The PLA’s script to blockade Taiwan
The PLA’s script to blockade TaiwanBy Liao Ming-hui 廖明輝On Monday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command abruptly announced a joint drill code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” staging 10 hours of live-fire drills across five maritime and air zones surrounding Taiwan. In the past, PLA drills aimed at Taiwan were typically preceded by extended political signaling and information priming, allowing outside observers to anticipate escalation. Beijing needs a military response to Washington’s recent approval of major arms sales to Taiwan. At the same time, rising debate within Japan over Taiwan contingency scenarios has clearly caught China’s attention. Together, they created a deliberately blurred space where drills, blockade enforcement and the prelude to war become difficult to distinguish.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 16:34 UTC
India’s domination of global rice trade stokes looming water crisis
However, many rice farmers in the country’s agricultural heartlands are in a less celebratory mood. That dependence makes rice farmers in both states particularly vulnerable to climate change, since aquifers are not fully recharged when monsoon rains are weak. There are some signs that Indian officials are hoping to break the vicious cycle between rice subsidies and groundwater extraction. The government would also save by paring back on the amount of rice subsidies paid out, he said. Farmers would be willing to swap crops if properly incentivized, Punjab rice grower Gurmeet Singh said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 16:34 UTC
Taiwan prepares to ring in 2026: Watch here
Taiwan prepares to ring in 2026: Watch hereBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNATaiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. See below for lineups and links:Fireworks are set off along the Tamsui River in New Taipei City to welcome 2025 on Dec. 31 last year. The livestream can be viewed on the Taipei City Government’s YouTube. New Taipei CityNew Taipei City is to hold its fireworks display earlier in the evening at 8:26pm in Tamsui District (淡水). More information is available on the event’s Web site.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 09:58 UTC
Taiwan’s overall air quality slightly better than last year
Taiwan’s overall air quality slightly better than last yearBy Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNATaiwan’s average PM2.5 concentration was 12.6 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³) this year, showing that overall air quality has improved slightly since last year, the Ministry of Environment said today. The average PM2.5 concentration this year as of Dec. 3 was 12.6mg/m³, slightly better than 12.8mg/m³ last year, the ministry told a news conference. Such particulates are a key component of air pollution and a known cause of many health issues, including cardiovascular and neurological diseases. On Jan. 26 next year, the ministers of environment and health are planning to meet with the presidential National Climate Change Committee and Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee to discuss air pollution and health, and to promote air quality management in schools, he said. Huang cited kindergartens as an example, saying about 30 schools across Taiwan would be monitored for potential indoor pollutants, such as kitchen fumes, to gradually develop ways to improve air quality.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 08:31 UTC
Starlux to launch Taichung-Tokyo route on March 30
Starlux to launch Taichung-Tokyo route on March 30Staff writer, with CNATaiwan-based carrier Starlux Airlines today announced that it would begin nonstop flights between Taichung and Tokyo starting on March 30. The new route would be operated using Airbus A321 aircraft, with four weekly flights at launch. A Starlux Airlines airplane is pictured in an undated photograph. Starlux, which commenced operations in 2020, currently offers flights from Taichung to Kobe, Okinawa, Takamatsu, Macau, Da Nang and Phu Quoc. It also plans to launch a service from Taichung to the Miyako Islands (between Okinawa Island and Taiwan) on Feb. 13, the airline said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 08:31 UTC
Philippines office welcomes Taiwan plan to open recruitment center
Philippines office welcomes Taiwan plan to open recruitment centerStaff writer, with CNAThe Manila Economic and Cultural Office yesterday said it "warmly welcomes" Taiwan's plan to set up its first cross-border recruitment center in the Philippines to enable Taiwanese employers to directly hire Philippine migrant workers. "This initiative reflects the growing partnership between the Philippines and Taiwan and marks an important step toward more ethical, transparent and worker-centered recruitment," office Chairperson and Resident Representative Corazon Avecilla-Padiernos said in a statement. The Ministry of Labor logo is displayed at the ministry in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo: Lee Chin-huei, Taipei TimesMECO serves as the Philippines' de facto embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties. Currently, most migrant workers in Taiwan are recruited through brokers, and many workers pay pre-employment expenses to brokers in their home countries.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 08:21 UTC
Response centers still active as PLA vessels pull back
Response centers still active as PLA vessels pull backBy Yimou Lee / Reuters, TAIPEITaiwan remained on high alert today after China staged massive military drills around the nation yesterday, keeping its emergency maritime response center running as it monitored Chinese naval maneuvers, the coast guard said. Coast Guard Administration Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin at a news conference in Taipei yesterday displays an image of a Taiwanese coast guard vessel driving away a China Coast Guard ship during Chinese drills near Taiwan. A Coast Guard Administration official said that all 11 Chinese coast guard ships had left waters near Taiwan and were continuing to move away. A security official said emergency response centers for the military and coast guard stayed active. The Ministry of National Defense today said that 77 Chinese military aircraft and 25 navy and coast guard vessels had been operating around the nation in the past 24 hours.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 08:03 UTC
High Court upholds acquittal of former president Ma
High Court upholds acquittal of former president MaBy Yang Hsin-hui and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe High Court today upheld a not-guilty verdict for three defendants, including former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), in connection to a case involving the sale of three media companies by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that resulted in significant losses. Former president Ma Ying-jeou gestures in an undated photograph. Charges were brought against three defendants: Ma, former Central Investment Co chairman Chang Che-chen (張哲琛) and former general manager Wang Hai-ching (汪海清). Today’s verdict upheld the not-guilty ruling for Ma, Chang and Wang, and upheld the prior verdict and sentencing for Tsai. The case has been in litigation for seven years, with more than three years of High Court proceedings.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 07:55 UTC
Navy does not deny locking onto PLA warship with fire control radar
Navy does not deny locking onto PLA warship with fire control radarStaff writer, with CNAThe navy yesterday was mum over whether it locked its fire control radar onto a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) warship participating in a drill in waters off Taiwan's southwestern shores, but did not deny employing such a maneuver. "After a Chinese warship enters the area within 24 nautical miles, we will designate a corresponding vessel to issue a defensive warning," Chiu said. "The Pan Chao adopted the necessary measure — issuing a warning — which fell within said scope, with the aim being to repel [the PLA vessel]," he said. "The navy has different protocols for varying contingencies, and in this case, we adopted the established protocol for a PLA military exercise," Chiu said. The protocol entails a "communication process" in which a warning is issued, followed by a "defensive measure," he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 07:54 UTC
First dawn of 2026 to appear on Hualien’s Masishan
First dawn of 2026 to appear on Hualien’s MasishanStaff writer, with CNAThe first dawn sunlight of the new year in Taiwan is to appear at 6:03am tomorrow on Masishan (馬錫山) in Hualien County, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said today. The earliest dawn sunlight at sea level is to be seen at Oluanpi Lighthouse at 6:11am, the museum said in a news release. A sunrise and sea of clouds are pictured from Alishan in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Chiayi County GovernmentThe museum said Oluanpi Lighthouse, located in Taiwan's southernmost Pingtung County, is a practical alternative viewing site of the first dawn of next year because Masishan, also known as Bonan Mountain (柏南山), is located at an elevation above 3,000m that is "difficult to reach."
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 07:47 UTC
Public school teacher pay raised retroactively from Sept. 1
Public school teacher pay raised retroactively from Sept. 1By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Education today announced it would raise pay for homeroom teachers, substitute and part-time teachers, and teachers handling administrative work in public schools, with the changes effective retroactively from Sept. 1. Additional pay for public elementary, middle and high-school homeroom teachers would be raised from NT$3,000 to NT$4,000 per month, part-time and substitute teachers’ hourly pay would be increased by 20 percent, and bonuses for teachers handling administrative work would be raised from NT$1,000 to NT$2,000, the ministry said. A teacher interacts with children at a kindergarten in Taichung in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Taichung City GovernmentIt would also expand eligibility for injury insurance for teachers who voluntarily work in remote areas, it said. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) has taken a keen interest in the matter and agrees with improving teachers’ compensation retroactively from Sept. 1, Cheng said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 07:47 UTC
Man indicted for threatening Facebook comments after stabbing incident
Man indicted for threatening Facebook comments after stabbing incidentBy Wang Ting-chuan and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writerProsecutors today indicted a man for posting threatening messages on social media following a major stabbing incident in Taipei earlier this month. The man is accused of endangering public safety, threatening the public and inciting others to commit crimes, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. People lay flowers at a busy shopping center at the scene of a knife attack in Taipei on Dec. 20. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPAThe man indicted today, surnamed Lin (林) posted comments at 10pm that evening underneath a Facebook video of the incident, saying: “This is only the beginning,” “Cool” and “The knife isn’t sharp enough,” prosecutors said. He also wrote: “You voters need to bear the damage caused by the government you elected,” they added.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 07:45 UTC
EU, UK, Philippines express concern over Chinese drills
EU, UK, Philippines express concern over Chinese drillsStaff writer, with CNAThe EU and several countries in East Asia, including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, yesterday voiced concerns over the latest Chinese live-fire military drills held near Taiwan and urged restraint to avoid escalating tensions. In a statement yesterday, the European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic service, said that China's action "further increases cross-strait tensions and endangers international peace and stability." EU flags fly in front of a building at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on April 2. Photo: EPA-EFE"Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are of strategic importance for regional and global security and prosperity. France expressed concern about "the scale of Chinese military exercises near Taiwan and urged all sides to refrain from escalation in order to preserve peace and stability in the region."
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 07:05 UTC
New ambassador to Paraguay appointed
New ambassador to Paraguay appointedStaff writer, with CNAThe government yesterday approved the appointment of Ivan Lee (李岳融), the nation's representative to Mexico, as its new ambassador to Paraguay. Newly appointed Ambassador to Paraguay Ivan Lee is pictured in an undated photograph. Han has headed the Taiwan embassy in Paraguay, its only formal South American ally, since May 2020. Cheng is to be heading to Spain to serve as Taiwan's top representative to Madrid, a post that has been vacant since July last year, after the departure of Vivia Chang (張俊菲), who later became Taiwan's ambassador to Guatemala. The only Spanish-speaking allies are Paraguay in South America and Guatemala in Central America.
Source:Taipei Times
December 31, 2025 04:45 UTC
Ministry touts disaster training
Ministry touts disaster trainingStaff writer, with CNAThe number of Taiwanese who have completed certified disaster prevention specialist training is expected to hit 110,000 this year, exceeding a target of 100,000, the Ministry of the Interior said in a statement on Saturday. Taiwan is in an earthquake and typhoon-prone region, so the government has provided disaster prevention training for borough and village wardens, housewives, military conscripts and members of non-governmental organizations in the hope of boosting social resilience, the ministry said. A woman participates in a disaster prevention specialist training session in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of the Interior via CNAIt would continue to support local governments to promote the training program and gradually expand it to include foreign caregivers, long-term care workers and community volunteers, with the aim of comprehensively improving grassroots disaster preparedness and enhancing overall social resilience, the ministry said. The training curriculum, which was launched in 2018, covers disaster prevention and response, assessment of disaster situations, household protective measures, community coordination, evacuation route planning, as well as hands-on training to staunch bleeding, bandage wounds, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use automated external defibrillators, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 30, 2025 17:13 UTC