Concerns regarding too-heavy children’s bags raised
Concerns regarding too-heavy children’s bags raisedBy Lai Hsiao-tung and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writerParents have raised concerns about the excessive weight of elementary-school students’ backpacks, saying children struggle to breathe under the strain. Backpacks should not be heavier than 15 percent of a child’s body weight, he said, adding that load tolerance varies per person. The increase in online learning resources powered by artificial intelligence has also helped in efforts to reduce backpack weight, he said. However, heavy bags are still common in schools, especially for shorter, young students, whose backpacks nearly match their body size, he added. He suggested that parents purchase lightweight backpacks, check their contents regularly and help their children organize their bags to foster responsibility, good habits and parent-child interaction.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 17:12 UTC
Appreciation
Taiwan celebrates Christmas, kind of, once again after 25 yearsTaiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 17:12 UTC
Vegetable investigation
Nvidia reaches tech deal with GroqAI TALENT: No financial details were released about the deal, in which top Groq executives, including its CEO, would join Nvidia to help advance the technology Nvidia Corp has agreed to a licensing deal with artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Groq, furthering its investments in companies connected to the AI boom and gaining the right to add a new type of technology to its products. The world’s largest publicly traded company has paid for the right to use Groq’s technology and is to integrate its chip design into future products. Some of the start-up’s executives are leaving to join Nvidia to help with that effort, the companies said. Groq would continue as an independent company with a new chief executive, it said on Wednesday in a post on its Web
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:23 UTC
Gasoline and diesel prices set to rise slightly
Gasoline and diesel prices set to rise slightlyBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.4 per liter this week, after international crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$26.8, NT$28.3 and NT$30.3 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$25.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$25 at Formosa pumps, they said. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — last week gained 0.28 percent to settle at US$60.64 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures — the US oil benchmark — increased 0.39 percent to US$56.74 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:23 UTC
Why AI could make human jazz popular again
Why AI could make human jazz popular againAI might be able to create competent pop music, but it would not replace the joy and wonder of watching skilled musicians perform liveBy Jonathan Levin / Bloomberg OpinionAs a musician and music lover, the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution terrifies me in many ways. AI apps such as Suno have already shown extraordinary potential to generate catchy and professionally produced music in certain genres. That model might point to a path of survival for other human artists looking to carve out a niche in our AI future. Virtuosos would be celebrated, much as great athletes are, as living celebrations of what can be accomplished with hard work, even without machines. It has been nearly a century since jazz dominated popular music and six decades since the massive hit albums of Davis, Coltrane, Dave Brubeck and others.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
Robotaxis draw criticism
Robotaxis draw criticismReuters, SAN FRANCISCOA widespread power outage in San Francisco that led to Waymo robotaxis blocking traffic earlier this month has raised concerns about the readiness of autonomous vehicle operators to handle major emergencies such as earthquakes and floods. A Waymo vehicle drives on Drumm Street during a break between rain storms in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. Robotaxi operators across the globe use remote access by humans — known in the industry as “teleoperation” — in varying degrees to monitor and control vehicles. “The whole point of having remote operations is for humans to be there when the system is not responsive in the way it should be,” she said. “The federal government needs to regulate remote operations,” Cummings said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
Takaichi, Mario and the Year of the Fire Horse
Takaichi, Mario and the Year of the Fire HorseBy Gearoid Reidy / Bloomberg OpinionEvery year, Japanese vote for a single Chinese character to sum up the past 12 months. There was a much better option: the character 高, pronounced kou or taka — as in Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Takaichi has a generational opportunity to cash in on her popularity and secure her grip on power. Both men would aim to be part of Samurai Japan, the squad for March’s World Baseball Classic. Nonetheless, the Fire Horse is a timely reminder for a country on the front lines of demographic change.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
US remains largest debtor to Taiwan
US remains largest debtor to TaiwanGROWING OWINGS: While Luxembourg and China swapped the top three spots, the US continued to be the largest exposure for Taiwan for the 41st consecutive quarterBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe US remained the largest debtor nation to Taiwan’s banking sector for the 41st consecutive quarter at the end of September, after local banks’ exposure to the US market rose more than 2 percent from three months earlier, the central bank said. Exposure to the US increased to US$198.896 billion, up US$4.026 billion, or 2.07 percent, from US$194.87 billion in the previous quarter, data released by the central bank showed on Friday. Photo: BloombergLuxembourg, known as a leader in providing global cross-border fund registration services, rose a spot to become the second largest debtor nation, with Taiwanese banks’ exposure increasing US$2.706 billion to US$50.767 billion, a record high, the central bank said. China slipped one spot from a quarter earlier down to third-largest debtor nation, despite Taiwanese banks’ exposure growing US$1.065 billion to US$49.561 billion last quarter, central bank data showed. The mild increase in Taiwanese banks’ exposure to China primarily reflected the market’s cautious sentiment toward China’s economic prospects, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
Taiwan stock market outperforms Japan, South Korea
Taiwan stock market outperforms Japan, South KoreaAI AUGMENTED: A national economic specialization on artificial intelligence and adjacent industries has pushed Taiwan further and faster than neighbors in recent yearsStaff writer, with CNATaiwan’s stock market has outperformed markets in Japan and South Korea for the past four years because of the strong growth in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware, a particular strength of Taiwan’s economy, the central bank said. The central bank said the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s benchmark TAIEX index has risen about 120 percent from a low of 12,666 points in 2022 to 27,867 on Dec. 15. A woman walks past signage at the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp headquarters in Taipei on May 6. The central bank said AI applications for end-users still need more time to mature and downside risks are possible for the global supply chain, which could create uncertainty over the local economy. However, corrections should occur over time and the evolution of AI technology would evolve and pave the way for longer term economic growth, the central bank said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
Notes from Central Taiwan: The KMT’s budget blackmail
DPP legislator Lai Hui-yuan (賴惠員) also warned that the budget impasse could disrupt the nationwide TPASS system for public transport. The proposed special budget for defense spending was blocked in committee again last week. For example, the indispensable Taiwan Defense News Tracker pointed out on X that the first 60 Paladin self-propelled artillery systems come out of the special budget, while the second batch of 60 are planned for the annual defense budget. The noise they make about spouses from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and their rights, the defense budget, and similar, are intended to distract from this real, distressing fact. The budget battle conceals that in these revolutionary times, this is a business-as-usual budget, funding large projects and handing out subsidies.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
EDITORIAL: Cheng forgets what it is to debate
EDITORIAL: Cheng forgets what it is to debateChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) was on Monday last week invited to give a talk to students of Soochow University, but her responses to questions raised by students and lecturers became a controversial incident and sparked public discussion over the following days. Her answers revealed her prejudiced and condescending attitude, and her incapability (or intentional unwillingess) to explain, discuss and defend the KMT’s position and policies on important public issues. As an activist in student movements against the then-KMT’s authoritarian regime during her university years, Cheng should know that university campuses are traditionally hubs for open debate, critical thinking and the clash of diverse viewpoints. However, she chose to stigmatize students and had a disrespectful attitude, which only led people to think that her question dodging was because the KMT’s stance and policies cannot stand up to public scrutiny. Cheng on Saturday finally admitted that she anticipates a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in the first half of next year, but denied speculations that the KMT agreed to certain preconditions for the meeting to take place.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
‘Bilingual 2030’ needs improving
‘Bilingual 2030’ needs improvingBy Kuo Chang-yi 郭昌益The government’s “Bilingual 2030” policy is undeniably an ambitious blueprint aimed at enhancing Taiwan’s international competitiveness. In many schools, bilingual education is not implemented across all grade levels due to a lack of resources. A student might have a bilingual physical education class in third grade, only to return to a fully Mandarin-taught curriculum in fourth grade. This is not bilingual education; it is merely a performance that sacrifices the depth of subject knowledge and fails to improve English proficiency. The goal should be to foster the ability to acquire knowledge through English reading, rather than just learning English for tests.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
Israel seals off village after attack
Israel seals off village after attackCONFLICT: Violence has surged in the West Bank in the past two years, and Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, while 44 Israelis have been killedAFP, QABATIYAH, Palestinian TerritoriesIsraeli forces on Saturday imposed a lockdown on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, their second day of operations there after a local resident killed two people in Israel. In the attack on Friday a 34-year-old Palestinian man killed two people in northern Israel. “This period is characterized by lone attackers and individuals staying illegally in [Israel]. During the same period, violence has also surged in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. According to official Israeli figures, at least 44 Israelis, soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the same period in the West Bank.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
Corporate AI is a threat to freedom
Corporate AI is a threat to freedomBy Richard K. SherwinEight years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that whoever masters artificial intelligence (AI) “will be the ruler of the world.” Since then, investments in the technology have skyrocketed, with US tech giants (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta) spending more than US$320 billion this year alone. There is a more immediate danger: Increasingly powerful, but opaque, AI algorithms are threatening freedom itself. The threat to freedom is twofold. Users of online services might think they are getting what they want — based, for example, on previous viewing choices or past purchases. Now, corporations seek to increase profits not only by marketing AI services, but also by deploying them to maximize the time users spend online, thereby increasing their exposure to targeted advertising.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC
The war is not coming, it is already quietly here
The war is not coming, it is already quietly hereBy Hsiao Hsi-huei 蕭錫惠Taiwan does not exist in a state of true peace. Its situation is more akin to a prolonged, unofficial state of political warfare. This is the essence of political warfare: influencing a society’s decisions without ever firing a shot. A series of espionage cases uncovered this year are concrete examples of this kind of political warfare. If legislators’ travel to China continues to lack oversight and transparency, it would leave a gap in the defenses against political warfare.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC