Reversing Hakka’s ‘invisibilization’By Liao Ching-ting 廖經庭Pingtung County’s National Neipu Senior Agricultural and Industrial Vocational High School last weekend hosted a meeting involving six schools and their programs for Hakka-language integration into the 12-year national curriculum. This phenomenon was cited as one of the main reasons that Hakka students are less willing to speak the language. Hakka’s “invisibilization” has been exacerbated by the enforced proliferation of Mandarin in modern society, to the point that students with Hakka background have indistinguishable accents from the rest of their class. Hakka culture should be framed and regarded as an integral part of Taiwanese society. This way, Hakka can continue to thrive, belonging not only to the Hakka people, but to Taiwan as a whole.

Starmer arrives in Beijing to restore fraught relationshipAFP, BEIJINGBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday arrived in Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), hoping to restore long fraught relations. Starmer, who is also expected to visit Shanghai tomorrow, would later make a brief stop in Japan to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, receives a bouquet of flowers at an airport in Beijing yesterday, as Chinese Minister of Finance Lan Foan, second left, looks on. Starmer is today to meet with Xi for lunch, followed by a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). Starmer is the latest Western leader to be hosted by Beijing in the past few months, following visits by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Coast guard flags about 1,900 Chinese vesselsMAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report saidBy Hung Ting-hung and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerAbout 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about 1,900 as the ministry tracked vessels that participated in the exercises, based on reports by the New York Times and Defense News, Hsieh said. Such a force could be used to directly blockade commercial ports, and starve Taiwan of energy and food, it said. It is relatively easy to monitor Chinese fishing ships that could be commandeered for militia use, but roll-on and roll-off freighters, which the Chinese could commandeer to ferry armored military vehicles, are harder to keep an eye on, Hsieh said. If the ships are suspected of having severed or destroyed undersea cables, they would be boarded and inspected, and prosecutors would be alerted, Hsieh said.

Ai said he reactivated his suspended Chinese bank account in minutes (no kidding, he’s a local in the PRC). In Switzerland, I was refused an account at the country’s largest bank, and another bank later closed my account there as well. Similarly, I set up the National Heath Insurance (NHI) to automatically take money from my post office account while I was abroad. “If there was one thing I could change about Taiwan it would be for it to get on board with modern banking systems.”Amen, but the banks simply forward a hollow apology and move on. Despite these measures, in 2024 the UN office on Drugs and Crime identified Taiwan as a major money laundering hub.

EDITORIAL: Taiwan’s window of opportunityTaiwan’s export-oriented economy is booming amid strong global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the National Development Council (NDC) said on Tuesday. To date, much of Taiwan’s AI-related economic growth has taken the form of semiconductor exports, with Taiwanese chips powering servers that deliver AI services worldwide. AI cannot function without semiconductors, but semiconductors alone do not generate the productivity, automation and innovation that AI enables. A strategic shift toward AI hardware and software systems therefore does not diminish the importance of Taiwan’s semiconductor sector — it reinforces it. Developing AI systems would not only strengthen Taiwan’s economic resilience at a time of growing pressure on globalization, but also deepen its indispensability within global supply chains.

UMC’s revenue last year rose 2.3 percent year-on-year to NT$237.55 billion (US$7.58 billion). In addition to AI demand, UMC sees advanced chip packaging and silicon photonics as two new growth engines in the foreseeable future, Wang said. The chipmaker is engaging with 10 customers to supply the advanced chip packaging solutions with more than 20 chips to tape out this year, he said. Revenue from UMC’s advanced packaging technology is expected to become significant next year, attributable to wider adoption of such packaging technology to less advanced chips, Wang said. Regarding silicon photonics, UMC is developing solutions such as photonic integrated circuits and copackaged optics solutions, Wang said.

That compares with an average analyst estimate of 6.85 billion euros, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Despite the strong orders, ASML also announced plans to cut about 1,700 jobs, mostly in the Netherlands with some in the US, as it seeks to streamline the organization. “This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake.”Net profit last year came in at 9.6 billion euros, compared with 7.6 billion euros for 2024. Revenue is seen at between 34 billion euros and 39 billion euros this year, higher than previous guidance. For the first quarter of this year, the firm predicted it would post between 8.2 billion euros and 8.9 billion euros in sales.

Legislature to open Feb. 24, hold tariff briefing March 3Staff writer, with CNAThe Legislative Yuan is to open its new session on Feb. 24 and has scheduled a special briefing on the results and impact of Taiwan-US tariff negotiations for March 3, following a consensus reached during cross-party caucus consultations today. Under the agreement, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) is to deliver the government's policy address and administrative report on the afternoon of Feb. 24 and answer lawmakers' questions. The main chamber of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Questioning at the March 3 session would be conducted by 10 lawmakers nominated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, 10 by the Democratic Progressive Party caucus and two by the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) caucus. The arrangements were made after the TPP called for a dedicated report on the negotiations, with party caucuses agreeing to hold the policy address and the tariff briefing on separate days.

TPP announces reshuffle, Ko to head governance instituteBy Chen Chih-cheng and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Central Committee today announced a new round of senior leadership appointments ahead of November’s local elections, with party founder and former chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to serve as dean of the party’s Institute of National Governance. Current TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) is to concurrently serve as head of the party’s Policy Committee, with incoming legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) to serve as his deputy head. The Policy Committee acts as a bridge between the Legislative Yuan and party headquarters, playing a critical role in legislative review and major policy formulation, Huang said. Photo: Taipei TimesHe said he would rely on Hsu’s legal expertise to strengthen the party’s policy formulation and core messaging. Looking toward this year’s local elections, the TPP would maintain a rapid and precise campaign that avoids smear tactics, Huang said.

Absentee voting for upcoming election would be ‘disastrous’: nomineeBy Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNAWhile absentee voting is a global trend, implementing it for the local elections in November would be a disaster at this stage, as it would involve complex logistics, Central Election Commission (CEC) chair nominee Michael You (游盈隆) said today. However, practical realities cannot be ignored, and looking at the current election system, implementing absentee voting would involve extremely complex logistics, You said. The CEC previously said that implementing absentee voting for the upcoming elections would result in nearly 9,000 different ballots and risk tarnishing Taiwan’s globally respected elections. Taiwan has never implemented absentee voting, so it is necessary to first conduct comprehensive research and consider all factors before proceeding, You said. The CEC’s current step-by-step approach is feasible, but implementing comprehensive absentee voting for the upcoming local elections is “too bold, risky and foolhardy,” he said.

Air force shows off F-16 rapid responseBy Yi-Chin Lee and Ann Wang / Reuters, CHIAYIThe air force today showcased its ability to rapidly replenish and get back in the air its most advanced F-16 jets in a readiness drill designed to demonstrate combat-oriented training. Air force pilot Chen Yi-tzu prepares to pilot an F-16V jet at Chiayi Air Base today. Pilot Shih Shun-de (施順德) said it was important to let people know just how fast the air force can react. Military personnel prepare to load an AIM-120 AMRAAM anti-aircraft missile onto an F-16V jet at Chiayi Air Base today. Repeated scrambling to see off China's air force also gives real-life experience for Taiwan's fighter pilots in terms of seeing China's air force and tactics up close.

Taichung confirms bird flu outbreak at egg farmBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNAAn outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, has been confirmed at an egg farm in Taichung, Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said today. A farmer inspects chickens at a farm in Kaohsiung on Feb. 26, 2023. Photo: Su Fu-nan, Taipei TimesThe virus has already killed 1,700 of the 7,000 hens at the farm in Fengyuan District (豐原), it said. It then sent personnel to the facility yesterday to collect samples to test for bird flu and disinfect a 3km radius around the farm. Taichung also reported an outbreak of African swine fever at a hog farm in Wuci District (梧棲) in October last year.

Taiwan, US hold sixth Economic Prosperity Partnership DialogueStaff writer, with CNAOfficials from Taiwan and the US held a sixth round of talks under the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD) in Washington yesterday and signed a pact agreeing to the principles of "Pax Silica." The meeting was led on the US side by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg, while Taiwan was represented by Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), the US Department of State said in a statement. A person holds the flags of the Republic of China and the US in an undated photograph. Taiwan and US representatives also signed a joint statement endorsing the principles of the Pax Silica Declaration, the statement said. Yesterday marked the sixth set of meetings under the EPPD framework, and the first since Trump returned to office in January last year.

Minister calls for consensus before imposing animal feeding banBy Yang Yuan-ting and Sam Garcia / Staff reporters, with staff writer and CNARegulations on feeding stray animals should not be written into law yet, as animal welfare groups have not reached a consensus on the matter, Minister of Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said today, after the Executive Yuan’s proposed amendment was criticized for omitting such regulations. The minister made the comments to reporters before the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee met to review proposed amendments to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法). Animal protection groups and other relevant parties have different views on feeding animals, Chen said, adding that the amendment first addresses articles on which there is a high degree of consensus. While the Ministry of Agriculture has requested staff working on ecological programs to raise awareness about not feeding animals, it would be premature to write a feeding ban into law before a broader consensus is reached, he added. Managing stray animals relies heavily on volunteers, and if the law treats feeders as owners, the volunteers could be liable if a stray animal causes conflict, which could drive them away, the coalition said.

Five sentenced in marijuana smuggling caseStaff writer, with CNAThe Tainan District Court yesterday sentenced five people to prison terms ranging from 11 months to eight years for their roles in smuggling 330kg of marijuana into Taiwan last year. In its ruling, the court sentenced the captain of a Taiwan-registered vessel, surnamed Chen (陳), to eight years in prison, while a man surnamed Lee (李) received five years. The entrance of the Tainan District Court is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Tung Chen-kuo, Taipei TimesThree Indonesian crew members were each sentenced to 11 months, suspended for two years. The boat was brought back to Anping Port (安平港), where authorities seized the marijuana and took the crew into custody.