taiwan-subdivisions: 里港 鹽埔 九如 屏東縣

title: 百香果拍賣價格創新高　里港警分局啟動「護果專案」

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▼里港警分局九如分駐所所長邵軾傑特別率員前往轄內果園、百香果產銷班及合作社等處進行防竊與犯罪預防宣導。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局里港分局）

【記者何勁陞／里港報導】 每年3-7月是屏東百香果產期，其中屏東縣九如鄉種植的藍星百香果再創佳績，繼去年3月連續在北農一市、二市、三市拍賣價超過每公斤200元，5月初在共同運銷北部市場拍賣價格再創天價，更破紀錄每公斤350元。為防制農產品遭竊及維護農民辛勞成果，轄區里港警分局九如分駐所所長邵軾傑特別率員前往轄內果園、百香果產銷班及合作社等處進行防竊與犯罪預防宣導，提醒農民加強巡視果園周邊環境，妥善設置照明及監視設備，並提高警覺留意可疑人車，共同守護農產安全。

九如分駐所所長邵軾傑表示，隨著百香果價格水漲船高，採收期間易成為宵小覬覦目標，派出所除持續編排巡邏勤務外，也特別針對重要果園區域及聯外道路加強巡守作為，透過設置巡邏箱、增加夜間巡邏班次及提高見警率等方式，結合民力、守望相助隊及產銷班合作社力量，強化果園周邊安全維護；另亦運用無人機巡視果園及偏僻產業道路，即時掌握周遭可疑人車動態，提升整體巡防效能。

里港警分局分局長邱逸樵表示，守護農民辛勤耕耘成果是警方責無旁貸之工作，警方將持續落實各項巡邏與犯罪預防勤務，並依農產採收期特性滾動式調整勤務作為，透過設置巡邏箱、加強夜間巡邏及科技設備輔助巡查等方式，全面守護農產安全與地方治安，讓農民能安心耕作、平安豐收。

守護城市也守護家 里港分局長及警友會致贈母親節好禮慰勞最強『警力女神』

▼里港分局長邱逸樵與里港警友辦事處主任林秀菊、顧問莊耀輝及顧問團隊共同向辛勞付出的警察媽媽致上最高敬意。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局里港分局）

母親節將近，為感謝女性同仁在治安工作與家庭照顧間的辛勞付出，屏東縣里港警分局長邱逸樵及里港警友辦事處主任林秀菊、顧問莊耀輝及顧問團隊，特於母親節前夕準備優雅大方且花期長的蘭花杯組分送予分局每位同仁，向里港分局身兼人母的同仁及所有警察同仁背後的強力後援表達敬意與謝忱。分局長及主任一致肯定女性同仁如「戰警」般剛強、如「女神」般溫柔，是守護屏東治安不可或缺的堅韌力量。

本次活動由分局長邱逸樵與里港警友辦事處主任林秀菊、顧問莊耀輝及顧問團隊共同向辛勞付出的警察媽媽致上最高敬意，顧問莊耀輝更特別針對每位身兼警職的媽媽們加碼慰問金，肯定她們在維護治安之餘，仍肩負家庭重任，長期面對晝夜輪班與高壓勤務，依然細心照顧子女、兼顧家庭與工作。多位被譽為「警力女神」的警察媽媽，以溫柔與堅韌撐起雙重角色，無論在街頭守護民眾，或在家中陪伴孩子成長，都展現警職女性無可取代的力量與光芒，讓母愛在崗位與生活中持續發光發熱，令人動容與敬佩。

里港警分局分局長邱逸樵表示，警察工作不同於一般公務員，全年無休、24小時待命，勤務型態多為晝夜輪替，常難以兼顧家庭。感謝每位警察同仁背後堅韌付出的女性，在同仁堅守第一線維護治安之際，默默承擔照顧家庭重責，讓警察能無後顧之憂投入治安維護、為民服務。另也特別感謝單位內每一位女性同仁的辛勞付出，在這特別的日子，向所有偉大的女性致上最誠摯敬意，感恩有您，並祝福母親節快樂。

有關網傳影片 鹽埔鄉勝利路段疑似肇事逃逸事故說明

網傳影片，5月5日6時許，屏東縣鹽埔鄉一名女性騎士騎乘微型電動二輪車欲左轉勝利路時，與沿勝利路直行之自小貨車發生交通事故，該自小貨車疑似未停留處理即駛離現場。里港警分局目前尚未接獲報案，已主動介入調查釐清案情。

根據道路交通管理處罰條例第62條規定，汽車駕駛人駕駛汽車肇事，無人受傷或死亡而未依規定處置者，處新臺幣一千元以上三千元以下罰鍰；逃逸者，並吊扣其駕駛執照一個月至三個月。汽車駕駛人駕駛汽車肇事致人受傷或死亡者，應即採取救護措施及依規定處置，並通知警察機關處理，不得任意移動肇事汽車及現場痕跡證據，違反者處新臺幣三千元以上九千元以下罰鍰，並吊銷其駕駛執照。

里港警分局呼籲，民眾駕駛車輛行經路口時，應減速慢行並注意周邊車況；如不慎發生交通事故，務必留在現場處理並立即報警，以免觸法受罰。


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▼警方更滾動式調整電子巡簽點及增加深夜巡邏密度，以遏止竊案發生並利後續案件查緝。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局潮州分局）

【記者何勁陞／潮州報導】 屏東縣氣候溫和、物產豐饒，為農業重鎮，農產品於高價時期，易成宵小覬覦目標；潮州分局轄區有潮州鎮、竹田鄉、新埤鄉、來義鄉等四大鄉鎮，轄區居民以務農為主，種植香蕉、檳榔、鳳梨、芒果、養殖泰國蝦等為大宗，以每年4月至8月為盛產時期。

潮州分局為杜絕農產品竊盜，造成農民重大經濟損失，血本無歸，啟動「護農專案」。潮州分局特別製作專屬果園防盜QR-code張貼於果園周遭，讓人民發現可疑人車時能即時傳送照片或定位通報警方，警民連線合作防竊。並加強輔導農民安裝感應式照明、感應蜂鳴器、高畫質監視器亦或是飼養警衛犬，警方更滾動式調整電子巡簽點及增加深夜巡邏密度，以遏止竊案發生並利後續案件查緝。

潮州分局近日接連破獲連續竊盜案件，緝獲2名竊嫌並聲押獲准。其中1名竊嫌更因為竊取番茄等農作物造成農民損失，潮州警方近日接連將二名竊嫌緝獲，讓農民連聲感謝警方的協助，免於持續遭竊。

潮州分局長黃世德表示，為確保農民們辛勞投入心血能夠順利收成，警方將持續啟動「護農專案」措施結合民力資源共同防制犯罪，防範宵小，不讓農民的辛勞付諸流水。也提醒民眾如發現果園周遭有可疑人、事時應立即掃描通防盜QR-code通報警方到場，以即時遏阻犯罪發生。

潮州警結合山地義警強化巡查 警民協力守護山林治安

▼潮州警分局於4月27日至30日執行為期4天的「山域治安訪查工作」。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局潮州分局）

為守護山林資源與原鄉部落安全，潮州警分局近日結合山地義勇警察力量，深入轄內山區展開巡查與查察勤務，透過警民協力，全面織起山域治安防護網。
 潮州警分局於4月27日至30日執行為期4天的「山域治安訪查工作」，行動期間共勸導非法入山6件，協助山難及為民服務5件，並結合在地義警強化巡查網絡，有效壓縮犯罪空間，守護原鄉山林安全。由於轄區涵蓋來義鄉山區，地形遼闊且多處人煙罕至，過去曾查獲流動式製毒工廠，顯示山區易成不法活動據點。

警方因此結合熟悉地形的山地義勇警察組成清查小組，針對可疑工寮、空屋及易發生濫墾、盜伐區域逐一盤查，持續強化山域治安防護作為。
 為避免轄區交界形成治安死角，潮州分局亦與內埔、枋寮警分局進行聯合會哨，交換治安情資並協調勤務，提升整體防制效能。

潮州分局長黃世德表示，目前來義鄉部分山區仍屬管制區域，提醒民眾登山前應事先申請入山許可，並審慎評估自身體力與裝備，以確保安全。同時呼籲民眾，如在山區發現可疑人事物，應即時通報警方，共同維護山林資源與社會安全。

弱勢家庭突遭變故 潮警結合地方善心送暖解困

▼警方除維護治安、交通外，亦持續深入社區關懷弱勢族群，適時轉介社會資源，發揮為民服務精神。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局潮州分局）

屏東縣政府警察局潮州分局餉潭派出所警員傅奕銘，於日前執行勤區查察勤務時，主動關懷轄內民眾生活情形，得知新埤鄉箕湖村潘姓男子（91年次）日前因車禍重傷，目前於高雄長庚醫院接受治療中。

經傅員進一步訪查了解，潘民家中原由其一人負擔主要經濟來源，惟其母親楊姓婦人長期接受癌症追蹤治療，父親潘姓男子患有智能障礙且關節退化、行動不便，無工作能力；其兄亦領有身心障礙手冊，無穩定收入。全家生活原僅仰賴政府低收入戶補助維生，經濟狀況本已拮据，今因潘民突遭車禍重創，龐大醫療費用使家庭頓時陷入困境，亟需外界協助。

傅員得知詳情後，本著「人溺己溺」之精神，立即主動聯繫平時熱心公益之新埤鄉潘代表協助轉介，並獲屏東縣陳議員及新埤鄉長曾鄉長共同響應。於5月1日，由陳議員、曾鄉長、潘代表及餉潭所警員傅奕銘共同前往潘家探視。除了表達關懷之意，並親自發放愛心慰問金，期盼這筆急難救助金能協助潘家緩解燃眉之急。受贈家屬潘父對於警方積極主動聯繫地方仕紳解決困難之舉，深表感激，數度致謝。

潮州分局長黃世德表示，警方除維護治安、交通外，亦持續深入社區關懷弱勢族群，適時轉介社會資源，發揮為民服務精神。黃分局長也呼籲社會上仍有許多需要幫助的家庭，期盼各界發揮愛心，共同關懷弱勢，讓溫暖持續傳遞。

title: 潮州警方結合防盜QR Code啟動護農專案

taiwan-subdivisions: 潮州 屏東縣 內埔 高雄 枋寮 來義 新埤 竹田


title: Taiwan makes it to top 20 in report on AI diffusion

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ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION:  Taiwan ranked ahead of the US, Denmark and Germany, which placed 21st, 22nd and 23rd respectively, in use of generative AI

Taiwan recorded the world’s 20th-highest artificial intelligence (AI) diffusion rate in the first quarter of this year, entering the top 20 for the first time, a report released by a Microsoft think tank showed.

In the AI Economy Institute report published on Thursday, Taiwan recorded a generative AI usage rate of 31.8 percent of its working population, rising from 23rd place in the second half of last year.

Taiwan ranked ahead of the US, Denmark and Germany, which placed 21st, 22nd and 23rd with rates of 31.3 percent, 31.2 percent and 31.1 percent respectively.

Taiwan and Japan posted increases of 3.4 percentage points from the previous quarter, tying for the sixth-largest gain.

South Korea, ranked 16th globally with a diffusion rate of 37.1 percent, recorded the largest increase at 6.4 percentage points.

The report measured the share of people aged 15 to 64 using generative AI across 147 economies.

Globally, the AI diffusion rate reached 17.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, up 1.5 percentage points from the second half of last year, the report said.

A total of 26 economies recorded diffusion rates above 30 percent.

The United Arab Emirates and Singapore were the only two economies with diffusion rates exceeding 50 percent, at 70.1 percent and 63.4 percent respectively.

The two nations were followed by Norway, Ireland, France, Spain, New Zealand, the UK, the Netherlands and Qatar.

The report also said that 12 of the 15 economies with the sharpest increases in AI use since June last year were in Asia, with each recording a minimum growth of about 25 percent in AI users.

South Korea led with a 43.2 percent increase, followed by Thailand at 36.4 percent and Japan at 34.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the gap in AI adoption between the so-called global north and global south was widening.

The diffusion rate in the “global north” rose from 22.9 percent in the second half of last year to 27.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, while the “global south” increased from 13.1 percent to 15.4 percent.

The institute attributed the widening divide to persistent challenges in the “global south,” including limited access to reliable electricity and Internet connectivity, as well as lower digital skills.

“Until these foundational gaps are addressed, the benefits of generative AI will remain unevenly distributed, risking a deepening of existing global inequalities,” the report said.


title: Elementary-school-level English test sign-ups soar

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By Rachel Lin, Yang Mien-chieh and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer

English test participation at elementary schools has surged over the past decade, test administrator Language Training and Testing Center (LTTC) said.

Since the introduction of an elementary-school-level English test in 2015, registrations for the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT, 全民英檢) have surpassed 10 million, with the number of elementary-school students taking the test rising more than 30 percent over the past decade, it said.

LTTC official Wu Yi-fen (吳怡芬) attributed part of the rise to the 2019 national syllabus, which has designated GEPT test results as a “general indicator” of learning results.

A person demonstrates the Ministry of Education’s free online English proficiency test in Taipei in an undated photrograph. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times

Chun Shin Co (忠欣公司), which hosts one of the testing sites for Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exams, said last year’s statistics showed that test takers had an average score of 64, with about half of them at the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages A2 level, adding that the students were capable of carrying out basic conversations in English.

The TOEFL Primary and TOEFL Junior tests are aimed at children younger than eight and teenagers aged 11 to 15, offering an internationally recognized measure of English proficiency, it added.

However, the trend of lowering the age for English exams has also sparked debate.

National Federation of Teachers’ Unions president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) said focusing on the English proficiency test deprived elementary-school students of time to explore diverse subjects and interests, contradicting the basic spirit of the national syllabus, which centers education on students.

Parents were divided on the subject as well.

Action Alliance on Basic Education president Wang Han-yang (王瀚陽) said the rising popularity of elementary-school-level English tests reflects parents’ concerns over bilingual education policies and academic competition.

Wang cautioned against placing additional pressure on young children through early testing and certification, urging a focus on cultivating their interest and confidence in using English.

Others said taking the test early would allow parents to more accurately gauge their children’s proficiency, while some acknowledged that peer pressure and academic competition often lead parents to feel that “if other kids are taking it, my child has to take it, too.”

K-12 Education Administration official Chang Yan-kai (張硯凱) said the Ministry of Education has a free online proficiency test that allows test takers to see their proficiency immediately, adding that the system also provides performance analysis.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Examination Deputy Minister Liu Yueh-lan (劉約蘭) said that including an English proficiency test result as part of the state examination criteria has reduced the number of test takers while improving overall test takers’ quality.

Policies would continue to be fine-tuned to balance fairness in examinations with the ability of qualified people, she said.

Soochow University Department of Political Science professor Wang Mao (王貿) in a paper published on the Examination Yuan’s Web site said that while setting an English proficiency score criterion for the public service exam helped raise the bar for test taker quality, it also increased the potential cost for test takers, and increased barriers for some groups due to resources needed.

The system can “screen” and “exclude” students, he said, adding that it could hamper chances of people from disadvantaged backgrounds and raise concerns about exam fairness.

Such criteria should be applied based on the job, so that examination fairness would not suffer and disadvantaged groups would not be barred from the examinations, Wang said.


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Iran yesterday questioned the seriousness of US diplomacy in the wake of renewed naval clashes in the Gulf, while keeping Washington waiting for a response to its latest negotiating position.

US President Donald Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal on a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks — “supposedly tonight.”

However, if Iran did send the talks’ Pakistani mediators a response, there was no public sign of this, and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi called into question the reliability of the US leadership, in a call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

People walk past a large tiled image of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as they enter and leave a metro station in Tehran yesterday. Photo: AFP

“The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy,” ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

In an incident on Friday, a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iran’s ports. The US action prompted Iranian retaliatory attacks.

An Iranian military official told local media the country’s navy had “responded to the violation of the ceasefire and to American terrorism with strikes” and “the clashes have now ceased.”

The latest incident came after a previous flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international sea lane that Iran is seeking to control to extract tolls from foreign vessels and to wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said that it was “unacceptable” for Tehran to control the key oil route.

Washington has sent Iran, via Pakistani mediators, a proposal to extend the truce in the Gulf to allow for talks on a final settlement of the conflict launched 10 weeks ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that the proposal was still “under review,” ISNA reported.

title: US attacks Iran tankers as deal hangs in balance


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Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that his soldiers in Ukraine were fighting an “aggressive force” backed by all of NATO and described his war goals as “just,” as he addressed a scaled back Victory Day parade on Red Square in Moscow.

Putin has made the memory of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II a central narrative of his 25-year rule. Russian authorities typically mark the parade with pomp and grandeur.

However, a spate of Ukrainian long-range attacks in the past few weeks prompted the Kremlin to ramp up security measures and downsize this year’s celebrations.

Russian soldiers march on Red Square in Moscow during the Victory Day parade yesterday. Photo: AFP

The parade was vastly smaller compared with previous years, with no military hardware on display for the first time in nearly two decades and only a handful of foreign dignitaries in attendance — most of them leaders of Russia’s close allies.

Moscow and Kyiv agreed to observe a three-day ceasefire over the event, announced by US President Donald Trump. Moscow had threatened a “massive” strike on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted the proceedings.

In an address to the parade, attended by Russian military units as well as soldiers from North Korea, Putin invoked the Soviet victory to rally support for his army in Ukraine.

“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the soldiers carrying out the goals of the special military operation today,” Putin said.

“They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc, and despite this, our heroes move forward,” he said.

“I firmly believe that our cause is just,” he added later.

The speech drew a cool reception from some in Moscow, with Internet outages and fatigue over the four-year Ukraine war casting a shadow over the events.

When asked how she felt on Victory Day, which marks the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, 36-year-old economist Elena replied: “Nothing.”

“I need the Internet, and I don’t have it,” she said from central Moscow, adding that she would not watch the parade.

After two failed attempts at truces this week by Russia and Ukraine, US President Donald Trump announced on Friday a three-day ceasefire between both sides would come into effect from yesterday.

“Hopefully, it is the beginning of the end of a very long, deadly, and hard fought War,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network, adding that the ceasefire would be accompanied by a prisoner exchange.

The Kremlin said that there were no plans to prolong the truce.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a decree on Friday ordering the Ukrainian military not to attack the parade and in a separate statement confirmed his government would adhere to the ceasefire to enable the swap of 1,000 detainees from each warring side.

“Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners who can be returned home,” Zelenskiy said.

The Ukrainian Air Force and the Russian Ministry of Defense reported fewer drone attacks overnight.

Now in its fifth year, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and spiraled into Europe’s deadliest since World War II.

title: Putin chides NATO in speech given at Victory Day parade


people: 鄭正鈐 徐巧芯 賴清德

content_text:
‘NO ROOM FOR HAGGLING’: The approved budget did not include allocations for the local defense industry and was not enough to pay for US arms, President William Lai said

The Cabinet is mulling a new special budget act to fund critical defense programs, a source said yesterday, after opposition lawmakers on Friday rejected the Cabinet’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.77 billion) military spending plan and passed a reduced bill that capped the budget at NT$780 billion.

The Executive Yuan’s proposal included funding for the “T-Dome,” artificial intelligence (AI)-boosted kill chains and the indigenous arms industry, the Cabinet official said on condition of anonymity.

The programs are mutually supporting components of the nation’s defense strategy that cannot be removed without harming the whole, they said.

Taiwanese soldiers pose with a Republic of China flag near a Sky Sword II surface-to-air missile launcher and a military uncrewed aerial vehicle during an annual military exercise in Taichung on Jan. 27. Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters

President William Lai (賴清德) deemed the omission unacceptable for national security and has told the Executive Yuan to rectify the shortfalls in military spending at once, the source said, adding that the Cabinet believes it would not be feasible to propose the special budget act again under the current political climate.

The cut defense programs cannot be added to the annual general budget, as that would increase national debt by more than 15 percent, the maximum stipulated by the Public Debt Act (公共債務法), the official said.

Any attempt to rein in national debt after including the defense items would have come at the expense of social welfare and healthcare expenditures, which is unacceptable to the administration, they added.

Therefore, the Cabinet plans to draft a new special budget act for programs it deems essential for the nation’s military defense, but that opposition parties have refused to fund, the official said.

Meanwhile, in response to the US Department of State welcoming the defense budget’s passage and worries that further delays would be a “concession to the Chinese Communist Party,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said the KMT was exercising fiscal discipline to avoid increasing national debt.

“We support the appropriate inclusion of items in the annual defense budget and ask that the Ministry of National Defense not to delay the process,” she said.

KMT Legislator Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐) denied that the slashes to the budget would create gaps in Taiwan’s military capabilities.

The parts of the budget the opposition refused to endorse could be added to the annual budget or proposed in a supplementary budget, he said.

Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Wang An-hsiang (王安祥) said a resolution was passed on Friday that expressed approval for deepening bilateral collaborations with the US.

Separately yesterday, Lai said the Legislative Yuan made a small first step toward providing for national defense, but it was not enough to pay for the arms Taiwan has ordered from the US.

To the detriment of national security, the legislature failed to authorize allocations for buying weapon systems from domestic manufacturers, paying contractors and subsidizing Taiwan’s defense industry, he said.

“There is no room for haggling when it comes to national security and we wish that the political parties in the legislature would work toward securing the nation, stabilizing society and facilitating economic growth,” Lai said.

Additional reporting by Wang Shu-hsiu

title: Cabinet mulls new special bill


content_text:
The legislature on Friday approved a scaled-down defense budget, a move analysts viewed as a “positive first step,” despite concerns that delays to local defense programs could hurt Taiwan’s long-term military buildup.

The opposition-backed bill has a spending cap of NT$780 billion (US$24.82 billion), lower than the Cabinet’s NT$1.25 trillion proposal. It includes two key funding provisions for US weapons systems: NT$300 billion for sales approved by the US for Taiwan on Dec. 17 last year, and NT$480 billion earmarked for future arms packages expected to be announced by Washington.

Under the bill, approved and future arms sales would need legislative approval before funding could be disbursed.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s Defense Strategy and Resources Division, described the passage of the bill as a “good start.”

The defense bill reflected the broader power struggle between China and the US, he said.

“Beijing hoped to portray Taiwan as reluctant to strengthen its self-defense capabilities in an effort to convince the US to halt future arms sales,” Su said. “Meanwhile, the US wanted Taiwan to demonstrate its commitment to self-defense through concrete actions, not just slogans.”

Amid the US-China rivalry, Taiwan has assumed the role of a “chess player” rather than a “chess piece” by demonstrating its willingness to support its self-defense despite intense partisan wrangling over the bill, Su said.

Su said he hoped the ruling and opposition parties would also support the local defense industry, preferably through supplementary defense budgets.

“This is not for the government’s own convenience, but to offer manufacturers greater stability when investing in research and development, equipment, and raw materials,” he said.

Without stable financing, Taiwan’s efforts to achieve “defense autonomy” could be hampered, he said, citing as an example the F-CK-1 “Ching Kuo” fighter jet program, which he said suffered from sporadic funding.

The rejection of the Cabinet’s bill eliminated supplementary budget funding for major local defense industry initiatives, including plans to expand Taiwan’s drone production capacity.

National security expert Chen Wen-chia (陳文甲) said the version passed by the Legislative Yuan was more than just a reduction in funding, as it underscores a divergence in strategic thinking between a broader push for comprehensive defense transformation and a more limited approach focused on incremental military upgrades.

The Cabinet’s plan emphasized long-term, full-spectrum deterrence, while the Legislative Yuan’s version favors more constrained and tightly controlled defense spending, he said.

The Cabinet’s proposal focused on the “T-Dome,” bolstering defense resilience, and developing new capabilities such as artificial intelligence (AI) and drones as part of a more system-wide, integrated defense framework, Chen said.

It also showed the dependence of drones on AI, semiconductors, batteries, communications and sensors supply chains, and warned that insufficient domestic demand could slow defense industry development and cause Taiwan to miss opportunities in the reshaping of Indo-Pacific supply chains, he added.

The version passed by the Legislative Yuan concentrates on US arms procurement, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, self-propelled artillery, and Javelin and tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles, he said, adding that it reflected a preference for conventional firepower upgrades and near-term readiness.

The opposition-backed version also tightened legislative oversight, requiring budgets approval from the legislature before funding is disbursed, Chen said.

The move reflected opposition concerns over fiscal burden, procurement efficiency and the scope of delegated authority, Chen added.

title: Budget approval ‘positive’: experts


content_text:
COSMETICS CHAIN FALLOUT:  Inspections should be conducted at locations such as changing rooms and restrooms to make sure no spying is going on, a lawmaker said

The government should act fast to limit access to high-risk spy cameras, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) said yesterday in response to outrage over allegations that cosmetic chain Airlee Group Co (愛爾麗集團), Taiwan’s leading medical aesthetics group, had surveillance cameras installed in smoke detectors at branches across the nation.

Lo said that following similar incidents, Japan and South Korea established end-to-end regulatory frameworks to prevent illicit use of recording devices, but the devices are easily accessible in Taiwan.

The government should act fast before more people are victimized, he said.

It should create a list of banned cameras, block keywords commonly used to purchase the products online and conduct inspections at high-risk venues, he said.

Lo said that his office would issue formal inquiries with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the National Communications Commission, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, demanding that the agencies immediately establish concrete regulatory measures.

A list should be created of banned high-risk products, with e-commerce platforms required to remove listings of the items and block related keywords, he said.

Import inspections should be improved to control the issue at the source, he added.

Routine inspections should be conducted at high-risk locations, such as guesthouses, changing rooms and restrooms, and there should be clarity over which government agency is responsible for enforcement procedures, which need to be well defined, Lo said.

While amending laws takes time, administrative guidance, platform cooperation and inspections of imports can begin immediately, he said, adding that no one should need to worry that they might be watched while undressing.

The government has a responsibility to guarantee this fundamental safety, he added.

Meanwhile, Department of Medical Affairs Deputy Director Liu Yu-ching (劉玉菁) said that the health ministry would issue an official notice to the local health departments of a Airlie branch in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), where the initial allegations were made, ordering that the matter be handled in accordance with the law.

The alleged illegal activity might be in contravention of Article 108, Paragraph 6 of the Medical Act (醫療法), which prohibits “engaging in improper business practices that are detrimental to public morals or harmful to human health,” Liu said.

The punishment for breaching the rule is one month to one year of business suspension, as well as a fine of NT$50,000 to NT$500,000 (US$1,591 to US$15,909), she said.

Depending on the severity of the case, authorities might permanently revoke the facility’s business license, she added.

The regulations for medical institutions include privacy protection standards, so if a medical institution needs to record video for clinical purposes, it must provide a clear explanation to the patient beforehand and obtain mutual consent before proceeding, she said.

“If these steps are not followed, then recording is illegal,” Liu said, adding that legal recording should be done openly and with the patient’s informed consent, which is entirely different from surreptitious filming with a pinhole camera.

Another key factor is where the recorded footage is stored and its intended use, because if the images are used for non-medical purposes or leaked without justification, it would breach privacy regulations in Article 72 of the act, with other legal liabilities possible, she said.

The health ministry has scheduled a meeting on Wednesday, convening local health departments and medical groups to review privacy protection and inspection mechanisms at medical facilities, and to reiterate regulations, she said.

Airlee Group Co later yesterday said that it would set up a NT$100 million Member Protection Trust Fund tomorrow.

The fund would be overseen by lawyers and accountants, with regular public updates on its progress, it said.

The size of the fund would be adjusted as required to ensure the protection of its members’ rights, it added.

title: Action urged over spy camera products


title: Family key in alcohol battle, ministry says

content_text:
DIVORCED, DRINKING, JOBLESS: A man’s mother sought professional help on his behalf, as his drinking was destabilizing, an agency of the ministry of health said

Forty-nine percent of people who sought help about alcohol addiction were family members of people with an alcohol issue, implying that addiction also affects family members, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, which was Taiwan No Alcohol Day.

The Department of Mental Health said that people should seek professional help for alcohol addition, citing the situation of a man whose divorce triggered an alcohol-fueled decline.

The nearly-40-year-old had long-term sleeping problems and would drink to help him sleep, the department said.

People hold glasses of alcohol in an undated photograph. Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health Photo: Taipei Times

After his divorce, his alcohol consumption increased, which disrupted his daily routine and caused a decline in his work performance, leading to him losing his job, it said.

The man’s mother sought professional consultation on his behalf, reporting that although drinking offered her son temporary relief from emotional stress, hangovers and depression would follow, making a return to a stable life difficult, the department said.

When a person uses drinking to cope with stress, it often exacerbates problems, as well as affecting physical and mental health, and family relations, it said.

Taiwan Alcohol Abstinence and Addiction Prevention Center data showed that 49 percent of people who approached it for consultation to reduce or stop alcohol intake were family members of heavy drinkers, the department said.

The data indicate that addiction not only affects drinkers’ health, but can also be a problem for their family, it said.

Department of Mental Health Director-General Chen Po-hsi (陳柏熹) said that the ministry operates a nationwide alcohol addiction treatment subsidy program, offering up to NT$40,000 per person per year.

People with alcohol use disorders should seek treatment earlier and reduce their financial burden, Chen said.

The subsidies can cover medical fees for outpatient consultations, medication, psychotherapy, family therapy and other procedures, he said.

The program helped more than 4,000 people last year, the department said, adding that 130 facilities under the program provide alcohol addiction treatment services, so people with issues can seek medical attention with a psychiatric department or addiction specialist.

Support from family members is a major factor in the success of reducing or quitting alcohol, it said, adding that they can help people with alcohol problems by approaching the issue from a lifestyle perspective, including by asking them about sleep issues, their emotional state and ability to function normally.

Family members should avoid blaming or confrontations over alcohol use, it said.

People with alcohol use disorders or their family members can call the Taiwan Alcohol Abstinence and Addiction Prevention Center’s toll-free number at 0800-255-959 for consultations or for referrals for alcohol addiction treatment, the department said.


title: Taipower accused of wasting money on logo

content_text:
By Lo Kuo-chia and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) has wasted money to give its logo a slight overhaul while the firm is deep in the red, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) wrote on Facebook on Friday.

The state-run energy company spent NT$968,000 to update its logo, Wang said, adding that the original was inkbrushed by former Control Yuan president Yu You-ren (于右任), who was a master calligrapher, in 1946.

The logo is broadly unchanged, with its lines revamped and the accompanying text in a new font.

A composite image shows Taiwan Power Co’s old logo, top, and new logo. Photo: Screen grab from Huang Yang’s Facebook page

She credited online sleuths for bringing the issue to public attention, adding that she would focus on the financial aspects of the situation, as the aesthetics of calligraphy is a separate debate being carried out online.

Aaron Nieh Workshop, registered to Aaron Nieh (聶永真), in January 2024 won a contract to freshen up the logo, she said.

Four months later, the same company won a NT$980,000 contract to redo the logo of CPC Corp, Taiwan, the nation’s state-run oil company, she said.

Nieh seems to be favored as a designer by the Democratic Progressive Party-controlled government, as he was also awarded contracts to redesign the logos of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Tourism Bureau in 2023, she said.

Taipower reported losses of NT$54.66 billion in 2024, Wang said, citing its financial reports, adding that the Control Yuan expected the company’s debt ratio to be 97.3 percent by the end of that year.

As for CPC, its chairman, Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁), said that estimates about the company’s fiscal health were accurate and that it was in “dire straits,” she said.

“State-owned enterprises should not spend millions on logos as they cry poverty at the taxpayers’ expense,” she said, adding that it seemed odd that the same contractor kept winning bids.

Taipower later wrote on Facebook that the logo change was a comprehensive effort to reshape its corporate image.

“The new logo is more than just a redesign, it marks a key step in Taipower’s brand transformation,” it said. “The company is moving away from the familiar calligraphy style toward a cleaner, more modern visual identity.”

It needs a “clean, technological visual design to underscore broad range and breadth of its services and reflect Taipower’s mission of modernization and advancing technology,” it added.

Separately, Nieh wrote on social media that the lettering in his logo paid tribute to the stylistic flourish of Yu’s original calligraphy and that he had done his work “as a professional with a clear conscience.”


title: Silent forges give way  to the fires of the mind

content_text:
The retired iron foundries now host an annual art exhibit in their UN-recognized halls

Dozens of urban artists from 17 countries have converged on one of Europe’s most important industrial landmarks for a show that takes advantage of the former ironworks’ sprawling spaces and aura of abandonment.

At the Volklinger Hutte, or Volklingen Ironworks, this year’s Urban Art Biennale is getting under way, continuing what has grown into a tradition over the past decade and a half.

“This location is at the core of street art and graffiti art,” said Ralf Beil, the general director of the site, which is open to the public as a museum. “It all began in industrial places like this.”

The installation Transit der Erinnerung (Transit of Memory) by artist Vortex-X is on display at the at the former ironworks Voelklinger Huette, a World Cultural Heritage Site, as part of the exhibition Urban Art Biennale 2026 in Voelklingen, Germany, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Artists “love this place and they do works for the Volklinger Hutte, in the Volklinger Hutte, with the Volklinger Hutte,” he said.

This year’s show features 50 artists. They include France-based Tomas Lacque, whose installation features a small van, a pile of tires, toys and debris covered in a coat of paint. Standing in a hall where furnaces once worked, it appears to evoke fossil-fueled mobility being covered in ash like Pompeii.

Spanish artist Ampparito has painted the words no hay nada de valor, translating roughly to “There is nothing of value here,” in huge white letters on the roof of one of the site’s massive sheds — a work best seen from a viewing platform 45 meters above ground level.

Dutch artist Boris Tellegen, known as Delta, contributed a massive green-and-black wooden sculpture that lights up the interior of the ironworks. French-based collective Vortex-X, who recycle salvaged material, stretched rays of white industrial fabric across one of the building’s halls in a work titled Memory in transit.

The ironworks spreads over a 6-hectar site, a maze of chimneys and furnaces in which visitors still encounter ominous industrial-era signs warning of risks such as a “danger of crushing.” They dominate the town of Volklingen, near the France-Germany border.

They have been on UNESCO’s world heritage list since 1994, recognized as “the only intact example, in the whole of western Europe and North America, of an integrated ironworks that was built and equipped in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

The furnaces have been cold since 1986, when production ended, and the site has been preserved as it was then. Its appearance is older, as no new works were added after the mid-1930s.

“It’s so dusty and it’s so old, but it’s beautiful, you know, there’s beauty in decay,” British artist Remi Rough said. “I think what I’ve done makes you kind of just perceive it in a bit of a different way.”

Rough contributed small paintings that he said were meant to be “very clean and clinical,” in contrast to the site.

Danish artist Anders Reventlov said he felt “humble to be able to do something here.”

“As somebody told me ... it was hell to work here,” he said. “Now, it’s not hell. It’s like a nice place, people walking around, there are bees, there are beautiful flowers, but yeah, we still remember the history and that’s super important.”

Beil said that organizers “want pieces which are really original for this space and this also is then prohibiting [them] from being commercial.”

“This is an installation for the space,” he said. “This is pure art.”

The Biennale opened yesterday and runs until Nov. 15.


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The country’s national security could be threatened if it does not produce enough rice, the agricultural minister said

Malaysia is attempting to use cloud seeding to bring much-needed rain to the country’s “rice bowl” north, where a drought has delayed planting of the staple crop and raised supply fears.

“This year ... has been affected by prolonged dry weather, low rainfall and reduced dam water levels,” Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu said.

The conditions mean farmers have missed two of the three usual planting phases for “wet direct seeding” of rice, a technique that requires fields to be flooded. Dry direct seeding is an alternative that is viable until June.

However, farmers say the technique provides lower yields and that weather conditions have rendered it impossible in some fields anyway.

While more than 50 percent of the region’s rice fields have been prepared, just a fraction have been planted as farmers await the rain.

Planting has “not been canceled,” Mohamad insisted, but “temporary adjustments and mitigation measures are being implemented.”

In Kedah’s Muda Agricultural Development Authority areas, the main dam reservoir for the region is at just eight percent, according to local reports.

HIGH COSTS

Farmer Abdul Rashid Yob, who has a three hectare paddy in the region, said the drought’s impact was being compounded by rising fuel costs linked to the war in Iran.

“Even where water is available, many cannot afford to proceed due to high costs.”

Rice is a staple crop in Malaysia, which consumes about 2.5 million tonnes a year, about half of which is produced domestically.

Most of that comes from northern peninsular Malaysia, with Kedah the biggest producer.

The region is “strategically important to Malaysia’s food security”, Mohamad said.

So with farmers facing dry brown fields that should be lush, flooded paddies, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim this week announced cloud-seeding operations to trigger rain.

The process involves spraying particles such as silver iodide and salt into clouds from aircraft to produce rainfall and is used to affect weather patterns or even tamp down air pollution.

But success depends on atmospheric conditions — without clouds, seeding does not work. Reports suggest officials hope to begin seeding soon, but no date has been publicly set.

The government has announced programs to offset fuel costs, including boosts to aid programs.

STRUGGLING WITH CONDITIONS

Fitri Amit, a small-scale rice farmer in the Perak region to the south, was skeptical of the measures, which he said were often delayed, arriving only once farmers’ “capital has already been drained”.

“Farmers prefer that support be given by increasing the paddy price,” he said, referring to the sale price of cultivated rice.

“If the paddy price is guaranteed, once they sell, they get the money,” he said.

Although he is south of Kedah’s dire weather, he has also been struggling with dry conditions.

“Irrigation was stopped because the reservoir levels were low,” he said.

While Malaysian rice farmers have struggled with drought or erratic rainfall in the past, “this year’s challenges are more significant”, said Mohamad, citing “prolonged hot weather, lower-than-usual rainfall and declining water reserves in several irrigation dams.”

The crisis comes with Asia bracing for a possible return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, which brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure and rainfall.

Forecasters say it could develop as soon as May to July, and initial observations suggest it could be particularly strong.

Asia is often heavily affected by El Nino systems, which bring heatwaves and droughts to part of the region and heavy rains elsewhere.

title: Malaysia eyes cloud seeding as drought drags on


content_text:
A Pale View of Hills, a movie released last year, follows the story of a Japanese woman from Nagasaki who moved to Britain in the 1950s with her British husband and daughter from a previous marriage. The daughter was born at a time when memories of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki during World War II and anxiety over the effects of nuclear radiation still haunted the community. It is a reflection on the legacy of the local and national trauma of the bombing that ended the period of Japanese militarism.

A central theme of the movie is the need, at times, to misrepresent a painful past to reshape the present to a more desirable narrative.

The mountains of Taiwan’s east coast are visible from Japan’s Yonaguni Island, the end of the archipelago stretching from Japan proper to about 110km from Taipei. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s decision to install missiles on Yonaguni is not considered a threat to Taiwan; the weapons are defensive and a reassuring presence.

Taiwan has its own complex history with Japan. Historical scars and suspicions remain, but so does the positive legacy of social transformation, architecture and infrastructure. Taiwanese have moved on: Relations between the two countries are friendly, supportive and cooperative.

On May 2, Takaichi gave an address in Hanoi, announcing an updated “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) strategy. One part of the updated strategy is “enhancing cooperation in the field of security to ensure regional peace and stability.” National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) on Thursday said that Taiwan is considering joint actions with Japan on key security issues concerning China as part of Takaichi’s updated FOIP.

The NSB is already sharing intelligence with Japan on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “gray zone” tactics, to counter the threat of Chinese maritime hegemonic expansion, Tsai said.

Takaichi has continued her recent predecessors’ policy of increasing military spending and has been explicit about her desire to amend Japan’s pacifist constitution to allow a more active role for its Self-Defense Forces.

That is not without opposition from within Japan, but it is increasingly being considered necessary to protect Japan from the CCP’s expansionist ambitions.

Japan joined the annual Balikatan military exercises hosted by the Philippines from April 20 to Friday, deploying about 1,400 combat troops and marking the first time Japan has sent combat troops to the Philippines since the war. In February, the Philippines, the US and Japan conducted joint drills near the Bashi Channel, the waterway separating Taiwan and the Philippines.

The exercises are part of Japan’s increased engagement in military preparedness in the region, meant as deterrence, and to maintain peace and stability. Formerly enemies, Manila and Tokyo, too, have moved on from the painful legacy of the war.

However, Sino-Japanese relations are strained after remarks Takaichi made in the Diet on Nov. 7 last year, saying that Chinese military action in the Taiwan Strait could necessitate military action by the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Since then, the CCP has embarked on a campaign of persuasion targeting regional partners, trying to convince them of the threat of renewed Japanese militarism. Its tactics show that the CCP has failed to move on, while it deliberately misrepresents the geopolitical situation by leveraging historical trauma.

The CCP is using the implicit threat of Chinese military action against Taiwan to intimidate Taiwanese into accepting annexation on the CCP’s terms.

The campaign against Japan originates from the CCP’s frustration that the potential of Japanese intervention dilutes its threats. Beijing’s “renewed Japanese militarism” narrative is an attempt to turn regional partners and ASEAN members against Japan. Unfortunately for the CCP, nobody is buying it.

The most recent State of Southeast Asia survey conducted by the Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute showed that Japan is the most trusted power in Southeast Asia, despite its recent military build-up. The findings show that 65.6 percent of Southeast Asian respondents expressed confidence in Japan, compared with 39.8 percent expressing confidence in China.

This is attributable to Japan’s reputation for upholding international law and for being a force for good, compared with concerns over Beijing’s increasingly assertive behavior in regional disputes, particularly in the South China Sea.

Deterrence and resilience are reinforced by an honest representation of the past and the present, and a genuine desire for peace, which is possible through reconciliation and cooperation to move beyond the shadow of historical trauma.

title: EDITORIAL: Beijing is afraid of a strong Japan


title: Rat crisis reveals Taipei’s neglect

content_text:
The quality of urban governance hinges on the unseen infrastructure that lies beneath the ground.

The core measure of a city’s beauty or ugliness is not the height of its skyline, but the sophistication of its sewers, sewage and waste disposal.

When a city appears old and ugly, the root cause often lies not in the abundance of aging buildings, but in the old, filthy pipelines and dark corners that have been long neglected.

For nearly 20 years, whenever I have waited for the bus — even in areas like Tianmu (天母) — I frequently smell a stench from the roadside drains. It demonstrates that excessive filth has accumulated within the drainage system.

The rampant infestation of rats, mosquitoes and cockroaches is not the fate of an old city, but rather the inevitable result of placing too much emphasis on surface-level projects while overlooking underground management.

In the realm of public health, rats are regarded as an indicator species of a city’s structural issues. International academic circles often use the concept of “rattiness” to measure the quality of governance in an urban area. As directly counting rat populations is extremely difficult, practical estimates usually rely on proxy indicators, including the number of public complaints, food safety contravention rates, sewage infrastructure conditions, the age of buildings and the frequency of garbage collection.

In other words, the size of a city’s rat population is a comprehensive reflection of its governance capacity, environmental quality and even the extent of social inequality.

Take dengue fever prevention efforts in southern Taiwan as an example. After decades of efforts, Tainan and Kaohsiung have maintained a strong epidemic prevention record — even amidst severe global outbreaks — thanks to comprehensive cooperation in urban governance. Controlling rat populations is much like controlling mosquitoes — the strategy is the same, but the tactics differ.

With rat sightings in Taipei recently surging and new cases of hantavirus emerging, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) should emulate the strategic thinking behind southern Taiwan’s epidemic prevention efforts.

First, the government should establish a scientific monitoring system by integrating data such as the number of rat burrows, traces of excrement and capture rates to objectively assess the severity of the situation, rather than relying solely on intuition or sending online supporters to engage in pest control.

Second, it should learn from Japan’s experience with regular community cleanups, and implement the regular dredging and cleaning of drainage ditches around homes.

The government possesses vast resources that it should use to thoroughly disinfect hot spots, and cooperate with volunteers to help older people who live alone clean their homes to effectively deny rats food and shelter.

With the local elections approaching, voters should be mindful and cast their ballots for leaders willing to prioritize foundational infrastructure.

Comprehensive underground infrastructure is a prerequisite of governance, and getting it right is the true foundation of a successful administration — not chasing after concerts or elaborate fireworks displays.

Only by confronting these invisible scientific indicators could the city truly leave behind decay and ugliness and move toward civilization and health.

Shih Wen-yi is a former deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen


content_text:
Taiwan’s Special Defense Budget Act (軍購特別條例) debate should begin with a basic procedural distinction: A legal authorization ceiling is not the budget itself.

A special act does not immediately spend every dollar it authorizes; it only creates the legal basis, scope and upper limit for the Executive Yuan to later submit concrete budget proposals to the Legislative Yuan for review.

This distinction matters because the opposition has blurred legal authorization with budget review.

Legislators could cut items, freeze allocations and demand reports when examining specific programs, prices and procurement plans.

However, writing such restrictions into the legal source of the budget does not strengthen oversight; it pre-empts execution.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) version of the NT$780 billion (US$24.9 billion) act shows this problem clearly.

On paper, it appears to support national defense by authorizing a larger procurement amount. In practice, it divides the amount into rigid stages and imposes constraints before detailed budget items are even submitted.

The law would not merely supervise future procurement; it could block procurement before real review begins.

The first difficulty is the NT$300 billion ceiling for the first stage.

The act caps five US arms procurement items and only allows flexibility for exchange-rate fluctuations.

However, foreign military sales could also change because of package adjustments, support systems or delivery arrangements.

Taiwan has seen this gap before: Cases such as the M109A7 howitzer and HIMARS showed that US congressional notification figures are not always the same as final formal offers.

If the final offer exceeds the cap for reasons other than exchange rates, the law provides no clear solution.

The second difficulty is that the NT$480 billion second stage is locked by both time and category.

It could only be used for US-approved items within one year after the act takes effect, and only for listed categories such as counter-drone systems, air and ballistic missile defense and anti-armor missile stock replenishment.

If Washington approves an urgent sale later, or if the system falls outside these categories, the special budget could not be used.

Yet Taiwan urgently needs command, control, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, electronic warfare or logistics integration.

The passed act should not assume that future threats would fit neatly into a one-year window or a short statutory list.

Moreover, the attached resolution reveals the same procedural confusion.

It requires the Executive Yuan to include Taiwan-US jointly developed or procured equipment and systems in the FY2027 budget, while the act itself mandates annual review.

In effect, a medium- to long-term program that should be implemented through a special budget is being divided into yearly approvals by the Legislative Yuan.

This weakens the long-term demand signal that defense industries need before expanding production.

Companies do not build new production lines, invest in equipment or reorganize supply chains based on commitments that could be renegotiated every year.

A one-year review model might appear cautious, but it cannot create the policy incentives needed to expand defense production capacity.

Alas, the core problem is not whether the Legislative Yuan should exercise oversight, but when and how.

Legislators should first establish a feasible legal framework, then scrutinize actual budget proposals by demanding explanations, freezing questionable allocations or reducing spending where necessary.

Oversight should improve execution, not paralyze it before implementation begins.

Taiwan’s security environment requires speed, flexibility and credibility, while still preserving the legislature’s full authority to review the actual budget.

In the end, a defense act that looks supportive but cannot be executed is not real support for national defense.

Taiwan needs legislation that enables capability-building and sends long-term demand signals, not legislation that pre-emptively freezes procurement.

The opposition should use its budget-review powers at the budget-review stage instead of turning the legal foundation for defense procurement into Taiwan’s first obstacle.

Gahon Chiang is a congressional staff member in the office of DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting, focusing on Taiwan’s national security policy.

title: Defense budget facing paralysis


title: Star-filled ceremonies to mark FIFA kickoff

content_text:
The FIFA World Cup features a trilogy of opening ceremonies, with each of the host countries — Mexico, US and Canada — getting its turn at a star-studded celebration.

Global music stars including Katy Perry, Future, Alanis Morissette, Michael Buble, J Balvin and Lisa are performing, world governing body FIFA confirmed on Friday.

Mexico’s celebration leads, 90 minutes before the kickoff of the tournament’s first match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 at Azteca Stadium, renamed Mexico City Stadium for the tournament.

The stands of the FIFA World Cup stadium at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

The show features Colombian singer J Balvin, multi-Grammy-award-winning Mexican rock band Mana and pop star Alejandro Fernandez, the son of famous ranchero singer Vicente Fernandez.

Mexico’s Latino pop singer Belinda and singer-songwriter Lila Downs are performing, along with South African singer-songwriter Tyla and Los Angeles Azules, who play in the traditional Mexican cumbia style.

“The world will share this moment and that’s how this tournament will begin,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

“Starting with Mexico City and continuing the next days with Toronto and Los Angeles, these ceremonies will bring together music, culture and football in a way that reflects both the individuality of each nation and the unity that defines this tournament,” Infantino said. “It is a powerful way to begin a truly global celebration.”

Canada faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opening match on June 12 in Toronto, with singers Alanis Morissette, Michael Buble, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez and Nora Fatehi among the artists to be featured.

Organizers promise a “journey across Canada, as the countdown unfolds through moments that reflect the country from coast to coast.”

On the same day, as the US open their tournament against Paraguay in Los Angeles, Katy Perry has another sports crossover moment, after headlining the NFL final halftime show in 2015.

She should be joined by Future, Lisa of K-pop band Blackpink, Brazilian performer Anitta, Rema and Tyla, with additional artists still to be announced, FIFA said.

“This opening ceremony in Los Angeles represents the extraordinary scale of what the FIFA World Cup 2026 will become,” Infantino said.

“The lineup of artists reflects the cultural diversity of the US and the vibrancy of its many diasporas, highlighting the nation’s rich influence on music, entertainment and pop culture, while showcasing the power of music to bring people together across the country.”

Other global artists include Venezuelan reggaeton star Danny Ocean and Bangladeshi-American Sanjoy, a Los Angeles-based DJ set to appear.

Organizers say fans have an “active role to play” in the shows and encouraged them to arrive early.

“Across time zones and borders, the celebrations are united by one central idea: a shared heartbeat,” FIFA said in a statement.


title: In Gaza, surfers abide despite ongoing war

content_text:
Despite the dire humanitarian crisis across the Gaza Strip, where a fragile ceasefire remains in place, a handful of Palestinian surfers are finding joy — and relief — riding the Mediterranean coastal waves.

Only three or four men still surf due to a shortage of surfboards and the materials needed to fix damaged ones, said Tahseen Abu Assi, a surfer in Gaza City.

Abu Assi carried his surfboard with him through every wartime displacement he endured during the two-year war because he would not be able to replace it if lost, he said.

Palestinians Abed Rahim Alostaz, left, and Khalil Abu Jayyab cary their surfboards as they walk toward a beach in Gaza City on Monday. Photo:AP

“If something happened to it I won’t be able to get another one,” he said, saying that no boards have entered the Palestinian territory since 2007. Surfboards are among sports equipment and other products that are banned by Israel.

Last week, Abu Assi was among three surfers who took to the sea off the Gaza City port, including Khalil Abu Jiab, who surfed the high waves with his arms raised in joy.

After the war began, the Israeli military heavily restricted activity in the waters around Gaza, with the UN reporting that fishermen were attacked onshore or at sea, including incidents involving fishermen using paddle boats.

Last year, Israel said Gaza’s waters were a “no-go zone,” banning fishing, swimming and sea access, making surfing risky.

Fishing and swimming are prohibited and dangerous in the waters off northern and southern Gaza. It is also risky to enter the waters off central Gaza, where Gaza City is, due to Israeli patrols.

“There is fear of course, but we can’t leave this sport,” Abu Assi said. “During the war, in the middle of the war, in the middle of the bombing and the planes above us, we used to go down and practice this sport.”

Gaza’s waves rarely rise high enough for surfing, so when they do, surfers drop everything to get in the water, he added.

Intense fighting across the region eased after a shaky ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, but deadly Israeli strikes have continued, as Hamas and Israel each each say the other violated the truce.

Israel’s war with Hamas broke out in 2023 after the militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed 72,628 Palestinians and injured 172,520 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Palestinians continue to struggle to secure food, clean water, medical care and shelter after the war caused widespread destruction, dismantled healthcare infrastructure and displaced most of the territory’s residents.

For the territory’s few surfers, there is relief, even if only fleeting, when they take to the waves.

“As soon as the sea gets high, you leave your work and leave your whole life,” Abu Assi said. “Work can be caught up on, as they say. We go practice this sport.”


content_text:
Real Madrid announced on Friday they had fined Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde 500,000 euros (US$588,000) each after a training ground clash that saw Valverde transported for medical care.

The club did not impose any sporting sanctions on the two players, saying in a statement that the fine “thereby concludes the internal procedures” launched against them. Valverde is going to miss today’s Clasico against Barcelona as a result of the head injury he suffered during the altercation. The club said he would be out for up to two weeks. Tchouameni took part in training on Friday and could feature at Camp Nou this weekend.

Madrid said both players “expressed their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to each other” while taking part in a club investigation.

This combination of file pictures shows Real Madrid`s Federico Valverde, left, and Aurelien Tchouameni following a match in Miami Gardens, Florida in 2025. Photo: AFP

“They extended their apologies to the club, their teammates, the coaching staff and the fans, and both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate,” read a club statement.

Uruguay international Valverde was accompanied to the hospital facility near the club’s Valdebebas training complex by Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa, according to Spanish reports, which said the player needed stitches to treat a facial wound.

Uruguay midfielder Valverde sought to downplay the severity of the altercation with the France midfielder.

“The strain of the competition and frustration caused the situation to escalate,” Valverde said on social media, expressing regret at the media coverage of the incident.

“I accidentally hit a table during the argument, causing a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital,” he said. “At no point did my team-mate hit me, and I didn’t hit him either.”

Tchouameni said that what had happened was far from acceptable.

“Regardless of who is right and who is wrong we should always look for a peaceful resolution to any dispute,” said the French player.

“There’s no point going on about who did what or who said what and I accept the fine,” he said. “Now we have to move forward and play this Clasico and make sure the club does as well as is still possible.”

According to reports the two players argued during practice on Wednesday and their argument continued on Thursday during and after the session.

Spanish media reported Valverde refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand and later fouled him in Thursday’s training session, with the pair scrapping afterwards in the dressing room when the injury occurred.

Tensions are running high at Real Madrid, with the club on the verge of a second consecutive season without a major trophy.

title: Two Real Madrid players fined after practice altercation


content_text:
‘RESULTS ARETOUGH’:  The Labour Party came in third in Wales with just nine seats, a humiliation for the party that has dominated Welsh politics for a century

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed Friday to remain as after disastrous local elections he saw his center-left Labour Party humiliated across the UK, with disillusioned voters backing hard-right and nationalist parties.

Thursday’s ballots — Starmer’s biggest electoral test since Labour ousted the Conservatives in 2024 — left the British leader under intense pressure after the party suffered a historic mauling in its Welsh heartlands.

Alongside the Tories, it was also beaten by Nigel Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform UK party across England, and failed to make any inroads into Scottish National Party (SNP) dominance north of the border.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, meets Labour members in London on Friday. Photo: PA via AP

However, Starmer, who has faced persistent calls to quit from rival party leaders and some Labour lawmakers for months, was adamant he was “not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.”

“The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it,” the 63-year-old said, adding that “it should hurt, and I take responsibility.”

Several Cabinet members voiced support for him, and the lack of an obvious alternative leader has reduced the immediate peril of a potential challenge.

Farage, whose upstart party has led national polls for over a year and seized a string of Labour and Conservative councils on Friday, said Starmer would be ousted within months.

The Brexit architect claimed the elections illustrated a “truly historic shift in British politics.”

“We have not just crashed the red wall,” Farage said of Reform wins in Labour’s post-industrial traditional strongholds across northern England.

“Today in Essex we crashed the blue wall as well,” he added, celebrating victory in the eastern English county where the Tories had long dominated.

In Wales, Labour lost control of the devolved government for the first time since the parliament in Cardiff was established 27 years ago, with its leader there embarrassingly losing her seat.

Nationalists Plaid Cymru, which wants Welsh independence in the long-term, won 43 seats — falling short of a majority.

Reform followed on 34, leaving Labour in third with just nine seats, a humiliation for a party that has dominated Welsh politics for a century.

Just two years ago, Labour swept the Conservatives from power in a landslide general election victory.

However, it has failed to deliver promised economic growth and has been plagued by policy missteps and scandals.

Insurgent parties have reaped the benefit, as Britons struggle with an enduring cost-of-living crisis.

About 5,000 English local council seats — just under one-third of the nationwide total — were up for grabs on Thursday, alongside the entire devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales.

By late Friday, with almost all the 136 councils reporting, Labour had lost about 1,400 councilors and control of 33 councils, while Reform had gained about 1,500 local lawmakers.

Farage’s party had seized control of 13 councils — including historic Labour-controlled places.

The Greens, which have veered left under the leadership of self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, gained about 400 extra councilors and won control of several councils.

Polanski called the era of two-party politics “dead and buried.”

Pollster John Curtice agreed the results showed unprecedented fragmentation.

Reform voters were “broadly people with a relatively socially conservative outlook” who had “lost confidence in the traditional mainstream parties” and were aligned with Farage on immigration and Brexit, he said.

North Yorkshire voter Christina Bloom, 75, said people used Thursday as “a definite protest vote.”

“They put their faith in Labour, and they have been let down,” she said. “Farage is playing on that, the fact of that both the Tory and the Labour Party have lied to the people [for] so long.”

In Scotland, with nearly all the results in, the SNP failed to get a majority — winning six fewer seats than in 2021, but the pro-independence party was confident of leading the devolved government for a fifth consecutive term.

title: Starmer fighting after election debacle


content_text:
The Pentagon on Friday released an initial group of previously secret files documenting reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) — a move sought for decades by some.

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a statement on X.

Among the highlights is Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, telling a 1969 debrief of seeing a “sizeable” object close to the lunar surface, and a “fairly bright light source” the crew felt could be a laser.

An unidentified object reported by the US Army in North America this year is pictured as part of a series of documents of unidentified aerial phenomenon released by the US Department of Defense Department on Friday. Photo: the US Department of Defense via Reuters

Alongside numerous written reports is a collection of video files from military cameras around the globe. Objects include a football-shaped object spotted over the East China Sea in 2022; and footage recorded in the last few years of dots moving erratically, and at different speeds, over Iraq, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.

The release follows a directive from US President Donald Trump in February for federal agencies to begin identifying, declassifying and releasing government files related to UFOs, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), and the possibility of alien life beyond Earth.

The move, the US president said at the time, was “based on the tremendous interest shown” by the public, and reflected renewed appetite for information about the US government’s knowledge of, and perceived involvement in, programs tracking and even housing supposed aliens and their spacecraft.

Last month, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman gave the drive for greater transparency at the agency more credence by stating the space agency planned missions to space at least in part because of the possible existence of extraterrestrial alien lifeforms.

“The odds that we will find something at some point to suggest that we are not alone are pretty high,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press.

Even so, the first batch of 162 files released on Friday, incorporating hundreds of pages on a monochrome new defense department Web site, offered little new or conclusive evidence.

The public “can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files,” the Pentagon statement said.

They include old state department cables, FBI documents and transcripts from NASA’s crewed flights into space. Other pages, stretching back decades, feature ambiguous eyewitness accounts of encounters with or alleged sightings of UFOs.

For example, one previously confidential 1947 report from US Air Defense Command headquarters in New York features an account by the pilot and navigator of a Pan Am commercial jetliner who said they momentarily sighted a mystery “bright orange object” in the sky.

The object was visible for only seconds, then disappeared quickly behind a cloud and was not seen again, the crew members said.

A more recent document details an FBI interview with someone identified as a drone pilot who, in September 2023, reported seeing a “linear object” with a light bright enough to “see bands within the light” in the sky.

“The object was visible for five to 10 seconds, and then the light went out, and the object vanished,” the person was quoted as saying in the FBI interview.

Meanwhile, Aldrin was not the only astronaut to report a strange occurrence. A NASA photograph from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 shows three dots in a triangular formation. The Pentagon, in an accompanying caption, said: “there is no consensus about the nature of the anomaly,” but that a new, preliminary analysis indicated that it could be a “physical object.”

Numerous other pages recount similar but unproven accounts of sudden, brief, or unexpected phenomena witnessed in the sky.

The Pentagon called Friday’s publication of the documents an “initial release,” in partnership with multiple federal entities including the White House, office of the US director of national intelligence, the US Department of Energy, the FBI and NASA.

“Additional files will be released by the Department of War on a rolling basis,” the Pentagon said, using the unofficial name for the defense department.

“While all of the files have been reviewed for security purposes, many of the materials have not yet been analyzed for resolution of any anomalies,” it conceded.

Despite Friday’s hyped release, the policy of the defense department “drip feeding” information to the public is not new.

In 2024, a Pentagon report concluded there was no evidence of extraterrestrial activity, and that most sightings were weather related or misidentified balloons, birds or satellites.

Earlier the same year, a separate report published by the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office said the US government was not, and never had been secretly hiding alien technology or extraterrestrial beings from the public, and that a rumored facility in the New Mexico desert purportedly housing alien beings and spacecraft was a hoax.

It followed a claim by former US intelligence official and whistleblower David Grusch that the US government conducted a “multi-decade” secret UFO program that found “non-human” beings.

Additional reporting by AP

title: UFO file drop adds old files, but little proof


title: Man dies after liver removed instead of spleen

content_text:
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’

A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death.

In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.”

Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter.

“I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during difficult circumstances.”

The deposition provided Shaknovksy’s first detailed account of the operation that killed Bryan and eventually garnered national news headlines.

Shaknovksy in his deposition said that after removing Bryan’s liver, he instructed a nurse to label the organ as a “spleen” — and he also identified it as a spleen in Bryan’s postoperative notes.

Shaknovsky later said he had been “mentally compromised” at the time of Bryan’s death, explaining that he was “devastated, demoralized, crying over his passing, felt that I failed him.”

A lawsuit filed by Bryan’s widow, Beverly Bryan, accuses Shaknovsky of medical malpractice. The suit alleges that he “wrongfully omitted any reference to Mr Bryan’s liver being removed in order to cover up his gross negligence/recklessness and to hopefully avoid the embarrassment due to such derelict care,” NBC reported.

Last month, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that Shaknovsky’s actions inflicted on William Bryan “catastrophic blood loss and the patient’s death on the operating table.”

Shaknovsky’s deposition testimony described the chaos in the operating room after William Bryan began bleeding extensively, causing his heart to stop. Medical staff performed chest compressions, and Shaknovsky attempted to find where the bleeding was coming from.

“I couldn’t tell the difference, because I was so upset,” he said, referring to the organ he mistakenly identified.

“It was like a overflown sink that’s clogged up, and I am looking for a fork at the bottom, trying to feel and find the bleed, and I was not able to do so,” Shaknovsky said.

“After 20 minutes of struggling — desperately trying — to save his life, that’s when the wrong-site event took place,” he said.

“It’s a devastating thing, which I will have to live with the rest of my life,” Shaknovsky said in the eight-hour deposition reviewed by NBC. “I think about it every single day.”

After the medical team was unable to resuscitate William Bryan, Shaknovsky said he went to the hospital’s medical library.

“I went there to cry, because I was devastated,” he said. “I didn’t want the staff to see me like that.”

Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, Shaknovsky said he believed William Bryan’s spleen was “double the size of what is normal” because of a mass on it.

However, Beverly Bryan’s lawsuit says that a medical examiner told her that her husband’s spleen was anatomically “nearly normal,” NBC reported.

Shaknovsky would face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to US$10,000 if convicted.


title: Taiwan in Time: The last Indigenous mountain stronghold

content_text:
The 1933 peace between Dahu Ali and the Japanese ended 18 years of Bunun resistance, but the two sides understood that moment in radically different ways

May 11 to May 17

Traversing the southern slopes of the Yushan Range in 1931, Japanese naturalist Tadao Kano knew he was approaching the last swath of Taiwan still beyond colonial control.

The “vast, unknown territory,” protected by the “fierce” Bunun headman Dahu Ali, was “filled with an utterly endless jungle that choked the mountains and valleys,” Kano wrote. He noted how the group had “refused to submit to the measures of our authorities and entrenched themselves deep in these mountains … living a free existence spent chasing deer in the morning and seeking serow in the evening,” even describing them as “dashing, heroic rebels.”

Colonial officials would not have shared that view. To them, Dahu Ali was the last “vicious savage” who needed to be brought under imperial rule.

These depictions were largely colonial projections imposed on Dahu Ali and his followers, who were determined to keep their firearms and continue their traditional mountain life. After the first clashes in December 1914, most surviving Bunun had already been relocated to lower elevations and ordered to take up farming.

Dahu Ali in April 1933 agreed to make peace, traveling to Kaohsiung for a ceremony the Bunun saw as mapakasil (“reconciliation”) but the Japanese framed as kijun (“surrender”). The agreement ended more than 18 years of Bunun resistance.

FIREARM CONFISCATION

Ten years after taking control of Taiwan, much of the island’s mountainous Indigenous territory remained outside of Japanese authority. In 1907, the colonial government began a military campaign to subjugate these areas, starting in the north. This first phase culminated in the Truku War, which ended in August 1914.

The Japanese immediately turned their attention to Bunun and Paiwan communities in the southeast, ordering them to give up their firearms — weapons essential not only for hunting and survival, but also of spiritual significance. This campaign went smoothly at first as the Japanese invoked their recent victory in the Truku War and in some cases held headmen hostages, writes historian Shizue Fujii in Bunun mas minbas Lipun: 1914–1933 (布農族郡社群抗日事件), published by the Council of Indigenous Peoples.


content_text:
Skip the Clean, Plant a Tree: New Hotel Trend Takes Root 旅宿業吹起綠色風潮 減少房務來種樹

A growing green movement allows hotel guests to fund tree planting projects simply by opting out of daily room cleans. This approach turns an ordinary hotel stay into a direct contribution to nature.

Founded in the Netherlands, the nonprofit “Hotels for Trees” operates on the principle that one skipped cleaning equals one new tree. It has planted more than 750,000 trees since 2021. Similarly, Sarnia Hotels in Guernsey donates ￡2 per refused clean. Since 2024, over 3,300 services have been cancelled, raising sufficient money to plant 1,100 native trees and hedgerows.

Simplicity has been central to this success. Guests do not need to collect points or follow complex rules. Transparency is another strength, with websites displaying planting progress. Yet without careful planning, trees may be planted in unsuitable areas or left without proper maintenance, reducing their long-term ecological benefit.

一場日益風行的綠色環保運動讓飯店房客只要選擇不進行每日客房清潔，即可資助植樹計畫。這種方式將一次普通的飯店住宿變成對大自然的直接貢獻。

成立於荷蘭的非營利組織「旅宿換樹」，其運作原則是：每取消一次客房清潔，就等同於新種一棵樹。自2021年以來，該組織已種植超過七十五萬棵樹。同樣地，位於根西島的「薩尼亞飯店」集團每當住客拒絕一次客房清潔，就會捐出兩英鎊。自2024年以來，已取消了超過三千三百次客房清潔，籌集到的資金足以種植一千一百棵原生樹木和樹籬。

簡單易行是這場運動成功的關鍵。住客不須累積點數或遵守複雜的規則。透明度也是另一項優勢，網站會展示植樹進度。然而，如果沒有縝密規畫，樹木可能會種植於不當區域或是缺乏適當維護，從而降低其長期的生態效益。

Words in Use

1. skip vt. 不做（常做∕應做的事）；跳過（本文的 skipped 為過去分詞作形容詞用）

Henry skipped the meeting because he was feeling sick.

亨利因為不舒服，所以沒有參加會議。

2. contribution n. 貢獻

The scientist made a major contribution to the field of medicine.

這位科學家對醫學領域做出了重大貢獻。

3. donate vt. 捐贈

Many people donate old clothes to help poor families in winter.

許多人在冬天捐贈舊衣服來幫助貧困家庭。

4. sufficient a. 足夠的，充分的

We need to make sure we have sufficient evidence before the trial.

在進入審理程序之前我們需要確保擁有足夠的證據。

5. unsuitable a. 不合適的

This movie is unsuitable for young children because it is too scary.

因為這部電影太恐怖，所以不適合幼童觀賞。

Practical Phrases

1. take root （某做法∕想法∕觀念等）生根∕萌芽

The idea of “remote work” has taken root in many companies since the pandemic.

自疫情以來，「遠距工作」的觀念已在許多企業開始發展。

2. opt out of. . . 選擇不參加∕退出……

opt vi. 選擇

Jack decided to opt out of the game due to a leg injury.

傑克因為腿傷決定退出比賽。

3. be central to N/V-ing 對……很重要

Hard work is central to achieving your goals in life.

努力是實現人生目標的關鍵。

What Did You Learn?

What might happen if tree planting is done without proper planning?

參考答案 :

Trees may be planted in unsuitable areas or

left without proper maintenance.

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)


content_text:
▲中國官方曝光在054A導彈護衛艦一旁伴飛的直-10B武裝直升機，明顯主旋翼桅桿頂部「頂個球」證實安裝頂置毫米波雷達。（圖／翻攝自大陸網站）

軍武中心／綜合報導

增強綜合作戰效能，中國官方公開陸軍陸航部隊的直-10改進型直-10B武裝直升機已正式服役，最明顯的變動在其主旋翼桅桿頂部安裝頂置毫米波雷達。資料顯示，直-10為中國首型專用武裝直升機，裝上頂置毫米波雷達後的直-10B能在短時間內完成對多個目標的搜索、跟蹤與鎖定，增強目標識別能力降低戰場誤判風險。

直-10於2010年設計定型，讓中國成功擺脫拿通用直升機改裝武裝直升機使用的歷史，真正進入專用武裝直升機發展階段。但直-10以紅外/光電探測為主的作戰體系，在複雜氣象環境和高強度電磁對抗背景下，其探測與感知能力存在一定局限，作戰中必須在一定程度上暴露機體，才能獲取機體前方的目標信息，增加直升機的生存風險。

▼習近平過去視察解放軍陸軍第79集團軍，曾登上自製直-10武裝直升機，親自操控機載武器及觀瞄系統。（圖／翻攝自新華社）

隨著過去直-19和直-10ME兩型直升機成功應用毫米波雷達，如今隨著官方畫面也證實引入直-10B。公開資料顯示，毫米波雷達採用相控陣體制，工作於毫米波波段，與傳統機械掃描雷達相比，相控陣雷達在波束控制、響應速度、多目標處理與抗干擾能力等方面都明顯更具優勢，能夠在短時間內完成對多個目標的搜索、跟蹤與鎖定。

知名軍事評論「軍武位次面」指出，頂置毫米波雷達的布局還具有十分鮮明的戰術意義。毫米波雷達安裝在直升機主旋翼桅桿頂部後，直升機就可以在掩體後方，僅暴露雷達部分進行探測，從而實現對目標「看得見但不被看見」的戰術效果，而這種能力在反裝甲作戰中尤其關鍵，可有效降低被敵方防空系統發現和鎖定的概率，提高戰場生存性。

此外，頂置毫米波雷達的配備，也讓直-10B武裝直升機在使用雷達制導反坦克導彈時，可以實現更高程度的自主探測與目標指示，減少對外掛設備的依賴，並提升多目標交戰能力。同時與原有光電系統的融合，也使直-10B的目標識別與確認更加多元，降低戰場誤判風險。

▼直-10ME武裝直升機亮相新加坡航展，頂部安裝毫米波雷達。（圖／翻攝自環球時報）

title: 號稱「看得見不被看見」！　直-10B頂置毫米波雷達強化反裝甲作戰

countries: 中國 新加坡


title: 香港中環新地標「The Henderson」　紅氣球天鵝、空中酒吧一次看

content_text:
▲「The Henderson」由全球知名、已故建築師札哈・哈蒂（Zaha Hadid Architects） 操刀設計。（圖／港旅局提供）

記者彭懷玉／綜合報導

座落於香港中環，緊鄰遮打公園的「The Henderson」，由全球知名、已故建築師札哈・哈蒂（Zaha Hadid Architects） 操刀設計，其內有3.5公尺高的《氣球天鵝（紅色）》等多件藝術品，更進駐高空藝術酒吧Peridot、% Arabica咖啡廳，蔚為時下男女最新朝聖地標。

▲The Henderson大樓高190公尺，外觀由逾4000片不同弧度的曲面玻璃構築。（圖／港旅局提供）

The Henderson大樓高190公尺，外觀由逾4000片不同弧度的曲面玻璃構築，並以香港象徵「洋紫荊」含苞待放的姿態為靈感，透過流動曲線與有機輪廓，勾勒出如雕塑般的建築，為城市注入鮮明的視覺張力，同時也兼具節能與隔熱效能。

▲3樓大廳展示美國當代藝術家 Jeff Koons 的代表作《氣球天鵝（紅色）》。（圖／港旅局提供）

其中，3樓大廳展示美國當代藝術家 Jeff Koons 的代表作《氣球天鵝（紅色）》，為系列中唯一紅色版本，亦是亞洲展出焦點，約3.5公尺高；另有捷克玻璃品牌 Lasvit 打造的《In Bloom》，以近200件玻璃組件，詮釋花朵綻放的層次之美。

▲高達3公尺的半透明光學雕塑《Anatomy of Time》，透過油水流動形成變化影像。（圖／港旅局提供）

園區亦匯聚多件國際與本地藝術作品，如以自然能量為靈感的動態裝置《Breathing Tree》，以及高達3公尺的半透明光學雕塑《Anatomy of Time》，透過油水流動形成變化影像，讓旅客在繁忙的中環停駐腳步，感受藝術與自然交織的節奏。

▲全球知名精品咖啡品牌% Arabica也同步進駐，為空間注入咖啡香氣。（圖／港旅局提供）

在商業與文化層面，佳士得設立亞太總部與常設藝廊，讓拍賣與展覽轉為日常風景；全球知名精品咖啡品牌% Arabica也同步進駐，為空間注入咖啡香氣。

▲位於38樓的高空藝術酒吧Peridot全新開幕。（圖／港旅局提供）

此外，位於38樓的高空藝術酒吧Peridot全新開幕，整體色調以橄欖綠呈現，牆面與天花板無縫延伸，營造出一處如洞穴般的有機體，已成兼具風格與氛圍的社交場域。隨著The Henderson落成，也為香港增添一處融合建築、藝術與生活的嶄新去處。

countries: 香港 捷克 美國


title: 覺得最近運勢卡卡？風水大師親授「地毯踩金法」   90元輕鬆布陣小財庫

content_text:
小資族必看！口袋零錢就能開運，江柏樂大推「地毯踩金法」招財撇步。（本報製圖）

〔娛樂頻道／綜合報導〕地氣接得好，財氣跟你跑！知名風水老師江柏樂在個人社群公開分享一招「地毯踩金術」，點明只要1枚50元硬幣和4枚10元硬幣，就能幫家裡佈下一座穩健小財庫！

江柏樂解釋，在風水學中，門口代表「氣口」，天為「乾」，地為「坤」，如果說天花板代表一個人的志向，那麼你腳下踩的地板，就代表你的「根基」與「財庫」；而最常放在大門口的那塊地毯，其實就是你家的「財氣過濾網」。

江柏樂強調，「地氣，是陽宅生命力的來源」，如果家裡地板冰冷、空洞，或是雜物堆積，地氣就無法上升，這就像一棵樹根部缺水，葉子再綠也長不長久，透過地毯的色澤與材質，我們可以人為地「聚氣」，讓財氣在進門那一刻，就被穩穩地吸納住！

Q．為什麼這招有用？

客廳在風水上稱為「內明堂」，而家門口，正是財氣轉換的關鍵。在風水學中，地毯就是家庭的門面，四角四方、中央屬土，有土斯有財，地毯下放錢象徵「步步踩金」，每天回家踩一次，就是一次能量的加持，讓財氣跟你進屋！

Q．錢幣該怎麼擺？

將4枚10元硬幣放在地毯的四個角落，因為中宮五行屬土，所以50元硬幣一要放在地毯下方的正中央，之後當我們踩上地毯的時候，就能形成「步步踩金招財法」。

Q．招財地毯可以放「門內」嗎？

地毯另有把出門時的穢氣留在門外面的用意。不留穢氣，只帶財氣回家，才能住得舒舒服服。

Q．地毯顏色和風格會有影響嗎？

首推紅色！紅色象徵福氣招財。而地毯就像家的地圖，納家中四方之地氣，想像地毯之四角為家內四方，中央為中宮，中宮屬土，有土斯有財，因此中宮即是財位，所以在家門口放一塊四方型的地毯，便是從一進家門開始，就為家中定財納財！


content_text:
光澤連鎖醫美診所涉嫌在診間安裝偽裝成煙霧偵測器的監視設備，疑似偷拍病患的性影像及身體隱私部位，新北地檢署8日指揮新北市警方搜索光澤位在新北市的5家分店，稍早已聲押昨日移送的IT設備部唐姓主管、陳姓經理獲准；警方今下午再移送5名IT部門員工，檢察官晚間複訊後，將5人皆列為被告，諭令5人皆50萬元交保。

新北板橋警分局今凌晨先帶回3名總部IT部門員工，並通知另2名IT部門員工到案，2人下午也到警局說明，警方訊後將5人分批移送新北檢，檢察官陸續偵訊後，將5人皆列被告，諭令鄭姓、徐姓、高姓、諶姓、柯姓等5名員工皆50萬元交保候傳。

檢警8日協同衛生局人員搜索光澤診所在新北市的5家分店，搜索時間均超過8小時，其中警方在板橋中山、板橋館前與三重正義等3家分店，發覺疑有監視裝備遭拆卸的痕跡，並從診間天花板扣得疑似遭拆卸後殘留的監視器線路，另查扣辦公室電腦硬碟及會員資料。

檢方於9日清晨先將陳姓經理、IT部門唐姓主管，由證人轉列被告，聲請羈押禁見，新北地院下午開庭，訊後認定2人有滅證、勾串證人與被告之虞，且有事實足認有逃亡之虞，裁定2人收押禁見。

據悉，光澤創辦人王朝輝目前人在中國上海，檢警目前尚未聯繫上，不排除對其發布境管措施。

裁定指出，光澤診所人員所涉包括4項罪名，包括：刑法之無故攝錄他人性影像罪及身體隱私部位罪、違反個人資料保護法、兒少性剝削防制條例之拍攝兒少性影像未遂等4罪。

檢警偵辦重點除了保全影像證據，還要持續追查安裝攝錄設備的決策過程與使用目的、影像是否外流、未成年病患是否也遭偷拍，並清查犯案規模及於幾家分店、被害人數等，擴大偵辦中。

title: 光澤醫美涉偷拍  5名IT員工列被告交保

taiwan-subdivisions: 三重 新北市 板橋 新北 中山


title: 忘了輝達吧！4家AI硬體商漲幅皆逾100％成華爾街新寵

content_text:
英特爾今年以來漲幅達217%。（路透）

〔編譯魏國金／台北報導〕自2022年底ChatGPT問世以及生成式人工智慧（AI）熱潮興起以來，輝達獨領AI基礎建設浪潮風騷，並使其躍居為全球市值最大企業。儘管輝達將持續發展，但華爾街的目光已轉向在AI發展初期一些被視而不見的企業。

CNBC報導，過去一週的股市表現印證了瑞穗證券分析師克萊恩（Jordan Klein）的「AI領漲換班」的說法。晶片製造商超微與英特爾週線收漲約25%，記憶體大廠美光跳漲逾37%，光纖電纜製造商康寧也漲約18%。

這4家公司今年以來全漲逾100%。英特爾漲幅達217.15%居冠、美光漲136.76%，超微103.7%、康寧106.8%。而輝達漲幅略微領先那斯達克，今年以來漲14%，本週上漲8%。

報導說，投資人將資金擴散到更多硬體公司，顯示押注AI牛市將持續更長時間，以及資料中心未來幾年將需要更廣泛的先進元件。全球記憶體短缺推升價格，致使美光這家47年的公司，從沈寂多時轉變為過去12個月最熱門的交易之一。

美光市值本週首次突破8000億美元關卡，過去1年股價飆漲逾750%。執行長梅羅特拉（Sanjay Mehrotra）說，由於供應問題，關鍵客戶只能獲得「其需求的50%至3分之2」。

除了記憶體之外，中央處理器（CPU）的需求也異常暢旺。之前因模型開發商OpenAI、Anthropic以及雲端巨頭Google、微軟與亞馬遜搶奪輝達的繪圖處理器（GPU），使得CPU一度被市場忽視。

如今，隨著動能從聊天機器人轉向AI代理，CPU重返焦點。美國銀行估計，數據中心CPU的市場規模可能從2025年的270億美元翻逾1倍至2030年的600億美元。

超微近期的季度財報突顯該新興趨勢。執行長蘇姿丰表示，超微預期未來3至5年，其在伺服器CPU市場的成長將達35%，高於去年11月成長18%的預測。

英特爾上月股價創下最佳單月表現，翻漲逾1倍，並持續維持該動能，本月初上漲33%。在5日彭博披露，蘋果與英特爾、三星討論生產部份產品晶片後，股價飆漲13%，8日華爾街日報報導，蘋果已與英特爾達成相關初步協議，英特爾股價再度飆漲14%。

近日慶祝成立175週年的玻璃製造商康寧，6日與輝達簽署32億美元投資協議，將開發3座專供光學技術的新廠。今年初，康寧也與Meta簽訂60億美元、為期至2030年的協議，以為Meta的AI資料中心提供光纖電纜。

一手掌握經濟脈動 點我訂閱自由財經Youtube頻道

companies: 蘋果 Google

taiwan-subdivisions: 瑞穗 三星 新興


title: 大補血！德基蓄水率飆破86％ 這兩天「沒下雨也進補」原因曝

content_text:
5月初春雨不斷，台中市連日降雨，雨水落在大甲溪沿線山區，德基水庫持續進帳，水位逐漸上升，8日上午6點的蓄水率達83.57%，但昨日與今（9）日，台中市並未降雨，但德基水庫蓄水率今晚卻飆升至86.12%，對此，大甲溪電廠指出，近日大甲溪下游因有降雨，用水需求降低，德基水庫全力儲備夏季用水。

今年初德基水庫集水區因久未降雨，蓄水率一度拉警報，4月初蓄水率跌至55%以下，所幸春雨及時報到，5月初集水區連日降雨，大甲溪上游支流逐日挹注水量，德基水庫6日蓄水率破8成之後，連日飆升至今夜86.12%。


title: 再接再厲！5/9 今彩539頭獎摃龜

content_text:
5月9日開獎的第115000114期今彩539頭獎摃龜。

第115000114期今彩539中獎號碼為「11、18、21、22、25」。頭獎摃龜；貳獎共210注中獎，每注可得2萬元；參獎共7027注中獎，每注可得300元；肆獎共7萬8376注中獎，每注可得50元。

第115000114期39樂合彩中獎號碼為「11、18、21、22、25」。四合共9注中獎，每注可得21萬2500元；三合共214注中獎，每注可得1萬1168元；二合共1萬8833注中獎，每注可得1125元。

第115000114期3星彩中獎號碼為「122」。壹獎共193注中獎，每注可得5000元。

第115000114期4星彩中獎號碼為「9861」。壹獎共21注中獎，每注可得5萬元。

確切中獎號碼以台彩網站公告為主，請見「台灣彩券網站」。


title: 忘了輝達吧！4家AI硬體商漲幅皆逾100％成華爾街新寵

taiwan-subdivisions: 新興 三星 瑞穗

companies: Google 蘋果


content_text:
育嬰留停以日申請，突破1萬8千筆申請！男性申請人數4月比3月成長50%。（勞動部提供）

〔記者高嘉和／台北報導〕為打造友善的育兒職場環境，勞動部持續積極推動「以日申請育嬰留停」新制，育有3歲以下子女之勞工，可申請兩年育嬰留停，其中，以「日」為單位申請合併不超過30日，期間仍有8成薪資補貼。新制自今年元旦正式上路以來，「以日為單位」彈性申請機制成效卓越，不僅申請人數持續攀升，男性參與育兒的比例更大幅提升。

申請筆數 突破1萬8千筆

4月份最新統計，育嬰留停以日申請累計筆數計18,408筆，占育嬰留停津貼總申請筆數46,798筆之39.3%，即近4成案件為以日申請，顯示彈性化的新制對於育兒家庭確實有幫助。

男性申請人數 較上月成長近50%

4月份以日申請彈性育嬰留停之男女合計人數為3,904人，較3月2,582人成長51.2%，占總申請人數比重亦由3月20.7%成長至40.2%。勞動部分析，4月男性申辦以日申請育嬰留停之比例為49.1%，雖在比例上較3月49.6%略為減少，不過，男性申請人數1,916人仍較3月1,281人成長近50%，顯示以日申請育嬰留停需求漸增，勞動部補充，從目前數據觀察，過去一年（114年）男性整體申請比例為27.8%，新制上路證實了，制度越彈性，越有利男性參與育兒照顧。

勞動部表示，今年實施「以日申請育嬰留停」新制，確實回應了社會需求，家長對於兼顧工作與育兒的期待相當明確。為了因應國內少子女化的挑戰，勞動部除了已經著手規劃，提高彈性育嬰留停以日申請所適用的子女年齡，同時，也正擴大研議，在更包容彈性、更鼓勵爸爸參與、更減輕負擔，尤其在政府要給予更大支持的方向上，檢討整體的法規與制度，提出更優化的作法，來讓職場環境與制度更加友善勞工生育與照顧小孩，讓勞工更能安心工作、放心育兒。

一手掌握經濟脈動 點我訂閱自由財經Youtube頻道

title: 爸爸媽媽看過來！育嬰留停以日申請、突破1萬8千筆


title: 凌日法外的救星，研究團隊利用「拱線進動」揪出 27 個隱藏在雙星系統中的系外行星

content_text:
由美國太空總署主導的系外行星搜尋任務 TESS 至今已確認了 885 顆系外行星，並辨識出超過 7,900 顆系外行星候選者。不過對於 TESS 來說，辨識雙星系統中是否存在行星仍是極具挑戰。為此，一組天文研究團隊開發出了新的調查方法，並辨識出 27 個可能存在行星的雙星系統。相關研究成果於 5 月 4 日發表在《皇家天文學會月刊》上。

▲ 在這張藝術家描繪的雙星系統中行星概念圖中，一顆氣態巨行星位於前景右側，並被兩顆恆星照亮。美國太空總署的凌日系外行星巡天衛星（TESS）透過觀測行星凌日時恆星亮度的降低，發現了兩個雙星系統中的行星。天文學家現在展示了一種新的行星探測方法，即透過觀測恆星相互掩食的時間。（Source：NASA，下同）

TESS是透過偵測行星通過母恆星與望遠鏡之間，導致母恆星亮度出現輕微且規律性的下降，來辨識可能存在的系外行星，也就是所謂的「凌日法」。此外，TESS同時也收集到了大量食雙星──兩顆恆星互相遮掩導致亮度變化的雙星系統──的亮度變化資料。透過密集且精確測量多次凌日發生的時間，目前科學家已從TESS的資料中辨識出2個位於雙星系統的系外行星。

然而，科學家從以前的克卜勒到現在TESS所辨識出雙星中的行星，其軌道仍集中在雙星的軌道平面附近。但另一些理論模型則認為在雙星系統中行星形成過程較為混亂，年輕的行星可能會被推向更寬、傾斜度更大的軌道，大大降低凌日現象的發生機率。也就是說，單單依靠凌日法，可能會因此漏掉大量的雙星系統中的行星。為此，由澳洲新南威爾斯大學博士候選人瑪戈·桑頓（Margo Thornton）所領導的研究，提出了一種新方法來偵測這些漏網之魚：拱線進動。

拱線指的是天體橢圓軌道的近星點和遠星點之間的連線，這條連線會受到潮汐、自轉交互作用、廣義相對論效應等等因素而沿著軌道平面旋轉，產生拱線進動（apsidal precession）。藉由TESS長期且豐富的觀測數據，研究團隊可以從食雙星系統理論上考量拱線進動影響而產生的變光週期，從中分析食雙星系統實際變光週期是否存在廣義相對論等因素以外的未知干擾因子，也就是可能存在的系外行星。新方法並不需要行星通過恆星盤面才能偵測，因此可以適用在各種軌道面角度的系外行星。

研究在分析了1,590個擁有至少兩年TESS數據的雙星系統後，發現27個可能存在行星的雙星系統。這些新候選行星的存在及質量尚不確定，但研究團隊估計，最小的行星質量可能只有地球的12倍，而最大的行星質量約為地球的3,200倍，大約是木星質量的10倍。要確認這些行星的存在，未來還需要進行地面觀測，精確測量其母恆星的速度，從中找出任何行星對其產生的微弱引力作用。透過TESS龐大的資料庫應用，或許未來人們有機會找出更多的系外行星。

▲ 圖中說明如何透過觀測恆星食來擴展 TESS 的功能，進而發現它原本無法探測到的新候選行星。

For NASA’s TESS, Stellar Eclipses Shed Light on Possible New WorldsDetection of 27 candidate circumbinary planets through apsidal precession of eclipsing binaries observed by TESS

（本文由 台北天文館 授權轉載；首圖來源：NASA）

延伸閱讀：

新 AI 工具橫掃舊數據庫，單次抓出候選系外行星數量逾萬顆

countries: 澳洲 美國


countries: 英國 愛爾蘭

title: 走過 400 年的世紀懸案──尋回莎士比亞的倫敦之家，與一段跌宕起伏的家族史

content_text:
走在倫敦市中心聖安德魯丘（St. Andrew’s Hill）的街道上，你或許會在一棟平凡的大樓牆上，看見一塊毫不起眼的紀念牌，上面寫著：「1613 年 3 月 10 日，威廉‧莎士比亞在此附近購得黑衣修士區（Blackfriars）的房子。」

長年以來，「在此附近」這四個字，一直是莎翁研究者心中揮之不去的疙瘩。我們知道這位歷史上最偉大的劇作家，曾在1613年在倫敦置產，但卻始終不知道房子的具體位置在哪裡。

但真相只有一個，而且可能一直都躺在倫敦檔案館（London Archives）裡。4月，倫敦國王學院（King’s College London）的莎士比亞研究專家露西門羅（Lucy Munro）教授，在檔案館中意外挖掘出一張塵封已久的平面圖，終於精準定位房子的具體位置，更揭開了一段關於遺產爭奪與女性財產權的「莎劇式」家族祕史。

莎士比亞終於在倫敦買房了1613年3月10日，當時48歲、早已名利雙收的莎士比亞做了一件他從沒做過的事情：他在倫敦買房了。

儘管他在這座城市工作超過20年，但過去莎士比亞的投資交易多集中在老家亞芬河畔斯特拉福（Stratford-upon-Avon）附近，包括：1597年以60英鎊購置鎮上規模第二大的豪宅「新居」（New Place）；1602年花了320英鎊買下43公頃的耕地做為農業投資；1605年再以440英鎊買下當地「什一稅」的部分收益權，成功創造被動收入。

儘管莎士比亞早已是成功的房地產投資者，但直到這一次，他才終於決定告別「倫敦租客」的身分。他以140英鎊的價錢，買下一棟緊鄰黑衣修士劇院的房子，距離他工作的地方黑衣修士劇院（Blackfriars Theatre），步行只要短短五分鐘的距離，極佳的地理位置完美縮短了他的通勤時間。

國王的離婚官司，意外成了「房產推手」莎士比亞在倫敦買下的住宅，原是一座13世紀修道院的「大門樓」（the Great Gate，註）的一部分，其座落於黑衣修士管轄區（Blackfriars）的入口上方。由於當時該地的修士習慣身著黑色斗篷，這地方也因此得名。

註：大門樓是中世紀修道院或城鎮最具代表性的多功能建築。底層中央為寬闊的拱門，供人馬通行；上方則設有數層空間，具備防禦、行政或居住功能。在黑衣修士區，它是連接世俗街道與修道院管轄區的正式入口。

然而，1530 年代的一場歷史風暴改變了這裡的命運。當時英國國王亨利八世為了宣布他和亞拉岡的凱瑟琳（Catherine of Aragon）的婚姻無效，正式與天主教會決裂，並下令解散該國所有的修道院，並沒收其所有財產。隨後，亨利八世將黑衣修士區的部分土地轉賣出去。

英格蘭遺產委員會（English Heritage）歷史學家尼克霍爾德（Nick Holder）指出：「黑衣修士區在1540年代，分別賣給了約20位不同的買家。」隨著所有權的分散，原有的建築被分割成獨立房產，修道院本來的庭院和綠地也逐漸被新蓋的建築所填滿。

半個世紀後，這片土地迎來了另一位改寫歷史的人物。1590年代，莎士比亞從故鄉斯特拉福移居到倫敦打拚，隨後，莎士比亞的事業版圖擴及黑衣修士區。當時該地不只是高級住宅區，也是人們的娛樂中心，儘管當地居民曾連署反對劇場進駐，擔憂會吸引「流浪與放蕩之人」，1608年，黑衣修士劇院仍正式成為莎士比亞劇團的演出重心；1613年，莎士比亞也決定在此買下他在倫敦市區的第一棟房子。

英國：不確定在哪，先掛上紀念牌再說1768年，倫敦著名的律師阿爾巴尼沃利斯（Albany Wallis）發現了莎士比亞在黑衣修士置產的「房屋買賣契約」原件；1790年，英國莎劇學者埃德蒙馬龍（Edmond Malone）首度將其公諸於世。這份文件不僅證實了莎士比亞在倫敦的房產，更留下了目前存世僅有的六個莎翁親筆簽名之一。

儘管世人自此得知莎士比亞曾在此置產，但隨著1666年倫敦大火後的城市重建，該房產的確切位置始終不得而知。過去數百年間，學界僅能依據文獻推測其位置可能座落於聖安德魯丘（St Andrew’s Hill）5號附近。

為此，倫敦市法團（City of London Corporation）自2013年起，特地在聖安德魯丘5號的建築牆面掛上一塊藍色紀念牌，上面保守地寫著：「1613年3月10日，威廉莎士比亞在此附近購得黑衣修士區的住所。」

這項世紀懸案，直到莎士比亞研究專家露西（Lucy Munro）教授意外的發現，才終於迎來了解答。

（Source：Spudgun67, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons）

學者：不是大概，莎士比亞家就在這裡！根據《國家地理雜誌》報導，露西教授在翻閱倫敦檔案館中一批曾屬於費瑟斯頓家族（Fetherston family）的舊地契時，意外發現了一張繪製於1668年2月的區域平面圖。這張圖是在1666年倫敦大火後，為了災後重建與界定地權而精心繪製的。

「我當時正在進行另一項計畫的研究，但當我意識到，自己找到的居然是莎士比亞黑衣修士的住宅平面圖時，簡直不敢相信我的眼睛，」露西表示。透過這張平面圖與另外兩份分別來自倫敦檔案館與國家檔案館（The National Archives）資料交叉比對，原本早已被學者遺忘的莎士比亞之家，終於知道了精確的規格：

該房產跨越城門的部分並未出現在大火後的平面圖中，因為它沒有地基；但另一部分東西長約13.7公尺，東端南北寬約4.6公尺，西端寬約4公尺。平面圖並未標示內部格局或房間，但其規模足以讓它在1645年時被分割成兩棟住宅。

William Shakespeare rented a few apartments around London, but he only bought one home there, in 1613. Now, a scholar has pinpointed the exact location of the house using seventeenth-century maps; it would have been a quick commute to Blackfriars theater!https://t.co/kIXQMXG0He pic.twitter.com/c9hhfig1P8

— Archaeology Magazine (@archaeologymag) April 18, 2026

此外，這張平面圖也顯示，莎士比亞的家就位在三條街──愛爾蘭場（Ireland Yard）、伯根街（Burgon Street）和聖安德魯丘（St. Andrew’s Hill）的交叉口附近。

這證明了聖安德魯丘5號的那塊藍色紀念牌，並非只是在「在此附近」，而是精準定位在莎士比亞在黑衣修士房產的正上方。

在過去一個世紀中，該地曾被多種機構使用，包括印刷公司、油墨製造商、建築公司、地毯批發商，以及後來的測量師事務所、投資管理公司與公寓住戶。

（Source：John Salmon / The Cockpit, St Andrew’s Hill, London EC4）

或許，莎士比亞可能還不想退休？多年來，人們一直認為莎士比亞在購買黑衣修士房屋後不久，就從倫敦的劇場生涯退休，回到了故鄉斯特拉福過著退休生活。

儘管目前仍缺乏直接證據證明，莎士比亞是否實際在此居住過。但在莎士比亞購買該地段的同一年，他與約翰弗萊徹（John Fletcher）合著《兩位貴族親戚》（The Two Noble Kinsmen）、《亨利八世》（Henry VIII）。因此，這項新發現讓人重新思考──或許當時的他仍計劃繼續從事劇場工作。

「畢竟，莎士比亞可以在倫敦任何地方購買投資性房產，但他卻偏偏選擇了這棟緊鄰其工作地點──黑衣修士劇場──的房子。」露西表示。此外，紀錄顯示莎士比亞曾於1614年11月造訪倫敦，那他很有可能就是住在自家的房子裡，「這讓我們有理由相信，該劇的部分內容可能就是在這棟房內創作的」，露西補充道。

「最令人興奮的是，這項發現挑戰了過去認為莎士比亞買房後便告老還鄉的觀點，促使我們重新審視他與倫敦之間緊密的連結。」

這或許也暗示著，這位大文豪在人生的最後階段，依然對這座舞台中心充滿著眷戀與展望。但在莎士比亞購屋後三年，莎士比亞在亞芬河畔斯特拉福過世，死因不詳，享年52歲。

▲ 圖為2018年Grassroots Shakespeare劇團演出《兩位貴族親戚》。（Source：Ben P L from Provo, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons）

繼承之戰！宛如莎翁式的房產爭議在遺囑中，莎士比亞將黑衣修士的房產留給長女大女兒蘇珊娜（Susanna）及其後代。然而，這棟房子的故事並未隨莎士比亞的離世而畫上句點。

根據露西教授挖掘出的文件，蘇珊娜唯一的孩子伊莉莎白（Elizabeth Hall）及其首任丈夫湯瑪斯納許（Thomas Nash）本應在蘇珊娜去世後繼承該房子。但伊莉莎白的第一任丈夫湯瑪斯納許（Thomas Nash）在1647年臨終前，竟然「無視法律」，在遺囑中擅自將這棟房子，留給了自己的堂弟愛德華納許（Edward Nash）。

這引發了一場長達數年的法律大戰。伊莉莎白在法庭上堅定地主張這是「祖父莎士比亞的遺產」，絕不容許外人覬覦。最終，伊莉莎白贏得了勝利，並於1665年4月將房產出售給親戚愛德華巴格利（Edward Bagley）。但僅一年後，這棟建築便在倫敦大火中化為灰燼，土地也再次轉售他人。

Feb 17, 1670: Elizabeth Hall Barnard, granddaughter and last surviving descendant of William #Shakespeare, dies in Abington, Northamptonshire at the age of 61. #OTD pic.twitter.com/k6aI9gRsDp

— Bardweb.net (@ShakespeareRes) February 17, 2022


content_text:
新华社德黑兰5月9日电（记者陈霄 沙达提）据伊朗学生通讯社9日报道，一名伊朗外交部官员表示，伊朗当前的优先事项是停止战争、恢复霍尔木兹海峡正常通航，提防美国在相关海域采取“海盗式行动”。

该官员称，伊朗已对美国在霍尔木兹海峡的一系列“挑衅行为”作出了回应。

他强调，美方不应再次利用霍尔木兹海峡对伊朗及该地区其他国家采取军事行动。

title: 伊朗官员：提防美国“海盗式行动”-新华网


content_text: 新华社华盛顿5月9日电 美军中央司令部9日在社交媒体上发表声明说，美军继续执行对伊朗的海上封锁，自4月13日以来至今已改变58艘商船的航向，并使4艘船只丧失航行能力，以防止这些船只进出伊朗港口。

title: 美军称继续执行对伊朗的海上封锁-新华网


content_text:
新华网德清5月9日电（记者 王坤朔）在第十个中国品牌日来临之际，2026世界品牌莫干山大会“文化+”跨界融合创新论坛于5月9日在浙江省德清县成功举办，汇聚政企学研各界代表，围绕文化赋能、跨界创新、品牌升维，共同探索融合发展新路径，为文化创新与品牌建设注入新动能、拓展新空间。

世界品牌莫干山大会自2023年落户浙江德清，已成功举办三届，逐渐成长为品牌领域具有重要影响力和美誉度的高端平台。作为大会的重要板块，本届文化产业主题分论坛继2024、2025年成功举办后，持续深耕沉淀，成为文化产业领域标杆交流盛会。

跨界思想激荡 文化融合点亮多元新场景

文化是民族的精神命脉，是品牌的灵魂根基，更是创新发展的深厚沃土。

新华网党委书记、董事长储学军在致辞中表示，“十五五”规划纲要明确指出，推进文化和科技融合，发展新型文化业态，培育优秀文化企业和品牌，激发全民族文化创新创造活力，以文化赋能经济社会发展。他说，“文化+”正成为激活新质生产力、驱动产业转型升级、推动高质量发展的重要引擎。

文化与旅游的深度融合，为演艺产业打开全新维度。山水盛典文化产业股份有限公司总裁、联合创始人姜颖表示，文化是打破行业壁垒、赋能千行百业的超级连接者与价值放大器，是驱动产业融合升维的战略支点，而文旅演艺正是“文化+”最生动的实践，能够深化跨界融合，让中国文脉活在当下，走向未来。

科技的力量从守护成长延伸到重塑体验，人工智能正为校园安全与健康教育带来全新变革。中国应急管理学会安全教育工作委员会副主任、中国人生科学学会特聘安全教育专家温赛光详解“人工智能赋能学校安全与健康教育”，以科技赋能与内容创新破解校园安全治理痛点，推动校园安全从经验驱动向智能驱动升级。

电影自诞生之日起便与技术深度绑定。陕西西影文化旅游发展有限公司影视旅游中心总监张峰以“无界XR 影院在电影里看电影”主题进行分享。依托西影自主研发的全球首款“坐观式”虚拟现实电影系统，无界XR影院将引领未来沉浸式观影新潮流，成为推动中国品牌加速出海、促进世界品牌交流互鉴的生动实践。

中华文明千年食养智慧，在现代健康需求中焕发新活力。长轻营养食疗副总经理王宗良阐释了东方传统食养智慧与现代营养科学融合的创新路径，为国民健康管理与慢病防控提供全新解决方案。

世界因多样而精彩，因交流而发展。国家一级美术师、中国人民大学文艺复兴研究院副院长左古山认为，和合共生、天人合一、和而不同等东方智慧历经数千年绵延不绝，也是当下推动文化与科技、品牌、产业深度融合的精神密码，而开放包容、互学互鉴始终是中华文明的鲜明特质。

新兴体育文化持续迸发着新活力。世界休闲体育协会匹克球分会主席王鹏飞分享了当前火热的匹克球运动，凭借低门槛、强社交的特性，成为青年人交流新载体，同时带动装备研发、赛事运营、文旅融合等产业发展，河南鹤壁等地打造“中国匹克球之城”，为城市转型提供新思路。

以文润万物 实现跨界融合与价值延伸

当前，我国文化产业规模持续扩大、融合创新加速推进，文化新业态成为重要增长引擎，以汉字为代表的中华优秀传统文化正迎来创造性转化、创新性发展的黄金机遇期。

汉仪股份董事、副总裁马忆原说，汉字是中华文明的重要载体，在数智化时代，字体已超越信息承载功能，成为文化表达、品牌识别与跨界创新的纽带。

公益力量为“文化+”注入温度，构筑有情怀、有责任的产业生态。溧阳市雨蓝公益发展中心理事长姜玉兰认为，品牌价值已超越商业边界，优秀品牌不仅是经济活动主体，更是社会价值创造者与人文精神传承者。新时代创业者需完成从利润导向型经营者向社会责任担当者、人文价值践行者的角色转型，以信任与共鸣为商业基石，构建具备持久生命力的品牌体系。

数字化转型打破时空壁垒，让传统文化真正走进大众生活。北京以文会友传媒有限公司总经理姜小夏通过分享“流动美术馆”公益展览，到当前成功的数字化转型实践，表达了从线下流动到线上传播、从数字化到智能化，始终坚守“以文化人”的初心。

落地生根 文化赋能产业新实践

思想引领方向，项目承载未来。活动上，一批兼具文化底蕴与市场潜力的优质项目集中亮相，推动文化融合理念转化为实实在在的产业动能。

“大美中国·发现美丽城市、小镇和景区”推介活动负责人刘浩正式启动第二届 “大美中国·发现美丽城市、小镇和景区”推介活动，以“大美中国”平台为抓手，以“文化+”跨界融合为路径，助力文旅产业高质量发展。

一方风物承载一方文化，湘西茶旅融合走出特色发展路。湘西一叶商贸有限公司副总经理侯万红携大湘西“山水+文化+茶产业”融合成果亮相，以文旅为体、以茶为魂，系统分享生态茶旅赋能乡村振兴、迈向世界舞台的品牌实践。

文化传承关乎下一代成长，少儿营养品牌坚守文化与责任担当。伴茵营养副总经理张若宸以“让文化可传承，让成长有担当”为主题，分享了伴茵营养将传统育人智慧与现代营养科学相融合的创新路径，为中国儿童健康管理提供全新方案。

文旅服务需兼顾全年龄段需求，银发人群出行体验迎来全新升级。朋游旅游副总经理、旅行产品负责人杨桓分享了如何通过慢节奏、暖服务、明消费、记录美等产品理念，让中老年朋友的旅程更有温度、更有品质。

现场还举行了两项重磅启动仪式。《文化访谈·艺术名家》专题行动正式启动，通过深度对话记录艺术名家创作故事与精神传承，助力艺术名家与精品内容走向大众。

活动现场，西影集团副总经理闫禹、新华文创共创中心负责人张保平、新华网文化产业中心副总编辑林明共同启动“无界XR影院项目”。该项目将围绕“全国推广、规模运营、品牌落地”三大维度，推动无界XR影院的规模化、市场化运营，助力虚拟现实电影高质量发展，实现全产业链的价值共创、收益共享与生态共赢。

生态共建 文化价值转化新动能

在“文化赋能跨界融合创新发展”圆桌对话环节，多位嘉宾围绕“文化+”核心价值、文化品牌打造、文化与产业双向赋能等议题展开深入交流，共同探讨文化跨界融合的实践路径。嘉宾们一致认为，文化是跨界融合的核心，只有坚守文化底色、创新转化形式，才能让传统文化活在当下、走向世界，实现文化价值与产业价值的双向共赢。

在“文化+”的融合生态中，前沿技术的突破与文化产业的价值转化实现双向奔赴。活动上，启动了一系列合作仪式，这标志着新华网的品牌影响力与文化价值，与各领域优质品牌携手，让国潮文化真正融入大众生活，让经典文化在当代焕发全新活力。

河北又一家饮食服务有限责任公司、新疆兵粮麦客农业发展有限公司、浙江大姆山食品有限公司、南京紫胤文化传播有限公司、黑龙江辛巴赫啤酒股份有限公司以及新华文创运营合作伙伴分别举行了签约仪式。

活动现场，摆放着新华文创定制咖啡机。深圳市万屹瑞仪科技有限公司总裁宋品希与新华网文化产业中心达成深度合作，共同开启“文化提神”的醇香之旅，真正实现让文化走进日常、让品牌贴近生活，成为文化IP赋能实体经济、融入民生消费的生动写照。

本届论坛充分展现了“文化+”跨界融合的蓬勃活力与广阔前景。未来，新华网将继续发挥平台优势，携手各界深化文化与产业、科技、消费融合，打造更多享誉全球的中国文化品牌，为文化强国建设与高质量发展贡献力量。

taiwan-subdivisions: 和美 成功

title: 以文化赋能品牌，以融合激活新动能 “文化+”跨界融合创新论坛在德清举办-新华网


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新华社德黑兰5月9日电（记者陈霄 沙达提）伊朗伊斯兰议会国家安全和外交政策委员会主席易卜拉欣·阿齐兹9日在社交媒体上警告说，各国政府不应支持美国推动的涉伊协议方案，否则“将带来严重后果”。

阿齐兹在社交媒体上写道：“霍尔木兹海峡是至关重要的生命线。别亲手关死它（霍尔木兹海峡）的大门。”

title: 伊朗高级官员警告：“别亲手关死霍尔木兹海峡的大门”-新华网


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新华社马德里5月9日电 西班牙内政大臣费尔南多·格兰德-马拉斯卡·戈麦斯9日说，德国、法国、比利时、爱尔兰和荷兰将派飞机从暴发汉坦病毒疫情的“洪迪厄斯”号邮轮上接回本国公民。

西班牙卫生大臣莫妮卡·加西亚同一天表示，预计“洪迪厄斯”号邮轮将于当地时间10日凌晨抵达西班牙特内里费岛。按照西班牙官员说法，除上述5国之外，欧盟将另派两架飞机接走船上其余欧盟国家人员。美国和英国正在为那些无法获得航空服务的非欧盟国家人员安排应急方案。

当地有关部门警告，撤离邮轮人员的工作须在10日至11日进行，因为近期附近海域可能出现强风暴天气。

世界卫生组织总干事谭德塞9日发表公开信表示，目前船上暂无新增疑似病例。世卫组织评估认为，汉坦病毒带来的公共卫生风险仍然“较低”。

title: 欧洲多国将接回涉疫邮轮人员 世卫组织评估传播风险仍“较低”-新华网


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新华社布达佩斯5月9日电（记者陈浩 黄富慧）匈牙利蒂萨党主席毛焦尔·彼得在匈牙利国会9日举行的选举中当选匈牙利新总理。

匈牙利新一届国会于当天成立并举行首次会议，匈牙利总统舒尤克正式提名毛焦尔为唯一总理候选人。在投票环节，国会199名议员中195名参加投票，其中140票赞成，54票反对，1票弃权。

毛焦尔随后宣誓就职并发表讲话。他承诺将为国家服务，表示匈牙利正进入一个以和解、民主复兴和民族团结为核心的“新时代”。

毛焦尔的总理任期从当天正式开始，任期4年。

毛焦尔1981年出生，毕业于匈牙利帕兹马尼·彼得天主教大学法律与人文专业，曾任实习法官、律师。2010年起先后在匈牙利外交与对外经济部、匈常驻欧盟代表团、匈总理办公室等机构任职，2024年当选蒂萨党主席和欧洲议会议员。

在今年4月12日举行的匈牙利国会选举中，毛焦尔领导的蒂萨党战胜欧尔班·维克托领导的执政联盟（青民盟和基民党），获得199个议席中的141席，取得压倒性胜利。

title: 毛焦尔当选匈牙利总理-新华网


content_text: 美國洛杉磯婚姻與家事律師庫姆斯（Jacqueline Combs）觀察到，婚前協議的簽署比例正在上升。婚前協議明確規定如果離婚，投資、房地產和共同帳戶等財務資產要怎麼分配。根據Harris Poll在2022年的一項調查，42%的美國成年人支持使用婚前協議，而在未婚人士中，有35%表示未來可能會簽署婚前協議。相比之下，在2010年，只有3%的已婚或訂婚伴侶有簽婚前協議。庫姆斯律師曾代表美國名模艾蜜莉‧瑞特考斯基（Emily Ratajkowski）和美髮師克里斯‧阿普爾頓（Chris Appleton）等名人。她觀察到，年輕一代簽署婚前協議的比例更高。她指出，對於 Z 世代來說，心理健康是首要考量，而且離婚早已不是禁忌。以下是她認為Z世代擁抱婚前協議的幾個原因：1. 資訊發達大約出生於1997年到2012年之間的Z世代，成長於網路發達的時代，許多人成年時智慧型手機已成為標配。庫姆斯表示，對這一代年輕人而言，透過新聞、社群媒體和網路，「獲取資訊的管道比以前多太多了」。再加上親眼目睹自己家庭中離婚的過程，Z世代現在對婚姻和離婚的樣貌有了更清晰的認識，也更了解伴侶可以做出哪些財務決策。Z世代可以隨手就能查到研究報告、法律解釋以及結婚真實經驗分享。過去，婚前協議是家事律師事務所裡的隱晦話題，現在，在社群媒體、播客節目（Podcasts）和各大論壇上都有人公開討論婚前協議。 廣告 由於門檻降低、更容易理解，婚前協議不再是名人或高淨值家庭專屬的神祕法律文件，而被視為一種實用的工具。這種普及化讓伴侶能更自在地提起這個話題，而不必擔心傳達錯誤的訊息。2. 期待公開、透明的對話庫姆斯還發現，這一代人經營感情的方式略有不同。她說，Z 世代追求的是「感情的真實性」和「明確的期望」。他們渴望開誠佈公的對話與透明度，包括財務方面的透明。根據西北互惠人壽保險公司（Northwestern Mutual）2023年的《規劃與進展研究》，四分之一的Z世代認為，雙方初步了解彼此後、進入穩定關係之前，應該進行關於金錢的坦誠交流。38%的Z世代認為，應在關係穩定後、結婚或同居之前進行討論。年長世代常常負面解讀婚前協議的存在，認為對方不信任自己或打從一開始就不願承諾牢固長久的婚姻。但在Z 世代眼中，婚前協議代表負責任的生活規畫，只是在討論彼此的需求、如何建立穩定的婚姻，以及雙方傾向如何共同理財。與其說簽婚前協議是為離婚做準備，不如說是為了減少衝突、增加透明度，並在環境改變時保護雙方。 廣告 3. 財務壓力大Z世代面臨近代最嚴峻的財務挑戰，包括房價飆升與高昂的生活成本、傳統職業穩定性下降、成年初期難以建立儲蓄。因為很難有財務安全感，Z世代更有動力保護自己累積的資產，無論是繼承的遺產、小規模創業、知識產權或辛苦存下的積蓄。4. 結婚年齡延後另一個關鍵因素是時機。Z 世代結婚的時間普遍比父輩更晚。當他們步入禮堂時，可能已經擁有穩定的職業與投資帳戶、顯著的個人儲蓄、房產、車輛或副業，個人品牌或數位資產。當婚姻發生在這些「財務里程碑」之後而非之前時，保護既有資產就成了現實考量。5. 結合傳統與現代價值觀Z世代重視愛與承諾，但也重視獨立與公平。對他們來說，協議並不會貶低感情，反而是一種尊重彼此貢獻、夢想與憂慮的方式。他們打破了「談錢傷感情」或「不禮貌」的陳舊觀念，讓財務透明成為感情的一部分。6. 金融素養高Z世代在金融素養高度普及的環境下成長。他們看過父母經歷經濟衰退與房市崩盤，因此把婚前協議視為與制定預算、立遺囑或儲蓄退休金同等重要的規畫，既不浪漫也不是禁忌，只是保護婚姻穩定的一種工具。 廣告 庫姆斯樂見愈來愈多人簽署婚前協議。她表示，導致離婚的最大原因之一就是金錢，婚前協議有助雙方先建立明確的財務期待、達成一致的理財決策，避免日後產生糾紛。（資料來源：CNBC、BloodLaws）

dateline: 瀏覽數：3335

journalist: 樂羽嘉

title: 為什麼愈來愈多Z世代喜歡簽婚前協議書？