content_text:
Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday visited Russia’s far-eastern Kuril Islands for the first time, prompting protests by Japan which also claims the territory.

Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and seized by the Soviet Union in 1945.

The Kremlin posted a video of Putin on one of the Kurils’ four main islands, with Russian media saying he visited a fish-processing plant and was given caviar.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, observes a military drill of the Pacific fleet on board the missile cruiser Varyag in Russia’s far eastern Sakhalin region on Wednesday. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik via Reuters

It was the first visit by a Russian president since Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.

“The Northern Territories are an inherent part of Japan’s territory, both historically and under international law,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters.

Putin’s visit “offends the sentiments of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable,” she said, adding that it “made it more difficult to restore relations in the medium to long term.”

Putin traveled to the Kurils after visiting the nearby Russian island of Sakhalin on Wednesday, where Russia’s navy was conducting drills.

In Sakhalin, Putin, 73, held a meeting “on ensuring the security of Russia’s eastern borders,” RIA Novosti said.

Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi yesterdat summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolai Nozdrev to lodge a “strong protest” against Putin’s surprise move.

Motegi told the ambassador in the meeting that Putin’s visit would “have an extremely negative impact on Japan-Russia relations” already complicated by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the ministry said in a statement.

Ties between Japan and Russia — which fought a war in 1904-1905 — have worsened since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine began in 2022.

Japan has joined other G7 countries in sanctioning Russia and giving money and nonlethal defense aid to Kyiv.

Putin on Wednesday called Japan’s sanctions “unprovoked.”

“Japan has identified Russia as a main source of threats. I would like to point out that we are not threatening Japan... On the contrary it has territorial claims against our country,” Putin said.

Russia and China have also moved closer, with their navies and air forces conducting joint exercises in areas around Japan, promoting frequent scrambles by Japanese jets.

North Korea, which this month termed Japan’s military buildup a “transformation into a war state,” has also sent troops and artillery shells to help Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Japan’s latest defense white paper issued this month again highlighted growing risks from all three countries.

The New York Times last month reported that Russia had turned Japan into a “den of spies” and a key source of dual-use technology needed for its war in Ukraine.

The Soviet Union took the strategically located volcanic archipelago north of Hokkaido in the final days of World War II and has maintained a military presence there ever since.

The contested isles are part of the volcanic Kuril archipelago, which runs in a broad arc from Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula down to Japan’s main northern island Hokkaido.

Their population of about 20,000 Russians lives in a harsh climate, but the islands have mineral deposits including gold and silver, and rich fishing grounds.

After the islands were occupied in 1945, Moscow deported their Japanese population of about 17,000 people.

The islands then acquired strategic importance, providing air and sea bases during the Cold War as the Soviet Union confronted the US and Japan.

“The Kurils have been fortified with Bastion coastal defense missile systems and SU-35 fighter aircraft. These provide Russia with instruments of control over sea lanes in the region, as well as leverage against Japan’s claim to the islands,” University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy professor Yee Kuang-heng said.

“Putin’s visit may be a reminder of the cards he holds and also his displeasure with Japan’s continuing sanctions on Russia imposed after the invasion of Ukraine,” Heng said.

title: Japan protests Putin’s first visit to disputed islands


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The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday said it approved an expenditure growth range of 2.619 percent to 5.5 percent for National Health Insurance (NHI) medical payouts, with expected payouts to surpass NT$1 trillion (US$31.1 billion) for the first time.

NHI medical expenditure for fiscal 2027 is expected to range from NT$1.01 trillion to NT$1.04 trillion.

The conservative growth estimate was set at 2.619 percent due to the structure of the insured population, medical costs and the growth in the number of people insured under the program, NDC Minister Yeh Chun-hsien (葉俊顯) said.

The National Health Insurance Administration in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Taipei Times

The high-end estimate of 5.5 percent takes into account NHI funding, the quality of healthcare and government policies, such as the “Healthy Taiwan” initiative, he said.

The Executive Yuan has said the Healthy Taiwan Cultivation Plan would invest NT$48.9 billion over five years to improve working conditions for medical personnel, cultivate diverse talent, integrate smart medical technology and promote socially responsible, sustainable medicine.

After the Executive Yuan approves the NDC’s range, the National Health Insurance Committee would negotiate the final NHI global budget, with an agreement required three months before the start of next year.

Separately, the NDC passed the draft urban comprehensive flood control management program for next year to 2031.

The Ministry of the Interior proposed the program to address increased flooding in urban areas due to short-duration heavy rainfall, which often overwhelms drainage, the council said.

The project aims to complete disaster-risk maps for 25 urban areas over five years, establish flood-resilience assessment indicators for 311 urban areas, maintain 2,200 smart water-monitoring stations, and use artificial intelligence to improve flood simulations and pumping-station operations, it said.

Total funding for the project is NT$3.3 billion.

The NDC also discussed a report regarding the government’s next-generation anti-drug strategy action plan for last year to 2028.

As of June, the Ministry of Justice had reviewed and revised the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) and related regulations, and used the Narcotics Prevention Fund to subsidize civic groups’ anti-drug efforts, the council said.

Data on narcotics, such as types of drug crimes, urine test results, and drug use among children and adolescents, have been compiled and would be announced at the end of this month, it said.

title: NDC approves NHI budget range above NT$1 trillion


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SOLIDARITY: Lai was joined by representatives from the US, Israel and Canada during a visit to an underground car park at a New Taipei City hospital

Air raid sirens rang out and streets emptied in northern Taiwan yesterday during annual air raid drills that also included the government limiting mobile Internet access to simulate what might happen in the event of a Chinese attack.

In this year’s 10-day Han Kuang war games, which end today, the military has practiced fighting a Chinese invasion and the government has also staged civil defense drills.

On Monday, the government held its first-ever mobile Internet “throttling” exercise in central Taiwan, with the exercise repeated in the northern part of the nation yesterday afternoon.

People take shelter in an underground parking lot during an urban resilience air-defense drill held alongside the annual Han Kuang Exercises in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters

Lasting 30 minutes, mobile Internet speeds slowed dramatically, although fixed-line Internet and Wi-Fi were not affected.

The government had flagged the drills well in advance.

Police ushered people off the streets to seek shelter indoors during the mock air attack, with buses and cars pulling to the side of the road.

title: Air raid, Internet drills finish in north


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U.S. urges China to halt military pressure on Taiwan after naval drill

The United States on Wednesday urged Beijing to end its “military pressure against Taiwan” after China claimed to have conducted naval exercises with an Indonesian warship in waters east of Taiwan.

According to the Eastern Theater Command of China’s military, its naval vessel Honghe and the Indonesian Navy frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai-332 carried out live drills east of Taiwan Wednesday morning, including maritime communications, formation maneuvers, replenishment-at- sea, and a divergence ceremony.

Indonesia’s Navy, however, said the frigate was returning home after participating in a multinational exercise in Vladivostok, Russia, and was conducting noncombat “passing exercises” with countries along its route.

The US Department of State building in Washington is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: CNA

Responding to a CNA inquiry, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on background that Washington “urges Beijing to cease its continuous military pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.”

“We call on other countries to encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues instead of amplifying Beijing’s destabilizing narratives,” the spokesperson added.

Separately, John Dotson, director of the Washington- based Global Taiwan Institute, said Beijing was pushing back against a growing “quasi-alliance” between Japan and the Philippines, driven by concerns about China’s increasingly assertive behavior and the possibility of a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait.

According to Dotson, Beijing has sought to cultivate its own regional partners, as reflected in joint naval activities with countries such as Russia, while also using the regional security situation as a pretext to expand its naval presence in waters east of Taiwan.

The joint drills with the Indonesian frigate appear to advance both objectives, he said.

“It’s a small step, but one that carries a lot of symbolism,” Dotson said.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Beijing for disregarding international norms and responsibilities and escalating regional tensions.

The ministry said that among all parties operating around the first island chain, only Beijing was engaging in what it described as “malicious” and “irresponsible” provocations.


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The average cost of renting an apartment in Taiwan so far this year was NT$8,600 per month, up by 1.2 percent from September last year, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.

The top three most expensive places to rent in Taiwan were New Taipei City at NT$13,000 per month, Taipei at NT$12,500 per month and Taoyuan at NT$10,000 per month, Department of Land Administration head Lin Chia-cheng (林家正) told a news conference in Taipei.

The ministry reports on rent amounts every six months to provide accurate information to young Taiwanese seeking accommodation, a practice that started last year.

People walk past a “for rent” sign in Taipei’s Zhongshan District on July 1, 2023. Photo: CNA

The cost of rent in Taiwan remained stable, as the median figure was the same or lower in more than 80 percent of administrative districts compared with the figures reported last year, Lin said.

The rent report this year features several refinements, such as breaking down housing options by age, he said.

Rents for units in buildings that were new to five years old, units in buildings that were six to 30 years old and units in buildings more than 30 years old were grouped separately, Lin said.

The report found that the rent for units in new buildings were 20 percent higher than the rent for units in buildings of middling age, which were 10 percent higher than the rent for old buildings, he said.

Apartments in large buildings furnished with elevators cost 20 to 30 percent more than those without, Lin said.

The report groups the rent per ping (3.31m2) of full-floor apartments and apartments that are subdivisions of a floor separately to give potential renters more detailed information, he said.

The report also excludes subletting, as the complex arrangements cannot be quantified accurately, he said.

Department of Statistics head Wu Pei-hsuan (吳佩璇) said the report revealed that more than 50 percent of households eligible for housing subsidies saw a 40 percent average rent reduction.

Economically or socially disadvantaged households could see rents reduced by more than 50 percent, she said.

The biannual report is meant to help young people find reasonably priced units, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said.

The document can be accessed via the Web site: https://pip.moi.gov.tw/Publicize/Info/E1080.

title: Average renting cost up 1.2 percent: ministry


title: Greenpeace calls for review of energy bill

content_text:
Greenpeace Taiwan yesterday called for draft amendments to the Energy Administration Act (能源管理法) to be sent back to a legislative committee for review, and for new amendments that would include all of the more than 400 heavy electricity users under regulation.

The legislature’s Economics Committee on Wednesday last week passed the draft bill, which critics said falls short of expectations.

The Cabinet’s version would require energy users who have entered an electricity contract, with their contract capacity reaching a certain level, to install self-use power generation equipment and energy storage equipment.

Members of environmental groups protest hasty bill negotiations at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Tuesday. Photo: CNA

However, the version of the bill passed by the committee would only require energy users with a newly established or expanded electricity contract to install self-use power generation equipment or energy storage equipment.

Greenpeace Taiwan climate and energy campaigner Lin Lien-kai (林煉凱) said the committee passed the revised bill soon after the Taipei-based Chinese National Federation of Industries on Monday last week suggested that the regulation be limited to energy users with a newly established electricity contract.

The approved draft amendments were like “copying and pasting” the federation’s suggestion and failed to include the more than 400 heavy electricity users, which account for more than 40 percent of the power grid, he said.

Lin said the bill has five main shortcomings.

First, energy users would be allowed to choose either installing self-use power generation equipment or installing energy storage equipment, but a combination of self-provided renewable energy with energy storage would be the most effective in promoting the use of self-generated electricity, he said.

The legal effectiveness was reduced, as not all of the more than 400 heavy electricity users would be included under the regulations, Lin said.

The bill neither excludes high-pollution energy nor encourages companies to prioritize the development of renewable energy, he said.

Fourth, the bill was passed without sufficient public participation, Lin said.

Lastly, the bill would have a five-year grace period, which might be too long and energy users might expand their capacity during the period to circumvent regulation, he said.

While the bill would be referred to a second reading, Lin urged lawmakers to send it back to committee for reconsideration.

The provisions should be revised to include all of the heavy electricity users and require energy users to prioritize renewable energy over polluting energy such as fossil fuels, he said.


title: Ministry urges Taiwanese to postpone Uganda travel

content_text:
‘UNREASONABLE’: Taiwanese facing entry issues in Uganda and Morocco are examples of African nations succumbing to pressure from China, travel agents say

The government yesterday urged people to consider postponing travel to Uganda after Taiwanese were denied entry or had their passports confiscated by Ugandan immigration officers.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a travel advisory after a Taiwanese family of three, who live in Uganda for work, had their passports confiscated on Wednesday.

Although they were eventually allowed to enter Uganda and had no plan to leave in the short term, Ugandan immigration officials demanded that they submit Chinese passports bearing entry stamps before returning their Taiwanese passports, saying that the measure was part of Uganda’s enforcement of the “one China” policy.

The Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland is working closely with the Taiwanese business association in Uganda to provide care and assistance to the family, the ministry said.

That was the latest incident in cases in which Taiwanese have had their passports confiscated by immigration officers at Entebbe International Airport. In one case, the person was deported.

“The Ugandan government has yet to officially announce any change to the visa policy for Taiwan. However, given that several Taiwanese recently encountered difficulties when seeking to enter Uganda, people should consider postponing the trip after cautiously evaluating the necessity and potential risks,” the ministry said.

There are 70 Taiwanese living in Uganda, and there are 35 Taiwanese-funded businesses in the country, it said.

“We express serious concerns over recent cases of Taiwanese being denied or obstructed entry at Ugandan airports. The Ugandan government should recognize that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state, and is not subordinate to China. They should not impose improper entry restrictions on Taiwanese travelers, which would only harm normal exchange and economic benefits of both countries,” the ministry said.

Travel agents said that Taiwanese mainly visit Uganda for business purposes.

Separately, a travel agent advised people planning to visit north Africa to consider traveling to Tunisia instead, as Morocco has stopped issuing visa confirmation letters to Taiwanese tourists since July 20.

The ministry has stopped handling visa applications filed by Moroccans since July 30.

Success Travel general manager Vivian Chang (張雯雯), who also serves as a specialist for tours in Central Asia and Africa, said Morrocco was previously an add-on travel destination when people visited Spain and Portugal, but has over the past few years emerged as a popular destination for tourists seeking an in-depth travel experience.

About 5,000 Taiwanese visited Morocco last year, Chang added.

The unexpected visa policy change has affected 1,000 Taiwanese travelers who were scheduled to travel to the north African nation in the fourth quarter.

“To our knowledge, nothing is likely to change this year,” Chang said. “Some travel agencies allow tour changes under this circumstance, but some costs and fees are non-refundable. Airlines could also give partial refunds.”

“Compared with larger travel agencies, smaller travel agencies are likely to sustain more financial losses,” she added.

Success Travel estimated that only about 5 percent of people scheduled to travel to Morocco would switch to Tunisia instead, Chang said.

The incidents involving Taiwanese tourists in Uganda and Morocco are examples of African nations succumbing to pressure from China and imposing unreasonable requirements on Taiwanese tourists, travel agents said.

Another example is South Africa, which allows other tourists to file visa applications electronically, but requires Taiwanese to apply for visas via their diplomatic offices, they said.

In some countries, Taiwanese are forced to choose “Taiwan, China” as their nationality when filling in application forms, they added.


title: Agency presents four farmers with owl-friendly label

taiwan-subdivisions: 田寮 旗山 楠梓 大樹

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Twenty-three agricultural workers have been approved to use the Australasian Grass Owl-Friendly Label for their agricultural products since the label was launched last year, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Pingtung branch said on Wednesday.

The branch had presented the label to four Kaohsiung-based agricultural workers who recently passed an Australasian grass owl-friendly farming course.

The Australasian Grass Owl-Friendly Label encourages agricultural workers to adopt eco-friendly field management approaches without using rodenticides, animal traps or herbicides, it said.

An Australasian grass owl spreads its wings in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s Chiayi branch

The goal is to minimize the impact of agricultural activities on Australasian grass owls and other ecosystems, it added.

The label has been granted to 23 agricultural workers who cultivate a variety of crops, including lemons, guavas, avocados, pineapples, rambutans, corn, rice and leafy vegetables, it said.

Among the four growers granted the label on Wednesday is Chen Mou-wei (陳謀韋), who operates a 16-hectare avocado orchard near the Nanzihsian River (楠梓仙溪) in Kaohsiung’s Chishan District (旗山), the branch said.

Chen applies his electrical engineering expertise to developing semi-mechanized field management and records his pesticide applications in detail in the traceability system, it said.

Another grower, Chen Tai-sheng (陳?昇), adopts organic farming to grow guavas on the badlands of Kaohsiung’s Tianliao District (田寮), the branch said.

He created a technique of warping the main stem of guava plants around a galvanized steel pipe to help them survive typhoons, as well as using pruned branches to surround guava plant trunks to retain moisture, it said.

Agricultural worker Chien Chun-fa (簡春發), who operates pineapple fields in Kaohsiung’s Dashu District (大樹), insists on not using herbicides or chemical fertilizers, the branch said.

Chien considers wild animals nibbling his fruit as “the rent paid to nature,” it said.

He also set up raptor perches in his fields to attract black-winged kites and crested goshawks, which hunt rats, the branch said.

Replacing pesticides with biological control techniques aligns with the principle of ecological integration, it said.

Lastly, Hung Chi-chin (洪麒欽), uses organic farming to cultivate avocados, mangoes and black persimmons near the Cishan River (旗山溪), the branch said, adding that Hung’s orchards document sightings of Australasian grass owls.

Agricultural workers are indispensable partners in promoting conservation of the critically endangered owls, it said, calling on the public to purchase products with the label to support eco-friendly farming.


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Ex-Olympian, 13 others indicted for heroin trafficking

Prosecutors yesterday said they have indicted a former Winter Olympian and 13 others for allegedly operating a cross-border heroin trafficking network, seeking sentences ranging from five years to life imprisonment.

The defendants were indicted under the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例) and the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office said.

The Olympian, a 70-year-old man surnamed Wu (吳), was accused of directing the group’s operation via cellphone while bedridden with a serious illness.

Airport agents search the luggage of an accused drug mule, in orange, who allegedly traveled to Cambodia and Myanmar to smuggle heroin into Taiwan in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office via CNA

Wu had represented Taiwan at the Winter Olympics in 1984, and has been bedridden over the past few years after undergoing a tracheostomy.

Prosecutors suspect he began the heroin trafficking and sales network last year to cover his medical expenses.

Three members, including a man surnamed Chen (陳), had allegedly traveled to Cambodia and Myanmar to smuggle heroin into Taiwan, but were arrested in January at the airport, they said.

After the arrests, Wu allegedly switched to using international parcels, instructing other members, including a man surnamed Su (蘇), to receive heroin shipments, and repackage them to be sold, prosecutors added.

Authorities arrested all 14 people in a series of operations in May, and seized cash and more than 1.6kg of heroin, prosecutors said.

Investigators alleged that Wu arranged for heroin to be transported into Taiwan four times, totaling more than 2.3kg, the estimated street value of which was more than NT$23 million (US$714,996).

The operation had seriously endangered public health, prosecutors said, asking the court to impose life sentences on Wu and two other defendants — a woman surnamed Tu (杜) and a man surnamed Yang (楊) — citing Wu’s role as the alleged ringleader, and the other two’s denial of the charges and failure to cooperate after being arrested.

Prosecutors are seeking prison terms of at least 15 years for three other defendants and sentences of at least eight years for the seven who confessed to the charges.

Another defendant, surnamed Lee (李), admitted to helping with money transfers and other matters, but denied any involvement in drug trafficking, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have requested a prison term of at least five years for Lee, citing his lack of cooperation after being detained.


title: Starlux, Tigerair announce new Japan routes

content_text:
FAVORED DESTINATION: The number of Taiwanese visiting Japan has increased 20.9 percent from last year, with Taiwan emerging as its second-biggest tourism source

Starlux Airlines and Tigerair Taiwan yesterday announced new flights to Japan from Taichung and Kaohsiung.

Starlux said its direct flights between Taichung and Nagoya would begin on Oct. 25, with four flights each week in the initial stage via its A321neo aircraft.

With the addition of Taichung-Nagoya direct services, the airline’s Taichung-based aviation network would have 12 international destinations. The other 11 are: Tokyo, Kobe, Takamatsu, Okinawa, Miyakojima, Sapporo and Kumamoto in Japan; Da Nang and Phu Quoc in Vietnam; Busan in South Korea and Macau.

Nagoya serves as the gateway for travelers to explore central Japan, and its downtown area is rich in history, culture and local cuisine, Starlux CEO Glenn Chai (翟健華) said.

Through Nagoya, travelers can also access popular tourist destinations, such as Hida Takayama Municipal Ski Resort, Chai said.

Tigerair Taiwan, Taiwan’s low-cost carrier, said it would launch two new routes to Ishigaki and Komatsu next month, as it anticipates strong demand for overseas travel among residents of southern Taiwan.

The two new routes would bring the airline’s international routes from Kaohsiung to 11, it said.

Tigerair would then have a total of 45 international routes, with 19 operated exclusively by the airline, it added.

Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Okayama and Okinawa are among the most popular destinations for Taiwanese travelers, Tigerair said, adding that it expects demand to remain strong in the second half of the year.

It operates flights to Okinawa from Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, with an average load factor of 97.1 percent, it said.

Gooday Tours general manager Aron Huang (黃清涼), who serves as a specialist for Japanese tours in the Travel Quality Assurance Association, said 3.97 million Taiwanese traveled to Japan in the first six months of this year, up 20.9 percent from the same period last year.

Taiwan has emerged as Japan’s second-largest tourism source, preceded only by South Korea.

China remains Japan’s third-largest tourism source, although Beijing has urged its citizens to avoid travel to Japan.

Huang attributed the strong demand to the significant increase of flights to Japan, not only to Tokyo and Osaka, but to other cities as well.

The demand for Japan tours during the summer travel season remains strong despite the rising travel costs caused by airport tax hikes and inflation in Japan, Huang said.

Group tour costs are expected to slightly fall in the fourth quarter, following the summer travel season.

Tour prices could be even cheaper if people choose to travel a few days ahead of the nine-in-one local elections on Nov. 28.

“As people might choose to stay and vote in the elections, travel agencies expect the demand for outbound tourism to drop and are more likely to offer special prices for tours,” he said.


title: Spectral preparations

content_text: Staff seal off the main door to a temple in Pingtung County yesterday, the first day of Ghost Month. Following tradition, many temples keep only their side doors open out of respect for wandering spirits during the seventh lunar month.


content_text: Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto introduces a piece during a pre-exhibition news conference at the Jut Art Museum in Taipei yesterday. His exhibition “Sou Fujimoto: Primitive Future Forest” runs from tomorrow to Jan. 3 next year, and features more than 100 architectural projects.

title: Nature meets architecture


title: Compal says PC shipments to decline

content_text:
SECOND-HALF DROP? Higher costs for components are making customers more cautious, although shipments of AI PCs are expected to rise, a Compal executive said

Contract electronics maker Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) yesterday said PC shipments are expected to fall by 15 to 17 percent year-on-year in the second half of the year, as rising memory chip prices weigh on consumer demand.

Compal shipped 12.1 million PCs in the first half, down 14.2 percent from the same period last year, company data showed.

Compal expects full-year shipments to decline by a mid-teens percentage from last year’s 28 million units, Compal president Anthony Peter Bonadero told an online earnings conference.

A Compal Electronics Inc sign is pictured outside a company plant in Taoyuan’s Dasi District on Tuesday. Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times

Despite replacement demand for Windows 10, higher component costs are making enterprise customers and consumers more cautious about spending in the second half, Bonadero said.

Even so, Compal’s PC unit profitability has remained stable, thanks to a higher production share of artificial intelligence (AI) PCs and commercial PCs, increasing selling prices and improving operational efficiency, he said.

AI PCs account for about 50 percent of Compal’s PC shipments and the ratio is expected to rise as the market enters an AI PC refresh cycle, he said.

The firm also expects its server business to remain robust, with server revenue projected to grow by a high-double-digit percentage sequentially this quarter, he said.

Server revenue is on track to account for 10 percent of total revenue this year, he said, adding that AI servers accounted for about 70 percent of Compal’s total server revenue last quarter.

Compal’s AI server portfolio consists mainly of Nvidia Corp’s B300-based systems, most of which have moved into so-called “Level 10” production, Bonadero said.

The company plans to begin producing larger AI server racks in the first quarter of next year, he said.

Server orders last quarter were mainly from new cloud customers, with the momentum expected to continue through the second half, he said.

As new capacity in Taiwan and Texas comes online, Compal plans to diversify its customer base next year to include tier-1 cloud service providers and at least one major enterprise customer, he added.

Compal’s net profit last quarter grew 59 percent quarter-on-quarter and 549 percent year-on-year to NT$3.13 billion (US$97.3 million).

Earnings per share rose to NT$0.73 from NT$0.45 in the previous quarter and NT$0.11 a year earlier.

However, gross margin fell to 4.6 percent from 5.3 percent in the previous quarter due to higher memory prices, while operating margin slipped to 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent, Compal said.

The company said non-PC products accounted for 34 percent of its NT$238.3 billion revenue in the second quarter.

The ratio is projected to rise to 40 percent by the end of this year, it said.

Compal’s capital expenditure in the first half was NT$9 billion, including NT$6 billion to NT$7 billion on server-related investments in Taiwan and the US, while it plans full-year spending of about NT$18 billion, Bonadero said.


content_text:
MSCI Inc yesterday raised Taiwan’s weightings in its key global indices, reflecting the robust performance of Taiwan-listed stocks and changes in their accessibility to foreign investors.

Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI All Country World Index is set to rise to 3.13 percent from 3.08 percent, while its weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase to 26.85 percent from 26.6 percent.

In the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index, Taiwan’s weighting is set to climb to 30.03 percent from 29.75 percent.

TAIEX data are displayed one a smartphone in front of an electronic stock board in Taipei on June 4. Photo: CNA

The adjustments are to take effect after the market closes on Aug. 31, the global stock index compiler said in a statement.

Memory makers Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) and Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), along with Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子), Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp (景碩科技), Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board Corp (南亞電路板) and Taiwan Union Technology Corp (台燿科技), are to be moved from the MSCI Taiwan Small Cap Index to the MSCI Taiwan Index in the latest adjustments.

The changes could raise the companies’ visibility among international investors and prompt portfolio adjustments by funds that track the benchmarks, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said.

Companies in the MSCI Taiwan Index, a regional component of the MSCI Global Standard Index, generally attract greater attention from global funds than those in its small-cap benchmarks, the exchange said.

Nanya Technology’s promotion is particularly notable after institutional investors had repeatedly identified the company as a candidate for inclusion in the global standard index.

Its elevation comes as Taiwan’s memory stocks gain momentum amid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, rising orders for high-performance computing equipment and tight supplies of conventional memory chips.

Six Taiwan-listed companies — Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥), Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), Taiwan Business Bank Co (台灣企銀), International Games System Co (鈊象電子), eMemory Technology Inc (力旺電子) and Caliway Biopharmaceuticals Co (康霈生技) — are to be moved from the MSCI Taiwan Index to the MSCI Taiwan Small Cap Index.

The MSCI’s quarterly review comes as the TAIEX has rallied nearly 60 percent this year. The index closed up 1.11 percent at 46,021.48 yesterday.

This year’s gains have been driven largely by surging global spending on AI infrastructure, which has boosted demand for the products of Taiwan’s chipmakers, memory suppliers and other technology hardware makers.

The higher weightings also underscore the market’s growing importance in global equity benchmarks, the TWSE said.

Taiwan’s large technology companies account for a significant share of the nation’s market capitalization, meaning that changes in their valuations can have an outsized effect on the country’s index weight and on portfolios of international investors tracking MSCI benchmarks, the exchange said.

title: MSCI Inc raises weightings for Taiwanese stocks


content_text:
E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) is to formally merge with Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽) on Sept. 1, creating Taiwan’s fifth-largest listed financial holding company by assets and paving the way for capital injections totaling NT$22 billion (US$683.91 million) to shore up the insurer’s finances, top executives said yesterday.

“The first priority after the merger will be to bring the insurer back to health through capital injections,” E.Sun Financial chairman Joseph Huang (黃男州) told a news conference in Taipei ahead of a company earnings call.

E.Sun would inject NT$16 billion into Mercuries Life next month, followed by another NT$6 billion next year, Huang said.

E.Sun Financial Holding Co chairman Joseph Huang speaks at an earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

The entire NT$22 billion capital increase would be subscribed by E.Sun Financial, with no preferred or common shares to be issued, he said.

The capital is aimed at boosting Mercuries Life’s capital base, with its Taiwan Insurance Capital Standard ratio expected to reach about 125 percent toward the end of the year, Huang said.

E.Sun Financial would expand Mercuries Life’s bancassurance business while maintaining its traditional insurance offerings, including participating policies, and accident and health insurance, he said.

Sales agents account for a significant share of Mercuries Life’s insurance sales, with unit-linked policies making up a large part of its portfolio, highlighting the potential for E.Sun to broaden the insurer’s distribution through its banking network, he said.

The group also plans to improve the insurer’s operating efficiency through organizational restructuring, process optimization and greater use of technology, he said.

E.Sun Financial president Chen Mao-chin (陳茂欽) said the group plans to initially place a small portion of Mercuries Life’s assets with E.Sun Securities Investment Trust Co (玉山投信) for management, with the mandate potentially expanded if the arrangement proves successful.

Mercuries Life had about NT$292.5 billion of assets under external management as of June, providing E.Sun Securities Investment Trust with scope to secure larger asset-management mandates over time, Chen said.

E.Sun Commercial Bank Ltd (玉山銀行) sells insurance products from eight life insurers, with Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) accounting for the largest share.

The lender would maintain its open-platform approach while gradually increasing the distribution of Mercuries Life products, E.Sun Commercial Bank president Lin Lung-cheng (林隆政) said.

E.Sun Financial’s net profit for the first seven months was a record NT$24.44 billion, rising 20.95 percent year-on-year, while earnings per share were NT$1.51.

title: E.Sun to merge with Mercuries Life next month


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E-PAPER TRANSITION: Increasing memory prices have caused customers to postpone new product launches, with the firm expecting a later peak season this year

E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技), the world’s biggest e-paper display supplier, yesterday revised downward its revenue growth forecast for this year to between 10 and 15 percent, from the 20 to 25 percent it previously estimated, as surging memory prices are hurting demand for its e-readers and e-notes.

The company had expected a transition from monochrome color e-paper displays to color displays used in e-readers and e-notes to continue this year.

However, rapidly increasing memory prices have caused customers to postpone new product launches, while demand for models from previous generations has also dwindled due to higher prices, E Ink said.

E Ink Holdings Inc signage is pictured at the company’s booth at the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei on April 17 last year. Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times

That created “headwinds mainly for consumer products such as e-readers and e-notes,” E Ink chairman Johnson Lee (李正昊) told an earnings conference in Taipei. “We are seeing a double-digit revenue decline” in that segment.

Still, Lee has retained his forecast of “healthy growth” for the company’s Internet-of-Things business, mainly e-paper used in electronic shelf labels (ESL).

The IoT revenue would grow 20 to 25 percent annually this year, thanks to accelerating adoption of ESLs by large-scale US and European retailers, he said.

E Ink’s capital expenditure would remain at NT$8 billion (US$248.69 million) this year, as the company is building new production lines for large e-paper displays to optimize the unit cost of its digital signage products, he added.

Demand for 8-inch to 15-inch digital signage is robust, while demand for 32-inch digital signage fell short of company expectations due to affordability issues.

Digital signage e-paper displays are projected to grow at a high-single-digit percentage this year, it said.

This quarter, revenue would slide moderately from NT$10.22 billion in the second quarter due to sagging demand for e-paper displays used in e-readers and e-notes, Lee said.

“The third quarter used to be a peak season for E Ink. The pattern will be different this year,” he said. “The fourth quarter will be the peak season this year.”

E Ink’s net profit last quarter expanded 26 percent year-on-year to NT$3.73 billion from NT$2.97 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to NT$3.23 from NT$2.58, while gross margin edged lower to 58.7 percent from 60 percent a year earlier.

In the first half of the year, net profit advanced 26 percent to NT$6.52 billion from NT$5.17 billion in the same period last year. EPS climbed to NT$5.65 from NT$4.5.

title: E Ink downgrades its revenue growth forecast


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Semiconductor equipment manufacturer Skytech Inc (天虹科技) on Wednesday said that it expects customer demand to be high through the second quarter of next year, particularly for equipment used in advanced chip manufacturing and packaging technologies driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The company’s new physical vapor deposition devices used in panel-level packaging (PLP) have been rapidly gaining traction, with three machines to be delivered to server customers and one to a US customer in the first quarter next year, Skytech chief executive officer George Yi (易錦良) said in Hsinchu City.

“Customer validation has been exceptionally strong. We are preparing for the shipment of the fifth machine in just eight months since we began developing the equipment last year upon the establishment of new industry standards,” Yi said.

From left, Skytech Inc founder Carl Lo, chairman Paul Huang and chief executive officer George Yi pose for a photograph in Hsinchu City on Wednesday. Photo: Lin Yi-ju, Taipei Times

“It usually takes one to two years to develop new semiconductor equipment,” he added.

Last year, the 310mm by 310mm panel size emerged as an industry standard for PLP technology after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) replaced circular 300mm wafers with them.

PLP technology is widely expected to be a successor to chip-on-wafer-on-substrate technology, which is used to package Nvidia Corp’s AI chips.

Skytech expects advanced packaging equipment to make up about 40 percent of the company’s total revenue this year, Yi said.

The company also expects indium phosphide-based and silicon-carbide-based wafer manufacturing equipment to become another growth driver, thanks to rapidly growing demand for optical transceiver modules used in AI servers, he said.

This year as a whole, Skytech’s revenue is expected to outgrow last year’s NT$2.24 billion (US$69.63 million), Yi said, after revenue in the first seven months soared 37 percent year-on-year to NT$1.5 billion.

“We have order visibility through the second quarter of next year,” he said.

In the first half of the year, Skytech’s net profit was NT$171 million, up 151.06 percent from NT$68.11 million a year earlier. Earnings per share jumped to NT$2.54 from NT$1.01, while gross margin advanced to 41.71 percent from 40.45 percent.

Revenue expanded 34 percent to NT$1.3 billion from NT$974 million over the same period, company data showed.

title: Skytech eyes high demand on AI boom


content_text: A photograph taken with a drone shows thousands of dahlias arranged to form the 24th edition of the Brussels Flower Carpet on the Grand Place yesterday. Composed of more than 500,000 dahlias across a 1,680 square meter display, this year’s design is inspired by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic woodblock print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” to celebrate 160 years of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan.

title: Wave of flowers


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The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on July 28 posted on social media a picture of Taiwanese and US coast guard vessels sailing in formation, the first confirmation of the two countries’ combined patrols in waters near Taiwan.

The post showed the 4,000-tonne Chiayi-class vessel Taipei and 4,500-tonne Legend-class cutter USCGC Midgett sailing together in the Taiwan Strait, and said that Taiwan and the US coast guard were coordinating on shared maritime objectives, such as preserving maritime resources and interdicting illegal drug shipments.

“The US appreciates Taiwan’s partnership in maritime security and safety, and supports Taiwan’s meaningful contributions on global issues,” it said.

The two countries in 2021 signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing the Coast Guard Working Group and have carried out several anti-smuggling and rescue exercises.

The AIT’s post came amid China’s escalating maritime “gray zone” coercions — such as harassing commercial ships, shadowing Taiwanese and international vessels, and conducting blockade rehearsals and “law enforcement” drills — which contravene international norms and have caused regional turmoil.

Other countries have condemned Beijing’s actions against its neighbors, but the AIT’s post aimed to deter China’s expanding presence in regional waters by showing the growing regional security cooperation between Taiwan and the US.

Hudson Institute China Center director Miles Yu, a China policy adviser to US President Donald Trump during his first term, said the AIT’s post was ‘the most important security development in East Asia this year.”

The joint patrol showed that the US does not accept China’s claim over Taiwan’s surrounding waters, and “affirms that Taiwan exercises lawful maritime jurisdiction in its own waters and those waters remain part of international maritime commons,” Yu said.

Although the US-China leaders’ summit in May and next month sparked concerns on Trump’s stance on the Taiwan issue, German Marshall Fund Indo-Pacific program managing director Bonnie Glaser said the post conveyed a message from Washington that “Taiwan is an important partner for regional security, and the US is committed to working alongside Taiwan to promote shared objectives.”

To other countries, it signals that they “could also benefit from working more closely with Taiwan,” Glaser added.

While the US’ national security strategy under Trump’s second term has emphasized a shift toward asking partners to share responsibility for their own defense and regional security, China’s maritime aggressions against Japan in the East China Sea, the Philippines in the South China Sea and Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait have given First Island Chain nations a common foe. Japan and the Philippines this year announced they would elevate bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” which is obviously an alliance to counter shared security challenges from China.

Following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi’s statement that a Chinese attack against Taiwan could constitute a “survival threatening situation” for Japan, the Philippines’ president and secretary of national defense have also said that Manila would be involved if Beijing were to attack Taiwan, as its geographic proximity makes neutrality impossible.

Tokyo in its latest Defense of Japan white paper portrayed China’s military growth and coercion as the “greatest strategic challenge“ to Japan, detailed Beijing’s military operations and incidents around Taiwan and highlighted the growing military gap across the Strait as a matter of great concern to the region and the international community.

The report also for the first time devoted a special chapter on the modernization and reform of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and firmly asserted that Tokyo would reinforce its alliance with Washington.

Japan would also deepen partnerships with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region and the EU “to uphold a rules-based international order against unilateral, coercive attempts to change the status quo,” it said.

Japanese destroyers sailing through the Taiwan Strait this year and last year, and Japan’s white paper and defense reforms reflect China’s failure in escalating its pressure campaign against Tokyo, the aim of which is to deter it from getting involved in a Taiwan contingency.

The joint patrol signals that a wider and more “paramilitary” maritime alliance is forming along the First Island Chain, with Taiwan at the center and the strategic anchor of the chain. Taiwan must enhance cooperation and partnerships with more like-minded countries to ensure stability and prosperity in the region and the Indo-Pacific area.

title: EDITORIAL: AIT shows deepening Taiwan-US ties


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The Liberty Times Editorial: Increasingly risky travel to China

China’s State Council on July 31 announced the Regulations on Exit and Entry Administration. Set to take effect from Sept. 15, the regulation expands the People’s Republic of China’s powers to restrict people from leaving the country in the name of “safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests.”

International observers widely regard it as another step back to a closed China.

Given Beijing’s insistence that Taiwan is “a part of China,” experts warn Taiwanese traveling to China of increasing risk of indefinite detainment.

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) has likewise warned that China has repeatedly revised and expanded its national security laws, which are often vaguely worded and leave considerable room for arbitrary enforcement.

If the Chinese authorities do not want anyone to leave, then they simply cannot leave, Chiu said.

Since the beginning of this year, an average of 16 Taiwanese per month have reportedly gone missing in China, been detained for questioning or had their personal liberty restricted, the MAC said.

Despite the government’s repeated warnings that risks of traveling to China have sharply risen, some Taiwanese continue to think this does not apply to them. Combined with people and organizations in Taiwan eager to cooperate with Beijing, this gives the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) room to pursue its familiar two-pronged strategy of incentive and coercion in “united front” operations.

The details of the CCP’s new regulations reveal their arbitrariness.

Article 4 states that when a Chinese citizen contravenes export-control or technology import-export regulations in a manner that could endanger industrial or technological security, the relevant commerce authorities under the State Council may prohibit that person from leaving China.

When an exit ban concerns national security or the investigation of a criminal case, the authorities may withhold from the detained person information about the decision, Article 6 states.

Article 18 defines “immigration administration authorities” to include exit-entry administration bodies of public-security organs at or above the county level. In other words, local officials may decide whether to stop someone from leaving the country.

Although the new rules have not yet been officially implemented, there are affected people already voicing their complaints through various channels.

Their accounts suggest that this condition, approved by Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強), essentially serves to give a firmer legal footing to China’s restrictive exit practices that have already generated controversy.

Chinese media defend the new rules as necessary to prevent the leak of sensitive technology, framing it as a response to the technological competition between China and the US. However, an even more compelling reason is that the CCP, increasingly uneasy about its political hold over the nation, is tightening its control.

Singapore Management University professor of law Henry Gao has warned that the regulation changes leaving the country from a right to a privilege granted by the state, and that anyone concerned with their situation should leave quickly while they still can.

Concerned about political stability at home, the CCP treats virtually anyone as a potential threat. Another example is the PRC’s Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which took effect on July 1.

President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday last week said that the law not only infringes upon Taiwanese sovereignty and facilitates the persecution of religious and minority groups, but also enables political scrutiny of people in other countries, achieving global censorship through transnational repression.

Lai has called upon the international community to collectively resist this malignant law.

Meanwhile, an Aug. 2 New York Times article entitled “How China Keeps Tabs on Foreigners” delved into how Chinese police use an online “Dynamic Control Platform for Overseas Personnel” to compile information on people from Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as more than 300 foreign journalists.

Beyond basic personal information, the platform even integrates data from facial recognition systems, transportation records, medical information, hotel stays and consumer transactions, monitoring people’s movements and activities in extraordinary detail.

Taiwanese and Hong Kong residents are classified separately in the database, while people from the Five Eyes alliance — the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — are also specially marked. Foreign students, foreign spouses and those classified by Chinese authorities as “key persons” are placed under enhanced monitoring as well.

One New York Times reporter even found his own file in the system and concluded that it appeared to be a public security surveillance platform, rather than a hypothetical prototype.

This glimpse into China’s surveillance apparatus reveals that the CCP is using the latest technological tools to construct an increasingly dense and virtually seamless network of control.

Taiwan is on the front line of this authoritarian expansion. Beijing does not merely employ transnational repression as a means of intimidation; it also advances its “united front” strategy through business, education, tourism and other forms of cross-strait exchange.

The CCP extends its tactics of incentives and coercion simultaneously, exploiting the social networks that Taiwanese visitors to China maintain back home and turning interpersonal connections into potential pressure points.

Beijing has designated Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) a “diehard Taiwanese independence separatist.” Liu’s nephew, who worked for a Taiwanese-invested company in China, was dismissed from his position after Chinese authorities publicly targeted Liu and her family.

That is an example of how Beijing pressures Taiwanese businesses to make political statements. The more Taiwanese travel to China, the more personal information flows into China’s surveillance system. The aggregated data could then assist the CCP in political manipulation.

The MAC in a report submitted to the Legislative Yuan on July 29 said that from January 2024 to July 22 this year, 402 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, detained and questioned or had their personal liberty restricted.

The number has risen sharply from 55 cases in 2024 to 221 last year and 126 so far this year, and might just be the tip of the iceberg, with more undisclosed incidents, the MAC said.

Among those who were detained and questioned, 50 percent were current, former or retired government employees. How are Chinese authorities able to identify these people with such precision? What is routinely described as “cross-strait exchange” has already become an enormous testing ground for the CCP’s digital control capacity.

Beijing is also targeting Taiwan’s younger generation. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) recently launched the “Taiwan Youth e-Home” (台青e家) platform, presenting it as a one-stop portal to find information on internships, employment, entrepreneurship, further education and exchange opportunities for young Taiwanese.

Officials have warned prospective users of the platform to exercise caution, as the Web site is also a direct way for Beijing to collect personal information on young Taiwanese. Registering on the platform effectively means handing over one’s personal details directly to TAO, along with the risk of a data breach.

There has also been a steep increase in cross-strait student exchanges, a Control Yuan investigation found. From 2022 to last year, the number of Taiwanese university and college students traveling to China for academic exchanges rose from 2,196 to 5,745.

Last year, 1,045 Taiwanese elementary-school students also traveled to China.

The personal information of those students, as well as their families could therefore be exposed.

Organizations within Taiwan have cooperated in carrying out China-related exchange programs, attracting students with unusually cheap participation costs, the investigation found.

The pattern resembles Beijing’s pre-elections practice of inviting Taiwanese neighborhood and village wardens to visit China on subsidized trips. Such activities serve not only to advance “united front” work, but also to expand Beijing’s collection of personal data, which would help it map interpersonal networks with greater precision and increase the vulnerabilities facing Taiwanese visitors to China.

The CCP is proceeding on three fronts: law, technology and “united front” operations. Through these channels, the Chinese government is deepening its level of control over Taiwanese society.

The cost of accepting small, immediate benefits can be exorbitantly high. For the sake of one’s personal safety — and that of one’s family and friends — it is worth revisiting a classic saying from the Confucian Analects, warning against entering a “risky state.”

Taiwanese should avoid travel to high-risk China.

Translated by Amy King

people: 賴清德 劉世芳


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Europe’s “one China” policy has always relied on deliberate ambiguity. It is a formula from the 1970s that means European governments recognize the People’s Republic of China while keeping unofficial ties with Taiwan.

However, the structure of the policy — recognizing “one China” without ever defining what that means — has slowly turned caution into inertia. Today, it forces Europe to confront a harder truth: Its commitment to democratic values collides with the limits of its own diplomatic tradition, one that protects stability, but often avoids clarity.

Europe’s unified response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has often been cited as proof of its ability to act decisively when a democracy is under threat. Sanctions were coordinated within days. Military support flowed without hesitation. The moral framing was clear.

However, it is different for Taiwan. Any response to Chinese coercion is filtered through the constraints of the “one China” policy, which leaves the country’s status in a gray zone and transforms even minor engagements into diplomatic tests.

It is precisely against this backdrop that former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin’s warning regarding a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait acquires its full weight.

“I think this might be — I hope it won’t — but it might be much more complicated for different countries internationally to respond,” she said.

Marin identified a deeper structural problem in Taiwan-EU relations: Taipei does not fall within the same diplomatic architecture that enabled the EU to respond swiftly and effectively to the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In Ukraine’s case, the EU acted within a clear framework: A recognized state had been attacked, and supporting Kyiv aligned with Europe’s political principles and strategic interests.

However, it struggles regarding Taiwan, because the framework is ambiguous.

For Marin, acting decisively requires acknowledging that the issue at stake is not the defense of a single country in isolation.

“We need to understand that the matter of Ukraine, just like the matter of Taiwan, isn’t an issue of a single country. If we let countries like Russia attack an independent sovereign nation without serious and long-lasting consequences, it will set an example for others to use aggression to get what they want,” she said.

Her point is clear: The credibility of democratic defense depends on consistency, not geography, and it requires a willingness to confront coercion wherever it emerges — whether in Europe’s immediate neighborhood or across the Indo-Pacific region — with clarity, resolve and strategic coherence.

The “one China” policy has long constrained Europe’s room for maneuver, but the path toward a more coherent stance is visible.

By emphasizing what could unfold — noting that the challenges facing Taiwan do not necessarily take the form of “tanks, missiles or drones,” but instead emerge through “gray zone” actions that are far harder for the international community to confront — Marin called for a clear, unambiguous posture that leaves no room for interpretation.

Just as the premises that generate Europe’s long-standing ambiguity toward Taiwan are well understood, so, too, are the actions the EU — collectively and through its individual member states — must take to build an effective response to Chinese coercion.

As Marin said, democracies must stand firmly by their values and principles, and not appear weak in the face of aggression that violates international law.

Only then could inertia be transformed into a proactive approach, turning the ambition to defend democracy and freedom into concrete action.

Michele Maresca is an analyst at Il Caffe Geopolitico, an online international law journal, and the think tank Geopol21.

title: The flaw in Europe’s ‘one China’ policy


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The phrase “at sixes and sevens” refers to being in a state of disarray. How telling it is that the two numbers had a special significance for the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) last week.The TPP was formally established on Aug. 6, 2019. Thursday was its seventh anniversary and it marked the event at the party’s annual national congress meeting in Taichung on Sunday last week. It was also the week that the latest My Formosa public opinion poll was released, showing that the TPP’s approval rating had fallen 6 percentage points since the beginning of the year.The dip in public

The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday last week indicted a woman surnamed Chen (陳) and a self-proclaimed vaccine broker surnamed Lee (李) on charges of defrauding the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation out of US$30 million by falsely claiming that they could supply COVID-19 vaccines.In 2021, Chen and Lee reportedly approached Tzu Chi and said they could procure Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) COVID-19 vaccines, prosecutors said. Tzu Chi commissioned a consulting firm represented by Chen to procure 5 million doses and paid a US$30 million commission.Prosecutors in April and May carried out searches and questioned 28 suspects and witnesses, and

In 2018, the Executive Yuan published its blueprint for developing Taiwan into a bilingual nation by 2030, the policy now known as Bilingual 2030. In 2021 the Ministry of Education unveiled its Bilingual Education for Students in College program (BEST), which tasks universities with expanding English-medium instruction (EMI) provision.As the American Institute in Taiwan’s English Language Fellow for 2025-2026, I have spent the past 10 months working alongside professors, teaching faculty and administrators at six universities and education resource centers. The dedication to transform the higher-education landscape is genuine and I am truly inspired by the tireless efforts of my

By Jye Smallwood

China’s new exit and entry regulations might signal an increase in the risk that Taiwanese travelers will face, an analyst said on Tuesday last week. The new rules, which take effect on Sept. 15, expand the power of authorities to restrict travel on national, industrial and technological security grounds, question travelers about their reasons for leaving and inspect electronic data.Taiwanese who do not support the ruling party should not dismiss the warnings as fearmongering or propaganda. Beijing applies its “anti-secession” laws indiscriminately, an official said recently while presenting a report on proposed amendments to combat China’s efforts at transnational repression.Chinese

title: EDITORIAL CARTOON


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Flip-flopping Netanyahu rejects Gaza plan, but cannot placate all his alliesThe Israeli prime minister faces incompatible demands from his far-right government ministers and from US President Donald Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public rejection of a US-backed deal for Gaza drew skepticism in Israel, amid reports he was personally hammering out details of a pilot military withdrawal days earlier.

The Israeli leader is struggling to balance incompatible demands on Gaza policy from his key domestic and international allies.

The far-right Israeli politicians who prop up his coalition government want to intensify Israeli attacks on Gaza and establish settlements inside the territory.

US President Donald Trump, who provides vital diplomatic and military backing for Israel, wants to move toward a permanent settlement and return to Palestinian control in Gaza, brokered by the Board of Peace that he created and chairs.

With an Israeli election looming in just over two months, Netanyahu appears to have opted to publicly placate domestic partners who are already on the campaign trail.

On Sunday, he rejected a new 15-point plan for Gaza, which included a Hamas commitment to give up its weapons, meeting a key Israeli demand. He also resisted US pressure to end wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran without Israel’s buy-in.

The remarks blindsided Israeli commanders, who had been discussing the implementation of the plan in meetings with Netanyahu and Israel Defense Force (IDF) Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir days earlier, Israeli media reported.

“We learned about it today from the media,” the station quoted a defense official as saying. “At the meetings that were held until now, the prime minister personally gave his consent to this plan and to a withdrawal from the points in Rafah.”

The meetings covered precise boundaries of three pilot areas in southern Gaza where a proposed international force — which has yet to be stood up — could take over from the Israeli military, and the interface between the two forces, the report said.

Netanyahu’s public attack on the Board of Peace plan seemed like a particularly pointed rejection of US goals because it was released soon after a reported visit by US Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper.

He came to deliver in person the message that the Trump administration wants Israel to end its wars in Gaza and Lebanon, Israeli media reported.

“The Americans’ message to the IDF was to move in the direction of shutting down all three theaters of operations,” a senior Israeli military officer said.

Defying Trump, who is notoriously thin-skinned and intolerant of dissent, is risky when Israel is internationally isolated and needs US military supplies.

However, Netanyahu has a long track record of audacious political maneuvering, at home and internationally, undaunted even by ostensible power imbalances. Then-US president Bill Clinton, after meeting him for the first time in 1996, is reported to have said: “Who’s the fucking superpower here?”

In May 2024, then-US president Joe Biden announced an Israeli-backed ceasefire and hostage release plan for Gaza, only to have Netanyahu distance himself from the proposal and ultimately reject it.

The administration in Washington appears to have largely shrugged off Netanyahu’s comments as electioneering, perhaps encouraged by military decisions that indicate a far more attentive regard for Trump’s wishes.

Last week, Netanyahu scaled back Israeli airstrikes on Gaza by raising the threshold for authorizing attacks. Targeted killings must now be approved by the chief of staff, rather than the regional commander, unless Israeli forces are in “imminent danger.”

Nor is this the first time he has bowed to US pressure to rein in wars that have the enthusiastic backing of his far-right allies, recently limiting the offensive in Lebanon and last year ordering fighter jets heading for Iran to turn back at Trump’s demand.

Netanyahu’s combination of fierce domestic rhetoric and some conciliatory steps on the ground in Gaza could have bought him a bit of time, but US patience might not last until polling day in late October.

Trump is weighing up election concerns of his own, as the US is holding midterms just a week after Israel votes.

Netanyahu’s visit to the White House last month was low profile for a leader who has repeatedly campaigned on his reputation as an international statesman and close relationship with the US president, Haaretz newspaper said.

It ended without a joint statement, and strains caused by Netanyahu’s competing political priorities have become increasingly evident.

“That’s how it is when you try to juggle too many balls; you start dropping them,” the paper said.

The top envoy for the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov declined to comment on Netanyahu’s rejection of a deal that took months to hammer out. In an interview with Israeli media he said only that “discussions continue.”

Palestinians in Gaza have endured nearly a year of deadly limbo after Trump brokered a nominal ceasefire last October, that he said would halt fighting and pave the way for reconstruction.

Israeli attacks have continued, killing more than 1,200 people, and Israel has blocked the entry of equipment, supplies and fuel needed for rebuilding homes, schools and medical infrastructure.

The majority of Gaza’s surviving population lives in tent camps with little sanitation, and although hunger has diminished, food shortages are still widespread, with more than 70,000 children projected to need treatment for acute malnutrition to April next year, food security experts have warned.

Netanyahu’s office rejected reports that he had discussed detailed withdrawal plans for Gaza.


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Why the Middle East war still convulses the global oil market

After more than five months of conflict, oil markets continue to surge and tumble over the latest developments in the US-Iran clash, including US President Donald Trump’s shifting pronouncements.

What is behind the market’s volatility?

While the potential vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz has long been viewed as a risk, oil markets have still been caught off guard by Iran’s ability to largely close the crucial waterway.

“What really shakes the market are surprises... and the Hormuz closure was a shock,” said Jim Burkhard, head of global energy crude oil research at S&P Global.

Brent oil prices surged more than 13 percent in the immediate aftermath of the US-Israeli siege against Iran on Feb. 28. Since that time, prices have been jolted in both directions as the conflict has dragged on.

“Number one, it’s the complete unexpectedness, unfamiliarity with what we are seeing,” Bob McNally, president of the Rapidian Energy Group and a former White House energy adviser to former US president George W. Bush, said of the unprecedented curtailment of the Strait.

“There was this perception that the US would never allow it to happen,” McNally added.

About 20 million barrels per day of crude traverse the strait, about a quarter of global oil demand, making the supply shock “the biggest disruption in history,” McNally said.

Subsequent events have jerked prices in both directions. Markets were unnerved by the US move to blockade Iran’s ports, but subsequently buoyed by a June 17 agreement between the US and Iran to cease hostilities.

While the conflict has boosted prices overall, international benchmark Brent oil has averaged US$94 a barrel since the start of the fighting, well below the US$150-per-barrel level seen by some experts as possible.

One explanation is the market’s response to Trump, who has issued contradictory statements, but has often described a Hormuz resolution as within striking distance. Such statements have helped keep crude prices from rising more.

“The market believes and still believes that this crisis can and will end soon,” McNally said.

Optimistic statements by the president and other Trump administration figures such as Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent have often sent oil prices sharply lower, posing peril to traders on the wrong side.

“The oil market has sort of burned the bulls so many times you just don’t have bulls willing to go in and trade,” McNally said. “So all you have is people who are trading, especially these algorithmic traders who are just trading on headlines,” he added.

The Hormuz closure has lowered volumes by about 12.6 million barrels per day, JPMorgan Chase analysts said.

Some of this has been blunted by lower crude imports from China, while releases from commercial and government inventories have also offset the effects of lost supply.

In March, the International Energy Agency announced member governments would release 400 million barrels of oil, the largest emergency stock release in history.

The US, Canada and Brazil have been among the countries increasing output.

Middle East producers have maneuvered some shipments away from the strait. For example, Saudi Arabia shifted crude exports to the Red Sea, but that avenue has also been compromised by attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

While the fluctuations of crude prices generate most of the headlines, analysts have also highlighted the stresses on refined products, including gasoline.

“The most pressure in the world today is on refined products because there is generally enough crude oil out there right now, but there’s not enough refining capacity,” Burkhard said.

Diesel prices have doubled compared with February, while gasoline prices are up about 50 percent.

The Middle East conflict has also sidelined key energy infrastructure due to attacks, including some refinery capacity. Energy experts also point to Russian refinery outages due to attacks from Ukraine in that war.

Continued robust demand for petroleum products has led to a historic surge in refinery profit margins, resulting in huge earnings windfalls for large oil companies in the second quarter.


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The migrant influx prompted a tit-for-tat dispute between Italy and Spain, and world leaders would be taking note

Within hours of the first pictures of tens of thousands of migrants swimming the short distance from Morocco to the Spanish north African enclave of Ceuta hitting social media on July 30, 22 EU leaders, US President Donald Trump and Israel had piled on to criticize Madrid.

The outbreak of hysteria and recrimination was a case study in 21st-century politics, driven by real-time images in a media echo chamber where populists set the agenda on migration, propagating fear, prejudice and demagogic proposals. Above all, the kneejerk reactions undermined trust between European allies and dealt a setback to EU efforts to jointly manage migration, counter people-smuggling and resist the weaponization of migrants by non-EU countries.

That Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance should seize the opportunity to accuse socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of inviting the mass influx by allowing more than 1 million irregular migrants already working in Spain to apply for legal status is hardly surprising, given the US administration’s own relentless drive to detain and expel illegal immigrants.

On the other hand, European leaders who signed a letter to the European Commision, criticizing Spain and demanding an emergency meeting of interior ministers, should ask themselves how their behavior helps the EU implement a coherent response to migratory pressures. Many are open to charges of hypocrisy, since Germany and Italy have, between them, regularized hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrant workers at the request of employers who need their labor as the home workforce dwindles.

There was also a monstrous foreign policy double standard in the initial EU response.

When Poland and Lithuania faced a sudden influx of irregular migrants from Belarus in 2021, the EU rallied behind its eastern members and imposed sanctions on Minsk’s authoritarian regime, which stood accused of weaponizing displaced people from the Middle East. The previous year, the EU sent its Frontex border agency to help Greece repel a surge of migrants from Turkey at the countries’ shared border in Thrace, which had apparently been encouraged by Ankara to put pressure on the EU.

Yet this time, EU governments quickly fell into a divisive blame game, terrified by images that recalled the loss of control over borders in southeastern Europe in 2015, when more than 1 million mostly Syrian refugees entered the bloc.

Amid the internal finger-pointing, neither the EU leaders nor the European Commission dared question the role of Morocco, whose border guards apparently stood aside as more than 72,000 Moroccans, mostly young men, risked their lives swimming to Ceuta after seeing viral social media claims that “Spain is open.”

The incident occurred on Morocco’s annual Throne Day when King Mohammed VI, who does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territories of Ceuta and Melilla, just happened to be visiting the nearby northern city of Tetouan, once part of the Spanish protectorate. Some commentators have called the stampede to Ceuta a “Blue March,” in reference to the mass Green March that the king’s father, Hassan II, launched in 1975 in an attempt to claim the vast territory of Western Sahara, then a Spanish colony.

“In Morocco, nothing happens by chance,” said Anna Terron Cusi, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and a former Spanish secretary of state for immigration.

Even if the stampede to Ceuta started spontaneously with social media posts, she believed “this was a multi-actor, multi-factor event. It was more a geopolitical than a migration crisis.”

Intra-European party politics played a big role. It was not surprising that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni should lead the assault on Sanchez. She heads the hard-right Brothers of Italy movement and faces a domestic challenge in elections next year from a new, even further-right party, led by a retired general.

Some Spanish and British anti-immigration politicians rushed to Ceuta to take selfies, one from Reform UK doing a standup interview on the beach to cash in on the purported alien “invasion.”

It was more bizarre that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who heads a center-left government, should co-initiate the letter with Meloni to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and say that the EU should consider suspending Spain from the Schengen area of open-border travel.

A facade of European solidarity was restored after EU interior ministers held a hastily arranged videoconference. By that time, almost all the migrants had left Ceuta and returned to Morocco after realizing that they had no chance of reaching Europe. The “invasion” had deflated. In fact, irregular migrant arrivals in Spain fell sharply last year, while across the EU they are down for the second successive year, and far below the 2015 crisis peak — but the damage was done.

Italy and Spain are engaging in tit-for-tat passport and nationality controls on each other’s travelers, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Mohammed himself would have noted how easily Europe panics and turns on its own members at the first sight of migrants on its beaches.

Whether out of misinformation or malice, some EU ministers distorted the nature of the Spanish amnesty for undocumented migrants, labelling it a “pull factor” for mass migration. Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani claimed they were being granted Spanish, and therefore European, citizenship, rather than simply being given a chance to apply for temporary work visas.

Europe faces what in game theory is called the “prisoners’ dilemma,” and in social sciences a “collective action problem.” EU countries have a shared interest in preserving the Schengen zone of free movement, with open internal borders vital to the smooth operation of the economy, well-managed external borders to deter irregular migrants and combat people smugglers, and legal migration routes to permit an inflow of workers needed by businesses as the European population ages and shrinks.

Yet they keep undermining cooperation due to a seemingly irresistible short-term political interest in anti-migration grandstanding.

Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre.

title: Ceuta showed just how easy it is to divide Europe


title: Ben Shelton reaches final in Montreal

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TORONTO MASTERS: Iga Swiatek booked a title showdown with world No. 2 Elena Rybakina after they defeated Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Coco Gauff of the US

Defending champion Ben Shelton on Wednesday shook off a nasty crash into a backcourt hoarding as he steamrolled Learner Tien 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final of the ATP Montreal Masters.

Shelton, who won the title in Toronto last year in the ATP Masters 1000 event that alternates between cities, is to try to double up in Toronto when he takes on fellow American Brandon Nakashima in the title match, which is to be played this morning Taiwan time.

Nakashima held off Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 to book his first ATP Masters final.

Poland’s Iga Swiatek celebrates winning her women’s singles match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina at Sobeys Stadium at the Toronto Masters on Wednesday. Photo: AP

“It means a lot, so many American guys in the mix,” Shelton said.

The last US pair to battle for a Masters trophy were Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick in 2003 in Cincinnati.

Shelton was treated by a trainer in the second set to staunch bleeding from his left elbow and webbing of his fingers.

The US’ Ben Shelton, left, receives medical attention during his men’s singles match against compatriot Learner Tien at IGA Stadium at the Montreal Masters on Wednesday. Photo: David Kirouac / Imagn Images

He shook off the discomfort to earn a payback win against Tien, who had beaten him in two previous meetings.

“I played four good return points after the timeout, I was not feeling anything except the sting of the medicine,” Shelton said.

“I’m super happy with the performance,” added the American, who saved all four break points he faced and won 81 percent of his first-serve points.

“Learner presents a lot of problems to my game. He’s a challenge to overcome,” Shelton said. “He can jerk you around the court. I had to play intelligent tennis. The final will be a war and I’ll leave it all out on the court.”

Shelton is seeking his fourth title this season after winning on three different surfaces: indoor in Dallas, clay in Munich and grass in Stuttgart.

He has beaten Nakashima all five times they have played — including in Toronto last year.

Nakashima needed two hours — including 66 minutes in the second set — to subdue Jodar.

The Spanish sensation, a finalist in Washington this month and tipped to soon crack the top 10 in the rankings, saved four match points before his opponent fired an ace on his fifth opportunity to prevail in a final game that featured six deuces and lasted more than 10 minutes.

“That final game was crazy,” said Nakashima, 25. “It was super tight. We both had to keep fighting. I was lucky I was hitting my spots on serve, it paid off today. I’m happy to get through that one.”

Nakashima went into his first Masters final with growing confidence on serve and with his forehand.

“I’m just trusting it and swinging through on every ball,” he said. “When I connect with it, [my forehand] is one of my best shots. I’m happy it paid off today.”

At the Toronto Masters, Iga Swiatek outlasted Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 to book a title showdown with world No. 2 Elena Rybakina.

Australian Open champion Rybakina delivered another gutsy comeback, beating fourth-seeded Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the final in the hard court warm-up for the US Open.

Former world No. 1 Swiatek, seeded seventh, is in her first final of the year, having last lifted a trophy in Seoul almost a year ago.

She improved to 5-3 against Svitolina, who had narrowed their head-to-head record with two wins over the Polish star this year.

In a match delayed more than an hour by rain, six-time major champion Swiatek raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set.

The Ukrainian made Swiatek work to serve it out, saving a pair of set points in the final game of the first.

Energized, she raced through the second set before Swiatek rebounded in the third, breaking Svitolina to love for a 5-3 lead before holding serve to secure the win.

“Against Elina it’s always tough, so I’m happy that I won this one,” Swiatek said. “Especially that I came back in the third set playing better. So, yeah, that’s for sure a big improvement. I’m proud of myself.”


title: NBA’s Lakers to be sold for US$12.5bn, ESPN says

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The Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most successful teams in NBA history, are being sold to former Disney chief executive officer Bob Iger and investor Joshua Kushner in a deal valued at US$12.5 billion, ESPN reported on Wednesday.

The sale, which would mark a record-breaking valuation for a North American sports franchise, comes only about a year after billionaire Mark Walter agreed to buy a controlling interest in the team in a then-record US$10 billion deal.

“As lifelong NBA fans, we are deeply honored for the opportunity to become stewards of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world,” Kushner and Iger said in a statement to ESPN. “We have immense respect for the leadership and vision of Jerry and Jeanie Buss. Our long-term commitment is to build on that foundation, compete at the highest level, and serve this extraordinary team, its fans and the city of Los Angeles.”

The logo of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers is displayed outside Crypto.com Arena, the team’s home stadium, on Aug. 12. Photo: AFP

Walter’s purchase, reported in June last year, ended the Buss family’s 46-year ownership.

The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships, second only to the Boston Celtics.

The club has been home to some of the league’s biggest superstars including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

LeBron James, the NBA all-time scoring leader, just left the squad for the Philadelphia 76ers after spending eight years and winning one title with the Lakers.

The team are moving forward with a lineup spearheaded by Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic.

The sale still requires approval from the NBA’s board of governors.

Jeanie Buss had continued to serve as the Lakers’ governor after the club was sold to Walter in a deal that further expanded the sports portfolio of his TWG Global holding company.

The company’s sports holdings include MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and a stake in English Premier League club Chelsea.

TWG also owns the Billie Jean King Cup tennis tournament and the Cadillac Formula One team.

However, Walter is under federal investigation for possible tax fraud involving his insurance businesses.

“Owning the Los Angeles Lakers has been one of the great honors of my life — an extraordinary investment, but what I will carry with me is the community, the fans and a city that treats this team as family,” Walter said in a statement.

“I am grateful to Jeanie Buss, the Buss family, the players and the staff for welcoming me into this chapter,” he said.

“The Lakers belong to Los Angeles, and I have every confidence the best is still ahead,” he added.


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Freddie Freeman apparently avoided serious injury on Wednesday when the Los Angeles Dodgers’ first baseman took a frightening tumble down the stairs and into the visitors’ dugout while trying to catch a foul popup in the eighth inning.

Freeman was not sure whether he would play when the Dodgers begin an important four-game series with the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers, but he is grateful his freefall to the dugout floor was not worse.

“I didn’t hit my head, so that was the key part there,” Freeman said. “I am sore. Kneecaps are sore. Shoulder is sore. Hand sore. Wrist sore. I mean, I fell, [but] I’m in good spirits.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman falls into a dugout while chasing a foul ball during their MLB game against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Photo: Kiyoshi Mio / Imagn Images

Freeman stayed in the game and finished the top of the eighth, but Tommy Edman pinch hit for him in the bottom of the inning before Los Angeles closed out a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals, their fourth in five games.

The right side of Freeman’s body took the punishment, but the 2024 World Series Most Valuable Player apparently did not break any bones. He was to wait to see how he felt in the morning before deciding whether to play when the back-to-back World Series champions welcome Milwaukee in a rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series. That game is to be played this morning Taiwan time.

Freeman said he simply miscalculated the location of the dugout railing while he tracked Isaac Collins’ foul pop.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hunter Feduccia, left, and Shohei Ohtani interact during their MLB game against the Kansas City Royals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Photo: Kiyoshi Mio / Imagn Images

“I went to lean, like I was going to lean against the rail to catch the ball — and obviously there was no rail,” Freeman said with a smile.

Freeman, who turns 37 in one month, said he was fortunate to fall all the way into the dugout, missing the top flight of stairs entirely. That is because when he landed, his head stuck out into the open space above the second flight of stairs that goes down into the visitors’ clubhouse instead of banging on the ground.

“Luckily, I was tall, so I missed everything else,” the 1.93m Freeman joked.

The Detroit Tigers’ Lee Hao-yu of Taiwan hits a double during their MLB game against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday. Playing on third base, Lee had a hit and scored a run in three at-bats. Photo: AP

The Royals rushed to Freeman’s side after the fall, urging him to stay on the ground.

Freeman got up anyway and the Dodgers’ training staff rushed across the field to check on him.

“I think that we really dodged a bullet,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. “Very scary visually. For right now, he’s in good spirits, which I think is a good sign. Just kind of total body soreness.”

Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was:

‧ Angels 5, Rangers 2

‧ Athletics 4, Rays 8

‧ Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 4

‧ Braves 6, Mets 3

‧ Cardinals 7, Phillies 1

‧ Diamondbacks 4, Rockies 6

‧ Giants 1, Astros 2

‧ Guardians 6, Tigers 4

‧ Marlins 8, Pirates 2

‧ Nationals 6, Cubs 12

‧ Padres 4, Brewers 3 (11i)

‧ Twins 7, Orioles 5

‧ White Sox 5, Reds 0

‧ Yankees 10, Mariners 5

title: Freddie Freeman falls into dugout


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Taiwan basketball star Benson Lin returns home to join Taipei Mars

Taiwan basketball star Benson Lin Ting-chien (林庭謙) has returned home to join the TPBL’s Taipei Taishin Mars after six seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

At a press conference Thursday to announce his signing, Lin discussed his ambitions after returning to Taiwan.

Taiwan basketball star Benson Lin speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Thursday. Photo: Taipei Times

“I’m very excited and happy,” Lin said, adding that he hoped to contribute to Taiwan basketball and that his only goal with the Mars is to win a championship.

Lin’s return is particularly notable given that he is 26 and coming off his most productive CBA season

Taiwanese players from the so-called “golden generation” who returned home after playing in China generally did so later in their careers.

Regarded as one of the top guards on Taiwan’s men’s national team, Lin established himself as one of the country’s most successful players in China’s top professional basketball league.

He delivered the best season of his career in 2025-2026, averaging 19.6 points, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game and earning All-CBA Second Team honors.

Lin will join a Mars team that went 11-25 in the 2025-2026 TPBL regular season, finishing sixth in the seven-team league.

The franchise has yet to win a title since it was established in the summer of 2023. Its best result came in its inaugural 2023-2024 season in the T1 League, when it reached the finals but finished runner-up.

Mars General Manager Chris Lin (林祐廷) said the club had been in contact with Lin since its establishment and held further negotiations during the offseason.

The two sides reached an agreement after finding that they shared the same goal of winning a championship, he said.

The general manager declined to confirm reports that Lin could earn up to NT$60 million (US$2 million) annually, saying only that he had signed a multiyear contract containing an overseas opt-out clause.

The Mars remain open to Lin playing abroad again and will not restrict such opportunities, he added.

“His value cannot be measured in money,” the general manager said. “His willingness to return and contribute to Taiwan basketball is what matters most.”

Returning home will also allow Lin to participate in rural outreach organized by the Lin Cheng-ming Charity Basketball Association, named after his late father, a renowned high school coach who died unexpectedly in July 2024.

For Thursday’s event, Lin wore the suit his father wore when guiding Neng Ren Home Economic and Commercial Vocational High School to its first High School Basketball League championship.

“I believe it brought him good luck, and I hope it will also bring the Taipei Taishin Mars good luck in the new season,” he said.


title: Japan ‘watching videos of geese’: coach

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Japan coach Eddie Jones yesterday said that his team had been “watching videos of geese” as they prepare to face Australia after losing narrowly to the Wallabies in last week’s first Test.

Japan went down 35-32 in Osaka and Jones has made five changes to the starting line-up for the second Test in Townsville, including bringing in university student Yoshitaka Yazaki on the wing and handing Shunsuke Uenobo his first start at center.

Jones said his team’s support play “wasn’t as sharp as we would have liked” in the first game and he has turned to nature in a bid to improve.

Japan players sing the national anthem ahead of the first Test against Australia at Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, Japan, on Saturday last week. Photo: AFP

“The reason we watch videos of geese is that the head of the flock is like the ball-carrier,” the Australian said. “The ball carrier is king and then everyone else has got to follow after that.”

“The geese fly hundreds, thousands of miles in formation and they follow the one goose in front, and it’s the responsibility of the support players to respond to what the ball-carrier does,” he added.

The versatile Uenobo won his third cap, while Haruto Kida is to make his fourth appearance on the left wing.

New Zealand’s Richie Mo’unga runs with the ball during their Rugby World Cup match against France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sept. 8, 2023. Photo: AP

Tiennan Costley was named to play in the back row and Harry Hockings is to return at lock.

Waseda University’s Yazaki was named on the right wing, although Jones said the 22-year-old would play “as a second fullback.”

“We’ve set ourselves the task of really taking it to Australia this week,” Jones said. “We’re very disappointed to lose the last game, so the most important thing now is how we take on this game.”

Jones stuck with university student fly-half Ryunosuke Ito, who won rave reviews against Australia in what was only his fourth international appearance.

Jones said that Ito, who made his debut against Italy last month in the Nations Championship, was “developing nicely.”

“His ability to adapt to games is improving, to play to the strengths of his game is improving, but like any young 10, each game is a different game,” he said.

Meanwhile, New Zealand back Billy Proctor was ruled out of the four-Test series with South Africa after fracturing his shoulder, with the experienced Richie Mo’unga called up as a replacement.

Proctor sustained the injury during New Zealand’s opening tour match win over the Stormers in Cape Town last week and is to return home.

“We really feel for Billy. He has had a great season so this is frustrating for him,” All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said in a statement. “It is the harsh reality of our game. We wish him all the best with his recovery and hope to see him fit and well in time for the end of year tour selection.”


title: Opening shot

content_text: Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos holds aloft the trophy as his players celebrate after winning the UEFA Super Cup against Aston Villa in Salzburg, Austria, on Wednesday. PSG won 2-1 in the match played annually between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored for the Champions League winners, while Europa League winners Villa scored through Brian Madjo.