In 1904 the Japanese introduced caning to Taiwan. As a punishment, caning was applied by the Japanese to Taiwanese and Chinese subjects, never to the Japanese themselves (it had been outlawed in Japan in 1882). An imperial and colonial act, caning thus functioned to define and display social class b
Yemen’s government forces yesterday said they had struck Houthi targets around the country, deepening the conflict ravaging one of the world’s poorest nations and the wider region.The armed forces launched strikes against the Houthis in Sana’a, the northwestern governorate of Saada — one of the grou
A US Marine stationed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of the murder of a Japanese woman, police said yesterday. The suspect “killed the 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha and stole her wallet on Saturday,” a local police spokesman said.US Ambassador George Glass pos
Calgary Flames forward Matt Coronato follows the flying puck in the first period of their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Saturday.
The Republic of Ireland’s news conference on Saturday on the eve of their second UEFA Nations League match against Israel in Serbia was cut short as head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson fielded questions from Israeli journalists. Ireland on Tuesday last week beat Israel 3-0 in Hungary in their first match
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen yesterday took his first win of the season at a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia that only started on the second attempt 1 hour 40 minutes late because of rain. Verstappen gained the lead after an early safety car and led home the Mercedes of championship leader Kimi
Taiwanese tennis players Hsieh Su-wei and Chan Hao-ching on Saturday revived their feud at the Asian Games, with Chan fuming at Hsieh for a handshake snub at the end of their women’s doubles final in Nagoya, Japan. The pair last month did not shake hands following a tense US Open doubles match in wh
The Los Angeles Dodgers, chasing a rare World Series three-peat, on Saturday opened their MLB playoff campaign with a 5-3 win over Atlanta as the Tampa Bay Rays rode a one-hit gem from pitcher Drew Rasmussen to score a 1-0 win over the New York Yankees. Six strong innings from pitcher Tarik Skubal,
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games yesterday wrapped up its final day of events, with Taiwan taking home only five gold medals, its lowest total since the 1990 games in Beijing. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, also won 17 silvers and 33 bronzes to finish with a total of 55 medals. While t
FIFA World Cup winners Spain were on Saturday made to work for a 3-1 win against the Czech Republic in the UEFA Nations League while England sparkled in thrashing Croatia 7-0. Spain recorded their 41st consecutive unbeaten game thanks to an exquisite finish from Lamine Yamal before goals from Rodri
These are the best of times for Americans — at least economically, and at least on paper. They have never been richer or more prosperous as a nation. Living standards and life expectancy are at all-time highs. Yet, it feels like the economy is broken. What explains this? Consider how few of the thin
During a tour of Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) on Sept. 22, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) proposed a seemingly appealing urban-planning vision for the area: linking Xinfu Market (新富市場), East Sanshui Street Market (東三水街市場), Longshan Temple (龍山寺), Bopiliao Historical Block (剝皮寮歷史街區), Bangka Park (艋
When Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) reported on the government’s six priority policy directions to the legislature during its opening session on Tuesday last week, he was not addressing a full house. All of the opposition lawmakers were absent during Cho’s 20-minute report, setting the tone for yet anot
Amazon.com Inc on Friday pledged more than US$1 billion over five years for US communities that host its data centers, the latest tech giant seeking to win over residents increasingly hostile to the artificial intelligence (AI)-fueled construction boom.The Built Together program, unveiled by Amazon
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) said on Saturday that it would keep its domestic gasoline and diesel prices unchanged this week, even though international crude oil prices still hovered at high levels.Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s (台塑石化) Web site also indicates that it would maintain its fuel prices at the s
Bankers in Hong Kong skipped the summer break as an artificial intelligence (AI)-fueled rush for capital sent share sales to a record, defying a bruising selloff in the city’s stocks.Initial public offerings (IPOs), placements and block trades raised US$47.5 billion in July to last month, the bigges
Another former OpenAI employee has added his voice to a chorus of frantic calls to make artificial intelligence (AI) safe, saying that the industry must mimic the aviation or nuclear power sectors with their layers of safeguards to avoid disaster.In an article published in The Atlantic Magazine, Dav
The US remained the largest debtor of Taiwanese banks for the 44th consecutive quarter at the end of June, with its share of Taiwanese banks’ total exposure surpassing 30 percent for the first time, the central bank said on Friday.Taiwanese banks’ exposure to the US on an immediate counterparty basi
Members of the Taiwan Breast Cancer Alliance form a human pink ribbon in a plaza outside Taipei City Hall yesterday, which they said symbolized the journey from screening and treatment to recurrence prevention and patient support. The alliance urged women aged 40 to 74 to undergo regular breast canc
Americans attending a Taiwan tourism promotion at a Southern California shopping center on Saturday praised the island for its friendly people, convenient lifestyle and safety.Taiwan’s Tourism Administration hosted a promotional event titled “100 Ways to Wonder” at Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine,
Taitung County has the highest forest coverage nationwide, but has insufficient urban green cover, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) said yesterday, adding that urban forests could mitigate heat from foehn winds.Peng made the remarks during a briefing hosted by the Ministry of Environment
Taiwan Railway Corp’s new station in Tainan is scheduled to open on Oct. 17 as part of a project to shift the mainline rail infrastructure in the city underground, the Railway Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.Built next to the historic Tainan Station, com
Four members of a family were killed in a fire at a building materials store in Yilan County late Saturday, local authorities said yesterday.The four victims were the wife and two children of the property owner, a man surnamed Yu (游), as well as his father, according to the Yilan County Fire Bureau.
The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office has indicted a soldier on a charge of disobeying orders after he allegedly refused to go to sleep or get out of bed, seeking a heavy sentence.The soldier, surnamed Lee (李), assigned to the 302nd Infantry Brigade at the Chenggong Ling (成功嶺) training depot in
A local public health study found that methadone maintenance treatment and needle and syringe programs are highly cost-effective in reducing HIV transmission, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday.Lo made the remarks amid a heated debate online over methad
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) continued to clash over drug policy yesterday.The dispute began after Shen introduced a campaign platform with four strategies to combat dr
Civic groups yesterday protested what they called the police’s excessively forceful raid on a Taipei gay bar on Saturday, calling on police to apologize, protect marginalized groups and stop stigmatizing LGBTQ culture. Police from Taipei’s Wanhua Precinct on Saturday afternoon raided the bar Command
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would intensify “gray zone” activities around Taiwan during his fourth term, further undermining regional stability, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said on Saturday.Xi is expected to secure a fourth five-year term at the 21st National
The opening of a joint air support center in Laos is part of China’s decades-long power-projection efforts to extend its influence into the Indian Ocean, a Taiwanese defense expert said yesterday.The Chinese Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday last week announced that the China-Laos Joint Supp
Four more people have been reported missing in China, bringing the total number of Taiwanese who have been reported missing, detained for questioning or suspected of having their freedom of movement restricted from Jan. 1, 2024, to Friday to 453, the Mainland Affairs Council said in its weekly repor
Fundamental differences between the US and China make major disputes difficult to resolve, but create an opportunity for Taipei to deepen economic and security ties with Washington, China expert Miles Yu (余茂春) said Saturday.Yu, director of the China Center at the Washington-based think tank Hudson I
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) late on Saturday arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, to begin a three-day visit, including the opening of Taiwan’s new representative office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.Lin is to preside over the unveiling ceremony for the Taipei Economic
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday announced military aid for Ukraine worth about 1 billion euros (US$1.13 billion) and an energy support package during a visit to Kyiv, as the Ukrainian capital the same day came under renewed attack from Russian drones.Merz, who was accompanied by a senior
The percentage of inmates serving sentences for drug use has fallen over the past five years, largely due to community-based addiction treatment for people whose crimes were relatively minor, the Agency of Corrections said yesterday.The government uses deferred prosecution with court-mandated addict
The government would soon be able to invest in offshore artificial intelligence (AI) companies that conduct their primary business activities in Taiwan, following an amendment aimed at boosting investment in AI start-ups. The National Development Fund (NDF) in 2024 earmarked NT$10 billion (US$314.17
Some characters exist only in a fictional world, while others step into real life. These are the mascots people often see at sports events, in amusement parks, during marketing campaigns or even on busy shopping streets. They possess a magnetic charm that transcends age and language. Yet beneath eve
OCT. 5 to OCT. 11Many worshippers of Taoist deity Lord Su (蘇府王爺) had never witnessed his “north-south grand inspection tour” of central Taiwan. The historic procession last took place in 1969, and before that, in 1893.Lukang’s Fengtian Temple (奉天宮) in Changhua County last Sunday completed Lord S
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and rival Flavio Bolsonaro pulled no punches in a last-ditch effort to win voters ahead of today’s election in Brazil.US President Donald Trump said he was “very closely” watching the nail-biter poll, which comes after a string of recent right-wing victo
Russia plans to sharply increase defense spending, cut funding for education and raise taxes next year as costs mount in its war with Ukraine, draft budget documents showed.The plans have been submitted to Russia’s lower house of parliament for approval.The government plans to spend a record 17.1 tr
Argentine President Javier Milei’s government on Friday said the country would offer citizenship to foreigners who invest at least US$350,000 in the country.Latin America’s third-largest economy lagged far behind Brazil and Mexico in the foreign direct investment stakes last year, according to the O
Fresh protests over housing were due to take place yesterday in Madrid and other Spanish cities, a day after parliament rejected two government measures to improve protection for tenants.The government introduced the measures after nationwide protests following the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen
One of the biggest stars on the Detroit Tigers’ Threads account is infielder Lee Hao-yu, with posts featuring the Taiwanese rookie rarely drawing fewer than 5,000 likes, far more than the 1,000 likes posts featuring other players only occasionally draw.Behind much of that enthusiasm was the 23-year-
Hong Kong’s men’s rugby sevens team romped to a third consecutive Asian Games gold with a dominant display in a 26-0 victory over China yesterday.Wing Harry Sayers scored a pair of first-half tries, added to by Dafydd Phillips to put Hong Kong in charge 21-0 at the break.When flying wing Juan Esono
The most bothersome aspect of the warning that artificial intelligence (AI) could wipe out humanity is that there are few details about how a rogue computer model could actually accomplish it. The top scenarios, and it is by no means an exhaustive list, involve nuclear missiles, biological weapons a
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has spread faster than any technology in modern history. Within three years of ChatGPT’s release, generative AI has been adopted by 53 percent of the world’s population — faster than the PC and the Internet — while organizational adoption hit 88 percent last year. Global
As the dust has yet to settle on the controversy over Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) supposed doctorate, the Legislative Yuan has chosen the perfect timing to amend Chiang’s educational credentials in his former legislator’s profile. The label of Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) that persist
The First Island Chain is one of the most powerful geopolitical features in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also an incomplete one. Drawn as a strategic line stretching from Japan through Taiwan toward the Philippines, it highlights military geography while largely overlooking the islands, ports and
The distance in the march from the American Revolution to the age of artificial intelligence (AI) is a vast gulf. Now, leaders of the Smithsonian Institution are using AI to bridge the divide.As the US celebrates its 250th anniversary of independence, Smithsonian leaders are turning to AI to better
Saint Laurent sent out a river of gold, as giant chandeliers bathed a glossy black outdoor runway in golden light and the Eiffel Tower shimmered in the background.The extravagant show was attended by Catherine Deneuve, Kate Moss, Hailey Bieber and Rami Malek, while elsewhere at Paris Fashion Week Je
From left, Guatemalan Minister of Public Health and Social Assistance Joaquin Barnoya, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-Lung and Ambassador to Guatemala Vivia Chang unveil a model of the Central American country’s first public cancer hospital during a cerem
Crowds of spectators watch giant balloons make their way through the streets during the Keelung International Ocean Eagle Carnival yesterday. This year’s carnival parade was centered on the theme of “diversity and inclusion,” the Keelung City Goverment’s Culture and Tourism Bureau said, adding that
Candidates in the Nov. 28 nine-in-one local elections squared off in Kaohsiung, New Taipei City and Taichung yesterday as their campaigns began to pick up steam. At a campaign event in Kaohsiung, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweights including President William Lai (賴清德), Kaohsiung Mayor C
Taiwan and the UK have signed an agreement to pursue projects in satellite communications, silicon photonics and semiconductor talent development, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) said yesterday. The Taiwan-UK Science, Innovation and Technology Arrangement (SITA) was on Friday sign
A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday, a Philippine non-governmental organization said. The CGA on Sept. 16 confirmed media reports that Taiwan had donated a retired 500-tonne patrol vessel
National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) has been designated by the Ministry of Education as southern Taiwan’s only national drone center as the government seeks to bolster domestic drone development and reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.The university recently won two three-year projects incl
US-based AEVEX Aerospace on Friday showcased two drones developed in collaboration with Taiwanese drone maker Coretronic Intelligent Robotics (CIRC), and said it planned to expand operations in Taiwan. The two companies are technology-transfer partners collaborating to develop products for export, C
A US senator has urged Washington to counter Chinese pressure on countries to restrict Taiwanese presidential flights, warning that such tactics could threaten international travelers. At a US Senate Foreign Relations Committee nominations hearing on Wednesday, US Senator Tammy Duckworth questioned
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday confirmed that it had recently deployed three patrol vessels to waters in Taiwan’s overlapping exclusive economic zone with the Philippines to monitor three Chinese vessels. CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said the agency regularly mo
Taiwan will see cooler weather and intermittent rain in northern and eastern areas this week, with temperatures dipping to 19°C from Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday.CWA forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said the northeast wind will weaken briefly today before st
A Taichung-based doctor said there has been a spike in wart removals after the Mid-Autumn Festival weekend last month, urging safe sex over the upcoming three-day Double Ten National Day holiday.Huang Pin-jui (黃品叡), head of urology at the Dajia branch of Lee’s General Hospital, said on Friday that t
