【設計人性化、專家參審制】高雄示範推動法庭改革，精神司法邁入新紀元

高雄 臺北 新北 桃園 士林 臺中 屏東 成功

【記者 周志杰/高雄報導】為落實人權保障與身心障礙者司法近用，司法院昨日（12/03）在高雄少年及家事法院舉行「精神衛生法專家參審法庭揭幕記者會」，宣示正式啟用該制度。包括衛福部、法律扶助基金會、精神醫學會、律師、公會代表與社福團體皆到場，共同見證司法、醫療與社會支持網絡的跨專業協力。這代表台灣司法在精神衛生案件處理上，正朝向更具尊嚴與人本關懷的方向邁進。

《從法規到實踐》專家參審制度的制度意義與制度設計

2017 年修法後，精神衛生法 (Mental Health Act) 引入「專家參審」制度，旨在讓醫療、心理、社工等專業人士參與法官審理程序，確保對於精神障礙者的安置、強制住院等重大司法、醫療決定，能兼顧醫療、法治與人權保障。此制度也是為落實身心障礙者權利公約 (CRPD) 在司法實踐中的要求——讓身心障礙者享有平等且尊嚴的司法程序。本次於高雄少年及家事法院設立的示範法庭，正是這項制度「從紙上落地」的第一步。法院表示，未來將依照案件需求，在全國逐步設立類似專門法庭。示範法庭的設計包括：協商式圓桌審理、分流動線、無障礙與隱私設施、提供視訊連線以支援遠距審理等。這些設計，代表的是司法從嚴肅、權威審判體制，轉向兼顧「人性化」、「安全性」、「尊嚴保障」的新模式。

專家參審制度與示範法庭設置，不僅是一紙法條生效，而是將「精神衛生 + 法律 + 人權保障」整合，朝向尊重當事人 dignity（尊嚴）的司法實踐。

《跨界合作》司法、醫療、社福共同護航 增強制度信任

本次記者會現場，除司法代表外，亦邀請醫療界（精神科醫師）、心理師、社工師、職能治療師、律師、病權團體與法律扶助機構代表。衛福部心理健康司與法律扶助基金會皆在場，顯示中央醫政、社福、法律三大體系對此制度的高度重視。這樣跨界合作，有助於建立制度公信力，也讓精神障礙者在司法過程中不再孤立。

法律扶助基金會董事長指出，若嚴重病人在安置期間無人代理，他們將提供必要法律扶助，確保其權益不因身心狀況而被忽視。這是對司法近用權與弱勢保障的一大突破，也讓過去因精神疾病而被邊緣化的人，有機會在法院中被理解、被傾聽。

另一方面，示範法庭的空間設計由 專業設計機構 介入 — 圓桌協商、無障礙設施、隔音與隱私空間、分流動線與視訊系統，可以降低當事人心理壓力，提高溝通與審理效率，也兼顧安全與尊嚴。與會者普遍認為，這樣的法庭設計，是對傳統「高壓、制式、冷冰冰」法院形象的一大顛覆，更符合現代司法的人權思維。

這場跨界合作不只是形式，而是功能與制度的整合。司法不再單打獨鬥，而有醫療、社福與法律多重力量共同護航。

《未來展望與挑戰》從高雄起步，推向全國友善司法網

司法院表示，未來將以高雄與臺中兩地示範法庭為起點，逐步推動至包括臺北、新北、桃園、士林、屏東等指定法院，實現全國布建。這意味著，精神衛生法專家參審制度將從試水溫到制度化，有朝一日可能成為所有相關案件的標配流程。然而，要讓制度真正落地並有效運作，仍面臨幾項挑戰：

①專業人力供應:需要足夠的精神醫師、心理師、社工師、職能治療師等跨專業人力投入。若資源不足，制度恐成「流於形式」。

②司法與醫療資源整合:法官、律師、醫療人員、社工須協調審理節奏、保護隱私，同時兼顧安全與人權，流程設計與教育訓練勢必費時。

③社會觀感與偏見:多數民眾對精神疾病仍存有 stigma（汙名），如何在法庭與社會中推動尊重與理解，是制度成功的關鍵。

④經費與制度維運:設置示範法庭、訓練專業人員、維持無障礙與安全設施等，都需要穩定預算支持。司法、衛福、社福、地方政府需協力分攤。

儘管挑戰不少，但與會者一致認為這是「有必要也必須嘗試」的一條路。未來若制度運作順利，不僅能保障當事人基本人權，更能提升司法的公信力與社會信任感。

示範法庭只是起點，真正的考驗是能否轉化為長期、全國性的友善司法網絡；成敗將取決於跨界合作能否持續、資源是否充足、社會能否改變觀念。

《司法新風景》溫暖、友善又具尊嚴

今天高雄的這場揭幕典禮，不只是法院的建築啟用，更象徵台灣司法、人權與社會支持體系的一次集體蛻變。當法院不再只是權威審判場所，而成為「理解、尊重、對話」的空間，身心障礙者、公平審判與人本關懷將成為司法新常態。未來若制度能全面推廣並落實，這條專家參審之路或將為台灣帶來真正溫暖、友善又具尊嚴的司法新風景。


▼警方發現該名越籍陳姓女子精神恍惚恐有施用毒品之虞，經以唾液快篩初步檢測呈二級毒品安非他命陽性反應，警方依法逮捕後對其逕行搜索。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局里港分局）

【記者何勁陞／里港報導】 屏東縣政府警察局配合中央政策，已全面啟動毒品唾液快篩執法工作，轄下屏東縣政府警察局里港分局高樹分駐所員警於11月30日晚間巡邏時，運用新式唾液毒品快篩試劑查獲越南籍女駕駛涉嫌毒駕，並起出安非他命及毒品吸食器，全案依毒品危害防制條例、使用贓物罪、侵占罪，移請台灣屏東地方檢察署偵辦，並持續向上溯源。

屏東縣政府警察局里港分局高樹分駐所警員顏煥偵、陳瑀桓於11月30日晚間執行金融機構巡守勤務，發現一部黑色自小客車形跡可疑倒車不穩，經查該車涉侵占案，立即下車盤查。警方發現該名越籍陳姓女子精神恍惚恐有施用毒品之虞，經以唾液快篩初步檢測呈二級毒品安非他命陽性反應，警方依法逮捕後對其逕行搜索，查獲陳嫌持有安非他命毒品3小包及吸食器…等證物，經初步檢驗均呈安非他命陽性反應，全案依涉犯毒品危害防制條例、使用贓物罪、侵占罪移請台灣屏東地方檢察署偵辦。另該越南籍女子隨車載運之2犬亦協助暫時載回派出所，以免發生危害。

里港警分局長邱逸樵表示，毒品駕車的危害不亞於酒駕，駕駛人施用毒品後會有判斷力下降、反應遲鈍等症狀，往往是釀成重大道路交通事故的主因，故為確保用路人安全，里港警分局將持續運用毒品唾液快篩試劑強化查緝能量，展現打擊毒駕的決心，也提醒民眾切勿心存僥倖、施用毒品後駕車，一旦查獲將依法嚴辦，絕不寬貸。

屏警全面啟動毒品快篩執法工作　里港警分局查獲越籍女毒駕送辦


2025LAVA鐵人三項大鵬灣站運動賽事　車輛請配合交通管制

▼該賽程將在大鵬灣濱灣碼頭、帆船基地海域、環灣道路(大潭路口─國道3號大鵬灣交流道北上起點匝道口) 、國道三號大鵬灣─南州南北雙向道路及鵬灣大橋、環灣道路自行車道等進行。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局東港分局）

【記者何勁陞／東港報導】 2025 LAVA 鐵人三項大賽-大鵬灣站定於12月7日舉行，該賽程將在大鵬灣濱灣碼頭、帆船基地海域、環灣道路(大潭路口─國道3號大鵬灣交流道北上起點匝道口) 、國道三號大鵬灣─南州南北雙向道路及鵬灣大橋、環灣道路自行車道等進行。

屏東縣政府警察局東港分局為確保各地參賽選手安全，競賽當日針對競賽路線將實施交通管制，禁止車輛及行人通行或穿越，也提醒民眾勿於大鵬灣環灣道路兩側違規停車，以免受罰，敬請用路人於比賽期間盡量避開行駛比賽路段，交通管制時間、路段如下：

(一)114年12月7日5時至10時30分，國道三號大鵬灣交流道至南州交流道南北雙向道路。

(二)114年12月7日5時至10時30分，大鵬灣環灣道路(大潭路口至國道3號大鵬灣交流道北上起點匝道口雙向道路)、縣道187乙線(精明路與勝利路口、壽元路與勝利路口)。

東港警分局長高志正表示，由於大鵬灣特有的游泳、路跑、騎車環境是運動結合觀光旅遊的最佳場域，吸引眾多民眾參與大型賽事活動，為維護賽事活動交通秩序及安全，避免交通壅塞，請確實遵行警方管制，以確保行車安全。

報案流程再進化 檢舉車手免出聲

▼東港分局推動「打詐一點通-QR Code報案」，除製作海報張貼於提款機附近外供民眾使用，更貼心製作小卡片提供行庫及超商張貼於櫃檯內。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局東港分局）

東港分局推動「打詐一點通-QR Code報案」，除製作海報張貼於提款機附近外供民眾使用，更貼心製作小卡片提供行庫及超商張貼於櫃檯內，便利行員及超商櫃檯人員不用出聲，只要一掃碼發送，警方就會立即派員前往查緝。

依據內政部所公布「防制詐欺犯罪有功人員及檢舉人獎勵辦法」，檢舉車手後只要警方查緝到案，檢舉人可獲新臺幣(下同)1萬元獎金，而檢舉詐欺集團視案情及規模，最高獎金可達1千萬元；政府祭出高額獎金希望鼓勵全民來檢舉，透過全民力量斬斷詐欺產業鏈，東港分局考量行員及櫃檯人員因工作地點為公開場所及國人多半不願意身分曝光的習慣，因此除在開放空間張貼QR-Code供民眾使用外，另外特地為行員及櫃檯人員設計罐頭簡訊內容，行員及店員只要掃碼送出訊息，警方立即可知為行員及店員報案，將立即派遣警力前往查緝，於完成查緝後再透過發訊門號與通報人聯繫確認身分，避免行員及店員的身分曝光。

東港警分局表示，打擊詐騙集團就是保護自己跟親人，警方希望透過持續簡化及優化報案流程，以最迅速的程序讓員警到達詐騙車手所在的位置，只要敢領就難逃法網，讓詐欺集團騙到的錢領不出來，降低民眾的損失。


▼州鎮立幼兒園中班學童至潮州分局進行參訪，現場充滿孩子們的笑聲與活力。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局潮州分局）

【記者何勁陞／潮州報導】 屏東縣政府警察局潮州分局日前上午迎來潮州鎮立幼兒園中班學童至潮州分局進行參訪，現場充滿孩子們的笑聲與活力。學童們在員警引導下，近距離認識警察工作內容，展現濃厚興趣。

活動中，員警向小朋友介紹警察日常勤務，並讓孩子實際穿戴警用裝備，體驗警察如何執勤。此外，小朋友也開心地坐上巡邏車，了解警車設備及功能，對警察工作有了更具體的認識。

為兼具教育目的向下紮根學習，潮州分局同步進行 行人交通安全宣導，以簡單口訣教導學童如何安全過馬路；同時實施 反毒品宣導，透過活潑互動方式，讓學童了解毒品的危害並學會拒絕不明物品。

潮州警分局表示，透過參訪能讓孩子從小建立正確的交通與安全觀念，也能增進學童對警察工作的認識與信任。未來本分局將持續與學校合作，共同守護下一代的安全成長。

小小警察體驗紮根學習安全知識　鎮立幼兒園中班生參訪潮州警分局


老嫗徒步迷失1公里　屏東警守護平安返家

【記者何勁陞／屏東報導】 屏東警察分局民和派出所警員張豪祥及李佳倩日前執行巡邏勤務時，接獲熱心民眾報案稱屏東市廣東路與公園東路口有一名老婦人在路中間徘徊，二員立即趕赴現場，發現該陳姓婦人(約83歲)已先被熱心民眾帶至附近的金融機構休息，其獨自坐在大廳一隅，不時抬頭張望，神情緊張不安。

員警溫柔上前關懷，經耐心詢問後得知，陳婦當日出門欲至戶政事務所辦理業務，卻在途中迷路、記不得方向，也無法清楚表達返家方式，她焦急地向員警說自己越走越迷糊，只能在街上徘徊，所幸被熱心民眾注意並協助報案。經過員警不斷安撫其情緒，並協助查證其身分後順利與家人聯繫，當陳婦的兒子趕到現場時，才知道陳婦徒步行走逾1公里的路程，其見母親平安無事，激動地向兩名員警連聲致謝，表示感謝警方及時伸出援手，否則後果難以想像。

屏東分局長林明波表示，家中若有年長者建議可配戴防走失手鍊或緊急聯絡卡片，以便在迷失時能迅速找到家屬，讓社區中的長輩都能安全、安心地被看見與守護。


▼內埔分局內埔所警員利志中、陳振宏，日前晚間9點左右巡邏勤務時，接獲110轉報有民眾受困電梯，請員警前往現場協助。（圖／屏東縣政府警察局內埔分局）

【記者何勁陞／內埔報導】 屏東縣政府警察局內埔分局內埔所警員利志中、陳振宏，日前晚間9點左右巡邏勤務時，接獲110轉報有民眾受困電梯，請員警前往現場協助。

警方到達內埔鄉中興路段的某棟集合式住宅後發現，有民眾在受困在地下室的電梯內。消防救護人員已抵達現場，並正使用L型破壞器材撬開電梯門，並順利救出受困約15分鐘，的兩位年約20歲陳姓男子。經消防救護人員檢查，受困的2位陳姓民眾並未受傷。另查詢原因，2位陳男均表示，他們在搭乘電梯時突然故障，於是趕緊透過對講機，請管理員報案，他們當下心情平穩，沒有感到特別緊張，就是在原地靜待救援。很感謝消防及警察人員協助及幫忙。

內埔分局警長江世宏表示， 民眾如果有遇到突發狀況切莫驚慌，儘量保持冷靜，並記得撥打110或119專線，請警消人員到場幫忙。

民眾受困電梯　內埔警消防協助脫困


Trump signs bill on Taiwan into law

MILESTONE:  The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan.

The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan.

Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.”

US President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order in the White House on Aug. 1. Photo: Reuters

It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later than 90 days after completing” the review to the US Senate and House of Representatives foreign relations committees.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday in a statement welcomed the move, saying the legislation would strengthen implementation of the Taiwan Assurance Act and ensure updates to contact guidelines that keep bilateral ties on a steady trajectory.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) thanked the Trump administration and the US Congress for their bipartisan support, describing the signing as “a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations.”

Updating the guidelines through more frequent reviews would allow both sides to engage more fully, including enabling Taiwanese officials to visit US federal agencies for meetings, Lin said, although the newly passed measure did not specify such an outcome.

The bipartisan measure — introduced in February by three US representatives, Taiwanese-American Ted Lieu (劉雲平), Ann Wagner and the late Gerry Connolly — passed the House unanimously in May and cleared the Senate last month in a unanimous vote.

After Washington severed diplomatic ties with the Republic of China in 1979, the state department established internal “red lines” governing contact between US diplomatic, military and other officials and their Taiwanese counterparts.

In January 2021, during Trump’s first term, then-US secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced the termination of all restrictions on Taiwan-US contacts.

The administration of former US president Joe Biden later reinstated contact guidelines, but relaxed them, allowing routine meetings between Taiwanese representatives and US officials at federal agencies and at Taiwan’s representative office in Washington.

Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said the bill’s signing affirmed the value of exchanges between the two nations’ officials, supported closer bilateral ties, and stood as a symbol for the shared values of democracy, freedom and respect for human rights.

A robust Taiwan-US relationship is key to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, she said in a statement.

Taiwan will continue to maintain close contact with the US, deepen collaborations between the nations, and serve as a force for global prosperity and development, she said.

Taiwan will join forces with the US and other like-minded Indo-Pacific countries to ensure peace, stability and economic development in the region, Kuo said.

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said it welcomes any US law that would safeguard Taiwan’s core interests and continual development.

Separately, Lin said Taiwan-US tariff talks are proceeding smoothly, and Taipei expects the formal agenda of trade negotiations to be declared soon.

Additional reporting by Jonathan Chin


ON ALERT:  Taiwan shares intelligence on Chinese movements while foreign navy ships are in the Strait to help international partners understand China’s activities

China’s military sometimes simulates attacks on foreign naval vessels in the Taiwan Strait, and Taipei shares intelligence with international partners when they operate in those waters, a senior Taiwanese security official said yesterday.

China claims sole sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Strait, a major trade route for about half of global container ships, while Taiwan and the US maintain that it is an international waterway.

US warships sail through the Strait every few months, and some US allies, such as the UK and Canada, have also made occasional transits. A New Zealand navy ship transited through the Strait last month.

National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times

The navies of Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, the US and Vietnam have made 12 trips through the Strait so far this year, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said.

Vietnam has close ties to Beijing. Although the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment, state media on Monday said that a warship was visiting China’s northern port of Qingdao.

Beijing’s basic principle is to “shadow every ship” during such missions, sending its own naval forces, Tsai told a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.

“In addition, they will sometimes mobilize air forces ... to carry out simulated attacks in order to demonstrate their military presence and claimed authority in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.

Taiwan has an extensive and sophisticated radar and surveillance network monitoring the Strait.

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China routinely denounces such sailings as a provocation.

Tsai said Taiwan and its “international partners” share intelligence, including information on Chinese military activities, while foreign navy ships are in the Strait.

“As a result, when our international friends enter the waters around the Taiwan Strait, they can generally grasp the typical modes of Chinese communists’ activity,” he said.

China’s military operates around Taiwan on an almost daily basis in a campaign Taipei views as harassment to pressure the government and Taiwan’s armed forces, by making them repeatedly scramble deterrent aircraft.

China’s last named war game around Taiwan in April was called “Strait Thunder-2025.”

In December last year, Taiwan reported a surge in Chinese air force and navy activity around the nation and in regional waters, although China never officially confirmed its drills.

Asked about further Chinese exercises on Saturday next week, the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, and before the end of the year, Tsai said the months from October to December are typically a busy season for China’s drills, and Taipei was keeping watch to see if any turned into Taiwan-specific war games.

China has four naval groups in the Western Pacific at the moment, he added.

Additional reporting by Huang Chin-hsuan and Sam Garcia

China stages mock attacks on ships: NSB head


Taiwan’s stablecoin could debut next year, regulator says

Taiwan’s long-anticipated domestic stablecoin could debut as early as June or July, as regulators move closer to establishing a legal framework for the oversight of digital assets, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆) said yesterday.

Peng told lawmakers during a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee that a draft bill for regulating virtual asset service providers is set to be sent to the Cabinet for review later this week before being submitted to the legislature.

If the bill advances smoothly, the legislative process could be completed in the first half of next year, allowing the act to take effect in the second half, he said.

Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Peng Jin-lung speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

“The introduction of a domestic stablecoin would mark an important milestone in bringing virtual-asset activities into a fully regulated environment,” Peng said.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value, typically by being pegged to a fiat currency or a commodity such as gold.

A draft bill for virtual asset service providers would establish a regulatory framework for companies handling virtual assets by requiring them to register or obtain licenses, meet capital and operational thresholds, implement controls to counter money laundering, and adhere to consumer-protection and reporting requirements.

The FSC and the central bank have reached a consensus on how stablecoins should be implemented, Peng said.

In the initial stage, issuance would be restricted to licensed financial institutions — a measure regulators view as necessary to manage risks and safeguard user funds, he said.

The agencies are continuing to coordinate on regulatory details, including reserve requirements, audit mechanisms and investor-protection rules, he said.

Only after the rules are finalized would the FSC authorize the issuance of stablecoins, meaning that the earliest rollout of a New Taiwan dollar-backed stablecoin would be in the middle of next year, Peng said.

The initiative is seen as a crucial step toward building a regulated digital-asset ecosystem, particularly after several years of rapid growth in cryptocurrency trading and rising concerns over financial stability, he said.

Industry experts have closely followed the government’s progress, viewing the legalization of stablecoin as the foundation for developing compliant digital-finance products, improving payment efficiency and strengthening money-laundering controls.

Banks and fintech firms are expected to explore pilot applications once the regulatory pathway becomes clearer.

While details regarding the first issuers and technical standards are still being discussed, Taiwan’s approach would underscore prudential supervision, consumer protection and alignment with international regulatory trends, Peng said.

Local banks have signaled interest in issuing stablecoins, but emphasize that the tokens would need to be interoperable across institutions to function effectively in real-world financial applications.


Moscow and Kyiv preparing for more talks with US

Russia and Ukraine yesterday said they were ready for more talks with the US to end almost four years of war, after US envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner left the Kremlin with no breakthrough on a peace deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s talks with the US officials ended early yesterday, with neither side announcing concrete progress.

The Kremlin said that no “compromise” had been found on the crucial question of territories.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with volunteers participating in the WeAreTogether International Forum of Civil Participation in Moscow yesterday. Photo: Reuters

The morning after the meeting, the Kremlin said it told the Americans what was “unacceptable” to it.

Witkoff and Kushner brought an updated version of a US plan to end Europe’s bloodiest war in 80 years, after the US held talks with Kyiv.

The Kremlin insisted it was incorrect to say Putin had rejected the plan in its entirety, and that Russia was still committed to diplomacy — despite the Russian leader issuing a stark warning that Moscow was “ready” to fight Europe if it wanted war.

“We are still ready to meet as many times as is needed to reach a peace settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that any deal should offer lasting peace and ensure Moscow does not attack again.

As the Americans returned from Moscow, Zelenskiy announced that his top negotiator, Rustem Umerov, and Ukrainian Chief General Staff of the Armed Forces General Andriy Gnatov were headed for Brussels, where NATO foreign ministers were gathering.

They would also travel to the US to meet with Trump’s envoys, Zelenskiy said on social media.

Witkoff has held a string of Kremlin meetings, but has so far not met with Ukrainian officials.

“Ukrainian representatives will brief their colleagues in Europe on what is known following yesterday’s contacts by the American side in Moscow,” Zelenskiy said.

The fresh talks come as NATO pledges to buy hundreds of millions of dollars of US arms for Kyiv.

“The peace talks are ongoing, that’s good, but at the same time, we have to make sure that whilst they take place — and we are not sure when they will end — that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.

European countries have expressed fears Washington and Moscow would reach agreements without them, and have spent the past few weeks trying to amend the US plan so that it does not force Kyiv to capitulate.

The Russian leader “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and to support a just and lasting peace,” British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Yvette Cooper said.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha urged Putin to “stop wasting the world’s time.”

Additional reporting by AP


Frustration in Indonesia as survivors await aid

Officials in Indonesia and Sri Lanka yesterday battled to reach survivors of deadly flooding in remote, cut-off regions as the toll in the disaster that hit four countries topped 1,500.

In Indonesia, survivors expressed growing frustration about the slow pace of rescue efforts and aid delivery, as humanitarian groups warned the scale of the challenge was almost unprecedented, even in a country that has faced no shortage of natural disasters.

Monsoon rains paired with two tropical storm systems dumped record deluges across Sri Lanka, and parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week.

A woman, left, carrying a gas container walks through a flood-affected village in the Meureudu area of the Pidie Jaya Regency of Indonesia’s Aceh Province yesterday, after monsoons and tropical storms inundated the region last week. Photo: EPA

In Indonesia, 770 were confirmed dead, the country’s disaster management agency said yesterday, revising the toll down from 812 it announced earlier in the day. Another 463 people are also missing.

Information is only trickling in, as many regions remain physically cut off by flood damage, isolated by electricity and communications failures, or both.

“It’s very challenging logistically to respond,” said Ade Soekadis, executive director of aid group Mercy Corps Indonesia. “The extent of the damage and the size of the affected area is really huge.”

People take a break while searching for victims in an area hit by deadly landslides following heavy rains in Malalak, Indonesia, yesterday. Photo: Reuters

The group is hoping to send hygiene equipment and water from Jakarta and locally.

Reports of food and water shortages were “very concerning,” and the situation will be “more problematic as time goes by,” he said.

At an evacuation center in Pandan, 52-year-old Reinaro Waruwu said he was “disappointed” with the government’s immediate response and the slow arrival of aid.

“Some waited a day and night before receiving help, so they couldn’t be saved,” he said, surrounded by evacuees sitting on mats on the floor in the hall-turned-shelter.

“I am frustrated, it doesn’t need to be said twice,” he added.

In North Aceh, 30-year-old M. Atar said that some areas were only just becoming accessible as roads were cleared.

“We are in dire need of clean water. Very much in need,” he said.

The weather system also brought heavy rains to Thailand, killing at least 267 people, authorities said yesterday, and Malaysia, where two people were killed.

A separate weather system, Cyclone Ditwah, brought torrential rain and deadly floods and landslides to much of Sri Lanka last week.

At least 474 people were killed, and authorities have estimated the disaster’s cost at up to US$7 billion.


Keelung River pollution source traced: ministry

MEASURE:  Taiwan Water last week suspended intake from the river, saying it would resume only after the polluted site is cleared and water samples are clean

The Ministry of Environment yesterday said it has traced a major pollution source in a Keelung River (基隆河) oil contamination probe to a repair depot operated by a maintenance contractor for Kuo-Kuang Motor Transport Co (國光客運).

Inspectors searching high-risk areas around the Badu pumping station on Monday found the depot discharging wastewater without a permit, operating without treatment facilities and storing oil without required spill-containment structures — all serious contraventions of the Water Pollution Control Act (水污染防治法), the ministry said in a statement.

The Keelung Environmental Protection Bureau cited the company on the spot and ordered an immediate halt to operations, it added.

A Kuo Kuang Motor Transportation Co bus parks at its maintenance depot in Keelung yesterday. Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times

The ministry said other potential pollution sources have also been identified, with an environmental task force and police gathering evidence.

The investigation follows instances of oily odors detected in tap water in several Keelung districts and parts of New Taipei City since late last month.

In response, the ministry convened an emergency meeting directing Taiwan Water Corp to strengthen early-warning measures.

These include more frequent patrols, keeping oil booms and absorbent pads at intake points, conducting raw-water odor checks every two hours, accelerating deployment of new in-water oil-monitoring sensors, and assessing whether raw water should be routed through the Xinshan Reservoir for quality stabilization.

Separately, Keelung yesterday eased earlier fears of an imminent water cutoff after white foamy pollutants were reported in a drainage channel in Nuannuan District (暖暖) on Tuesday.

Taiwan Water president Lee Tin-lai (李丁來) said the off-stream Sishih Reservoir (西勢水庫) supplying Nuannuan and parts of Renai District (仁愛) holds about 185,000 cubic meters of water.

With about 17,000m3 flowing in daily and assistance from other treatment plants, it is supplying roughly 16,000m3 per day — enough for about 10 days of stable service.

The updated figure improves on Taiwan Water’s earlier projection of just three days, which Lee described as an extreme worst-case scenario.

Taiwan Water has suspended intake from the Keelung River since Thursday last week and said it would resume only after sludge at the polluted site is cleared and water samples from upstream to the Badu pumping station show no safety concerns.

A mobile lab at the Xinshan Water Treatment Plant can screen for 236 chemical substances, allowing intake to restart within two days once approved by the Keelung City Government, the company said.

It said if contamination persists, it plans to bypass the affected section by laying 1.5km of temporary pipeline to upstream sources, a process expected to take about 10 days.

The broader contamination incident has affected more than 71,000 households across five districts, the city government said as it announced relief subsidies for bottled water purchases, medical expenses from symptoms linked to contaminated tap water, and water-tower cleaning to be completed before Dec. 31.


A new cross-national study led by researchers from National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) found that regular physical activity benefits can be reduced when people exercise while exposed to highly polluted air, the university said yesterday.

The international research, led by Ku Po-wen (古博文), a professor in NCHU’s Graduate Institute of Sports and Health Management, assessed whether air pollution could have an impact on the health benefits of regular exercise.

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis on seven cohort studies, involving more than 1.52 million adults in places including Taiwan, the UK, the US, Denmark and China, with all of the subjects tracked for more than a decade.

National Chung Hsing University Graduate Institute of Sports and Health Management distinguished professor Ku Po-wen speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

For assessing the levels of air pollution, the researchers focused on PM2.5 — tiny particles measuring 2.5 micrometers or less that are small enough to penetrate deep in people’s lungs and enter the bloodstream.

The research found that the benefits of regular exercise on people’s health — such as reducing risk of death from illnesses such as cancer and heart disease — are reduced for those living in high pollution areas.

Researchers found that people who did at least 2.5 hours of moderate or vigorous exercise a week had a 30 percent lower risk of dying during the study period than those who did not, Ku said.

However, if people in the physically active group lived in an area with high fine particle pollution — a yearly average PM2.5 concentration level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m3) or higher — then this reduction in mortality risk halved to about 12 to 15 percent, he said.

Moreover, at higher levels of fine particle pollution — a yearly average PM2.5 concentration level of 35mg/m3 or higher — the benefits of regular exercise weakened further, particularly for risk of death from cancer, to a point where the benefits were no longer robust, he said.

Approximately 46 percent of the global population live in areas exceeding the 25mg/m3 or higher threshold, and about 36 percent live in areas exceeding the 35mg/m3 or higher threshold, he said.

“Our findings emphasize that exercise remains beneficial even in polluted environments. However, improving air quality can greatly enhance these health gains,” he said.

In Taiwan, the overall air quality has improved in the past few years, and the nationwide yearly average PM2.5 level is below 25mg/m3 but air quality differs across the country, Ku said.

Air pollution levels can increase due to changes in weather, traffic flow, topography and other factors, he said.

In addition, many people in Taiwan like to participate in outdoor physical activities, such as marathons or other road running events, he said, suggesting people to develop a habit of checking the real-time air quality before exercising outdoors.

The study was published in the journal BMC Medicine last month.

Exercising perks tied to air quality: study


19 ‘breastfeeding-friendly’ hospitals awarded by HPA

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The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) yesterday awarded 19 hospitals for outstanding performances in creating breastfeeding-friendly environments, including a hospital that introduced an interactive robot to teach new mothers how to breastfeed.

The WHO says breastfeeding is an unequaled way of providing food for infants’ healthy growth and development, providing antibodies that help protect them against many common childhood illnesses and chronic diseases later in life.

The Health Promotion Administration building in Taipei is pictured on March 11 last year. Photo: CNA

The WHO and UNICEF in 1991 launched the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative to encourage health facilities worldwide to better support breastfeeding, and also developed the “10 steps to successful breastfeeding” framework to promote optimal clinical care for new mothers and their infants.

The HPA in 2001 launched a national baby-friendly healthcare facility certification, based on the 10 steps, and there are now 139 certified baby-friendly healthcare facilities across the country.

The administration held a ceremony to award 19 baby-friendly healthcare facilities for their excellent performances this year.

Although the government encourages breastfeeding, it also respects every woman’s autonomy and their decisions, HPA Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said.

The government prioritizes new mothers’ mental state, and that both the mother and baby are healthy, Shen said.

Hospitals need to provide customized health education counseling, companionship and care, which are the key to creating a breastfeeding-friendly environment, she said.

About 70 percent of infants are born in certified baby-friendly hospitals, she said, adding that if new mothers learn how to breastfeed during hospitalization, they are more likely to build confidence and continue after returning home.

The evaluation for the awards was conducted by specialists and academics, based on the hospitals’ effectiveness in promoting baby-friendly policies, cross-team collaboration, creative strategies and care quality, the HPA said.

Eight hospitals were awarded the “High Distinction Award,” 11 hospitals were awarded the “Excellence Award,” and two were awarded the “Innovative Award.”

Among them, three hospitals — National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH), and Taipei City Hospital’s Renai and Heping Fuyou branches — received both the “High Distinction” and “Innovative” awards.

The NCKUH introduced an interactive robot named “Kebbi” teaching new mothers how to breastfeed through voice and touch-based interactions, the HPA said.

Kebbi makes health education counseling more interesting, as well as saving nurses’ time by about 50 percent, it said.

Aside from assisting nurses in teaching breastfeeding techniques to new mothers, Kebbi can also read story books to infants in a soothing tone, it said.

Taipei City Hospital’s Renai Branch developed a smart care companionship model, in which it can promptly interact with parents through the Line messaging app, listening and responding to their questions, and giving suggestions, the HPA said.

In addition to breastfeeding consultations provided by the hospitals, the HPA said new parents can call its pregnancy and free infant care hotline (0800-870-870) or find more information on its maternity care Web site (mammy.hpa.gov.tw).


NTU to let student enroll after his registry sabotaged

National Taiwan University (NTU) would allow a graduate student to enroll during this academic year after his admission was illegally invalidated by an envious roommate in May, the university said yesterday.

The student, surnamed Chen (陳), in March completed online registration for a master’s program, but in June found that his status had been changed to “forfeited,” NTU said in a statement.

Investigators at the Nantou District Prosecutors’ Office determined that the change was allegedly made by Chen’s roommate at National Chi Nan University, a student surnamed Lo (駱), who accessed Chen’s information after photographing his ID card.

The front gate of National Taiwan University in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times

Lo allegedly used Chen’s personal data to log in to the NTU system from his residence in Nantou County’s Caotun Township (草屯) and selected the “apply for forfeiture” option, prosecutors said.

Lo admitted to Taoyuan Police Department investigators that he accessed Chen’s account without authorization and altered the system’s electromagnetic records, they said.

Lo’s alleged actions contravened the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and the Criminal Code, but he received deferred prosecution for one year after reaching a settlement with Chen, they said.

Lo is also required to complete a legal education course within six months, prosecutors said.

NTU said the case was referred to its admissions committee, which approved allowing Chen to begin his studies in this academic year.

NTU also said that after reviewing the case, it found no similar incidents in past admissions records.

The university said it has strengthened authentication requirements across its reporting systems and now requires users to obtain a one-time password sent to a personal e-mail before a login can be achieved.


Taiwan’s fighter jet developer Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) has signed a software integration deal with U.S. geospatial intelligence company Vantor Technologies to improve the positioning accuracy of its military drones, the defense manufacturer said Wednesday.

AIDC President Tsao Chin-pin (曹進平) signed the software integration and distribution license agreement with Will Cocos, Vantor’s chief transformation officer, at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference 2025 (I/ITSEC), the world’s largest military training and simulation exhibition, in Orlando on Tuesday (U.S. time).

Vantor’s Raptor Guide system, is designed to provide precise navigation for drones operating in GPS-denied environments. The software uses high-accuracy 3D terrain data and vision-based positioning to help drones determine their location with absolute accuracy of less than 7 meters in all directions.

AIDC President Tsao Chin-pin, left, and Vantor Technology Chief Transformation Officer Will Cocos pose for a photo during a drone software deal signing ceremony in Orlando, the United States, on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of AIDC

The two companies first signed an MOU at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition in September. In a real-world drone simulation in November, AIDC said drones equipped with Raptor demonstrated high positioning accuracy without the need for costly anti-interference antennas or radar, significantly reducing procurement and maintenance costs.

AIDC said it plans to tailor Raptor’s applications for different drone models, enabling a series of products and services that could support local defense firms in integrating the technology and strengthening Taiwan’s drone industry.

Tsao said drone systems and counterforce technologies have been major areas of focus for AIDC in line with global aerospace trends and national defense priorities. The collaboration with Vantor represents “a major step toward building the foundation for entering the market,” he said.

Taiwan’s Armaments Bureau announced a major military drone procurement plan in July, saying it will purchase 11,270 drones in 2026 and 37,480 in 2027 -- one of Taiwan’s largest drone acquisitions to date.

AIDC partners with Vantor to sharpen drone positioning


Taiwan urges S Korea to correct name on platform

‘REGRETTABLE’:  Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status.

South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country.

The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next destination.”

South Korea’s e-Arrival card system is pictured in a photograph yesterday. Photo: screen grab from South Korea’s e-Arrival card system

The ministry said it has repeatedly asked Seoul to fix the “wrongful” listing since the system’s launch, but has yet to receive a positive response.

Calling the situation “deeply regrettable,” it reiterated that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and urged the South Korean government to make the correction as soon as possible to avoid harming bilateral ties, especially given the close people-to-people exchanges between the two sides.

Taiwan and South Korea recorded 2.47 million two-way visits last year, including 1.4 million trips made by Taiwanese travelers, government data showed.


AI can help shore up democracy: Tang

RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARD: Audrey Tang was awarded the prize for advancing the social use of digital technology to empower citizens, renew democracy and heal divides

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to boost democracy and community rather than doomscrolling, Taiwanese programmer and cyberambassador Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said on Tuesday as she prepared to receive an award in Stockholm.

“I believe we can steer AI away from addictive intelligence that lures people in ... into assistive intelligence, where AI systems are steered by the community in service of communities,” Tang said.

A self-taught programmer who left school at 14 and pursued a career in Silicon Valley before briefly becoming minister of digital affairs, Tang spoke hours before receiving the Right Livelihood award, also known as the “alternative Nobel.”

Former minister of digital affairs Audrey Tang speaks at the Right Livelihood Award ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday. Photo: CNA

She was awarded the prize for “advancing the social use of digital technology to empower citizens, renew democracy and heal divides,” the jury said in a statement in October.

Tang said she was convinced that humans would remain “the superintelligence,” but she said humans must work to ensure they steer AI by using it to empower communities instead of big business.

She cited Taiwan’s bid to develop AI to communicate between different populations in the nation, divided by language and culture.

“Instead of training one sovereign model that unified all these ideas, we have the civic AI trained by each language community, each cultural community,” she said.

The different AIs can then communicate with one another, she said, bringing together diverse groups for a common civic cause.

She gave the example of groups advocating for climate justice and for “creation care” — caring for the environment as seen through a religious lens, as God’s creation.

AI “can translate the climate justice work to the Biblical community, so they also see them as doing God’s work,” she said.

That could boost more than simply the environment, she added.

“We really do need to counter the narrative that democracy only leads to polarization and chaos, and never delivers, because that is the overarching narrative of authoritarianism,” Tang said.

That is especially key in a place such as Taiwan, which is the “top target” for disinformation and polarization, with about 2 million attempted cyberattacks a day, many originating from China, she said.

The Right Livelihood award was established in 1980 after the foundation behind the Nobel Prizes refused to create new honors in the fields of environment and international development.


Chinese apps are security risk, ministry warns

BE WARY: A government official urged the public not to download free Chinese apps on a whim and to download only the software they need or use

The Ministry of Digital Affairs yesterday officially named Douyin, Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), Sina Weibo, Weixin and Baidu Cloud as information security risks and urged the public to be wary and better protect their digital safety.

The ministry said that the apps all collect sensitive information, tap into device storage, exceed authorization parameters, access users’ biometric details, access system information, and send or share information with third parties.

Once users have approved apps to access internal storage, sensitive information, such as geolocation, contact lists and credit card numbers, they could be exposed and used without authorization, the ministry said.

Biometric information accessed in this way could be used to create deepfake videos or audio messages to scam friends and family, or to spread disinformation, it said.

The apps could allow scam groups to learn users’ daily habits, thereby exposing them to a greater risk of being scammed or harassed, the ministry said.

As the Chinese government demands that corporations provide client information by law, any information saved or processed by Chinese corporations or companies within China is at greater risk, compared with corporations in other nations, of being accessed by Chinese intelligence units, the ministry said.

The government in September amended the Information and Communication Security Management Act (資通安全管理法), requiring that all equipment used by government agencies be banned from downloading or installing any of the apps mentioned.

The amendments also stated that all government networks should ban access and use of the software, the ministry said.

The ministry urged users to refrain from using or installing the apps, carefully read the privacy policy of all apps to know where the app is storing its data, allow apps minimal access and regularly review authority settings, take note of security warnings of apps wanting more access, not install apps from unknown sources, and to use firewall and antivirus programs.

Administration for Cybersecurity Director-General Tsai Fu-lung (蔡福隆) said that apps usually cannot operate outside the parameters set by the operating system, adding that the public should be able to determine whether an app has requested authorization to access functions it is not supposed to.

Tsai urged the public not to download free apps on a whim and to download only the software they need or use, and to remove unnecessary apps.

Asked about the ministry’s progress on designating high-risk apps for elementary schools, Tsai said the ministry is still in talks with the Ministry of Education and would hopefully announce the list before the end of this month.

Tsai said that the Taiwan Academic Network, used by junior-high and high schools, already prevents users from accessing TikTok, Xiaohongshu and other platforms hosting short videos.


Feeding food waste to pigs set to be banned

The Executive Yuan is today expected to approve a comprehensive ban on feeding food waste to pigs starting in 2027, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said yesterday.

The announcement comes weeks after authorities averted an African swine fever (ASF) outbreak by implementing pig culls and supply chain freezes that disrupted meat supply across the nation.

The ban would provide a transition plan to deal with food waste and a one-year grace period, Peng told a news conference on an unrelated matter in Taipei.

Two pigs are pictured in Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: Chen Wen-hui, Taipei Times

The Ministry of Environment’s plan would divert food waste recycled for pigs to incinerators, biowaste energy generation, black soldier fly larvae processing and compost, he said.

The use of leftovers in slop for pigs could be terminated within six months of the policy’s implementation in jurisdictions that plan stricter timetables to abolish the practice, such as Pingtung and Chiayi counties, he said.

That means kitchen waste would likely disappear from hog farms altogether by late 2027, Peng said.

The ministry would strengthen operating procedures for monitoring dioxin emissions in trash incineration facilities, as the toxic substance could be generated during the thermal disposal of food waste, he said.

The policy would increase costs for the restaurant and catering industry, but officials are optimistic that the negative impact would be outweighed by the benefits for the environment and the biowaste management sector, he added.

Separately, lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee yesterday told agricultural officials to hasten the ban’s implementation, citing concerns over the economic risks posed by ASF to the nation’s pork industry.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said that hog farmers would lose the ability to export pork should authorities detect another ASF case.

Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張?楷) said farmers in his constituency have petitioned for the government to immediately institute the ban, as potential cost savings from delayed implementation pale against the risks of ASF.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Tu Wen-jane (杜文珍) reiterated that the ban would be approved today and that officials are coordinating with hog farming industry representatives to facilitate the policy’s rollout.

The ministry is preparing policy guidance for farmers to prepare for the transition from food waste, she said, adding that less than 10 percent of hog farms make use of recycled leftovers in their pig feed.


Fujian plans won’t succeed: MAC

China’s latest package of 12 measures to advance cross-strait “integration” would have little effect in attracting Taiwanese investment, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Tuesday.

The MAC was responding to a report by China’s Xinhua news agency on Tuesday that the Fujian Provincial Government had announced 12 new measures to further “advance” Fujian as a “cross-strait integrated development demonstration zone.”

The measures include offering preferential insurance premiums to Taiwan-funded aquaculture firms, as well as efforts to improve tax services for Taiwanese individuals and businesses, including the establishment of a dedicated tax consultation hotline.

Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Chairman Liang Wen-chieh, left, and Deputy Minister of the Interior Wu Tang-an sit in a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in Taipei on Tuesday. Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times

The MAC in a statement on Tuesday evening predicted that the measures would fail based on similar efforts that it said have had “far from ideal” results.

It said Fujian Province has rolled out 74 measures targeting investment by Taiwanese businesses and individuals since Beijing issued a policy paper in September 2023 designating it as a demonstration zone, yet investment there by Taiwanese businesses has declined sharply.

The council cited data showing that Taiwanese investment in Fujian Province approved by Taiwan’s government totaled US$67 million in the first 10 months of this year, down 94 percent year-on-year.

One of the measures outlined by Fujian officials was to promote investment in Taiwan.

Fujian Province would provide a one-time subsidy of 5,000 yuan (US$707) for Taiwanese who open restaurants in Taiwan serving Shaxian delicacies — a style of cuisine originating from Fujian Province’s Shaxian County.

The MAC said that the incentive “appears quite low,” and noted that it would monitor the real intent behind it and whether any related activities contravene regulations.

Aside from the 12 new measures, Fujian officials on Tuesday also said that plans are in place to build a range of infrastructure projects, including a second water pipeline to Kinmen County.

Currently, some of Kinmen County’s water is provided by Fujian Province through a pipeline that began operating in 2018, with a 2019 Xinhua report saying that its average daily supply exceeds 10,000m3.

The MAC downplayed that plan, saying that Water Resources Agency data show that Kinmen County has sufficient supply of water, with more than 75 percent coming from local sources, and that there was no need to build a second pipeline.

The MAC said that issues related to cross-strait infrastructure projects “were not matters that Chinese authorities can decide unilaterally,” but have to be considered and carefully evaluated by the central government, which has no plans to pursue such projects.


Three retired military officers handed jail terms

By Chang Wen-chuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Supreme Court yesterday denied an appeal by retired Military Intelligence Bureau colonel Chang Chao-jan (張超然) and upheld the High Court’s ruling, which sentenced Chang to one-and-a-half years in prison for contravening Article 2 of the National Security Act (國家安全法).

Chang’s affiliate and fellow officer Chou Tian-tzu (周天慈) was given a one year, two months prison sentence, while retired army major general Yue Chih-chung (岳志忠) was given 10 months. Retired bureau colonel Wang Ta-wang (王大旺) was declared not guilty.

The four were indicted for contravening the National Security Act and the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法).

Retired colonel Chang Chao-jan is escorted by investigators at an unidentified location on Dec. 15, 2020. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times

The Taipei District Court held a closed hearing on the case in September last year, and the High Court upheld the ruling in February.

According to the ruling, during a mission to render aid to a retired bureau colonel surnamed Lu (陸), who was then being detained in Shenzhen, China, Chang made the acquaintance of a Chinese national security official surnamed Wei (韋) and agreed to spy for China.

Chang later turned fellow officer Chou and started facilitating travel, and room and board in China for retired bureau officers, the ruling said.

Chang sought to recruit Yue when he facilitated Yue’s and Chou’s travel to China in 2012 to visit family by arranging a meeting between Yue and Wei in Macau in August that year, the ruling said.

The visit not only provided China with the opportunity to learn of Chou’s and Yue’s positions and affairs in the bureau, but also enabled Chou to identify Taiwanese agents for China, it said.

Yue received HK$6,000 (US$771 at the current exchange rate) and bought a handbag for about NT$30,000 when returning to Taiwan.

Chou and Yue traveled to Guangdong in June 2016, with Chou receiving US$3,000 and returning to Taiwan, while Chinese officials accompanied Yue, and paid his expenses, on his way to Zhengzhou to visit relatives, the ruling said.

In a separate incident, Chang arranged for retired bureau colonel Wang to visit relatives in China in August 2016, but Wang had been taken away by Chinese national security agents after landing at Guangzhou airport, it said.

Chang asked his contacts to intervene, and Wang agreed to join the cell to get out of his predicament, allegedly leaking information about the whereabouts of 24 colleagues at the bureau, the ruling said.


The military yesterday rejected online claims that its intelligence officers held secret meetings with their Dutch counterparts earlier this year, saying the allegation was spread by an overseas Chinese group working with the Chinese Communist Party.

The Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) in a statement said that a post uploaded on Saturday last week to a Hungarian-based Web site, Europe Wanshida Web (歐洲萬事達網), was later shared as a Facebook post on Tuesday.

The site is operated by a group of overseas Chinese, it said.

A story on an alleged intelligence meeting between Taiwan and the Netherlands is published on www.wsd .hu. Photo: screen grab from www.wsd. hu

The post alleged that six MIB officers secretly traveled to the Netherlands in May for a half-day meeting with the Dutch Defense Intelligence and Security Service, and that six officials from the Dutch agency and the General Intelligence and Security Service visited Taiwan last month for a follow-up meeting.

The MIB said the contents of the post were “distorted” and “inconsistent with what actually happened,” without elaborating.

The post also included purported photographs of the alleged meeting in the Netherlands, a flight ticket for one of the MIB officers said to have traveled there, and the names of Taiwanese and Dutch intelligence personnel. It said such exchanges were rare due to the absence of official diplomatic ties.

Asked about the matter earlier yesterday, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said he had instructed the bureau to conduct internal checks.

Tsai neither confirmed nor denied the alleged exchanges, saying only that the bureau would examine whether the post contravened information security regulations or was part of China’s cognitive warfare.

Military rejects Dutch security service meeting claim


Prosecutors probe CPC’s budget for third LNG terminal

Criminal investigators on Tuesday searched 11 sites and questioned 13 people over allegations that state-run oil company CPC Corp, Taiwan inflated the construction budget for the third liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project in Taoyuan, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday.

The office said it directed the Agency Against Corruption’s Northern Investigation Office and the Investigation Bureau’s Northern Mobile Team to conduct the searches after receiving an anonymous tip on Nov. 11.

The searches were executed with court-approved warrants at locations linked to CPC, CECI Engineering Consultants Inc, and the residences and offices of individuals connected to the case, prosecutors said.

The construction site of CPC Corp, Taiwan’s third liquefied natural gas terminal in Taoyuan is pictured on Nov.11. Photo: screen grab from the Huang Chang Construction Web site

Shih Yi-fang (施義芳), a former lawmaker as well as former chairman of CECI, and other people involved in procurement activities were among those summoned for questioning.

Shih and four others were transferred to prosecutors for further questioning and were released without bail early yesterday, with three reclassified as potential defendants.

Local media reported that an audio recording submitted by the anonymous whistle-blower implied that the budget for new outer breakwater construction work at CPC’s Guantang LNG Terminal, part of the third LNG terminal project, rose from NT$9.4 billion to NT$25.3 billion (US$299.9 million to US$807.2 million) after at least four price increases in a short period.

The report said the recording suggested that CPC took the lead in increasing the budget and that the contract was awarded to a company under what was described as the “most advantageous bid.”

CPC said some of its employees were interviewed as witnesses and that matters related to the searches required clarification through judicial procedures.

The company said it would cooperate with the ongoing investigation.


Taiwan Foundation for Democracy honors Indonesian NGO

The government-funded Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) announced Tuesday that the 2025 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award will be presented to the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).

“This year’s Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award is being presented to the PBHI in recognition of nearly three decades of work advancing legal aid and human rights protections, as well as the courage demonstrated by its members in continuing to expose and document human rights abuses despite harassment and intimidation,” the TFD said in a statement.

Founded in 1996, the nongovernmental organization aims to promote human rights protection and access to justice in Indonesia by providing legal aid to marginalized communities and driving policy reforms through advocacy, according to the TFD.

The logo of Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is pictured. Photo grab from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy’s website

The PBHI has played a key role in drafting and, subsequently, monitoring the enforcement of the Indonesian Legal Aid Law, and advocated extending the law’s protection to vulnerable groups beyond those currently defined as “the poor,” the foundation said.

At the same time, the association has long documented major human rights violations, including forced evictions, environmental destruction, and the criminalization of human rights defenders, it said.

The group’s reports on the ecocide and the militarization taking place in Papua, for example, have prompted the international community to pay greater attention to the region’s human rights situation, the foundation said.

These efforts come at a time of rising authoritarianism and heightened digital repression, causing the PBHI and its members to face threats, online harassment, and attacks and its official website and social media accounts to be repeatedly targeted, it said.

Despite these risks, the PBHI continues to provide legal representation for victims of arbitrary detention and advocate against further military encroachment into civilian institutions, it said.

Chaired by TFD President Liao Da-chi (廖達琪), a preliminary review committee advanced three nominees to the final review stage.

The PBHI will receive a trophy and US$100,000 at the award ceremony, organized by the TFD, on International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.


China Airlines flight attendants pose for a photograph with Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher Lin Yu-min, center, who plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks, in a news conference at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. The news conference was held to celebrate the official launch of direct flights from Taipei to Phoenix, Arizona.

Arizona-bound


Wuqiu Lighthouse in Kinmen County is pictured in an updated photograph. Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the lighthouse’s inauguration.

Centennial sentinel


Taiwan Alliance for the Independence of People with Disabilities secretary-general Lin Chun-chieh, front, calls for an amendment to the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act at a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday, which was International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Seize the day


TECH TITANS:  Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’

Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power.

The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT.

Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia.

A Tranium3 artificial intelligence chip made by Amazon Web Services appears in an undated handout image on Monday. Photo: Amazon Web Services/Handout via Reuters

This followed the release last month of Google’s latest AI model, which was trained using the company’s in-house chips, not Nvidia’s.

Responding to Google’s successes, Nvidia wrote on social media that it was “delighted” by the competition, but added that Nvidia “is a generation ahead of the industry.”

AWS, which would make the technology available to its cloud computing clients, said its new chip is lower cost than rivals and delivers over four times the computing performance of its predecessor while using 40 percent less energy.

“Trainium3 offers the industry’s best price performance for large-scale AI training and inference,” AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in Las Vegas. Inference is the execution phase of AI, where the model stops scouring the Internet for training and starts performing tasks in real-world scenarios.

Energy consumption is one of the major concerns about the AI revolution, with major tech companies scaling back or pausing their net zero emissions commitments as they race to keep up on the technology.

AWS said its chip could reduce the cost of training and operating AI models by up to 50 percent compared with systems that use equivalent graphics processing units, mainly from Nvidia.

“Training cutting-edge models now requires infrastructure investments that only a handful of organizations can afford,” AWS said, positioning Trainium3 as a way to democratize access to high-powered AI computing.

AWS said several companies are already using the technology, including Anthropic PBC, maker of the Claude AI assistant and a competitor to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

AWS also announced that it is already developing Trainium4, which is expected to deliver at least three times the performance of Trainium3 for standard AI workloads.

The next-generation chip would support Nvidia’s technology, allowing it to work alongside that company’s servers and hardware.

Amazon’s in-house chip development reflects a broader trend among cloud service providers seeking to reduce dependence on external suppliers while offering customers more cost-effective alternatives for AI workloads.

Amazon unveils AI chip to rival Nvidia


Trump to announce Fed nomination early next year

UNPREDICTABLE:  While Kevin Hassett has been suggested as the nominee, Trump is known to make surprise decisions, meaning nothing is final until it is made public

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he plans to announce his pick to lead the US Federal Reserve early next year, and teased National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett as his possible choice, fueling further speculation about the next leader of the US central bank.

“We’ll be announcing somebody, probably early next year, for the new chairman of the Fed,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

Hassett is seen as the likely choice to succeed Jerome Powell, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News last week, and Trump nodded to that position at a separate event shortly after the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, center, listens to an announcement at the White House in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

“I guess a potential Fed chair is here too,” Trump said. “I don’t know who is allowed to say that — potential. He’s a respected person that I can tell you. Thank you, Kevin.”

Trump’s comments offer a clearer timeline for the announcement. US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who has been overseeing the selection process, previously said the pick could be revealed around Christmas.

The US president said he considered about 10 candidates for the position, in consultation with Bessent and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, but now “we have it down to one.”

Still, Trump is known to make surprise personnel and policy decisions, meaning a nomination is not final until it is made public. Other finalists have included Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and BlackRock Inc chief investment officer for global fixed income Rick Rieder.

Trump for months has pressured the Fed to lower interest rates, and naming a successor to Powell, whose term as Fed Chair expires in May next year, would give the US president his biggest chance yet to reshape the institution. Although Powell’s term as chair ends next year, he could remain on the board for two more years as a governor.

Trump in September singled out Hassett, Warsh and Waller as his top three candidates.

Trump also regularly says he would like Bessent as chair, although the treasury secretary has repeatedly rejected the notion.

Fed chair and governor picks typically represent the most direct way for US presidents to influence the central bank. Trump has been vocal in criticizing the Fed for moving too slowly to cut borrowing costs and for expensive renovations of its campus. The White House is also engaged in litigation over Trump’s attempted dismissal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

Whoever Trump picks would require US Senate confirmation as chair. If the selection is an outsider, the person would likely receive a 14-year Fed governor term that begins on Feb. 1.


Foxconn to increase device output in Vietnam factories

Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) and Luxshare Precision Industry Co (立訊精密) plan to add millions of gaming devices to Vietnam’s annual output, according to documents they submitted to local authorities, reinforcing the country’s role in the global supply of game consoles.

Vietnam assembles a variety of electronic products destined for foreign markets, including smartphones, computers and tablets. Information on its production of consoles is not public, but Foxconn EV Energy & Component (Vietnam) Co, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer, has capacity to produce up to 4 million gaming devices in a factory in Northern Vietnam, according to a company document from last year.

Fushan Technology (Vietnam) Ltd, another Foxconn subsidiary, is seeking a permit to expand production in Vietnam to annually make up to 4.8 million units of Microsoft Corp’s Xbox gaming devices, parts of the consoles and other unspecified electromagnetic devices, according to a company document sent to the environment department of the northern Bac Ninh Province, where the company has a production hub.

People stand next to the logo of Foxconn during a media tour inside the Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) Advanced Battery Gigafactory, in Kaohsiung on Nov. 7. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA

Separately, China’s Luxshare is planning to produce up to 4.5 million game consoles a year at a factory in Vietnam, starting from next year, the company said in a proposal to Bac Ninh authorities, without indicating the brand of the devices.

Vietnam’s growing electronics footprint underscores its strategic role as manufacturers diversify beyond China amid global supply chain shifts.

Fushan plans to increase its mobile phone manufacturing capacity by 30 million units to an annual total of 140 million, according to the document, which does not mention the brand of the devices.

The company also intends to start producing charging devices for smart rings, a finger-worn wearable that has smartwatch and fitness tracker features, the document said, adding that its factory can produce annually up to 3 million smart wearable devices, including watches and bracelets.

The factory upgrade has started, with full operations scheduled to commence in April next year, Fushan said.

Fushan’s facility, originally a manufacturing plant for Nokia Oyj and Microsoft mobile devices, can also produce equipment for up to 100,000 unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, per year, the document said.

Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) in Taiwan, is a supplier to Apple Inc, Microsoft and other tech firms. As of last year, it had invested more than US$3.2 billion in Vietnam, having entered the country in the 2000s.

The majority of its manufacturing operations in the country are in the northern province of Bac Ninh. Luxshare supplies Apple and other electronics multinationals too, and also has a large presence in Vietnam with multiple plants.

The Bac Ninh factory, which it is seeking to expand from an existing US$520 million investment, aims to boost total output by 20 percent to more than 300 million units, the document said, without clarifying the devices.

The plant produces headphones, virtual reality headsets, smartwatches and smart locator devices.


DRAM maker Nanya Technology Co (南亞科技) yesterday said revenue last month more than quadrupled to NT$10.17 billion (US$324.5 million) from a year earlier, setting an all-time high as demand surpassed supply.

On a monthly basis, revenue expanded 28.59 percent from NT$7.91 billion, the company said in a statement.

In the first 11 months of this year, cumulative revenue soared 70.92 percent year-on-year to NT$54.57 billion from NT$31.93 billion, it said.

Nanya Technology Corp’s logo is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City on July 3 last year. Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times

In addition, earnings per share rose to NT$0.66 in October, from NT$0.22 in September, the company said on Tuesday, attributing the performance to price hikes amid a global shortage of memory chips.

In October, the company told investors that there was a chance of even bigger price hikes this quarter following a more than 40 percent increase last quarter on a quarterly basis.

The company said the booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications has propelled demand for memory chips, with demand exceeding supply by about 20 percent affecting DDR4 and low-power DDR4 chips in particular.

The price of DDR4/16G climbed 2.13 percent yesterday to US$45.5 per unit on average, exceeding the price of the more advanced DDR5/16G’s US$27.2 per unit, data provided by market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) showed.

Contract prices of conventional DRAM chips are expected to rise between 45 percent and 50 percent this quarter, TrendForce projected last week.

Combining the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI devices, price increases would reach between 50 percent and 55 percent from last quarter, it said.

Nanya Technology mainly produces DDR4 chips, with DDR5 chips accounting for 10 percent of its total shipments last quarter. In comparison, major global players such as SK Hynix Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and Micron Technology Co focus on advanced DDR5 and HBM chips.

TrendForce expects the rapid price hikes to extend to memory chips from leading-edge process technology to mature process technologies.

Nanya income quadruples as DRAM demand surges


EU plans to challenge China dominance

The EU yesterday released its plan to try to end the 27-nation bloc’s dependence on China for rare earths, as Beijing’s stranglehold threatens key industries.

China, the world’s top producer of rare earths, in October announced new controls on the export of the elements, which are used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronics and defense industries.

The move rattled markets and snarled supply chains until China later said it would suspend the curbs for one year.

A Chinese flag, left, is draped beside an EU flag in Brussels on June 29, 2015. Photo: AFP

Already since April, Beijing has required licenses for certain exports of the materials, hitting global manufacturing sectors.

European Commission Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy Stephane Sejourne has called on the bloc to “step up” against what he said was essentially a “racket” being run by Beijing.

The new plan would look to push for the EU to speed up the joint purchasing of critical raw materials including rare earths, accelerate production and recycling in Europe, work with reliable partners and conclude new partnerships.

The EU’s executive body would also propose next week the creation of a European Center for Critical Raw Materials that would be the bloc’s supply hub, modeled on Japan’s state-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp.

The EU finds itself squeezed between China’s restrictions and the US under President Donald Trump, which is negotiating bilateral agreements on all fronts to secure its own supplies.

A study published on Monday by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China said that 60 percent of its members expected disruptions to their supply chains because of government-imposed restrictions, and 13 percent fear they might have to interrupt or slow down production.

“The situation is really urgent from our perspective,” said Florian Anderhuber, the deputy director general of Euromines lobby group. “Speed is now of the essence.”

Euromines is calling to accelerate permits for new mines in Europe and to slash the red tape required. It also wants financing guarantees and initiatives to reduce price differences between China and Europe, which has acted as a break on producers on the continent.

In addition, the European Commission would update its strategy for ensuring the EU’s “economic security.”

The first strategy was produced in 2023 as the bloc grappled with the harsh lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine war that showed up the fragility of its supply lines.

In the face of new diplomatic and geopolitical tensions, most strikingly a US administration willing to act aggressively on trade against its close allies, Brussels needs a refresh. The new strategy would look to revise how Europe could use its most potent trade tools, such as controls on foreign investment and export restrictions, to flex its own muscles.


A chef introduces buffet dishes at a news conference in Taichung yesterday. The food, prepared by In Sky Hotel in Taichung with a focus on shrimp and crab, offers guests a sumptuous year-end, festive experience, and is available from today.

Festive feasts


Two mayors have invited Japanese pop icon Ayumi Hamasaki to perform in their cities after her Shanghai concert was abruptly canceled on Saturday last week, a decision widely interpreted as fallout from the latest political spat between Japan and China.

Organizers in Shanghai pulled Hamasaki’s show at the last minute, citing force majeure, a justification that convinced few. The cancelation came shortly after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi remarked that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military response from Tokyo — comments that angered Beijing and triggered a series of retaliatory moves.

Hamasaki received an immediate show of support from Taiwanese. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) on Monday told reporters that the capital — where Hamasaki performed to massive crowds on Aug. 1 and 2 — would “very much welcome” her return and would continue to “surprise” her. On the same day, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said his city regularly hosts major international acts and would likewise welcome Hamasaki to perform there.

Fellow singer Maki Otsuki on Friday last week also had her concert in Shanghai abruptly halted while she was in the middle of her set, the BBC reported.

The incidents underscore a long-standing risk that performers, companies and even governments face when they become overly dependent on the Chinese market. Japan has been experiencing it first-hand for years and many have urged a gradual decoupling from China’s unpredictable market environment. Beijing’s “carrot and stick” approach — granting market access as a reward for toeing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) political line and imposing economic or cultural penalties on those who do not — has become a familiar pattern.

Yet in applying this strategy to Japan, Beijing appears to have misjudged its target. The CCP seems to have assumed that concert cancelations and tourism restrictions would pressure Japanese politicians or sway public sentiment. Instead, reactions on Japanese social media have ranged from indifferent to relieved.

Some Japanese have framed China’s suspension of flights to Japan as a welcome breather from overtourism, a problem that local residents and municipalities have increasingly struggled with.

Others have said that the cancelations harm Chinese fans more than they pressure Japanese performers or politicians. If Chinese organizers demonstrate an inability to guarantee that shows will proceed without political interference, Japanese talent agencies might begin to view China as an unstable or high-risk market — one where reputational damage, sudden cancelations and political entanglements outweigh financial benefits. In the long run, Beijing’s actions might discourage foreign performers from planning China tours at all.

The dynamic mirrors what multinational companies have experienced. Firms such as Apple Inc and Volkswagen, once dominant in China, face declining market shares amid policies that heavily favor domestic brands. As competition grows and political risks increase, companies and entertainers might decide that the Chinese market simply is not worth the squeeze.

Taiwan, by contrast, is a far more attractive destination. Hamasaki sold 260,000 tickets for her Taipei shows in August — compared with only 14,000 for the Shanghai performance. In Taiwan, Japanese performers need not worry about inadvertently offending political sensitivities related to sovereignty, nor do they face the risk of last-minute government-ordered cancelations. The regulatory environment is predictable, the audience enthusiastic and cultural ties warm.

China’s misreading of Japanese sentiment is also evident in the inflammatory remarks by Xue Jian (薛劍), China’s consul-general in Osaka, who on Nov. 8 suggested that Takaichi’s “head should be cut off.” The comment sparked widespread outrage in Japan.

Meanwhile, a Nov. 19 Global Times editorial questioning Japan’s sovereignty over Okinawa prompted a firm response. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara dismissed the editorial and said that a formal reaction was unnecessary because “there is absolutely no doubt Okinawa is our nation’s territory,” Japan Today reported.

Rather than intimidating Japan, such actions have only reinforced skepticism toward Beijing. Japan has repeatedly shown that its political positions are self-determined and cannot be dictated by foreign pressure. Militarily, Japan is backed by the US; economically, it has already begun reducing its reliance on the Chinese market. Neither coercion nor threats are likely to change its policies on Taiwan or regional security.

A survey by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan found that 74.5 percent of Japanese feel a sense of closeness to Taiwan, 63.6 percent consider Taiwan trustworthy and 68.5 percent believe the relationship is positive.

Taiwan should continue to cultivate those bonds. As China increasingly blurs the line between political retaliation and cultural or personal exchanges, more Japanese are likely to turn toward Taiwan — culturally, economically and strategically.

Beijing’s coercive tactics might do more to isolate China than to pressure its neighbors, forcing it to one day face the costs of its confrontational approach.

EDITORIAL: Taiwan’s show of support


Weekend clinics are not a solution

The recent initiative to expand weekend outpatient services aims to alleviate overcrowding in large hospitals and divert non-emergency patients away from emergency departments. In theory, the policy aligns with a long-standing need: increasing primary care accessibility while easing pressure on the medical system.

Yet despite its positive intentions, early evidence suggests that the policy falls short of producing meaningful relief. Usage appears low, frontline healthcare workers remain overstretched, and emergency departments in major hospitals continue to absorb high weekend patient volumes.

The initiative established 13 designated sites to handle non-urgent cases during weekends and national holidays, with the goal of easing congestion in emergency departments.

However, data from the first weekend paint a far more complicated picture. Across all centers, only 166 to 169 patients visited during daytime hours, with about 255 for the entire day. Utilization varied drastically: A small number of hospitals — particularly in Tainan — registered higher volumes, while several centers saw only a handful of patients, and some nearly none at all.

Such discrepancies raise immediate questions about site selection, estimated demand, and whether the policy could meaningfully redirect patient flow from major hospitals.

Why is a seemingly reasonable policy struggling to achieve practical impact?

The first structural issue lies in Taiwan’s chronically strained healthcare workforce. Weekend outpatient services rely on the same doctors and nurses who are already working under heavy weekday loads.

Without additional staff, compensation adjustments or workload redistribution, the policy risks becoming superficial. Asking exhausted medical personnel to extend service hours might satisfy administrative metrics, but it does little to address long-term labor sustainability.

Second, the policy does not meaningfully confront the root cause of weekend congestion at major hospitals: patient preference. Many people continue to seek care at medical centers even for minor symptoms, bypassing local clinics due to trust gaps, uneven resource distribution and inconsistent care quality. In this context, simply providing more weekend clinic hours — without strengthening primary care capacity — does not change patient behavior.

Moreover, Taiwan’s emergency departments already operate under severe demand. Opening weekend clinics does not reduce the burden if hospitals continue to accept walk-in patients with non-urgent conditions. Unless triage systems are reinforced and minor cases are redirected effectively, emergency departments would remain overcrowded regardless of outpatient availability.

Another unspoken issue is information visibility. Many people are unaware of the expanded weekend services, or they assume these clinics provide limited examinations, lack diagnostic tools or cannot issue necessary documentation. If the public doubts service completeness, they would continue to flock to large hospitals instead.

To make the policy genuinely effective, the government must move beyond the symbolic gesture of extending service hours and confront the deeper structural weaknesses of the system. This begins with addressing the staff shortage: Instead of relying on the already-exhausted medical workforce, authorities should consider recruiting weekend-only staff or designing incentive programs that do not further stretch frontline personnel.

At the same time, strengthening the primary care network is essential. Clinics need improved reimbursement models, better diagnostic capacity and smoother coordination with major hospitals so that patients feel confident seeking care outside tertiary centers.

Finally, the government must revisit existing triage practices in emergency departments. Without mechanisms that redirect non-urgent cases toward community clinics, emergency departments would continue to shoulder unnecessary burdens. Only by addressing staffing, primary care capacity, public awareness and triage practices together could weekend clinic policies evolve from symbolic expansion into meaningful reform.

Taiwan’s healthcare system has long been praised for its efficiency, yet much of this reputation is built on the relentless workload and chronic overtime of medical personnel. A reform that fails to relieve this pressure — and in practice might intensify it — risks turning a well-intentioned policy into a counterproductive one.

The weekend urgent-care pilot illustrates this tension clearly. Without structural reinforcement, it remains more symbolic than transformative. Taiwan deserves a healthcare policy that not only looks sound on paper, but also delivers measurable relief to patients and the professionals who care for them.

Chu Jou-juo is a professor in the Department of Labor Relations at National Chung Cheng University.


吳釗燮 鄭麗君 林佳龍 蕭美琴

Apart from the first arms sales approval for Taiwan since US President Donald Trump took office, last month also witnessed another milestone for Taiwan-US relations. Trump signed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act into law on Tuesday. Its passing without objection in the US Senate underscores how bipartisan US support for Taiwan has evolved.

The new law would further help normalize exchanges between Taiwanese and US government officials. We have already seen a flurry of visits to Washington earlier this summer, not only with Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), but also delegations led by National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君).

The successful passage is in large part from decades-long advocacy work by generations of Taiwanese diaspora spread across the US. The largest organization that focuses on advancing Taiwan-friendly legislation and promoting Taiwan-US ties is the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA). Many senior government officials and legislators have received training or support from FAPA when it comes to relations with the US, including Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who started her early political career as an intern at the FAPA headquarters in Washington.

This also extends to US politicians. Although advocacy work can often be seen as repetitive and cultivating political goodwill requires time, it has paid off in bringing about “ironclad” support for Taiwan.

We have seen this with retiring former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi — a relationship that precedes even the founding of FAPA when Pelosi was still an aide attending a 1972 rally in support of Taiwan’s self-determination with then-US representative Donald Fraser. While Fraser made a speech to call out the hypocrisy of “Free China” and the atrocities committed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) dictatorship on Taiwan not long after it lost its seat at the UN, Pelosi met with many of the founders of what a decade later would become FAPA. Pelosi attended FAPA’s first annual convention in 1983 as leader of the California Democratic Party. Through such interactions, she continues to be a consistently staunch supporter of Taiwan, playing a critical role in passing Taiwan-friendly legislation, not to mention her historic visit to the nation in 2022.

Another example is the decades-long relationship with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. As senator, Rubio closely worked with FAPA and other Taiwan advocates to advance pro-Taiwan legislation, and has pushed for increased arms sales and other forms of support in countering Chinese aggression, modernizing Taiwan’s defense capabilities, economic resilience and boosting its international space. He has become a critical voice in the administration, one that could help diffuse actions detrimental to Taiwan’s security, and serving as a counterbalance when it comes to negotiating with China.

FAPA president Kao Su-mei (林素梅) said that this represents a structural breakthrough for the long-overdue and further normalization of ties between the two countries. It would finally shift outdated, self-imposed US “red lines” on engagement with Taiwan.

In practice, by requiring regular reviews and updates of the US Department of State’s Taiwan guidelines, this legislation transforms US policy from passive self-restriction to active, institutionalized support, Kao said.

FAPA executive director Anny Hsiao (蕭喬勻) said that this would ensure that engagement is defined by US law and values, not by Beijing’s objections or pressure.

Anny Hsiao also said she has seen a constant surge in advocacy participation throughout the US, which would help ensure that support for Taiwan remains strong.

She also expects that this bipartisan mandate opens the door for Taiwan’s elected leaders and high officials to engage more openly and directly with the US regardless of which party is in power, especially as China ramps up on harassing Taiwan’s neighbors, Japan and the Philippines. Both are critical partners in helping to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty and peace in the region.

Rath Wang is a senior policy fellow at Safe Spaces, a consulting firm based in Taipei and Washington focusing on Taiwan’s politics, media, civil society and key issues influencing Taiwan’s future. He is a producer and host of political talk shows and podcasts, and has worked on political campaigns and advocacies in Taiwan, Japan and the US. He can be reached at rathwang@safespacesllc.com.

US-based Taiwan advocacy pays off


Taipei can learn from the Tai Po fire tragedy

The devastating fire that tore through the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po District last week is now known to have taken at least 159 lives. The causes lie with the building’s flammable cladding, its age and serious managerial oversight. Side winds pushed the fire laterally and upward until the entire building was engulfed. For Taipei, a city with densely packed high rises, this is a warning signal that cannot be ignored.

First, there are gaps in fire prevention measures for exactly the kind of external renovation project that was under way at Wang Fuk Court before the fire broke out. The building — wrapped in green netting, foam panels and bamboo scaffolding — had flames race along its exterior and spread beyond the reach of firefighters’ ladders. Taiwan has strict regulations on scaffolding and fall-protection safety nets, but has yet to mandate the use of fire-resistant or flame-retardant netting and canvas materials in construction. In practice, cheap and flammable materials are widely used.

With its numerous skyscrapers and older high-rises of 10-plus stories, Taipei should take the lead in implementing substantial local regulations on the flammability of materials used in external construction projects and the integration of fire breaks. Inspections and drills should both take into account the effects of strong and prevailing winds.

Second is the issue of outdated fire safety equipment in old buildings. Wang Fuk Court was built in the 1980s and lacked automated smoke detectors and sprinkler systems. Similarly, Taipei has an abundance of 30 to 40-year-old apartment blocks where upgrades have been delayed time and time again due to funding constraints and a lack of awareness. The city government should focus on high-risk neighborhoods, provide subsidies for sprinklers, smoke detectors and exhaust systems, and establish a public building fire safety rating system to make the risks — and areas for improvement — clear to residents.

Finally, the ability of older people and those with disabilities to evacuate must be addressed. Tragically, many older and less mobile residents in Tai Po were unable to leave the building in time. In Taipei, the same challenges apply — older people and those in wheelchairs or with hearing impairments would be the most vulnerable. Support for these groups should be institutionalized, and high-risk households identified. Neighborhood offices and household associations should come together to establish mutual aid groups, and run fire evacuation drills for communities with high populations of older people and ongoing external renovation work to buildings. Visual alarm systems and clear signage must also be established to facilitate safe and timely evacuation for those with hearing impairments.

The fire in Hong Kong still burns in the memories of its residents. For Taipei, the task now is to turn this lesson into action. If we take a hard look at our aging buildings, construction practices and evacuation capacity — and do not forget to account for windy conditions and extreme weather — we have the chance to reduce harm and avoid a crisis before it happens.

Lee Li-sheng is a research assistant at the Taiwan Economy and Industry Association and a graduate student at National Taiwan Normal University.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader


Taiwan courts Japan’s Ayumi Hamasaki after singer snubbed by Shanghai

The Cabinet on Nov. 6 approved a NT$10 billion (US$318.4 million) four-year plan to build tourism infrastructure in mountainous areas and the south. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Tuesday announced that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications would offer weekday accommodation discounts, birthday specials and other domestic travel incentives beginning next March, aiming to encourage more travel outside the usual weekend and holiday peaks.The government is right to focus on domestic tourism. Although the data appear encouraging on the surface — as total domestic trips are up compared with their pre-COVID-19 pandemic numbers — a closer look tells a different

For more than seven decades, the Chinese Communist Party has claimed to govern Tibet with benevolence and progress. I have seen the truth behind the slogans. I have listened to the silences of monks forbidden to speak of the Dalai Lama, watched the erosion of our language in classrooms, and felt the quiet grief of a people whose prayers are monitored and whose culture is treated as a threat. That is why I will only accept complete independence for Tibet.The so-called “autonomous region” is autonomous in name only. Decisions about religion, education and cultural preservation are made in Beijing, not

By KhedroobThondup

EDITORIAL CARTOON


The judge at the end of Europe

The EU is a union that has lost its way, its soul and its spine, turning Europeans into willing extras in the theater of their own diminution

Let us, for a moment, entertain the fanciful hypothesis that Europe cares about its values. Imagine a Europe where the principles so lavishly inscribed upon the banners of the European project — the rule of law, the dignity of the individual, a commitment to strategic autonomy — are more than just rhetorical filigree for grand speeches in Brussels.

In this parallel Europe, the story emerging from the pages of Le Monde concerning Judge Nicolas Guillou, the French magistrate at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, would be the political scandal of the century. It would be the kind of affair that topples governments and reignites a proud European mindfulness.

However, we do not inhabit that Europe. In this really-existing Europe, Guillou’s ordeal has been shrugged off, a symptom of the continent’s descent into a state of uncontested vassalage.

Stripped bare, the facts of the case are disconcerting beyond measure.

Before us, we have a French citizen. A magistrate of some note sitting on the bench of the ICC which European diplomacy went to great lengths to establish so as to turn the page from a past in which war criminals could hide behind their governments’ shielding. Meticulously following the procedures of his institution in the execution of his sworn duties, this judge authorized arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and former defense minister for alleged war crimes in Gaza. In response, US President Donald Trump’s administration sanctioned Guillou.

The imposed sanctions are a masterclass in the evisceration of European sovereignty. They render Guillou a non-person, not only in the US, but also in his own country — the beating heart of Europe. He has been locked out of the global digital realm — WhatsApp, all Google apps and social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Even his French bank account is virtually useless, given the ban on all payments that require the cooperation of Visa, Mastercard, American Express and the supposedly European SWIFT interbank messaging system. As if that were not enough, when he recently tried to book a hotel room in France, Expedia canceled his reservation a few hours later.

Trump’s success at “flooding the zone” with outrageous behavior must not cause Europeans to miss the significance of these developments. The US government has decided to sanction — or, essentially, de-person — a European judge for carrying out his official duties in Europe while working in an institution established by Europe’s elected representatives at great cost and effort.

The real tragedy is not that Trump is throwing his weight around. It is in the nature of hegemons to bully those who inconvenience them. The real tragedy, or perhaps farce, lies in the EU’s reaction. Did European governments respond with a unified, thunderous condemnation? Did they trigger retaliatory measures, and immediately create European financial and digital channels to protect their judiciary and citizens from extraterritorial bullying? Alas, the response was a tragicomic spectacle of utter and complete acquiescence.

European banks, cowed by a stern look from a US Treasury official in Washington, rushed to close Guillou’s accounts. European companies, whose compliance departments act as extensions of the US authorities, refuse to provide him services. Meanwhile, European institutions — the European Commission and the Council of Europe — look the other way, wringing their hands and muttering platitudes about the “complexities” of transatlantic relations. They are not merely failing to protect Guillou; they are enforcing US sanctions against their own citizen.

During a week when European leaders loudly protested how the US had sidelined them in drawing up a peace deal for Ukraine, their silence over Guillou’s treatment completely normalized the erosion of their authority. From Trump’s perspective, they swapped the challenging, messy project of sovereignty for the comfortable decline of a US protectorate. How else could French President Emmanuel Macron have expected Trump to interpret his decision to treat the economic assassination of a French judge on French soil as nothing more than an unfortunate technical glitch or a minor bureaucratic snafu? Did he and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz really believe that sacrificing their citizens to Trump would gain them a seat at the negotiating table on issues such as Ukraine and Palestine, which are of existential importance to the EU?

No, Guillou’s Kafkaesque nightmare should not surprise people. What should be shocking is the silence surrounding it. Europeans should be outraged not only by US actions, but also by Europe’s inaction. Guillou’s case is a stark metaphor for the EU itself: A union of nation-states that helped build an international court to uphold its values, allowing a foreign power to punish its own judge for doing so, and then helped to enforce the punishment. This is a union that has lost its way, its soul and its spine, turning Europeans into willing extras in the theater of their own diminution.

When, in a few years’ time, almost everyone is claiming that they opposed Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, the world would remember Guillou fondly. However, it would also remember Europe’s leading politicians not just for their cowardice, but for their inattention to the simple fact that those who fail to uphold their own values become irrelevant.

Yanis Varoufakis, a former finance minister of Greece, is leader of the MeRA25 party and a professor of economics at the University of Athens.

Copyright: Project Syndicate