China’s new travel contract for tours to Taiwan fails to address key issues: MACBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterChina’s new standardized contract for tours to Taiwan failed to address crucial issues impeding normal tourism exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. It also prohibits travel agencies from attracting tourists through low-priced tours, or generating improper profits through organized shopping excursions or imposing additional charges on tourists. Police have identified two main suspects from Hong Kong, who scouted the location before committing the crime and left Taiwan immediately after, Liang said. “The criminal act was meant to be a scare tactic to intimidate Tang and other Hong Kongers in Taiwan. The government would not tolerate anyone who complies with the Chinese Communist Party to conduct extraterrestrial repressions against Hong Kongers in Taiwan,” he added.

Both sides agreed to prioritize building bilateral talent training pathways, improving Mandarin education and cross-cultural influence, enhancing Taiwan’s bilingual education and expanding Taiwan-US educational cooperative platforms, he said. Larson said traditional Chinese characters is a vital foundation for Mandarin education and that cultural literacy would be stressed, adding that exchanges through programs such as the Fulbright program continue to be expanded. Taiwan has set up 64 Mandarin learning centers across the US, which has created durable bilateral ties as well as real opportunities for learners and institutions, she said. AIT Deputy Director Karin Lang said that Taiwan is an outstanding partner in bringing capability and creativity to educational exchanges and talent development. Lang also reaffirmed the AIT’s commitment to working closely with Taiwan as the education initiative moves into the next phase, which would advance workforce development initiatives and deepen institutional partnerships.

Cabinet approves counterterrorism act amendmentsCHANGES: Trading with areas sanctioned by the UN or the government would be banned and raising funds to finance terrorism would count as criminal behaviorBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAThe Executive Yuan yesterday approved amendments to the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (資恐防治法) to include attacks against national infrastructure, critical facilities or key systems as acts of terrorism. A Cabinet official presents proposed changes to the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo courtesy of the Executive YuanThe amendment would also change the name of the act to “Counter-Terrorism Financing and Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act” (資助恐怖活動及大規模毀滅性武器擴散防制法). The amendment also changes wording on financing terrorism and proliferation of WMDs from “knowingly conducted” to “an act of intent,” and states that raising funds to finance terrorism counts as criminal behavior. The amendment also enhances the Counter-Terrorism Financing and Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Committee’s capabilities, allowing it to determine which groups would be sanctioned or removed from the list.

Taipei to hold a response exercise with New TaipeiStaff writer, with CNATaipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the city would hold a joint exercise with New Taipei City, after its response drill yesterday simulating an attack at Taipei Main Station. Emergency responders participate in a simulated random attack at Taipei Main Station yesterday. The exercise was the second phase of response drills initiated after the deadly incident in Taipei on Dec. 19 last year, he said, adding that it was larger and more complex than the exercise held last month at Taipei City Hall Station. Taipei City Government officials observe the response to a simulated random attack at Taipei Main Station yesterday. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei TimesThe drills aim to ensure that the public remains vigilant and ready for unexpected incidents, Chiang said.

Temple bestows tiger god robes on Kaohsiung catBy Wang Rung-hsiang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerA temple has bestowed the robes of a tiger god on the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp’s (KRTC) feline stationmaster Mikan (蜜柑), the cat’s official social media page revealed in a post on Sunday. KRTC wrote on on social media that it was the company’s first-ever collaboration with Chaotian Temple (朝天宮) in Yunlin County’s Beigang Township (北港). Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp’s feline stationmaster Mikan wears tiger god robes in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Rapid Transit CorpInvolving the cat in the temple’s celebrated annual procession around Taiwan would allow the corporation to promote public transportation, KRTC said. “The Tiger Lord (虎爺) is a deified big cat and guardian deity of children and their pets, so Mikan’s association with him is doubly appropriate,” the company said.

Nation to continue to aim for green transition: LaiSTABILITY: Carbon reduction must be implemented at the basic level to maintain an edge, but measures must ensure that industries are not harmed, Lai saidBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNATaiwan would continue to pursue its green power policies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, assuring corporations that the nation would maximize its green energy output, and ensure stable power and a resilient energy grid. Lai made the comments at the sixth meeting of the National Climate Change Response Committee. Last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil stated that the international community must step up its collective efforts, Lai said. The first step toward expediting the implementation of net zero is to ensure that such measures do not harm industries, Lai said. The policy highlights Taiwan’s determination to contribute to global sustainable transition, Lai said.

Sports, culture and Hakka point programs expandedBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAThe Executive Yuan yesterday allowed more Taiwanese to take part in the Sports Points and Culture Points programs, to stimulate domestic spending and develop the sectors. The voucher programs for sports, culture and Hakka culture were expanded after a performance review, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said. The Sports Points program would select 600,000 Taiwanese older than 16 through a lottery, she said. Eligibility for the Culture Points program would be expanded to Taiwanese between the ages of 13 and 22, Lee said, adding that they would receive NT$1,200 credits. The Hakka Points program rewards NT$1,000 credits to Taiwanese who have Hakka-language proficiency certifications, or those who have received commendations for their achievements in Hakka language and heritage, Hakka Affairs Council Minister Ku Hsiu-Fei (古秀妃) said.

Bakers win 2nd place in world cupStaff writer, with CNA, PARISA team of Taiwanese bakers blended tea, fruit and symbols of the country’s tech prowess en route to a second-placed finish at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris on Wednesday. The competition, also known as the Bakery World Cup, took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at Porte de Versailles in Paris, drawing 10 teams from around the world. Taiwan previously claimed the championship in 2022, when a team led by Justin Wu (武子靖), now the coach, won first place. Commenting on this year’s result, Wu said he was pleasantly surprised, adding that the team had trained together for only three weeks. “Winning second place is already the best outcome we could achieve after doing our best,” he said.

The outline of Trump’s “board of peace” which has emerged in the past few days is a long way from the body that the council thought it was endorsing. Two months on, there is not a single mention of Gaza in the “board of peace” charter sent out to national capitals. That document instead portrays the board as a permanent fixture to promote peace and good governance across the world. The board would therefore have mechanisms to extend the ceasefire in Gaza, and in theory to bring peace, governance and reconstruction to the territory. A board of peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a candidate member is very unlikely to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine.

Landslides hit a campground, house in New ZealandAP, MELBOURNELandslides hit a campground and a house in New Zealand and emergency crews were trying to rescue people buried in rubble, officials said yesterday. The rubble hit Beachside Holiday Park in a town named after the volcano. Rescue workers stand at the scene of a landslide in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, yesterday. Photo: ReutersAnother landslide hit a house in the nearby Welcome Bay community at 4:50am, a police statement said. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urged residents in affected areas to heed local authorities’ safety advice during the extreme conditions.

Compal targets revenue of NT$1 trillionTRANSiTION: The computer maker is boosting investment in AI-related transformation, with AI servers forecast to account for about 80 percent of total server revenue this yearBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterCompal Electronics Inc (仁寶) yesterday said it is targeting revenue of NT$1 trillion (US$31.6 billion) for this year, backed by forecast “explosive growth” in its artificial intelligence (AI) server business in the second half of the year. The company’s revenue last year fell 17 percent year-on-year to NT$757.51 billion. Compal is stepping up investment in AI-related transformation, including technology development, factory automation and internal management upgrades, company chairman Ray Chen (陳瑞聰) said at a company event in Taipei. Compal Electronics Inc chairman Ray Chen, left, and president Anthony Peter Bonadero gesture at a company event in Taipei yesterday. Compal is also accelerating capacity expansion in Vietnam, and the company’s motherboard production would remain concentrated at its Asian sites, he said.

But the deep-sea mining industry — which is keen to extract precious metals from these potato-sized polymetallic nodules — and some researchers have expressed doubts about the claim. Photo: AFPSo British marine ecologist Andrew Sweetman, who led the 2024 research that revealed the possible existence of dark oxygen, is planning a new underwater expedition in the coming months. The debate comes as companies and nations battle over proposed rules regulating the new and potentially environmentally destructive deep-sea mining industry. Sweetman’s 2024 study was partly funded by a Canadian deep-sea mining firm, The Metals Company, which has since sharply criticized his research. “We’ll be able to confirm dark oxygen production within 24 to 48 hours after the landers come up,” he said.

Semiconductor stocks soar on AI sentimentBloombergGlobal semiconductor stocks advanced yesterday, as comments by Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) at Davos, Switzerland, helped reinforce investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI). That came after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 3 percent to a fresh record on Wednesday, with a boost from Nvidia. Currency traders at the foreign exchange dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul yesterday celebrate as the KOSPI surged past 5,000 points. He told delegates that today’s AI boom “has started the largest infrastructure buildout in human history.”“We’re now a few hundred billion dollars into it... “Davos is all about AI Revolution,” Wedbush Securities Inc analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note.

“We will steadfastly stand by our allies and partners to protect their freedom and promote their security,” he said. “However, freedom is not free. California-based Anduril Industries has also implemented a strategic supply chain initiative in Taiwan to find suppliers for key components, he said. The initiative would enhance global supply chain resilience across products such as the Ghost-X, a single-rotor, portable uncrewed aircraft system, which is sold to the US and its international partners, Greene said. San Diego-based Shield AI has also invested heavily in Taiwan’s supply chain, buying tens of millions of Taiwanese-made components and products, and has formally teamed up with Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔航空工業), Taiwan’s largest prime contractor, he added.

Executive Yuan proposes raising National Pension guaranteeBy Chung Li-hua and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAThe Executive Yuan yesterday proposed amendments to the National Pension Act (國民年金法), with the government expecting to invest about NT$86 billion (US$2.72 billion) annually and an estimated 1.76 million people set to benefit. The draft changes aim to raise benefit levels, ease means-testing thresholds and introduce a mechanism to adjust payments in line with price changes, the Cabinet told a news conference in Taipei. Asked whether the changes would help boost participation in the national pension program, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said he hoped they would lead to higher contribution rates. The cumulative contribution rate for the national pension is about 60 percent, rising to about 90 percent among those aged 65 or older, he said. The national pension is designed to allow people to continue accumulating contribution while transitioning between jobs, enabling them to receive higher retirement benefits while being covered by labor insurance during their working years, he said.