Ex-officials slam HSR plan
The ministry initially planned to shorten the Taipei-Yilan route by building a straight railway line, to be operated by Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC). The Railway Bureau abandoned the plan in 2019 and advocated to have a HSR extension built instead, saying that it would reduce the travel time to 28 minutes and avoid the watershed. “The HSR proposal only surfaced 20 years after the nation considered whether the straight railway line should be built,” Hochen said. However, all these considerations were nowhere to be found in the bureau’s deliberations over the HSR extension,” he said. The cost of building the straight railway line increased by NT$86 billion (US$2.75 billion), while the HSR extension decreased by NT$12.6 billion, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Fed keeps interest rates steady despite political pressure
Fed keeps interest rates steady despite political pressureAFP, WASHINGTONThe US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady at its first policy gathering this year, citing robust economic growth, as the central bank resists US President Donald Trump’s mounting pressure for cuts. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on January 28, 2026 in Washington. The Fed has made quarter-point cuts at its last three policy meetings, as officials worried about the cooling jobs market. However, solid GDP growth, relatively steady unemployment and stubborn inflation have provided reasons to pause cuts, putting officials again at odds with Trump, who has repeatedly urged for lower interest rates. Powell said the Fed would let economic data “light the way” on the future path of interest rates.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC
From Meta to Samsung, global tech unleashes spending to chase AI
From Meta to Samsung, global tech unleashes spending to chase AIBloombergThe world’s largest tech firms show no signs of easing up on artificial intelligence (AI) spending, a record wave that’s propelling hardware providers like Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. That is even as doubts persist about the staying power of AI demand to justify all that capital. Its suppliers have responded in kind: Yesterday, SK Hynix said it plans a “considerable increase” in capital expenditure, and Samsung said it is ratcheting up spending on its memory production capacity. Memory supply cannot keep pace with demand, SK Hynix’s DRAM marketing head Park Joon-deok said on a conference call yesterday. On the other hand, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg talked about “a major AI acceleration” that’s been brewing within the tech industry for over a year. Samsung is close to obtaining certification from Nvidia for the latest version of its AI memory chip.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC
Commerce tied to politics: Pegatron chair
Technology was once a force that improved people’s lives and promoted cross-border cooperation, but is increasingly used as a tool in geopolitical negotiations, he said. Pegatron Corp chairman Tung Tzu-hsien speaks at the opening of the Taipei Game Show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center yesterday. Tung’s remarks came on the same day after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) expressed optimism that Beijing would permit the sale of the H200 chips to Chinese buyers. Tung yesterday said the recent developments do not herald the end of globalization, but rather that technology and trade have become increasingly shaped by geopolitics. While demand for advanced chips used in servers and AI applications remains strong, Taiwan must proceed cautiously amid potential challenges, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC
Market volatility likely to continue, central bank thinks
Consequently, even a partial selloff by FINIs could intensify downward pressures on the New Taiwan dollar exchange rate, the director said. Another board director said that Taiwan’s capital market has expanded rapidly for more than a year, characterized by rising stock market capitalization and significant growth in exchange-traded fund assets. Regarding the housing market, the bank maintained its selective credit control measures in response to real-estate market dynamics. One director said that elevated housing prices have caused the housing DSR to exceed the affordability threshold of 30 percent. The housing DSR remains one of the indicators for default risk, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC
Committee clears bill to expand preventive detention
Committee clears bill to expand preventive detentionBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNALawmakers today passed a preliminary review of partial amendments that would expand the scope of offenses subject to preventive detention. The Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee today discussed preventive detention amendments proposed by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), Chinese Nationalist Party Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus. It is therefore necessary to expand the scope of offenses subject to preventive detention to protect potential victims and ensure smooth investigations, Wu’s amendments say. During the committee meeting, the Judicial Yuan expressed support for the amendments and proposed an integrated draft incorporating the legislators' versions. After discussion and the adoption of motions of further revisions proposed by attending legislators, the committee approved the amendments, which do not require cross-party caucus negotiations.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 11:02 UTC
MOTC to ease rules on flashing pedestrian lights
MOTC to ease rules on flashing pedestrian lightsBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNAPedestrians who step onto a crosswalk while the green light is flashing would no longer face fines, said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications as it announced plans to ease regulations involving pedestrian signals. Under existing regulations, pedestrians are prohibited from entering a crosswalk once the green light begins flashing or are subject to fines. The flashing signal is intended to serve as a warning that the remaining crossing time is about to end, the ministry said. The flashing green pedestrian signal is not designed to urge people to hurry across the street, but rather to remind them to stop and assess the situation, the ministry said. The amendment is aimed at better protecting pedestrian safety, particularly for elderly people, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 10:52 UTC
Indigenous submarine begins submerged sea trials
Indigenous submarine begins submerged sea trialsBy Hung Chen-hung and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNATaiwan's first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, this morning conducted its first submerged sea trial and was expected to dive to a snorkel depth of 10m to 20m. Taiwan's first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun, undergoes its first submerged sea trial at the Port of Kaohsiung this morning. Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei TimesThat would be followed by shallow-water submerged trials at depths of 50m to 100m to further verify watertightness and balance stability, it said. Deep-water submerged trials would then be conducted from 100m to the submarine’s maximum design depth, again testing watertightness and balance stability, with pressure resistance evaluated progressively from shallow to deeper waters, CSBC said. After the submerged trials are completed, the submarine would enter the evaluation testing phase, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 10:18 UTC
Military practices repelling Chinese sea assault
Military practices repelling Chinese sea assaultBy Yi-Chin Lee and Ann Wang / Reuters, KAOHSIUNGThe military today simulated repelling a Chinese sea assault, integrating shore-launched missiles and drones with fast patrol boats to stop an attempted invasion. A soldier operates a domestically made attack drone during a military exercise in Kaohsiung today. Taiwanese attack drones and fast, missile-armed patrol boats are then pressed into action. Earlier this week, the military showed how its US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would be used to hit the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait should Chinese forces seize them first and use them as a base to launch strikes on Taiwan proper. The Lockheed Martin HIMARS, one of Taiwan's newest and most precise strike weapons, has been used extensively by Ukraine against Russian forces.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 09:51 UTC
Meta says revenue to beat estimates, supporting AI spending
The social-media company on Wednesday said first-quarter sales will be US$53.5 billion to US$56.5 billion, beating the US$51.3 billion average analyst estimate. The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp said full-year capital expenditures will be US$115 billion to US$135 billion, exceeding the US$110.6 billion average analyst estimate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Capital expenditures last year topped US$72 billion, the company said on Wednesday. Meta’s virtual reality and AI-enabled hardware unit, known as Reality Labs, posted US$955 million in sales last quarter. Reality Labs reported an operating loss of more than US$6 billion for the quarter, bringing its total 2025 losses to more than US$19 billion.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 09:17 UTC
Microsoft drops amid slowing cloud growth, record spending
Microsoft drops amid slowing cloud growth, record spendingBloombergMicrosoft Corp’s spending surged to a record high and cloud sales growth slowed, sending the shares down sharply amid investor concerns that it could take longer than expected for the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) investments to pay off. The company expects Azure sales to rise 37 percent to 38 percent in the current quarter. A Microsoft Corp sign and logo are pictured at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on April 4 last year. Had all of the new capacity gone toward Azure, the growth rates would have been notably higher, she said. Analysts had expected sales of US$80.3 billion and per-share earnings of US$3.92.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 09:05 UTC
Cabinet moves to extend statute of limitations for child sex crimes
Cabinet moves to extend statute of limitations for child sex crimesBy Chung Li-hua and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Executive Yuan today advanced draft amendments to delay the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse until the victim turns 20. The statute of limitations for sexual offenses is 20 years, meaning any crimes committed before 2006 cannot be prosecuted. The proposed amendments would cover changes to Article 80 of the Criminal Code and Article 8-2 of the Enforcement Law of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China (中華民國刑法施行法). The statute of limitations is intended to maintain legal stability and urge law enforcement agencies to fulfill their duty to prosecute, the Ministry of Justice said. However, sexual assault crimes are inherently concealed, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 07:32 UTC
Ex-officers’ sentences upheld in final spy case ruling
Ex-officers’ sentences upheld in final spy case rulingBy Chang Wen-chuan and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAThe Supreme Court today upheld the jail sentences of seven retired military officers, including Rehabilitation Alliance Party chairman Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), who were found guilty of spying for China. The Taichung branch of the High Court in June last year sentenced Chu to 10 years in prison for recruiting retired military officers to spy for China. The emblem of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: screen grab from the Ministry of the Interior's Web siteChu and six other retired officers were in August indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法). Miaoli prosecutors then investigated the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, and found that Huang and other party members were suspected of contravening the National Security Act.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 06:24 UTC
Court revokes death sentence for Malaysian student’s killer
Court revokes death sentence for Malaysian student’s killerBy Chen Wen-chan and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Kaohsiung branch of the High Court today revoked the death sentence of the man who was found guilty of raping and murdering a Malaysian student in 2020, handing him a life sentence in a second retrial ruling. He also received an eight-year sentence for robbery, to be combined with the life sentence. The Supreme Court in April last year overturned the High Court’s January verdict of a death sentence and ordered a new trial. The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court then sentenced Liang to death for the third time in January last year. The High Court today found that the defendant did not plan to murder the victim, but acted with indirect intent to kill.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 06:10 UTC
ITRI joins top global program as cybersecurity assessor
ITRI joins top global program as cybersecurity assessorStaff writer, with CNAThe Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has joined a program run by a leading global organization to evaluate uncrewed and autonomous systems, becoming its first cybersecurity assessor outside the US. Taiwanese and US representatives pose for a photograph after signing a cybersecurity collaboration agreement in Washington on Tuesday. The agreement would ensure Taiwanese uncrewed aircraft systems "meet the highest standards for cybersecurity, safety, and supply chain integrity," Helberg wrote. Meanwhile, ITRI welcomed the "responsibility," saying that uncrewed aerial vehicle development increasingly involves system safety, supply chain trustworthiness and overall governance. The AUVSI is the largest nonprofit organization globally that advances uncrewed systems, autonomy and robotics, representing companies and professionals from more than 60 countries.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 04:54 UTC