New system to recycle coffee grounds comingBy Esme Yeh / Staff reporterA reverse-circulation logistics system has been established to recycle and repurpose coffee grounds produced at convenience stores, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭?明) said on Tuesday. People in Taiwan consume more than 3.7 billion cups of coffee, producing about 111,000 tonnes of coffee grounds, every year, but only 10 percent of the grounds enter the recycling system, Peng said. Photo: Hunag Yi-ching, Taipei TimesHowever, coffee grounds are difficult to recycle, as sources are scattered and each has relatively small amounts of coffee grounds, increasing the recycling costs, he said. Given that coffee recycling has a relatively small economic scale and unstable supply of materials, it is difficult to connect industries to build a coffee grounds recycling system, he said. The coffee grounds circulation system is expected to be extended to more convenience stores, coffee brands, restaurants and beverage manufacturers, as well as public participation, he said.

Imported or domestically produced cigarettes are subject to a tobacco health surcharge of NT$20 per pack. Lin Ching-li (林清麗), director of the Tobacco Control Division at the John Tung Foundation, yesterday said that most countries primarily rely on tobacco taxes, while Taiwan uses both a tobacco tax and a tobacco health surcharge. Lin said Taiwan’s tobacco tax and surcharge should be increased immediately when adjusted, without giving tobacco companies time to stockpile and profit. Shen said the core purpose of levying tobacco taxes and surcharges is to reduce tobacco consumption and protect public health. She said increasing tobacco taxes or surcharges is only one part of tobacco control policy.

Taiwan honors man killed fighting Taipei attackerBy Gan Meng-lin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan yesterday honored Yu Chia-chang (余家昶), who was killed fighting a knife-wielding attacker near Taipei Main Station during last month’s mass stabbing, as officials paid respects at a memorial. Three people were killed and 11 injured in the attack, and the alleged attacker, Chang Wen (張文), fell to his death while being pursued by police. Messages in memory of Yu Chia-chang are pictured at a memorial service in Taipei yesterday. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) presented mayoral commendations to the family. The wall, which had been moved to the funeral home, could be viewed during the service, as were numerous wreaths from people across Taiwan.

Japanese councilor says trip will prove Taiwan’s statehoodBy Jason Pan / Staff reporter, with CNAJapanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.”Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. Seki wrote on X that he intends to visit Taiwan early this year. Japanese Councilor Hei Seki is pictured in Tokyo on Nov. 20. Other books that Seki wrote focused on the history of massacres in China and his reasons for denouncing the CCP. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September announced sanctions targeting Seki, banning him from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

EDITORIAL: The KMT ‘doth protest too much’The latest poll released by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation (台灣民意基金會) is not great reading for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) or its chairwoman, Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文). The poll shows an increase of 7.3 percentage points to 38.4 percent in support for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) compared with 20.6 percent for the KMT, down by 5.2 percentage points from the previous poll. According to a My Formosa online poll, from September to November last year, the DPP’s approval climbed 4.4 percentage points to 39.9 percent from 35.5 percent, while its disapproval rating dropped 2.2 percentage points to 49.9 percent from 52.1 percent, representing an overall improvement of 6.6 percentage points. In the same period, the KMT’s overall rating fell 6.5 percentage points. That the KMT under Cheng’s leadership has been doing exactly these three things would make some voters doubt those denials and suspect that “the KMT doth protest too much, methinks.”

Yemen separatists launch independence transitionAFP, MUKALLA, YemenYemen separatists on Friday announced a two-year transition to independence despite reporting 20 deaths in airstrikes from a Saudi Arabian-led coalition trying to roll back their weeks-long offensive across the country’s south. The bombardment and surprise independence bid follow weeks of tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the separatist Southern Transitional Council’s (STC) land grab. Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council hold South Yemen flags during a rally in Aden, Yemen, on Friday. He warned the group would declare independence “immediately” if there was no dialogue or if southern Yemen was attacked again. Further strikes targeted other sites in the region and the airport and military base in Seiyun, STC military sources and eyewitnesses said.

A Lienchiang-class vessel of the Coast Guard Administration, right, responds to a China Coast Guard ship in waters northwest of Huayu Island on Monday. Photo: Taiwan Coast Guard, AFPTaiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it relies “overwhelmingly” on energy imports, the institute said. The drills also featured China Coast Guard vessels operating alongside PLA Navy ships, reflecting Beijing’s strategy of combining civilian law enforcement forces with military assets during a blockade, the institute said. China has used similar tactics in the South China Sea, with coast guard ships confronting foreign vessels directly while naval forces maintain an outer security perimeter, it added. In the event of a Taiwan blockade, the China Coast Guard would likely intercept Taiwanese commercial and government vessels, while the PLA Navy would seek to deter foreign military intervention, the report said.

Trump invites Japan’s Takaichi to the US this yearAP, WASHINGTONUS President Donald Trump during a phone call on Friday invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to visit the US this year, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, in what would be the conservative leader’s first trip to the US since taking office in October last year. Washington is seeking to deepen its ties with Tokyo and stabilize its relationship with Beijing ahead of a likely trip by Trump to China in April. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to the media at her residence in Tokyo on Friday. The ministry said Takaichi and Trump agreed to coordinate for the visit to happen this spring. Takaichi and Trump also agreed on their commitment to promoting cooperation among like-minded partners, including the Japan-US-South Korea partnership, and to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the ministry said.

US operation takes Maduro and wife, strikes VenezuelaAP, CARACASThe US hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early yesterday and said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country after months of intense pressure on its government — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by US President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro attends a gathering in support of his government in Caracas on Feb. 7, 2019. Photo: ReutersUS Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. “We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores,” Rodriguez said. Maduro last appeared on state television on Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen is pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph. The Ministry of Digital Affairs said that the incident was a case of cyberbullying, which includes doxxing and digital coercion. The digital ministry said that it has contacted Meta and asked that it remove the content that involves threats to personal safety. The National Police Agency said that it instructed the police division investigating the case to improve comprehensive security for Shen. Shen wrote on Facebook that China launched the “precision attack” against him, because its military exercises in the past week were ineffective in intimidating Taiwanese.

DPP lawmaker proposes changes to cross-strait actBy Lin Che-yuan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) yesterday said a petition has been completed for a proposed amendment to change the name of 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) to Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Relations Act (台灣與中華人民共和國人民關係條例). The concept that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to two separate countries is basic international knowledge, she said, adding that the change hoped to clarify through law the equal, nation-to-nation relationship between Taiwan and China. “This proposed amendment not only highlights our country’s stance against aggression and the internalization of the Taiwan Strait issue, but also serves as an important international statement,” she said. She should propose to abolish the act entirely, along with the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Wang said. “DPP lawmakers want to take charge and stir up trouble, but they should not expect the opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan to be their brake pads,” she said.

Photo: ReutersThe change affects a diverse cross-section of Americans who do not get their health insurance from an employer and do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare — a group that includes many self-employed workers, small business owners, farmers and ranchers. Those surging prices come alongside an overall increase in health costs in the US, which are further driving up out-of-pocket costs in many plans. Health analysts have predicted the expiration of the subsidies would drive many of the 24 million total Affordable Care Act enrollees — especially younger and healthier Americans — to forgo health insurance coverage altogether. Meanwhile, Americans whose premiums are skyrocketing say lawmakers do not understand what it is really like to struggle to get by as health costs ratchet up with no relief. Many say they want the subsidies restored alongside broader reforms to make healthcare more affordable for all Americans.

S Korea ends breeding of bears and extraction of bileBy Kim Hyung-Jin / AP, SEOULSouth Korea on Thursday formally ended its dwindling yet much-criticized bear bile farming industry, although about 200 bears are still kept in pens and raised for their gallbladders. The change is in line with a revised animal rights protection law that imposes up to two or five years of prison sentences on violators. South Korea is one of the few countries that allow farming to extract bile from bears, mostly Asiatic black bears known as moon bears, for traditional medicine or as food, as it is believed to boost vitality and stamina. A bear looks out from a cage at a bear farm in Dangjin, South Korea, on Jan. 24, 2014. The ban is part of a broader 2022 agreement among officials, farmers and animal rights campaigners to prohibit bear bile farming beginning this year.

Chinese homeschool students embrace freer youthBy Mary Yang / AFP, SHANGHAIFourteen-year-old Estella spends her weekdays studying Spanish, rock climbing or learning acupuncture in her living room as part of her homeschooling since she left China’s grueling public school system. Estella, 14, a homeschooled student, attends a Spanish class in her home in Shanghai on Nov. 25 last year. Just 6,000 Chinese children were homeschooled in 2017, according to the non-profit 21st Century Education Research Institute. In Shanghai, Estella’s school day ended at 5pm, and she often spent around four hours a night on homework. Experts say Chinese people are increasingly questioning the value of traditionally prized degrees from elite universities in an oversaturated market.

The evocative photographs appear in Fell’s latest book, The Twilight Years of Taiwan’s Sugar Railways, which offers a fascinating glimpse into a vanished past and rural Taiwan in the 1990s. “Taiwan in Time” ran a two-part series in 2024 about the rise and fall of Taiwan’s sugar railways, (“The sugar express,” Sept. 8, 2024 and “The sugar rail reaches its peak and goes downhill,” Sept. 15, 2024). ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ RAILWAYEstablished in 1907 during the Japanese colonial era, the majority of Taiwan’s sugar railways ran on a narrow 762mm-gauge railroad. A Diema locomotive prepares to depart Xinying Sugar Factory with a train of sugar sack vans during the 1994-1995 sugarcane season. At its peak, the sugar railway surpassed the reach of the TRA — boasting a larger fleet and more daily train movements during sugar season, Fell writes.