今年首颱生成！ 「洛鞍」颱風路徑曝光

生活中心／綜合報導

2026年首颱生成！原位於菲律賓東南方海面上的熱帶性低氣壓，於15日下午2時發展為今年第一號輕度颱風洛鞍(NOKAEN)，預計未來以每小時4公里速度，向東南東進行，在菲律賓東方海面活動，強度發展不明顯，中央氣象署預估對臺灣無直接影響。

氣象署指出，明天（１６日）天氣與今天類似，不過水氣略增，迎風面基隆北海岸、大臺北山區、東半部地區及恆春半島偶有局部降雨出現，而其他地區雲量稍增多，不過仍可見陽光，大致為多雲到晴的天氣；清晨中部以北及宜蘭低溫普遍為１４、１５度，南部及花東為１６至１８度，局部溫度會再更低一些，感受偏涼，而白天東半部雲量較多，高溫約２３、２４度，中部以北可來到２４至２６度，南部則可達２８度，感受溫暖舒適，不過，要留意中南部日夜溫差大，請適時調整穿著。


BACK AT IT:  In the sixth round of in-person talks, Taipei aims to expand the ‘Taiwan model’ within US supply chains and seek a more favorable investment environment

Taiwan’s trade negotiation team, led by Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and chief trade negotiator Minister Without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), has departed for the US for a new round of in-person trade talks that officials say are in the final stages, the Cabinet said yesterday.

The delegation left Taiwan late on Wednesday after coordinating with its US counterparts, the Cabinet’s Taiwan-US trade working group said.

Following the talks, the two sides are expected to announce the substance of any consensus reached, the group said.

US$50 notes are stacked atop Taiwan and US flags in an illustration photograph taken on Tuesday. Photo: CNA

A formal trade agreement would be signed at a later date, after which the full text would be submitted to Taiwan’s legislature for review, in accordance with legal procedures, it added.

The meetings are to focus on four main objectives, including further lowering tariffs on Taiwanese goods without stacking them on existing most-favored-nation rates and securing “most favorable” treatment under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act for semiconductors, semiconductor-derived products and other items, the working group said.

Other goals include expanding the “Taiwan model” within US supply chains and seeking a more favorable investment environment for Taiwanese firms, while promoting bilateral trade balance and building a strategic partnership in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, the negotiation team said.

The meetings, the sixth round of in-person trade negotiations between Taiwan and the US, are to be held amid reports that the two sides are close to reaching a trade agreement.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that US tariffs on Taiwanese imports could be reduced to 15 percent from 20 percent, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make additional investments in Arizona, including the construction of at least five new semiconductor plants.

TSMC has declined to comment on whether it would invest more in the US on top of the US$165 billion that it has already pledged.

Taiwan’s chips are not subject to the US tariffs.

Two people familiar with the matter said an announcement on the tariffs deal could come by the end of the month.

The Office of Trade Negotiations on Tuesday said the two sides had already reached broad consensus on relevant issues and were discussing the timing of a wrap-up meeting, after which the main elements of the agreement would be made public.

The new round of negotiations also follows a White House announcement on Wednesday regarding semiconductor tariffs.

Washington imposed a 25 percent tariff on certain AI chips, such as the Nvidia H200, under a new national security order released by the White House.

Addressing that new order, Taiwan said that it has previously held multiple discussions with the US and reached a consensus on preferential tariff treatment for semiconductors and related products.

“After confirming this with the US side during the current consultations, our side will provide a public explanation,” it added, without elaborating.

Additional reporting by Reuters

Trade team heads to US for tariff talks


More US arms sales are in the pipeline: official

OPEN TO DISCUSSIONS:  The legislature needs to give the Cabinet a ‘legal opportunity’ to explain the budget, so it can clear up any concerns, an official said

More US arms sales to Taiwan are in the pipeline with four deals yet to be notified to the US Congress, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) said yesterday, following the announcement of an US$11 billion package last month, the largest ever for the nation.

The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. China held war games around the nation late last month after the latest deal was announced.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei following a weekly Cabinet meeting, Hsu said that four additional packages for Taiwan had yet to be formally notified to the US Congress, the usual process for approval of such sales.

“Don’t ask me what four these are; I cannot say, but there are still four cases yet to be notified to Congress,” Hsu said, adding that he could not say more for legal reasons.

The US Department of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside Washington business hours.

The arms sales announced last month cover eight items, including Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and Altius loitering munition drones.

President William Lai (賴清德) in November unveiled an extra US$40 billion in defense spending to 2033 to underscore Taiwan’s determination to defend itself in the face of the rising threat from China.

However, opposition lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party, which together hold a majority in the legislature, have not let the measure progress to the committee stage for review, saying that the spending details are vague and that they want more specifics.

Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) is to give lawmakers a confidential briefing on Monday next week, and the ministry is happy to give more details, Hsu said.

“It is not that we are unwilling to explain — give us an opportunity to explain, a legal opportunity,” he added. “This is not a ‘black box.’”

The administration of US President Donald Trump has strongly backed Taiwan’s plans to ramp up military spending, something it has been pushing its allies in Europe in particular to do.

Taiwan has to spend more, given the threat, Hsu said.

“Everyone knows the threat we are facing is growing and growing,” he said.


Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it plans to spend a record-high US$52 billion to US$56 billion in capital expenditure this year to expand advanced chip capacity to meet “insatiable” demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

The budget represents a surge of 27 to 37 percent compared with the US$40.9 billion spent last year.

About 70 to 80 percent of this year’s budget would be earmarked for leading-edge technology expansion, while about 10 to 20 percent would be allocated for advanced chip packaging technology, TSMC said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chief executive officer C.C. Wei, center, speaks as TSMC investor relations director Jeff Su, left, and chief financial officer Wendell Huang look on at an earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times

The go-to chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc said the capital spending spree would carry through 2028 as it attempts to solve chip supply bottlenecks.

“We observe increasing AI model adoption across consumer, enterprise and sovereign AI segments. That is driving meaningful demand for more and more computation, which supports robust demand for leading-edge silicon,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told an earnings conference in Taipei.

As customers continue to provide a positive outlook — along with strong signals from businesses such as cloud service providers — TSMC is convinced that “the multiyear AI mega-trend remains strong. We believe that demand for semiconductors will continue to be fundamental,” Wei said.

“I believe the AI [boom] is real. Not only real, it has started growing into our daily life,” Wei said.

To address strong AI chip demand, TSMC said it is expanding chip manufacturing capacity in Taiwan, including 2-nanometer facilities in Hsinchu County and Kaohsiung, and advanced chip packaging capacity.

In the US, TSMC is stepping up capacity buildup in Arizona, as it plans to move in new manufacturing equipment this year for its second fab in the US state, in preparation for high-volume production of 3-nanometer chips in the second half of next year, the company said.

TSMC is building a third fab at the site and seeking construction permits for a fourth, as well as its first advanced chip packaging facility there, it said.

TSMC has also acquired a second plot of land in Arizona, where it plans to build multiple chip fabs to create a “gigafab” cluster, Wei said.

The company continues efforts to narrow the gap between customer demand and chip supply, and expects more healthy supply-demand dynamics in 2028 or 2029, he said.

TSMC also expects robust AI demand to boost its revenue growth by about 30 percent this year, with about 25 percent growth on average from 2024 to 2029.

Revenue this quarter is expected to grow about 4 percent sequentially, or 38 percent annually, to between US$34.6 billion and US$35.8 billion, the company said.

Gross margin is to climb to between 63 and 65 percent this quarter from 62.3 percent the previous quarter, as cost improvement and higher factory utilization help offset margin dilution from its overseas fabs, it said.

The company yesterday reported record-high net profit of NT$1.717 trillion (US$54.35 billion) for last year, soaring 46.4 percent from NT$1.173 trillion in 2024. Earnings per share rose to NT$66.25 from NT$45.25, and gross margin increased to 59.9 percent from 56.1 percent.

TSMC plans record expenditure to meet AI demand


Manila, Tokyo sign defense pact amid China aggression

Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters.

Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response.

Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China seas that have continued to flare and threaten to draw in the US, a treaty ally of the two Asian nations.

Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa Lazaro, left, and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi sign documents following a bilateral meeting in Pasay, Philippines, yesterday. Photo: EPA

Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi signed the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement with Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Theresa Lazaro in Manila.

During the ceremony, Japan also announced new security and economic development assistance to the Philippines, including nearly US$6 million in funding for the construction of secure boat shelters and expanding Internet access in poor southern Philippine provinces.

“We both recognized the value of promoting the rule of law, including the freedom of navigation and overflight, especially in the South China Sea,” Lazaro said after the signing.

Motegi said he and Lazaro “concurred on continuing to oppose unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East and South China seas,” in a clear rebuke of Beijing’s increasing assertiveness without naming China.

The military logistical agreement, which has to be ratified by Japanese lawmakers before it takes effect, is the latest key defense pact to be forged between Manila and Tokyo to deepen their security alliance.

Aside from facilitating joint combat drills, it would also help Japan and the Philippines jointly respond to natural disasters, a mutual concern, and participate in UN peacekeeping operations, Japanese and Philippine officials said.

In mid-2024, both countries signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement, which allows the deployment of forces of either country to the other’s territory for joint and larger combat exercises, including live-fire drills. It took effect in September.

Japanese and Philippine officials are still negotiating another agreement that aims to boost the security of highly confidential defense and military information the countries could share.


Carney hails Xi’s leadership, as he seeks warmer ties

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday hailed his nation’s improving ties with China, as well as the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), declaring that their nations were charting a new course in cooperation amid global division and disorder.

The four-day visit to China was the first by a Canadian prime minister since 2017, following up on Carney’s positive meeting with Xi in South Korea in October. The two are set to meet again today.

“We’re heartened by the leadership of President Xi Jinping and the speed with which our relationship has progressed,” Carney told Chinese National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji (趙樂際) in a meeting in Beijing.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shakes hands with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the end of a signing ceremony in Beijing yesterday. Photo: Reuters

“It sets the stage for these important discussions on a wide range of issues where we can be strategic partners from energy to agriculture, to people-to-people ties, multilateralism, to issues on security,” he said.

Carney’s optimism follows months of intense re-engagement by both countries aimed at recalibrating ties that had soured under former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The efforts have also been fueled by a push to diversify export markets after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada last year and suggested the longtime US ally could become his country’s 51st state.

“Our teams have worked hard, addressing trade irritants and creating platforms for new opportunities,” Carney told Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) in a separate meeting. “I believe that together, we are bringing this relationship back toward where it should be.”

Periods of tension in the past decade have roiled ties, most recently after Trudeau’s government imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024, following similar US curbs.

China retaliated in March last year with tariffs on more than US$2.6 billion of Canadian farm and food products, such as canola oil and meal, leading to a slump of 10.4 percent in Chinese imports of Canadian goods last year, customs data released on Wednesday showed.

Efforts to strike up new dialogue gathered pace after Carney took the helm last year, with top officials of both sides setting up meetings and telephone calls that resulted in the leaders’ meeting in South Korea.

Canada and China have yet to directly address the issue of the EV and canola tariffs in public.

In a trade and economic road map signed yesterday, Ottawa welcomes Chinese investments in energy, agriculture and consumer products, while Beijing looks forward to Canada’s investment in services, new materials, aerospace and advanced manufacturing, among other fields.


About NT$900bn to go to foreign arms, official says

ACCUSATIONS: The official refuted insinuations that the special budget was a ‘blank check,’ citing examples where ceilings were approved before items were considered

Most of the NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.57 billion) special defense budget is for arms procurement from other countries, while NT$300 billion would go toward domestic defense production, Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) said yesterday.

Hsu was responding to a comment by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) on Wednesday that only NT$300 billion of the budget is for arms procurement from the US.

Huang, who returned from a visit to the US on Wednesday, said he made the discovery after meeting unnamed officials in Washington.

The figure is closer to NT$900 billion, Hsu told the post-Cabinet meeting news conference, calling Huang’s claim “absolutely false.”

Hsu rejected accusations from Huang that the budget proposal lacked clarity and that it only earmarked small portions for weapon purchases.

As Taiwan is facing escalating threats, the military must have a higher budget to expedite the acquisition of needed weapon systems and to enhance combat readiness, Hsu said.

The proposal already contains known weapons procurements for US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, M109A7 Paladin howitzers, Altius attack drones, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided 2B guided missiles, he said.

The Ministry of National Defense would explain classified portions of the spending plan to lawmakers at a classified meeting on Monday, he added.

Hsu also refuted an insinuation by opposition parties that the special defense budget “gives a blank check” to the government, citing past instances in which special budget ceilings were first approved by the legislature before individual items were considered.

He was likely referring to special budgets proposed between February 2016 and February 2024, when the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held a majority in the legislature.

The NT$300 billion earmarked for domestic defense production would create more than 90,000 jobs and boost industrial output by NT$400 billion, Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said.

Meanwhile, the US Department of State yesterday said that Washington strongly supports Taiwan’s efforts to share in defense responsibilities, including by bolstering its defense and deterrence capabilities through reforms and increased defense spending.

The US also welcomed President William Lai’s (賴清德) plan to increase military expenditure to more than 3 percent of GDP this year and to 5 percent of GDP by 2030.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) reiterated that it welcomes the NT$1.25 billion special defense budget, as AIT Director Raymond Greene wrote on social media on Nov. 26 last year.

“The United States supports Taiwan’s rapid acquisition of critical asymmetric capabilities needed to strengthen deterrence, consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act and decades of commitment across multiple US administrations,” Greene said in the post.

DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that US officials rebutted the claims made by opposition parties and its backers, who are attempting to mislead the public about the special defense budget.

Huang has contrived to misrepresent the meetings he had with US officials in Washington, Wang said.

After returning from the US, Huang and his TPP delegation have again stated their opposition to reviewing the special defense budget by citing a “lack of clarity” on how the money would be spent, as they say a “relatively high proportion” would not be allotted to US arms purchases, he added.


Cabinet proposes bill to raise older farmers’ subsidies

THRESHOLD CHANGE: About 7,000 farmers are expected to benefit from the changes, bringing the total people eligible for the subsidies to 530,000

The Executive Yuan yesterday proposed a bill to raise the monthly subsidy for older farmers to NT$10,000 (US$317) from NT$8,110, requiring a budget increase of NT$12.9 billion.

The changes to articles 2, 4 and 7 of the Provisional Act Governing the Welfare Allowance for Elderly Farmers (老年農民福利津貼暫行條例) would loosen means-testing rules and increase the subsidy amount.

The bill would be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review.

The ceiling for non-agricultural taxable income would be raised from NT$500,000 to NT$600,000, and the land and housing property value limit would rise from NT$5 million to NT$10.25 million, the draft says, citing changes in calculation, including agriculture-related gains and general income.

Eligibility thresholds of means-testing rules have remained unchanged for more than 13 years, despite rising prices and asset values, the Cabinet said.

The proposal also removes the upper limit on deductions for an applicant’s sole self-occupied residence to prevent exclusion due to housing needs.

Under the new mechanism, the amounts would be adjusted quadrennially, and the amount disbursed would be reviewed biennially, or when the consumer price index increases by 3 percent or more, to combat short-term commodity price inflation.

About 14,505 people are ineligible for farmers’ subsidies, the Executive Yuan said.

About 7,000 farmers are expected to benefit from the amendment and become eligible for the older farmer subsidy, bringing the total number of people eligible for the subsidies nationwide to 530,000, it said.

Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying that the amendment affirms farmers’ contributions to the nation and that they deserve care in their old age.

The changes require a supplementary budget, which could only be pursued after the central government’s annual budget for this year is passed, Lee said, urging the Legislative Yuan to expedite its passage.

The amendment would also affect the general review of other welfare subsidies, Cho added.

All subsidies would adhere to the principles of guaranteeing people’s livelihoods, protecting the disadvantaged and maintaining the nation’s overall fiscal health, he said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hu Chung-yi (胡忠一) said the NT$10,000 amount was decided based on concerns about negative population growth, particularly over the next four decades.

The senior farmer allowance program was launched in 1995.

Farmers aged 65 or older who have been enrolled in farmers’ insurance for at least 15 years are eligible for the monthly benefit, which was initially set at NT$3,000 and raised to NT$7,000 in 2011.

The allowance was last adjusted to NT$8,110 in 2024.


Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers yesterday said the party would propose a motion to partially fund the government, prioritizing spending for the economy, livelihood and infrastructure.

TPP deputy caucus whip Chang Chi-kai (張?楷) told a news conference that the party is facilitating the legislature’s review of 13 spending items in the annual budget, totaling NT$200 billion (US$6.33 billion).

It includes funding for the TPass program, childbirth subsidies, domestic radiopharmaceuticals supply chain investment, flood management and sports promotion, he said.

Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Budgets for bolstering the resilience of digital infrastructure, upgrading the national emergency rescue service’s SA365N helicopters and building a highway in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung region would also be included, he added.

Improving bridges, upgrading water purification and distribution facilities, and spending on museums and an office building for the Central Election Commission’s Lienchiang County branch are among the budget items the party supports, Chang said.

The TPP’s support for the rest of the government budget is contingent on President William Lai’s (賴清德) willingness to reciprocate by agreeing to the party’s demands regarding government worker pensions, he said.

TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the party had reached a consensus with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on the budget and that the opposition would finalize details at a later meeting.

Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) slammed the TPP’s announcement, saying that the proposed budget deal overlooked crucial spending items after 140 days of delays.

The KMT-TPP alliance continues to refuse to deliberate the special defense budget, the proposal to invest in artificial intelligence and quantum computing research, underground rail plans in Taoyuan, and new buildings for public schools, she said.

The opposition showed that it is interested only in backing its own bills and is more than willing to block equally important, if not far more critical, allocations for the nation’s development, Lee said, urging the KMT and the TPP to pass the budget before time runs out for this legislative session, of which 12 days remain.

Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu

TPP announces 13 budget items it wants to fund


Military locates crashed F-16’s black box

The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it.

Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅).

Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it.

Coast guard personnel search for a missing F-16 and its pilot in the waters off Hualien County on Sunday. Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration via CNA

The air force is seeking Singaporean or Japanese salvage companies to help with the retrieval mission, given the limited capabilities of Taiwanese entities to carry out deep-sea salvage operations, a military source said.

The single-seat fighter jet, tail No. 6700, went missing on Tuesday last week.

Hsin took off from Hualien Air Base at 6:17pm on a nighttime training mission, and soon after, he reported that the aircraft was losing altitude, the air force said.

At 7:28pm, Hsin said he was about to eject from the aircraft and eight seconds later, the jet’s signal disappeared from radar, the air force said, adding that there might have been a malfunction of the aircraft’s main onboard computer.

The air force subsequently set up an emergency response center, and launched a search and rescue operation, but has not yet been able to find Hsin nor the aircraft.


Investigation of Taipei stabbing closed

NO OUTSIDE INFLUENCE: The investigation into the suspect’s social media and communications show no outside party’s involvement in the attack that left four dead

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it has completed its investigation into last month’s stabbing attack at Taipei Main Station and would not press any charges, as the suspect is dead and is believed to have acted alone.

The investigation into the suspect’s finances, phone records and movements has determined that he acted independently and without direction, instigation or mobilization from any criminal organization, religious group, foreign actor or other party, prosecutors said.

The 27-year-old suspect, Chang Wen (張文), threw smoke grenades and stabbed passersby at Taipei Main Station and near Zhongshan MRT Station on Dec. 19 last year.

Reporters take pictures of security footage showing Taipei stabbing suspect Chang Wen during a news conference hosted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday. Photo: CNA

He killed three people and wounded 11 before falling from the Eslite Spectrum Nanxi department store near Zhongshan MRT Station after being pursued by police.

He was later pronounced dead.

The investigation found that Chang planned the attack meticulously and began buying supplies, including gas masks and smoke grenades, more than a year and a half ago, prosecutors said.

As the defendant is deceased, they have issued a decision not to prosecute in accordance with the law, prosecutors said.

Chang would otherwise have faced charges including murder, attempted murder, preparation to commit murder, attempted arson, contravening the Firearms, Ammunition and Knives Control Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and public intimidation under the Criminal Code, they said.

It was found that Chang’s only sources of income since 2020 were bank transfers from his mother and his salary, totaling NT$1,986,961 (US$62,892), with no unidentified transactions discovered, prosecutors and police said.

He withdrew everything from his Chunghwa Post and Yuanta Bank accounts on Aug. 28, 2023, and had a total of NT$967,438 in available funds as of the attack on Dec. 19, they added.

Chang spent NT$48,200 on military-style replica smoke grenades on Jan. 12 and 13 last year, and NT$37,563 on online shopping platforms, including Ruten and Shopee, to purchase items such as knives, gas masks and a tactical vest, they said.

The remaining funds were determined to have been spent on rent, a security deposit, online purchases and personal living expenses, they said.

He had sufficient funds to carry out the crimes alone, without needing financial backing from organizations or accomplices, they said.

That conclusion was backed up by surveillance footage, YouBike usage data and EasyCard transit records, they added.

Investigators checked Chang’s calls from his three mobile phone numbers and went through his social media accounts, including Line, Facebook, Discord and Reddit, they said.

The records showed no interaction with any possible accomplices or criminal organizations, they said.

A document recovered from Chang’s Google account, created on Oct. 5, showed a detailed plan for the attack, which was accessed and edited solely by Chang’s account and was not shared with others, they added.

Following the incident, the High Prosecutors’ Office instructed district prosecutors’ offices nationwide to specifically handle cases involving online threats, public transportation and public spaces, and to initiate reporting and response measures, they said.

As of Wednesday, prosecutors’ offices nationwide had investigated 51 cases, with no evidence linking them to Chang or the Taipei attack, they said.

Separately, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office announced that it has concluded its investigation into Chang on suspicion of contravening the Punishment Act for Violation of Military Service System (妨害兵役治罪條例).

It said it has decided not to prosecute.

Chang failed to report a change of household registration and so his training call-up order was unable to be delivered in November 2024, resulting in his addition to a wanted list on July 11 last year.


SINGLE-TOWER SENSATION: The bridge, which would be the longest of its type in the world when opened, will be open to the public before vehicular traffic starts

The Highway Bureau and New Taipei City are hosting events between April 25 and May 9 allowing people to experience the Danjiang Bridge (淡江大橋) before it officially opens on May 12.

The construction of the 920m-long asymmetric single-tower cable-stayed bridge, the longest of its type in the world, is scheduled to be completed in April.

Designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, the bridge was chosen by CNN as one of the “11 architecture projects set to shape the world” last year.

Reporters take pictures of the Danjiang Bridge spanning New Taipei City’s Tamsui and Bali districts yesterday. Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times

Once open, the bridge would cut the travel distance between Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts in New Taipei City by about 15km, saving about 25 minutes of driving time.

It would ease congestion on Provincial Highway No. 2 by reducing traffic in Jhuwei (竹圍) by 17 percent and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋) by 30 percent.

The bridge would function as an important link among Expressway No. 61, Provincial Highway 15 and Expressway No. 64, forming a comprehensive expressway network and serving as a major access route for the Danhai New Town (淡海新市鎮).

Aside from a road run on April 18 and cycling race on April 19, people are invited to walk over the bridge on April 25 and join a parade on April 26, the bureau said, adding that artistic groups in Tamsui would be performing at the parade.

The Highway Bureau is to hold an evening concert on May 2, featuring performances of a symphony orchestra and a Golden Melody Award-winning Hakka musician.

On May 3, organizers would place 100 deck chairs on the bridge for people to lie down. The bridge would be open for public picnics that day.

An inauguration ceremony would be held on the night of May 9, where engineers and workers involved in the construction of the bridge would be invited to attend.

The Tamsui-based Cloud Gate Dance Theatre — whose performances inspired the design of the bridge — would present a brand new work titled Light Chain (光鏈) at the ceremony.

Organizers are hosting photography and painting contests for the bridge opening, accepting submissions until March 31.

Construction of the bridge hit another milestone this week with the completion of the pavement, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters while inspecting construction progress yesterday.

To ensure durability of the steel bridge, the construction team first applied GUSS asphalt concrete, which was created by blending petroleum asphalt and processed Trinidad lake asphalt, before applying regular asphalt, Chen said.

The GUSS asphalt concrete would prevent rain from seeping into the steel bed base and avoid corrosion-induced steel fatigue and damage, Chen said.

Installing lamp posts on the bridge is another challenging task, Chen said.

The height of 128 lamp posts varies from 10m to 27m, and the angle at which they are installed ranges from 20 to 70 degrees.

The construction crew can only install two long lamp posts per day using two large cranes, Chen said.

Cheng Ming-chung (鄭閔中), chief of the bureau’s northern region new construction branch office, said that the bridge was designed to last for 120 years with the combined use of weathering steel, a heavy-duty coating system and GUSS pavement.

The stay cables, which are the most outstanding feature of the bridge, serve as the core support structure, Cheng said.

Each cable is equipped with a damper and a fire-proof blanket, which prevent it from being damaged by earthquakes, strong winds and fire, Cheng said.

The bridge is equipped with seven hydraulic fuse restraints (HFR) on the main bridge tower, with each providing a damping force of 750 tonnes, he said.

The system is designed to remain undamaged during frequent earthquakes, and to sustain only minor damage during rare major earthquakes, which can be manually reset, thereby ensuring the structural stability and long-term safety of the main bridge, Cheng said.

The bridge is an authentic international project, he said.

“The bridge was designed by a British architect, steel cables were made in Austria, steel guardrails were manufactured in Italy, and HFRs and bridge expansion joints were produced in Switzerland. The curved formwork for the bridge tower was made by Peri Co, a German firm,” Cheng said.

The construction team has engineers from Japan, Germany, UK, the Philippines and Cambodia, Cheng added.

Danjiang Bridge opening events set for April and May


Cold weather might not affect typhoon formation

Research built on hundreds of years of storm activity records showed that typhoons were most frequent in the 17th century during the “little ice age,” challenging the common belief that low temperatures inhibit the formation of typhoons.

The research was conducted by an inter-institution research team based on tropical cyclone activity in the northwest Pacific Ocean documented in historical literature, climate reconstruction data and data recorded via modern climate observation instruments, which span 543 years from 1368 to 1911.

Members of the team included Lin Kuan-hui (林冠慧), director of the Graduate Institute of Sustainability Management and Environmental Education at National Taiwan Normal University, Academia Sinica academician Wang Pao-kuan (王寶貫), National Taiwan University Ocean Center assistant researcher Tseng Wan-ling (曾琬鈴) and Academia Sinica Research Center for Environmental Changes researcher Hsu Huang-hsiung (許晃雄).

Researchers pose at a news conference hosted by National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

Their research showed that the number of tropical cyclones peaked from 1650 to 1680, coinciding with the Maunder Minimum during the little ice age, when solar irradiance significantly decreased and the northern hemisphere was affected by terrestrial cooling.

While terrestrial temperatures in East Asia were low during the period, seawater temperatures reconstructed from marine proxies, such as corals or sediments, showed anomalously warm sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific Ocean, it showed.

Such a thermal contrast between the land and the sea likely created a more dynamic summer monsoon circulation, which fostered favorable conditions such as increased low-level moisture transport for tropical cyclone formation, the research showed.

Lin yesterday said the findings overturned the common belief that typhoons become less frequent when the climate cools.

The study showed that the intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones were not decided simply by temperatures, but affected by the broader, more complex interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere, she said.

A longer time scale should be applied to observe and understand tropical cyclone cycles and behavior, she added.

Wang said the core data of the research were sourced from the historical climate database REACHES, which was established in 2014 and funded by Academia Sinica and the National Science and Technology Council’s Sustainability Science Program.

The database helps promote intercultural, interdisciplinary climate research by enabling non-Mandarin-using international researchers to utilize Chinese historical documents, he said.

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America journal last month.

Additional reporting by CNA


Environmentalists concerned LNG port damaging reef

Environmental advocates yesterday called for action to reverse alleged breakdown of the algal reef near the third liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Guantang Industrial Port (觀塘工業港), saying it was likely caused by the construction of the terminal over the past few years.

The terminal, known as the Guantang LNG Plant in

Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音), is run by CPC Corp, Taiwan after the company obtained development rights in 2017 through acquisition of Tungting Liquefied Gas Industrial Co, the original developer.

Construction of the third liquefied natural gas terminal at Guantang Industrial Port in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Taipei Times

Construction began in November 2019 after the then-Environmental Protection Administration’s environmental impact assessment committee approved the project and proposed measures against potential environmental impact.

The terminal came online in May last year.

Environmentalist Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政), who initiated a referendum in 2020 aiming to relocate the terminal, yesterday told a news conference that algal reefs in the district are the largest remaining habitat for Polycyathus isabela a Taiwanese endemic coral species classified as critically endangered.

The algal reef ecosystem along the coast of the district was divided into G1, G2 and G3 zones when the construction project was delineated, with G1 zone being the nearest to the construction site.

He showed underwater photos taken by environmental groups of the crustose coralline algae — which cement the reef, aiding reef-building corals — in G1 zone decreasing from 84 percent coverage in April 2019 to about 10 percent in April 2023.

Caissons used in the project disrupted the ooze layer, burying the algal reefs in G2 zone in ooze, while the newly built port diverted sea currents, leading to sand accumulating along the coast, Pan said.

This is why pieces of dead algal reef proliferated after construction began in 2019, he said, adding that the accumulated sand and ooze near the reefs has become inhabited by non-reef-building algae.

Pan asked CPC to conduct an investigation with environmentalists during low tide on Wednesday morning next week to find out whether the observation results were true.

He urged government authorities to establish a response unit to reverse the algal reef decline.

CPC representative Huang Chih-chien (黃志堅) said sand accumulation fluctuated mainly with seasonal climate effects such as typhoons and the northeast monsoon every December.

Regarding ooze stirred up by caisson construction, Huang said they were placed indirectly on the seabed with a layer of pads and a layer of stones in between.

The project used more than 300 caissons, a number “disproportionate” to the vastness of the ocean, he said, adding that improperly discharged industrial sludge could be a cause of the siltation.

The shrinking coverage of crustose coralline algae could be caused by rising sea temperatures and increased seawater turbidity along the west coast of Taiwan, rather than solely by the siltation, Huang said, citing research by National Taiwan Ocean University.

CPC would cooperate in conducting on-site investigations along with representatives from environmental groups to examine algal reef conditions, as well as provide research data for review, he said.

University vice president and aquaculture professor Nan Fan-hua (冉繁華) said research showed that coral growth does change with sea temperatures and seawater turbidity.

Reef-building coralline algae are declining while the non-reef-building types are increasing not only around the construction site, but in other areas of the sea, he said, adding that damage caused by siltation to algae reefs at the tissue level could be restored after the ooze and sand is removed.

The university has achieved fruitful outcomes in the restoration of Polycyathus isabela, Nan said.


Many school-aged children in Taiwan take jobs to assist their families, but about 20 percent are being underpaid or work in unsafe conditions, World Vision Taiwan (WVT) said last week.

“For underprivileged families assisted by our staff, 26.1 percent have children that work while in school, of whom 80.1 percent said they did so to help their family pay for food, housing, transportation and other daily living expenses,” the children’s advocacy organization said.

“Of employed children from poorer households, 69.2 percent hold jobs in the service sector and 21.8 percent are in manual labor jobs, cleaning services or other physically intensive work. These positions are low-entry threshold, easy to replace and not long-term careers,” it said.

A person works on a construction site in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of World Vision Taiwan via CNA

WVT said 21.2 percent of these children are in jobs paid less than the legal minimum hourly wage of NT$196 or minimum monthly wage of NT$29,500, trapping the children in a vicious cycle of low-skill and low-paying employment.

“These children mostly had to take temporary jobs, such as carrying and climbing scaffolds at construction sites, mixing cement or other jobs that pay by the day. In doing so, some children and their parents fall victim to scammers or get saddled with increasing debts,” said Lin Yen-ting (林晏渟), a WVT social worker.

“The figures show that 71.4 percent of these children severely lack educational support, and one in four quit school after finishing junior-high school. Of those, 10.5 percent said they gave up further schooling for economic reasons,” Lin added.

She cited the case of Hao Hao (浩浩), a high-school student in southern Taiwan, whose family’s economic woes and legal issues compelled Hao to take a low-paying job at a metal plant.

Some children have to take on multiple jobs or work nights, which can affect their sleep, health and immune systems during a critical developmental period, Lin said.

“They have to work excessive hours due to economic pressure on their family, but it is important to teach them how to speak up to their manager, to know their labor rights and the legal minimum wage, and to understand how to be safe in the workplace,” she added.

WVT offers educational scholarships for children of underprivileged families, grants for family guidance and assistance, and job training.

“We send social workers to find out what services are needed for these families, and provide assistance for children in the workplace,” WVT said.

WVT is working to offer scholarships for more than 100,000 teenage students and to expand service programs, asking the public to support their “Pass on Love via Red Envelope” donation drive to support children during their critical teenage years.

Employed children often underpaid: NGO


Water colors

Light installations for the Pingtung Lantern Festival are lit in one of the event’s designated venues in Pingtung City in a photograph released yesterday. The festival is to run from Friday next week to March 1 on the bank of the Wan Nian Creek, Pingtung County Park, Victory Star Village and Long Jing Creek Riverside Park in the city.


Call for support

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei, center, on Wednesday gestures atop a car as she canvasses for support for her bid to be the party’s Tainan mayor nominee. Chen beat Legislator Lin Chun-hsien by more than 2 percentage points in the primary.


WORLDWIDE BOOM: Taiwan is benefiting from a wave of AI investment, which has lifted semiconductor exports and fueled capacity expansion, Standard Chartered said

The economy is poised for stronger-than-expected expansion this year as the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom pours fresh momentum into the world’s most advanced chipmaking hub, Standard Chartered PLC said yesterday.

The bank has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year to 3.8 percent, up from a prior estimate of 2.5 percent, citing strong demand for AI-related semiconductors and sustained capital spending by the nation’s technology champions.

Standard Chartered’s growth projection for next year was also nudged higher to 2.7 percent.

Taiwan is benefiting disproportionately from a worldwide wave of AI investment, which has lifted semiconductor exports and fueled a new round of capacity expansion, the bank’s global research unit said in a report.

The outlook was reinforced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which told an earnings conference in Taipei yesterday that it plans to boost capital spending to between US$52 billion and US$56 billion this year. The increase underscores the chipmaker’s commitment to accelerating mass production and capacity expansion at the 2-nanometer node, a key battleground in the race for technological leadership.

TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said demand from US cloud service providers has proven to be genuine rather than speculative.

The company’s customer roster includes Nvidia Corp, Apple Inc and Broadcom Inc.

The US became Taiwan’s largest export market last year, accounting for 30.9 percent of the nation’s total outbound shipments, driven largely by demand for chips, servers and other data center equipment used in AI development, Ministry of Finance data showed.

About two-thirds of Taiwan’s exports are exempt from reciprocal US tariffs, helping shield the economy from the immediate impact of Washington’s trade measures.

Globally, Standard Chartered expects economic growth to hold steady at 3.4 percent this year, unchanged from last year.

The World Bank on Tuesday forecast that the global economy would grow 2.6 percent this year, slower than an estimated 2.7 percent for last year.

Standard Chartered warned that rising uncertainty about trade policy, geopolitical tensions and potential financial market adjustments pose elevated risks across major economies.

As global central banks approach the end of their rate-cutting cycles, policy support is expected to shift toward fiscal spending and investment-led growth, with consumer demand remaining a key stabilizing force, the bank said.

Standard Chartered raised its growth forecast for the US to 2.3 percent this year, from 1.7 percent, citing the combined impact of corporate tax cuts, intensifying competition to adopt AI technologies and an expected recovery in its labor market in the second half of the year.

However, the bank flagged potential volatility tied to the US midterm elections, US Federal Reserve leadership changes and rising political pressure on monetary policy.

China is expected to post GDP growth of 4.6 percent this year, up from an earlier estimate of 4.3 percent, on the back of Beijing’s fiscal and monetary policies, Standard Chartered said.

Bank forecasts 3.8% GDP growth


Credit card spending in November last year rose 2.91 percent year-on-year to NT$396.7 billion (US$12.56 billion), with cumulative spending in the first 11 months of last year up 6.26 percent to NT$4.533 trillion, a record high for the period, Financial Supervisory Commission data showed yesterday.

However, spending in November was NT$56.7 billion less than the previous month’s NT$453.4 billion, as October spending was buoyed by department store anniversary sales and increased travel, shopping and dining opportunities during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ten National Day and Retrocession Day holidays, the commission said.

With several card issuers promoting co-branded cards and the number of merchants accepting cards for sales continuing to increase, full-year credit card spending for last year could reach a new high, it said.

A person holds CTBC Bank credit cards in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of CTBC Bank Co

Taiwan’s credit card spending was NT$4.686 trillion in 2024, a new record, FSC data showed.

As of the end of November last year, Taiwan had 60.42 million credit cards in circulation issued by 32 financial institutions, the commission said in a statement.

The number of merchants accepting cards for transactions increased by 3,771 stores from a year earlier to 196,000 stores, it said.

The balance of revolving credit was NT$117.78 billion and the undue balance of installment was NT$198.84 billion, the commission said.

The nonperforming ratio of credit card debt remained unchanged at 0.25 percent on average, it added.

CTBC Bank Co (中國信託銀行) led all banks in terms of credit card spending at NT$72.45 billion, followed by Cathay United Bank Co (國泰世華銀行) at NT$69.31 billion, commission data showed.

Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Co (台北富邦銀行) ranked third with spending of NT$51.15 billion, ahead of E.Sun Commercial Bank Ltd (玉山銀行) at NT$48.43 billion and Taishin International Bank Co (台新銀行) at NT$43.36 billion, data showed.

CTBC was the biggest issuer of new credit cards among local banks in November last year as it continued to promote a new co-branded credit card with food conglomerate Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業). The bank issued 132,555 cards in the month, or 27.32 percent of the 485,113 cards issued in Taiwan, data showed.

Cathay United came in second in new card issuance at 59,075 cards, followed by E.Sun at 52,421, Taishin at 43,518 and Taiwan Rakuten Card Inc (台灣樂天) at 41,717, data showed.

Meanwhile, Taipei Fubon led its peers in canceling cards that had not been used for more than a year, with 158,575 cards canceled in November last year, followed by CTBC at 91,773 and E.Sun at 78,685, the commission said.

Spending on credit cards hits record high of NT$4.533tn


ASML value soars above US$500bn on TSMC’s outlook

ASML Holding NV became only the third European company to surpass US$500 billion in market value after key customer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) gave a stronger-than-anticipated outlook for this year.

Shares of the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker rose as much as 7.6 percent in Amsterdam yesterday, hitting a record high and extending their year-to-date gain to 24 percent. That took ASML’s market capitalization to about 453 billion euros (US$527 billion). Only luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S have previously reached the milestone.

ASML surged above the symbolic level after TSMC yesterday forecast capital spending rising to as much as US$56 billion this year, more than expected, showing how the chipmaker is benefiting from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The ASML Holding NV headquarters in Veldhoven, Netherlands, are pictured on Nov. 14 last year. Photo: Bloomberg

“The milestone means a lot for the market sentimentally,” Barclays PLC strategist Emmanuel Cau said. “Europe is a small market, so if ASML as a major stock goes up, the broader market will automatically benefit. The rally in ASML also gives European investors a gateway to play the mainstream AI trade.”

TSMC’s outlook provides fresh optimism for sustained global AI spending this year after signs of volatility in the so-called AI trade. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been committed to build the data centers needed to train and run AI, fueling growth among companies ranging from water chiller manufacturers to chipmakers.

ASML has grown to be Europe’s most valuable company as the only producer of cutting-edge lithography machines that TSMC needs to manufacture chips used in everything from Apple Inc’s smartphones to Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators.

“This is ultimately a very positive start to the earnings season for the tech giants,” Quilter Cheviot technology research head Ben Barringer said. “These results give us a good indication of what we are likely to see from both the chips companies and the semicap equipment providers.”


The US has imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports of certain advanced semiconductors, a key step in an agreement blessed by US President Donald Trump allowing Nvidia Corp to ship Taiwan-made H200 artificial intelligence (AI) processors to China.

Under an order Trump signed on Wednesday, the US government would collect the duty on the chips as they are shipped to the US before final shipment to Chinese customers and other foreign markets.

Nvidia relies on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to produce the chips it designs, including the H200 that was cleared for sale to China by Trump last month.

Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang, right, speaks alongside US President Donald Trump about investing in the US at the White House in Washington on April 30 last year. Photo: AFP

“It’s not the highest level, but it’s a very good level, and China wants them, and other people want them, and we’re going to be making 25 percent of the sale of those chips, basically,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday at a signing ceremony.

The US president is holding off for now on applying tariffs to a broader swath of foreign-made chips, following an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act that found they harm US national security.

Instead, Trump directed US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to “pursue negotiation of agreements” on imports and to report back in 90 days, according to the proclamation he signed.

Trump might announce new tariffs and an accompanying offset program to incentivize domestic manufacturing “in the near future,” a White House fact sheet said.

The 25 percent tariff applies to “a very narrow category of semiconductors that are an important element of my administration’s AI and technology policies,” the proclamation said.

That includes the H200 and Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s MI325X, according to the fact sheet.

There is an exception for those chips that are imported to support the build-out of the US technology supply chain, it said.

Trump signed the measure a day after the US Bureau of Industry and Security eased its criteria for securing licenses to export H200 chips to China.

That surcharge is a condition Trump required in exchange for allowing Nvidia to sell in China. The US must still take additional actions before Nvidia can send the chips to China, including the approval of export licenses by the bureau. That process can take weeks or months and it is unclear when it would conclude.

Taiwanese products have generally faced a 20 percent tariff upon entering the US, although semiconductors have been spared as US Department of Commerce officials conduct a national security investigation into whether new levies should be applied across the chip sector. Trump has yet to follow on imposing tariffs, as negotiations with Taiwan and major technology companies continue.

Top Taiwanese officials on Wednesday traveled to Washington for talks on finalizing a deal to lower its overall tariff rate to 15 percent and expand TSMC production facilities in the US, people familiar with the matter said.

US sets 25 percent tariff on select chips


Taiwan and Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at expanding cooperation on start-up innovation in semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Taipei, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego highlighted her background in business administration, saying it ensures that she is able to support the growth of Taiwanese start-ups in her city.

“We’ll help you grow your business,” she said.

National Development Council Deputy Minister Jan Fang-guan, left, and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego pose for a photograph at a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony in Taipei yesterday. Photo courtesy of the National Development Council

“You’ll also, thanks to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) Arizona, have access to great Taiwanese food, Taiwanese banks, doctors who speak Mandarin,” she said. “It can be all the comforts of home, but access to the markets of the United States.”

Gallego cited JelloX Biotech Inc (捷絡生技), a Taiwanese start-up specializing in 3D digital pathology imaging and AI analysis platforms, as an example of successful operations in Phoenix.

Its technologies can be applied in a range of settings, including improving the efficiency of colon cancer detection, she said.

JelloX has begun operations at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, which offers a well-developed accelerator program, she added.

The agreement, titled the “Taiwan-Phoenix Strategic Technology Partnership,” was signed by Startup Island Taiwan, the Industrial Technology Research Institute, Phoenix, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Tesoro VC.

The MOU aims to help US start-ups connect with Taiwan’s semiconductor research and development (R&D) and manufacturing ecosystem, while supporting Taiwanese start-ups in using Phoenix as a foothold and launchpad to enter the US market, Startup Island Taiwan said.

It also seeks to encourage start-ups from both sides to participate in accelerators, incubators and soft-landing programs.

Startup Island Taiwan is a partnership between the government and a group of start-ups aimed at helping Taiwanese start-ups boost their international presence.

The initiative is to focus on AI, semiconductors and advanced packaging, physical AI intelligent systems, advanced manufacturing, photonics, dual-use technologies, and AI-enabled healthcare applications, Startup Island Taiwan said.

The new MOU builds on an earlier agreement signed in 2023 between Startup Island Taiwan and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, which focused on facilitating information exchanges on industry and investment projects, organizing joint business missions, promoting soft-landing opportunities for Taiwanese start-ups and advancing joint initiatives.

Targeted fields under that agreement included cybersecurity, green energy technology, 5G, information and communications technology, and semiconductors.

National Development Council Deputy Minister Jan Fang-guan (詹方冠) said the successful expansion of several Taiwanese start-ups in Phoenix since 2024 demonstrates that “combining Taiwan’s R&D power with Phoenix’s market and clinical environment is a win-win strategy.”

Phoenix is home to two TSMC wafer fabs, with four more planned under a US$165 billion investment package — the largest single foreign direct investment in US history.

Taiwan, Phoenix ink start-up MOU


Not time to worry about TSMC’s reported expansion in US: Experts

Speculation surrounding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s (TSMC, 台積電) potential expansion in the US should not be overinterpreted, as structural and economic constraints mean such moves are unlikely to weaken Taiwan’s central role in advanced chipmaking in the near future, experts said.

A recent report by The New York Times said Washington and Taipei had nearly finalized trade talks under which TSMC would be asked to add five more chip facilities in Arizona, nearly doubling its previously stated investment there.

Although TSMC did not confirm or deny the report at its earnings conference yesterday, it has fueled concerns in Taiwan about the island’s diminishing strategic importance amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co is pictured at the company’s earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

However, analysts told CNA such concerns overlook timelines and fundamental industry realities.

Tech commentator Owen Lin (林宏文) said TSMC’s US investments have always been long-term in nature. Even the previously announced US$165 billion commitment in Arizona was understood as a roughly 10-year plan, as many TSMC sources had told him, given constraints such as infrastructure readiness, regulations and workforce availability.

“In semiconductors, fabs are not built simply by political declarations,” Lin said, adding that yield performance, talent availability and learning curves ultimately determine success.

Early reports of lower margins at TSMC’s US fabs, he noted, largely reflect initial ramp-up challenges rather than long-term profitability trends, making it misleading to draw conclusions from short-term data.

Lin also pointed out that the foreign media report did not specify a timeline for the additional facilities, saying the scale of TSMC’s US investment would matter more than headline numbers.

Once investment reaches a certain scale, he said, it could attract suppliers to follow, helping form a local semiconductor cluster. “No supplier is going to come to the US if there are only two fabs,” Lin said.

Meanwhile, Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology chief executive officer Jeremy Chang Chih-cheng (張智程) cited recent industry analyses indicating that manufacturing costs in the US can be more than double those in Taiwan due to the absence of a mature semiconductor cluster, saying advanced manufacturing there currently lacks economic rationality.

“At this stage, US manufacturing is driven mainly by security and political considerations,” Chang said, adding that overseas capacity is unlikely to replace Taiwan’s core role unless it becomes economically competitive — a threshold he said that has not been reached.

According to Chang, the key variable is whether the US can eventually develop a self-sustaining ecosystem comparable to Taiwan’s science park model, encompassing suppliers, skilled engineers, and research and development capabilities.

“TSMC is still primarily focused on meeting customer demand, and its decision to add capacity in the US should be seen as an outcome of that overarching priority,” Chang said.

TSMC yesterday projected its capital expenditure at between US$52 billion and US$56 billion this year, up 27-37 percent from US$40.9 billion last year.

About 60-80 percent of the spending will go toward advanced process development, TSMC chief financial officer Wendell Huang (黃仁昭) said.


The value of approved foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Taiwan last year reached US$11.39 billion, up 44.98 percent from the previous year, the Department of Investment Review said yesterday.

The figure was the third-highest in the past decade, behind only 2018 and 2022, the department under the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement.

Last year’s strong FDI performance was mainly driven by several large investment projects, including by Denmark’s Orsted Wind Power TW Holding A/S, which invested about US$2.02 billion to set up Greater Changhua SW Holdings Ltd (大彰化西南控股) in Taiwan, the department said.

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

Luxembourg’s CI Fengmiao SCSP, also a green energy developer, injected about US$671.5 million into CI Fengmiao Ltd (哥本哈根基礎設施渢妙股份), it said.

A total of 1,296 new foreign-invested companies had investment in Taiwan approved last year, with the combined investment totaling about US$1.05 billion.

In terms of Chinese investment in Taiwan, the department said 19 projects were approved last year with combined investment of about US$102.74 million, down 65.43 percent from US$297.22 million a year earlier.

As for foreign-bound investments by Taiwanese companies, the department said 69 outbound investment applications were approved in the final month of last year, with total investment of about US$2.13 billion.

Last year as a whole, 817 projects were approved, with combined investment of about US$38.43 billion, down 14.47 percent from a year earlier.

Investment by Taiwanese companies in China continued to decline, the department said, with 241 projects approved for all of last year putting up combined investment of about US $1.50 billion, down 58.98 percent from a year earlier.

Overall, foreign investment in Taiwan remained strong last year, the department said, while Taiwanese companies became more cautious about investing in China amid global economic uncertainty and shifts in industrial strategy.

Approved FDI up more than 44% in 2025 to US$11.39 billion


Couplet creators

People look at calligraphers writing spring couplets at an event organized by the Taipei City Government at the atrium of Taipei City Hall yesterday. The Lunar New Year decorations are available to the public free of charge.


胡錦濤 蔣萬安 鄭麗文 習近平 蔡英文 連戰

EDITORIAL: No dignity in KMT plans

The forum involving the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that had been suspended for nine years is to resume this month, media reports said, likely as a prelude to a meeting between KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in March.

The Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum was proposed in 2005 by then-KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and then-Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) during Lien’s so-called “ice-breaker” trip to Beijing, and was held annually from 2006.

However, it has been suspended since 2017, one year after the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) defeated the KMT in the 2016 presidential election. Its suspension was attributed to Beijing’s perception that the forum was ineffective in swaying the political preferences of Taiwanese.

Online news Web site Meihua Media on Friday last week reported that the KMT and the CCP are to hold the forum from Jan. 27 to 29 in Beijing. The KMT delegation would be led by Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), and aims to set up a Cheng-Xi meeting, the report said.

Although the KMT has been tight-lipped about a potential meeting, Cheng, who has expressed her willingness to meet with Xi since her inauguration as KMT chair, said the party is preparing to resume formal dialogue with the CCP and has topics to discuss.

The danger is that China typically manipulates such events to promote its “united front” operations. The controversial Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in 2010 and the 2013 Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, which raised concerns over opaque legislative procedures and national security risks, led to the widespread protests of the Sunflower movement. Both were derivatives of the KMT-CCP forum.

Agreements made at the forum always contain explicit political statements such as “people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China” to echo Beijing’s “one China” principle, which denies the existence of the Republic of China in Taiwan. They also avoid the KMT’s so-called “1992 consensus,” including “one China, different interpretations.”

The resumption of the forum and the push for a meeting with Xi could be a strategic move by Cheng to claim a place in the history of cross-strait relations, as well as to solidify her control over the KMT and pro-China forces in Taiwan.

However, there is likely to be backlash, especially as China escalates its coercive tactics. Pundits have warned that the KMT’s engagement with the CCP might come at the expense of Taiwan’s sovereignty and security.

Trips to China by Hsiao and fellow KMT Vice Chairman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) have shown that such fears might not be unfounded. During a meeting with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤), Hsiao reportedly pledged to oppose Taiwanese independence and support China’s “unification” with Taiwan. Media reports said that Beijing gave the KMT several conditions for a Cheng-Xi meeting, including blocking the defense budget proposed by the DPP government, as well as legislation “limiting Chinese spouses’ freedom” and Chinese investment in Taiwan. It also demanded the removal of institutional obstacles to unification, such as the phrase “opposing communism” in the KMT’s charter.

Although the KMT has denied the reports, its legislators have consistently blocked defense budgets and proposals to prevent Chinese infiltration.

The military drills that Beijing launched late last year showed the ineffectiveness of the KMT’s actions in swaying China. The exercises began shortly after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) attended the Taipei-Shanghai Twin-City Forum in China and called for peace across Taiwan Strait, highlighting how the KMT’s appeasement of Beijing and engagements with the CCP fail to protect Taiwan.

A survey by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation showed that more than 50 percent of respondents perceived the KMT as identifying more with China than with Taiwan, while more than 67 percent said the KMT no longer has a firm anti-communist stance. The results indicate that the public has seen through the KMT’s chameleon-like nature in China-related policies.

The engagements between the KMT and the CCP are likely to show more clearly whether the opposition party and its leaders would stand up to hegemony, or, as before, seek political gain at the expense of Taiwan’s dignity.


At the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) New Generation National Strategic Talent Empowerment Workshop in Taipei from Thursday to Sunday last week, DPP Secretary-General Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said that Taiwanese society often uses terms originating from China in everyday life.

“Although this might seem trivial, it has the potential to become a starting point for cultural infiltration, demonstrating that strategic thinking does not exist solely at the policy level. It should also be practiced in daily behavior, and individuals should make judgements and respond at all times based on their respective roles,” he said.

While Hsu’s statement sounds principled, how is it meant to be applied to everyday life? It is unclear whether the ruling party actually has any concrete, feasible policies to address this issue.

Taiwan and China use the same language. For China, waging cognitive warfare and carrying out infiltration operations require virtually no effort. It only needs to convert the disinformation it aims to spread from simplified to traditional Chinese characters, then use artificial intelligence (AI) to replace China-specific terms and phrases with Taiwanese ones.

Under such circumstances, how are people in Taiwan supposed to tell between what is real and fake? The grammar used in China is identical, with only the vocabulary differing. Thus, this kind of substitution is extremely simple in the era of AI-driven cognitive warfare — it is something that could be done without any specialization or expertise.

Suppose that after the outbreak of war, China manufactures false messages instructing frontline commanders and soldiers to surrender immediately, claiming that Taiwan’s commander-in-chief — that is, the president — has ordered them to lay down their arms at once. If we completely trust military communications written in Chinese, how are officers and soldiers supposed to determine whether such information is real or fake? Is every message written in traditional characters to be believed without question?

Regardless of the degree of our military preparedness, if the enemy succeeds in winning the cognitive war, it would effectively fracture and destroy our nation’s defensive morale. That, in effect, would amount to surrendering without a fight.

Hsu is right to call for greater awareness of Chinese word usage — otherwise, we risk losing the cognitive war. However, relying on this approach alone is clearly impractical. It is common knowledge that disinformation has interfered with the outcomes of major elections in Taiwan. My question is this — if Taiwan continues to rely solely on the same language used in China, are we not effectively sitting by and waiting for defeat? After all, using AI to convert Chinese terminology into Taiwanese, or vice versa, for the purpose of spreading disinformation is simply too easy.

It is surprising that the government has consistently failed to recognize the cognitive warfare advantages of Taiwan’s multilingual, multiethnic population. Much like other multilingual countries like Canada, Taiwan should — in addition to using a commonly shared language — also release accurate information in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese, or Tai-gi) or other local mother tongues as tools for verification and clarification. In other words, mother tongues are not merely a matter of culture, nor solely an issue of revitalization.

In the face of a hostile China, whose native language is also Mandarin, the government and military should regard mother tongues as the most effective defensive language for winning the cognitive war. If they cannot be used universally, then Hoklo — still understood by roughly 70 percent of the population — should be adopted as a secondary common language for cognitive defense, enabling Taiwan to make the most precise preparations necessary for winning the cognitive war.

This would significantly raise the cost for China to disseminate disinformation, and mother tongues that were previously suppressed would serve as the vanguard in Taiwan’s modern cognitive defense.

It has been said that “a sufferer has no right to pessimism because he suffers.” Taiwanese society has endured the suffering of relentless disinformation spread by China and the pressure of being forced into a cognitive war by a foreign hostile force. Under such circumstances, do we really have a right to pessimism?

Liou Uie-liang is a medical worker and author based in Germany.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen

Mother tongues are a vanguard


In the US’ National Security Strategy (NSS) report released last month, US President Donald Trump offered his interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. The “Trump Corollary,” presented on page 15, is a distinctly aggressive rebranding of the more than 200-year-old foreign policy position. Beyond reasserting the sovereignty of the western hemisphere against foreign intervention, the document centers on energy and strategic assets, and attempts to redraw the map of the geopolitical landscape more broadly. It is clear that Trump no longer sees the western hemisphere as a peaceful backyard, but rather as the frontier of a new Cold War. In particular, Greenland, the ice-capped arctic island and autonomous territory of Denmark, has become a focal point of US global strategy.

Trump has been clear on his claims of US ownership of Venezuelan oil reserves, and has not minced words when it comes to his designs to control Cuba, Colombia and Greenland. His strategy is proving to be driven by resource control, the containment of adversarial forces and rebalancing of regional power. This is a logic that appeals to the safeguarding of national security, but in reality comes closer to economic nationalism and military expansionist aims.

The NSS details how the US would seek to restore its pre-eminence in the western hemisphere, and deny competitors the “ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets” in the region. Presumably, this points to China and Russia.

Trump’s designation of Greenland within his strategic framework is noteworthy. Beyond voicing his wish to buy the island, Trump has made public that he sees Greenland as indispensable to US national security. This is likely thanks to its prime location along arctic shipping routes and for military radar, and its rich endowments of rare earth minerals. China has long controlled global supply chains of rare earths, so Trump’s vision of Greenland as being at the heart of strategic resource competition has seen the territory emerge from the rim of the arctic circle as a global focus point for critical minerals.

These shifts are indicative of US ambitions to rebuild “Fortress America,” not just through US Navy and Coast Guard redeployments for illegal immigration and drug smuggling crackdowns, but also through shoring up preferential access of US companies to resources and infrastructure throughout the western hemisphere. This is a wholesale geopolitical remodeling of everything from markets and resources to communication and energy.

Although packaged as a national security issue, it amounts to a serious blow to regional sovereignty and the international order. The strategy aims to position the US as the preferred partner of countries in the hemisphere by gradually forcing them to sever ties with China through economic, military and technological leverage. From the control of ports and communications infrastructure to interference in the trajectories and diplomatic choices of political parties, this is more than plain economic warfare, but clashes of entire value systems and modes of governance. Trump has been clear: US aid is no longer to be offered unconditionally, but to facilitate the undermining of adversarial external forces.

Against this backdrop, the contesting of Greenland is not just a spat over resources, but a real provocation of Denmark’s sovereignty as a NATO member. It signals to Europe that it can expect “America first” to override any pre-existing multilateral consensus. For Taiwan, Trump’s advocacy of a national security model that centers assets and revival of geopolitical power plays suggests that competition between the US and China over strategic control of the Indo-Pacific region is likely to intensify. Any regions or resources deemed to be of strategic value could become flashpoints.

With Trump’s statements on the Monroe Doctrine, asserting that it “was very important, but we forgot about it. We don’t forget about it anymore,” he reminds us that the US is no longer interested in just being the world’s police; it has re-emerged as a superpower poised to take resources by force. Greenland might just be the beginning. While the western hemisphere has already become an arena for Trumpism, the chill of the geopolitical storm brewing is starting to be felt worldwide.

Liao Ming-hui is an assistant researcher at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research.

Translated by Gilda Knox Streader

Trump’s Monroe Doctrine corollary


History as a compass for national resilience

History is a compass for navigating geopolitical uncertainty and safeguarding political autonomy. When great powers revert to Cold War-style zero-sum thinking, trust collapses, civic space contracts and international norms fracture. The danger deepens when crisis situations are exploited to target dissent under a facade of legality. Post-2019 Hong Kong warns how national security regimes can weaponize law to suppress pluralism, dismantle democratic governance and silence civil society in the name of order.

The erosion of rights in Hong Kong carries profound lessons for Taiwan’s defense of autonomy and the future of cross-strait relations. These lessons are urgently relevant to the nation as it faces mounting military pressure, and legislative disputes over budgets and defense priorities.

Washington’s assertive posture toward smaller states, from military intervention in Venezuela to talk of direct control over Greenland, reveals a recurring dilemma of contemporary geopolitics: External guarantees might secure short-term survival, but can also erode long-term sovereignty and undermine respect for international norms.

Meanwhile, Iran’s youth-led uprisings reflect a global pattern of dissent in which digitally connected and morally driven young people confront regimes that mistake coercion for consent. From Taiwan’s Sunflower movement to protests in Hong Kong and Myanmar, we learn that democratic legitimacy cannot be commanded; it must be continuously earned.

For Taiwan, democratic resilience must be cultivated from the bottom up. Three lessons stand out:

First, democracy thrives on accountability, not fear. Empowering civic institutions is essential to sustaining democratic substance. Democracy is more than periodic elections; it depends on durable mechanisms of checks and balances. Electoral integrity, judicial independence, a free press and a vibrant civil society form the armor against constitutional decay. Where these safeguards weaken, laws cease to protect and instead become a tool of domination. Democratic leadership is grounded in trust and responsibility, not imposed through coercion or emergency rule.

Second, legal clarity and strategic alliances deter aggression more effectively than ambiguity. Deterrence should be embedded in law and multilateralism. Freedom of navigation has long anchored stability in the western Pacific, even as China and the US show tendencies toward unilateral rulemaking. Taiwan’s security and prosperity continue to rest on international norms and coordinated partnerships with like-minded regional actors. While the US’ Taiwan Relations Act might buy time and flexibility for Washington, legal clarity and multilateral commitments generate endurance and deterrence.

Third, youth engagement is foundational to good governance. Tehran’s streets remind us that legitimacy must be interactive and rooted in civic participation. Citizens ultimately measure governments by tangible results: housing affordability, job opportunities and distributive fairness. Taiwan’s experience under Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarianism offers a sobering lesson: When enforcement power centralizes and accountability blurs, institutions drift from serving the public to ensuring regime survival. Therefore, engaging with young people channels their activism into constructive efforts that strengthen democracy.

In today’s fractured global landscape, Taiwan’s strongest defense is a democracy that citizens can test, contest and reform. Resilience cannot be outsourced. Strategic prudence entails deterring threats wisely, governing transparently and listening seriously to young people whose futures are at stake.

Joseph Tse-Hei Lee is a professor of history at Pace University in New York.


EDITORIAL CARTOON

Jan. 1 marks a decade since China repealed its one-child policy. Just 10 days before, Peng Peiyun (彭珮雲), who long oversaw the often-brutal enforcement of China’s family-planning rules, died at the age of 96, having never been held accountable for her actions. Obituaries praised Peng for being “reform-minded,” even though, in practice, she only perpetuated an utterly inhumane policy, whose consequences have barely begun to materialize.It was Vice Premier Chen Muhua (陳慕華) who first proposed the one-child policy in 1979, with the endorsement of China’s then-top leaders, Chen Yun (陳雲) and Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平), as a means of avoiding the

By Yi Fuxian


Trump’s exercise of raw power upends world order, sending friends and foes reelingThe US’ use of power without any reference to international norms could embolden China and Russia to intensify coercive moves against their own neighbors, and push key regional players even closer to Beijing  By Matt Spetalnick, John Geddie and Antoni Slodkowski / Reuters, WASHINGTON, TOKYO, LONDON, BEIJING, MEXICO CITY

US President Donald Trump has toppled Venezuela’s leader, vowed to control its vast oil reserves and threatened other Latin American countries with similar military action. He has talked openly about annexing Greenland, even by force. And, beyond the western hemisphere, he has warned Iran that the US could strike it again.

Ushering in the new year with a flurry of aggressive moves and fiery rhetoric just days before the first anniversary of his inauguration, Trump has taken a wrecking ball to the rules-based global order that the US helped build from the ashes of World War II.

That has left much of the world reeling, with friends and foes alike struggling to adjust to seemingly altered geopolitical realities. Many are uncertain of what Trump would do next and whether the latest changes would be long-lasting or could be undone by a more traditional future US president.

“Everyone expected Trump to return to office with bluster,” said Brett Bruen, a former foreign policy adviser in the administration of former US president Barack Obama and now head of the Global Situation Room consultancy. “But this bulldozing of the pillars that have long undergirded international stability and security is taking place at an alarming and disruptive pace.”

SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

While much is still unclear, Trump in a matter of months has demonstrated a taste for exercising raw US power, as he did with the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites in June last year and the Jan. 3 attack on Venezuela.

He has signaled that he might intervene again, especially in the western hemisphere, where he has vowed to restore US dominance, despite having campaigned on an “America First” agenda of avoiding new military entanglements.

This assessment of Trump’s shake-up of the global system draws on interviews with more than a dozen current and former government officials, foreign diplomats and independent analysts in Washington and capitals around the world.

On the global stage, Trump is resuscitating what much of the international community had long spurned as an outdated worldview — spheres of influence carved out by the big powers.

The inspiration is the 19th century Monroe Doctrine that prioritized US supremacy in the western hemisphere and which Trump has embraced and reworked into the “Donroe Doctrine.”

Experts said that while the revival of this playbook might have unnerved some US allies, it could also serve the interests of Russia, locked in a war in Ukraine, and China, which has long had its sights set on Taiwan.

Following the US attack on Venezuela — and Trump’s transparent play for the OPEC state’s vital resources — some of the US’ staunchest allies have shown increasing concern about the undoing of the world order.

At stake is an international system that has taken shape over the past eight decades largely under US primacy and although subject to occasional reversals had helped stave off worldwide conflict. It has come to be based on free trade, rule of law and respect for territorial integrity.

A White House official said the policies Trump is pursuing, including heavy focus on the Americas, the display of military might, a border crackdown and sweeping use of tariffs, were what he was elected to do and “we are seeing world leaders respond accordingly.”

Influential White House adviser Stephen Miller appeared to summarize the administration’s worldview when he told CNN on Jan. 5: “We live in a world, in the real world ... that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power.”

Europeans, already shaken by doubts about Trump’s willingness to defend Ukraine against Russia, have spoken out more openly in recent days, especially over his fixation with Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a fellow NATO member.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier last week accused the US of a “breakdown of values” and urged the world not to let the international order disintegrate into a “den of robbers.”

Trump said the US needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it, although Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that a US move to take Greenland would mean the end of the transatlantic alliance.

Amid the growing unease, some European leaders have suggested NATO should deploy forces in the Arctic to address US security concerns.

SAFEGUARDING INTERESTS

Even before the latest developments, some US allies had begun taking steps to safeguard against Trump’s sometimes erratic policies, including growing European efforts to boost its defense industry.

Trump also has stirred anxiety among Washington’s Asian partners.

Itsunori Onodera, an influential Japanese ruling party lawmaker and former Japanese minister of defense, wrote on X that the US operation in Venezuela was a clear example of “changing the status quo by force.”

Trump’s berating of European allies and seeming tilt toward Russia last spring prompted a contingent of senior Japanese lawmakers to consider that the only nation to have been attacked with atomic bombs might have to develop one of its own.

In South Korea, Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Kim Joon-hyung said Trump’s actions in Venezuela “opens a Pandora’s box where the strong can use force against the weak.”

In contrast, former Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said he did not see Trump’s Venezuela action as an “earth-shattering development” for the world order, although he questioned whether the US’ increased focus on the Western Hemisphere was a message that “Europe, you’re on your own.”

Most friendly governments have had a largely muted response on Venezuela, reluctant to antagonize the US president.

“Publicly scolding Trump is not going to help achieve our aims,” a British official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Leftist-governed Mexico was quick to criticize the US ouster of Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s authoritarian socialist former leader, but with so much at stake in relations with its northern neighbor, a senior Mexican official said it “will not go beyond publicly condemning the use of force.”

Trump, who has threatened unilateral military action targeting drug cartels inside Mexico and Colombia, told the New York Times in an interview last week that his authority as commander-in-chief is constrained only by his “own morality,” not by international law.

NEW IMPERIALISM?

While critics accuse Trump of a new imperialism in Latin America, his defenders say it is long overdue, especially given China’s economic and diplomatic inroads in the region.

The White House official said Trump was “rightfully restoring American influence,” especially by taking out Maduro, who he had accused of “poisoning” Americans with a flow of illegal drugs and sending Venezuelan migrants to the US.

“While the administration’s actions in Venezuela have shocked the world and sent a strong message to US rivals in Beijing, Moscow, Havana and Tehran, they are likely only the starting point for a longer-term and more comprehensive reappraisal of US core interests in the hemisphere,” Alexander Gray, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and former foreign policy adviser in Trump’s first term, wrote on the think tank’s Web site.

US RISKS

Key regional players such as Brazil could be pushed even closer to China as they hedge their bets against Trump’s pressure, some analysts said.

Most unsettling for US allies has been Trump’s focus on Venezuela’s oil as a driving force behind the removal of Maduro. Washington has left the deposed president’s loyalists in power for now, while strong-arming them to grant US companies privileged access.

Experts warn that use of US power without any reference to international norms could embolden China and Russia to intensify coercive moves against their own neighbors.

The White House official countered that, saying the US’ adversaries had “undoubtedly taken note of the president’s strength.”

Fudan University international affairs expert Zhao Minghao (趙明昊) said the US had “hyped up the notion of a ‘China threat’ in Latin America.” Soon after taking office, Trump spoke of taking back the Panama Canal and pressed the Panamanian government to reconsider Chinese-run facilities near the strategic waterway.

Zhao also said Trump appeared supportive of major powers’ spheres of influence, an approach that many believe carries appeal for Beijing.

The prevailing view in Russia is that the US attack on Venezuela, including taking Maduro to New York to face “narco-trafficking” charges, was a pure power play.

“That Trump just ‘stole’ the president of another country shows that there is basically no international law — there is only the law of force,” former Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov said. “But Russia has known that for a long time.”

Trump’s appetite for further foreign military action might continue for targets well beyond the western hemisphere.

Even amid the fallout over Venezuela, he has threatened to intervene on behalf of protesters in Iran, where Muslim clerical rulers are facing one of the stiffest challenges to their control since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Trump on Sunday told reporters on Air Force One he was weighing possible responses, including military options.

“We may have to act because of what is happening,” he said.


Can Japan’s Sanae Takaichi beat the heat with a snap election?

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly hates the summer.

“It’s a state secret,” Koichi Hagiuda, a senior figure in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), joked last week — adding that she particularly hates summer elections.

That is understandable, given the incessant public addresses they demand, in a country where summers are oppressively humid, stiflingly hot and longer than ever. That is why she might be trying to beat the heat by dissolving parliament this month and calling a snap election in the early weeks of February, as a flurry of media reports said she intends to.

The timing makes sense, and not just for the temperature. After three months in office, her polling numbers remain off the charts.

A Japan News Network survey this weekend showed her enjoying 78 percent approval. She passed her extra budget last month, filled with handouts for households battling inflation, and has enacted a publicly popular cut to gasoline taxes. And just when some of the chief concerns around her position were her inexperience and the hint of radicalism she carries, Beijing’s campaign against her, for comments on the potential for Japan to be dragged into a theoretical Chinese invasion of Taiwan, makes her look positively reasonable and stateswomanlike.

However, to enact meaningful change, she needs to turn her popularity into a long-lasting administration, of the kind overseen by her mentor, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The prospect of that has jolted what was a relatively sleepy start to the year in Japanese markets. The Takaichi Trade has been resurgent, with the Nikkei 225 rising to yet another record, bonds continuing their sell off and the weakening yen once again flirting with touching 160 to the US dollar. Investors are betting on the prospect that a stronger position would enable Takaichi’s free-spending instincts.

A win could restore the LDP’s majority in the lower house, lost in 2024 under former Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba. That would lessen the need to cooperate with stubborn opposition parties and secure her position within the LDP itself. Many lawmakers lost their posts under Ishiba, and gaining their support — as well as proving herself as an election winner — is the best way to ward off internal rivals and keep hold of the top office.

Her support among younger voters, increasingly influential as ever-more political discussion takes place online, is almost unheard of. They have recently taken to “Sana-katsu,” or buying items that Takaichi herself favors, such as her handbag or preferred brand of pen.

Among the under-30s, she enjoys an unprecedented 92 percent approval rating, according to a Fuji News Network poll last month. The contrast with the main opposition party, whose leader Yoshihiko Noda once likened himself to a bottom-feeding fish, could not be more stark: Even with the LDP in crisis last year, his party failed to pick up a single seat in the July upper house election.

Yet it is not a slam dunk. Takaichi is popular, but the idea of an election is not: Most surveyed said they see little need for another just more than a year since the last vote. The prime minister has not crafted a wedge issue on which to justify calling one. And in contrast to Takaichi herself, the LDP brand itself is still damaged goods. It all risks being seen as self-serving — at a time voters would prefer to hold her to her promise to “work, work, work, work, work” on issues such as inflation.

However, the greater risk might be doing nothing. Between the domestic schedule and international engagements, there are only a handful of windows during which she can realistically call an election. Leave it too late, and her popularity would inevitably start to take a hit as familiarity breeds contempt. Remember the lesson of former Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga, who enjoyed Takaichi-like polling numbers when he replaced Abe in 2020. He passed up the chance to capitalize on those, and another window did not open up as his crashing popularity forced him out of power.

Takaichi might hate the heat, but her political honeymoon would not last forever, either.

Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia, and was the Tokyo deputy bureau chief. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.