記者陳木隆/宜蘭報導

超吸睛的「2025冬戀蘭陽溫泉季」燈飾裝置藝術，26日晚間在礁溪湯圍溝溫泉公園乍然點亮，繽紛璀燦的燈景，透過點、線、面的巧妙呈現，在溫泉氤氳繚繞間，散發出陣陣浪漫與誘惑，宣告一年一度的溫泉冬遊系列活動開始了。

今年冬戀蘭陽溫泉季以「幸福流動‧暖心迎冬」為主題，串聯一系列精彩內容。包括代理縣長林茂盛、議長張勝德、礁溪鄉長張永德等人都出席點燈，邀請全國民眾一同感受冬日宜蘭的暖心魅力。

光彩奪目的主燈，高6公尺、寬9公尺，將「蘭陽風景」及「山形縣花笠舞」兩大元素相結合，運用相框式設計增添互動趣味。穿越閃耀的光廊，太平山杜鵑花，以及翩翩起舞的大白斑蝶，引人多看一眼。順著木棧道而行，色彩斑斕、高約3公尺的「國蘭隧道」綻放出縣花的優雅；復古鐵花窗搭配春仔花、櫻花、桂花等花卉造景，交織出穿越時光的美麗畫卷；燈景尾段的「燈光藝術畫作」，呈現出宜蘭極具代表性的自然風情與農特產。

▲今年冬戀蘭陽溫泉季與7家飯店業者攜手推出限定「蘭陽溫泉美食饗宴」。（圖/陳木隆攝）

林茂盛預告，溫泉季於12月5日「祈水感恩禮」揭開序幕， 12月7日以演繹泉水靈動的曼妙水袖舞與「踩街嘉年華」，展現宜蘭在地的活力與熱情；享譽國際的日本山形縣花笠舞團也要參與踩街，為活動增添國際色彩與節慶亮點，也藉此促進台日雙方的觀光文化交流。

12月8日至14日的「蘭陽食旅特展」，集結觀光產業、「宜蘭TOP 10好食、好物」、「蘭海鐵道五漁村」及「宜蘭人市集」等優質店家參展。民眾不僅可以購買超優惠票券與多元伴手禮，凡消費滿500元即可兌換限量紀念品，滿1,000元即可參加抽獎，有機會獲得五星飯店住宿券、餐券、泡湯券及多項好禮。

12月8日至14日每天晚上更有「歡樂小踩街」，增添節慶歡樂氛圍。「礁溪溫泉馬拉松」則在13日凌晨開跑，跑友們完賽後再以溫泉療癒身心，體驗最具宜蘭特色的旅跑。

今年溫泉季更與礁溪長榮鳳凰酒店、礁溪寒沐酒店、山形閣、礁溪福朋喜來登酒店、山多利大飯店、冠翔泉旅及宜蘭力麗威斯汀度假酒店等7家飯店業者攜手推出限定「蘭陽溫泉美食饗宴」，精選在地食材入菜，各自推出拿手好菜，不論是桌菜或套餐，皆融合溫泉文化創作出道地料理，讓遊客體驗身心雙重療癒。

影音/2025冬戀蘭陽溫泉季亮燈！ 暖心冬遊盛會開始了


韓國 美國 中國 法國 英國

被指定為國家非物質文化遺產的韓國寺廟飲食，通過國際活動和文化外交擴大其全球影響力

韓國首爾2025年11月26日 /美通社/ — 韓國寺廟飲食根植於1700年的韓國佛教智慧，在近期被韓國政府指定為國家非物質文化遺產(National Intangible Cultural Heritage)後，又受到全球關注。寺廟飲食不僅僅是素菜，更體現了以尊重一切生命、節制和感恩為核心的理念。其以植物為原料的烹飪方法突出了時令食材的自然風味，倡導自然與人和諧共處——這些價值觀與當今全球對可持續性和心靈生活的關注日益契合。

在這裡體驗全面交互式多渠道新聞稿：https://www.multivu.com/cultural-corps-of-korean-buddhism/936875-en-korean-temple-food-globally-recognized-sustainable-culinary-culture

為了與國際社會分享寺廟飲食所蘊含的文化與精神內涵，韓國佛教文化事業團(Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism)今年舉辦了三項重要的全球活動，活動形式涵蓋大型節慶、學術研討會及海外文化外交行動。

6月，第四屆韓國寺廟飲食節在首爾aT中心舉行，這是十年來同類活動中規模最大的一屆。來自韓國各地的11座寺廟參與其中，提供了豐富多樣的活動項目，這些項目包括由六位精於寺院料理的韓國比丘和比丘尼法師主持的講座、實踐工作坊，以及烹飪演示。該活動在兩天內吸引了逾2萬名參觀者。值得注意的是，47%的參觀者年齡在二三十歲，這充分表明年輕一代對可持續的植物性飲食文化的興趣日益濃厚。

8月，韓國寺廟飲食國際學術研討會在首爾國立古宮博物館(National Palace Museum of Korea)舉行，來自韓國、美國、英國、意大利和中國的專家齊聚一堂，圍繞「寺廟飲食作為可持續飲食文化的潛力」展開討論。美國烹飪學院（Culinary Institute of America，簡稱「CIA」）院長Brendan R. Walsh強調了「五觀偈」(Ogwan-ge)的重要意義：這是佛教徒在用餐前誦念的反思偈，旨在領悟供養的意義。Walsh指出，「其理念直指烹飪實踐的核心及其未來發展方向」，並補充道「答案就在寺廟飲食中」，表達了對將相關理念融入CIA課程體系的濃厚興趣。

10月下旬至11月初，在法國巴黎和英國倫敦舉辦的韓國寺廟飲食國際文化外交活動，直接向歐洲美食專家和具有影響力的人物，傳遞了寺廟飲食所蘊含的冥想精神。

在法國，大韓民國駐法國大使館舉辦了一場旨在紀念明年韓法建交140週年的招待晚宴，在晚宴上，由寺廟飲食匠人Yeogeo法師（女）呈獻的韓式沙拉「調味醃製桔梗根」(Deodeok Beomuri)大獲好評。在英國，通過與駐英韓國文化院(Korean Cultural Centre UK)和藍帶國際學院倫敦校區(Le Cordon Bleu London)共同舉辦的「韓國寺廟飲食周」活動，寺廟飲食的內涵得以深入傳遞。Yeogeo法師在藍帶國際學院倫敦校區舉辦了講座，因冥想修行理念和參演Netflix（網飛）紀錄片《主廚的餐桌》(Chef’s Table)而廣為人知的寺廟飲食大師正寬法師(Venerable Jeong Kwan Sunim)，則在高端餐飲場所「CORD by Le Cordon Bleu」舉辦午餐會並開設快閃餐廳，借此展現寺廟飲食的節制與冥想特質。藍帶國際學院倫敦院長Emil Minev評價說：「寺廟飲食是一種體現與自然和諧共處、尊重生命的烹飪實踐，我強烈支持韓國佛教文化事業團未來推動寺廟飲食向聯合國教科文組織(UNESCO)申遺的努力。」

與此同時，自2021年4月與駐英韓國文化院、藍帶國際學院倫敦校區簽署三方諒解備忘錄(MOU)以來，韓國佛教文化事業團持續推進文化外交工作，定期在藍帶國際學院的植物性烹飪藝術課程中，舉辦韓國寺廟飲食講座與烹飪演示。

寺廟飲食是韓國獨特的飲食文化，體現了佛教尊重生命、節制克己的精神，如今正朝著申請成為UNESCO人類非物質文化遺產(Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity)邁出第一步。韓國佛教文化事業團表示：「我們希望寺廟飲食將發展成為獲得認可的可持續生活與精神健康模式」，並補充說：「我們將繼續推動連接韓國與世界的全球可持續植物性飲食文化交流。」

在全球對韓國寺廟飲食興趣日益濃厚的背景下，訪韓遊客可以通過由韓國佛教文化事業團運營的幾處重要場所，直接體驗這一飲食文化。在首爾仁寺洞的「韓國寺廟飲食中心」(Korean Temple Food Center)，遊客可以參加專為國際參與者設計的介紹性一日工作坊，深入瞭解寺廟飲食文化。在全球首家獲得米其林星級認證的寺廟飲食餐廳「缽盂供養」(Balwoo Gongyang)，遊客則能品嚐到以新鮮時令食材精心烹製的多道菜式，感受寺廟飲食的精髓。

一碗食物所傳遞的治癒力量、冥想意蘊與可持續生活智慧，如今正傳播至世界各地。

如需咨詢，請聯繫：

韓國寺廟飲食中心，網址：edu.koreatemplefood.com，電話：+82-2-733-4650

缽盂供養餐廳，網址：eng.balwoo.or.kr，電話：+82-2-733-2081

韓國寺廟飲食：一種獲得全球認可的可持續飲食文化


Lai unveils NT$1.25tn defense budget

MISSILE PLANS:  Defense minister Wellington Koo said that the figure is an upper limit for the special budget, with some of it to be used for precision-strike missiles

President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.9 billion) special defense budget, which includes funding for a “Taiwan dome” air defense system with high-level detection and interception capabilities.

The funds would be allocated over eight years from next year to 2033, he told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei.

Lai has previously pledged to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP as part of an ongoing strategy amid China’s threats of invasion.

President William Lai speaks at a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

“China’s threats to Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region are escalating,” Lai said yesterday. “Recently, various types of military intrusions, as well as maritime gray zone and disinformation campaigns have been occurring in Japan, the Philippines and in the Taiwan Strait, causing deep unease and distress to all parties in the region.”

“Taiwan, as the most important and most critical part of the first island chain, must demonstrate its determination and take on a greater responsibility in self-defense,” he said.

As Taiwan faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defense, mirroring US pressure on Europe, it plans to increase in its defense budget to 3.32 percent of GDP next year, allocating NT$949.5 billion, topping 3 percent of GDP for the first time since 2009.

Lai in August said that he hoped for a boost in defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2030.

US President Donald Trump has said that Taiwan should raise its defense spending to as much as 10 percent of GDP.

China has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert territorial claims.

History has proven that trying to compromise in the face of aggression brings nothing but “enslavement,” Lai said, adding: “There is no room for compromise on national security.”

“National sovereignty, and the core values of freedom and democracy are the very foundation of our nation,” he said.

Lai, who first announced the new spending plan of US$40 billion in an op-ed in the Washington Post on Tuesday, said that Taiwan was showing its determination to defend itself.

“It is a struggle between defending democratic Taiwan and refusing to submit to become ‘China’s Taiwan,’” rather than merely an ideological struggle or a dispute over “unification versus independence,” he said.

“My message is clear: Taiwan’s dedication to peace and stability is unwavering,” Lai said. “No country will be more determined in safeguarding Taiwan’s future.”

The government would focus on finding ways to increase its defense against Beijing’s “psychological warfare” as China attempts to “weaken our unity,” Lai said.

Mitigation efforts would include monitoring Chinese interference attempts during major events, including elections, and increasing public awareness of Beijing’s tactics, Lai said.

Special budgets supplement regular annual spending plans, providing funding for emergencies or projects that require years to complete.

Taiwan has previously used such funds to buy weapons systems, including fighter jets and missiles.

Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said that NT$1.25 trillion is an upper limit for the special budget.

The funds would be used to buy precision-strike missiles, as well as go toward joint development with and procurement from the US of equipment and systems, Koo said.

Lai in October announced that Taiwan would accelerate development of a comprehensive air defense system, dubbed T-Dome, that is expected to integrate domestically made and US-made weapons.

The special budget proposal is likely to face obstacles after Lai’s Cabinet formally proposes it, given that it requires the approval of the legislature, which is controlled by the opposition.

Lai also commented on a feud between China and Japan, which started when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger Japanese military action.

Lai said that Takaichi’s comments appeared to be focused largely on stability in the region.

“We hope China can understand that each country in the Indo-Pacific region has a responsibility to its peace and stability,” he said. “We hope that China, as a major power in the region, would also demonstrate the responsibilities of a major power. Instead, it has continued to raise threats and attacks toward neighboring countries. This is not the way a responsible major power acts.”


President outlines plan to boost democracy, defense

‘NO COMPROMISE’: A task force would work with allied countries and domestic groups to demonstrate Taiwan’s resolve to safeguard its democracy, Wiliam Lai said

The government is enacting the Comprehensive Action Plan to Establish Defense of Democracy Systems and the Comprehensive Action Plan to Invest in National Defense-related Industries to address threats against Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.

There would be no compromise on national security, Lai said, citing the 1938 Munich Agreement and the 1951 Seventeen Point Agreement between Tibet and China as examples.

The defense of democracy plan tasks national security agencies to form a joint task force and provide solutions based on the theme of “democratic Taiwan versus China’s Taiwan,” he said.

From left, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim, President William Lai and Premier Cho Jung-tai attend a news conference at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times

The task force would work with domestic groups and allied countries to demonstrate to the world Taiwan’s resolve to safeguard its democracy, uphold the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and frustrate Chinese efforts to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of China through its distortion of UN General Assembly Resolution No. 2758 and its alteration of history by misinterpreting documents, Lai said.

Both tactics seek to legitimize Beijing’s attempts to make Taiwan a part of China, he said.

The plans include enhancing Taiwanese national identity, making announcements during elections transparent and raising public awareness of Beijing’s attempts to intervene in Taiwan’s affairs, he said.

The government would establish a consensus that the “one country, two systems” solution is a red line for Taiwan, he said, urging all political parties, civic groups and legal persons to adhere to that consensus in interactions with China.

The national defense industries plan would promote and foster peace, Lai said.

Taiwan’s joint operations capability should be increased as much as possible before 2027 to pose an effective deterrent, and to create a resilient defense force by 2033 that can deter China and permanently defend “democratic Taiwan,” Lai said.

To achieve the goals, Taiwan would invest more than 3 percent of GDP into national defense next year and at least 5 percent by 2030, he said.

The government would produce an action plan to bolster national defense industries, which would help elevate industrial and economic development, Lai said.

The Executive Yuan would prepare a thorough plan so that spending on the plans does not take away from other government budgets, he said, adding that the Ministry of National Defense should ameliorate procurement procedures and regulations, and continue to purchase advanced equipment in line with the nation’s asymmetric warfare doctrine.

Boosting democracy is not provocation and Taiwan’s existence is not an excuse for others to upset the “status quo,” Lai said, adding that he hopes the nation would unite to safeguard the country and the freedom of its people.


Amendments target force against rail workers

By Tsai Chun-jung and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

People who use force against railway personnel in an illegal manner would face a maximum three-year sentence and a maximum fine of NT$300,000 (US$9,569), according to proposed amendments to the Railway Act (鐵路法) that advanced at the legislature yesterday.

Violence against Taiwan Railway Corp (台鐵) personnel has increased from two incidents each in 2022 and 2023 to seven last year and 14 this year as of Nov. 15, company data showed.

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) proposed adding article 68-4, which would require Taiwan Railway to take measures to ensure employee safety while on duty.

Railway police officers practice arrest tactics at a training session at a railway station in Kaohsiung in January. Photo courtesy of a reader

Failure to do so would result in a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000, with consecutive fines if improvements are not made on time, the proposed changes say.

The TPP also proposed adding article 67-3, which would stipulate a maximum three-year prison term and a fine of up to NT$300,000 for anyone who uses force, threats, coercion or other illegal means to prevent railway personnel from carrying out their duties.

Should such acts result in death, the perpetrator would be handed a sentence of seven years to life, while severe injury would require a three-to-10-year prison term, the amendments say.

A proposal by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said that preventing railway personnel from carrying out their duties by force, threats, coercion or other illegal means would carry a minimum sentence of one year and a maximum of five, alongside a maximum fine of NT$10 million.

In the event such acts result in death, the KMT proposal was the same as the TPP proposal.

If the act results in severe injury, the perpetrator would face a maximum sentence of 10 years and a minimum of five years, the KMT proposal said.

Railway workers can refuse to provide service to people with a record of assault against company personnel, the KMT proposal said.

The KMT also proposed an amendment to Article 72.

An assailant should be stopped by police and handed over to judicial personnel for further investigation if their actions might result in criminal charges, the amendments said.

Railway Bureau Director Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said that the amendments would improve safety for railway personnel and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications supported the proposed changes.

Fines should be capped at NT$300,000 and prison sentences at three years, Yang said, adding that amendments to Article 72 might conflict with the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法).


Trump eyes end to Ukraine war, sends envoy to Moscow

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he was sending envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week as Trump seeks to close out a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that there were “only a few remaining points of disagreement” and expressed hope to meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, “but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”

Washington’s 28-point proposal to end the war might have originated in a call between Witkoff and Putin’s foreign policy adviser, according to a transcript of their conversation Bloomberg reported that it had obtained.

Kirill Dmitriev, left, a Russian special presidential envoy, and Steve Witkoff, a US envoy, interact during a meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on April 11. Photo: Reuters

According to the transcript, Witkoff advised the creation of a 20-point peace plan for Ukraine “just like we did in Gaza,” and urged that Putin bring it up with Trump.

The 28-point plan has been replaced by another taking in more of Kyiv’s interests.

An official familiar with the amended version said that it was “significantly better.”

However, French President Emmanuel Macron has thrown cold water on the idea of a rapid solution.

Speaking after a call between the so-called coalition of the willing, which supports Kyiv, Macron said that there is “clearly no Russian willingness” for a ceasefire or the new, more Ukraine-friendly proposal.

Yet US negotiator Dan Driscoll emerged upbeat from meeting with Russian counterparts, with his spokesman saying: “The talks are going well and we remain optimistic.”

The White House cited “tremendous progress,” but added that “there are a few delicate, but not insurmountable details that must be sorted out.”

The war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, continued unabated on Tuesday night, with Russia launching a series of strikes on Zaporizhzhia that wounded 18 people and damaged 31 apartment blocks.

The night before, powerful explosions rocked Kyiv beginning at about 1am as Russian drones and missiles rained down, setting fires in apartment buildings.

City officials said that seven people were killed.


The Brazilian Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro to begin serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a failed coup after he exhausted all appeals.

Bolsonaro, 70, was convicted in September over a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election.

Prosecutors said the scheme failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass.

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is pictured at his residence in Brasilia on Sept. 3. Photo: AFP

The court rejected an appeal to his sentence earlier this month and on Tuesday ruled that the judgement was final.

The court also ordered a military tribunal to decide whether Bolsonaro should be stripped of his captain’s rank.

Bolsonaro had been under house arrest until Saturday, when he was detained at police headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, for tampering with his ankle monitor using a soldering iron.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said that there were signs Bolsonaro was planning to flee during a planned vigil organized by his son outside his home.

The justice pointed to the location of the nearby US embassy and Bolsonaro’s relationship with US President Donald Trump, suggesting that he might have tried to escape to seek political asylum.

Bolsonaro said he had acted from “paranoia” induced by medications he was on and denied trying to escape.

The court ruled that he would remain detained in the officers’ room — a secure space for protected prisoners — where he is in Brasilia.

Five others, including military generals and former ministers, also began serving sentences on Tuesday of between 19 and 26 years.

Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro begins 27-year jail term


‘TROUBLEMAKER’: KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun told a news conference that Lai was ‘playing with fire’ by pledging to increase the nation’s defense budget   By Shih Hsiao-kungand Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerand CNA

The top US envoy to Taiwan yesterday said that President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed US$40 billion special defense budget marks “a major step toward maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait by strengthening deterrence.”

Lai first outlined the budget proposal in the Washington Post, hours before reiterating the plan at a news conference in Taipei.

American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene on social media said that Taiwan is joining “partners from across Europe to Japan and [South] Korea that are making critical defense investments necessary to deter unprecedented challenges to global peace and prosperity.”

American Institute in Taiwan(AIT) posts on social media to laud Taiwan’s proposal of US$40 billion special defense budget as a critical defense investment to deter unprecedented challenges to global peace and prosperity. Photo grab from AIT FB

He reiterated Washington’s stance in supporting Taiwan’s “rapid acquisition of critical asymmetric capabilities needed to strengthen deterrence” under the Taiwan Relations Act and “decades of commitment across multiple US administrations.”

Addressing the opposition parties, Greene said: “Just as support for Taiwan is a longstanding US bipartisan priority, I expect Taiwan’s political parties will find similar common ground.”

“Whether your priority is preserving Taiwan’s democracy and market economy, fostering conditions for cross-strait dialogue or maintaining support from the international community, increasing Taiwan’s defense capabilities is a necessary precondition,” he said. “The entire world has a stake in ensuring that differences across the Taiwan Strait are resolved peacefully and free from coercion.”

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that Lai’s commitment to increasing defense spending is consistent with the policies of other democracies.

Nations that experience increasing economic and social prosperity necessarily invest in bolstering their defense and national security, he said.

DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said that Lai’s editorial was an important signal to Washington, which has been vocal in demanding Taiwan show its resolve to defend itself by increasing military and civil defense spending.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) told a news conference that Lai was “playing with fire” by pledging to increase Taiwan’s defense budget, echoing a phrase Beijing frequently uses to criticize foreign policies it deems to be provocative to China.

Lai’s comments are “an investment in war” that would transform the Taiwan Strait into a powder keg and Taiwan into an arms factory, Cheng said after urging the president to refrain from becoming a “troublemaker.”

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), currently visiting Japan, said in a video message that the TPP supports a “reasonable” increase in defense spending, but would conduct a “practical and rational” review to ensure taxpayers’ money is well spent.

Additional reporting by Lee Wen-hsin

Top US envoy backs Lai’s proposed defense budget

鍾佳濱 賴清德 鄭麗文 黃國昌


Taiwan needs a ‘resilience shield’: Georgia ex-minister

Funding appropriated for defense projects should be sufficient to strengthen the “resilience shield” before essential assistance arrives, a former Georgian defense minister said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.

Former Georgian minister of defense Tinatin Khidasheli, who heads a think tank fighting the Soviet legacy in Georgia, is a research fellow at the Taiwan Democracy Foundation.

She was asked to comment on the defense budget proposal that President William Lai (賴清德) announced yesterday, in which NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.9 billion) would be spent in the next eight years to hone the nation’s capabilities in fighting asymmetric warfare.

Former Georgian minister of defense Tinatin Khidasheli speaks at a Taiwan Democracy Foundation event in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

“Let me be very straightforward: No amount of money that Taiwan, Georgia, or Estonia can allocate for defense will ever be sufficient — on its own — to counter hybrid warfare when facing a much larger and wealthier neighbor with far greater manpower,” Khidasheli said. “Even if we all die as heroes, Russia would still outnumber us. That is not the issue to think about when you put together a defense budget.”

“The defense budget for countries like us [Taiwan and Georgia] should be sufficient to shore up the ‘resilience shield’ that I was talking about. We need to be ready to be this first shield that is unbreakable before essential help comes, and I believe that should be our target, and whatever fits that scenario is a good answer,” she said.

Khidasheli said that the world is now facing a global arms race, which started with nations not learning from the war in Georgia in 2008 that Russia can act like a bully, and not taking into consideration the warning Georgia sent about Ukraine.

“The lesson was not learned even after Russia took over Crimea in 2014,” she said.

Khidasheli said that she does not have a magic number for Taiwan in terms of defense spending, but there are standards to consider when setting a budget, such as 2 to 5 percent of the GDP in NATO nations.

“We need to fight bullies with soft power, but we need to be smart about it,” she said.

Asked about the lessons that Taiwan can learn from Georgia and the leverage Taiwan can use to counter the threat from China, Khidasheli said that democracy is the biggest source of leverage, adding that maintaining democracy is the way to stand with nations on whom you rely on in case something happens.

“The Georgian reform is often called the miracle of the post-Soviet world, because we managed to defeat corruption that everybody thought was endemic and unavoidable,” she said. “What the West saw in us is that if Georgia can be successful, that would be a great message for Russia and Belarus.”

Aside from being a democratic nation, Taiwan holds greater leverage: microchips, which function as a powerful instrument that makes the nation important, she said, adding that the leverage makes others care about Taiwan.


US eyeing workforce training in trade deal

SKILLS SHORTAGE:  US President Donald Trump previously said that some skilled foreign workers might be necessary to train Americans in state-of-the-art factories   By Trevor Hunnicutt, Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee / Reuters, WASHINGTON and TAIPEI

US President Donald Trump’s administration is negotiating a deal that could commit Taiwan to fresh investment and training of US workers in semiconductor manufacturing and other advanced industries, five people familiar with the matter said.

Under the arrangement, Taiwanese companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, would send new capital and workers to expand their US operations and train US workers, the sources said.

Taiwan’s exports to the US are subject to a 20 percent tariff and Taipei has been in talks to reduce that figure as part of an overarching deal with Washington.

New Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co employees learn professional knowledge and practical operations at its newcomer training center in an undated photograph. Photo: screen grab from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Web site

Semiconductors, vital for all kinds of high-tech products, are exempt from tariffs while the US builds domestic capacity.

One of the people said that the total US investment to be pledged by Taiwan would be smaller than that of its main regional economic rivals, and would include support to help Washington build science park infrastructure drawing on Taiwanese know-how.

The person and others spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

South Korea and Japan have pledged a total of US$350 billion and US$550 billion in investment in the US respectively, under deals to trim US tariffs on most of their goods to 15 percent from 25 percent.

It was unclear when the Taiwan deal would close or what specifics would make it into the final agreement, the people said.

They cautioned that any deal terms could change until they are finalized in negotiations.

The workforce training aspect of the deal has not previously been reported.

“Until announced by President Trump, reporting about potential trade deals is speculation,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said.

Trump has previously said some skilled foreign workers might be necessary to train Americans in state-of-the-art factories.

TSMC, which declined to comment on the trade talks, has struggled to find the right workers for its US projects.

TSMC chief executive officer and chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in January said that building the new factory in Arizona has taken at least twice as long as in Taiwan, citing a shortage of skilled workers and gaps in the supply chain.

Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations in a statement said that its team was continuing to discuss supply chain cooperation with the US under a “Taiwan model.”

Speaking to reporters in Taipei yesterday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the two sides are at the stage of exchanging documents to firm up certain details.

“It is very difficult for other countries to do this kind of work, because only we have this concept, practice, and track record of service parks, which allows us to undertake this kind of initiative in the United States,” he said.

While Taipei has been keen to show its commitment to Trump’s call to boost US manufacturing, it has also said the most advanced semiconductor technologies and research would remain in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s representative to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), earlier this month said that he and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent had discussed supply chains and semiconductors during a meeting on the sidelines of the event in South Korea.

Lin said Bessent had been keen to hear about Taiwan’s experience in building its semiconductor clusters.

Trump in August said that the US would impose a tariff of about 100 percent on imports of semiconductors, but exempted companies that are manufacturing in the US or have committed to do so, which includes TSMC, although US officials are privately saying that they might not levy them soon, Reuters reported this month.

TSMC, whose business is surging on strong demand for artificial intelligence applications, is investing US$165 billion to build chip factories in Arizona, though the bulk of its production would remain in Taiwan.


Several US senators on Monday proposed a strategic subsea cables act of 2025 to spur US government engagement related to the security, installation and maintenance, and repair of undersea fiber-optic cables.

One of those proposing the bill, ranking Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Jeanne Shaheen, referred to fiber-optic cables as “strategic” and “critical infrastructure” that “form the bedrock of global Internet traffic,” a committee statement said.

The US must respond to the rise of cable cuts in the Baltic Sea and the Taiwan Strait, she said in a statement.

A ship lays an undersea telecommunications cable near the outlying islands of Penghu County in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co

Another of the bill’s sponsors, US Senator John Barrasso, echoed Shaheen’s views, saying that adversaries such as China and Russia continue to target cables to “disrupt communications in Taiwan, and for our allies across Europe and the Middle East.”

The US should ensure that the vital telecommunications infrastructure is safeguarded from “terrorist threats,” Barrasso said.

The bill calls for greater US participation in international bodies such as the International Cable Protection Committee and increased US Department of State investment, including hiring at least two full-time staff dedicated to the effort.

It would require the US president to impose sanctions against people who intentionally damage undersea cables and establish an inter-agency committee to coordinate related efforts.

It would also mandate a federal strategy to work with industry partners and require federal agencies to develop procedures to ensure timely communication of threat information with private undersea cable operators.

Undersea cables connected to Taiwan have faced ongoing disruptions.

The National Security Bureau in September said that about seven to eight undersea cable breaks occurred around Taiwan over the past three years, with four occurring within two months of the beginning of this year.

A Chinese captain was found responsible for one of the aforementioned incidents in June.

In related news, members of the US House of Representatives have proposed a bill that requires the US secretary of state to develop a strategic approach to secure Taiwan’s membership in the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

Led by Republican Lance Gooden, the proposed Taiwan Interpol endorsement and inclusion act is cosponsored by lawmakers across party lines.

Gooden said Taiwan’s “proven” global crime-fighting capabilities are deserving of full membership of Interpol and that its inclusion would “fill a gap in the global security network and reinforce the effectiveness of international law enforcement cooperation.”

Taiwan has been excluded from Interpol since 1984.

US senators unveil subsea cables act


KMT committee member resigns after ‘unification’ video controversy

Ho Ying-lu (何鷹鷺), a member of the Kuomintang’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee, announced her resignation from the opposition party Wednesday amid controversy over a video she made calling for Taiwan’s unification with China while wearing a Mao Zedong (毛澤東) shirt.

In a video posted on Douyin last month, Ho, wearing a t- shirt featuring a portrait of Mao, said she hoped Taiwan would “soon return to the embrace of the motherland.”

“To quickly unify -- that is my purpose, my responsibility,” she said.

Ho Ying-lu, a member of the Kuomintang’s Central Standing Committee, announces her resignation from the opposition party Wednesday. Photo: CNA

As Ho’s remarks came under scrutiny, the KMT’s Disciplinary Committee on Nov. 19 announced that it had suspended Ho from her position on the committee, but allowed her to continue in her duties while she pursued an appeal.

The 34-member central standing committee is the highest decision-making body within the KMT’s central committee.

Ho -- who according to media reports was born in Yunnan, raised in Hubei, and came to Taiwan in 1997 after meeting her Taiwanese husband -- appears to have been the only China-born member of the committee.

At a meeting of the central standing committee on Wednesday, Ho drew attention for wearing a bright green jacket -- a color associated with the KMT’s rival, the Democratic Progressive Party.

KMT Chairperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) commented on the jacket as she greeted committee members, asking “why are you wearing so much green today?” to which Ho replied tersely, “I’ve gone green.”

Following the meeting, Ho spoke to reporters, clarifying that she supports “peaceful unification,” and was concerned about the safety of people in Taiwan if a war broke out.

Ho noted that Cheng has said “we are all Chinese people,” but did not make clear if she meant the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan).

The KMT should make clear which China it means, Ho said.

Visibly emotional as she finished her remarks, Ho walked away from the microphone stand before briefly returning.

“I’m done. I resign from the party,” she added.


Formosat-8 slated for launch today

AD ASTRA: The satellite would be the first part of the nation’s first domestically made optical remote sensing constellation, which would eventually consist of eight satellites

The first satellite of the Formosat-8 system was to be launched into space at 2:18am (Taiwan time) today from the Vanderbilt Space Force Base in California, the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) said yesterday, adding that people could watch simulcasts of the satellite launch via the Facebook pages of TASA, and the National Science and Technology Council, as well as TASA’s YouTube channel.

Formosat-8 is the nation’s first self-made optical remote sensing satellite constellation, consisting of six satellites with a native resolution of 1m and two with native resolution of less than 1m.

The first satellite of the constellation, named Chi Po-lin (齊柏林衛星) by President William Lai (賴清德), has 84 percent of its components made domestically.

Researchers and engineers of the Formosat-8 system pose for a group photo with the satellite in an undated photograph.

Photo courtesy of the National Science and Technology Council.

Prior to yesterday, the launch of the first satellite had been delayed four times, the agency said.

The National Science and Technology Council said the satellite was to be carried into space via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-15 rocket.

In addition to the satellite, the rocket’s payload includes five CubeSats made by Taiwanese start-up companies and university researchers, the council said.

The rocket was scheduled to jettison its payload fairing about three minutes after launch, the council said.

The rocket would deploy five CubeSats into a 510km orbit 54 minutes after launch, it added.

The satellite is expected to separate from the rocket 140 minutes after launch, entering a 561km sun-synchronous orbit to carry out an Earth-observation optical remote sensing mission, the council said.

The Chi Po-lin satellite also carries a dual-band ionospheric transient imager and an electron temperature and density probe — developed by a research team led by National Cheng Kung University physics professor Chen Bing-chih (陳炳志) — to conduct ionospheric observations, as well as research on the origins and triggering mechanisms of ground-based gamma-ray flashes, the council said.

“We hope that this mission would demonstrate multiple technologies independently developed by Taiwan, including satellite high-frequency communication, inter-satellite communication, smart remote sensing, electric propulsion, deployment mechanisms, and deorbit control functions,” the council said.

Full deployment of the constellation is expected by 2031.


SAFETY FIRST:  Preventing similar incidents would require additional support, as there is a lack of testing technology, while most countries focus on process management

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would this week fine a company for importing raw materials for cosmetics containing banned Sudan red dyes, and it would consider including Sudan red dyes in postmarket inspections, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.

Eho Co, the company that was found having imported ingredients for cosmetics containing the banned industrial red dye, would face a NT$5 million (US$159,489) fine, the FDA said on Tuesday.

Taiwan recently detected the banned dyes in cosmetics for the first time, tracing them to raw materials supplied by Singapore-based Campo Research Pte Ltd.

Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang answers lawmakers’ questions at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

So far, 20 products from 12 businesses have been found to contain the dyes and must be removed from the market.

The FDA previously announced 18 contaminated products, and on Tuesday announced two more, both masks from Maxgut Biochemical Co.

Under articles 6 and 22 of the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act (化妝品衛生安全管理法), using banned Sudan IV dyes can result in fines ranging from NT$20,000 to NT$5 million and repeated penalties may be imposed, the FDA said.

FDA Deputy Director-General Wang Der-yuan (王德原) said he cannot guarantee there are no other contaminated products, as the factory produces a wide range of items, and health departments can only inspect them one at a time.

To avoid similar incidents, the FDA is considering including Sudan red dyes in postmarket inspections, Shih said yesterday at the Legislative Yuan.

The FDA took the initiative to investigate after receiving a report from abroad, Shih said.

Preventing similar incidents would require support from the central government, as there is a lack of testing technology, the minister said.

Testing of raw materials for cosmetics requires careful consideration, as cosmetic regulations are largely similar across the globe, he said.

Cosmetics use a wide variety of chemicals, not all of which are used exclusively for cosmetics, so most countries focus on process management rather than testing every chemical, he added.

Like most countries, Taiwan has regulations regarding permitted and prohibited raw materials, manufacturing practice standards and helps businesses strengthen process control, Shih said.

The government is considering how to strengthen postmarket monitoring, and Sudan dyes would be included in routine inspections for the foreseeable future, he said.

FDA to crack down on importers of Sudan dyes


Groups say minister stalling on labor reforms

A labor group yesterday said Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) has been stalling on structural reforms, a day after he gave a retrospective on the first year of his tenure.

Speaking in a live-streamed video on YouTube, Hung said the ministry is amending the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法) to counter workplace bullying and has proposed sick leave reform following the work-related death of an EVA Airways flight attendant.

The Taoyuan Confederation of Trade Unions said Hung had been reacting to public scandals and fixing political controversies, which did little to address the real challenges facing Taiwanese workers.

Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han speaks to reporters before the opening ceremony of WorldSkills Asia Taipei, an international skills competition, in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Although Hung cannot be said to have done nothing in the past year, the government must no longer delay in dealing with three major difficulties that workers face: excessive working hours, low wages and lack of retirement security, it said.

Hung told lawmakers that the Ministry of Labor had no responsibility over designating national holidays during legislative deliberations on authorizing additional holidays next year, which eventually passed in May, the group said.

Despite admitting to lawmakers that Taiwanese employees are overworked, Hung has not since taking office submitted any plan to the legislature to reduce the number of working days, it said.

The severity of overwork in the nation can be gleaned by the fact that more than 5,000 workers signed a petition to adopt a four-day workweek, the group said.

Citing the ministry’s statistics, it said that Taiwan had the fifth-longest annual work hours among the world’s developed nations last year.

The policy of allowing employers to hire an additional foreign worker for every NT$2,000 increase in wages to Taiwanese employees would further depress the average income, not increase it, the group said.

The ministry should lower the minimum membership requirement of unions from 30, as collective bargaining would be more effective in raising wages than giving employers perks, it said.

The labor pension contribution rate of 6 percent has not been adjusted in 20 years, resulting in anemic pensions for retired workers, the group said.

Retired Taiwanese on average receive just NT$6,000 in monthly pensions under the 2006 pension formula, it said, adding that the average total monthly pension for the average retired worker is less than NT$20,000.

If the government’s response to the plight of retirees is to tell workers to plan for their own retirement, then employees should have the right to opt out of state-run pension funds, the group said.

The ministry should commit to implementing reforms to ensure that retirees can survive on their pensions, it said.


Trains disrupted after car abandoned on Keelung tracks

A total of 14 train services in northern Taiwan were disrupted yesterday, after a fugitive drove his car along railway tracks in Keelung early in the morning and abandoned it on the tracks when its tires burst.

Train operations were completely restored at 9:09am, Taiwan Railway Corp said.

The fugitive, a 33-year-old man surnamed Huang (黃), resisted attempts by patrolling officers to inspect his vehicle when they saw him in his car in the area at about 2am, and fled from the scene.

An excavator tries to remove a vehicle abandoned on railway tracks near Keelung Railway Station early yesterday morning.

Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA

He drove his car onto the nearby railway line and traveled about 100m along the tracks near the Keelung Railway Station at high speed before his tires burst.

The man then tried to escape by climbing up the station building, and he reached the top floor before falling.

Fire department personnel took him from the building and sent him to a hospital to treat his injuries.

He was then released by the hospital and taken in by police for questioning.

Police said they found that Huang was wanted for forgery and offenses against public safety.

Officers also seized drugs, including amphetamine and etomidate, also known as a zombie vape in Taiwan, from his damaged vehicle.

Police said a separate investigation would be launched into potential drug offenses.

The incident led to train delays later in the morning.

The Keelung station received the report of the vehicle driving onto the tracks at 2:44am, upon which authorities were notified to handle the situation, Taiwan Railway Corp said.

After the vehicle was removed at 4:51am, engineering units repaired damaged equipment, including guardrails and traffic signals, the railway company said.

The incident resulted in 12 trains being disrupted and two others canceled, before services returned to normal at 9:09am, it said.


Survey finds almost 20% of students cyberbullied

A survey has found that 18.6 percent of junior and senior-high school students in Taiwan have experienced cyberbullying, and the threat of bullying has moved beyond schools, according to the Taipei-based Child Welfare League Foundation.

The report, based on 21,539 valid responses nationwide collected from Sept. 11 to Sept. 30, also showed that 40.7 percent of respondents had heard of cyberbullying incidents, with the most common types including public shaming in class chat groups, exclusion from online groups, and the sharing of private conversations for ridicule.

Among those surveyed, 7.5 percent experienced more than three forms of attack, with girls reporting higher rates of online bullying than boys, the foundation said.

An adolescent rests his head and arms on the table in front of a computer and smartphone screen. Photo courtesy of the Child Welfare League Foundation.

What made the trend even more worrying was that 39.4 percent of students took no action when witnessing cyberbullying, potentially making isolation and indifference “a secondary form of harm,” it said.

Cyberbullying had a serious impact on students, the survey found.

Of the victims, 15.1 percent had contemplated self-harm or suicide, while 48.9 percent showed signs of social anxiety or avoidance, 45.4 percent reported physical symptoms such as insomnia and headaches, and 42.2 percent felt worthless or suffered from low self-esteem, the survey showed.

The foundation warned that heavy Internet use among students has pushed bullying onto social media and messaging platforms, allowing it to spread more widely and persist longer, resulting in broader and more lasting harm to victims.

It cited an earlier survey of 6,122 Taiwanese junior and senior-high school students, which showed that 84.6 percent used social media daily, with more than 20 percent spending nearly the entire day online.

The report also found that care from parents could be more helpful than controlling measures such as limiting screen time, adding that children with “highly attentive” parents reported fewer incidents and were more willing to discuss their problems.

It also urged witnesses of cyberbullying to seek help and provide support, and recommended that parents and teachers show compassion, and help children develop ways to manage their emotions and develop social skills.

The foundation offers an anti-bullying consultation hotline (04-2202-5399#4) and an official Line account (@antibullying). It encourages those facing cyberbullying to seek help and not to face it alone.


Women’s rights activists yesterday condemned the High Court’s ruling that former television host Mickey Huang (黃子佼) not serve time in prison, saying that the judges chose to believe Huang’s claim of mere curiosity in purchasing sexually explicit videos of minors, but ignoring mental and physical harm suffered by the victims.

Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation members issued a statement following the High Court’s second ruling on Tuesday, which handed down a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence, suspended for four years, to the entertainer, which means he would not serve prison time if he does not reoffend during the probation period.

The ruling was based on contraventions of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).

Former television host Mickey Huang walks out of the High Court after being questioned on May 2. Photo: CNA

Huang would also have to complete 180 hours of community service and attend three sessions of legal education.

Huang purchased more than 2,200 pornographic videos of 47 victims, including adults and minors, the foundation said, adding that the court “ignored the ‘digital sexual violence’ suffered by the victims, as most of them were coerced or forced to act in pornographic videos,” which were uploaded to an online forum Huang was a paid member of.

The Taipei District Court in its first ruling in December last year convicted Huang on contraventions of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例), imposing an eight-month prison term and a fine of NT$100,000, the foundation said.

The foundation also questioned the statement issued by Huang and his lawyer prior to Tuesday’s ruling, which stated that they had reached out-of-court settlements with all of the victims, and that it was “due to his own ignorance and curiosity” that he downloaded the sexually explicit videos of minors.

The statement also claimed that the videos were mainly of adults, and that he downloaded most of them prior to February 2023, when legislators amended the law, it said.

The foundation also rejected Huang’s claim that he had reached a settlement with “all 30 victims,” as there are 17 who have not been in contact with Huang, it said, adding that it might have been a ploy to win over the judges and receive a lenient sentence.

The Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act was amended from 2015 to punish the possession of sexual content depicting minors, the foundation said, adding that Huang’s actions were then already contraventions of the law, rather than only after February 2023.

“The download and purchase of illegal sexual videos, whether containing adults or minors, leads to life-long pain and suffering for the victims,” it said. “Huang’s claim that he mostly bought the adult porn videos is an attempt to offset the serious nature of his offenses.”

Women’s groups protest Mickey Huang ruling


A Taipei Metro train has been decorated to spread awareness about HIV, aiming to reduce fear, stigma and discrimination surrounding the virus by telling passengers that it is untransmittable when treated.

The themed train was launched by the Taiwan AIDS Society and Persons with HIV/AIDS Rights Advocacy Association of Taiwan (PRAATW), which hosted a news conference yesterday to introduce the project.

Ahead ofWorld AIDS Day on Monday next week, the train began running on Monday and would continue until Dec. 23.

Messages on the train are centered around the international consensus that undetectable equals untransmittable, or “U=U,” meaning people with HIV who have an undetectable viral load cannot transmit the virus, the group said.

Ever since the first AIDS cases appeared in Taiwan, society has discriminated against those with the condition, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said at the news conference.

This makes people at risk afraid to get tested and stops them from receiving proper treatment, Lin said.

For those with HIV who undergo treatment, taking medication regularly is enough to suppress the viral load and prevent transmission, he added.

Countries around the world are succeeding at keeping the viral load undetectable among those undergoing treatment by an average of 94 percent, he said.

It is crucial to eliminate stigma around the virus so that those at risk feel comfortable getting tested, he said.

This would help society reach the “three zeros” goal, meaning zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths, he added.

U=U is not merely a slogan — it is a fact recognized by the global medical community, Taiwan AIDS Society secretary-general Lin Kuan-yin (林冠吟) said.

As long as an HIV-positive person takes medication regularly and maintains an undetectable viral load for at least six months, they are no longer capable of transmitting the disease, Lin Kuan-yin said.

The themed train informs people that the virus cannot be transmitted by contact, saliva or sweat, aiming to make them less afraid of those with HIV or AIDS, she said.

PRAATW secretary-general Lin Yi-hui (林宜慧) said that many HIV-positive people are afraid to disclose their status due to social prejudice, and might face enormous pressure at work or in relationships, even if they have an undetectable viral load.

As the MRT is a part of everyday public life, the themed train would bring people accurate information to help them understand that U=U, stop being afraid and no longer stigmatize HIV-positive people, she said.

Additional reporting by Chiu Chih-jou

Taipei MRT train raises awareness about HIV stigma


Safe ride

Tourists ride rented electric-assisted pedelecs in the scenic Mr Brown Avenue in Taitung County yesterday. As several traffic accidents involving pedelecs have been reported in recent years, the county government in June required all rental companies to complete safety examinations and enroll in insurance plans. However, more than 30 pedelecs still have not undergone safety inspections and must complete them before the end of the month, it said.


Legislative debut

Olympic gold medalist and first Minister of Sports Lee Yang, right, shakes hands with Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Liu Shu-pin, left, before a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Lee, who took office on Sept. 9, made his first ministerial report at the legislature yesterday, in which he vowed to improve athletes’ rights and address the issue of uneven distribution of resources.


Tech overreliance a risk: association

WARNING: The robust performance of AI-related industries contrasts with that of the traditional sectors, and a balanced structure should be prioritized, Thomas Wu said

Taiwan should move swiftly to reduce a widening industrial gap and avoid leaning too heavily on the booming tech sector for economic expansion, the Taipei-based Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC, 工商協進會) said yesterday, calling for broader structural upgrades to reinforce long-term resilience.

CNAIC chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮) made the remarks during a breakfast with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and several ministers, saying that the momentum created by artificial intelligence (AI) hardware exports, while impressive, cannot sustain the nation’s economy indefinitely.

“Taiwan’s AI hardware suppliers have delivered strong earnings results and underpinned robust exports, but the nation cannot lean on the AI boom indefinitely,” said Wu, who also chairs TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控).

Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce chairman Thomas Wu speaks at a breakfast meeting in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

He urged the government to take the growing imbalance between cutting-edge tech industries and lagging traditional sectors seriously, saying that the latter employ most of the workforce, and provide essential goods and services.

Wu said he expected the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics tomorrow to raise this year’s GDP growth forecast to between 5 and 6 percent, up from 4.45 percent forecast in August, after exports exceeded expectations amid accelerating global AI demand.

Taiwan would likely outperform regional peers this year, Wu said, attributing the stronger outlook to close cooperation between the government and the private sector.

The business tycoon also expressed hope that ongoing Taiwan–US tariff negotiations would soon yield progress, allowing businesses to operate in a more predictable environment and concentrate on growth strategies.

The recent decision by Nvidia Corp to establish a subsidiary in Taiwan further underscored the nation’s strategic importance in the global AI supply chain and would add new momentum to the economy, Wu said.

However, the strength of AI-related industries contrasts sharply with the weak performance of non-AI and traditional sectors, he said, adding that policy measures should support a more balanced industrial structure.

Wu thanked the Financial Supervisory Commission for easing rules on private wealth management for high net-worth clients and for giving life insurers more flexibility in managing foreign-exchange volatility.

Several government agencies pledged to review proposals aimed at improving the business environment, but the Ministry of Finance remained reluctant to consider tax incentives to help develop Taiwan into a regional asset-management hub, or to cut stamp and business taxes to boost financial sector competitiveness, Wu added.

The ministry said it declined the proposals, as financial institutions are performing well and the revenue involved is still crucial for public finances.


Highpoint expects strong revenue growth next year

Acer Inc’s (宏碁) after-sales service subsidiary Highpoint Service Network Corp (海柏特) yesterday said it is targeting double-digit percentage growth in revenue next year on the back of strong demand for payment devices.

The company also expects this year’s revenue to surpass last year’s NT$1.2 billion (US$38.3 million), which grew 32 percent year-on-year, Highpoint chairman Andrew Hou (侯知遠) said at a presentation in Taipei ahead of its over-the-counter market debut next month.

Highpoint has maintained double-digit revenue growth over the past three years, Hou said, adding that achieving similar growth this year “should not be a problem.”

Highpoint Service Network Corp chairman Andrew Hou, left, and chief executive officer Jacky Lin pose for a photograph in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ou Yu-hsiang, Taipei Times

The company provides after-sales services for electronic devices and information technology products, authorized by original equipment manufacturers.

It has secured orders from two of the world’s top five payment gateway device makers, and winning another contract could further boost sales next year, Hou said.

Next year’s momentum is also expected to come from an upgrade cycle for payment gateway equipment — such as all-in-one terminals that integrate QR code and contactless payments — in Taiwanese and Southeast Asian markets, and planned expansion into other markets, he said.

Apart from after-sales services, Highpoint also offers value-added services for enterprise clients, such as installing tech equipment, and charging for after-sales services and hardware sales, company chief executive officer Jacky Lin (林俊男) said.

After-sales services carry a gross margin of about 20 percent, while value-added services have a margin of about 10 percent as the segment includes low-margin hardware sales, he said.

The company’s revenue in the first three quarters of this year totaled NT$846 million, down 4.4 percent from a year earlier, as its value-added services were affected by enterprises’ delays in capital expenditure, he said.

Overseas markets accounted for 70 to 80 percent of Highpoint’s revenue this year, the company said.

Gross margin during the period was 21.89 percent, rising 4 percentage points in the same period last year, as the company expanded its after-sales services business, Lin said.

Highpoint has operations in Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, with annual revenue growth in these markets reaching at least 10 percent, with some exceeding 30 percent, Hou said.

The company is evaluating whether to expand into India and China, as India’s infrastructure and policy procedures are relatively complicated, while the Chinese market is highly competitive, he added.


Taiwan urged to tighten outbound investment rules

GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT: An economics professor suggested establishing an FDI oversight mechanism to balance national security with corporate autonomy

The government should take a more active role in regulating outbound foreign direct investment (FDI), especially as geopolitical tensions make advanced technology strategically sensitive, experts said on Tuesday.

At a conference on strategic resilience in Taipei, Lee Wen-chieh (李文傑), an economics associate professor at National Chengchi University, said Taiwan’s “dual-track” policy — strict controls on investment in China, but comparatively loose rules elsewhere — has been “insufficient to cope with increasing external risks.”

While the government maintains tight oversight of China-bound investment, overseas expansion in other markets is largely left to companies themselves, Lee said.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ signage is pictured outside its building in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo: Liao Chia-ning, Taipei Times

“We barely have a designated agency regulating outbound investments outside China,” he said.

Citing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) recent global expansion, Lee said the lack of government representation in its talks with foreign governments put the Taiwanese company in a weaker negotiating position.

He cited TSMC’s announced additional US$100 billion investment in the US in early March, saying that “all the Ministry of Economic Affairs did was deny any involvement three days later while saying TSMC made the decision.”

Taiwan’s outbound investment rules are outdated and lack a clear legal basis, lawyer Chen Yen-po (陳言博) said.

The ministry has not updated the regulations to reflect amendments made to the Industrial Innovation Statute (產業創新發展條例) in April, he said.

Only TSMC’s Nanjing, China, fab is covered by specific restrictions under the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Chen said.

Its other overseas investments remain largely outside any regulatory framework, he said, urging the government to introduce comprehensive oversight rather than leaving such decisions to companies.

Taiwan should look to how other major economies have strengthened their oversight systems, Lee said, citing the US’ CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022 and the Reverse CFIUS mechanism created last year, as well as Japan’s Economic Security Promotion Act approved in 2022.

By contrast, the Department of Investment Review is operating under an “outdated and reactive regulatory structure,” he said.

Lee suggested establishing a cross-ministerial FDI oversight mechanism to balance national security with corporate autonomy.

A stronger government role would allow negotiations to be conducted “government-to-government,” enabling Taiwan to leverage foreign industrial policies, tariffs and trade arrangements, he added.


Jtron predicts record annual revenue

Jtron Technology Corp (捷創科技), a semiconductor equipment installation and maintenance service provider, yesterday projected that revenue this year would reach an all-time high, driven by chipmakers’ equipment investment spree amid strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Established in 2004, the Hsinchu-based company installs and relocates manufacturing equipment, mainly testing tools, and provides maintenance services for chip companies on behalf of global brand-name equipment suppliers such as Agilent Technologies Inc, and Japan’s Advantest Corp and Seiko Epson Corp.

Over the past three years, semiconductor companies have invested heavily in new manufacturing equipment, leading to significant increases in equipment installation demand, Jtron said, adding that it is struggling to fulfill orders due to a shortage of workers.

Jtron Technology Corp chairman Lin Yih-min poses for a photograph in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

“This year has been hectic. We have been working to help customers install equipment, as AI demand is so high,” Jtron chief financial officer Angee Cheng (鄭文吉) told a media briefing in Taipei.

The company said its growth is riding on strong capital expenditures for chip-testing equipment, which is expected to grow about 24 percent year-on-year to US$9.3 billion this year and rise further to US$9.7 billion next year based on international trade group SEMI’s forecast.

“Our order visibility is largely similar to semiconductor equipment makers, at about three to six months,” Jtron chairman Lin Yih-min (林益民) said.

Next year, global semiconductor equipment sales growth might slow, but Jtron’s revenue growth would continue, Lin said, citing a multiplier effect of equipment maintenance services.

The company’s revenue rose 20 percent to NT$408 million (US$13.01 million) in the first 10 months of this year, from NT$340 million in the same period last year. Revenue this quarter is expected to show dramatic growth due to robust customer demand, it said.

In the first three quarters of this year, 60 percent of the company’s revenue came from branded semiconductor equipment manufacturers and 23 percent from foundry companies, while chip testers and packagers contributed 7 percent, Jtron said.

Jtron’s local customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) and Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電).

Net profit in the first three quarters surged 56.5 percent to NT$57.78 million, from NT$36.92 million a year ago, Jtron said.

Earnings per share rose to NT$3.21 from NT$2.53. Gross margin climbed to 49 percent from 43.72 percent, it said.

Jtron’s revenue this year is expected to expand 25.7 percent annually to NT$560 million, a record high, and net profit is expected to surge 32.4 percent to NT$90 million, or earnings per share of NT$4.45, according to SinoPac Securities Investment Service Corp’s (永豐投顧) forecast.

Jtron is to make its debut on the Taipei Exchange next month.


Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is to invest an additional US$569 million in Wisconsin to expand its operations in the US state and deepen its work in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the company said yesterday.

The plan, approved by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp (WEDC), would anchor the company’s growth in Racine County and is expected to create about 1,400 local jobs, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said in a statement.

Hon Hai chief product officer Jerry Hsiao (蕭才祐), also general manager of Hon Hai USA, said the company is scaling up in Wisconsin to meet customers’ large-volume needs, as demand for data-related infrastructure has continued to surge.

People stand in front of the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co logo during a media tour at the company’s advanced battery factory in Kaohsiung on Nov. 7. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA

Employees in Wisconsin already account for about one-quarter of Hon Hai’s US workforce, a figure the company expects to double by 2030 as the project moves forward, he said.

If Hon Hai meets its performance targets under the new WEDC plan, the state would provide up to US$16 million in tax incentives, the company said.

This is Hon Hai’s second incentive agreement with WEDC.

Under an amended contract signed in 2021, the company is eligible for up to US$80 million in tax credits by the end of this year if it invests US$672 million and creates at least 1,454 jobs, targets Hon Hai said it is on track to achieve.

The company has spent more than US$2 billion in Wisconsin in the past few years on payroll, capital expenditure and taxes, and generated about 1,500 jobs related to server production, the statement said.

The contract signed in 2021 was an acknowledgement of the company’s failure to meet its original goals articulated in 2017 when it first committed to building capacity in Wisconsin of US$10 billion in investment and the creation of 13,000 jobs.

Originally, the company said it would produce large flat panel displays for televisions and then smaller displays for other devices, but those plans were never realized.

Hon Hai plans to invest US$569m in Wisconsin


Crypto indicators

The prices of various cryptocurrencies against US dollar are displayed on a screen at a cryptocurrency exchange store in Hong Kong yesterday. The intense selling pressure that has weighed on bitcoin in the past few weeks seems to be easing, which might be an indicator that the cryptocurreny’s slide is nearing an end.


Nobody should have been surprised that Tokyo plans to deploy medium-range surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni Island, 110km off Taiwan’s east coast. The decision was first announced in January.

The surprise was the timing of confirmation, by Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi on Sunday, that the deployment was “steadily moving forward.” It came in the middle of heightened tensions between China and Japan over Tokyo’s military posture, and remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Nov. 7 on the potential use of its Self-Defense Forces in the event of an attack on Taiwan by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Not only has Takaichi refused to retract her comments, but Koizumi’s confirmation shows that Tokyo has no intention of backing down on its right to self-defense.

Referring to Takaichi’s remarks, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on Sunday wrote that “if Japan persists ... all countries ... have the right to re-examine Japan’s historical crimes and ... to resolutely prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism.”

He added that “China must resolutely respond ... to defend the post-war achievements won with blood and lives.”

It seems ironic, despite China’s militarization of the South China Sea and aggressive actions in the Taiwan Strait, that Wang would accuse Japan — a country that has remained peaceful for eight decades, is widely regarded as a regional stabilizing force and is now only preparing to defend itself in a potential worst-case scenario — of being the aggressive, militaristic actor threatening regional peace.

That he did so should come as no surprise. This is just Beijing conjuring up controversy to further its strategy of clearing obstacles to regional dominance.

Wang is bolstering a narrative the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been forming ever since Japan started talking about increasing its military budget under former Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida.

Kishida was following on from a policy trajectory of his predecessor, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, and which is now enthusiastically being taken up by Takaichi. This chain of events was only deemed necessary because of the CCP’s increasingly apparent militaristic ambition.

The CCP’s relitigation of wartime atrocities and past Japanese militarism is part of a strategy to consolidate divisions, with the US and Japan on one side, and China, Russia and ASEAN on the other.

The strategy surfaced during a speech by Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum in Singapore on June 2 last year. Dong had tried to persuade the attendees that the US should withdraw from the region and that ASEAN should play a more central role. The message to the US is that it is not welcome; to Japan that it should do as it is told; to ASEAN that it can trust China.

He tried to convince the audience that the CCP and the PLA stand for peace and dialogue, even as he warned Manila that there is a “limit to our restraint” over its pushback against Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea, and Taiwan’s elected leadership that it would be “nailed to the flaying post of history” if it persisted with upholding the nation’s sovereign, independent status.

China could say that its behavior in the South China Sea, its island building and its insistence on annexing Taiwan are all legitimate moves in its pursuit of national defense, but when Japan signals its intention to defend itself, Beijing raises the alarm of resurgent militarism and leverages the message to create division.

There was one surprise: Hours after US President Donald Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Tuesday, Trump called Takaichi. Presumably, he did not upbraid her for persisting with Japan’s militaristic ways.

EDITORIAL: Alarm, but no surprises in spat


The death last month of an EVA Airways flight attendant who fell ill at work struck a chord with wider Taiwanese society, bringing to the fore long-term and systemic issues about workers feeling that they cannot afford to take sick leave.

Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday last week announced amendments to the Regulations of Leave for Workers (勞工請假規則) to state that when a worker takes no more than 10 days of sick leave in a year, the employer cannot take any unfavorable action. It is a move that gets to the heart of a key issue that workers face.

For a long time, Taiwanese workplaces have fostered a culture that demands perfect attendance. Although the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) enshrines the right of workers to take sick leave, in reality, it usually comes at a cost. Beyond the usual deduction of half a day’s pay, there are also often other punitive measures, which can include missing out on attendance bonuses or impacts on annual performance reviews, and can lead to workers being labeled as “uncooperative” or “unreliable.”

With these risks hanging over workers’ heads, many carry on even when their bodies are sounding the alarm, afraid that taking a day of sick leave would undermine the rest of their year’s hard work.

Therefore, it is encouraging that the Ministry of Labor has proposed amendments to decouple sick leave from punishment. Ten days might not be much, but it at least secures a minimum buffer for workers as a basic safety net.

The ministry has signaled that workers’ rights to health take precedence over the authority of employers, allowing employees to rest and recover, regardless of whether they might have a cold, coronavirus or another illness.

For industries concerned with public safety, including healthcare and transportation, these amendments protect both the public and workers. If pilots, flight attendants and nurses were to work while sick, their reduced ability to concentrate can pose serious risks to well-being that go far beyond any cost savings.

The ministry’s swift and decisive response to public concerns should be commended, but regulations do not implement themselves. The ministry should establish concrete penalties and conduct proper inspections to ensure compliance is not undermined by “unwritten” company standards.

It is time for Taiwanese workplace culture to move beyond the toxic model of seeing who can hold out the longest and toward one that prioritizes health and sustainability — which serves both workers and management.

Yang Chih-chiang is a teacher.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader

Lifting the yoke of full attendance


In Kaohsiung, you can find an old dojo built by the Japanese overlooking the seaside. There, a master of blade martial arts is the custodian of the sword of the legendary Japanese swordsman Musashi.

The Japanese developed Kaohsiung. There was little to show before they arrived. The city does not define itself as a “Japanese” place, but it does not anchor its identity in anything that would oppose Japan, such as revanchism — a barbaric ideology that has only ever generated suffering — or national pride.

The residents of Kaohsiung are too pragmatic for that. The city might have become a wonderful haven of arts, culture, development and infrastructure in the past decade, but for a long time it was poorer than the rest of Taiwan. Its residents had more important things to do than dwell on old grievances. Present dangers are far more important.

After a wandering life that left me without a national identity, for the past 10 years the city is pretty much the closest I have to a homeland, and since I relish in its most working-class, rough layers, I have developed an ear for its underbelly.

I have heard a lot about how cool Japan is; and how China is not.

In a city long craving development, Japan was an ideal. I hear constant praise for Japanese fashion and “looking Japanese,” with some telling me how they lament the rise of Korean fashion (is there another place in Asia where you would hear that?).

Younger people are obsessed with Japanese 1980s City pop music. They tell me more about Hello Kitty than Labubu. In Kaohsiung, Japan is seen as an example to follow: How to become a modern and cool East Asian society.

Kaohsiung residents tell me they want to emulate Japan, find inspiration and friendship with it, not that they want to become Japanese. Getting closer to China implies becoming Chinese: Japan would not alter the identity of Kaohsiung the way China would.

I have yet to hear anyone criticizing Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Beijing’s invented outrage about a return of Japanese militarism has found no echo in Kaohsiung. The typical Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) slurs I hear are directed not toward Takaichi, but toward Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文).

We still speak Hoklo a lot in Kaohsiung. Mainlanders (those who came from China with the KMT after the war and their offspring) are far more scarce than in the capital. I keep running into Mainlanders when I visit Taipei; I have a hard time finding them in Kaohsiung, even when I look for them. This does not mean Mainlanders necessarily support closer ties with China: I have met many who have become radically pro-independence, but it does change the conversation on identity.

It goes beyond ancestry. Gangshan District (岡山) was once famous for intermarriages between local women and Japanese pilots from what was a major air base during World War II, and their descendants are still around, but this is a drop of water in an urban area of 2.7 million inhabitants.

Yet the city’s pan-green reputation is a misunderstanding. It once elected the KMT’s Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) as mayor. That said, the most astonishing thing about seeing Han sitting in the Legislative Yuan as speaker is that he can still sit down after the kick he received from Kaohsiung residents (that was a successful recall). This is not about partisan politics, it is about whether you understand the true nature of the city.

Kaohsiung is not a Japanese city anymore, but it was never Chinese, and it never will be.

Julien Oeuillet hosts the weekly program Taiwan vs The World on Radio Taiwan International and is a coproducer of TaiwanTalks on TaiwanPlus.

Kaohsiung residents’ perspective on Japan


Taipei on Nov. 7 was introduced to a new strategic reality when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that any Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger conditions that threaten Japan’s survival. It was the first time in the post-World War II era that a Japanese leader openly linked Japan’s national security to Taiwan’s defense.

For Taipei, the message was immediate: Japan no longer treats a Taiwan contingency as distant or theoretical, but as an event with direct implications for its population, economy and sovereignty. Beijing reacted with the predictable combination of denunciations, travel warnings and increased maritime activity near Japan.

Amid the rising tension, President William Lai (賴清德) made a symbolic gesture of support for Tokyo, publishing photographs of himself eating sushi from Kagoshima and Hokkaido after China signaled it would block seafood imports from Japan. His message was widely read as a signal that Taipei would not be cowed by Beijing’s widening economic coercion.

Tokyo’s shift comes as China sharpens military pressure around Taiwan and the Philippines, conducting blockade-style exercises and expanding coast guard operations that simulate encirclement. Japanese officials increasingly regard these activities as indications that strategic ambiguity offers diminishing value. Japan’s energy imports and trade routes pass through waters near Taiwan and any conflict would endanger routes essential to Japan’s economic survival. Tokyo’s growing semiconductor cooperation with Taiwan further deepens interdependence.

Yet the most revealing development is occurring far from Asia. Honduras is preparing for a presidential election that could reverse its 2023 decision to sever ties with Taiwan. Both front-runner Salvador Nasralla and Nasry Asfura have expressed openness to restoring relations with Taipei, citing the limited economic benefits delivered by Beijing and frustration with a surge of Chinese-linked commercial activity that has strained small and medium-sized enterprises.

The ruling Liberty and Refoundation party, which engineered the diplomatic switch, now faces accusations of institutional manipulation. Critics allege that the prosecutorial system is being used to target electoral officials who oppose the party’s proposals and warn that the government might refuse to accept unfavorable results. These concerns prompted the US Congress to hold a hearing on the integrity of the election — a rare step. Days before the vote, the EU also demanded guarantees of autonomy for electoral bodies, signaling that any fraud would face scrutiny.

Adding to the tension is the presence of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group in nearby waters. Regional analysts interpret its deployment as a sign that Washington is monitoring both internal instability and potential foreign interference.

For Taiwan, Honduras’ election represents a rare opportunity. If the nation restores ties, it would be the first time in decades that a state which recognized Beijing chose to reverse course. Such a development would puncture Beijing’s long-crafted narrative that Taiwan’s diplomatic space is destined to shrink.

Tokyo views these dynamics through a similar lens. Japanese policymakers argue that China’s political activities in Latin America mirror the methods it uses in Asia — cultivating economic entry points, applying political pressure when challenged and reshaping local institutions to expand its influence. Japan’s clarity on Taiwan reflects a growing belief that democracies must respond to Beijing’s tactics collectively.

From the Pacific to Central America, Beijing is testing how far it can reshape democratic decisionmaking. Taiwan’s foreign policy must adapt accordingly, strengthening ties with states reconsidering their partnerships and deepening cooperation with democracies.

Taipei’s strategic environment changed the moment Tokyo ended its silence. The coming weeks should show whether other democracies follow Japan’s lead — and whether political shifts in places as distant as Honduras could converge with Asia’s evolving landscape to support Taiwan’s long-term security.

Juan Fernando Herrera Ramos is a Honduran journalist based in Taipei.

PRC expanding pressure campaign


Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s declaration that a “Taiwan contingency” could amount to a threat to Japan’s national security — which would allow it to exercise its right of collective self-defense — has triggered a serious downturn in Japan-China relations.

In an escalation of regional tensions, Beijing has advised its citizens against traveling to Japan, conducted live-fire drills in the Yellow Sea and sent its coast guard to waters surrounding the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known in Japan as the Senakukus.

In truth, a Taiwan contingency has long been a matter of international concern — just ask any number of nations in the Asia-Pacific region that have expressed similar concern over cross-strait relations.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in August said that, in the event of an armed conflict between China and the US over Taiwan, his nation would inevitably be drawn into the war. Owing to its proximity, the Philippines would not be able to stand on the sidelines, he said. Marcos’ remarks were met with a protest from China, but were not withdrawn.

In a rare joint statement released after a bilateral meeting in August, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. In a clear demonstration of concern, they voiced their opposition to the threat or use of force or coercion, or any unilateral change to the “status quo.”

The successive visits of US, Australian and European naval ships to the Taiwan Strait have a primary strategic goal — to prevent a Taiwan contingency from erupting into a worldwide security and economic disaster.

When the Russian war with Ukraine began more than three years ago, Japan was the first nation in Asia to openly condemn Russia’s invasion. It leveled economic sanctions, delivered humanitarian aid and earned international approval for accepting more than 2,000 refugees from Ukraine in 2022, of which many had no pre-existing ties to Japan.

US ally Japan has demonstrated particular concern over peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. It has been monitoring for a possible Taiwan contingency, which it takes to mean a Japan contingency — a sentiment first declared by former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and reaffirmed by Takaichi. It sees Chinese military intimidation against Taiwan as not just a threat to peace in the Asia-Pacific region, but to security worldwide. Japan is clear on the fact that it is only by demonstrating strong support for Taiwan that it can meaningfully counter China and guard against a contingency.

Yao Chung-yuan is an adjunct professor and a former deputy director of the Ministry of National Defense’s strategic planning department.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader

‘Contingency’ is a global concern


There has been much catastrophizing in Taiwan recently about America becoming more unreliable as a bulwark against Chinese pressure. Some of this has been sparked by debates in Washington about whether the United States should defend Taiwan in event of conflict. There also were understandable anxieties about whether President Trump would sacrifice Taiwan’s interests for a trade deal when he sat down with President Xi (習近平) in late October. On top of that, Taiwan’s opposition political leaders have sought to score political points by attacking the Lai (賴清德) administration for mishandling relations with the United States.Part of this budding anxiety

EDITORIAL CARTOON


AI is more likely to  cause a labor shortage

Artificial intelligence can help industries, but it needs skilled humans to be able to be deployed effectively

There are two big worries when it comes to the rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI). The first is that it would lead to robot overlords that would eradicate humanity. The second is that AI would eliminate many jobs. The more likely scenario is that it creates a labor shortage, or at least a dearth of skilled workers who can make the most of the new technology.

I recently spoke to the head of the informatics program at a large university and asked her about training undergraduates for this future. The biggest obstacle is that many students do not have the necessary math skills for a world where AI would dominate our lives, especially those who do not plan to specialize in the field, she said.

What about those who do plan a career in AI? Technology has always made labor more valuable because it allows workers to become more productive. The concern now is people would use AI to do their thinking for them, thereby making themselves redundant. That would probably be the case for some, but using AI in a productive manner involves employing the technology to develop novel ideas, and that requires at least some human input.

For example, large language models work by taking lots of data to not only answer a question, but finding the answer that is most common, or average. Sometimes that is adequate, but what distinguishes people in a work situation is often coming up with an exceptional answer. AI could help you get there, but is rarely sufficient on its own; it also takes an ability to assess the output and push further. Often, the answer from AI is inadequate because it lacks the context that makes a certain situation unique.

Suppose you attempt to get a simple statistic from a large trove of data. It is not enough to get a statistic thrown back at you; you need to understand the limitations of the data your model is working with, where it comes from, when it is from, if it is relevant to your problem, and what specification the technology used to provide the statistic. Making sense of the results takes both decent statistical and analytic skills.

In the meantime, we are witnessing a collapse of standards and some students’ ability to do even basic math in some of the US’ best universities and secondary schools. Perhaps only a fraction of students at Harvard University need remedial math. However, the fact that this is even a population at such a school suggests standards across the board are weakening, not only for math, but reading as well. Even exceptional students are getting less rigorous training in how to think critically during this crucial time in their lives and brain development.

I have heard many academics say they are still unsure how to teach students the skills they need to thrive in an AI world that eliminates many entry-level jobs. Amid a major economic transition, it is impossible to know what the future of work would look like. One likely solution might be as simple as teaching the basics well, enforcing consistent standards and giving real grades.

Doing anything else risks a vicious cycle where new graduates cannot offer much improvement on AI because they lack the skills they need to work with the technology and so are not worth hiring. In such a scenario we end up in the worst of all worlds — unemployable graduates and employers unable to find enough workers who can use the new technology effectively.

When it comes to the US, there is an added risk tied to immigration. Many foreign students have better quantitative skills than their American peers, but the US’ legal and skilled migration system is broken. Even the president, long an immigration skeptic, admits the country needs more skilled workers who can create and use technology, and many of them would need to come from abroad. However, lasting immigration reform cannot come from an executive order; it requires the US Congress and bipartisan consensus on immigration priorities. Unfortunately, this is not looking likely at this time.

The result is that the US is potentially left dealing with a major mismatch in skills and the lack of analytical thinkers with strong math abilities who can use and adapt to however technology evolves. Neither the education nor immigration system is producing enough of these people. The outcome might be both many unemployable graduates and a massive labor shortage.

Allison Schrager is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering economics. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, she is author of An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.


Europe’s critical raw materials strategy

When US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) agreed to a one-year truce in their trade war, temporarily easing China’s strict export controls on rare earths and other critical minerals, a quiet sigh of relief swept through corporate headquarters from Paris to Warsaw. However, the underlying structural reality has not changed: Because China controls global supplies — owing to its unrivaled extraction and processing capacity — Europe remains dangerously dependent.

Europe imports nearly all the rare earth magnets it uses in manufacturing electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense systems, as well as the lithium, cobalt and graphite that underpin battery production. With most of the refining of these materials occurring outside its borders, a temporary suspension of Chinese export restrictions merely buys time.

Since Europe would remain vulnerable for the foreseeable future, the only question is whether it would use this reprieve to prepare for what could be coming. When thinking about its economic future, resilience — the ability to absorb shocks that would otherwise paralyze key industries — is what matters. Unless Europe accelerates diversification, builds domestic capacity and institutionalizes risk management, the next supply crunch would hit just as hard, if not harder.

With the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU has set ambitious targets to extract 10 percent, process 40 percent and recycle 25 percent of its consumption of these materials domestically. At the European Investment Bank, we are scaling up support for projects that strengthen the critical raw material chain — from exploration, extraction and refining to recycling and innovation — both within and outside the EU. We are committing about 2 billion euros (US$2.3 billion) per year to ensure that these materials are available to European industries reliably and over the long term.

As a bank, we offer loans, equity-type financing for high-risk projects, and technical advisory resources for project sponsors. Our recent support for a copper recycling facility in Germany, lithium production in Finland and a battery gigafactory in France shows what could be achieved when public and private investment pull in the same direction.

While Europe pursues these ambitious targets and collaborative investments, the US has opted for a more direct approach, with the US Department of Defense acquiring a significant share in MP Materials, which operates the country’s only rare earth mine. Backed by public funding and long-term purchase agreements, this move, too, is designed to secure domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on imports from China.

US national security and industrial resilience are the main goals, and within this policy environment, major private-sector players like Apple are also committing to sourcing materials domestically. Nor is the US strategy limited to domestic action. Washington is also taking steps to secure access to rare earths and other critical materials globally, such as by acquiring stakes in Canadian mining companies.

The EU cannot afford to remain a bystander. However, rather than competing in a subsidy race or relying on direct government ownership — which risks distorting markets and undermining the rules-based trading system that Europe still champions — the bloc should focus on building strategic alliances and partnerships. Resilience cannot be built in isolation.

With an eye toward securing alternatives to a single dominant supplier and strengthening its position in global supply chains, the EU has long been engaging with countries that value responsible resource development practices and fair competition. It has already established strategic partnerships with 14 countries — including Canada, Chile and Ukraine — each designed to foster cooperation on critical raw materials and support sustainable growth.

Building on this broader EU effort, the European Investment Bank is complementing these initiatives through its own actions. Australia — a mining powerhouse — is a key partner in this regard. Following my recent visit, we signed a declaration signaling our intent to deepen cooperation on critical raw materials, paving the way for future joint initiatives that promote sustainable growth.

Reliability and predictability are Europe’s strongest currencies when it comes to partnerships. These qualities underpin our alliances and can serve as the foundation for a coalition of like-minded countries that are committed to transparency and fair play. By sticking together, we can counteract market manipulation and ensure stable, reliable supplies.

In the meantime, we need buffers. Strategic stockpiling and joint purchasing, as proposed in the European Commission’s ReSourceEU initiative, might not be silver bullets, but they do matter. Even if strategic reserves do not eliminate risk, they can cushion the impact of sudden supply shocks, and a common EU purchasing platform can strengthen bargaining power and reduce volatility. Bundling creates market power. Both ideas deserve more than discussion; they demand action.

Circularity offers another layer of resilience. We now have technologies that can recover up to 95 percent of materials from end-of-life batteries, but scaling up their use requires additional investment and regulatory clarity. At the same time, research into substitutes for rare earth magnets and cobalt-based chemistries should move from the margins to the mainstream.

Europe must act quickly. That means the engagement of not only EU institutions, but also member-state governments and industry, which can chip in with clear commitments, particularly through mechanisms such as offtake agreements and investments in all steps of the value chain. The European Investment Bank is, and would remain, a strong partner to all those taking up this challenge.

If Europe is serious about strengthening competitiveness and reducing strategic dependencies, it must mobilize all the relevant public and private-sector players. Only through collective action can we amplify our market power and build resilience. Yes, this would require investment, but the price would be dwarfed by the cost of being unprepared for the next shock.

Nicola Beer is vice president of the European Investment Bank.

Copyright: Project Syndicate