Tue, Apr 08, 2025
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday agreed to deliver a report to the legislature on the impact of US tariffs on the economy and the Executive Yuan’s countermeasures.In reaction to US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, the stock market posted its biggest intraday plu
US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that he would not back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless nations even out their trade with the US, digging in on his plans to implement the tariffs that have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and u
DEFENDING RIGHTS: One hundred percent freedom of speech is not an invitation to abuse that freedom to exterminate it or overturn the democratic system, Lai said Freedom of speech should not be used to disseminate propaganda aimed at depriving the freedoms of Taiwanese or invalidate the Republic of China, President William Lai (賴清德) said on Freedom of Speech Day yesterday.Lai was speaking at a memorial service for Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), the late democracy advo
NO CHANGE: While those who take short-distance train rides would be the most affected, they mostly use TPASS and therefore their fares would not increase Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) is set to raise ticket prices for the first time in 30 years in late June, the acting chairman of the state-owned company said yesterday.At a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee meeting, TRC acting chairman Wu Sheng-yuan (伍勝園) confirmed the average fare in
The Philippine and US air forces yesterday commenced joint exercises aimed at boosting operational coordination and enhancing “strategic deterrence,” the Philippine military said.The drills follow months of confrontations between Beijing and Manila over disputed areas of the South China Sea, with si
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US.Lai has in the past few days met with admin
A worker union has accused Taipei Metro of violating procurement rules, resulting in cleaning staff receiving fewer days of paid leave than they should be legally entitled to under labor rights law.The Taiwan Labor Dispatch Industry Union (台灣勞動派遣產業工會) held a press conference at the Taipei City Counc
Siaoliuciou Island (小琉球), a popular vacation destination off the western coast of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan, would get its first traffic light in August, the county government said today.The traffic light is to be installed in accordance with a National Bureau of Land Management plan to imp
China has been increasing cyberattacks, military exercises and ‘gray zone’ tactics against Taiwan in a combined effort to pressure the nation and deplete its resources, National Security Bureau (NSB) said today in a report to the Legislative Yuan.The NSB submitted a written report to the Legislative
Eight local government leaders from cities and counties across Taiwan held an online meeting yesterday to discuss countermeasures in response to the 32-percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced by US President Donald Trump last week.In a joint statement after the meeting, the eight leaders urged t
No decision has been made yet on whether the National Stabilization Fund (NSF) would step in to support Taiwan’s stock market, after the TAIEX plummeted by almost 10 percent yesterday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said today.The TAIEX suffered the highest single-day percentage loss on record as invest
President William Lai's (賴清德) recent statement that he is not planning to retaliate against US President Donald Trump's 32-percent tariff on Taiwanese goods should be welcomed by Washington, several US academics told CNA on Monday.However, they were also skeptical of Lai's aim of having the tariff n
Taiwan is ready to negotiate with the US at any time on the tariffs issue, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today, as the nation’s stock market steadied having plummeted the previous day on trade fears.Taiwan was hit with a 32 percent tariff last week and singled out by US Presid
REGIONAL RISKS: Foreign ministers from the EU, Japan, the UK and the US said in a joint statement that China’s ‘provocative actions’ in the Strait were destabilizing The Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) military exercises around Taiwan last week intensified risks in the region and threatened global security, top diplomats of G7 countries said on Sunday.In a joint statement posted on the US Department of State’s Web site, the foreign ministers of Canada,
National security agencies should do more to counter espionage operations conducted through Chinese spouses and immigrant organizations, a security researcher said.Wang Chih-sheng (王智盛), an associate professor at the Central Police University’s Border Police Department, made the comments at the week
CONFIDENT: The New Taiwan dollar has been stable for a long time, and the nation has a sound international balance of payments and low debt, the central bank said The central bank yesterday said it has stabilization mechanisms on standby that would infuse the market with sufficient liquidity, and that it is confident that it can cope with fluctuations in the foreign exchange market and keep the New Taiwan dollar stable.“Since major international events such a
The Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI, 全國工業總會) yesterday urged the government to support tariff-affected sectors as fast as possible, as shocks to Taiwan’s export-reliant economy from higher US levies has spread across the board locally. The government should lower the requirement for
TIME OUT: An economic nuclear war on the world would cause investments to stop, consumers to close their wallets and damage the US’ reputation, a fund manager said JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned investors that the turmoil caused by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a global trade war could slow growth in the world’s largest economy, spur inflation and potentially lead to lasting negative consequences. In his annual letter to shareholders,
The export landscape for Taiwan is expected to change drastically after US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs take effect tomorrow. That is because Trump is to impose higher-than-expected levies on Taiwan and China, and hefty tariffs on countries under local firms’ “China Plus One” invest
In the late 19th century, as China, Japan and Korea faced growing pressure from Western powers, they grappled with a question: Should “unequal treaties” be accepted as a temporary cost of survival, or resisted at all costs to defend national sovereignty? Behind that laid a deeper question — can a na
In 2016, then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) introduced the New Southbound Policy (NSP) to reduce Taiwan’s economic dependence on China by strengthening ties with Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australia. Initially focused on trade, investment and people-to-people ties, the policy was upgraded to “NSP
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced today that it had promoted 23-year-old baseball player Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) to its Major League Baseball (MLB) squad, making Cheng the 18th Taiwanese player to play in the MLB league.Hailing from southern Pingtung Country, Cheng is 173cm tall, very fast and has majo
TIGHT COMPETITION: Six teams are battling for four playoff spots in the West, from the third-placed Los Angeles Lakers down to the eighth-placed Memphis Grizzlies Luka Doncic on Sunday scored 30 points as the Los Angeles Lakers produced a devastating display of long-range shooting to score a surprising 126-99 blowout over the No.1 ranked Oklahoma City Thunder. A heavyweight showdown between the Western Conference leaders and the third-placed Lakers was effect
Alex Ovechkin on Sunday broke a record once seen as untouchable with his 895th career NHL goal, completing a journey from a childhood marred by tragedy to the greatest heights of his sport. Russian Ovechkin scored from the left face-off circle in the second period of the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 def
Tadej Pogacar on Sunday won an epic see-saw showdown at the Tour of Flanders, soloing home from 15km, with Mads Pedersen edging Mathieu van der Poel to second at the line a minute later with Wout van Aert fourth. The duel between the Slovenian and defending champion Van der Poel played out across th
‘DELIBERATE ACT’: One strike killed six people on al-Nakheel Street in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, including three children, a civil defense spokesman said Gaza’s civil defense agency on Sunday said that Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people as Israel’s prime minister vowed a “strong response” to a rare salvo of rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled territory.Dozens of Palestinians have been killed almost daily since Israel resumed its military offens
South Korea has set June 3 as the tentative date for the next presidential election, Yonhap News reported yesterday, citing an unidentified government official.The election was triggered after the Constitutional Court on Friday last week unanimously decided to remove Yoon Suk-yeol as president for v
Shaken hours earlier by a massive earthquake, Phatsakon Kaewkla’s terror was magnified when he came home to find gaping cracks in the walls of his 22nd-floor Bangkok apartment.Feeling unsafe in the building damaged by the biggest tremors to hit the capital in generations, the 23-year-old decided to
The 1990s were a turbulent time for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) patronage factions. For a look at how they formed, check out the March 2 “Deep Dives.”In the boom years of the 1980s and 1990s the factions amassed fortunes from corruption, access to the levers of local government and prime a
Liking a co-worker’s photo on social media. Sending them direct messages. Checking in on Slack more often than before.Progressively interacting in this way with someone outside your relationship may be no big deal to you. To your significant other, however, it may be microcheating, which some people
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) last week offered us a glimpse of the violence it plans against Taiwan, with two days of blockade drills conducted around the nation and live-fire exercises not far away in the East China Sea. The PRC said it had practiced hitting “simulated targets of key ports
US President Donald Trump is taking a blowtorch to the rules that have governed world trade for decades. The “reciprocal’’ tariffs that he announced Wednesday last week are likely to create chaos for global businesses and conflict with America’s allies and adversaries alike.Since the 1960s, tariffs
對話 Dialogue清清：華華，這是你的狗狗和貓貓嗎？好可愛喔！Qīngqing: Huáhua, zhè shì nǐde gǒugou hàn māomao ma? Hǎo kě’ài o!華華：對啊！狗狗叫汪汪，貓貓叫喵喵，也是我的家人。Huáhua: Duì a! Gǒugou jiào Wāngwāng, māomao jiào Miāomiāo, yě shì wǒde jiā rén.清清：現在把寵物當成家人的人越來越多了，而且不只是貓狗，還有很多不同種類的生物呢！Qīngqing: Xiànzài bǎ chǒngwù dāngchéng jiārén de rén yuèl
Dos & Don’ts — 想想看，這句話英語該怎麼說？1. 我臥病三天。✔ I stayed in bed for three days.✔ I kept to my bed for three days.χ I slept in my bed for three days.註︰動詞 sleep 通常作「睡眠」解。例如：Usually we sleep eight hours a day.「因病臥床」應用 to stay in bed 或 to keep to one’s bed.2. 彼得容易傷風。✔ Peter is liable to colds (或to catch cold).✔
In 2020, a labor attache from the Philippines in Taipei sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding that a Filipina worker accused of “cyber-libel” against then-president Rodrigo Duterte be deported. A press release from the Philippines office from the attache accused the woman of “using several social media accounts” to “discredit and malign the President and destabilize the government.” The attache also claimed that the woman had broken Taiwan’s laws. The government responded that she had broken no laws, and that all foreign workers were treated the same as Taiwan citizens and that “their rights are protected, including freedom of speech.” Last week the government announced that the National Immigration Agency (NIA) would revoke the spouse-based residence permit of social media influencer Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), a national of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), who is married to a local. This became a major news story, even making the international media. The NIA investigated reports that Liu advocated annexing Taiwan to the PRC through military force in videos posted on social media, including Douyin (where she has 400,000 followers), YouTube and TikTok. On all three, her account name is Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣). The NIA press release said that Liu’s residence permit will be revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法). The NIA said that her calls for military force against the people of Taiwan violate the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例). Liu thus violated specific rules that govern PRC citizens. She will be barred from re-applying for residence within the next five years. The government is giving her time on humanitarian grounds to arrange her family
March 24 to March 30 When Yang Bing-yi (楊秉彝) needed a name for his new cooking oil shop in 1958, he first thought of honoring his previous employer, Heng Tai Fung (恆泰豐). The owner, Wang Yi-fu (王伊夫), had taken care of him over the previous 10 years, shortly after the native of Shanxi Province arrived in Taiwan in 1948 as a penniless 21 year old. His oil supplier was called Din Mei (鼎美), so he simply combined the names. Over the next decade, Yang and his wife Lai Pen-mei (賴盆妹) built up a booming business delivering oil to shops and restaurants all over Taipei and Taoyuan. The major Shanghai restaurants in Taipei all ordered from him, and the owners were quite fond of the honest, no-nonsense and hard-working Yang. In 1963, the couple bought their own shop front, a one-story red brick structure on Xinyi Road (信義路) by Yongkang Street (永康街). Unfortunately, the traditional oil industry took a major hit around 1972 due to a health scare and the advent of mass-produced “salad oil.” With sales faltering, Yang’s friends suggested that he switch to selling Shanxi specialties such as knife-sliced noodles. However, Tang Yung-chang (唐永昌), owner of Shanghai restaurant Fuxingyuan (復興園), recommended the more delicate, varied Shanghai-style dim sum instead, even setting him up with one of his former dim sum chefs Lu Chi-chung (魯紀忠). In 1972, Yang set up three tables in one-half of his oil shop, and Lu got to work. Business was lousy at first, but Yang persisted, thinking that he had nothing to lose — at that time, he never expected Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) to become a global empire. ESCAPING WAR Several books provide details on Yang’s early life, including Huang Hung-hu’s (黃鴻湖) Exemplary Din Tai Fung (典範鼎泰豐), Lin Ching-yi’s (林靜宜) Din Tai Fung: Warmth in Perfection (有溫度的完美)
| New Taipei City | 24-27 | 10% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 22-24 | 10% |  |
| Hsinchu City | 22-24 | 10% | |
| Taipei City | 24-28 | 10% | |
| Miaoli County | 22-25 | 10% | |
| Taoyuan City | 23-27 | 10% | |
| Keelung City | 22-25 | 20% | |
| Yunlin County | 24-27 | 10% | |
| Taichung City | 24-26 | 10% | |
| Nantou County | 24-27 | 10% | |
| Changhua County | 23-25 | 10% | |
| Chiayi County | 24-27 | 10% |  |
| Chiayi City | 25-28 | 10% | |
| Tainan City | 25-27 | 10% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 26-28 | 10% | |
| Pingtung County | 27-30 | 10% |  |
| Yilan County | 22-24 | 20% | |
| Hualien County | 23-25 | 30% |  |
| Taitung County | 24-26 | 20% | |
| Kinmen County | 21-25 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 21-24 | 10% | |
| Lienchiang County | 18-21 | 10% | |
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