Export orders grow 43.8%
Export orders grow 43.8%By Meryl Kao / Staff reporterExport orders last month expanded 43.8 percent year-on-year to US$76.2 billion, the 11th straight month of double-digit percentage growth and the highest for a single month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Export orders last quarter rose 35.9 percent year-on-year to US$218.63 billion and surged 26 percent to US$743.73 billion for the year, a record high and exceeding the ministry’s forecast of US$738.7 billion to US$740.7 billion. Electronic components and information and communications technology (ICT) products accounted for more than 90 percent of last year’s export order growth, he said. The ministry projected export orders this month to reach US$70 billion to US$72 billion, or an annual increase of 45.7 percent to 49.9 percent, he said. Export orders soared 39.9 percent year-on-year for electronic components last month, surged 88.1 percent for ICT products, rose 17.2 percent for machinery products and increased 13.1 percent for optoelectronic products, ministry data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
Goal missed despite decline in traffic fatalities
Goal missed despite decline in traffic fatalitiesHALF BY 2030: The number of deaths in incidents involving pedestrians decreased in the first 10 months of last year to the lowest level since 2008, data showedBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTaiwan failed to meet its target of reducing overall traffic fatalities last year, despite recording a historic low in pedestrian deaths, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The ministry wants to halve deaths from traffic incidents from 2023 levels by 2030, requiring a 7 percent decrease annually. “A1” traffic fatalities — defined as deaths occurring within 24 hours of an incident — stood at 1,484 for the first 10 months of last year, while pedestrian deaths totaled 185. Compared with the same period in 2023, both figures were down, by 9.8 percent and 9.3 percent respectively, he said. By region, Tainan recorded the largest increase in overall traffic fatalities, up 25 from the same period in 2024.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
No invitation to Asfura’s inauguration: ministry
No invitation to Asfura’s inauguration: ministryALLEGIANCE: Taiwan and Honduras do not have diplomatic relations, although the president-elect said he intended to restore official ties, a MOFA official saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaiwan has not been invited to attend Honduran president-elect Nasry Asfura’s inauguration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, in response to questions about whether Taiwan would send officials to attend. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2023, ending an 82-year relationship, and later established ties with China. However, during Honduras’ presidential election last year, two candidates — including Asfura — announced their intention to restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan if they were elected. Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Deputy Director-General Lu Chao-jui speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. In other news, Lu said Paraguayan Minister of Health Maria Teresa Baran is to visit Taiwan from Monday next week.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
Trump unloads on allies as Davos showdown looms
Trump unloads on allies as Davos showdown loomsAFP, ZURICH, SwitzerlandUS President Donald Trump has made an astonishing series of attacks apparently designed to humiliate allies France, the UK and Canada as the row over Greenland threatens to engulf the Davos forum. In a flurry of social media posts and comments to reporters a day before he leaves for the elite gathering today, Trump leaked apparently private text messages from French President Emmanuel Macron. French President Emmanuel Macron, left, meets US President Donald Trump at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 23 last year. Trump first expressed his disdain for Macron’s refusal to join his so-called “Board of Peace” for resolving conflicts worldwide. Trump in May last year had endorsed the deal after it was signed.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
MOFA warns of buying, selling Taiwan passports after convictions
MOFA warns of buying, selling Taiwan passports after convictionsStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese not to sell or buy their country’s passports, warning that such moves were illegal and could lead to sentences of up to seven years in prison. According to local media reports, the four were charged with selling Taiwanese passports to a Chinese human trafficking ring. Prosecutors said the Chinese human trafficking ring had over the years asked the accused to buy local passports before selling them to buyers overseas, local reports said. Since then, it has closely monitored passports believed to have been sold overseas, MOFA said. Buying or selling passports to others violates Article 29 of the Passport Act (護照條例), which stipulates that violators will face a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine of up to NT $700,000.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
MOU on education signed in Japan
MOU on education signed in JapanBy Rachel Lin and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Ministry of Education’s Primary and Secondary School International Educational Exchange Alliance on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture to deepen bilateral education exchanges in sustainability issues and semiconductors. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of EducationThe MOU was signed by National Tainan Chia-Chi Senior High School principal Chen Yun-ju (陳韻如) and board superintendent Hiroki Ooi. Japan is the country with most sister schools in Taiwan, at least 290, showing that both sides have established solid ties as education partners, the ministry said. K-12 Education Administration Director-General Sun Min-yi (孫旻儀) said the prefecture is the fourth Japanese local government — following Chiba, Miyagi and Shizuoka prefectures — to sign an education MOU with the alliance. The MOU is aimed at facilitating exchanges and research on semiconductors and sustainable development goals-related environmental issues, especially for senior-high students, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
Shortcomings of safety handbook
Shortcomings of safety handbookBy Caroline Ying-hsuan Chen 陳穎萱As tensions across the Taiwan Strait continue to escalate, public attention to “whole-of-society defense resilience” has reached unprecedented levels in Taiwan. In response, the government in November released the guidebook In Case of Crisis: Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide (the “Orange Book”) and distributed it to every household. After reading the handbook, do Taiwanese truly believe they can secure their safety and effectively respond to emergencies? The experimental group was presented with a summary of the handbook, while the control group read an unrelated article about public art installations. Caroline Ying-hsuan Chen is a policy analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
Australia passes stricter gun and hate crime laws
Australia passes stricter gun and hate crime lawsAFP, SYDNEYAustralian politicians yesterday voted in favor of tougher hate crime and gun laws, weeks after gunmen targeting Jewish people on Bondi Beach killed 15 people. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives backed the legislation in response to the Dec. 14 shooting at the famous Sydney beach. “We’re taking action on both — tackling anti-Semitism, tackling hate, and getting dangerous guns off our streets.”Legislative reforms on guns and hate speech were voted on separately. The hate speech legislation would toughen laws and penalties for people seeking to spread hate and radicalization, or to promote violence. On firearms, Australia would set up a national gun buyback scheme, tighten rules on imports of firearms and expand background checks for gun permits to allow input from the intelligence services.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
Eye on Indonesia
Micron to pay US$1.8bn for fab siteKEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 16:39 UTC
Crashed helicopter with two Taiwanese found on Japan’s Mt Aso
Crashed helicopter with two Taiwanese found on Japan’s Mt AsoBy Tsai Yun-jung and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNASearch teams were able to track a crashed sightseeing helicopter that went missing in southwestern Japan today with two Taiwanese passengers on board, but rescue operations must wait until weather conditions improve, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Fukuoka said. Two Taiwanese passengers and a pilot were believed to be aboard a sightseeing helicopter that went missing at about noon near the summit of Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported. The helicopter departed at 10:52am from the Aso Cuddly Dominion zoo, and contact was lost at about 11am, the news outlet cited the operator as saying. Mount Aso in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture is pictured in an undated photograph. From its serial number, police were able to identify the aircraft as the missing helicopter, but it remains difficult to approach due to the terrain, reports said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 11:08 UTC
Travelers may bring approved e-cigarettes duty-free
Travelers may bring approved e-cigarettes duty-freeStaff writer, with CNAPeople entering Taiwan would be allowed to bring up to 200 heated tobacco product sticks into the country duty free starting on Feb. 1, but they would have to be bought in duty-free areas in Taiwan airports due to existing health approval rules. The only heated tobacco products — electronic devices that heat processed tobacco sticks at a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes — currently approved for sale in Taiwan are not currently sold overseas, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. Travelers stand on a people mover at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in an undated photograph. Lo said travelers may not bring other heated tobacco products purchased overseas into Taiwan, but may buy approved products at duty-free shops in Taiwan airports or in outlying islands, and bring them in under the new duty-free rules. The HPA said it would strengthen public communication and education efforts to help travelers understand the rules in advance and avoid breaking the law.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 10:43 UTC
Donations help NHI support disadvantaged families
The donor wanted to help disadvantaged families who are struggling to pay their NHI premiums, so that those in need would not lose medical care due to financial hardship, the agency said. The National Health Insurance logo is pictured in an undated photograph. Last year, the NHIA’s Taipei division helped 537 disadvantaged families cover their medical expenses, allocating more than NT$10 million in donated funds, it said. Since the NHIA Charity Fund was established, it has used more than NT$85 million in donations to help more than 3,600 disadvantaged families, it said. The fund also supported 117 disadvantaged families that were affected by typhoons Fung-wong and Podul last year, providing more than NT$2.7 million in support, the agency said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 10:43 UTC
Chinese spouse sentenced to 8 years for forming ‘united front’ groups
Chinese spouse sentenced to 8 years for forming ‘united front’ groupsBy Pao Chien-hsin and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Kaohsiung branch of the High Court today sentenced a Chinese spouse to eight years in prison for creating immigrant associations sponsored by Chinese “united front” groups, overturning its previous acquittal after the Supreme Court remanded the case for a retrial. The court sentenced Zhou Manzhi (周滿芝) to eight years for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). Photo: CNAAs chair of the Taiwan New Residents Care Association, Zhou was accused of acting under the direction of Chinese organizations — including the Shaanxi Patriotic Volunteer Association — to develop organizations in Taiwan. She was a member of the Shaanxi Patriotic Volunteer Association and the China Patriotic Volunteer Association, civilian groups commissioned by the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, the High Court said. Prosecutors then suspected Zhou of forming “united front” organizations and transferred the case to the Kaohsiung High Prosecutors’ Office, as it fell under second-instance jurisdiction.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 10:42 UTC
NET recalls clothing line after copyright accusation
NET recalls clothing line after copyright accusationBy Hollie Younger / Staff writerFast fashion retailer NET today said it has removed controversial items from its shelves, after a content creator accused the company of infringing copyright by using their design of a cartoon Taiwanese leopard cat without permission. NET has since apologized and said it has removed all clothing featuring the disputed image from its stores. Creator Hug Taiwan Leo (石虎抱抱) on Sunday said on Facebook that fans had contacted them to congratulate them on what they believed was a collaboration with NET. An image of a shirt sold by NET is pictured alongside a cartoon created by Hug Taiwan Leo. Images of Hug Taiwan Leo were first uploaded in 2014 and remain available as a sticker set on Line, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 10:27 UTC
Strong cold front triggers low-temperature alerts
Strong cold front triggers low-temperature alertsStaff writer, with CNACold air from China is moving south across Taiwan, prompting the Central Weather Administration (CWA) to issue a low-temperature alert for northern and outlying areas from today through Friday. Photo courtesy of the Central Weather AdministrationThe agency said an orange low-temperature alert has been issued for New Taipei City, Keelung, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu County. An orange low-temperature alert is issued when the minimum temperature in low-lying areas falls below 6°C, or drops below 10°C while remaining under 12°C for 24 consecutive hours. Meanwhile, a yellow alert has been issued for Miaoli County and Kinmen County, the CWA said. A yellow alert indicates that the minimum temperature in low-lying areas is expected to fall below 10°C.
Source:Taipei Times
January 20, 2026 10:15 UTC