US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military While the US currently would be able to defeat China in a conflict over Taiwan it is quickly losing that advantage due to China outpacing it in the production of warships and submarines the US had “key advantages over China in undersea capabilities as well as superior capabilities in space and weapons that counter space assets at a much faster pace than the US,” he was quoted by the FT as saying On whether China might be deterred from taking military action against Taiwan Paparo said it depended on several factors including the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) level of military readiness Beijing’s assumptions about Taiwan’s defensive capabilities and the probability of foreign assistance to Taiwan in an interview yesterday with the Wall Street Journal US Army Pacific Commanding General Ronald Clark said that five years ago he would not have thought that China today would hold rehearsals of a blockade of Taiwan “China’s aggressive behavior has made the environment more dangerous” than it was when he was posted in the Indo-Pacific three years ago The PLA has since 2022 staged drills to surround Taiwan and simulate cutting it off from the world “[These exercises] give us an opportunity to really understand how they would go about something like a blockade or potentially a cross-strait invasion,” Clark said The US is building specialized units known as Multi-Domain Task Forces to counter the PLA’s “anti-access/area-denial” capabilities Key to this strategy is the new Typhon missile system adding: “If it gives them [Beijing] pause .. May 2 (CNA) A man was arrested on Friday afternoon after he allegedly bit a passenger's arm on a Taipei Metro train following a heated altercation when a 30-year-old individual identified by his last name Lu (呂) got into a verbal and physical fight with another passenger after allegedly being pushed on the cramped train tried to break up the fight but was allegedly bitten by Lu for his troubles police said after a preliminary investigation Police said that the assailant boarded the train at Taipei Main Station and was arrested at Zhongxiao-Xinsheng Station after the incident was reported Although Wang chose not to press charges against Lu the case was referred to prosecutors with the suspect under investigation for an alleged violation of the Social Order Maintenance Act Revised guidelines to certify distributors of traditional medicine face backlash Chinese medicine practicioners protested revised regulations in Taipei on Sunday On March 18, the MHOW published a revised interpretation of Article 103 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act which will significantly lower barriers to obtaining certification as a distributor of traditional medicines Protestors have demanded that the government withdraw the measure saying it will jeopardize public safety and damage their industry.  Article 103 was originally intended to protect the legacy of well-established businesses involved in the importation and distribution of ingredients used in traditional medicine with fewer and fewer businesses becoming approved for the activity the industry in Taiwan has been shrinking at an alarming rate in recent years. The government is concerned that the current situation may lead to some businesses monopolizing the supply chain for traditional medicine practitioners The MHOW introduced the reinterpretation to revitalize the industry and incentivize new suppliers and practitioners.  The controversial portion of MHOW’s new interpretation regarding the certification for distributors reads: “Chinese medicine practitioners who hold a certificate to distribute traditional medicine and graduates of Chinese medicine programs or pharmacy-related majors who have completed core courses in Chinese medicine and have interned for more than one year can register as distributors of traditional medicine.” Groups like the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists stridently criticized the move to relax certification measures, saying that the MHOW has arbitrarily undermined the purpose of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, reported LTN They argue that an extensive apprenticeship and a national exam certification should be the standard to obtain a license to distribute medical ingredients in Taiwan Protestors at Sunday’s rally say the new rules which require only the equivalent of a master’s degree and a year of apprenticeship will make buying medical items no different than shopping for groceries the MHOW and the National Union of Taiwan Medicine Association argue that the industry is rapidly declining They say swift measures are needed to attract new talent and spur growth Chinese medicine practitioners protest relaxed regulations in Taipei 6.8% of individuals in Taiwan secretly recorded Taiwan proposes national One Health joint plan Taiwan health ministry responds to concerns nurses are being overworked Taiwan doctors propose integrating traditional and modern medical practices to ease hospital overcrowding Taiwan labor minister responds to new foreign caregiver regulations Taipei MRT reminds passengers of drinking water ban Taiwan dollar hits NT$29 per US dollar triggering currency exchange rush Central Bank steps in as Taiwan dollar posts strong single-day gain Magnitude 5.5 earthquake strikes off east Taiwan Vietjet flight makes unscheduled landing in Taiwan Taiwan ranked 2nd most innovative country in world US tech earnings spark Taiwan stock market rally Four Vietnamese residents found dead in northern Taiwan Taiwan ranks 1st in Asia on World Press Freedom Index US Congress members urge Somalia to reverse Taiwan passport ban The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan The decline marked the steepest single-day loss for the US dollar since 2002 The gains made the NT dollar the strongest currency in the Asian market on Friday In addition to expectations of US pressure fueled by significant foreign institutional net buying as well as optimism that the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by up to 100 basis points later this year also contributed to the NT dollar’s strength on Friday Lin said that expectations of US pressure on Taiwan to allow the NT dollar to strengthen dominated market sentiment as several Asian economies — including Taiwan — seek to reduce their trade surpluses with Washington ahead of tariff negotiations Drawing parallels to the 1985 “Plaza Accord,” a deal between the US France and the UK that facilitated a coordinated weakening of the US dollar Lin said many traders in the local foreign exchange market fear a “Plaza Accord 2.0” could emerge from the current round tariff negotiations he said that the NT dollar’s sharp single-day gains suggests traders might have overreacted to such concerns While Lin forecasted that the US dollar could dip below the NT$30 mark in the short term he said the NT dollar is expected to move in tandem with other Asian currencies over the longer term making it unlikely that the local currency would remain an outlier in the global foreign exchange market director of the sixth research division at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) on Friday said that the appreciation of the NT dollar partly reflected the local currency catching up to the yen which had risen sharply against the US dollar in recent sessions Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said that to his knowledge the US did not require Japan to strengthen the yen during their tariff talks which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro with the euro up 0.12 percent at US$1.1304 the US dollar weakened 0.3 percent to 144.99 The Lancet published a letter from two doctors at Taichung-based China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) warning that “Taiwan’s Health Care System is on the Brink of Collapse.” The authors said that “Years of policy inaction and mismanagement of resources have led to the National Health Insurance system operating under unsustainable conditions.” Errors in the paper were quickly identified and publicized to discredit the authors (the hospital apologized) CNA reported that CMUH said the letter described Taiwan in 2021 as having 62 nurses per 10,000 people when the correct number was 78 nurses per 10,000 people The Lancet letter also confused COVID death data with the rate of patients with the COVID omicron variant requiring intubation said that the letters’ criticisms were unfair to health care workers These errors permitted the health care system to dismiss the letter without addressing its core claims The authors cited local nursing association data showing that 78 percent of nurses must work overtime They also cited a 2019 study that high levels of burnout among health-care professionals drive attrition rates of 12 percent annually they noted that strict health-care cost controls have led to stagnant wages in the industry “with real wages declining by 18 percent since 2000.” critics did nothing to address these claims because they are largely true and have been for years Statistics from the Taiwan Union of Nurses Association (TUNA) show that over 300,000 licenses have been issued but only 190,000 nurses were actually working as of Dec a situation I first heard discussed by high-level nursing educators over a decade ago Because the system has a permanent nursing deficit and refuses to make meaningful changes to its work arrangements after which nothing happens and the system returns to permanent crisis mode A 2022 statement from the Taiwan Association of Emergency Medicine made arguments similar to those in The Lancet letter One fallout from the nursing shortage is ward closure critically ill patients are forced to remain in the emergency ward reducing the ability of emergency wards to serve the public one important recommendation of the statement was an adjusted payout system to fund emergency wards and ward re-opening when demand is high The payout system is the subject of much criticism The Lancet letter exampled “rigid global budget payments” as a major system problem A November journal article in the Journal of the Formosan Medical Association on the woeful state of Taiwan’s hospital pediatric care system since the pandemic recommended that health care expenditure as a percentage of GDP be increased and the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) be amended “to eliminate the global budget payment system.” The global budget system was implemented in 2000 “At the outset,” the writers of the piece on pediatric care note planners “anticipated that the system would be operational for a limited duration the system’s utility to politicians was such that it has remained in place for 24 years.” The global budget system has two key features: a fixed budget The cap adjusts downward as health care expenditures by front-line hospitals rise it pays NT$1 for every NT the hospital claims the floating point figure falls (it is adjusted every three months) This means that if the hospital claims NT$100,000 in expenses the per-patient payout falls as the number of patients rises: the more patients a hospital services This enables the government to keep the global health budget fixed and transfers the cost burden to hospitals The public doesn’t care because services are cheap and politicians are happy because the budget is easy to “balance” and doesn’t become a constant political headache The term “collapse” is often thrown around in discussions of the health care system and health care professionals are seeking other options since hospitals must work them to death merely to stay afloat The pernicious result of this budgetary pressure is the need for doctors to become revenue centers When I had a problem with my knee and I became increasingly unable to walk The last doctor said none of those would work so why not just go directly to knee replacement Luckily a friend suggested a simple change to my diet that worked Another pernicious effect: in a system where doctors are revenue generators That is the fundamental reason they are ruthlessly overworked unknown to the public until they are encountered as the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) article observed last week if a patient requires medicines after successful breast cancer treatment The government treats the health care system the same way it treated Taiwan Power Co (Taipower Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) and many other government programs and agencies: it maintains them in a state of permanent crisis keeping government payouts low and enabling taxes to remain absurdly low and lets the entity in question pile up debts the debt is absorbed by the hospitals as costs and by their staff in the form of lower salaries and unrelenting overwork Since the rich and the now-retired miracle generation refuse to pay the taxes necessary to sustain the system at some point the hospital system will have to be privatized somehow Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators proposed amending the NHI Act to say that when the floating point cap falls below 1 the government must make up the difference That would move the nation toward a system in which hospitals were paid more or less what their costs are That move was supported by eight major health care associations said the NHI’s global budget payment system might be harmed (wasn’t that the whole point of it?) and that it “should be further deliberated.” Notes from Central Taiwan is a column written by long-term resident Michael Turton who provides incisive commentary informed by three decades of living in and writing about his adoptive country The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is giving money to templegoers in Taiwan and subsidizing trips for them to visit China a Taiwanese intelligence official said yesterday The CCP is partially or fully funding Taiwanese’s trips to China to attend religious pilgrimages and events as part of “united front” efforts adding that it incentivizes the recruitment of more participants by paying borough wardens and temple heads based on the number of people who sign up for trips The CCP has been targeting Taiwan’s most popular temples and recently organized a trip to attend an event in China’s Fujian Province celebrating the sea goddess Matsu’s (媽祖) 1,065th birthday Templegoers have also been invited to visit cultural sites in China to “promote a language ancestry and cultural roots shared between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” they said “The CCP pays NT$1,000 per person recruited by temple and borough heads to attend these events If they manage to sign up 100 people or more “Participants at most pay for their airfare Everything else is covered after their arrival,” the source said adding that officials from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office often show up to speak to the Taiwanese participants “Some borough wardens see this as a free trip to China while others avoid traveling with the groups seemingly concerned about being seen as group leaders they meet up with the group later in China to create the impression that they are traveling separately,” they said Officials have found examples of such trips by temples large and small throughout Taiwan including in Miaoli and rural parts of Tainan “Accepting CCP-funded hospitality does not align with the norms of legitimate exchanges,” they said A batch of imported pork has tested positive for ractopamine for the first time since the nation lifted import restrictions in 2021 The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) pork monitoring dashboard on Tuesday last week showed that a 23-tonne batch of pork from Australia tested positive for ractopamine at 0.001ppm ractopamine limits are set at 0.04ppm for pork liver and kidneys This marks the first detection of ractopamine in imported pork since the market was opened shifting some public concern beyond US pork to include other sources a total of 42,184.01 tonnes of pork had been imported to Taiwan this year accounting for 24 percent of pork on the market kidneys and other edible pork parts have been imported Although the government encourages businesses to voluntarily disclose the origin of their pork it is largely unknown where most imported pork ends up Consumers’ Foundation chairman Teng Wei-chung (鄧惟中) said yesterday A study by the foundation found that only 2 out of 600 products were identified as pork originating from the US Imported pork could be used in processed foods or mixed meats which means consumers could only be sure that their food does not contain ractopamine if the business clearly labels its meats calling on the Cabinet to do more in this regard head of occupational medicine and clinical toxicology at Taipei Veterans General Hospital called on the government to improve policies including mandating clearer origin labeling so that consumers can make informed choices a beta-agonist used to promote leanness in livestock can cause symptoms such as rapid heartbeat tremors or gastrointestinal discomfort if consumed in large quantities Although no adverse effects in humans have been documented Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said the government was “doing nothing” while the New Taiwan dollar’s increasing value has made the cost of importing pork containing ractopamine cheaper The Cabinet is focused only on political struggles and mass recalls Businesses have abandoned previous promises not to import pork containing ractopamine calling on Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to take responsibility and step down The pig farming industry is a pillar of Taiwan’s economy accounting for 39.6 percent of the livestock industry in 2023 and employing about 600,000 people citing data from the Ministry of Agriculture If the domestic pork industry declines in competitiveness compared with cheaper foreign pork containing ractopamine Taiwan’s economy would sustain a severe blow calling on the administration of President William Lai (賴清德) to take the situation seriously The Ministry of Health and Welfare should require that processed foods containing pork clearly indicate the meat’s origin and whether it contains ractopamine to protect food safety and ensure people know what they are buying Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han and CNA Japan and China have accused each other of violating the airspace around Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands which Beijing also claims The latest territorial flap came as both appeared to have warmer ties while seeking to mitigate damages from the US tariff war The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it lodged a “very severe protest” with Beijing after a Chinese helicopter took off from one of China’s four coast guard boats which had entered Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands (which Taiwan calls the Diaoyutais The helicopter violated Japanese airspace for about 15 minutes on Saturday The statement called the incident an “intrusion .. into Japan’s territorial airspace” and urged the Chinese government to ensure preventive measures The Japanese Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets in response China also protested to Tokyo over a Japanese civilian aircraft violating its airspace around the islands saying it was “strongly dissatisfied” about Japan’s “severe violation of China’s sovereignty,” the Chinese embassy in Japan said in a statement late on Saturday The China Coast Guard said it “immediately took necessary control measures against it in accordance with the law,” and dispatched a ship-borne helicopter to warn and drive away the Japanese aircraft Japanese officials are investigating a possible connection between the Chinese coast guard helicopter’s airspace intrusion and the small Japanese civilian aircraft flying in the area around the same time China routinely sends coast guard vessels and aircraft into waters and airspace surrounding the islands to harass Japanese vessels in the area forcing Japan to quickly mobilize its jets Taiwan and the US have concluded their first in-person meeting on tariffs the Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday A delegation led by Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and top trade negotiator Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮) held talks in Washington with US officials on tariffs non-tariff barriers and other bilateral trade issues and both sides agreed to strengthen economic cooperation to promote mutual benefits and create more business opportunities The meeting followed an initial round of talks held via videoconference on April 11 US President Donald Trump first announced sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2 including a 32 percent import duty on goods from Taiwan he announced a 90-day pause to allow negotiations for a lower rate Cheng said Taiwan and the US have highly complementary economies and that close cooperation between the two sides could strengthen their industries and enhance their global competitiveness Cheng said she believed that through thorough discussions Taiwan and the US could reach a consensus on trade issues Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) who was part of a delegation of lawmakers visiting Washington said Taiwan is among the first four countries that the US is to negotiate with on tariffs Wang said US officials assured him that Taiwan would not be used as an object of negotiation with other countries and that “Taiwan is irreplaceable.” The two sides also talked about issues such as China’s “gray zone” tactics and US-Taiwan arms sales US officials also explained why they shifted their focus to the Indo-Pacific region Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said that they expressed the concerns of Taiwanese industries and that losses might be incurred by both sides due to trade uncertainty He said he also expressed to US officials hopes that arms purchases could be counted as trade between Taiwan and the US Investments and purchases between the two sides are not merely trade numbers adding that US officials also discussed their relationship in terms of safety and politics as well as Taiwan’s significance in technology “[They] will not just regard Taiwan-US ties in terms of trade or Taiwan’s handling of tariff policies,” he said DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said Washington was worried whether Taiwan had enough funds to buy more US weapons expressing hope that the legislature could revisit its budget freezes and cuts Chiang said the legislature needs to approve special and defense budgets and that those budgets must be used in the most advantageous way which also included KMT lawmakers Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) and Huang Chien-hao (黃健豪) Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) and DPP Legislator Ngalim Tiunn (張雅琳) They visited the US Department of Commerce foreign affairs and armed services committees of the US Congress former speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and former American Institute in Taiwan chair Laura Rosenberger Four Vietnamese were found dead late on Saturday in an apartment in Taoyuan in what is being investigated as a case of carbon monoxide poisoning The Taoyuan Police Department’s Yangmei Precinct said it received a request at about 10pm on Saturday to check in on the occupants of a rental unit in Yangmei District (楊梅) after their friends had been unable to reach them for several days officers found four Vietnamese nationals — two men and two women — lying dead inside the home with no visible signs of a struggle or external injuries A preliminary investigation found that their deaths were likely caused by carbon monoxide poisoning a request for autopsies was submitted to Taoyuan prosecutors to confirm the cause The deceased were identified as a 22-year-old man surnamed Nguyen and a 27-year-old man surnamed Tran — both absconded migrant workers — a 23-year-old female migrant worker surnamed Nguyen and a 20-year-old female exchange student surnamed Phan Responding officers found the man Nguyen lying on the floor in the bathroom where the hot water was still running and the door and window were closed Phan was found in one of the home’s bedrooms while Tran and the female Nguyen were found in another bedroom adding that there were no signs of forced entry or theft at the home police said they had notified Vietnam’s representative office in Taiwan and would review surveillance camera footage from the surrounding area shaped by incredible landscapes and cultural traditions To many travelers, a trip to Taiwan begins and ends in Taipei for its dense night markets and syrupy-sweet bubble tea But beyond the capital’s crush of scooters and skyscrapers lies an island defined not just by its food More than half of Taiwan is forested with ecosystems ranging from subtropical jungle to alpine cedar groves you can drive from sunlit coastlines to mist-covered peaks These five destinations show Taiwan’s wilder side—from Indigenous seaside villages to remote mountain forests—where tradition and nature are deeply intertwined Pinglin is a mountain town and district shaped by tea Nestled in the lush hills of New Taipei City the main source of drinking water for more than six million people in the Taipei metro area the government introduced strict environmental regulations in the 1980s limiting large-scale construction and industrial development While these restrictions have frustrated some locals and developers they’ve helped preserve one of Taiwan’s most pristine rural landscapes “Pinglin is incredibly rich in tree ferns,” says Phaedra Fang, an assistant researcher at the National Taiwan Museum and occasional tour guide “They’re an ancient group of plants—around since the dinosaurs And there are just so many of them there.”  Pinglin Old Street is lined with cozy teahouses serving the season’s newest flush—often steeped and poured by the farmers themselves (Related: The story behind bubble tea, Taiwan's iconic drink.) Located eight miles from the mainland of Taiwan Xiaoliuqiu is the country’s only coral island with a significant number of residents and off-shore diving adventures.Photograph by Jui-Chi Chan Xiaoliuqiu IslandJust off Taiwan’s southwest coast Xiaoliuqiu is a coral island framed by gliding green sea turtles and shimmering tide pools It’s one of the island’s most accessible dive spots—under five hours from Taipei including a quick 25-minute ferry from the port town of Donggang Taiwan straddles a unique geographic divide. Its northern half is largely subtropical, while the southern half shifts into a tropical zone. “Taichung is the dividing line,” says Dennis Wong, co-owner of Fun Divers Taiwan The dive shop has been guiding underwater excursions around the island since 2013 Taichung marks where the waters start to warm and the marine life becomes more vibrant Thanks to its position in the Taiwan Strait on the west coast Xiaoliuqiu is shielded from the strong currents that batter other southern sites and the waters brim with life: blue-spotted stingrays Scooters make it easy to explore the island’s volcanic terrain above ground but most divers head out by boat to access the best offshore sites such as Broken Shipwreck where you can explore the remains of a small cargo boat and the glittery reef that surrounds it Peak season runs from May through September when the sea is glassy and clear (Related: Why you should hold your breath and try freediving in Taiwan.) With some of the best surf in Taiwan, Dulan draws wave-chasers year-round to its black sand beaches and wild Pacific swells. But this east coast village is more than a surf spot—it’s also home to the Amis Amis women still wade into the shallows to gather shellfish by hand trails thread through fields of wild taro and thickets of edible greens foraged from forest edges and folded into everyday meals a fish and chips joint slinging deep-fried locally caught mahi mahi Occasionally, the village plays host to the Amis Music Festival a grassroots celebration of indigenous identity that brings together artists from across Taiwan and beyond Performances spill into open fields with the ocean on one side and green slopes rising behind Travelers can time their trip to witness firsthand the Millet Harvest Festival a traditional festival celebrating the Rukai Indigenous people in Dulan Pingtung  Taiwan’s southernmost county is often called the island’s breadbasket Its sun-drenched plains produce much of the nation’s fruit—from wax apples and lychees to pineapples and bananas—thanks to a tropical climate and year-round growing season But its mountains hold stories just as rich as its plains The region is layered with biodiversity and history which includes the ancient trails once used by Indigenous people and early Western explorers to get to remote Indigenous stone-slab villages Tropical flora thrive in these hills—like prickly ash and hibiscus—and you might spot wild boar “The clouded leopard may be gone but its spirit still lingers in the forests here,” says Fang Once sacred to Indigenous communities and considered a guardian of the mountains the Formosan clouded leopard hasn’t been officially sighted since the 80s—but stories persist Locals speak of fleeting shadows slipping through the undergrowth of something leaping from cliffs or vanishing into trees That deep connection to land and memory is still alive in places like New Laiyi Village a relocated settlement of the Paiwan—an Indigenous group native to Taiwan’s southern mountain ranges residents have returned to traditional farming Their vegetable shop serves as both a farmers’ market and cultural hub—selling seasonal produce and hosting workshops on agricultural knowledge once at risk of being lost It’s part of a wider effort across Pingtung to sustain indigenous lifeways through food (Related: A taste of Taiwan, from comforting noodles to spicy broths.) The Alishan Forest Railway runs through the Alishan National Scenic Area a nature reserve and mountain resort in Chiayi County Alishan TownshipBest known for its sunrise views and century-old forest railway Alishan is a high-mountain region in Chiayi County about a two-hour drive from the nearest high-speed rail station “Alishan is key to understanding Taiwan’s forestry and transportation history,” says Fang The narrow-gauge Alishan Forest Railway—originally built during Japanese rule to haul cypress logs from deep in the mountains—still clatters through switchbacks and spirals feel more like a time machine than public transit After years of storm damage and partial closures part of Taiwan’s broader effort to restore its historic railways farmers cultivate Taiwan’s celebrated high mountain oolong at elevations above 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) misty air slows leaf growth and concentrates aroma The sharp contrast between warm days and cold nights intensifies the tea’s floral flavor while the mineral-rich soil adds clarity and depth (Related: Exploring the magic of Taiwan's 'Spirited Away' city.) thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace It is also a key piece of the second island chain a string of strategically located islets that the US is fortifying in an effort to deny China access to the Western Pacific that outsized strategic value has made Palau the target of a concerted influence campaign by individuals with ties to the Chinese government court records and land filings reviewed by Reuters as well as interviews with more than 20 diplomats and local law enforcement officials the once-sleepy nation has been transformed into a hub of illegal activity money laundering and prostitution allegedly linked to Chinese people and syndicates Some of those Chinese have cultivated close ties to senior political figures on Palau two intelligence reports distributed to Palauan officials by the local US embassy showed Those people have also allegedly facilitated meetings between Chinese officials and Palauan politicians An effort also appears to be underway to block the expansion of US military installations on Palau which include radar stations and airstrips built to service military aircraft A review of land records revealed that Chinese businesspeople and Chinese-linked businesses have leased land overlooking or adjacent to some of those US military facilities US Ambassador to Palau Joel Ehrendreich warned that Beijing is using organized crime to infiltrate Palau buy the backing of political leaders and establish a foothold in the nation a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that claims that China is undermining Palau’s stability or interfering in its elections “are far-fetched slanderous and completely fabricated nonsense.” which is geographically closer to China than any other Pacific Island nation is also one of the few countries that formally recognize Taiwan The Chinese government has spent decades successfully persuading countries not to recognize Taiwan Speaking at a think tank in Sydney earlier last month all of these kinds of activities have a way of undermining the political structure,” he said they end up influencing politicians and things that go on in Palau.” A tangled web of Chinese influence efforts and illicit activity emerged from US intelligence reports and other documents reviewed by Reuters and from interviews with local law enforcement officials Take Palauan Senate President Hokkons Baules who has been one of the nation’s most vociferous advocates for China because we need a lot of help with infrastructure,” Baules said adding that Palau should drop its recognition of Taiwan Baules has allegedly built relationships with Chinese investors who runs a technology company that lists state-controlled research centers and universities in China as partners on its Web site Sun flew to Palau with several associates and US$119,000 in cash photos and three Palauan law enforcement officials When Sun was questioned by customs officials for failing to disclose the money Baules called one customs officer to ask for his release Palau’s Land Court has no record of a transaction between Baules and Sun Corporate records showed that Baules’ family operates a local business called Fuji Restaurant which Palauan authorities have linked to Chinese criminal activity The family rented out space in the building between 2018 and 2020 to Chinese brothels masquerading as massage parlors legal filings related to another case that were submitted by Palau’s anti-corruption office showed Baules insisted the brothels were massage parlors it’s their business,” he said of the Chinese businesspeople his family rented space to The address of restaurant was also on a package of methamphetamine that was intercepted at Manila airport last year which had a Chinese man in Palau as the intended recipient saying he was the target of a smear campaign aimed at ruining his name He also has ties to prominent Chinese figures in the nation the president of Palau’s Overseas Chinese Association which promotes the interests of Chinese residents Baules has leased land to Tian for a hotel Tian runs Tian participated in training courses in Beijing and Nanjing that were organized by the Chinese government for overseas Chinese leaders promotional material from three pro-Beijing Chinese diaspora groups showed The course was run by a group under the United Front Work Department one from November last year and the other undated also asserted that Chinese businesspeople gave tens of thousands of dollars in cash to politicians ahead of elections last year in Palau a Chinese citizen who is secretary of Palau’s Overseas Chinese Association donated US$20,000 to former Palauan president Thomas Remengesau Jr Oilouch won and is now Palau’s vice president Anti-corruption prosecutor Tamara Hutzler said that political donations by foreign nationals are illegal in Palau Oilouch said he “never received a penny” from a foreigner for his political campaigns while Remengesau said accusations that he had received donations from Chinese businesspeople were “ridiculous.” The US administered the country’s 300 or so islets for half a century after capturing them from Japan in World War II The former colony won independence in 1994 but remains deeply tied to and dependent on the US The connections to the US are particularly resonant in Palau’s southern islands of Peleliu and Angaur Many of the 100 or so residents of Angaur have relatives serving in the US military US law permits Palauans to enlist like Americans the US military announced plans to build radar facilities in Angaur and other Palauan islands The facilities would allow the US to disperse its forces in anticipation of a strike by China on US strategic hubs such as Guam and to monitor air traffic in the region without tying up ships or aircraft Angaur began attracting attention from Chinese entities Multiple media outlets reported that in 2019 visited Palau with the goal of leasing land on Angaur and opening a casino there Foreign nationals cannot purchase land in Palau but they can lease it for decades-long periods the US Department of the Treasury identified Wan as a leader of the triad and sanctioned him for leading an entity engaged in “corruption.” The sanction notice alleged that he was a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference A photo published in local media shows Wan meeting with Remengesau Remengesau said he was not aware of Wan’s identity during their meeting Wan’s efforts were stymied when Palauan officials learned he was a triad leader Court records show that Chinese individuals have leased large swathes of communally owned land on Angaur Tian has acquired roughly 280,000m2 of land on Angaur including a large plot abutting the nation’s airstrip The US subsequently announced plans to develop a radar station next to the airstrip Another set of land registry documents show that an investor named Zhuang Cizhong leased a further 380,000m2 of land near the airstrip Zhuang acquired the land after the US announced its development plans Lease records and interviews with environmental regulators also revealed that a company connected to the Prince Group has acquired an islet near a new US coastal monitoring station in the Palauan region of Kayangel Lease records and a visit to the site showed that another company connected to the Prince Group is also developing a piece of land near Palau’s airport Corporate filings show the local agent in Palau for one of these companies is Rose Wang a former vice president of Palau’s Overseas Chinese Association Ehrendreich said the leases were almost certainly strategic The land lease tactic was “how they maybe are able to keep an eye on what we’re trying to do here,” he said As Donald Trump’s executive order in March led to the shuttering of Voice of America (VOA) — the global broadcaster whose roots date back to the fight against Nazi propaganda — he quickly attracted support from figures not used to aligning themselves with any US administration Trump had ordered the US Agency for Global Media the federal agency that funds VOA and other groups promoting independent journalism overseas to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” The decision suddenly halted programming in 49 languages to more than 425 million people the hardline editor-in-chief of the state broadcaster RT described it as an “awesome decision.” The Global Times an English-language Chinese state media publication crowed that the broadcasters had been discarded by the White House “like a dirty rag,” ending their “propaganda poison.” Azerbaijan’s president whose regime has been accused of repressing political opposition described Trump’s move as “very promising.” whether by taking outlets including CBS News and ABC to court attempting to block political access to the White House by the Associated Press or defund National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service institutions he has described as “radical left monsters.” For many senior media figures around the world there has been a tipping of the scales as authoritarian regimes are emboldened by a US administration not only attacking the media at home but also withdrawing from the fight for free information overseas As the world marked Press Freedoms Day on Saturday observers are now warning that in countries where free media is weak America’s withdrawal from this geopolitical balancing act will have far-reaching effects which was founded in 1942 at the height of the second world war and broadcasts in nearly 50 languages Trump has withdrawn funding from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) which was founded during the cold war and broadcasts to countries including Belarus The head of the US-funded Arabic-language news outlet Alhurra has said the decision to cut its staff and services would “silence America’s voice in the Middle East.” there are signs that media freedom elsewhere is eroding with arrests and deportations of journalists in Turkey including the BBC’s correspondent Mark Lowen and dire warnings over threats to press freedom in Serbia former editor of the Boston Globe and Washington Post says the US would once put pressure on countries for undermining free expression and for limiting freedom of the press adding it was something that the US government actually stood for and it was also seen as a model for free expression it’s not seen as a model at all,” Baron says have recognized that they’ll receive absolutely zero pressure from the US “It’s basically given licence to other countries to be far more aggressive in attacking the press I think there is no question that it’s emboldened other leaders around the world we’re seeing the rise of authoritarianism,” he adds points out that VOA was often the only connection to the US in some countries “In the more repressive societies where there is absolutely no alternative to get news and you can’t get on the Internet I wonder what they think happened in the United States Herman describes the drive to shut down VOA and other media bodies as a “constitutional emergency,” adding that he has heard from former listeners that they have already experienced Chinese broadcasts on some of the frequencies it formerly used While a federal judge has blocked the attempt to dismantle VOA the uncertainty continues and a government appeal is expected the EU has been unable to step in to replace the lost funding The exit of US-funded media has come at the same time as the BBC World Service which has also played a powerful role in bringing independent media to audiences faces its own financial squeeze from the erosion of the license fee “Three-quarters of countries around the world don’t have free media It’s the proactive and aggressive march of disinformation and misinformation which arrives on people’s phones 24 hours a day That’s a cocktail for a very badly informed Munro says authoritarian regimes were already reacting to the withdrawal of the west and growing their own presence “There’s a real ambition from China and Russia in particular,” he says “Iran and Turkey are growing players in this space the Chinese are very active in African markets the Russians are very active in the Middle East They’re both increasingly active in Latin America Some of that is space that we’ve had to vacate over the years because of financial decisions.” Given Trump’s early determination to push back against media at home and defund US-backed free media overseas some of the damage being done could be irreversible with no good rationale whatsoever and it will be very hard to recover “Trump has proven to be really skilled at destroying things and he clearly is on a campaign to destroy an independent press.” US President Donald Trump is opening a new salvo in his tariff war In a post on Sunday night on his Truth Social platform Trump said he has authorized the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to slap a 100 percent tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” “The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” he wrote saying other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw” filmmakers and studios away from the US “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and It was not immediately clear how any such tariff on international productions could be implemented It is common for both large and smaller films to include production both in the US and other countries Big-budget movies such as the upcoming Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning Incentive programs for years have influenced where movies are shot increasingly driving film production out of California and to other states and countries with favorable tax incentives Yet tariffs are designed to lead consumers toward US products US-produced movies overwhelming dominate the domestic marketplace China has ramped up its domestic movie production culminating in the animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 (哪吒2) grossing more than US$2 billion this year its sales came almost entirely from mainland China The Motion Picture Association (MPA) did not immediately respond to messages on Sunday evening MPA data show how much Hollywood exports have dominated cinemas with US-produced movies producing US$22.6 billion in exports and US$15.3 billion in trade surplus in 2023 Trump has long voiced concern about movie production moving overseas he announced that he had tapped actors Mel Gibson Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone to serve as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood to bring it “BACK—BIGGER US film and TV production has been hampered in recent years the Hollywood guild strikes of 2023 and the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area Overall production in the US was down 26 percent last year compared with 2021 which asked about preferred filming locations found no location in the US made the top five central Europe and Australia came out on top Australia and New Zealand yesterday vowed to advocate for their film industries after Trump’s tariff threat Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said he had spoken to the head of government body Screen Australia which offers funding to support the development production and marketing of screen content “Nobody should be under any doubt that we will be standing up unequivocally for the rights of the Australian screen industry,” Burke said in a statement New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the government was awaiting further details on the proposed tariffs “We’ll have to see the detail of what actually ultimately emerges great champion of that sector and that industry,” he said The Australian film and television sector was worth more than A$4 billion (US$2.6 billion) in 2022 according to the country’s statistics bureau Australia was the filming location for the Matrix franchise and is a permanent base for studios including Marvel while New Zealand is best known as the filming location of the Lord of the Rings trilogy Ripe watermelons grow in a field in Hualien County yesterday The watermelon season starts this month in Hualien with watermelon crops in Yuli Township expected to hit the market in the middle of the month followed by those in Shoufeng Township in the following weeks the Hualien County Department of Agriculture said yesterday Photo courtesy of the Hualien County Department of Agriculture The US House of Representatives was slated to vote on two bills related to Taiwan yesterday aiming to lift restrictions on bilateral engagement and encourage the nation’s international participation The proposals would amend bills signed by US President Donald Trump in his first term the Taiwan Assurance Act and the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act The Taiwan Assurance Act requires the US Department of State to conduct a review of Taiwan-US relations within 180 days of its passing and submit its findings to the Committee on Foreign Relations would turn that one-time report into a periodic review every two years with the aim of eventually lifting self-imposed restrictions on engagement then-US secretary of state Mike Pompeo lifted all restrictions on engagement between Taiwanese and US officials although former US president Joe Biden reinstated some of them US Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed several pro-Taiwan bills during his time as a senator so people speculate that he would seek to lift current restrictions The TAIPEI Act stated that the US government must advocate for Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and encourage other countries to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan known as the Taiwan international solidarity act would clarify the meaning of UN Resolution 2758 and authorize a report on China’s attempts to isolate Taiwan “The United States opposes any initiative that seeks to change Taiwan’s status without the consent of the people,” the bill says The bill also instructs US government representatives in international organizations to urge other countries to resist China’s attempts to “distort the decisions policies or procedures of such organizations regarding Taiwan.” Ruben Amorim on Sunday admitted Manchester United “need to change” after a dismal 4-3 defeat at Brentford underlined the problems facing the Old Trafford head coach Kevin Schade scored twice at Gtech Community Stadium as United’s miserable English Premier League campaign took another blow with their winless league run stretching to six matches Amorim made eight changes to his starting lineup as he rested key players after Thursday last week’s 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in the UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg Fielding the third youngest starting lineup in Premier League history — with an average age of 22 years and 270 days — United’s raw rookies were unable to avoid a 12th defeat in Amorim’s 24 league games United are languishing in 15th place as they try to avoid their worst finish since being relegated in 1973-1974 Amorim has been critical of United’s players on several occasions and he again conceded there is a need for a close-season overhaul of his squad we suffered with the set-pieces and throw-ins so we knew we would struggle against them,” Amorim said “The players have to understand we cannot do this anymore we know the context of the season and we need to change that.” Mason Mount scored his first goal of the season to put United ahead but a Luke Shaw own-goal and Schade’s strike put Brentford ahead by halftime Schade got his second with a close-range header from Bryan Mbeumo’s delivery before Yoane Wissa bagged the fourth as United’s defense collapsed Alejandro Garnacho’s 82nd-minute rocket from the edge of the penalty area and Amad Diallo’s stoppage-time effort put a little gloss on the scoreline for an outclassed United Brighton & Hove Albion drew 1-1 with Newcastle United and West Ham United drew 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions “Currency is not an issue on the agenda of the US-Taiwan trade talks,” central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told an impromptu media briefing yesterday “That is why the central bank is not taking part in the negotiations.” Yang firmly denied the existence of a so-called Mar-a-Lago accord which claims that the US has sought removal or lowering of “reciprocal” tariffs and currency appreciation in negotiations with trade partners to boost the competitiveness of US goods Photo: Screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page while acknowledging that Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US has widened in the past few years servers and other electronics used to develop artificial intelligence capability The ongoing spike in the local currency also has to do with Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and emerging signs of weakness in US economy which have spurred global capital to redeploy and return to emerging markets The TAIEX has hovered at about 20,500 points after an earlier rout induced by fears of Washington’s drastic tariff hikes against major trading partners Local exporters and financial institutions lent support to the NT dollar’s appreciation by dumping US dollar holdings they [exporters and financial institutions] could incur losses and hurt themselves,” Yang said market speculation could cause serious harm to the local bourse to 20,532.99 even though foreign institutional players net bought NT$24.46 billion in shares Allegations that local financial companies have trillions of US dollars of exposure to US bonds and could experience serious assets impairments are exaggerated “The central bank will try its best to maintain order and stability in the market,” he said President William Lai (賴清德) said market expectations that the local currency would continue strengthening and foreign fund inflows to invest in local stocks have fueled the NT dollar’s recent rise some politicians are misleading the public by excessively speculating on the cause of the NT dollar’s appreciation Lai reiterated that as the central bank and the Office of Trade Negotiations have said the issue of exchange rates was not involved in the first phase of Taiwan-US tariff negotiations The administration would adhere to the principle of “ensuring national interests and sustaining industrial developments without sacrificing any industry” at critical moments during Taiwan-US trade talks adding that he expects the public to work together with a reasonable attitude toward the changing international economic and trade situation Additional reporting by staff writer and CNA pulls open a red pompom alongside three other supporters of a campaign to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers at the Taichung Election Commission yesterday Four constituencies of Taichung submitted their second-stage petitions to the commission yesterday with 46,000 signatures collected to recall KMT Legislator Lo Ting-wei and 54,000 to recall KMT Legislator Huang Chien-hao marking a new high nationwide for the number of signatures submitted in the second stage Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) yesterday said that it would add more train services on several routes starting on June 26 following the completion of key infrastructure upgrades two additional Tze-Chiang Express trains would begin operating following the reconstruction of Siaocingshui Bridge (小清水溪橋) between Heren (和仁) and Chongde (崇德) stations in Hualien County The bridge was rebuilt after one of the two tracks was destroyed by Typhoon Gaemi in August last year With dual-track operations resumed in December last year travel times between Taipei and Hualien have been significantly reduced The new service beginning June 26 would run between Shulin Station in New Taipei City and Taitung Station Two new Tze-Chiang Express (3000) services would also be added to the schedule on the Western Trunk Line on Saturdays between Cidu (七堵) in Keelung and Changhua County That would mean additional passenger capacity on the direct services between Taipei The company would also add two carriages to each of the 22 local trains running between Keelung and Hsinchu A new local morning service would also be launched between Jhongli (中壢) in Taoyuan and Cidu local train capacity in northern Taiwan is expected to rise by 4.4 percent overall and by 10.3 percent during the morning rush hour The company also plans to increase capacity on 18 local train services in central Taiwan following the completion of a project to extend station platforms to accommodate 10-car trains up from the current eight-car configuration the routes of two Semi Express services between Cidu and Changhua would be extended to Sinzuoying (新左營) in Kaohsiung on weekends and public holidays increasing overall local train capacity by 5.8 percent 386 train services would operate under the revised schedule Group ticket reservations for the new services would open on May 23 with general ticket sales beginning on May 29 state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) announced on Sunday that about 26,000 high-voltage electricity users would be subject to higher summer rates from May 16 through mid-October introduced in 1989 to encourage electricity conservation during peak demand months the Ministry of Economic Affairs extended the surcharge period for high and extra high-voltage consumers citing the growing challenges of climate change While these users represent less than 1 percent of electricity customers in Taiwan they consume more than 60 percent of the electricity the nation’s 14 million residential and small business users would continue to pay summer rates over the standard period Scientists in Taiwan have used genome sequencing to demonstrate that men who become fathers later in life are more likely to pass on new genetic mutations that increase the risk of schizophrenia in their children conducted by researchers at the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) and National Taiwan University was published in Molecular Psychiatry in March NHRI vice president Chen Wei-jen (陳為堅) said that while the risks associated with advanced maternal age are well documented the impact of paternal age on offspring health has received far less attention NHRI National Center for Geriatrics and Welfare Research assistant researcher Wang Shi-heng (王世亨) said that the team had previously examined correlations between paternal age and schizophrenia using a dataset of more than 7 million Taiwanese medical records The study found that children born to fathers aged 25 to 29 had a 0.5 percent lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia while those whose fathers were 50 or older at the time of birth had a 1 percent risk The risk increased further if the child’s maternal or paternal grandfather was also of advanced age when the child’s parent was born Researchers have proposed two explanations for this pattern — one suggests that men with a higher predisposition to mental illness might be more likely to marry and have children later in life The second is biological: Because men continue producing sperm throughout their lives each successive cell division carries a greater chance of replication errors leading to new genetic mutations that might be passed on to offspring The latter explanation is supported by additional evidence including findings that a higher number of rare mutations correlates with increased schizophrenia risk and that men pass on about four times as many new genetic mutations to their children as women In an effort to prove a causal relationship the NHRI team conducted whole-genome sequencing on five Taiwanese families each comprising three siblings diagnosed with schizophrenia and two unaffected parents They found that for each additional year a man delayed fatherhood his child had 1.5 times more new genetic mutations A higher number of such mutations was associated with an earlier onset of schizophrenia symptoms in the affected children the study found that about 30 percent of the relationship between paternal age and the age of schizophrenia onset could be explained by age-related mutations while the remaining 70 percent was likely influenced by familial and environmental factors Chen said that earlier NHRI research had shown that a paternal age younger than 20 is linked to various other health risks for offspring these findings highlight the importance of public policies that encourage couples to have children within an optimal age range The average age of mothers at childbirth in Taiwan increased from 27.2 in 1991 to 32.4 in 2023 while the average age of fathers rose from 30.3 to 34.6 over the same period The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said that six batches of imported beef were found to contain ractopamine residues exceeding the legal maximum residue limit between 2012 and the end of last month and all of the affected products were either returned or destroyed Local Chinese-language media on Sunday reported that a batch of imported pork had tested positive for ractopamine an animal feed additive used in some countries to promote leanness in meat The report cited data from the FDA’s online pork monitoring dashboard a batch of pork imported from Australia tested positive for ractopamine at a concentration of 0.001ppm which is a level within the maximum residue limit The detection was the first confirmed case of imported pork containing ractopamine since import restrictions were eased in 2021 The finding has raised concerns among several government agencies and lawmakers prompting the administration to hold an impromptu news conference yesterday FDA Director-General Chiang Chih-kang (姜至剛) said the batch in question contained ractopamine at a concentration of 0.001ppm — one-tenth of the maximum residue limit of 0.01ppm — and was therefore legally permitted to enter the domestic market “Those that have passed border inspection would naturally be considered safe and be allowed to enter the domestic market,” he said adding that food products sold domestically would also be randomly inspected Chiang said restrictions on imported beef containing ractopamine were eased in 2012 followed by the easing of restrictions on pork in 2021 a total of 249,609 batches of imported beef underwent border inspection with traces of ractopamine detected in 2,493 batches six batches exceeded the legal maximum residue limit and failed inspection; all were either returned or destroyed 25,466 batches of imported pork were inspected and only one batch tested positive for ractopamine and the concentration was within the legal limit Regarding random inspections of beef and pork products sold on the domestic market Chiang said that of the 6,141 beef products tested only one — a product imported from the US in 2021 — was found to contain ractopamine at 0.02ppm while all 18,501 pork products tested during the same period passed inspection The administration’s online pork monitoring dashboard is intended to promote transparency by informing the public of inspection results it is considered safe and falls within scientifically assessed The FDA said that current border inspection rates for imported pork range from 2 to 10 percent and the frequency might increase for importers whose shipments have failed inspection since all imported pork batches have passed inspection for ractopamine residues the administration does not plan to increase inspection frequency at this time The agency would not disclose the name of the importer or the distribution details of the batch that tested positive within the maximum residue limit The administration of President William Lai (賴清德) surrendered without a fight in the tariff and currency wars Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) wrote on Facebook yesterday Chu also recalled Japan’s asset price bubble in the late 1980s saying it was an example of economic collapse caused by rapid currency appreciation “The yen sharply appreciated due to pressure [from US trade deficit] leading to economic collapse and the lost decade [in the 1990s],” Chu said Taiwan is facing a tariff war against the US but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC 台積電) handed a US$100 billion investment to the US on a silver platter ahead of bilateral negotiations “That is not a strategic arrangement but a giveaway The Lai administration surrendered in the currency war without a fight The New Taiwan dollar has been appreciating from NT$33.2 to below NT$30 against the US dollar over the past few days adding that it was a nearly 10 percent appreciation and that it has caused serious losses to Taiwanese exporters “Given that many traditional industries operate on low to moderate margins a 5 percent appreciation could eat up their profit margin for the year The steep appreciation within just a few days must have caught small and medium-sized companies off guard and would batter the life insurance industry,” he said “While tech and manufacturing industries nationwide are under great pressure the government is obsessed about creating an optimistic atmosphere that ‘the negotiation went smoothly on the first day’ or ‘the future is under control,’” Chu said referring to initial Taiwan-US tariff talks The Lai administration has been causing internal strife and has been incompetent in external affairs since its inauguration a year ago referring to the ongoing mass recall campaigns Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January called for recalls of KMT lawmakers The KMT caucus told a news conference yesterday that the Lai administration has been “buttering up” US President Donald Trump since “reciprocal tariffs” were announced last month while the exchange rate between the New Taiwan dollar and the US dollar skyrocketed by NT$1.462 over the past week KMT Legislator Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞) said the high-tech industrial chain is shifting abroad and Nvidia Corp said it would produce and test its Blackwell chips in Arizona and make its new graphics cards in the US The five Taiwanese electronic giants — Wistron Corp (緯創) Delta Electronics (台達電) and Tatung Co (大同) — are also setting up plants in the US More than 60 percent of Taiwan’s GDP relies on exports and the increase in tariffs and exchange rates would severely impact industries with relatively low gross profit margins “The DPP government should tell Taiwanese what such great financial interests of people were traded for in return,” he added Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the central bank continues to deny that US pressure caused the steep currency appreciation adding that it is “making fools out of Taiwanese.” TPP Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) cited companies as saying that their first quarter’s profits were wiped out due to the New Taiwan dollar appreciating by NT$1 The Japanese economy was dragged into a recession for 30 years due to a rapid appreciation in the yen following the country’s signing of the Plaza Accord with the US in 1985 urging Lai to form a strong Cabinet specializing in fiscal affairs Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919 at NT$30.145 yesterday after rising 3.07 percent to NT$31.064 on Friday The Friday rise was the steepest daily increase since 2002 Dealers said the sharp appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that the US would press Taiwan to allow its currency to rise against the US dollar in a bid to strengthen the competitive edge of US goods The pressure was expected to emerge during negotiations between Taipei and Washington as they discuss a “reciprocal” tariff of 32 percent that US President Donald Trump threatened on April 2 to impose on Taiwanese goods ASE’s response to the exchange rate volatility echoed that of contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC as they said they would be hurt by a stronger NT dollar TSMC said that whenever the NT dollar rises 1 percent its operating margin could fall by 0.4 percent while UMC said its gross margin could drop by 0.4 percent TSMC lost 1.26 percent and UMC fell 1.31 percent yesterday With the NT dollar suddenly appreciating against the US dollar the local semiconductor and overall electronics sectors face challenges of effectively hedging against foreign exchange risks a source from the local semiconductor industry said Taiwanese tech exporters would also see their bargaining power tested as the value of the NT dollar rises because their clients would likely request that they adjust their prices accordingly could see their profitability more adversely affected by the rapidly appreciating NT dollar an aftermarket replacement auto part supplier said it was able to take on short-term volatility in the forex market but if the strong NT dollar continued for longer the impact on its bottom line would be big Tong Yang shares plunged 8.68 percent yesterday A source from the auto parts industry said the rapid appreciation of the NT dollar is expected to affect the industry’s profitability in the second quarter would also be impacted by a weaker US dollar amid fears that the value of their overseas assets would shrink Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) shares shed 5.88 percent Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) tumbled 6.81 percent and CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) fell 2.36 percent US President Donald Trump said he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz the notorious former prison on a hard-to-reach California island off San Francisco that has been closed for more than 60 years In a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday evening who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals and keep them far away from anyone they could harm to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders.” Trump’s directive to rebuild and reopen the long-shuttered penitentiary was the latest salvo in his effort to overhaul how and where federal prisoners and immigration detainees are locked up such a move would likely be an expensive and challenging proposition The prison was closed in 1963 due to crumbling infrastructure and the high costs of repairing and supplying the island facility because everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat Bringing the facility up to modern-day standards would require massive investments at a time when the Bureau of Prisons has been shuttering prisons for similar infrastructure issues returning to the White House on Sunday night after a weekend in Florida said he had come up with the idea because of frustrations with “radicalized judges” who have insisted those being deported receive due process He said that Alcatraz has long been a “symbol of law and order A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that the agency “will comply with all Presidential Orders.” The spokesperson did not immediately answer questions from The Associated Press regarding the practicality and feasibility of reopening Alcatraz or the agency’s role in the future of the former prison given the National Park Service’s control of the island Former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi questioned the feasibility of reopening the prison after so many years “It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction The President’s proposal is not a serious one,” she wrote on X Oil prices slumped yesterday after OPEC+ countries announced a sharp production increase despite oversupply concerns and growing fears that US President Donald Trump’s trade war could weaken demand Russia and six other members of the oil cartel announced over the weekend an output increase of 411,000 barrels a day for next month a month after a similar move had already caused prices to fall The price of crude has also been sliding because of fears of a global economic slowdown on the back of Trump’s tariff onslaught The OPEC+ move “confirms a stark turnaround away from the production cuts that have persisted since 2022,” Deutsche Bank AG said in a research note Oil prices fell almost 4 percent before paring back some losses was trading at just under US$60 per barrel at about 7:15am GMT Some analysts pointed to pressure from Trump to lower prices and expectations of declining Iranian oil exports amid tighter sanctions as possible reasons for the unexpected move but the reasons behind the move remain uncertain,” Swissquote Bank Ltd senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said “The official communication says the group is bringing barrels back to the market because fundamentals are healthy and inventories are low,” Ozkardeskaya said “Yet global growth expectations have been crumbling due to a heated trade war between the US and the rest of the world and rising output only worsens oversupply concerns So the real reason must be something else,” she added Some people said that the Saudis were “punishing” OPEC members who had not complied fully with the previous policy of cutting production Other theories include that Trump wants to lower oil prices to hurt Russian finances and speed up the end of the Ukraine war or that Riyadh wants to push out US shale businesses and increase its market share The exact motive remains unclear,” Ozkardeskaya said Israel’s security Cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza including the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory after the army called up tens of thousands of reservists for the offensive It comes as the UN and aid organizations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground with famine again looming after more than two months of a total Israeli blockade includes the holding of territories in the besieged Gaza Strip and comes amid a push by Israel for Gaza’s people to leave the territory Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid deadlock over how to proceed with a two-month ceasefire that had largely halted the war with Hamas which was sparked by the militants’ October 2023 attack Israel has since carried out intensive aerial bombardments and expanded ground operations across the Palestinian territory with Gaza rescuers yesterday saying Israeli airstrikes killed at least 19 people in the north The Israeli official said the plan for expanded operations “will include the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories moving the Gaza population south for their protection.” The majority of Gaza’s population had resided in the north of the territory and nearly all have been displaced at least once since the war began which includes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several ministers “unanimously approved” the plan aimed at defeating Gaza’s rulers Hamas and securing the return of hostages held in the territory The official source said the plan included “powerful strikes against Hamas,” without specifying their nature Israeli Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on Sunday said the military was calling up “tens of thousands” of reservists to expand its offensive Israeli media reported that the plan would not be implemented before US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region next week The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Sunday said that at least 2,436 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign on March 18 bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,535 Israel’s security Cabinet also approved overnight the “possibility of humanitarian distribution “to prevent Hamas from taking control of the supplies and to destroy its governance capabilities.” The Axios news Web site on Friday reported that representatives from the US Israel and a new international humanitarian foundation were discussing a mechanism for resuming aid delivery to Gaza “without it being controlled by Hamas.” A grouping of UN entities and non-governmental organizations in the Palestinian territory accused Israel of seeking to “shut down the existing aid distribution system .. and have us agree to deliver supplies through Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military.” The plan “contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic — as part of a military strategy,” the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a statement “The UN Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator have made clear that we will not participate in any scheme,” it added Hamas said a new Israeli framework for aid delivery amounted to “political blackmail” and blamed Israel for the territory’s “humanitarian catastrophe.” Israel’s Cabinet said there was “currently enough food” in Gaza although humanitarian organizations and UN agencies have warned of the blockade’s dire consequences for Gaza’s 2.4 million people Crowds of desperate Gazans were seen piling up at a charity kitchen in the territory at the weekend Taiwanese-American outfielder Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo on Sunday each knocked in three runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks salvaged the finale of their road series with the Philadelphia Phillies with an 11-9 Perdomo went four-for-five and scored twice while Carroll and Jose Herrera each added two hits for Arizona Josh Naylor delivered the go-ahead single in the 10th inning after Arizona had squandered a six-run lead earlier in the contest while Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber also homered for the Phillies who had been 6-1 over their previous seven games the Phillies entered the bottom of the ninth down 8-6 Schwarber brought the hosts within a run with his National League-leading 11th homer — a line drive blast against Shelby Miller (3-0) before Alec Bohm flared a game-tying single into center Arizona wasted little time regaining the lead as Naylor opened the 10th with an RBI single against Jose Alvarado (3-1) The lefty then yielded a walk and Tim Tawa’s sacrifice fly before giving way to Carlos Hernandez including a bases-loaded walk to Perdomo that made it 11-8 The Phillies threatened in the 10th as Wilson singled to put runners on the corners and Max Kepler followed with a sacrifice fly Trea Turner then reached on a single to bring the winning run to the plate but Jalen Beeks got Harper on a flyout and Schwarber on a grounder to end it Harper hit an opposite-field homer in the first but the Diamondbacks responded with three runs against Ranger Suarez in the third inning The visitors tacked on four more runs in the fourth Philadelphia began to chip away in the fourth Wilson then made a major dent in the deficit with a three-run homer in the sixth against Juan Morillo the Padres sank the Pirates 4-0 and the Cardinals mastered the Mets twice the Braves edged the Dodgers 4-3 and the White Sox overcame the Astros 5-4 in 7 innings The US has accelerated its delivery of military equipment purchased by Taiwan including 16 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) that arrived on Jan the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said greatly bolstering the nation’s capability to deter military aggression from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) the defense package also includes 29 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the US Army two training simulators and associated equipment the ministry said in its latest written report to the legislature For the procurement of the defense package the ministry had allocated a budget of NT$32.52 billion (US$1.08 billion) that was to be paid out from 2020 to 2027 are scheduled to be delivered in two phases: 64 in the first phase and 20 in the second phase The first batch of 64 missiles —16 in total — arrived on Jan with the remaining 48 missiles scheduled to arrive during the first quarter That means all 64 should have arrived if the delivery was on schedule Eleven sets of HIMARS and two training simulators were received on Sept 20 ATACMS and 864 precision rockets are scheduled to arrive between next year and 2027 the ministry has project liaison officers stationed in the US to audit the production progress at US military arsenals every two months and that the second batch of equipment and ammunition is completed and delivered between next year and 2027 The first batch of 38 M1 tanks and five missile launch vehicles from the first batch of the shore-based Harpoon missile system have also arrived in Taiwan Taiwan is planning to allow the import of Japanese beef products of all ages but has yet to set a timeline said Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Chiang Chih-kang (姜至剛) yesterday The FDA first proposed the plan on March 4 setting up a 60-day window to gather public opinion that ended yesterday but Chiang said more discussion was still needed before a firm timeline of when to lift existing restrictions on Japanese beef imports could be set Taiwan only allows imports of beef products from Japan from cattle no more than 30 months old The strict regulations were imposed in 2003 at the peak of the international outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) import regulations were loosened up for beef imports from the United States with permission eventually being given to import beef of all ages from the United States and Canada in 2021 and 2023 Japan will likely soon be added to that list Japan has not experienced a case of mad cow disease in over 15 years and its beef has also been categorized by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) to be as safe as that of the US and Canada New Zealand and the European Union have already allowed the import of Japanese beef products of all ages into their territories and Taiwan’s opening will merely follow international standards The most conservative estimate of higher-risk boned beef products indicate that only one in 150 million consumers may be at risk of exposure to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) On the actual timeline of the drafting of and completion of related regulations Chiang said discussions will have to be held between experts and representatives of various fields for a gradual rollout to ensure safety Unnati Hooda to compete - where to watch liveParis 2024 Olympians PV Sindhu Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy have opted out of the BWF Super 300 event will lead India’s charge at the Taipei Open 2025 badminton tournament will be available on live streaming in India has endured a lean run this season with just one quarter-final appearance from six outings The 2021 World Championships silver medallist reached only one semi-final from 14 tournaments last year Women’s pair of Rashmi Ganesh and Sania Sikkandar will be India’s only challenge across all the doubles draws The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have given the tournament a miss Live streaming of Taipei Open 2025 badminton matches will be available on Jio Hotstar in India Details of live telecast of the Taipei Open Meiraba Luwang Maisnam; Qualifiers - Aryamann Tandon Aakarshi Kashyap; Qualifiers - Isharani Baruah Women’s Doubles: Rashmi Ganesh/Sania Sikkandar Sachi Schmidt-Hori has never played Assassin’s Creed Shadows but facing an onslaught of online harassment from its fans she quickly developed her own gameplay style: confronting hate with kindness an associate professor of Japanese literature and culture at Dartmouth College worked as a narrative consultant on the latest installment in the popular Ubisoft video game franchise but the vitriol directed at Schmidt-Hori began in May last year with the release of a promotional trailer “Once I realized that I was by myself — nobody was defending me — I just decided to do what I knew would work,” she said “It’s very difficult to hate someone up close.” with gamers criticizing his inclusion as “wokeness” run amok posting bogus reviews of her scholarly work and flooding her inbox with profanity Many drew attention to her academic research into gender and sexuality Some tracked down her husband’s name and ridiculed him Professional #WOKE SJW confirms fake history for Ubisoft,” one Reddit user said using an acronym for “social justice warrior.” Another user called her a “sexual degenerate who hate humanity because no man want her.” Learning Yasuke was based on a real person did little to assuage critics Asian men in particular argued Schmidt-Hori was trying to erase them even though her role involved researching historical customs and reviewing scripts “I became the face of this backlash,” she said she drew inspiration from the late civil rights leader and congressman John Lewis “I decided to cause ‘good trouble,’” she said Schmidt-Hori began replying to some of the angry emails asking the senders why they were mad at her and inviting them to speak face-to-face via Zoom She wrote to an influencer who opposes diversity equity and inclusion principles and had written about her asking him if he intended to inspire the death threats she was getting “If somebody said to your wife what people are saying to me but he did take down the negative article about Schmidt-Hori “It truly destroyed me knowing that you had to suffer and cancel your class and received hate from horrible people,” one man wrote “I feel somehow that you are part of my family a 28-year-old south Asian man living in the UK said he apologized at least 10 times to Schmidt-Hori after accepting her Zoom invitation to discuss his Reddit post about her feeling surprised and disappointed about Yasuke as a protagonist he posted a screenshot that included photos of Schmidt-Hori her professional biography from the Dartmouth Web site and a description of a book she wrote “I felt like maybe they were doing too much of like racial inclusion and changing things,” he said in an interview “An Asian male could have been the role model for so many people.” Though he didn’t criticize Schmidt-Hori directly others responded negatively and the image was picked up and shared in other forums He was shocked the professor reached out to him and hesitant to speak to her at first But they ended up having a thoughtful conversation about the lack of Asian representation in Western media and have stayed in touch ever since “I shouldn’t have made this person a target for no reason whatsoever.” Ubisoft officials declined to be interviewed about the criticism of the game or the harassment Schmidt-Hori faced the company said it carefully researches historical settings and collaborates with internal and expert witnesses but the games remain works of fiction and artistic liberties are taken “We do not condone harassment or bullying in any form,” the company said “We are committed to creating a supportive and collaborative environment and we’re constantly learning how we can improve this process We commend and appreciate Sachi Schmidt-Hori for addressing these topics directly and are grateful for her approach and expertise.” most people who become the target of online hate end up retreating to protect themselves an assistant professor of public communication at the University of Vermont Online forums allow people to post anonymously without seeing how their words are received and algorithms boost more aggressive content creating a “perfect storm” for people to become hateful “The intervention that she did was pretty brilliant in terms of sort of stopping that toxic train in its tracks and putting another spin on how people are engaging with her,” Mays said “She’s sort of breaking the spell of that online disinhibition community involvement and forcing people to address her as a human and an individual.” The eyes of the poker world were focused squarely on Taipei Taiwan on Saturday as the largest and most lucrative Asian Poker Tour Main Event in the tour's history played out Akira Takasugi of Japan emerged as the champion and the biggest winner of the APT Taipei festival claiming a first-place prize of over 19,009,440 TWD ($586,710) The final table Takasugi defeated represented a small sample of the dramatic cross-section of countries and regions represented in the attendance for the festival – players representing India 2,570 entrants participated in the Main Event eclipsing any other tournament ever run under the APT banner It's an enormous amount of growth in comparison to the first ever event under the APT banner the 2007 betfair APT Singapore Main Event that drew 313 total entries The records set in the 2025 APT Taipei Event will only last until November when the APT returns to Taiwan for the APT Championship Main Event with a guaranteed prize pool of TWD 165 million – eclipsing the prize pool of this recently concluded event by more than 25% Iat Man Leong of Macau and Wayne Lam of Hong Kong have already locked up their seats to what is guaranteed to be another record-setting event The APT Taipei Main Event is just one part of the overall success of the festival as a whole From the very first tournament on the schedule expectations were well exceeded across the board over the course of 126 scheduled tournaments The APT Taipei National Cup drew 2,161 entries and set a record for the largest opening event of a festival in APT history – more than doubling the guarantee in the process High roller action brought in big names from around the world who each made final table appearances over the course of the festival who finished 21st in the APT Taipei Main Event was joined by her husband – poker streamer Frankie C – as both played a significant volume of events Global Poker Award winner and content creator Greg Goes All in (Greg Liow) was also in attendance Poker Hall of Famer John Juanda won a single-day high roller event on April 29 for TWD 3571700 (~$115,863) to add to his considerable list of career accomplishments The APT will wrap up its 2025 calendar with a flourish at the aforementioned APT Championship Main Event in Taipei Built around the bold TWD 165 million guaranteed Main Event is a festival that will stretch on for more than two weeks of action from November 14-30 and include TWD 276 million in total guarantees across all tournaments The APT Korea Incheon festival will run from August 1-10 at Paradise Hotel & Resort headlined by a main event with a $1 million guarantee APT Korea Jeju will take place at Jeju Shinhwa World The Main Event in Jeju carries a guarantee of $1.5 million Images courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.  Casper Ruud on Sunday joked that seven was his lucky number after claiming the most important trophy of his career in his seventh big final as he beat Jack Draper to win the Madrid Open earned his first Masters 1000 triumph with a 7-5 6-4 victory over the Briton in a two-and-a-half-hour tussle at the Caja Magica who moved fifth in the world rankings above Novak Djokovic was hoping to add to his Indian Wells title in March but Ruud outlasted him in his third Masters final “This was my seventh big final if you count them all I’ve never really been too close in any of the finals when I look back — I’ve lost the majority of them in straight sets.” After his prior struggles on the big occasion also losing in the 2022 ATP Finals showpiece to Djokovic Ruud was grateful to triumph in the Spanish capital “It is a mix somewhat of a relief and happiness based on the last years that I’ve had on tour how tough it is to do well at the biggest tournaments and I’ve never been able to get over the finish line as a champion Draper had been looking for the first clay-court title of his career you really deserve it — you were braver than me in the key moments,” Draper said blinked first with back-to-back double faults to give Draper a break for 2-1 in the first set However in a seventh-game hold the Norwegian upped his power and showed his quality hinting at the fightback which was to follow Serving for the set Draper was unable to polish off his opponent Ruud held and then broke to claim the first set as Draper mishit a forehand It was the first set Draper had dropped at the tournament and he ranted aloud to his team to release his frustration Draper’s tactic seemed to work as he produced his best tennis in a brilliant second set in which he made just one unforced error and let his rasping forehand shine Draper broke in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead saved two break points in the eighth and then broke again himself to claim the second set Draper saved three break points to hold in a hard-fought third game Ruud broke in the fifth game and consolidated for a 4-2 lead with his first title of this stature in sight after 12 ATP titles at 250 and 500 level The tiring Draper saved a break point in the seventh game despite being docked a first serve for a time violation and Ruud held for 5-3 to leave Draper serving to stay in the match The 23-year-old found a second wind and held to love to make Ruud serve it out Ruud powered through his final service game opening up three match points and taking the first with Draper sending a reply into the stands to end it “I honestly feel like I’m at the start of my journey,” Draper said “I’m going to keep on improving and keep on pushing hard and keep these sort of tough moments in my head to keep on driving myself to be better.” The Golden State Warriors on Sunday punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs shaking off two straight defeats to grab a 103-89 Game 7 victory over the Houston Rockets The Warriors were the last team to advance to the conference semi-finals which got under way earlier on Sunday with the Indiana Pacers handing Eastern Conference top seeds Cleveland a 121-112 defeat on their home floor On a Warriors team stacked with post-season experience Buddy Hield — playing in his 11th playoff gamed — drilled nine three-pointers on 11 attempts on the way to a game-high 33 points Stephen Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors finally frustrated the second-seeded Rockets who were coming off two dominant victories and had visions of becoming just the 14th team to rally from 3-1 down to win an NBA playoff series Everybody’s been talking about our team the last two games in terms of our execution We blocked it all out and just understood we had 48 minutes to dig deep “Buddy Hield was unbelievable,” added Curry after the Warriors lined up a second-round clash with the Minnesota Timberwolves who ousted LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in five games Curry’s first basket was a three-pointer with 33.3 seconds left in the first half making six three-pointers on the way to 22 first-half points while Draymond Green added 10 points to help the Warriors to a 51-39 halftime lead They pushed the lead to as many as 15 before the Rockets battled back Amen Thompson scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Alperen Sengun scored 21 with 14 rebounds for the Rockets but Houston made just six three-pointers and trailed 70-62 going into the fourth quarter opening the final frame with five straight points Jimmy Butler had six points in a 12-0 Warriors run that took their lead to 20 points with 2:31 remaining and Curry said his arrival from Miami in February was key to Golden State’s late playoff push and build trust on the fly and perform like we did in a Game 7 Andrew Nembhard drilled five of Indiana’s 19 three-pointers on the way to a team-high 23 points while Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and handed out 13 assists for the Pacers who had six players score in double figures “I thought we did a great job of starting the game the right way,” said Haliburton who had delivered the game-winner in the 119-118 overtime triumph that clinched the Pacers’ first-round victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Pascal Siakam scored 10 of his 17 points in the first quarter as Indiana took a 36-25 lead The Pacers overcame a 33-point performance from Cavs star Donovan Mitchell and 17 turnovers of their own that led to 22 points The turnovers helped Cleveland claw back from a 12-point deficit early in the third taking a one-point lead on Evan Mobley’s hook shot with 3:16 left in the period but the Cavaliers clearly missed All-Star point guard Darius Garland who missed a third straight game with a sprained toe They could not respond as Indiana put together a 15-4 scoring run to pull away again in the fourth quarter getting out running and just playing Pacers basketball.” India has begun work to boost reservoir holding capacity at two hydroelectric projects in the Himalayan region of Kashmir sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters after fresh tension with Pakistan led it to suspend a water-sharing pact New Delhi suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty between the nuclear-armed rivals that ensures supply to 80 percent of Pakistani farms after an attack in Kashmir killed 26 and it identified two of the three assailants as Pakistani Islamabad has threatened international legal action over the suspension and denied any role in the attack warning: “Any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan .. A “reservoir flushing” process to remove sediment began on Thursday carried out by India’s biggest hydropower company and authorities in the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir The work might not immediately threaten supply to Pakistan which depends on rivers flowing through India for much of its irrigation and hydropower generation but it could eventually be affected if other projects launch similar efforts There are more than half a dozen such projects in the region India did not inform Pakistan about the work at the Salal and Baglihar projects which is being done for the first time since they were built in 1987 and 2008-2009 respectively They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media India’s NHPC and the neighboring governments did not reply to e-mails from Reuters to seek comment Since independence from British colonial rule in 1947 India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir The flushing operation ran for three days from Thursday “This is the first time such an exercise has taken place and will help in more efficient power generation and prevent damage to turbines,” one of the sources said “We were also asked to open the adjustable gates for cleaning adding that the effort aimed to free dam operation from any restrictions People living on the banks of the Chenab River on the Indian side of Kashmir said they noticed water had been released from both Salal and Baglihar dams from Thursday to Saturday The flushing of hydropower projects requires nearly emptying a reservoir to force out sediments whose build-up is a major cause of decline in output power delivered by the 690 megawatts Salal project was far below its capacity because Pakistan had prevented such flushing while silting also hit output at the 900 megawatts Baglihar project “Flushing is not a common thing because it leads to a lot of water wastage,” said one of the sources “Downstream countries are expected to be informed in case it leads to any inundation.” Building both projects had required extensive back and forth with Pakistan which worries about losing out on its share of water which split the Indus and its tributaries between the neighbors India had also shared data such as hydrological flows at various spots on the rivers flowing through India and issued flood warnings India’s water minister has vowed to “ensure no drop of the Indus river’s water reaches Pakistan.” government officials and experts on both sides say India cannot stop water flows immediately as the treaty has allowed it only to build hydropower plants without significant storage dams on the three rivers allocated to Pakistan The suspension means India “can now pursue our projects at free will,” said Kushvinder Vohra a recently retired head of India’s Central Water Commission who worked extensively on Indus disputes with Pakistan Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has sought to renegotiate the treaty in recent years and the archfoes have tried to settle some of their differences at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague These concerns related to the size of the water storage area at the region’s Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric plants The legislature’s Internal Administration Committee passed the first reading of a proposed amendment to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) increasing penalties for ticket scalping The proposed amendment would increase the fine from NT$18,000 to NT$30,000 for those who buy transportation or entertainment tickets without intending to use them and instead resell them for profit Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) and National Police Agency Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) both attended the legislative committee meeting Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs Independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) and Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) and other lawmakers proposed expanding the definition of “ticket scalping” to cover medical services Some of the categories proposed by lawmakers are already covered by the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act (文化創意產業發展法) and the Sports Industry Development Act (運動產業發展條例) The Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Transportation and Communications should each draft specific laws to avoid giving police an overly broad task Listing all the different types of tickets banned from scalping in one law could result in some of them being missed The committee also passed a resolution clarifying that the Social Order Maintenance Act addresses minor contraventions but scalpers who obtain substantial profits and harm consumer interests would face criminal penalties The resolution said that authorities should address scalping issues and propose legal revisions within two months The committee also approved two other proposed amendments to the act One would raise the maximum fine for noise disturbances at night to NT$10,000 from NT$6,000 The other would raise the penalty for following someone and continuing to do so after being told to stop from NT$3,000 to NT$30,000 to address stalking and harassment incidents CHICAGO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S and around the world rallied Thursday in May Day protests that united many in anger over President Donald Trump’s agenda from aggressive tariffs that are stoking fears of global economic turmoil to his administration’s immigration crackdowns READ MORE: Justice Department lawyers struggle to win over judges in legal challenges to Trump’s agenda organizers framed this year’s International Workers’ Day protests as a pushback against what they see as the administration’s sweeping assault on labor protections diversity initiatives and federal employees Protesters lined streets in many cities from New York to Philadelphia to Los Angeles and held a boisterous rally outside the White House in Washington thousands of people rallied in a West Side park before marching through downtown to the lakefront Some played drums and danced while others chanted “No justice no peace!” The crowd included union workers pro-Palestinian activists and students calling for better-funded public schools “We need to stand up and fight back,” said Latrina Barnes adding that worries Medicaid and Medicare might be affected under the Trump administration inspired her to protest in a May Day rally for the first time an inflatable Trump baby chicken and a Trump pinata shaped like a bull Protestors gather to demonstrate during a May Day rally in New York City thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully hoisting signs saying “Immigrants make America great,” “Migration is beautiful” and “It’s not the time to be silent.” With bands playing and flags waving the gathering had the feel of a celebration “We’re bringing the fight to the billionaires and politicians who are trying to divide us with fear and lies,” said April Verrett president of the Service Employees International Union A number of speakers demanded elected officials protect workers’ and immigrants’ rights One Fight — Workers Unite,” the event was organized by the Los Angeles May Day Coalition made up of labor unions and community-based groups hundreds gathered at a downtown park across from the state Capitol Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workers The CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and is expected to lose around 2,400 employees due to cuts by the Trump administration “We really want to stand up for all of our fellow laborers who were laid off or just fired with no real reason,” said Deblina Datta who worked on global immunization efforts before retiring in 2023 “We really want to make a cry that without the CDC French union leaders condemned the “Trumpization” of world politics saying demonstrations throughout the country were fueled by anger over U.S Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the U.S of pushing Europe toward conflict and economic subservience “If the North Americans don’t want our goods anymore protesters paraded a puppet of the American president through the streets of Turin union leaders warned that extended workdays and rising anti-immigrant sentiment were dismantling labor protections thousands marched behind banners denouncing fascism and war — part of a wider backlash against the global surge of hard-right politics A man passes by a building with graffiti saying “The fascism kills” with demands ranging from a shorter workweek to answers for a historic power outage that blacked out the Iberian Peninsula earlier this week “The world has changed a bit with Trump’s arrival,” said Ángel López “The arrival of the far right to a country like the United States is a major global shift.” Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te cited the new U.S tariffs under Trump as he promoted a sweeping economic package aimed at shoring up jobs and industry protest leader Mong Palatino warned that “tariff wars and policies of Trump” threatened local industries and people’s livelihoods said he feared the rising cost of imported raw materials and so the contracts tend to go where the wages are cheapest,” he said And we hope Trump will eradicate conflict and inequalities.” Some 2,500 union members marched from the Taiwanese presidential office in Taipei warning that Trump’s tariffs could lead to job losses “This is why we hope the government can propose plans to protect the rights of laborers,” said union leader Carlos Wang thousands of Filipino workers rallied near the presidential palace where police blocked access with barricades Protesters demanded wage hikes and stronger protections for local jobs and small businesses Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto addressed a cheering crowd at the National Monument Park “The government that I lead will work as hard as possible to eliminate poverty from Indonesia,” he said May Day served as a platform not only for labor rights but for broader calls to uphold democratic values Tens of thousands gathered on Istanbul’s Asian shore where some protested the jailing of Istanbul’s opposition mayor His imprisonment in March sparked the country’s largest protests in more than a decade Authorities blocked access to central Istanbul and shut down transit lines Istanbul governor’s office said 384 people had been detained Adamson reported from Paris and Kageyama reported from Tokyo Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Suman Naishadham in Madrid Nicolas Garriga and Masha Macpherson in Paris Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta and Taijing Wu in Taipei © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins May 3 (CNA) All 320,000 tickets for Mayday's eight concerts at the Taipei Dome in June and July sold out within 10 minutes according to the ticketing platform tixCraft with a small portion of tickets available earlier that day for families and holders of credit cards from sponsor E The concerts are part of the "Mayday #5525 Live Tour," which began in December 2023 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the rock band's founding The concerts will also mark the five-member band's debut at the 40,000-seat Taipei Dome Known for songs celebrating youth and aspirations Mayday is considered Taiwan's most popular band The eight concerts are scheduled for June 27-29 Reserved tickets not paid for on time will be re-released at 2:30 p.m. May 4 (CNA) Avid sci-fi fans celebrated the annual "May the Fourth" Star Wars Day in New Taipei on Sunday fans of the space opera franchise around the country participated in a gathering a day ahead to jump start their geek engines Convening of the Jedi CouncilIn Taipei's Beitou Heart Village cosplayers dressed up as Star Wars characters Cosplayers gather outside of Taipei's Beitou Heart Village ahead of the Star Wars Day event on Saturday 2025Cosplayers interact inside Taipei's Beitou Heart Village on Saturday 2025Darth Vader antagonizes some young Star Wars fans in Taipei on Saturday 2025CNA Video12-parsecs Kessel RunThe 2025 Star Wars Run was organized in the New Taipei Metropolitan Park on Sunday Event attendees pose for the 2025 Star Wars Run on Sunday 2025A young fan dresses up as the famous droid BB-8 and displays his Grogu plush toy at the 2025 Star Wars Run inside the New Taipei Metropolitan Park on Sunday 2025Cosplayers dress as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi Clone Trooper Capitan Rex and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (from left to right) at the 2025 Star Wars Run on Sunday 2025Not only did die-hard fans dress to the nines for the event but even serious runners wore Star Wars gear to channel the Force during the race Taiwan is a like-minded democratic ally of the EU in the Indo-Pacific region which is based on trustworthy friendship and common values European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) head Lutz Gullner said on Saturday evening the EETO collaborated with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and the Taipei Philharmonic Foundation (TPF) for the 2025 Europe Day Series concerts — a celebration of the growing cultural and musical exchange between Europe and Taiwan Gullner made the remark at a news conference before a EuropeDay concert at the National Concert Hall Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is an important moment to celebrate peace and cooperation symbolizing the EU and its member states’ commitment to democracy human rights and the rule of law,” he said and although the two countries are geographically distant mutual exchanges have grown more frequent and mutual understanding has deepened in recent years The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a news release yesterday said that Gullner also mentioned that given the current world situation increasingly competitive geopolitics and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war it is more crucial than ever that the EU uphold the values of peace Gullner said they do not wish to see a world where “might is right,” and that the office is dedicated to defending the belief that “order is based on rule-of-law,” the ministry cited him as saying Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) who also attended the Europe Day Series concert said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Schuman Declaration which laid the foundation for Europe’s peace Although Taiwan and Europe are oceans apart culture and many other aspects have increased NSO conductor Lu Shao-chia (呂紹嘉) and pianist Yen Chun-chieh (嚴俊傑) performed at the Saturday concert adding that the TPF invited Andreas Herrmann director of the Munich Philharmonic Choir in Germany to perform alongside them in the concert on Wednesday Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary-General Daniel Tang (唐殿文) has been named the country’s top envoy to Ireland The Executive Yuan earlier this month said that Tang is to fill the vacancy left by his predecessor whose resignation has been approved and was made public by the Presidential Office on Tuesday last week Yang had served as Taiwan’s representative to the European country since 2018 Before serving as the ministry’s chief secretary Tang was the top envoy to South Korea and ambassador to the Marshall Islands The Executive Yuan also announced that Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Secretary-General Fan Chen-kuo (范振國) is to become the new representative to Japan’s Yokohama city The association is the ministry’s top unit in charge of Japanese affairs The Yokohama office is one of the five branches of Taiwan’s representative offices in Japan The other four branch offices are in Osaka Stung by the rocketing price of eggs — and US supermarkets rationing a basic breakfast staple — Kim Yong-mi decided to get some chickens to secure her own supply in southern California While many people idly muse about backyard farming for those not ready to take the plunge permanently “I really want to try it out and see whether I like it or not,” the Los Angeles-area resident told reporters as she took delivery of two chickens and all the equipment they need to live a happy egg-laying life but it’s a lot of work for them — they had to adjust the whole garden themselves,” Kim said “So I think renting a chicken is a good start.” Hiring hens began to gain ground in the US about a decade ago in Pennsylvania when a farming couple set up Rent The Chicken the project has expanded to more than 40 cities across North America with local farmers setting up their own offshoots The service saw an uptick in interest during the COVID-19 lockdowns but it has skyrocketed in the past few months as consumers quail over the soaring cost of eggs which has seen the wholesale culling of egg-laying birds three to four times as much as we were seeing this time last year,” said Victoria Lee who serves the Los Angeles region from her farm in Agua Dulce Some Americans have been forking over more than US$10 for a dozen eggs with supermarkets putting daily limits on the number of cartons a shopper can buy In March eggs were 60 percent more expensive than a year earlier Lee is quick to point out that raising chickens at home is not cheaper than buying eggs at the store “By the time they get to the grocery store [eggs] are on average 48-60 days old,” she said no matter the quality at the start of that countdown the protein in the eggs begins to break down.” are only as old as however long it took the owner to pick them up off the henhouse floor “Rent the Chicken” offers different options that range from about US$500 to more than US$1,000 for six months depending on location and number of birds desired additional treats and a chicken care guide it is the included coop that is most striking — a sort of mini house with what looks like a patio with the chickens having access to fresh grass each day,” Lee said “They’re getting the experience of being on wide-open pasture with that new stimulation while still being safe in a predator-proof coop.” The convenience is what made the package attractive to Kim a university professor living in La Crescenta “Free eggs,” Lee exclaimed while unloading the new backyard tenants and handing over a complimentary dozen laid the previous week A client with two chickens can expect up to 14 eggs per week whose son is an athlete who eats a lot of eggs said that although the supply crisis prompted her to rent the chickens “I really wanted to have something for the kids and to compare the taste of the eggs,” she said Hedging e Autonomia: La Nuova Bussola della Politica Estera Indonesiana Gli effetti dei dazi sull’economia italiana Cyberspazio, hacker e proxy: il caso della Corea del Nord The strategic value of the Taiwan-Mexico axis. Why Mexico is so important for Taipei in the Trump-Era tariff storm Taiwan e il diritto alla salute: trent’anni di equità sanitaria e un appello alla cooperazione globale Il Parlamento italiano si schiera con Taiwan: la solidarietà del Gruppo di Amicizia di fronte alle minacce cinesi In an increasingly turbulent global trade landscape Taiwan finds itself once again on the frontlines of a geopolitical and economic thunderstorm President Donald Trump’s return to office in January and the reimplementation of sweeping tariffs in April—proclaimed dramatically as “Liberation Day” for American industry—the world has been forced into a new era of recalibrated supply chains high-stakes game: safeguarding its indispensable partnership with the United States while forging a pragmatic The reality is as harsh as it is simple: the world is adapting to a second wave of Trumpian protectionism Countries once considered stable trading partners are now subject to rigid barriers long enmeshed in North American production networks were caught off-guard as Trump’s executive orders imposed blanket tariffs on most of their exports—25% in many cases These measures were not just policy changes; they were economic shockwaves already under constant scrutiny from Beijing Rather than retreating or relying solely on its tech-driven exports to the U.S. Taiwan is repositioning itself through Mexico—building a buffer Taiwan’s government has responded proactively: the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) pledged immediate support to the more than 300 Taiwanese firms already operating in Mexico These include major names like Foxconn (鴻海科技集團) many of which had long used Mexico as a North American manufacturing base but are now turning it into a primary node in the global supply chain the company announced a strategic shift in operations from Asia to both Mexico and Vietnam originally focused on electronics assembly is now expanding into medical devices and high-end manufacturing services—sectors less vulnerable to tariff disruptions and more aligned with U.S This move reflects a broader trend: diversification is no longer a luxury but a survival mechanism But Taiwan’s pivot to Mexico is not only about avoiding tariffs While China continues to pressure nations to shun official ties with Taipei Through representative offices in both Taipei and Mexico City the two economies have nurtured a quiet but increasingly vital partnership once built on cautious trade and symbolic gestures now find themselves propelled into strategic relevance Taiwan’s exports to Mexico surged by 480% in January 2025 alone It was fueled by accelerated shipments of high-performance components—particularly GPUs critical for AI development—as Taiwanese firms anticipated a new wave of restrictions under the renewed Trump doctrine Stockpiling and just-in-time logistics have now given way to strategic foresight this Taiwan-Mexico link harks back to an overlooked historical resonance Spanish ships sailing between Manila and Acapulco made regular stops in what is now northern Taiwan but the east-west trade corridor remains crucial Taiwan continues to navigate its existential challenge: maintaining strong ties with Washington without becoming a bargaining chip in U.S.-China tensions President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and his administration are walking a diplomatic tightrope Despite looming threats of tariffs even on semiconductors Taipei and Washington have reiterated their commitment to mutual high-tech collaboration The MOEA was quick to remind all parties that the “U.S.-designed Taiwan-foundry model” has been a textbook example of successful bilateral cooperation one truth looms large: Trump’s tariffs are a global test the answer is found not in isolation but in intelligent coalition-building—through diversification in Vietnam Taiwan is neither cowering in the face of external pressure nor passively hoping for policy shifts in Washington or Beijing anchored by a surprisingly resilient Taiwan-Mexico axis It is indeed a masterclass in geopolitical dexterity Centro studi di geopolitica e relazioni internazionali © Copyright - Realizzato da SHAPE IT.agency dollar fell sharply against the Taiwan dollar Monday Turnover totaled US$3.387 billion during the trading session The greenback opened at the day's high of NT$30.910 and moved to a low of NT$29.590 before rebounding Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after Leverkusen ended their 11-year reign last season who won three Bundesliga titles as a player with Bayern They were the more consistent team over the season and they deserve the shield,” Alonso told DAZN was among a group of Bayern players who gathered to watch the Leverkusen game in Munich on Sunday The England captain was suspended for the match at Leipzig but is to return on Saturday against Borussia Moenchengladbach at home where Bayern will be presented with the Bundesliga shield With Bayern’s far superior goal-difference Leverkusen’s chances of defending their title were already all but impossible Freiburg’s Maximilian Eggestein hit a stunning goal from outside the penalty area before halftime and Piero Hincapie was pressured into scoring an own-goal just after the break Florian Wirtz netted a spectacular solo goal with eight minutes remaining carving through the middle of the field before firing the ball in off the post Jonathan Tah headed Leverkusen level in stoppage-time but the visitors were unable to find the third goal which would have extended their spell as champions who became the first team in history to win the title unbeaten last season eight points behind Bayern with two games remaining Leverkusen’s focus will turn to keeping hold of Alonso and Wirtz who could both be headed for the exit in the summer Alonso has a contract at Leverkusen until next year but has been heavily linked with Real Madrid but the Germany midfielder is reportedly considering a big-money move to Bayern who has already confirmed he will leave the club on a free transfer after a decade in Leverkusen The Germany centerback has been linked with moves to Barcelona and Bayern The late goal meant Leverkusen extended their unbeaten streak away from home to 33 games equaling a Bundesliga record set by Bayern Freiburg have never played in Europe’s top competition Eintracht Frankfurt were held to a 1-1 draw at FSV Mainz 05 missing a chance to seal Champions League qualification Frankfurt took the lead through Rasmus Kristensen on 16 minutes but Mainz pegged them back through Jonathan Burkardt in the 57th minute Hugo Ekitike had a chance to win it in the final minute five points clear of fifth-placed Dortmund with two games remaining keeping their hopes of beating the drop alive Kiel won thanks to a double from Alexander Bernhardsson and a Shuto Machino penalty and are now one point behind Heidenheim in the relegation playoff spot Government efforts to prevent large-scale power outages such as the one that affected the Iberian Peninsula and parts of southern France on Monday Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) said that the blackout reminded her of the five major power outages during the term of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) three of which affected millions of people 10 million and 5.5 million residents respectively and energy stability is easily disrupted by earthquakes and when relay stations trip to say nothing of what would happen if the nation were hit by a terrorist attack or embroiled in war Power instability results in the paralysis of telecom base stations Weng asked whether the government was prepared for that contingency and what policies are being discussed or are in place to help the public in such a situation President William Lai’s (賴清德) emphasis on whole-of-society resilience should mean that the government is prepared for such events Cho said power outages under Tsai’s administration were primarily due to mechanical errors or mishandling by personnel The government is preparing for a redundancy in power provision in response to possible power outages due to natural disasters or human error The information security strategy released by the National Security Council last month also prioritizes critical infrastructure security It calls for comprehensive assessments of potential information security risks and countermeasures to protect critical infrastructure Weng also asked about the progress of the Ministry of Digital Affairs’ 2023 Forward-looking Project to use Emerging Technologies to Strengthen Communication Networks’ Digital Resilience which is estimated to cost NT$550 million (US$17.71 million) aims to build 773 non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) ground stations 70 satellite base stations within the nation Minister of Digital Affairs Huang Yen-nun (黃彥男) said that the 773 stations were completed last year Huang said that the stations were off-limits to civilians as they are meant to provide the government access to networks that would ensure the smooth running of the government during a war or national disaster Meta Platforms on Friday denied that it had assisted China in suppressing political speech by Taiwanese Facebook users a week after a Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker urged the government to address the issue The controversy stems from testimony delivered on April 9 to the US Senate by former Meta executive Sarah Wynn-Williams who said that Meta chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg developed censorship tools to aid Beijing in exchange for access to the Chinese market The tools included a system deployed in Hong Kong and Taiwan that automatically flagged posts with more than 10,000 views for review by a “chief editor,” Wynn-Williams said The system was designed in close collaboration with Chinese Communist Party officials who tested the tools and provided feedback to enhance their ability to target specific content and imagery Meta Asia-Pacific public policy vice president Simon Milner on Friday told Taiwan-based journalists in a video conference that the accusations were false and unfounded Facebook has never censored content from Taiwanese users at the request of the Chinese government or shared their personal data with the Chinese government adding that the allegations stem from a former employee who was dismissed eight years ago due to poor performance Meta’s content moderation system is based on guidelines developed in collaboration with experts in technology The mechanism targets posts that receive a high volume of user reports in accordance with the guidelines The company continuously changes community guidelines to reflect changes in social norms Meta’s Taiwan branch wrote on Facebook that it “solemnly denies” allegations that the company colluded with Beijing to suppress free speech in Taiwan Meta did not allow Beijing to censor content from Taiwanese users share their personal information with Chinese officials or establish any content moderation team in China a decorated former Republic of China military general and minister of veterans’ affairs who later became a staunch pro-unification advocate Hsu passed away at Taipei Veterans General Hospital at 6:13am Hsu became a soldier after the Second Sino-Japanese War began He also fought in the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and retired as a three-star general Hsu served as the minister of veterans’ affairs He was also on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee due to his opposition to then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) He then cofounded the pro-unification New Party in 1993 Hsu was best known as a pro-unification advocate who regularly traveled to China to hold pro-unification gatherings and forums He met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in 2014 and openly expressed his wish to see “a unified China.” Hsu was also one of the retired generals who in 2016 attended a ceremony in Beijing stood for the Chinese national anthem and listened to a speech by Xi Their actions drew widespread criticism over a perceived lack of loyalty to Taiwan A group of pharmacists yesterday marched in Taipei to protest a Ministry of Health and Welfare interpretation that allows people who have not passed the national pharmacist’s license examination to sell traditional Chinese medicine The ministry on March 18 issued an interpretation of Article 103 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法) that would allow people who meet certain criteria to apply for a certificate and register to become a traditional Chinese medicine dealer people who graduated from traditional Chinese medicine or crude medicine related departments of a university or college have acquired 35 credits from core Chinese medicine courses and have more than one year of practical experience at a Chinese medicine dealer can apply for a certificate and register to sell Chinese medicine The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations said it gathered about 5,000 people for yesterday’s rally on Ketagalan Boulevard to protest the interpretation The group said that as traditional Chinese medicine is categorized as drugs it should be distributed by registered pharmacists with dealers required to pass the national examination to obtain a license The group staged yesterday’s march to “defend professionalism without compromise,” after the government did not respond to their April 22 protest outside the ministry in Taipei association president Huang Jin-shun (黃金舜) said Medicines need to be handled professionally adding that if traditional Chinese medicine was designated as food products pharmacists would have no opinion on the matter Drugs should be managed by pharmacists to ensure safety and pharmacists should go through the education-examination-training-practice procedure to ensure professionalism Allowing people who only took courses without examination to become “professionals” is disrespectful to pharmacists The National Union of Chinese Medicine Association has said that the ministry’s interpretation helped guarantee the development of the Chinese medicine industry Huang said that if the traditional Chinese medicine community wants to attract pharmacists to the field it should improve the practice environment in the sector it should advocate for medicines prescribed by Chinese medicine doctors to be covered by the National Health Insurance or require that only pharmacists dispense medicine at Traditional Chinese medicine clinics the number of traditional Chinese medicine dealers that hired pharmacists has increased from 421 to 1,279 Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations spokesman Huang Yen-ju (黃彥儒) said The protest aims to ensure that distributors of traditional Chinese medicine have accurate knowledge of the medicines they sell and to urge the government to clarify which of the medicines are considered food products and which are drugs a fourth generation traditional Chinese medicine dealer and secretary-general of the Taipei Medical University School of Pharmacy Alumni Association father and uncle are all traditional Chinese medicine dealers which is why he followed the law and studied pharmacy The past custom of passing down the business from father to son cannot ensure that the correct knowledge of the medicines has been inherited and even he has trouble understanding his grandfather’s “encrypted” formulas The US and Ukraine on Wednesday reached a deal over access to Ukraine’s natural resources with Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha yesterday hailing it as “an important milestone.” The deal signed in Washington grants the US privileged access to new investment projects to develop Ukraine’s natural resources It has been seen as critical to fostering US President Donald Trump’s goodwill as his administration pushes to end the war with Russia “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.” Ukrainian Minister of Economic Affairs Yulia Svyrydenko said on social media that “together with the United States we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country.” said that he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy when they both attended the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican last weekend that “I was telling him that it’s a very good thing if we can produce a deal that you sign.” the US would get first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund that would be jointly managed by both nations The deal is intended in part to reimburse the US for future military assistance to Ukraine where we can start digging and doing what we have to do,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House earlier on Wednesday Washington also acknowledged Kyiv’s intentions for the deal to avoid any conflict with its plans to join the EU The focus will now shift to the negotiations over a peace deal Sybiha discussed the deal with the EU’s top diplomat “This marks an important milestone in Ukraine-US strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s economy and security,” Sybiha wrote on X He said he had informed European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas about the deal and that they had discussed moves to “coordinate steps ahead of important international events.” “We discussed recent diplomatic efforts and the next steps to achieve a fair and lasting peace,” Sybiha said.