Air quality to deteriorate nationwide from tomorrow
Air quality to deteriorate nationwide from tomorrowBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAA strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. A strong continental cold air mass would bring the pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, worsening PM2.5 concentrations in the north to between 40 and 60mg/m³, it added. Air quality is to improve in central and northern Taiwan from Thursday, although downwind areas in the south would still see the effects of accumulated pollutants, it said. As air quality is significantly influenced by meteorological conditions, the ministry advised keeping up to date on the latest forecasts and taking necessary precautions.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2026 09:46 UTC
Ministry encourages flushing toilet paper, seated toilets
Ministry encourages flushing toilet paper, seated toiletsBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Environment today unveiled a new toilet-themed art installation as part of efforts to promote seated toilets and encourage people to flush toilet paper. The display features transparent toilet bowls to promote flushing toilet paper, as well as seated toilets over squat toilets for better hygiene and accessibility. The rollout would begin with government agencies, although no date has been set to entirely replace squat toilets, he added. Neighboring countries such as Japan and Singapore have also set goals to reduce the number of squat toilets, he added. Meanwhile, the ministry said it has conducted testing with 26 different brands of toilet paper, showing that they are completely flushable.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2026 09:45 UTC
More people using AI, mostly for transport, language and research: NCC
More people using AI, mostly for transport, language and research: NCCBy Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNAThe proportion of people using artificial intelligence (AI) rose to 56.3 percent last year, primarily for transportation in daily life and research and analysis at work, a survey by the National Communications Commission (NCC) showed. The second most common use was language assistance, with 64 percent of users using it for voice input and control, translation and text-to-speech. The third was security and monitoring, with 45 percent of users using AI for smart security systems and biometric authentication. In terms of work, 41 percent of users reported using AI to look up, process and analyze data, the survey showed. More than 30 percent of people reported not using AI at work, the NCC added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2026 09:29 UTC
Plaque to be placed at Taipei Main for stabbing hero
Plaque to be placed at Taipei Main for stabbing heroBy Tung Kuan-yi and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerA commemorative plaque is to be placed in Taipei Main Station for Yu Chia-chang (余家昶), the man killed defending against a knife-wielding attacker during last month’s mass stabbing, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said this morning. Nearly 590 messages were posted on a temporary memorial wall at the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan Station. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp has designed and created a plaque to commemorate Yu, which is expected to be placed at Taipei Main Station Exit M8 on floor B1, Chiang said. A person views messages and flowers left in memory of the victims of a stabbing attack in Taipei last month at MRT Zhongshan Station. Photo: Tung Kuan-yi, Taipei TimesThe company is still in discussions with Yu’s family regarding details, including its installment date, and would continue to respect their wishes, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2026 09:21 UTC
Costco to raise membership fees for first time in decade
Costco to raise membership fees for first time in decadeStaff writer, with CNACostco Taiwan today said it would raise its membership fees for the first time in 10 years, with the changes taking effect on April 1. The annual cost of Gold Star membership in Taiwan is to increase from NT$1,350 to NT$1,500, Business membership from NT$1,150 to NT$1,500, and Business Add-on membership from NT$900 to NT$1,500, the company said. Photo: Wu Hsin-tien, Taipei TimesExecutive membership fees would remain unchanged, and exclusive services and rebates of up to NT$30,000 — the highest in Asia and the second-highest globally — would be maintained, Costco said. Each Business Add-on membership would continue to include one free household card, allowing entry for one cardholder and two accompanying persons, the US big-box retailer said. Costco Taiwan said it last adjusted its membership fees in 2016 and has since invested in logistics improvements and professional service centers, such as hearing and optical centers, as well as gas stations.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2026 09:15 UTC
Taiwan ‘prepared’ for Venezuela-style attack: MND
Taiwan ‘prepared’ for Venezuela-style attack: MNDBy Chen Yu-fu and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNATaiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien, center, speaks to reporters before a meeting at the legislature in Taipei today. At the legislative committee meeting on this year’s unreviewed defense budget, Hsu told lawmakers that Venezuela’s weapons, obtained from China and Russia, proved to be far inferior to US weapons. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said that the opposition's continued blocking of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.829 billion) special defense budget bill would impact national security. Each day that the defense budget is delayed consumes precious preparation time, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2026 09:13 UTC
Women still spending over three hours daily on unpaid care: MOHW
Women still spending over three hours daily on unpaid care: MOHWBy Lin Chih-yi and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwanese women spent more than three hours per day on average providing unpaid care in 2024, only slightly less than five years before, with married and partnered women doing more housework than others, Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) data showed. However, traditional division of labor within families remains, with women providing more care for family members and doing more housework, it added. This is only nine minutes less than the average time women spent providing daily unpaid care in 2019, the ministry said. Married and partnered women spend 2.6 times more time on unpaid care than their spouses or partners, primarily on childcare and housework. With generational change, women would continue to spend less time providing unpaid care, Social and Family Affairs Administration Acting Director Chou Tao-chun (周道君) said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2026 08:11 UTC
Proposal protest
Flights and shipping affected by Chinese drillsTrips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes andBy Shelley Shan
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 20:14 UTC
Myanmar junta ‘leads’ election, grants amnesty
Myanmar’s junta opened voting in the phased month-long election a week ago, with its leaders pledging the poll would bring on democracy. Relatives of prisoners hold placards with the names of inmates as they wait outside Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar, yesterday. It was not immediately clear whether those released include the thousands of political detainees imprisoned for opposing military rule. The prisoner releases, common on holidays and other significant occasions in Myanmar, began yesterday and are expected to take several days to complete. At Yangon’s Insein Prison, which is notorious for housing political detainees, relatives of prisoners gathered at the gates early in the morning.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 17:31 UTC
UK, France launch airstrikes on ‘IS’ facility in Syria
UK, France launch airstrikes on ‘IS’ facility in SyriaAP, DAMASCUSBritish and French warplanes carried out an airstrike in central Syria on an underground facility where members of the Islamic State (IS) group are suspected to have stored weapons and explosives, the British Ministry of Defence said yesterday. The UK and France are part of the US-led coalition that has been fighting IS militants for more than a decade. Photo: EPA / SGT LEE GODDARD HANDOUTThe ministry said the British military used Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets supported by a Voyager refueling tanker and were joined by French aircraft in the joint strike. Despite its defeat in Syria in 2019, IS sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq where the extremists once declared their caliphate. UN experts say IS still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 17:31 UTC
Watch out for undercover Chinese ships, researcher says
Watch out for undercover Chinese ships, researcher says‘GRAY ZONE’: The real threat China’s navy poses is not coming from its civilian fleet, but from undercover ships that can launch fiber-optic drones, a researcher saidBy Fang Wei-li and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerChinese vessels flying another nation’s flag could be deployed in “gray zone” operations around Taiwan, a civil preparedness advocate said on Friday. Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard AdministrationThis class of vessels was heavily featured in the Chinese military’s drills around Taiwan proper, it said. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chen Chia-sheng (陳嘉生) last month said the PLA could use field modifications to transform civilian vessels into disposable missile platforms. The real threat is the potential use of false-flagged ships in covert operations, which has been showcased by the ongoing Chinese military exercise, he said. Citing government reports, Ho said the coast guard so far discovered eight Chinese state-owned ships operating in the waters surrounding Taiwan, including seven that requested permission to dock.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 17:14 UTC
Childhood obesity on the rise as food habits need work
Photo courtesy of the foundationThe poll showed that 16.3 percent of the students frequently eat fast food and fried food, 53 percent consume snacks and desserts and 16.2 percent drink bubble tea. Further analysis confirmed that children who are classified as obese tended to consume bubble tea, fast food or fried foods often. Regarding the daily three meals, the poll showed 11 percent of students eat breakfast fewer than three days a week. About 31.8 percent of students ate a more balanced dinner, the poll showed. Among students who eat energy gels, the poll showed 5.1 percent consume some more than once a day, and 28.1 percent eat some once a day.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 17:14 UTC
MAC weighs in on free-trade zone plan
The amendment, proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍), would allow the establishment of free-trade zones on designated outlying islands. Procedures required for urban renewal projects and environmental impact assessment inside the free-trade zones would be streamlined, while rules governing the establishment and management of free-trade zones would be set by the local governments of outlying islands, the draft says. An official familiar with cross-strait issues said on condition of anonymity that such a matter should be handled based on the cross-strait act. The MAC in a report to the legislature last year said the Offshore Islands Development Act stipulates that the National Development Council and governments of the outlying islands should jointly assess if the islands are equipped with the infrastructure necessary to build a free-trade zone. Under the regulations, any approval for Chinese-invested businesses to set up in free-trade zones or parks must comply with Article 73 and other provisions of cross-strait act, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 17:14 UTC
Curry returns to lift Warriors over Jazz
“Thankfully shots went in and gave us a lot of momentum.”The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, center, guards the Utah Jazz’s Keyonte George during their NBA game in San Francisco on Saturday. Green also returned to action, but was ejected minutes into the second quarter when he received two quick technical fouls for arguing with officials. Green apparently thought there should have been a three-second call and was ejected with two minutes, 25 seconds left in the second quarter. “We won the game, that’s all we care about, that’s all he cares about,” Stephen Curry said. The Warriors need Green to be smart with his emotions, Kerr said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 17:14 UTC
EVA pilot suspended for striking first officer
EVA pilot suspended for striking first officerStaff writer, with CNAEVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating procedure. Aircraft operated by EVA Airways Corp are pictured at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) in an undated photograph. Photo: Taipei TimesThe pilot responded by punching the first officer at least four times, the report said, leaving him with swelling and bruising on the back of one hand. Once the investigation is completed, the pilot, who is currently on flight suspension, would be referred to the airline’s disciplinary review board for further review, EVA Air said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 17:14 UTC