Taiwan closely monitoring Venezuela developments
Taiwan closely monitoring Venezuela developmentsStaff writer, with CNA and BloombergThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation in Venezuela, including the country’s role in international drug trafficking and the humanitarian crisis under its authoritarian government. Photo: CNAVenezuela’s situation has long affected regional stability and Taiwan would continue monitoring developments to safeguard Taiwanese there, the ministry said. “I don’t expect today’s events in Venezuela will dramatically alter Beijing’s calculus on Taiwan,” he wrote on social media. If Beijing shifts its approach, it will not be because of U.S. actions in Venezuela,” Hass wrote.
Source:Taipei Times
January 04, 2026 16:01 UTC
Evening observances
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 03:46 UTC
India unveils Buddha gems after century abroad
India unveils Buddha gems after century abroad‘NOT JUST ARTIFACTS’: The Piprahwa gems, believed to date back to 200BC, are timeless symbols of peace, compassion and shared heritage, Pirojsha Godrej saidAFP, NEW DELHISacred ancient gems linked to the Buddha were unveiled yesterday in India for the first time since their colonial-era removal. The Piprahwa gems, a collection of more than 300 precious stones and ornaments believed to have been buried with relics of the Buddha at a stupa site in northern India, were formally displayed at an exhibition in New Delhi. The Piprahwa relics of the Buddha are displayed in New Delhi. The gems, believed to date back to about 200BC, were unearthed in 1898 by British colonial engineer William Claxton Peppe in Piprahwa, India. “The Piprahwa gems are not just artifacts,” company vice-chairman Pirojsha Godrej said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
MND warns over budget issue
Photo: Taipei TimesIf the overall budget bill is not passed this session, NT$78 billion would be affected, a ministry official said. Separately, a defense official urged the Legislative Yuan to pass the defense budget, citing Taiwan’s strategic importance as a gateway of the first island chain. That might fatally compromise the integrity of the second island chain, they said. The language showed that control over the first island chain is core to the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy, the official said. The US sees Taiwan’s proposed defense budget as an attempt to tailor the force structure to meet specific threats in the national security environment, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
US ready to respond if Iran kills protesters, Trump says
US ready to respond if Iran kills protesters, Trump saysAFP, PARISUS President Donald Trump on Friday said Washington was “locked and loaded” to respond if Iran killed protesters, prompting Tehran to warn that intervention would destabilize the region. Protesters and security forces on Thursday clashed in several Iranian cities, with six people reported killed, the first deaths since the unrest escalated. Iranian shopkeepers and traders protest against the economic conditions in Tehran on Monday. Photo: EPAIf Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on social media. Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani warned Trump that “US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America’s interests.”The American people “should be mindful of their soldiers’ safety,” Larijani added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
Ukraine hosts talks with security allies
Ukraine hosts talks with security alliesPEACE PUSH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the US-brokered plan was ‘90 percent’ ready and shuffled his Cabinet ahead of a summit next weekAFP, KYIVUkraine yesterday hosted security advisers for crunch talks as Kyiv insisted negotiations are zeroing in on a deal, while Russia claimed a deadly New Year strike torpedoed the efforts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said about 15 countries would attend the talks, along with representatives from the EU and NATO, with a US delegation joining via video link. Leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing are expected to convene in France next week after yesterday’s talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, left, participates in a meeting in Kyiv on Friday. Zelenskiy last week said Ukraine has been able to wrest some concessions, notably removing the provision that land seized by Moscow’s army would be recognized as Russian.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
Postal service releases Lunar New Year designs
Postal service releases Lunar New Year designsBy Tsai Yun-jung, Wu Liang Yi and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerChunghwa Post has unveiled red envelopes for gift-giving during the upcoming Year of the Horse and new editions of postage stamps for the new year. Envelopes bearing the zodiac sign of the horse would be sold in sets of three envelopes, one red and two yellow, for NT$15 per set, the state-owned postal service said on Friday. Chunghwa Post’s red envelopes featuring the upcoming Year of the Horse are pictured in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Chunghwa PostIn a statement last week, the postal service revealed a new edition of Taiwanese mountain flower-themed post stamps, following the original issue in 2021 and second edition in 2023. The postal service is additionally releasing commemorative stamps celebrating Taipei Dongyuan Elementary School’s championship in the 2025 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, beginning in February.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
Furloughed workers rose slightly by end of month
Furloughed workers rose slightly by end of monthStaff writer, with CNAThe number of workers on formal unpaid leave in Taiwan in the second half of last month rose slightly from the first half, with the manufacturing sector feeling the most pinch, according to the Ministry of Labor. The number of employers with unpaid leave programs in place rose by seven from Dec. 15 to 385 at the end of last month, the data indicated. During the 15-day period, a total of 6,409 workers were furloughed due to US tariffs on Taiwanese goods, compared with 6,339 recorded in middle of last month, according to the ministry data. Analysts said the rebound from a three-month low in furloughed workers showed the manufacturing sector remained haunted by the US tariff policies. However, the domestic demand-oriented service sector stayed relatively resilient, ministry data showed, with the number of furloughed workers in the wholesale and retail industry falling to 301 from 329 on Dec. 15.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
‘The West’ is near death, but it is worth fighting for
With the US’ traditional allies now part of the buffet, this seismic development begs a question: Is the West worth saving and can it be? So, no, the West does not stretch back to ancient Greece, because the ancient Greeks never mentioned it, or conceived of it. “Don’t leave it to them,” Varouxakis told me, as we discussed the Trump administration’s assaults on Europe. The first recorded articulations of the West as a political identity came around the time of the 1821 to 1829 Greek War of Independence, Varouxakis told me. Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
Taiwan, Japan should join NATO
Taiwan, Japan should join NATOBy James J. Y. Hsu 許正餘China’s recent aggressive military posture around Taiwan simply reflects the truth that China is a millennium behind, as Kobe City Councilor Norihiro Uehata has commented. For this reason alone, Taiwan and Japan should join NATO as members to stop an injustice aggression by the justice defense. Taiwan and Japan would be able to provide comprehensive support to NATO countries, spanning political, military and cooperative efforts, not to mention artificial intelligence and world’s most advanced chips. Taiwan and Japan joining NATO is the right step forward at a time when Russia is devastating Ukraine, and China is threatening Asian stability. If Taiwan and Japan could join the rank and file of Europe along with the Nordic countries, this could be the happiest country club in the world.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
PLA drills are becoming routine
PLA drills are becoming routineBy Gahon Chiang 江佳紘Whenever the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stages major military drills around Taiwan, public discussion tends to fixate on “this time”: How close did they come? The core threat comes from a system that treats military spectacles as a routine instrument of governance. Put differently, coercive operations around Taiwan and nearby waters increasingly resemble a standing budget line, not sporadic surges. Within this governance logic, drills serve purposes beyond training. The root of long-term uncertainty in the western Pacific stems from an authoritarian system that treats military intimidation as a routine method of governance.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
Taipei parathlete receives award for outstanding effort
Taipei parathlete receives award for outstanding effortBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAThe New Taipei City Social Welfare Department on Thursday celebrated Paralympic competitor Chen Tzu-wei (張孜維), who received last year’s national Golden Eagle award for exemplary achievement by Taiwanese with disabilities. Chen, who suffers fromchildhood-onset muscular dystrophy, did not attend the first award ceremony held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in November due to illness. Paralympic competitor Chen Tzu-wei, center, poses with New Taipei City Social Welfare Department Commissioner Lee Mei-chen, left, and Bali Ai-hsin Home for Persons with Disabilities director Liu Wen-hsiang in New Taipei City on Thursday. Photo: Wong Yu-huang, Taipei TimesChen was formally presented with the award at the department, where he gave thanks to government workers for supporting his education and livelihood, the department said in a statement. Hsieh Hsin-min (謝鑫敏), former head of the Ai-hsin Home for Persons with Disabilities, said Chen is an inspiration and example to the children under the home’s care.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
How to tax artificial intelligence
Wages, contracts and social protections all assumed that time was a reliable proxy for output, but artificial intelligence (AI) has severed this link. Trying to tax firms directly for their “degree of automation” has never worked, because such processes are organizationally opaque. The answer might be to tax “AI-hours”: the computational time consumed by AI systems performing economically productive tasks. Of course, there is a risk that firms will game the system to qualify for lower tax rates. An AI-hours levy can convert machine productivity into public revenue without suppressing innovation.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
Law proposals target CCP tactics
President William Lai (賴清德) in a high-level national security meeting in March introduced 17 response strategies to counter China’s infiltration, “united front” operations and sovereignty challenges toward Taiwan. A member of a pro-unification group holds a Chinese flag at a protest in Taipei in an undated photograph. Draft amendments to the National Security Act include expanding the definition of what constitutes unlawful involvement in organizations and adding administrative penalties for speech advocating war, the official said. The draft amendments would increase criminal penalties by 50 percent for active-duty personnel or civil servants who deliberately contravene the National Security Act, the officials said. China’s hostility toward Taiwan is intensifying and it is relentlessly trying to infiltrate Taiwan with its “united front” tactics, the official said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC
Kaohsiung health official indicted
Kaohsiung health official indictedMISUSE OF POWER: The man allegedly used his position to gain access to privileged health information in order to target and sexually assault a previously victimized minorBy Huang Chia-lin and Jason Pan / Staff reportersProsecutors indicted a public health official in Kaohsiung on Friday after he allegedly used a confidential health database to identify victims to solicit sex from and assaulted a minor. The suspect, 42-year old Ho Chien-chung (何建忠), served as executive secretary at Lingya District Mental Health Center, part of the Kaohsiung Department of Health. A plaque bearing the name and logo of the Kaohsiung Department of Health is pictured in an undated photograph. The victim believed Ho had the videos and was blackmailing her, prosecutors said, meeting with him to attempt to prevent him from circulating the videos further. Ho met the victim on June 30, driving her to a motel, where he sexually assaulted her, according to court documents.
Source:Taipei Times
January 03, 2026 18:00 UTC