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
Nearly 1,500 Burmese migrants from Malaysia returned to their war-ravaged home country yesterday under an opaque repatriation scheme that rights monitors say cannot assure their safety.Dozens of migrants were transported on buses to a Buddhist monastery hall for immigration and health checks, after
Working from before dawn until midnight, farmers Nikoletta Pajsan Nagy and Laszlo Pajsan fought Europe’s driest summer ever to save their red pepper harvest in Hungary.Unable to irrigate much of their two-and-a-half-hectare land because power lines run across it, they repeatedly loosened the soil ar
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
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,
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
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ proposed amendment to the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which it has made a legislative priority for this session, would not only bar the Central Election Commission (CEC) from refusing proposals submitted by the Legislative Yuan, but would also give national re
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
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
Pingtung County Commissioner Chou Chun-mi, fourth left, poses with award winners at a ceremony celebrating indigenous innovation held alongside the Slope Art Festival in Pingtung County yesterday.
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
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
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 army plans to commission the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) to build dedicated testing facilities for its indigenously developed Lu Chien II (陸射劍二, “Land Sword II”) missile systems, with a budget of more than NT$295 million (US$9.27 million), marking move toward
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
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
China’s influence in Latin America is now viewed more positively than that of the US, a major poll conducted in 17 Latin American countries showed on Friday.China overtook the US in terms of influence for the first time since the annual Latinobarometro survey began in 1995.It showed 57 percent of pe
Investigators in Argentina are trying to solve the mystery of baby whales washing up dead in unusually high numbers along the country’s Patagonian coast.Scores of the calf carcasses have been washing ashore around Peninsula Valdes, a major breeding ground for southern right whales in Argentina’s Chu
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-
One of sport’s fiercest rivalries descended on a sleepy corner of Japan yesterday as India and Pakistan clashed in the men’s cricket final at the Asian Games on a converted baseball field, which India won 211-6 over 192-6. The neighbors only meet in international tournaments because of long-running
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
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
Recently, reports of Line account hacking have surged. On Sept. 9, Line announced that customer service reports related to such incidents in August had nearly doubled, increasing by 97 percent from July. Among these scams, requests to “vote for my child” and “help my pet get more votes” have become
Harun Talha Ayanoglu, a visiting research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), usually writes about materiel and defense issues. In “What does resilience even mean?” published on this page on June 21 this year, he explored the concept of resilience from a wider
Sea levels in California are set to rise by as much as a foot (30cm) in the coming days as an enormous wave washes up the US West Coast.The huge surge of energy, known as a “coastal trapped wave” or a “Kelvin wave,” is part of El Nino, a months-long phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean that scientists sa
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
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
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
The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Friday defended its handling of a farmland conversion proposal by the Huwei Industrial Park development project, saying it had reviewed the plan in accordance with the law, and asked the Yunlin County Government to provide additional documents.The ministry made t
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is today scheduled to unveil a new Taiwan office in Phoenix, Arizona, signaling continued Taiwan-US cooperation after US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last month, a source said yesterday.Lin would arrive in Ph
Taiwan-US military cooperation is deepening, with the Pentagon expected to station personnel at the Ministry of National Defense (MND), sources said.The NT$470 million (US$14.77 million) joint program is scheduled to run from this year through 2028, under which the Pentagon would dispatch representa
Toxic chemicals from discarded electronic devices may be threatening endangered dolphins and porpoises in the South China Sea, according to a recent scientific study. Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs), chemicals widely used in smartphones, televisions and computer screens, were detected in several mari
UNITED STATESCornell prosecutor replacedNew York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday appointed a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into a woman’s allegations that she was gang raped at a Cornell University fraternity house, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s abilit
Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature’s brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago.The great migration of the Bogong moth was once a yearly feature of the Australian spring, the insects humming down
Egyptian authorities swept up the entire editorial team of one of the country’s few independent media, accusing them on Thursday of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.The arrest this week of the six journalists of Matsadaash (Arabic for “Don’t Believe”) sparked an outcry from international
A US lawmaker has called on Starbucks to close its first stores in Xinjiang, China, calling it a “morally bankrupt decision” to do business in a region where Uighurs face repression.China denies widespread accusations about abuses of the Uighurs, a mainly Muslim people, saying its policies there wer
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has pushed through a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system, stripping investigative powers from prosecutors he accuses of abusing their authority, including criminal cases against him before he took office.A revised law that came into force yesterday f
India’s “Cockroach” youth movement yesterday called for new protests in Mumbai to demand the resignation of the chief election commissioner over a contentious revision of voter lists.The movement, which began as an online campaign and now calls itself the Cockroach Janata Party, forced India’s educa
SOCCERMessi acquires EldenseArgentina icon Lionel Messi has officially acquired Eldense, the Spanish second-division club announced on Thursday. Eldense, based just in-land from Alicante, have become the former Barcelona attacker’s second venture into Spanish soccer ownership after his purchase of C
Kimi Antonelli would have to deal with an unfamiliar track and potentially heavy rain as he aims to recover from his “worst weekend” of his Formula 1 (F1) title challenge this year.The unusually named Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia takes Antonelli and his rivals to a track F1 last visited in 2017 —
The Nations League soccer match between Ireland and Austria in Dublin on Thursday was twice briefly interrupted by demonstrations in support of Palestine. In the 19th minute, spectators threw tennis balls covered in Palestinian flag stickers onto the field. The players left the pitch for a few minut
Japanese judo officials said they had never seen anything like it after eventual champion Rin Maeda appeared to be bitten by her Chinese opponent at the Asian Games.Maeda was awarded victory in the quarter-final bout in Nagoya when Tang Jing was disqualified just over a minute into the contest.Tang
The spectacle of young migrants swimming en masse from Moroccan waters to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta exposed the frustration felt by a generation. One-third of the population of Morocco is aged between 15 and 30, and more than one third of that cohort is unemployed. A dearth of opportunity at home
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has restored some hope to his governing Labour Party with his vision for Britain, but how the new prime minister makes it a reality remains something of a mystery for businesses, lawmakers and even his most vocal supporters.At the Labour Party’s annual conference
A teacher who is truly happy and supported in their work does not need extra fanfare and check ins — “are you happy?” — on Teachers’ Day. If they already enjoyed respect and trust in the day-to-day, they also would not need the minister of education to send a letter of thanks on the eve of the holid
