Michael Mazza On Taiwan: Secret Diplomacy? Mr. Wu Goes to Israel
Mr. Wu Goes to IsraelIs a new foreign partner for Taiwan emerging in the Middle East? Both small countries facing literal existential threats, Israel and Taiwan have much to gain from closer ties. Jerusalem may be able to provide Taipei with early warning of developments in the Middle East pertinent to Taiwan. Nongovernmental elements, witting and unwitting, of a Chinese political warfare network have operated in both spaces, pushing narratives critical of Israel and Taiwan. China is an important economic partner and is securing growing diplomatic heft in the Middle East.
Source:Taipei Times
December 21, 2025 16:26 UTC
EDITORIAL: Taiwanese need better readiness
EDITORIAL: Taiwanese need better readinessA stabbing attack inside and near two busy Taipei MRT stations on Friday evening shocked the nation and made headlines in many foreign and local news media, as such indiscriminate attacks are rare in Taiwan. At Taipei Main Station, the suspect threw smoke grenades near two exits and fatally stabbed one person who tried to stop him. He then ran into the store and wounded others, before jumping from the building’s sixth floor, the National Police Agency said on Saturday. Following the incident, bystanders posted videos of the attack on social media, which were broadcast by news media. However, as indiscriminate attacks by lone actors are increasing globally, the shocking incident in Taipei underscored the pressing need to improve personal safety preparedness.
Source:Taipei Times
December 21, 2025 16:26 UTC
Outdoors clothing could help China’s ailing domestic sales
Outdoors clothing could help China’s ailing domestic salesThe trend toward outdoors athletic brands reflects a larger movement of healthier livingBy Juliana Liu / Bloomberg OpinionCOVID-19 lockdowns in China transformed the way people think about their health. In the social-media driven world of online sales, the Gorpcore trend is even more apparent. The unit that houses its Gorpcore brands accounted for only 19 percent of revenue in the first half of the year, but is the fastest-growing part of the business. Data Monday showed retail sales had slowed by a record amount, with the exception of the pandemic period. The outdoor trend is a bright spot in an otherwise challenging market that should have legs well into the new year.
Source:Taipei Times
December 21, 2025 16:26 UTC
TSMC shareholders increase after share price drop
TSMC shareholders increase after share price dropStaff writer, with CNATaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last week recorded an increase in the number of shareholders to the highest in almost eight months, despite its share price falling 3.38 percent from the previous week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data released on Saturday showed. As of Friday, TSMC had 1.88 million shareholders, the most since the week of April 25 and an increase of 31,870 from the previous week, the data showed. The number of shareholders jumped despite a drop of NT$50 (US$1.59), or 3.38 percent, in TSMC’s share price from a week earlier to NT$1,430, as investors took profits from their earlier gains amid volatility among tech stocks in the US. Odd-lot trading typically makes it easier for retail investors to buy high-priced stocks such as TSMC in quantities of fewer than 1,000 shares. This week, the number of investors who held 1,000 to 5,000 TSMC shares rose by 5,839 to 376,597 as of Friday, while the number of investors who held 1 million or more of TSMC shares increased by 12 to 1,541.
Source:Taipei Times
December 21, 2025 16:26 UTC
How Mexico is doing the US’ dirty work for it
It is seen instead as opening an unexpected front in US President Donald Trump’s trade war on the world. But the real reason is that Sheinbaum is spooked by the deadline, six months away, for reviewing the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). But Sheinbaum shows that the trade conflicts Trump has launched are a cascading war, not some controlled confrontation. But a significant proportion of Indian exports to Mexico are not about the US at all. Opposition lawmakers pointed out that official modelers had given up on trying to estimate the effects of such a drastic change to Mexican trade policy.
Source:Taipei Times
December 21, 2025 16:26 UTC
Social ossification is killing India’s economic growth
Social ossification is killing India’s economic growthChina made good on its economic shift, but India’s economy has stagnatedBY Andy Mukherjee / Bloomberg OpinionIn 1980, neither China nor India had much representation in the global middle class — people who neither belong to the bottom half of the income distribution nor rank among the top 10 percent worldwide. China became the factory to the world; India became its back office. To unpack this puzzle, start with Indians who are outside the middle class. A stunted middle class might be a direct result of this extreme inequality. An unambitious elite spoiled by finance — plus a working class held back by inadequate education and inequities of caste and gender — are stymying the emergence of a global middle class in India.
Source:Taipei Times
December 21, 2025 16:26 UTC
METRO RAMPAGE: Free counseling offered for victims and families
METRO RAMPAGE: Free counseling offered for victims and familiesBy Chiu Chih-jou / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) yesterday said it is offering three free psychological counseling sessions to anyone who has been mentally affected by the random stabbing in Taipei on Friday evening. Department of Mental Health Director-General Chen Po-hsi (陳柏熹) said the Taipei City Community Mental Health Center has stepped in to provide mental health support to the victims and their family members. The ministry has also expanded its psychological counseling resources to help people who were affected by the incident, he said. The free counseling program is to run until the end of next year, to ensure affected people do not miss their chance to ask for help, he added. The funding for the service has been discussed with the local government and the budget has been secured, so mental health support measures can continue, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
KMT lawmakers seen visiting China ahead of major votes
KMT lawmakers seen visiting China ahead of major votesSUSPICIOUS TIMING: KMT lawmakers have a habit of visiting China before votes, with major implications for defense and cross-straits issues, a DPP lawmaker saidBy Chen Cheng-yu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerVisits by multiple Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers to China’s Xiamen yesterday have sparked concern. In response to media queries, Lin said he was invited by the organizers to attend the Xiamen Taiwan Businessmen Association’s event in Xiamen. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling, center, is pictured at Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. When told KMT Legislator Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) was seen boarding the same flight as her, Wen said she had no idea about her colleague’s plans. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍), who initially invited fellow KMT lawmakers to the Xiamen event, ended up not making the visit herself.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
METRO RAMPAGE: Taipei attack premeditated, NPA says
Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. Police officers yesterday keep watch at a busy shopping center near the scene of a knife attack in Taipei on Friday. National Police Agency Director-General Chang Jung-hsin, center, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. A composite image shows a smoke grenade thrown by suspect Chang Wen at Taipei Main Station on Friday. Photo: Taipei TimesThe smoke grenades the assailant used could be purchased online, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
METRO RAMPAGE: Police tracing user who threatened to attack Kaohsiung
METRO RAMPAGE: Police tracing user who threatened to attack KaohsiungStaff writer, with CNAKaohsiung police are tracing a copycat threat made on social media after Friday’s deadly knife attack in Taipei that killed three people and injured 11. A user on Threads on Friday wrote that the suspect in the Taipei Main Station attack was his “brother” and that they belonged to the same organization, the Kaohsiung Precinct of the Railway Police Bureau said. They threatened to continue what the suspect had “failed to complete,” warning that Kaohsiung Station would be the next target, the bureau said yesterday, adding that the user also said they would “reshape a dysfunctional society.”Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai, center, inspect police mobilization at the Kaohsiung Station yesterday. The threat was posted hours after an attack on Friday evening in Taipei Main Station and the nearby Zhongshan MRT Station. The city also would step up security at its railway, metro and high-speed rail stations, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
METRO RAMPAGE: Tests urged amid HIV-positive victim
“However, the possibility of other people’s open wounds or mucous membranes having been exposed to the [HIV-positive] person’s blood through the perpetrator’s weapon cannot be ruled out,” he said. As administering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to these people can almost eliminate their HIV infection risk, the CDC has initiated a special program to assist them, Lo said. People who were wounded or came in contact with other people’s blood should call the CDC’s “1922” hotline, he said. The hotline would refer them to an infectious disease specialist to help them evaluate whether they need PrEP, he said. If needed, they should go to a hospital and get PrEP administered within the “golden hours” — 72 hours following exposure — to reduce their infection risk, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
Majority disagree with pension amendment: poll
Majority disagree with pension amendment: pollNUMBERS TALK: A recent poll showed that a significant majority of respondents oppose the KMT’s recent pension amendment draftsBy Lee Wen-hsin / Staff reporterAlmost half the public are opposed to suspension of the pension reform program, according to a poll conducted by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation. Except for those aged 20-24, a majority in all other age groups oppose the latest amendments, foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) said. Across all education levels, a clear majority oppose the amendments, he said, adding that by occupational background, with the exception of farmers and students, a majority in all professions oppose the amendment. Looking at party affiliation, supporters of the ruling and opposition parties hold sharply divergent views on the amendment to halt the pension cuts, he added. The poll was conducted from Monday to Wednesday via home phone and cellphone sampling.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
ANALYSIS:US blockade of Venezuela could hurt Taiwan
The action immediately raised questions under international law about whether it amounts to an act of war. In the Indo-Pacific region, military planners have long feared that China might use a naval blockade to coerce democratically governed Taiwan to accept Beijing’s rule. Taiwanese officials have said a Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade. Washington, which opposes unilateral changes to the “status quo” over Taiwan, would say that Chinese naval encirclement of Taiwan would amount to a blockade. “A US blockade would undermine our ability to criticize a Chinese blockade of Taiwan,” Sterio said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
METRO RAMPAGE: Man died trying to stop Taipei stabbing suspect
METRO RAMPAGE: Man died trying to stop Taipei stabbing suspectHORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeingStaff writer, with CNAA man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Separately yesterday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) visited injured victims at Mackay Memorial Hospital and thanked those who had tried to deter the suspect. In an update, the witness said she found out that the injured person had passed away. Another witness, a woman who was inside Eslite, said she saw the suspect wielding a long knife and stabbing people. A man surnamed Chen (陳) said he saw injured people surrounded by bystanders as emergency crews rushed in.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC
Ministry shows Taiwan’s art, culture across Europe
Ministry shows Taiwan’s art, culture across EuropeStaff writer, with CNAThe Taiwan Culture in Europe 2025 initiative has successfully showcased Taiwan’s freedom, openness and diversity through cultural events in Europe, a senior Taiwanese diplomat has said. The initiative, launched this year by the Ministry of Culture and National Palace Museum, has held more than 70 art festivals, music fairs, and dancing and singing performances in 26 European countries, said Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of European Affairs. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of European Affairs Eric Huang speaks in an interivew in Taipoei on Dec. 16. “The goal of the year-round campaign is to link Taiwan and Europe further via culture and art,” Huang said on Tuesday last week, adding that culture is “a shared language that transcends borders.”“The essence of Taiwanese culture is its openness, diversity, depth, and vitality,” he said. Under the foreign ministry campaign, the troupe performed in Italy in September.
Source:Taipei Times
December 20, 2025 17:14 UTC