichi’s remarks about a “Taiwan contingency” in November last year triggered a backlash from China, Japan has sought to engage in dialogue and improve relations with Beijing, but the latest transit also signals that Japan remains firmly committed to upholding the principle of “freedom of navigation” under international law, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.

The previous three transits took place roughly every few months, whereas this time there was a gap of about 10 months. The delay is attributed to China’s international “public opinion campaign” following Takaichi’s remarks in the Diet, in which Beijing criticized the statement as implying that Japan would intervene militarily in a Taiwan contingency.

In response, Japan conducted a careful assessment to avoid its actions being exploited, the Japanese media said.

During this period, Takaichi used meetings with foreign leaders to explain the current state of Japan-China relations and Japan’s position to key counterparts, the report said, adding that Japan has assessed that conditions are now in place to resume transits.

The US has also consistently maintained that the Taiwan Strait constitutes international waters where freedom of navigation applies, and it continues to sail its naval vessels through the area.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called the transit “a deliberate provocation.”

The Chinese military has handled the entry “in accordance with laws and regulations,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said.

The Japan Self-Defense Forces declined to comment on a report about Guo’s remarks.

Additional reporting by Reuters

title: Japanese warship transits Strait


content_text:
Lai highlights defense budget urgency during military inspection

President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for the swift passage of a special defense budget during an inspection of the Army Infantry Training Command in Kaohsiung, stressing the need to strengthen Taiwan’s military preparedness.

The NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) budget, which the Cabinet submitted to the Legislature for review last November, is under committee review.

The bill would fund weapons systems approved by the US for sale to Taiwan in December 2025, arms sale packages that have not yet been notified to the U.S. Congress, and initiatives involving local manufacturers.

President William Lai joins service members for lunch during an inspection of the Army Infantry Training Command in Kaohsiung yesterday. Staff writer, with CNA

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party have submitted their own versions of the budget bill due to disagreements over the scope and cost of the bill.

Lai said at the Army command that the budget should be approved without cuts to support the acquisition of highly mobile and precision weapons.

"Only through constant preparedness can threats be deterred," Lai said, reiterating that Taiwan’s strategy is to avoid war through readiness and stop war through strength.

Lai emphasized that the proposed budget, based on professional assessment, is both necessary and affordable amid Taiwan’s economic growth.

He described it as a key investment in safeguarding democracy, strengthening defense capabilities, and supporting service members.

Amid a complex regional security environment, Lai said the funding will enhance the military’s ability to respond to modern warfare and send a clear signal internationally of Taiwan’s resolve to defend itself.


title: Delegation to push for Japanese version of TRA

people: 蔡易餘 卓榮泰

content_text:
NEW LAW: The legislation would allow Taiwan to freely display its flag and be represented under its own name without the fear of Chinese interference

A delegation of Japan’s Happiness Realization Party members yesterday unveiled plans for a law to facilitate visits by Taiwanese officials.

The party would push for the Diet to pass a Japanese version of the US Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) to create a legal framework for Taiwanese officials to transit or visit Japan in the absence of formal diplomatic relations, Happiness Realization Party secretary-general Masatoshi Enatsu said at a news conference cohosted by the Taiwan North Society and other groups in Taipei.

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) encountered legal difficulties entering Japan to watch the World Baseball Classic last month because of this deficiency, he said.

Happiness Realization Party secretary-general Masatoshi Enatsu, second right, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times

Although the party’s goal is to pass a Japanese TRA, it faces significant challenges in light of political realities, Enatsu said.

Therefore, his party is focusing its efforts on supporting the Taiwan exchange development bill designed specifically to facilitate the exchange of visits by senior central government officials, legislators and local government officials, he said.

The legislation would give Japan the mandate to allow Taiwan to freely display its flag and be represented under its own name without the fear of Chinese interference, Enatsu said.

It would also institutionalize Taiwan-Japan exchanges, empowering the two nations to counter Beijing’s coercive practices, and promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Happiness Realization Party is a conservative-leaning party with the self-described “mainstay support of the religious organization Happy Science.” It currently holds no seats in the Japanese Diet.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) thanked the Japanese delegation, saying that the success of a “Japanese TRA” would contribute greatly to bilateral cooperation in trade, policy and security matters affecting the First Island Chain.

Northern Taiwan Society president Lo Chun-hsuan (羅浚晅) said that bilateral relations have grown by leaps and bounds over the years.

Leaders from late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have separately emphasized Japan’s commitment to stand with Taiwan as partners in the alliance of democracies, he said.

While Japan reached out to Taiwan as an equal without preconditions, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has labored to force China’s political framework on Taiwan in a futile attempt to appease Beijing, Lo said.

Taiwanese should stand in solidarity to form a shield for their nation and welcome the Japanese legislators’ efforts to promote laws friendly to Taiwan, he said.

Taiwan Youth Next-Generation Exchange Foundation chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said Japan is capable of advancing its relations with Taiwan to a greater extent than the US.

He urged the Japanese government to strengthen its cooperation with Taiwan in humanitarian matters, and the security of undersea cables and telecommunications infrastructure.

Union of Taiwanese Teachers president Pan Wei-yu (潘威佑) said a legal framework governing Taiwan-Japan ties would help the two nations deepen their collaboration in the exchange of high-skilled workers, human rights and civil society.

Now is the time for Taiwan and Japan to institutionalize the bilateral relationship, he said.


people: 洪申翰 韓國瑜 卓榮泰

title: KMT demands Cho brief legislature on Indian workers

content_text:
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday demanded that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) brief the legislature on the potential impact on social security and labor conditions of a government plan to recruit Indian workers.

Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) earlier this month said that Taipei and New Delhi were finalizing the details of administrative procedures, document verification and health checkups to recruit an initial 1,000 Indians to work in Taiwan’s manufacturing, agricultural and caregiving sectors.

The Indian workers could be recruited “as early as this year,” Hung said.

Premier Cho Jung-tai attends a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

The KMT caucus tabled a motion ahead of yesterday’s plenary legislative session, demanding that Cho and ministers brief the legislature on the potential impact on social security and labor policies, and respond to lawmakers’ questions.

According to the motion, the government’s aim to recruit Indian workers has stoked widespread fears of the “deterioration of gender equality and social security.”

The motion said that a petition calling for a halt to the recruitment of Indian workers has gathered more than 35,000 signatures on the government’s Public Policy Online Participation Network Platform.

Furthermore, 93,000 migrant workers are absent without leave from their jobs in Taiwan, highlighting the government’s “crumbling” migrant worker management system, the motion says.

The caucus demanded that the Executive Yuan explain its motives for recruiting Indian migrant workers and the demand for them.

It also asked the Executive Yuan to halt its plan to add another country to Taiwan’s list of migrant worker providers until the problem of absconding migrant workers is solved.

Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) ruled that the motion would be sent to a second reading according to the consensus reached between the KMT, the Taiwan People’s Party and the Democratic Progressive Party.

The KMT is to convene a round of cross-caucus talks before the motion can advance, Han added.

KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said the government must have accompanying measures for a new batch of foreign workers from a starkly different cultural background, to ensure social security and stability.

“In India, women are not treated with dignity,” Fu said. “To protect women in Taiwan, the government must let people know whether it is ready for the influx of Indian migrant workers and the ensuing social security concerns.”


content_text: Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang, second left, and Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Executive Director Marie-Louise Hannan, second right, pose for a photograph at the inauguration ceremony for the ROC (Taiwan)-Canada Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

title: Cementing a friendship


title: Matsu Mania

content_text: Politicians, including Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Hsu Kuo-yung, DPP Legislator Ho Hsin-chun and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng, surround a Matsu statue during a ritual of placing the deity statue into the palanquin at the Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung’s Dajia District yesterday. The ceremony was held ahead of annual Dajia Matsu pilgrimage, which began at 10:05pm yesterday.


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CORE DRIVER:  The company has capitalized on the AI boom, with cloud computing revenue accounting for 66.75 percent of total revenue, the company chairman said

Foxconn Industrial Internet Co (FII, 工業富聯), a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday said it expects strong growth this year, driven by booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-end interconnects.

FII, 84 percent owned by Hon Hai, was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in June 2018 and focuses on smart manufacturing, AI-related applications and the industrial Internet.

Last year, FII’s net profit rose 52 percent year-on-year to 35.29 billion yuan (US$5.17 billion), which translated into earnings per share of 1.78 yuan, up 52.1 percent from 1.17 yuan a year earlier, FII chief financial officer Michael Shen (沈道邦) told an investors’ conference.

Foxconn Industrial Internet Co’s lighthouse factory in Vietnam is pictured on January. Photo courtesy of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co

Revenue last year increased 48.2 percent year-on-year to 902.89 billion yuan, reflecting the company’s ability to capitalize on the AI boom and improvements in its overall operations, Shen said.

FII became the biggest manufacturer in Shenzhen by revenue, surpassing Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Co (華為), BYD Co (比亞迪) and Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊控股) last year, companies’ data showed.

AI has become FII’s core growth driver since last year, with cloud computing revenue surging 88.7 percent year-on-year to account for 66.75 percent of total revenue, company chairman Brand Cheng (鄭弘孟) said.

Communications and mobile network equipment business accounted for the other 33 percent, Cheng said.

AI server revenue more than tripled from a year earlier, while shipments of switches above 800G surged more than 13-fold, he said.

Shipments of precision mechanical components, including server chassis, also posted double-digit annual growth, he added.

This year, shipments of AI servers and related rack products — including Nvidia Corp’s GB200, GB300 and next-generation Vera Rubin platforms — are expected to continue growing, FII rotating CEO Liu Zong-chang (劉宗長) said.

Vera Rubin platform-based servers are set to enter mass production in the third quarter, Liu said.

In terms of key technology deployment, liquid-cooled servers are expected to account for a larger share of FII’s total server capacity this year, driven by rapid adoption by major clients, FII said.

About 60 percent of key components per server rack are now developed in-house, which enhances value-added and raises entry barriers in server production, the company said.

Regarding its recent push into the copackaged optics (CPO) business, Liu said the company’s CPO switches have begun sampling shipments last quarter and are slated for mass production next quarter.

CPO switch shipments are expected to exceed 100,000 units this year and reach 200,000 units by 2030, FII said.

Excluding integrated circuit costs, gross margin for such products is expected to remain above a double-digit percentage, making CPO a key future profit driver, the company said.

title: FII expects strong year amid booming AI demand


content_text:
London Metals Exchange hits record high on aluminum ‘black hole’ fears

A gauge of industrial metals jumped to a record high on the London Metal Exchange Index (LMEX) on Thursday, driven by gains in aluminum after the Middle East war disrupted supplies, as well as a revival in copper.

The LMEX has rallied by almost 12 percent over the past four weeks and was at an all-time peak at the close of trading.

Aluminum has risen more than 15 percent since the start of the Iran war, with roughly a 10th of global output coming from the Middle East.

Aluminum ingots are stacked outside a warehouse that stores London Metal Exchange stocks in Port Klang Free Zone, outside Kuala Lumpur, on March 23, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Aluminum has the biggest weighting in the LME gauge, and prices for the metal hit a four-year high on Thursday, moving closer to a record struck in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Together with copper — which has also moved back toward a record reached in January — the two metals make up almost three-quarters of the index.

Nickel, zinc and tin have also rallied this year, although none of the individual constituents of the index are at all-time highs.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has warned the aluminum industry was heading toward a “black hole,” as a serious, prolonged supply deficit is hitting the market after supply losses escalated dramatically in the wake of Iranian strikes directly targeting two key smelters in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain last month.

A double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — by the US and Iran — is also keeping shipments stranded.

However, while the waterway remains closed, hopes that a ceasefire between the US and Iran would be extended and signs the two sides might be moving closer to a peace deal have aided other metals. They were hit by soaring energy costs and fears of slowing global growth due to the war, but have recovered in the past few weeks on signs the conflict might be winding down.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said, without evidence, that Iran had agreed to terms it has long resisted, including giving up ambitions for a nuclear weapon.

Tehran has not confirmed it has made concessions.

“Traders are building back positions in base metals and front-running the move, even though the Iran war has yet to be resolved,” Shuohe Asset Management Co analyst Gao Yin said. “They also like to trade on the certainty of aluminum supply disruptions.”

Mercuria Energy Group and BMO Capital Markets forecast this week that copper would surpass a record high in January.

They cited Chinese buyers coming back to the market and a looming decision on tariffs from the White House that is encouraging more shipments to the US.

Copper has rallied 11 percent in the past four weeks, and is about 3 percent off its all-time closing price peak.

The LMEX rose 3.6 percent this week through Thursday. Most metals were down on Friday. Aluminum fell 0.4 percent to US$3,629 a tonne, copper dipped 0.4 percent and nickel rose 1.8 percent.


title: EDITORIAL: Prejudice blocks Indian migrant plan

people: 黃建賓 洪申翰

content_text:
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on April 9 said that the first group of Indian workers could arrive as early as this year as part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India and the India Taipei Association.

Signed in February 2024, the MOU stipulates that Taipei would decide the number of migrant workers and which industries would employ them, while New Delhi would manage recruitment and training. Employment would be governed by the laws of both countries. Months after its signing, the two sides agreed that 1,000 migrant workers from India would be allowed to enter Taiwan.

Hung’s announcement should have come as no surprise to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, who nonetheless opposed the policy, citing the “high risk” of migrant workers “absconding” from their contracts. However, opposition to the plan has extended beyond concerns over runaway workers.

The issue has drawn significant public attention in the past week, with a petition on the Public Policy Online Participation Platform calling on the Ministry of Labor to halt the plan and prioritize “public safety and gender equality,” amassing more than 40,000 signatures as of Thursday.

“We refuse to make the personal safety of Taiwanese women dependent on a labor source country that lacks transparency and differs greatly from our own values on gender equality,” the petition said.

KMT Legislator Huang Chien-pin (黃建賓) justified the response by citing the frequency of rapes and other crimes against women in India in 2022. Anxiety over the policy stems from safety concerns, not prejudice, he said.

While the legitimacy of the concerns can be challenged on multiple grounds, one point must first be clarified — to assume that an individual is predisposed to sexual violence based solely on nationality is, by definition, prejudice.

Taiwan is already home to nearly 900,000 migrant workers, primarily from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand. Thus, the reaction to news that as few as 1,000 workers from India could soon arrive seems markedly disproportionate.

The broader global context makes this difficult to justify. The Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, numbering more than 35 million people concentrated in places such as the United Arab Emirates, the US, Canada and Malaysia.

Indian immigrants number more than 2.9 million in the US, forming one of the country’s largest foreign-born populations.

Across these societies, which collectively host far larger Indian communities than Taiwan plans to receive, there is no consistent pattern of Indian migrants being identified as a disproportionate source of sexual violence or public safety risk.

Using crime statistics within India to predict the behavior of Indian migrant workers abroad is fundamentally flawed, as it disregards the legal, socioeconomic and institutional conditions that shape crime patterns within India itself.

The outrage also overlooks that there are already nearly 6,000 Indian nationals residing in Taiwan — six times the number agreed to under the program. Yet there is no evidence that this community has posed any systemic safety risk to Taiwanese women. The public response can be attributed to sensationalist rhetoric fueled by harmful stereotypes and a misunderstanding of the situation.

As for the KMT, it is difficult to say whether legislators are resisting the policy out of genuine concern or simply for opposition’s sake — especially considering that the MOU received cross-party support at the time of its signing.

However, none of this suggests that the plan should proceed without scrutiny, as there are undeniable structural issues within Taiwan’s migrant labor system that deserve attention.

Poor working conditions in migrant-dominated sectors are well-documented — low pay, excessively long hours and broker-related abuses, including high recruitment fees that place workers in debt before they begin employment. In some cases, migrants have had documents withheld to limit their mobility and bargaining power.

The government is considering amendments that would ban employers and brokers from retaining migrant workers’ identity documents or confiscating personal property. Although these measures aim to strengthen protections, they would only address part of a much larger set of underlying problems.

Aside from being a moral concern, increasing reliance on migrant workers without addressing these issues risks worsening dissatisfaction among a growing population and increasing rates of contract absconding — the very issue KMT lawmakers are concerned about. There are legitimate grounds to question the introduction of more migrant workers into Taiwan.

The nationality of those workers, however, is not and should not be one of them.


title: The public just wants stability

content_text:
The IMF has issued a warning that it is revising its global economic growth forecasts downward, and inflation risks are on the rise.

If the war in the Middle East continues, the world could be pushed toward recession. For Taiwan, this is not some distant news story; its effects are borne out materially in the prices of oil, electricity, shipping and food.

Being heavily reliant on energy imports, any fluctuation in the situation ultimately hits the wallets of ordinary Taiwanese. For this reason, in facing overseas wars and cross-strait relations, what Taiwan needs most is not emotional mobilization, but pragmatic risk management and sound decisionmaking.

Countries all over the world are dealing with the unstable supply and rising prices of energy and other commodities.

If Taiwan continues to squander energy over endless partisan debate and politicizes bread-and-butter issues, it would only result in people growing more anxious and the country growing more fragile. This is especially true of the cross-strait situation. A steady approach means protecting democratic institutions and autonomy while avoiding confrontation risks and errors of judgement, thereby maintaining a controlled and predictable environment.

Once tensions rise, it is not only national security that is affected, but also investor confidence, the financial markets, energy supplies and the cost of living. To most people, what matters most is not which side has the louder voice, but whether their lives are stable, jobs are secure and prices remain under control.

Energy policy, therefore, must be more than tokenistic. Being highly reliant on fuel imports, Taiwan cannot put all its eggs in one basket.

Renewables must continue to be rolled out, and energy conservation, storage and grid resilience must be strengthened.

The nuclear question, meanwhile, can no longer be treated as taboo. Be it on issues of plant service extensions, re-openings, or the deployment of new technologies, let the debate come back to professional assessments of safety, costs and stability of energy supply, followed swiftly by review and public discussion. Viable options need not be ruled out, while those deemed unworkable must be properly explained.

Similarly, in dealing with fuel, electricity and consumer price pressures, long-term subsidies are not necessarily the best policy. Short-term relief is, of course, necessary, but normalizing subsidization only prolongs the pressure, leaving ordinary citizens to foot the bill.

The best approach is to treat the problem directly, using precise and targeted support measures for vulnerable households and industries.

At the same time, energy efficiency must be increased, pricing mechanisms improved and energy diversification expedited. Effective solutions must address the root cause — throwing money around only kicks the can further down the road.

Although the outlook from the IMF is gloomy, Taiwan still has the momentum for growth. That should not be wasted. If stable energy, prices and supply can be prioritized and internal friction reduced while investments are made in economic resilience and livelihood protections, people would be able to feel that the government is solving problems rather than creating them.

What ordinary people want is simple: no war, no energy shortages, no out-of-control prices and for their lives not to get more difficult with each passing day. The international situation might be out of our hands, but Taiwan can still control its own choices.

We must focus on public priorities, ending internal strife and pragmatically handling cross-strait and energy issues. Uniting to support the economy is the only way to ensure stable livelihoods and to walk the long road ahead.

Chen Ching-yun is a former director of the Legislative Yuan’s Bureau of Legal Affairs.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader


title: Talk turns sharp in migrant policy row

content_text:
In light of the controversy over the government’s plan to introduce migrant workers from India, online discussions surrounding Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and migrant labor policy have rapidly intensified.

Most notably, a social media page suspected of being a political flank organization, “Politician Buzz” (Cheng Ke Shuang, 政客爽), used sexist language which discriminated against Indian ethnicity to attack Wu, thereby distorting what should have been a labor policy issue and adjustment of the nation’s industrial structure into an emotionally charged and hateful battleground.

Such tactics not only completely deviate from the substance of the policy itself but also reveal a classic pattern of cognitive warfare.

By simplifying, labeling, and using emotionally charged language, complex issues can be reduced to fear-mongering narratives that influence public judgment.

The attacks against Wu are not merely personal — they are complex forms of discourse that combine gender-based denigration with ethnic stigmatization.

Their message implies that a female politician who welcomes migrant workers is inviting wolves into the house, further linking this notion to women’s safety and sexual crime and constructing a false causal relationship in which enacting such a policy constitutes a threat to Taiwanese women.

In reality, such narratives exploit society’s sensitivity to issues of gender safety by amplifying and distorting them, attributing individual criminal risks to an entire group, and ultimately fostering broad discrimination against workers from specific countries of origin.

Even more concerning is that such narratives closely align with the mechanisms of emotional mobilization and the reinforcement of stereotypes — tactics commonly seen in cognitive warfare.

By emphasizing a supposed link between migrant workers and crime or sexual violence, false associations can be established in the public psyche — even in the absence of comprehensive data.

This manipulation tactic bears a strong resemblance to the information warfare strategies long employed by the Chinese Communist Party against Taiwan: manufacturing social division, eroding public trust and pushing public discourse toward polarization and confrontation rather than rational debate.

From a policy perspective, whether Taiwan should accept migrant workers from specific countries should be evaluated based on industrial demand, labor force structure and management capacity — not dictated by emotionally charged rhetoric.

In reality, the effectiveness of any labor importation policy depends on the soundness of its institutional design, including labor management, social integration, security measures and gender safety mechanisms.

Reducing the issue to nothing but a claim that workers from a certain country are dangerous not only fails to address existing issues, but could also derail the focus of the policy and intensify social division.

In the face of this kind of manipulation, society must develop a higher level of media literacy.

When public issues are deliberately steered toward gender-based panic and ethnic division, we must recognize that this is not only political maneuvering, but a potential erosion of democratic discourse.

Only by returning to rational analysis and institutional design can we avoid getting lost amid emotional mobilization and ensure that Taiwan maintains open, yet prudent, judgment when addressing the issue of migrant labor.

Elliot Yao is a reviewer.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen


content_text:
Despite decades of pacifism, Tokyo has sustained its defense industry and now hopes its latest easing of arms exports rules would help it build defense supply chains that do not rely on Washington and its wavering security commitments

Japan’s imminent easing of arms export rules has sparked strong interest from Warsaw to Manila, Reuters reporting found, as US President Donald Trump wavers on security commitments to allies, and the wars in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons supplies.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base.

Her government would formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters. Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World War II, Japan spends enough on its own military — US$60 billion this year — to sustain a sizeable defense industry capable of manufacturing advanced systems such as submarines and fighter jets.

Among the potential new customers are the Polish military and the Philippine navy, which are undergoing modernization amid regional security challenges, according to Reuters interviews with Japanese officials and foreign diplomats in Tokyo.

Defense contractors Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric are hiring staff and adding capacity to capitalize on demand, their executives said, providing previously unreported details.

One of the first deals Takaichi’s government would likely approve are exports of used frigates to the Philippines, which is locked in maritime confrontation with Beijing in the South China Sea, two of the Japanese officials said.

Reuters is the first to report the timeframe of the likely sale, which might be followed by missile defense systems, the officials said.

Warsaw and Tokyo could help plug gaps in each other’s arsenals, cooperating in areas such as anti-drone and electronic warfare systems, said Mariusz Boguszewski, deputy chief of mission at Poland’s embassy in Japan.

“There are some bottlenecks that we can overcome having Japan on board,” he added, without providing details of specific deals. Poland’s WB Group, one of Europe’s largest private defense contractors, last year signed a tentative drone deal with Japanese aircraft maker ShinMaywa.

Three other European diplomats said Japan’s easing provided a chance to lessen their heavy dependence on US weapons production, which is strained by conflicts.

Trump’s unpredictability, such as his threats to leave the NATO security alliance and invade Greenland, have also heightened the push to diversify, said the diplomats, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

“Offers are coming from everywhere,” said Masahiko Arai, senior vice president at Mitsubishi Electric Defense and Space Systems, which has been adding staff in London and Singapore to facilitate defense exports.

Takaichi’s office declined to answer specific questions and instead referred to a Feb. 20 speech where the prime minister said she was reviewing the controls to bolster Japan’s defense production and improve the capabilities of allies.

Tokyo’s export overhaul has previously been encouraged by successive US administrations, including Trump’s, eager for allies to contribute more to collective defense efforts.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly did not respond to questions from Reuters about the changes to Japanese policy, but said that the two nations were closer than ever under Trump and Takaichi.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to questions about Japanese frigates potentially being sent to the Philippines.

Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) had said that Beijing was concerned about changes in Tokyo’s arms export policy and that it should “act prudently in military and security areas.”

The Philippines’ Department of National Defense declined to comment.

Japan’s first steps to relax the rules began more than a decade ago when Takaichi’s mentor, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, eased a near-blanket ban on exports to encourage joint arms development with allies that would help counter China’s growing military might.

However, the push largely stalled, as many restrictions — including on lethal equipment — remained. Companies continued to shy away from overseas defense sales. Buoyed by a bumper election win and shorn of the longtime coalition partner that had opposed more radical change, Takaichi hopes the latest easing would nudge arms makers to add the production capacity Japan needs for a major military buildup.

Some Japanese defense firms said they are ready to pivot.

Air defense systems builder Toshiba said it plans to hire about 500 people over the next three years and is constructing new testing and manufacturing facilities. It has also established a new department to handle defense exports.

“Reputational risk is not what it used to be,” Toshiba Defense and Electronic Systems Division vice president Kenji Kobayashi said. Some big Japanese brands that have sidelines in defense equipment and also make consumer goods have expressed concerns that arms sales would put off their broader range of customers.

“Rather than worrying about that, we focus on fulfilling our role and growing the business,” Kobayashi said.

A recruitment listing from Mitsubishi Electric — whose products include fridges and missiles — showed that the firm is hiring for an overseas sales role covering fighter aircraft and other military exports.

Demand for finished systems is strongest in Asia, while Europe, Australia and the US offer markets for components and codevelopment of new products, Arai said.

He said he expects overall sales at his unit, including domestic and international, to increase by 50 percent to ￥600 billion (US$3.77 billion) by 2031.

However, there remains a gap between the political messaging and the policies of some companies, Latvian Ambassador to Japan Zigmars Zilgalvis said.

He cited as an example carmaker Toyota, whose subsidiary turned down an attempted purchase of engines and related parts by Latvian firm VR Cars for a military utility vehicle in 2023.

The Latvian mission had tried to help broker the failed sale, Zilgalvis said.

Toyota Customizing and Development said it could not accommodate the request for military vehicles “based on our business scope and policy.”

It declined to comment on the upcoming revisions to Japan’s arms export policy.

VR Cars said it respected the decision.

While Tokyo is expected to maintain strict controls on sending arms to conflict zones, even Ukraine has sensed an opportunity.

The Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo would soon launch a new industry group of Ukrainian and Japanese drone firms to spur development of new technologies, timed to coincide with the rule changes, agency head Kateryna Yavorska said.

The US has long dominated global military supply chains. It accounted for 95 percent of Japan’s defense imports, 85 percent of Australian and British purchases, and 77 percent of Saudi Arabian buys between 2021 to last year, a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report said.

However, Washington’s foreign military sales program — often blamed for late deliveries and rising costs, and its tight control over defense technologies — has long been a source of frustration, officials and analysts said.

One objective of Japan’s rule changes is to build defense supply chains in Asia that do not rely on the US, a ruling party official involved in drafting security policy said.

Neighboring South Korea offers something of a blueprint: It has become the largest defense supplier to Poland and the Philippines after steady growth over the past five years, SIPRI data showed.

The potential for Japan — the world’s fourth-largest economy — is greater.

Even with the curbs, Japan’s arms industry is on a par with South Korea, Germany, Italy and Israel, and nearly twice the size of India’s, according to SIPRI’s analysis of leading defense contractor revenues in 2024.

However, the US industry is 25 times bigger.

“Japan has been kind of in the timeout box because of World War II, frankly. But they were inevitably going to swing closer towards the center of global politics,” said Andrew Koch, founder of Nexus Pacific, a Tokyo-based defense industry advisory.

title: US allies eye Japan’s biggest arms opening since WWII


title: It is the worst time to be a US ally

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The Iran war, which is now likely to flare up again after talks in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran have failed, has been a humanitarian, economic and geopolitical disaster. One heuristic for grasping the scale of the strategic catastrophe is to look at the US’ allies and adversaries worldwide and ask: Cui bono, who benefits? Cui malo, who loses?

The balance sheet is disturbing, because the main winners have been the US’ adversaries, while the losers are its traditional allies in Europe, Asia and the Gulf. Israel is a special case.

On the side of the adversaries, the Iranian regime is battered, of course, but it has survived an onslaught by the superpower and remains ensconced. And it is suddenly staking an entirely new claim to controlling the Strait of Hormuz, which was open before Feb. 28 and which the US now plans to contest with a selective blockade.

Most paradoxically, Iran won sanctions relief from the administration of US President Donald Trump during the war that it could not get before. Eventually, Tehran might yet negotiate some sort of deal that trades oversight of its enriched uranium for a permanent drop in sanctions, but it was already doing that when the war began. It had even agreed to such an arrangement in 2015, before Trump walked out on it in his first term. On balance, much lost; possibly more gained.

Russia, which has provided intelligence to Iran in its fight, benefits more. Before Feb. 28, it was in economic straits that could have pressed it toward some sort of denouement in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. However, the spike in oil and gas prices caused by Trump’s war has put Moscow back in business. As in Iran’s case, that boon even came with unforeseen sanctions relief from the US. Better yet, the Kremlin sees that Trump is angrier than ever at NATO, and could reasonably hope that the Western alliance, meant primarily to deter Moscow, is tearing at the seams.

North Korea, which has been notably restrained in its criticism of the US during the Iran war, must be gloating. It has partnerships with Russia and China, and a growing nuclear arsenal pointed at South Korea, Japan and possibly the US. Since Feb. 28, it has also had the pleasure of watching US forces in South Korea and Japan transfer ammo and kit to the Middle East. That is the exact opposite direction of the one outlined as recently as January in the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy.

China has even more reason to be smug. That same strategy paper also talked a tough game about concentrating US and allied forces in the Indo-Pacific region to defend the “first island chain” in a potential war over Taiwan or the South China Sea. Instead, Washington seems to be exhausting itself and its arsenals in the Middle East.

China already stared down Trump last year when he tried and failed to cow it with tariffs, by matching his economic coercion step by step. As it ponders an invasion of Taiwan, a lesson Beijing could draw from the Iran war is that the US could deliver shock and awe for a few days or weeks, but then runs out of steam. Trump has postponed a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to next month. Xi would now be an even stronger host than he would have been without the Iran war.

The losers include the US’ allies. Until recently, the monarchies in the Gulf thought they were investing in their own safety by hosting US bases and transacting generously with the Trump clan’s private businesses. With his war of choice, Trump instead threw them under the Shahed. It remains to be seen whether they could ever regain their glitter as international hubs for aviation, business and fun — or whether they would team up with China for that purpose.

The European NATO allies are in turmoil. Trump has always held them in contempt and already mused about quitting the alliance in his first term, a threat he brought up again last week during a visit by Mark Rutte, the permanently groveling NATO secretary general. He might also “punish” the alliance in other ways, by withdrawing some US troops, for example. And he again menaced Greenland (“THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”), which belongs to NATO ally Denmark.

Trump has no leg to stand on in his criticism of NATO over the Iran war. He never notified the allies that it was imminent, then toggled between bragging that the US does not need their help and sulking that it was not getting any. For the record, NATO is a purely defensive alliance. It is not meant to help members wage wars of choice, but to deter and repel aggressors by stipulating that an attack on one ally is an attack on all. Its mutual defense clause has only been invoked once, after the US was attacked on Sep. 11, 2001.

European reactions vary depending on how vulnerable a country feels to Russia. Spain, which is far from Moscow, has barred US forces from using its bases to wage the Iran war. However, even people in France, Germany and other nations increasingly feel that the US is not a reliable ally, and possibly even a rival, adversary or enemy.

Trump is pouring similar disdain on the US’ treaty allies in Asia. While hosting the Japanese prime minister, Trump was again asked why he did not notify Washington’s partners (except for Israel) about the war.

“We didn’t tell anybody about it, because we wanted surprise,” he said. “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”

His Japanese guest, usually a paragon of diplomatic cool, visibly squirmed.

The one US ally whose role has been upgraded is Israel. That is not necessarily a good thing. Reporting by the New York Times has revealed the outsized role played by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in going to war. Uniquely among allies, he even got to present in the White House Situation Room and clearly impressed the president (even though Trump’s advisers thought that parts of Netanyahu’s analysis were “farcical” or “bullshit”).

The upshot is that it is not clear whether Trump has been leading or following Israel in prosecuting his war against Iran. And that is the worst indictment that could be made against a US commander-in-chief. The proper use of alliances is as a deterrent to prevent wars and a force multiplier once they occur. The wrong approach (called a “moral hazard”) is to encourage smaller partners to take excessive risks, drawing the US into wars that are not in its interest.

Several historians already consider the Iran war a US “Suez moment,” in an analogy to an international crisis in 1956 that marked — psychologically and for the world to see — the beginning of the end of the British and French empires.

Now it is US might that has been revealed as limited and waning. One accelerant of the US’ decline as a superpower would be that former allies would look elsewhere for their safety, while adversaries would recalculate the right time to challenge Washington head-on.

Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US diplomacy, national security and geopolitics. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for The Economist. 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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PROMISING: In a speech before the world’s oldest leader, the pope said the youth represents the nation’s hope and demanded that the ‘chains of corruption’ be broken

Thousands of people yesterday turned out see Pope Leo XIV, who was celebrating a big Mass in Cameroon’s port city and then was to visit the country’s Catholic university on a day focused on encouraging young people.

Leo traveled to Douala, the commercial and economic capital of Cameroon, to celebrate Mass. The Vatican predicted about 600,000 people would turn out for the liturgy, the biggest crowd Leo is expected to draw on his 11-day, four-nation trip, the first to Africa by history’s first American pope.

With an hour to go before the liturgy got underway, the big field in front of the Japoma sports stadium was bursting with people singing and dancing as an announcer shouted “Habemus Papam” (We have a pope). The Latin phrase is used to announce the election of a new pope, but in this case joyfully announced Leo’s arrival.

Faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV for the Meeting for Peace with the community of Bamenda in Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday. Photo: EPA

The crowd cheered when Leo emerged in his open-sided popemobile, with waves of young people running alongside him trying to keep up, as he looped through the crowd. Some had spent the night on the ground, battling mosquitoes, to be in place for the late morning Mass, but said they were willing to make the sacrifice for the pope.

“I wanted to offer this effort to the pope, to show him that what he is doing and what he wants to accomplish should truly come to life,” Alex Nzumo said.

Later yesterday, Leo had an appointment back in the capital, Yaounde, with students, professors and administrators at the Catholic University of Central Africa. Popes have often used such encounters, especially in the developing world, to rally young people to persevere in the face of poverty, corruption and other challenges.

With a population of 29 million, Cameroon is an overwhelmingly young country, where the median age is 18. Catholics represent about 29 percent of the population, and the country is a major source of growth and priestly vocations for the church.

Leo has already offered words of encouragement to Cameroon’s youth, including in his opening speech to Cameroonian President Paul Biya — at 93 the world’s oldest leader.

In the speech, Leo demanded the “chains of corruption” in Cameroon be broken and said Cameroon’s youth represent the future and hope of the country.

But with Biya in power since 1982, Cameroon perhaps represents the most dramatic example of the tension between Africa’s youth and the continent’s many aging leaders.

Despite being an oil-producing country experiencing modest economic growth, young people say the benefits have not trickled down beyond the elites.

“Of course, when unemployment and social exclusion persist, frustration can lead to violence,” Leo said in his opening address to Biya and government authorities earlier this week. “Investing in the education, training and entrepreneurship of young people is, therefore, a strategic choice for peace. It is the only way to curb the outflow of wonderful talent to other parts of the world.”

According to World Bank data, the unemployment rate in Cameroon stands at 3.5 percent, but 57 percent of the labor force aged 18 to 35 works in informal employment.

The dire economic outlook in Cameroon has led to significant brain drain and has strained an already understaffed health sector, as many doctors and nurses are leaving the country for more lucrative jobs in Europe and North America.

In 2023, about one-third of doctors who graduated from medical school in Cameroon left the country, the Cameroonian Ministry of Higher Education said.

Growing frustration over Biya’s record and long-term rule intensified during October’s tense presidential election, in which Biya secured an eighth consecutive term.

When Cameroon’s main opposition candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, contested the result of the poll, deadly protests erupted throughout the country.

title: Crowds flock to pope’s Cameroon Mass


title: EU to restore relations with Syria

content_text:
RE-ENGAGEMENT:  The bloc is to start formal talks with Syria’s transitional authorities next month, and has outlined measures on migration, trade and security

The EU plans to deepen its engagement with Syria by relaunching formal political contacts and paving the way for closer economic and security ties, according to a document seen by Reuters, marking the latest step in a broader policy shift after years of frozen relations.

The background paper, produced by the bloc’s diplomatic arm and circulated to EU member countries this week, says the EU would fully resume its 1978 cooperation agreement with Syria and begin a High-Level Political Dialogue, an EU term for formal and structured talks, with the country’s transitional authorities on May 11.

In a notable policy adjustment, the EU also said it would “reframe and adapt” its sanctions regime to maintain leverage while engaging with Syria’s leadership and targeting spoilers of the transition, the paper said.

A shepherd looks on as a convoy of US military equipment is transported along the Damascus-Amman highway toward the southwestern city of Daraa, near Damascus, following the completion of the US withdrawal from their bases on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Syria, which had most Western sanctions lifted at the end of last year, is seeking broader integration into the international community under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who headed an alliance of Islamist rebel factions to oust Bashar al-Assad as president at the end of 2024, after a devastating 14-year war.

The paper outlines plans to step up economic engagement, including a framework for trade and investment, mobilizing private sector funding and supporting reforms to improve Syria’s business environment through a new technical assistance hub.

It also said the EU would work with authorities on facilitating the “safe, voluntary and dignified return” of refugees and displaced people.

Europe hosts more than 1 million Syrian refugees and asylum seekers, roughly half of whom are in Germany. Their return has been on top of the agenda in most discussions between European capitals and Damascus since al-Assad’s ouster.

The paper highlights ambitions to integrate Syria into regional connectivity projects, including the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, positioning the country as a hub for transport, energy and digital links.

Syria is emerging as a critical transit point, particularly amid the energy crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war. A first tanker carrying Iraqi oil transported overland sailed from the Syrian port of Baniyas on Thursday.

Turkey, Syria and Jordan have also agreed to upgrade their railway networks to create a corridor linking southern Europe to the Gulf, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

On security, the paper said the EU could support training for Syrian police and institutional capacity-building in the interior ministry, alongside cooperation on counterterrorism and efforts to address drug trafficking and organized crime.

The document also underscores EU backing for implementing an agreement struck in January between Damascus and Kurdish-led authorities in the northeast, which includes integrating local institutions into the state and expanding rights for Syrian Kurds as part of a broader political transition.

As a major step in implementing that agreement, Syria last month appointed the commander of the prominent YPG Kurdish forces as a deputy defense minister for eastern territories, where US forces handed over their last remaining military base to the Syrian army this week.


title: Benin leans into painful past to attract tourists

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Tourists crowded beneath the Door of No Return, an arch built by the beach at Ouidah in southern Benin in memory of those crammed onto slave ships bound for the New World.

Benin has in the past few years leaned into its painful past to encourage tourism. Once a key departure point in the transatlantic slave trade, the coastal town of Ouidah lies at the heart of the push to reclaim the country’s history, culture and heritage.

Standing nearly 17m tall on the seafront, the Door of No Return has been fully restored, now a must-see landmark for visitors.

People gather around the Amazon Statue in Cotonou on April 6. Photo: AFP

Its ochre-and-gold facade is carved with figures of chained slaves, frozen mid-stride toward the ocean.

Nearby, a life-size replica of L’Aurore — one of the last three-masted ships to leave Ouidah for Cuba around 1860 — is set to open soon as an immersive museum of the slave trade.

“It reminds us of where we come from. It’s important to develop tourism around our history because it’s very rich, little known, and we want to showcase it,” said Arsene Ahounou, an engineer from the commercial capital, Cotonou, visiting for the day.

Children covered in white powder pose for a photograph near the Door of No Return monument in Ouidah, Cameroon, on April 6. Photo: AFP

“For us natives, understanding our history matters,” he added.

Pausing for selfies with friends visiting from Nigeria, Onyinye Anumba said that seeing the site with her own eyes was “awesome.”

“As an African, I’ve read many things about this place ... so just being here makes me proud about what Africa has,” she said.

Elsewhere, tourists explored the 13th-century Python Temple to learn about Voodoo culture — the popular animist religion rooted in Ouidah.

As many posed for photos with snakes draped around their shoulders, guides explained the reptile’s spiritual significance in Voodoo (Vodun in the local Fon language) beliefs.

Having worked in Beninese tourism for more than 35 years, Modeste Zinsou, the temple’s head guide, said the sector had evolved.

“This isn’t mass tourism; it’s cultural tourism. The sacred element remains. We’re reconstructing our own history, in which we completely demystify Vodun and the cliches around it,” he said.

Benin is the birthplace of Voodoo, which now has its own international festival, the Vodun Days.

The three days of dancing, mask parades and traditional ceremonies have become a major tourist attraction.

This year it drew about 2 million visitors, most of them Beninese.

“The government has worked to encourage domestic tourism, meaning Beninese people going out and reclaiming their identity,” Zinsou said.

To boost tourism, Benin has launched major infrastructure projects, including road and hotel renovations.

A Club Med resort is planned for next year and visa procedures have been eased for many nationalities.

“We’re not a country with mineral wealth, so we had to identify where our wealth lies,” said Alain Godonou, an adviser to the president on heritage and museums.

“History shows that Benin is a land of great cultures and traditions, and a witness to a pivotal moment in human history — the slave trade,” he said.

Godonou hopes tourism would account for 10 to 15 percent of GDP within a decade, up from about 6 percent today.

The recent election in the west African country was to replace the architect of this tourism drive, outgoing Beninese President Patrice Talon, who is stepping down after two five-year terms. His successor, Romuald Wadagni, the finance minister from the ruling party, has pledged to carry the projects forward.

Since 2024, Benin has allowed anyone with an African ancestor who was enslaved and shipped to the Americas to acquire Beninese nationality.

“It was important for Benin to do justice to this diaspora by granting the nationality that should have been theirs,” Godonou said.

In the heart of Cotonou, the country’s largest city, the Amazon Monument is now a major attraction. The towering 30m metal statue depicts a warrior of the Dahomey kingdom, rifle at her side and dagger in hand. On Easter Monday, a public holiday, crowds of Beninese visitors strolled through the plaza, snapping pictures of the statue.

“It’s a source of pride. We don’t have the money to go on holiday in France or elsewhere,” vendor Geraldine Sedami Yagbo said.

“This statue is our Eiffel Tower,” she said.


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Russia is trying to produce more pro-war influencers through content creation camps, training teenagers to spread the Kremlin’s hardline, anti-West narrative to the next generation.

Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has ramped up control of the domestic information space, outlawing criticism of the offensive through strict military censorship laws, throttling foreign media outlets and pushing its agenda across society.

Schools and young people have been targeted — curricula and textbooks changed to include Russia’s justification for its invasion and soldiers dispatched to whip up pro-war enthusiasm in the classroom.

A pool photograph distributed by Russian state-owned agency Sputnik shows Russian President Vladimir Putin posing for pictures with a member of the Young Army during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky on Red Square on the National Unity Day in Moscow on Nov. 4, 2023. Photo: AFP

At one content creation camp early this month, more than 120 teenagers, clad in green sweaters and red berets, gathered in Moscow for lectures from soldiers and state media reporters on how to produce videos, use artificial intelligence (AI) and build audiences.

“We have created a huge team of kids, who understand how to broadcast government values and our organization’s values,” Vladislav Golovin, a former soldier and chief of the general staff of Russia’s Young Army cadets movement, said in a statement released by the group.

In a promotional video from the event, children were shown cheering a cadet racing against Golovin to see who could reload a sniper rifle the fastest.

Russia’s Young Army cadets march at t Red Square during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 7, 2017. Photo: AFP

Another organization, the Movement of the First, runs competitions offering rewards for teenagers with the best blogs and biggest followings.

The training camps are part of what Keir Giles, director of the UK-based Conflict Studies Research Centre, calls a “concentrated campaign to restore the prestige of the Russian military.”

“These 14-16-year-olds have grown up in an environment where they have never known anything other than Putinism. This is their reality, and so we should not be surprised if these new efforts to spread information reflect that reality,” he said.

The drive to instil young Russians with Kremlin-approved values comes from the very top.

In 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin quoted Otto Van Bismarck to summarize his approach.

“Wars are not won by generals, but by schoolteachers and parish priests,” Putin said in a televised press conference.

“Educating young people in the spirit of patriotism is crucial,” he added.

The revival of Soviet-era youth organizations, such as the Young Army and Movement of the First — which says it has 14 million online members and 1,100 regional initiatives — has been integral to those efforts.

In their beige military uniforms with red berets, the rows of teenage cadets often resemble a bright poppy field at set-piece state events, like grand military parades dedicated to Soviet victory in World War II.

As Russia has clamped down on media and the Internet since ordering troops into Ukraine, the campaign has moved online.

Social media algorithms are ripe for the Kremlin to spread its narrative, delivering individually tailored content to evoke an emotional response, said Veronika Solopova, AI and disinformation expert at the Technological University of Berlin.

“Young people are famously easy to radicalize, easy to jump to conclusions on the nature of injustices, which, for Russia, is then all conveniently converted into army enrollments,” she added.

More than half of Russians aged 18 to 24 say social media is their main source of news, polling by the independent Levada Center found last month.

Young people’s “shorter attention spans, combined with the effortless shareability of clips and reels, make digital content an exceptionally powerful tool,” said Giorgi Revishvili, a former senior adviser to the National Security Council of Georgia.

Social media content can be “direct and radical” or “very subtle, aimed not at generating support for Russia, but at decreasing solidarity with Ukraine,” said Dietmar Pichler, a disinformation and propaganda analyst at INVED.

At the training camp in Moscow, the Young Army cadets were quick to grasp the power of their new skills.

“When you are the one behind the camera filming the entire process, making audiences happy, you realize ... you are the one who has aroused these emotions in people,” a girl said in a promotional clip published by the organizers.

“The truth lies in a frame, and we are operating the camera,” she said.

title: Russia trains teenagers to produce pro-war content


people: 柯文哲 朱立倫 高虹安 韓國瑜 黃國昌

content_text:
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The rise and rapid fall of Li Zhenxiu: A TPP experiment gone wrongWhat began as the TPP’s bid to court China-born spouses, has ended in expulsion, investigation and public embarrassment, exposing both the party’s strategic gamble and its deepening dysfunction

The entire Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) saga has been an ugly, complicated mess.

Born in China’s Hunan Province, she moved to work in Shenzhen, where she met her future Taiwanese husband. Most accounts have her arriving in Taiwan and marrying somewhere between 1993 and 1999.

She built a successful career in Taiwan in the tech industry before founding her own company. She also served in high-ranking positions on various environmentally-focused tech associations.

Former Taiwan People’s Party legislator Li Zhenxiu on Wednesday speaks to reporters outside the legislature after she was expelled from the party. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

She says she was inspired by the founding of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) in 2019 by Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and began volunteering for the party soon after.

Ko had been positioning himself and his party to make strategic inroads beyond his early base of independents fed up with both parties, expanding into the pan-blue side of the political spectrum. They spotted an underserved and underrepresented segment of the population: China-born “mainland spouses” of local citizens, many of whom had become citizens themselves and can vote.

Naturalized citizens being appointed as party list lawmakers is not new. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had a Cambodian-born lawmaker, and the TPP included a Vietnamese-born citizen to their party list in the 2024 election.

Lacking the talent cultivation infrastructure of the two big parties, to maximize exposure and cultivate more talent in the party, Ko instituted a “two-year” term rule for the TPP’s party list lawmakers. They won eight seats in 2024, and they were expected to step down after only serving two years of the four-year term to allow the next eight people on the party’s list to step up and into the limelight as lawmakers, allowing the party to give 16 people the chance to advance rather than just eight.

Li was ranked 15th on the party list and took office in February. She has been erroneously called the first Chinese spouse in the legislature. For the entire authoritarian period, the vast majority of lawmakers were elected in China in 1947 and kept in place to represent the entirety of “free China,” and it is fair to assume many were married.

However, Li appears to be the first born in the People’s Republic of China.

Though Li has a respectable career resume, it appears that she was not Ko’s first choice.

On March 24, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office charged Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯), who has links to the TPP, on suspicion of taking part in Beijing-directed election interference. The prosecutors allege that Xu had been a KMT member, but became disillusioned with the party over its perceived failure to ease Chinese immigrants’ path to residency and unwillingness to nominate Chinese-born candidates for the party list and turned her attention to the TPP.

In 2023, she was allegedly approached by the TPP to be on their party list, but she turned them down. For a deeper look at what a horrible candidate she would have been, check out Michael Turton’s “ Notes from Central Taiwan: Ko, Xu and the politics of ‘green terror’ (April 2, page 12).

Apparently, it was Xu who suggested the TPP run with Li instead.

An obvious question is, why didn’t the KMT put a “mainland spouse” on their party list, but the TPP did? At an estimated population of 350,000 to 400,000, this is a sizeable voting bloc.

Then-KMT party chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was pragmatic and likely understood the risks. He feared appearing too close to China would cost them votes elsewhere.

He also likely understood the potential national security risks, which would paint the party in a bad light. Beijing views anyone ethnically Chinese anywhere in the world to be “theirs” and will stoop to any level to use any leverage they can find to manipulate them, including threatening family members in China. Li’s parents still live there.

Additionally, he would have been aware of the legal conundrum. Lawmakers are not allowed to hold any other nationality, and Beijing will not allow citizens to renounce their citizenship to take up Republic of China citizenship because it would in effect be recognizing Taiwan as a foreign country — leaving Chinese-born citizens with an impossible catch-22.

KO’S BET

It is possible Ko was ignorant of this, but more likely he simply thought he could get away with it and any fights over it would be good publicity for the TPP. He has a pattern of this type of behavior.

Ko turned out to be right. The Central Election Commission mysteriously approved her, and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the KMT rejected the government’s request to disqualify her.

The ensuing fight was ugly. The executive branch refused to acknowledge her and pursued legal channels to try to oust her. The TPP defended her, accusing the government of “discrimination against Chinese spouses.”

Polling showed overwhelmingly that she was considered unsuitable. A Z.Media poll released March 31 found only 16.4 percent thought she was suitable. Only 37.3 percent of TPP supporters found her suitable.

Ko began talking about her perhaps resigning, likely frustrated with the whole situation.

However, it was not the legal controversies or the alleged connection to Xu or the low polling that finally led to her downfall, though no doubt they contributed to it.

Li claimed that Ko had given Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) NT$7 million. She later backtracked and apologized, but Li was later accused of having reported Kao over alleged misuse of assistant funds, prompting several party officials to call on her to step down.

On April 13, the TPP’s Central Evaluation Committee voted unanimously to expel her from the party, which automatically ousts her from the legislature. The committee found Li’s statements and actions had seriously damaged the party’s reputation and internal cohesion, and that she had engaged in repeated misconduct.

From there it was all downhill.

TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) alleged that she had demanded payment to voluntarily resign, saying she relied on her NT$200,000 monthly lawmaker salary to pay for her children. Huang is probably not lying: Li said her public remark — “whoever wants me gone should foot the bill” — was not a demand for payment, but it is hard to interpret that any other way.

Though she continues to defend Ko, despite him being one of the first to suggest she might resign, she has been on the attack against other party figures, especially Huang and Vicky Chen (陳智菡), who she called “demons” among other slurs and accusations.

The day after her expulsion, Taipei prosecutors launched an investigation over allegations of document forgery and corruption

Li remains defiant and has been doing the talk show rounds, which will no doubt help her raise money for her kids.

IMPACT

Will this impact the party’s chances in the November elections?

Probably not directly, because by then voters may have forgotten the whole mess. However, if Li remains a fixture on the talk shows and continues her accusations, it may still be in the news and have some impact.

More likely it will be added to the pile of woes the TPP is facing, furthering the impression that the party is a mess.

In the Formosa poll released at the end of last month, the TPP had an already high disapproval rating of 56.5 percent. This situation increases the chance that this number will continue to remain high.

A more difficult question is whether or not it will hit the party’s approval rating, which stood at 25.8 percent. Despite all the scandals and disasters that have hit the party, their approval has never dipped below 20 percent.

Is there a point at which their hardcore base will finally say “enough” and give up on the party? That is hard to predict, but for now there is no good alternative party to fill the political niche they have carved out for themselves.

Donovan’s Deep Dives is a regular column by Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) who writes in-depth analysis on everything about Taiwan’s political scene and geopolitics. Donovan is also the central Taiwan correspondent at ICRT FM100 Radio News, co-publisher of Compass Magazine, co-founder Taiwan Report (report.tw) and former chair of the Taichung American Chamber of Commerce. Follow him on X: @donovan_smith.


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All That Pops Is Not Soda (1/2) 氣泡水的必要成分：水、氣泡，還有美好的味道（上）

When you twist open a bottle of carbonated water, bubbles rush out with a hissing sound. This drink is simply water infused with carbon dioxide (CO2) under pressure, giving it that fizz on your tongue. But this basic description barely scratches the surface of the carbonated water family.

Although all carbonated waters are bubbly, slight differences set them apart. Seltzer is just plain water with artificial CO2—no minerals, no extras. Club soda includes added minerals such as sodium bicarbonate, which creates a slightly salty flavor. This makes club soda suitable for mixing with fruit juices. Sparkling water, on the other hand, often comes from natural springs or wells and thus contains naturally occurring minerals. It is the different sources that make sparkling water taste different from brand to brand. The bubbles in sparkling water may be natural or added later during bottling.

The appeal of carbonated water extends beyond its refreshing taste. For those looking to cut down on sugary drinks but find plain water boring, it’s an excellent zero-calorie replacement. Studies suggest that the bubbles can make people feel full more quickly and for longer periods. Carbonated water can also aid digestion and relieve constipation by gently stimulating the stomach. In simpler terms, a little fizz can help keep your bowels moving smoothly.

There is even a handy tip for travelers. If you start feeling dizzy or uncomfortable in a vehicle, sipping carbonated water with a bit of ginger can help ease discomfort. With both enjoyment and practical benefits, carbonated water proves that even water can sparkle with purpose.

當你轉開一瓶氣泡水時，泡泡會隨著嘶嘶聲迅速湧出。這種飲品其實就是在加壓狀態下將二氧化碳注入水中，賦予舌尖上的那股氣泡感。但這樣的基本描述僅觸及了氣泡水家族的皮毛而已。

雖然所有的氣泡水都充滿氣泡，但些微的差異使它們各有不同。seltzer 是純水加人造二氧化碳 ----? 沒有礦物質也沒有其他物質。club soda 內含額外加入的礦物質，像是增添了一點鹹味的碳酸氫鈉。這使得 club soda 很適合與果汁混合飲用。另一方面，sparkling water 通常是來自天然泉水或井水，因此含有天然形成的礦物質。正是因為水源不同，使得不同品牌的 sparkling water 喝起來風味各異。sparkling water 裡的氣泡可能本來就存在於水中，也可能是在後來的裝瓶過程中加入的。

氣泡水的魅力不只在於其清涼口感。對於那些想要減少含糖飲料的攝取，卻覺得白開水很無聊的人來說，氣泡水是絕佳的零卡替代品。研究顯示，氣泡會讓人更快感到飽足，且飽足感持續更久。氣泡水也會輕輕刺激胃部，因而有助於消化及緩解便秘。更簡單來說，些許的氣泡能幫助腸道蠕動順暢。

甚至還有一個對旅客來說很實用的妙招。如果你開始在車內感到暈眩或不適，喝一點加了點薑的氣泡水能有助於緩解這種不舒服。兼具享受與實際益處，氣泡水證明了即使是水也能閃耀出自己的意義。

To be continued tomorrow（明日待續）

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang

氣泡水小筆記

soda n. 汽水（常指含有糖分和香料的碳酸飲料）

carbonated water 氣泡水

hiss vi. 發嘶嘶聲（本文為現在分詞作形容詞用）

carbon dioxide 二氧化碳

fizz n.（飲料的）氣泡；（氣泡的）嘶嘶聲

fizzy a.（液體）起泡的

bubbly a. 充滿氣泡的

sodium bicarbonate 碳酸氫鈉

beverage n. 飲料

carbonation n. 碳酸化

calcium n. 鈣

magnesium n. 鎂

Words in Use

1. slight a. 些微的，微小的

slightly adv. 有點，稍微地

Randy sensed a slight change in his wife’s tone as she mentioned work.

妻子提到工作時，蘭迪察覺到她的語氣有些改變。

My phone battery dropped slightly after running the game for a few minutes.

玩了幾分鐘遊戲後，我手機的電量就稍微下降了。

2. artificial a. 人造的，人工的

Artificial flavors make some snacks taste strangely sweet.

人工香料會讓某些零食嚐起來有奇怪的甜味。

3. appeal n. 魅力，吸引力

Classic movies still have great appeal despite their age.

經典電影即使年代久遠，依然很有魅力。

4. extend vi. 包括，影響到

extend beyond... （影響、範圍等）不只……

Earl’s interests extend beyond sports and include cooking.

厄爾的興趣不只運動，也包含烹飪。

5. replacement n. 替代物

I bought a cheap replacement to use before my new laptop arrives.

在我的新筆電到貨前，我先買了個便宜替代品來用。

Practical Phrases

1. scratch the surface of. . . 僅觸及……（問題）的表面

Our quick discussion only scratched the surface of the problem.

我們的簡短討論只觸及了問題的表面。

2. set. . . apart 使……與眾不同

Jocelyn’s unique voice sets her apart in singing competitions.

喬瑟琳獨特的嗓音讓她在歌唱比賽中脫穎而出。

3. in. . . terms 就……來說∕而言

Melvin explained the idea in clearer terms during the meeting.

馬文在會議中用更清楚的方式解釋這個想法。

To be continued tomorrow（明日待續）

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang

聽文章朗讀及講解: https://ivy.pse.is/455bfu

本文出自常春藤解析英語雜誌: www.ivy.com.tw

title: ANALYTICAL ENGLISH 解析英語(常春藤)


title: 立委民團喊話加速修租賃條例　內政部：租霸下車條款等有共識先行

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▲民團、立委喊話儘速提出「租賃住宅市場發展及管理條例」修正草案，內政部表示，租霸下車條款等有共識先行。（圖／記者李毓康攝）

記者陳家祥／台北報導

國民黨立法委員牛煦庭今（17日）與民團召開記者會，呼籲行政院應儘速提出「租賃住宅市場發展及管理條例」修正草案，內政部表示，租賃條例修法涉及國人居住權益與租屋市場整體運作，將就保障房客申請租金補貼等合法權益、對於不良房客可提前終止租約（租霸下車條款）及強化公證契約強制執行效力等部分，優先提出修法；租期保障及限制租金漲幅等部分，將持續審慎研議。

內政部說明，租賃條例的修正是希望可以更明確保障出租人與承租人的權益，並對於雙方的需求與困境，給予更明確清楚的保護。因此，將加速對相關意見的評估與整合，就各界有共識衡平雙方權益保障的部分，包括規範保障房客申請租金補貼等合法權益、對於不良房客可提前終止租約等，及強化公證契約之強制執行效力部分優先提出修法，同時也將依各界相關意見持續精進。

內政部指出，租賃住宅市場關係房東、房客及租賃住宅服務產業等多方權益，記者會所提包括租期保障、租金調整機制、租霸排除及市場透明化等議題，本部均已掌握並納入研議。

然而目前社會對於部分修法設計仍有不同意見，特別是在「租期保障」及「限制租金漲幅」等議題上，各界對於是否可能影響租屋市場供給及帶動租金價格變動有不同看法，須審慎評估其政策影響。

內政部表示，為穩定租賃關係及保障租賃雙方權益，將先就具有共識部分，加速提出租賃條例修法，務求制度設計能兼顧公平性與可行性，並促進租屋市場健全發展。

此外，針對近期有媒體報導部分房東以房客可申請雙租補為由調漲租金及每度電費情形，內政部說明，雙租補係考量部分民眾以分租型式居住，故開放同住但非屬家庭成員者可分別申請租金補貼，以符租屋市場實際情形；若有偽造租約等不法情事，經發現均將移送檢警調查。

而房東若藉此任意調漲租金及電費，內政部特別提醒，住宅租賃定型化契約已規定，房東於租賃期間不得藉任何理由要求調漲租金；所收取的每度電費也不可以超過電費單的「當期每度平均電價」，如有違反規定情形，房客可拒絕房東要求，並向當地消保或地政機關提出申訴或檢舉，房東如不改正最重可處50萬元罰鍰，並得按次處罰。地方政府亦應積極查處，落實對房客消費權益保障。


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一手捧紅鞠婧禕、SNH48的絲芭傳媒CEO王子杰，驚傳逝世，享壽63歲。（翻攝自微博）

〔娛樂頻道／綜合報導〕一手捧紅鞠婧禕、SNH48的絲芭傳媒CEO王子杰，驚傳已於14日晚間19時在上海逝世，享壽63歲。絲芭傳媒於昨（16日）在官網發布訃聞，以表達對這位創始人的深切哀悼。不過，因王子杰辭世前夕，絲芭傳媒正處於多事之秋，包括近年他與多位核心藝人（如鞠婧禕等）爆發合約、稅務爭議，以及SNH48轉型問題，再加上死因從會議中昏倒搶救不治，到酒後心臟病發而亡皆有，引發諸多揣測。

鞠婧禕被譽為「4000年一遇美女」，和前東家老闆王子杰，還在打官司中。（翻攝自微博）

王子杰早年深耕遊戲領域，代理的《勁舞團》曾紅遍全國；2012年跨足影視娛樂並創立絲芭傳媒，參考日本養成系模式打造中國的第一個大型女團SNH48，隨後陸續推出BEJ48、GNZ48等多個分團，並捧紅了鞠婧禕、李藝彤、孫芮等女星，人造星，宛如工業鏈般的造星體系，讓他獲封「中國偶像教父」。

SNH48是復刻日本造星模式的中國大型女團。（翻攝自微博）

絲芭官網在訃聞載明：公司全體同仁對王子傑先生因公逝世致以最深切哀悼，向家屬致以誠摯慰問。目前善後事宜有序推進，公司將由董事長王靖攜管理團隊持續穩健經營，傳承其產業理想與創新精神。

countries: 中國 日本

title: 和「4千年一遇美女」鞠婧禕官司未果   中國「偶像教父」王子杰驚傳辭世


title: 謝霆鋒、張柏芝復合？ 網揪「共享衣櫃、限量潮玩」爆疑雲

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謝霆鋒（右）近日為新專輯造勢，不是被追問和王菲是否倩變？就是被問是否和張柏芝復合。（翻攝自網路）

〔娛樂頻道／綜合報導〕謝霆鋒、王菲、張柏芝「三角糾葛」又出現最新版本了！近日，一場關於謝霆鋒與張柏芝「世紀大復合」的猜測，再度橫掃各大社群平台，有網友揪出從2025年底到2026年初的照片，發現兩人從共享衣櫃、限量潮玩、住同飯店…出現諸多巧合，讓這對早已離婚14年夫妻，再次成為媒體追問焦點。

傳聞源起於一件「迷彩外套」。有網友發現謝霆鋒於社群平台分享的滑雪照，竟穿著一件與張柏芝在機場穿的迷彩外套款式相同，用放大鏡比對之後竟發現，包括外套的迷彩紋路走向、領口磨損位置甚至細微褪色處…幾乎一樣木樣，忍不住驚呼：「這要不是同一件，我把螢幕吃了！」

此外，還有爆料指出，兩人在上海工作期間曾入住同飯店、同房型，並在非熱門打卡點的觀景台拍下姿勢高度相似的照片。更引人聯想的是，謝霆鋒曾曬出的限量潮玩，近期竟出現在張柏芝的居家Vlog中，而張柏芝還在鏡頭前還曖昧表示：「打算每天拿他一隻，直到拿完為止。」話裡神祕的「他」字，讓復合傳聞甚囂塵上。

不過，當媒體向前往香港大學演講的謝霆鋒求證時，他僅表示，這類傳聞「半年就來一次」，並明確宣告「回不去了」；而當現場學生提問如何讓「愛保鮮」時，他隨即抬起左手，大方露出手腕上那只已配戴26年，他與王菲熱戀時的定情物──卡地亞LOVE系列定情手鐲。

面對鋪天蓋地的揣測，張柏芝也在直播中翻了個白眼，笑嗆：「我缺的是牙刷，不是老公。」展現出對傳聞的極度不屑。


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趙永馨今出席「挖趣tv懷舊戲劇體驗會」。（記者陳奕全攝）

〔記者蕭方綺／台北報導〕62歲趙永馨過去演出多齣瓊瑤劇，在《庭院深深》演出「翠珊」大受歡迎，今出席「挖趣tv懷舊戲劇體驗會」，台上看到當年經典片段畫面，她一度哽咽，受訪時再度提起此事，種種回憶蜂擁而上，她眼眶再度含淚表示：「像是看到人生跑馬燈，想起以前演戲的模樣，體會到人生如夢。」現在忙於茶藝館的她也回憶過往和瓊瑤、秦陽以及劉雪華等人合作的往事。

趙永馨在台上看到當年經典片段畫面，她一度哽咽。（記者陳奕全攝）

她的人生一大半都和瓊瑤綁在一起，想起已逝世的瓊瑤，她說對方私下是個「很獨立又陽光的女性」，對年輕演員相當照顧。當年大家年紀輕、情感起伏大，尤其拍戲動輒半年、朝夕相處，情緒難免受影響，「她會來探班，關心我們吃住，也很照顧我們的心情。」

她認瓊瑤為乾媽，有次趙永馨失戀，瓊瑤默默觀察後得知，簡單拍了她肩膀說：「沒關係，下一個會更好。」讓她深受感動，她說：「那時候真的很脆弱，她輕輕拍拍你，就會很想哭，是很溫暖的力量。」

趙永馨回憶瓊瑤私下是個「很獨立又陽光的女性」，對年輕演員相當照顧。（記者陳奕全攝）

至於私下互動，她笑說與劉雪華、秦漢等人常鬧成一團，甚至會聯手劉雪華捉弄秦漢，「像秦漢跟雪華有吻戲，我還會準備蒜頭，偷偷塞在雪華手中，她要親之前會吃，親完老漢嚇一跳，嚷著『哇！雪華，妳剛吃什麼』。」

她也透露秦漢私下其實相當有「英雄主義」，有次大夥兒拍《庭院深深》，晚上在山上泡溫泉，有許多粉絲來要簽名，喝了點小酒的秦漢以為這群人來騷擾趙永馨和劉雪華，直接到車上拿棒球棍要威脅對方，她看了後連忙制止。

趙永馨和秦漢在去年播出的《忘了我記得》再度合作。（記者陳奕全攝）

而她和秦漢在去年播出的《忘了我記得》再度合作，一開始導演劉若英找她演出秦漢女友，她立刻答應，一見面，2人興奮抱在一起跳躍，畫面相當可愛，她笑說：「秦漢的個性很小孩，是個很斯文的演員，他還會叫我的小名『依依』。」

title: （影）翠珊回來了！62歲瓊瑤玉女趙永馨近況曝光 吐「秦漢拿球棒打人」秘辛


title: 花蓮總預算案卡關！內政部出手：邀府會協商一個月內決定

taiwan-subdivisions: 花蓮 花蓮縣

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花蓮縣今年度總預算於去年10月送議會審查時，因未明確列出馬太鞍重建相關經費而延宕至今，花蓮縣府依「地方制度法」函請內政部核定。對此，內政部今（17日）表示，將就雙方爭議事項於法定協商期間1個月內，邀集府會雙方及有關部會進行溝通，化解分歧凝聚共識。

內政部今天晚間表示，已收到花蓮縣政府公文，並於16日發函請縣政府與縣議會及相關部會提供意見，將儘速邀集府會雙方及有關機關開會協商，依法辦理。

內政部說明，依「地方制度法」第40條第4項規定，縣總預算案在年度開始後3個月未完成審議，縣政府得報請該部邀集有關機關協商，於1個月內決定之，逾期如未有共識，由該部逕為決定。針對此次花蓮縣總預算案審查的爭議，將就雙方爭議事項於法定協商期間1個月內，邀集府會雙方及有關部會進行溝通，化解分歧凝聚共識。


title: 蔡英文揪谷立言爬山！形容台美是「攀登山頂夥伴關係」

countries: 美國 台灣

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前總統蔡英文近期頻頻邀請民進黨縣市長參選人一起爬山，她今天的爬山之旅邀請到「重量級山友」AIT美國在台協會處長谷立言，兩人一邊爬山一邊暢談台美關係，還形容「台美關係就像爬山」。

蔡英文在Threads發文分享，她今天跟谷立言相約去爬山，兩人穿著休閒，雙方好交情顯而易見，蔡英文也形容台美關係就像爬山，「是雙方共同克服困難、攀登山頂的堅實夥伴關係」。

蔡英文說，爬完山還是要吃澱粉，還分享自己在麵包店的照片，手指著吐司與甜甜圈，看起來很猶豫要吃哪一項。

谷立言也回應，很榮幸能與蔡英文一同漫步於台灣美麗的山林之間，「我們沿途暢談美台關係在這十載間的進步，這樣的時刻提醒著我們，美台之間的友誼長久而深厚。正如我們一同走過的這條路不斷向前延伸，我深信美台夥伴關係將持續蓬勃成長」。


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勝騎士（左）與岳政華（右）擊掌。（記者塗建榮攝）

〔記者羅志朋／台北報導〕中信兄弟開季戰績2勝10敗暫居墊底，今天全隊將士用命，靠洋投勝騎士繳6局失2分優質先發領軍，加上黃韋盛開轟、岳政華關鍵長打和外野美技守備助陣，最終兄弟就以5：3擊敗味全龍進帳本季第3勝，避免刷新1998年開季最快11敗的隊史不名譽紀錄。

龍隊快腿郭天信首局首打席敲安，隨後成功盜上二壘，本季第7盜出爐持續領先群雄，同時他締造跨季連續22次盜壘成功的紀錄新猷，原紀錄是陳瑞振在1998至99年的跨季連續21次盜壘成功；郭天信自去年5月23日起，至今天開賽盜破紀錄。

郭天信盜破紀錄，隨後在場務和味全龍球團工作人員協助下，將這個極具紀念意義的二壘壘包拔起以供留存。

2局下龍隊發動攻勢，一出局後李凱威挨觸身球上壘，曾聖安擊出安打形成一、三壘有人，隨後曾聖安盜上二壘，蔣少宏適時安打帶有2分打點取得領先。

4局上兄弟反攻，一出局後陳俊秀選到保送，許基宏二壘安打和江坤宇適時安打追回1分，6局上兄弟靠黃韋盛轟陽春砲追平比分，本季個人首轟出爐，隨後在兩出局一、三壘有人情況下，岳政華適時擊出2分打點二壘安打反超前，兄弟取得4：2領先。

岳政華不但打擊立大功，中外野守備更上演六星級美技拯救球隊，6局下龍隊進攻，兩出局二壘有人，李凱威擊出中外野強勁平飛球，岳政華撲接沒收可能形成的安打球，攻守俱佳獲選單場MVP。

7局上兄弟再靠保送、對方三壘手劉基鴻接球失誤和內野滾地球追加保險分，最終凱旋而歸，9局下李凱威轟陽春砲也無法逆轉戰局。

勝騎士用72球先發6局，被敲出6支安打另有5K和1次觸身球，失2分都是責失拿下本季首勝，相隔366天再奪勝投，他自去年加盟兄弟至今，跨季43.1局投球都沒有投出四壞保送，控球相當精準。

勝騎士。（記者塗建榮攝）

岳政華。（記者塗建榮攝）

岳政華。（記者塗建榮攝）

title: 中職》勝騎士強投+岳政華豪打  兄弟躲過尷尬紀錄


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「哥倫比亞廣播公司」（CBS）16日報導，據美國國防部轄下國防情報局（DIA）分析師評估，中國正考慮向伊朗供應先進設備X波段雷達系統，可顯著強化伊朗偵測、追蹤低空無人機或巡弋飛彈等迫近威脅，有助防空系統抵禦空襲。

被問及中國考慮支援伊朗的情報評估，美國國防部長赫格塞斯回應，「川普總統與習主席有著非常強烈的直接情誼。他們對此進行溝通，中國向我們擔保這樣的事情不會發生。」

中國駐美大使館發言人劉鵬宇回應，中國對伊朗的立場公開且坦誠，「我們從未進行會使衝突升級的行動」。

美國中央情報局（CIA）局長雷克里夫3月出席國會聽證會時便警告，德黑蘭竭力尋求中俄的情報支援，伊朗戰爭的地緣政治衝擊可能超出中東界線，演變為全球大國的角力場。

title: 美情報評估北京可能軍援伊朗雷達系統  赫格塞斯：中國擔保不會發生

countries: 中國 伊朗 美國 哥倫比亞


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中共中央政治局委員、外長王毅昨日在北京同納米比亞外長穆薩維伊會談。

王毅表示，發展深化中納合作符合兩國人民期待，順應中非關係發展大勢，更是全球南方聯合自強的體現。中方願同納方一道，落實好兩國元首重要共識，不斷豐富中納全面戰略合作伙伴關係的內涵。中方讚賞納米比亞恪守一個中國原則，堅定支持納獨立自主走出符合自身國情的發展道路，願同納方加強發展戰略對接，用好中方零關稅政策紅利，推進農業、民生、青年等重點領域項目，維護兩國友好合作大局。

穆薩維伊表示，無論國際風雲如何變化，納方堅定不移恪守一個中國原則，堅定不移發展對華友好合作，期盼同中方密切高層交往，拓展各領域交流合作，推動兩國關係邁向新的更高水平。

編輯︰張萬燕

title: 王毅晤納米比亞外長　稱中方願同納方加強發展戰略對接

countries: 納米比亞 中非 中國


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聯合國秘書長古特雷斯透過發言人發表聲明，歡迎伊朗宣布在停火期間全面開放霍爾木茲海峽供商業船隻通行，形容措施朝著正確方向邁出一步，並呼籲各方全面恢復並尊重該海峽的國際航行權利與自由。

古特雷斯表示，希望在停火安排的基礎上，這個措施有助於增強各方互信，並推動由巴基斯坦斡旋的對話進程取得進展。

編輯︰張萬燕

countries: 伊朗 巴基斯坦

title: 聯合國秘書長呼籲全面恢復霍爾木茲海峽航行權利與自由


title: 王毅晤納米比亞外長　稱中方願同納方加強發展戰略對接

countries: 納米比亞 中國 中非


title: 國民黨主席鄭麗文押寶中國 媒體人不解

countries: 中國 台灣 美國 英國 伊朗

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【記者張原彰／綜合報導】日前傳出中共對國民黨提出明確推動台商「二次西進」的要求。資深媒體人汪潔民說，台股市值超越英國，台灣今年也將取代中國成為美國排名第一的貿易夥伴，台灣沒有一帶一路，沒有天然資源，不解為什麼這時候還要押寶中國。

在鄭習會前，國內媒體曾披露，中共對國民黨提出三大要求，包含「堅決阻擋軍購」、「有效阻止台灣當局總預算通過」、「持續防堵美台供應鏈的合作推動」，明確推動台商「二次西進」進程。

財信傳媒集團董事長謝金河日前也說，兩岸產業已從互補到完全競爭，二次西進不可行。這些年因為台商與資金回流，再加上台美產業鏈結，美國取代中國，成為台灣最大出口國，加上去紅色供應鏈的趨勢，讓台灣經濟大放異彩。

全球10大集團8家依賴台灣另外，台股近期站上3萬7千點，15日台股市總市值突破4.14兆美元，正式超越英國4.09兆美元，躍升為全球第七大市場。汪潔民指出，台灣以新科技工業國家擊敗英國這個老字號的工業國家。全球最大的10家集團，其中8家供應鏈必須依賴台灣，代表台灣的產業韌性，讓全世界主要工業國家必須依賴台灣才能成長。

他強調，今年台灣將取代中國成為美國排名第一的貿易夥伴。根據國際貨幣基金（IMF）發表的報告，這次美國和伊朗的軍事行動，惟二不受影響且調高經濟增長預測的國家，其中一個就是「台灣」。

汪潔民直言，「此時此刻，鄭麗文卻選擇押寶中國，悲哀啊」。台灣沒有一帶一路，沒有天然資源，多山靠海，但代表經濟實力的股票市值在2017年之後，民進黨執政後一路飆升。

另外，金管會公布上市（櫃）公司最新海外投資統計，去年共有1,224家公司赴中投資，比重達66.85%，累計投資金額2兆7,901億元，較前一年底減少535億元，台股公司西進投資總額首度出現倒退，顯示企業西進轉冷趨勢。

不過，統計指出，去年認列赴中國投資收益仍達5,489億元，較前一年增加588億元，創下歷年同期次高。

綜合媒體報導，某電子五哥財務主管表示，中國AI相關硬體出口高度依賴台廠提供GPU、網路控制晶片，台灣賺的是「技術財」，且中國無法不依賴台廠。這或許解釋為什麼台廠西進轉冷，但收益更高的狀態。◇


title: 高雄新崛江販賣機冰淇淋臭酸 已送驗、未標業者資訊要罰

taiwan-subdivisions: 高雄 高雄市

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【記者袁世鋼／高雄報導】高雄新崛江商圈近期出現冰淇淋自助販賣機，日前有民眾花了65元購買一份北海道牛奶口味的冰淇淋，嘗了一口發現味道竟然是酸的，提醒大家小心不要受害。高雄市政府衛生局派員稽查，初步檢視冰淇淋原料並未過期，已採檢送驗，但機台外並未標示業者名稱、聯絡資訊，將依法開罰。

日前有民眾反映，她在新崛江商圈的冰淇淋販賣機，花65元買了一份北海道牛奶口味的冰淇淋，沒想到吃了一口味道竟是酸的，而且是「超級酸」，希望業者能給予賠償，並提醒大家要小心不要受害。未料，也有其他消費者反映，曾經在同一機台買到酸掉的冰淇淋，甚至還有人吃了以後回家拉肚子，引發食安疑慮。

高市府衛生局獲知後，16日派員前往稽查。衛生局表示，業者已投保產品責任險，檢視現場陳列共2台冰淇淋販賣機，冰淇淋原料包括北海道牛奶、楊枝甘露及巧克力餅乾等皆未逾期，已抽驗冰淇淋成品，後續將依檢驗結果憑辦。

不過，該販賣機另有未設溫度指示器、無溫度紀錄等缺失，衛生局現場已監督業者改善，以維食材安全及品質。此外，業者也未於機台外部依規定標示名稱及聯絡資訊，衛生局表示，將依《食品安全衛生管理法》第25條及第47條規定，裁罰3萬元以上、300萬元以下罰鍰。


taiwan-subdivisions: 高雄市 高雄

title: 救少子化 議員籲發「育兒卡」 整合托育、補助、疫苗資訊

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【記者袁世鋼／高雄報導】高雄市議員邱俊憲17日在質詢時關切少子化議題。他指出，高雄去（2025）年新生兒人數已降至約1萬2千人，較過去的2萬多人明顯下滑，顯示城市人口結構快速改變，建議市府研議推出「育兒卡」或育兒App，將中央與地方現有育兒資源整合為一站式服務，主動提供家長更多支持。

本身育有3名子女的邱俊憲表示，孩子難免會突然生病，若父母雙方都要上班，家中又缺乏長輩支援時，往往會馬上出現照顧空窗，這是許多年輕家庭遲遲不敢生育，甚至是不敢再生第二胎、第三胎的重要原因之一。

邱俊憲說，過去中央與地方雖然持續加碼育兒津貼與相關補助，但從結果來看，單靠現金補助仍不足以有效扭轉少子化趨勢。關鍵在於不能只有一次性補貼，而是應建立更完整、更有感的支持系統，讓年輕家庭在結婚、懷孕、生產、育兒等各階段，都能清楚知道政府提供哪些協助，並且真正使用得到。

現行相關資訊雖然存在，但分散在不同局處與制度中。邱俊憲認為，這些資訊通知方式零碎、重複，民眾不見得知道，也不一定能及時掌握。若能比照敬老卡的概念，針對育兒家庭推出專屬整合工具，不論是實體卡片或App，都有助於提升政策使用率與家長感受度，讓政府的支持真正送到家庭手中。

邱俊憲建議，市府可研議發放「育兒卡」，或以數位化方式建置整合平台，將0到6歲幼兒家庭所需的服務一次整合，包括生育津貼、托育補助、公托登記、疫苗接種提醒、育兒資訊推播等內容，並與戶政、社政、衛生等系統串聯，讓新手爸媽不再需要分頭查詢、重複申請，減少育兒初期的混亂與壓力。

對此，高雄市政府社會局長蔡宛芬回應，經統計，願意生育第二胎的家庭數約有六成，比例並不低，前提在於能否有效降低經濟負擔與托育壓力，因此未來將持續朝增加公托量能、強化臨托服務，以及擴充育兒App功能等方向努力，會與相關局處研議整合服務的可行性。


title: 引進印度移工 傅崐萁邀卓榮泰立院專報

people: 傅崐萁 卓榮泰 洪申翰

countries: 印度 台灣

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【記者林丞奕／台北報導】勞動部長洪申翰日前表示，首批1,000名印度移工有望今（2026）年引進。國民黨團總召傅崐萁17日表示，目前台灣逃逸外勞將近10萬人次，但政府在政策上仍顯模糊。他呼籲，行政院應向國人清楚交代，並就此議題到立法院進行說明。

立法院17日召開院會，國民黨於會前召開黨團大會討論議程。傅崐萁受訪表示，重要的事情就是印度移工將如何進入台灣，而台灣是否有相關需求，需要引進大量印度移工、外勞；目前在國內逃逸外勞已接近10萬人次，政府在政策上仍顯模糊，若再開放新一波大量移工，相關配套措施是否完善，令人質疑。

傅崐萁指出，引進不同文化與社會背景的移工，政府必須要有完整、安全的配套措施，確保社會能夠安定，尤其是印度對女性非常不尊重，為保護台灣的女性能夠在台灣持續的安定生活，面對文化差異如此大的、對治安可能產生疑慮的，「政府是否準備好，必須使全民了解」。他呼籲，行政院應向國人清楚交代，並就此議題到立法院進行說明。


title: 剴剴案社工判刑2年 王婉諭憂年輕世代不投入兒少保護工作

content_text:
針對剴剴案，時代力量黨主席王婉諭17日表示，尊重司法判決，但判決本身揭露的問題，值得社會深思。資料照。（記者宋碧龍／攝影）【記者常懷仁／臺北報導】針對剴剴案，台北地方法院依據過失致死罪，判決負責查訪的兒福聯盟社工陳尚潔有期徒刑2年。對此，時代力量黨主席王婉諭17日表示，尊重司法判決，但判決本身揭露的問題值得社會深思，若年輕世代不願投入兒少保護工作，社會安全網將從最脆弱的地方崩解。

判決寫到「本院認為應負保證人地位之人，為有實質支配力卻怠於作為之『陳尚潔』，而非在基層克盡職守之『社工群體』」。王婉諭表示，法官試圖在制度末端的個人責任與整體社工群體之間劃出一條界線，這樣的區分有其用意。未滿2歲的孩子遭凌虐致死，社會需要究責，但若把責任漫無邊際的推向整個社工群體，體制就不會改變。

不過，王婉諭指出，此一論理框架在實務上卻難以劃出清楚邊界，誰排除了外部救援的可能、誰讓危險繼續存在，誰就有實質支配力，這樣的標準套用在其他收、出養社工身上，乃至其他社福領域，同樣可能成立。

所以，王婉諭認為，一旦這種法律詮釋擴張，社工將成為所有社會風險最末端的責任承擔者。若年輕世代因此不願投入高風險的兒少保護工作，社會安全網將從最脆弱的地方開始崩解。

王婉諭強調，《刑法》的個人責任原則，在面對結構性暴力時往往失靈。安置體系的設計、資源的分配、人力的配置，這些決定從來不是社工做的，是國家做的。按照法院的論理，國家的保證人地位其實比社工更為明確，但法律卻只能在制度最末端，找一個有名字的人來負責。

王婉諭提到，台灣有將近5千個孩子失去原生家庭照顧，成為「國家的孩子」。衛福部兒童之家每個孩子每月有7萬~8萬元支持，民間機構裡的孩子只有2萬~3萬元；安置機構人力比是1:4、1:6；一個訪視員要看60個保母；每年超過1萬件兒虐案件，安置床位只有三千多床。

最後，王婉諭呼籲，若社會把所有責任停留在一個社工的判決上，真正有權力改變制度、調整資源的人就不會有任何行動。台灣還有將近5千個孩子在這個體系裡長大，這些問題一直都在，只是看大家有沒有勇氣去面對。


content_text: 中評社高雄4月18日電（記者 蔣繼平）中國國民黨主席鄭麗文日前訪陸，大陸隨即公布十項惠台措施。長期針砭時事的反萊豬醫師蘇偉碩向中評社表示，鄭麗文訪問大陸後打開新局面，門打開要有人帶路走進去，國民黨可做，但做生意不分藍綠，大家都可各顯神通，好處是，門更開、更透明、更方便，就會減少弊端，這是好事。貿易也是交流，多貿易就會更認識，可以打破民進黨的抗中保台。 蘇偉碩，高雄醫學大學醫學士，擁有精神科專科醫師證照，是台灣民間反瘦肉精毒豬聯盟的骨幹。從學生時代就參加環保運動、學運，曾與民進黨並肩反美牛，反萊豬時變成綠營眼中釘，與綠營分道揚鑣，現持續針砭時事並關心政治議題。 大陸4月新公布10項措施，涵蓋全面恢復兩岸直航、擴大農漁產品輸入、促進影視與觀光交流（如上海福建居民赴台自由行、金廈共用機場）等，多聚焦民生與商業。 對此，蘇偉碩表示，鄭麗文帶回來的大禮包，簡單來說就是把門打開，門打開要有人帶路走進去，但帶路並非只限國民黨，民進黨也可以帶路。雖然“賴政府”不願意，但地方上關乎民眾切身利益，中央態度冷淡負面，不代表地方上不可以去做。 蘇偉碩表示，雖然綠營執政縣市首長也負面表態，但地方縣市的農漁會、產銷班也是可以去做的。第一線與農民有接觸的其實是產銷班，或是運銷系統的部分。農漁會是輔導角色。所以地方有很大的空間，就讓大家各顯神通，因為門就開在那裡。 是否與年底選舉有連帶影響？蘇偉碩表示，其實這沒有設前提，做生意就是做生意，不分政治立場顏色。這次最大的差別是，貿易也是一種交流，若有交流，就能互相認識，至少就不會一直再吃民進黨那一套抗中保台。

journalist: 蔣繼平

title: 蘇偉碩：鄭麗文訪陸開門 大家都可去做生意


content_text: 中評社北京4月18日電（記者 陳思遠）17日下午，第七屆台胞社團論壇經濟分論壇在京舉行。與會嘉賓就“十五五”規劃與兩岸經濟融合發展發表觀點，他們認為，“十五五”規劃為兩岸經濟融合發展提供了新機遇，兩岸經濟應攜手重構全球價值鏈。 全國台聯副會長楊毅周在致辭中指出，去年一年，到大陸來訪問的台胞將近600萬，達到近年來最高水平。他說，今年是“十五五”開局之年，大陸將為台胞台企扎根發展提供更多的機遇、更好的環境、更廣闊的舞台，增進兩岸同胞福祉，壯大中華民族經濟。 中國社會科學院台灣研究所副所長汪曙申指出，當前兩岸融合發展面臨兩個挑戰。從台灣內部看，民進黨執政推行“新兩國論”路線，始終拒絕承認“九二共識”，對大陸採取“關門政策”，直接影響到兩岸正常的經濟交流和合作，成為兩岸鄉親走近走親的最大的障礙。從國際形勢來看，美國採取保守主義、單邊主義的政策，對兩岸經濟融合發展帶來外部衝擊。 他表示，儘管面臨挑戰，但深化兩岸融合發展也有歷史機遇和現實條件：第一，大陸具有政治制度優勢；第二，兩岸關係的主導權在大陸；第三，台灣社會有期待，兩岸融合發展符合台灣同胞的利益。他強調，兩岸經濟合作韌性大，儘管民進黨推行脫鈎斷鏈的政策，但2025年兩岸的貿易額達到了3143.34億美元，人員交流近600萬人次，說明融合發展具有很強的生命力。 台灣夏潮聯合會會長、《兩岸犇報》社長陳福裕指出，“十五五”規劃綱要提出建設現代化產業體系，高度契合台灣在電子資訊、精密製造、生物醫療、現代服務業等領域的產業優勢，為兩岸產業融合開辟了極為廣闊的空間。他說，衹有深化兩岸經濟與社會融合，促進並鞏固兩岸關係和平發展，最終實現祖國完全統一，台灣人民才能真正告別歷史的悲情，共同參與到中華民族偉大復興的歷史進程中，分享作為一個中國人的光榮尊嚴。 香港國際華商協進會理事、香港中文大學滬港發展聯合研究所助理所長潘學智強調了制度基石對經濟的決定性作用。他表示，香港之所以能夠維持國際金融中心的地位，是因為有“一國兩制”這一根本制度錨點。同理，對於兩岸的發展融合而言，“九二共識”就是確保兩岸經貿巨輪不會偏航的政治基礎，沒有互相信任的經濟政治基礎，再好的產業政策也只是空中的樓閣。 潘學智指出，大陸的“十五五”規劃絕不僅僅是一個政策文件，更是兩岸經濟攜手重構全球價值鏈的戰略契機。他說，兩岸經濟的深度融合從來不是誰依附誰的問題，而是找到機遇，強強聯合。

journalist: 陳思遠

countries: 台灣 中國 香港 美國

taiwan-subdivisions: 復興 和平

things: 九二共識 經濟

title: “十五五”提供機遇 兩岸應攜手重構價值鏈


content_text: 中評社北京4月18日電／伊朗塔斯尼姆通訊社17日援引一名知情人士的話報導，伊朗為霍爾木茲海峽船隻通行設定了三個條件：第一，通行船隻必須是商船，禁止軍用船隻通行，且船隻及貨物不得與敵對國家有關聯。第二，船隻必須經伊朗指定的航道通行。第三，船隻通行必須與伊朗伊斯蘭革命衛隊海軍協調。 該知情人士還說，如果美國繼續執行海上封鎖，伊方將視其為違反停火協議，並關閉霍爾木茲海峽。 美國總統特朗普17日在社交媒體上稱，伊朗在美國協助下，“已清除或正清除所有水雷”。 特朗普還稱，伊朗已同意不再封鎖霍爾木茲海峽，“它將不再被用作對抗世界的武器！” 特朗普17日接受以色列第12頻道電視台採訪時表示，他預計美國和伊朗將在“未來一兩天內”達成結束戰爭的協議。 特朗普在採訪中說：“伊朗人想見面。他們想達成協議，周末可能會舉行會晤。” 美國阿克西奧斯新聞網站17日報導，據一名熟悉調解工作的消息人士透露，美伊第二輪面對面會談預計將在巴基斯坦首都伊斯蘭堡舉行，時間很可能是19日。 美國官員和知情人士透露，美國準備解凍200億美元的伊朗資金，以換取伊朗放棄其濃縮鈾庫存。特朗普同日在社交媒體上稱，美國將獲得伊朗所有濃縮鈾庫存，但不會以任何方式、任何形式支付任何款項。 報導說，美伊正就一份3頁的停戰諒解備忘錄進行談判，拿解凍資金“換鈾”的計劃正是其中一項內容。目前，雙方正在就伊朗所擁有的濃縮鈾的處置方式、解凍多少伊朗資產等問題進行談判。 報導說，消息人士稱，在談判較早階段，美國曾準備解凍60億美元資金，供伊朗用於採購食品、藥品及其他人道主義物資。而伊朗方面當時提出的要求是解凍270億美元。美伊目前討論的最新金額為200億美元。 此外，美方曾要求伊朗同意將其所有核材料運至美國境內，但伊方僅同意在伊朗境內對這些核材料進行稀釋處理。根據目前正在討論的一項折中提案，部分高濃縮鈾將被運往第三國，而非一定是美國。 雙方正在磋商的這份諒解備忘錄中，據稱還包含一項關於伊朗“自願”暫停鈾濃縮活動的條款。伊朗將被允許擁有用於生產醫用同位素的核研究堆，但須承諾其所有核設施均須建於地上，現有地下核設施將繼續處於停運狀態。而在上一輪談判中，美方要求伊朗同意暫停鈾濃縮活動20年，伊方則提出僅暫停5年。

countries: 伊朗 美國 以色列 巴基斯坦

title: 伊朗為霍爾木茲海峽通行設定三個條件


content_text: 中評社高雄4月18日電（記者 蔣繼平）民進黨高雄市長參選人、綠委賴瑞隆選情不被外界看好，引起熱議。熟悉綠營的反萊豬醫師蘇偉碩向中評社表示，主要是賴清德執政沒成績，民進黨內部路線、資源分配不是很好，問題因此浮現。蔡英文日前有來高雄拉抬賴瑞隆但效果不大，也反映年底選舉要叫英系總動員，恐怕對綠基層來說心中還有罣礙。 蘇偉碩，高雄醫學大學醫學士，擁有精神科專科醫師證照，是台灣民間反瘦肉精毒豬聯盟的骨幹。從學生時代就參加環保運動、學運，曾與民進黨並肩反美牛，反萊豬時變成綠營眼中釘，與綠營分道揚鑣，現持續針砭時事並關心政治議題。 針對年底高雄市長選情，媒體人吳子嘉日前表示，綠委賴瑞隆目前好像與藍委柯志恩打到平手了，隨時可能翻盤。如果賴瑞隆hold不住，民進黨中央可能會把候選人的主導權，收回歸黨中央，就是黨中央派人幫他選，打法就不一樣了。 對此，蘇偉碩表示，因為賴瑞隆的選情，目前在高雄感覺起來並沒有很熱。主要是民進黨籍高雄市長陳其邁任期屆滿無法再選，英系的陳其邁與新潮流的賴瑞隆也有一個問題，兩人在民進黨內屬於不同派系，新潮流又掌握黨中央與執政。 蘇偉碩表示，新系與陳其邁之間是有問題存在的，因為2018年高雄市長選舉時，陳其邁會輸給國民黨的韓國瑜時，很大一部分是新潮流並沒有用力，因為原本新潮流的劉世芳想選高雄市長未果，所以才有新潮流沒有全力幫陳其邁的說法。 蘇偉碩表示，而賴瑞隆今年初選出線後，賴清德過年期間來高雄曾向陳其邁喊話“麥克風更大隻”，暗示若年底選得好，陳其邁會高升到“中央”去。但之後並沒有看到綠營有整合大團結的氣勢，目前高雄好像還沒有出現。

events: 選舉 參選

people: 蔡英文 韓國瑜 賴瑞隆 柯志恩 賴清德 陳其邁 劉世芳

title: 蘇偉碩：小賴選情不熱 大賴要先處理內傷


content_text: 中評社台北4月18日電（記者 黃筱筠）中國國民黨主席鄭麗文訪陸後，大陸推出十項惠台措施，另一邊則是美國不斷施壓台灣要通過軍購特別預算。呈現2026與2028兩場選舉確定是和平牌對上戰爭牌，民眾到底要選哪一邊？而鄭麗文戰力強，將綠營極力抹紅的攻勢，轉化為訪陸只是希望兩岸和平的論述，恐怕民進黨也會怕。 鄭麗文訪陸回台之後，“抗中”風向轉變，除了民進黨，美方也察覺了。蔡英文17日下午特別發文與美國在台協會（AIT）台北辦事處長谷立言一同爬山，蔡還說台美關係就像爬山，“是我們雙方共同克服困難、攀登山頂的堅實夥伴關係”。 有趣的是，AIT在蔡英文發文後，也用了同一張照片發文，同樣談台美關係。美方是在利用蔡英文比賴清德較中性的角色，祭出美國牌來平衡鄭麗文的兩岸和平牌繼續發酵，美方想要重新奪回話語權，並鞏固親美路線在選民心中的正當性。 鄭麗文訪陸返台之後，安排數個節目訪問，論述此行大陸以和平交流為目的，只是為了不讓台灣站上戰爭邊緣，加上陸方拋出對台十項措施，這讓台灣民眾非常有感，連民進黨都陷入接不接球的困境。 鄭麗文從訪陸前到訪陸後一連串的鋪陳，不只論述能力強，說法也頗能獲得民眾認同，不管是在大陸演說或是回到台灣接受訪問時，都把困難的論述簡化，甚至出了不少金句，這很能獲取選民認同，尤其是年輕選民。 加上鄭麗文臉書善用短影音，將專訪內容剪輯成為一分鐘短影片，重點論述，又能劃重點，更能博取年輕選民關注，年輕人會願意繼續聽鄭麗文到底想說什麼，以及能為兩岸做些什麼，這些作法都很像過去的民進黨，也因為鄭麗文作法不像傳統國民黨政治人物，不管戰力或是論述能力都很強，民進黨也開始擔心。

journalist: 黃筱筠

countries: 台灣 美國

people: 鄭麗文 賴清德 蔡英文

title: 鄭麗文戰力強 美方、綠軍都怕了？


countries: 美國 台灣 香港 中國

things: 經濟 九二共識

title: “十五五”提供機遇 兩岸應攜手重構價值鏈


content_text: 中評社快評/中國國民黨主席鄭麗文日前率團訪陸甫落幕，大陸即發佈十項兩岸交流合作新措施。儘管此舉被普遍認為是大陸的善意，對台灣是大利多，但台灣商業界、產業界至今保持低調。 沉默數日，台灣商業總會理事長許舒博終於打破僵局，預定在4月20日上午召開記者會，匯聚旅行、旅館、食品、糕餅、水果、遊覽車等7大公會代表，闡述產業界對大陸十項交流合作措施的看法。這不僅是產業界的首次集體發聲，更標誌著台灣業者從“低調觀望”到“勇於表達”的轉變。 長期以來，兩岸經貿往來始終被政治陰影籠罩。民進黨政府動輒以“統戰工具”“糖衣毒藥”污名化大陸惠台政策，甚至將農漁產品輸陸等民生議題綁上政治戰車。然而，產業界心知肚明：無論是全面恢復兩岸直航、推動自由行試點，還是擴大農漁產品輸入，每一項措施都直接牽動台灣觀光、食品、運輸等行業的生存命脈。旅行業者李奇嶽的無奈嘆息“被綁在政治戰車上”，正是業界長期受困於意識形態對抗的真實寫照。 如今，業者選擇站出來，不是因為政治立場轉變，而是因為生計壓力已不容再沉默。大陸是台灣不可或缺的重要市場，ECFA早收清單持續讓台灣中小企業受益，而新十項措施更釋出明確的開放信號。當民進黨政府以“缺乏市場需求”為由拖延開放，業者卻看見去年台灣赴陸高達489萬人次的民間往來需求；業者也清楚知道貨暢其流才生存王道。 其實無論是台灣業者，還是絕大多數普遍台灣民眾都很清楚：兩岸和平穩定、經貿正常化，是全民利益的根本。業者不應被迫在政治口水戰中噤聲，更不該讓意識形態阻斷生路。從低調到發聲，代表台灣社會正逐漸擺脫政治恐嚇，回歸理性務實。當業者願意為自身與全民利益站出來，主政者若仍一意阻撓，最終會被民意反噬。

people: 許舒博 鄭麗文

title: 快評：業者終將發聲 利益面前無政治


people: 鄭麗文 許舒博

title: 快評：業者終將發聲 利益面前無政治


events: 參選 選舉

people: 韓國瑜 賴瑞隆 蔡英文 劉世芳 柯志恩 陳其邁 賴清德

title: 蘇偉碩：小賴選情不熱 大賴要先處理內傷


people: 劉世芳 柯志恩 陳其邁 賴清德 韓國瑜 賴瑞隆 蔡英文

title: 蘇偉碩：小賴選情不熱 大賴要先處理內傷


countries: 伊朗 巴基斯坦 美國 以色列

title: 伊朗為霍爾木茲海峽通行設定三個條件


content_text: 中評社台北4月18日電（記者 張嘉文）大陸日前公布10項惠台措施，提出“支持金門共用廈門新機場”引發討論。台官方示警，認為涉及統戰敘事與飛航安全問題。新黨主席、前金門縣副縣長吳成典向中評社指出，所謂“共用機場”並非新議題，早在20多年前金廈之間即已透過務實協商解決空域與導航問題，如今條件更成熟，所以只要回到理性協商，絕對可行。 廈門翔安國際機場可望於今年12月啟用，可滿足年旅客吞吐量4500萬人次、貨郵吞吐量75萬噸、飛機起降38萬架次的使用，距離金門僅2公里。根據廈門市翔安區政府官網表示，翔安機場建設預留金門專用航廈、金門跨海通道接口等。廈金大橋（廈門段）、泉金高速將接入機場，規劃對台客運碼頭，謀劃高鐵接入金門，形成對台海陸空鐵立體綜合交通網絡。 吳成典強調，金門與廈門事實上早已融合為同個生活圈，小三通實施25年來，兩地人員往來頻繁，不少金門居民日常採買、社交活動都延伸至廈門，“早上過去廈門、中午回來金門已是常態”。在此情況下，交通、航空與基礎設施的整合，是自然發展的結果，還要用意識形態阻擋的話，無法讓金門人接受。 中國國民黨主席鄭麗文4月7日訪問大陸展開為期6天的國共交流，12日落幕，大陸方面隨即宣布10項惠台措施，其中涉及金門相關的內容包括，支持金門與即將啟用的“廈門翔安新機場”共用設施；推動福建沿海與金門、馬祖地區的通水、通電、通氣、通橋等等。 吳成典接受中評社訪問時強調，金門與廈門距離極近，空域與航道重疊本就是長期存在的客觀事實，不應過度政治化。他回憶，早年金門尚義機場因濃霧影響嚴重，飛機起降困難。 時任立委的他，居中與大陸方面及台灣民航主管機關協調，最終達成默契，由廈門高崎機場航班儘量往大陸內陸方向起降，將海上航道留給金門使用，同時完成導航系統建置，使金門機場起降能見度由3200公尺大幅降至800公尺，這套機制運作至今已超過20年，證明兩岸在飛安議題上完全可以務實合作。

journalist: 張嘉文

people: 吳成典 鄭麗文

political-parties: 新黨 中國國民黨

taiwan-subdivisions: 金門 金門縣 前金

title: 吳成典：金門共同廈門機場絕對可行


content_text: 中評社台北4月18日電（記者 鄭羿菲）中國國民黨主席鄭麗文訪陸後，大陸推出十項惠台措施。中國文化大學新聞系教授莊伯仲接受中評社訪問表示，鄭麗文訪陸應該不會成為藍營選舉包袱，九二共識本身不會對2026地方選舉有負面扣分。民進黨若不接球十項惠台措施，民眾不滿情緒絕對會反應在選票上，他認為賴清德最終會部分接受民生相關的惠台措施，如農漁產品輸陸、觀光等。 至於在“習鄭會”後，美國在台協會（AIT）處長谷立言認為，台灣不需要在對話或嚇阻之間做選擇，兩者並不衝突，可以同時進行。莊伯仲說，谷立言的說法基本上是重申數十年來美國對兩岸的官方說詞。不過，賴清德執政後的作為明顯靠向“嚇阻”，谷立言的說法多少會對“賴政府”產生拉回稍微靠向兩岸對話的力量。 莊伯仲，美國韋恩州立大學傳播學博士，2011年曾任國民黨文傳會主委兼發言人，現為中國文化大學新聞系教授、北京大學、華東師範大學訪問學者，曾任中國文化大學新聞系主任、中國時報記者、中央通訊社監事。 莊伯仲接受中評社訪問表示，鄭麗文訪陸前，外界其實有不少疑慮，包括會否成為“統戰棋子”、會否流於形式，但這兩大疑慮都被打破了，鄭麗文赴陸態度不卑不亢，也講“中華民國”，至少是及格的，而在“習鄭會”結束後，大陸也宣布十項惠台措施，從近期民調上來看，台灣民眾對鄭麗文赴陸是持正面看法。 莊伯仲說，鄭麗文這趟訪陸，搞不好會讓2026地方選舉加分，他不認為鄭的相關說法、動作會拖累國民黨的選情，但過去不少選舉過程中並非國民黨主動的事件，台灣民眾最後都把帳算在國民黨頭上，包括2015年底的周子瑜事件等。 莊伯仲認為，因此，九二共識本身應該不會對選舉有負面扣分，但這段期間還有待觀察是否有相關擦槍走火事件。

journalist: 鄭羿菲

countries: 台灣 中華民國 美國

people: 賴清德 鄭麗文

title: 莊伯仲析賴扛不住壓力 會接受部份惠台措施


countries: 美國 台灣 中華民國

people: 鄭麗文 賴清德

title: 莊伯仲析賴扛不住壓力 會接受部份惠台措施


people: 鄭麗文 蔡英文 賴清德

title: 鄭麗文戰力強 美方、綠軍都怕了？


countries: 伊朗 巴基斯坦 以色列 美國

title: 伊朗為霍爾木茲海峽通行設定三個條件


content_text:
伊朗國會議長卡利巴夫（右二）、外交部長阿拉奇（左二）11日抵達巴基斯坦與美國進行談判。（歐新社）

〔財經頻道／綜合報導〕美國與伊朗11日在巴基斯坦首都伊斯蘭堡展開談判，在經歷長達21小時的馬拉松談判後，最終破局。《路透》17日披露，伊朗代表團擔憂以色列可能會試圖殺害他們，於是上週末由巴基斯坦出動戰機護送伊朗談判代表返國。

《路透》引述消息人士的話稱，伊朗代表團結束與美國的談判後，巴基斯坦部署戰鬥機護送伊朗代表團回國，此前有人擔心該代表團在回程途中可能成為攻擊目標。三位知情人士透露，伊朗官員在上週末於伊斯蘭堡舉行的談判破裂後，討論以色列可能發動襲擊的可能性，隨後採取此一行動。

兩名巴基斯坦消息人士稱，巴基斯坦部署了大約20多架戰機進行護航，並動用了巴基斯坦空軍的空中預警和監控系統進行空中監視，以確保伊朗代表團能夠安全從伊斯蘭堡安全返國。

一名安全部門消息人士說，談判失敗後，伊朗感到不安，認為事情進展不順利，懷疑自己可能成為襲擊目標。一名地區外交官表示，在伊朗代表提出「假設的」威脅可能性後，巴基斯坦堅持要求護送。

消息人士表示，如果伊朗方面提出要求，將在後續會談中提供類似的安全保護，「否則巴基斯坦飛機將在巴基斯坦領空迎接他們」。參與談判的第三位消息人士稱，相關措施已經在制定中，預計最早將於本週末舉行第二輪美伊談判。

對此，以色列總理辦公室未立即回應置評請求；伊朗常駐日內瓦代表團未立即回應置評請求。巴基斯坦空軍和軍方未回應有關此行動的問題；美國駐伊斯蘭堡大使館也沒有回應置評請求。

一手掌握經濟脈動 點我訂閱自由財經Youtube頻道

countries: 巴基斯坦 以色列 伊朗 美國

title: 超怕被以色列趁機斬首！路透爆巴基斯坦出動戰機護送伊朗代表團


content_text:
苗栗縣通霄鎮劉姓男子每年都會跟隨白沙屯媽祖進香，今年因為中風無法隨行，護理之家團隊為他啟動圓夢計畫，努力復健，趕在媽祖出發前「走」進拱天宮，參拜時不禁潸然淚下。

大千健康醫療體系附設南勢護理之家今天分享這起圓夢故事，身為通霄子弟的 41 歲劉姓男子往年白沙屯拱天宮媽祖進香從不缺席，但在去年底因突如其來的中風，導致生活劇變，面臨無法自理的困境，今年 1 月入住南勢護理之家，初期更曾因意識混亂、躁動而感到挫折。

在護理師與照顧人員耐心陪伴與自立生活訓練下，男子順利恢復意識，並拔除鼻胃管，他也感嘆身體大不如前，「不知能否再親自到媽祖面前上香」，這句話觸動護理之家團隊，決定啟動「圓夢計畫」，幫助他重返信仰中心。

護理之家指出，為了能以最好的狀態站到媽祖面前，劉姓男子展現驚人的韌性，每天忍受復健的艱辛，使用助行器不斷練習；白沙屯媽祖徒步進香前夕，他在隨行醫護人員的守護下，克服中風後的身體障礙，終於回到家鄉拱天宮，用雙腳緩步走入拱天宮正殿。

醫護人員說，當男子放下助行器、雙手合十的那一刻，彷彿回首從年少輕狂到生病失意，再到重新站起的人生艱辛歷程，他不禁潸然淚下。這一幕，也讓在場的信眾與醫護人員為之動容。

除了尋求信仰的慰藉，家人也一直是男子心中的牽掛。當天參拜結束後，團隊安排車輛駛向通霄市區，抵達家人經營的店舖，面對這場「意外驚喜」，家人與鄰里朋友驚訝地看著原本臥床的他，竟能挺直身軀站在面前，紛紛送上擁抱與讚賞；劉姓男子激動地說，「家人朋友的關懷，是復健路上最大的動力」。

大千南勢護理之家指出，圓夢計畫不只是完成一項心願，更是復健治療中的重要一環，透過心理能量的驅動，能讓個案在復原之路上走得更穩、更遠。在這個白沙屯媽祖進香的季節，男子的故事證明，只要不放棄，回家的路、朝聖的路，都不再遙遠。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

journalist: 芋傳媒

taiwan-subdivisions: 白沙 通霄 苗栗縣

title: 男中風進香路難行 勤復健走進白沙屯拱天宮圓夢


content_text:
基隆市動保所日前在暖暖山區查獲大型非法鳥網，12 隻鳥禽掛網，其中保育類黑鳶一度被認為已氣絕，卻在清理時突然對人員眨眼，展現強韌生機，經救治後脫水情形已好轉。

基隆市動物保護防疫所今天透過新聞稿表示，15 日下午接獲通報，暖暖運動公園後方山區隱蔽山谷架有以竹子與繩索固定的大型非法鳥網，動保人員抵達後發現網上掛有 12 隻鳥禽；目視原以為都已死亡，但在準備收網清理時，1 隻遭網纏繞黑鳶突然眨眼，人員隨即展開救援。

根據台灣猛禽研究會回報，這隻黑鳶年紀輕，目測體重 710 公克，雖有脫水但體態適中，經治療後，目前精神穩定且能自行站立，雖脫水情形已好轉但身體仍虛弱，留在研究會接受專業照護；至於其餘受困鳥禽，1 隻保育類遊隼及 10 隻鴿子都已死亡。

動保所指出，由於近期適逢北海春季鴿賽，這片大型鳥網可能是不肖擄鴿集團為攔截賽鴿架設的陷阱，為避免更多物種受害，已當場將這片危害山林的大型鳥網全數清除。

動保所長陳柏廷表示，架設鳥網不僅嚴重破壞自然環境與生態，若違法獵捕到保育類野生猛禽，依「野生動物保育法」最高可處5年以下有期徒刑，民眾切勿心存僥倖以身試法。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

taiwan-subdivisions: 基隆 基隆市 暖暖

title: 12鳥禽掛基隆非法鳥網 黑鳶絕處求生突眨眼展韌性