Households with elderly members increased by 1.15 million in a decade
Households with elderly members increased by 1.15 million in a decadeBy Hsu I-ping and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe number of households with elderly members has increased by 1.15 million over the past decade, creating a growing scene of aging families across the nation, Ministry of the Interior data showed. The figure represented an increase of about 1.15 million households with elderly residents, compared with about 2.27 million such households, or 26.61 percent, in September 2016 — an increase of more than 8 percentage points over the past decade. Taiwan’s low birthrate has driven household structures to shift from multigenerational families to single-generation households, housing researcher Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said. In 2000, children accounted for 21 percent of the population, while elderly people made up 9 percent, he said. Over the years, the number of children has dropped from 4.7 million to 2.74 million — a decline of 42 percent, while the elderly population has surged from 1.92 million to 4.49 million — an increase of 134 percent, Huang said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:07 UTC
Myanmar’s junta holds election after years of civil war
Myanmar’s junta holds election after years of civil warAFP, YANGON, MyanmarVoters yesterday trickled to Myanmar’s heavily restricted polls, with the ruling junta touting the exercise as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government and triggered a civil war. Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed, while her hugely popular party has been dissolved and was not taking part. A woman walks past an election banner during the first phase of Myanmar’s general election in Yangon yesterday. “We guarantee it to be a free and fair election,” junta chief Min Aung Hlaing told reporters after casting his ballot in the capital, Naypyidaw. At a downtown Yangon station near the gleaming Sule Pagoda — the site of huge pro-democracy protests after the 2021 coup — 45-year-old Swe Maw dismissed international criticism.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:07 UTC
Saturday’s earthquake damage mostly repaired
The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. A map with Taiwan’s seven-color earthquake intensity scale shows that an intensity level of 4 was recorded in several administrative regions after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 11:05pm on Saturday. A graphic shows the peak ground acceleration of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 11:05pm on Saturday. The Hualien quake was a shallow fault-zone event, occurring at 15.5km deep, while Saturday’s Yilan quake was a subduction-zone earthquake caused by the Philippine Sea Plate subducting northward beneath the Eurasian Plate, Wu said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:07 UTC
DPP legislators propose security bills
Draft revisions proposed by DDP Legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) and 19 others would introduce the legal designation of “gray zone actors” and mandate that such actors proactively disclose their funding sources. First, “gray zone actors” who accept direct or indirect funding from infiltration sources, but fail to report or deliberately file false reports. Third, any person who, under the instruction, commission or funding of infiltration sources, donates activity funds to “gray zone” actors. “Gray zone” actors who fail to comply with reporting requirements, submit false reports or obstruct official inspections should bear criminal responsibility, it says. Separately, DPP Legislators Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) and Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) have proposed amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) to address gaps in penalties for participating in organizations affiliated with foreign hostile forces or facilitating them.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:07 UTC
Trump, Zelenskiy meet to discuss peace plan
Trump, Zelenskiy meet to discuss peace planAFP, PALM BEACH, FloridaUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to sit down with US President Donald Trump yesterday and seek to secure his stamp of approval for a new proposal to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speak to the press as they meet in Halifax, Canada, on Saturday. “This attack is again Russia’s answer on our peace efforts, and this really showed that Putin doesn’t want peace,” he said. Zelenskiy held a conference call while in Canada with European leaders who, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pledged their full support for his peace efforts. Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.
Source:Taipei Times
December 28, 2025 16:07 UTC
Election endorsements
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 03:47 UTC
Electric quick
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 27, 2025 17:17 UTC
US urges Beijing to cease pressure, engage in talks
US urges Beijing to cease pressure, engage in talksStaff writer, with CNA and AFPThe US Department of State yesterday urged Beijing to cease military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan. The arms sales “violate the one-China principle... seriously damaging China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. A spokesperson for the State Department yesterday stated opposition to Beijing’s actions. The US strongly opposes retaliation against US companies for supporting arms sales to Taiwan, they said, adding that the purpose of these arms sales is to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities. The spokesperson also urged Beijing to stop exerting military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:17 UTC
Chinese ‘ghost’ ship likely still active: report
The Coast Guard Administration and Chunghwa Telecom on Jan. 4 said that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by the Shunxin-39. The investigation found that after running silent for a long time, it was spotted off the coast of Busan, South Korea, on Aug. 14. The ship name registered under the two frequency names was highly similar, with the one registered in Cameroon named “Shun Xin” and the one registered in Tanzania named “Xing Shun,” it found. Taiwan should step up its active radar pinging and visual recognition of ships, Su said, adding that if ships receive a radar signal without a corresponding AIS designation, they should treat it as suspicious and investigate. The air wing would provide a 3D monitoring capability at a moderate cost and should be considered by the government, Su said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:17 UTC
Huang Kuo-chang declares candidacy for New Taipei City
Huang Kuo-chang declares candidacy for New Taipei CityBy Wong Yu-huang / Staff reporterTaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday officially announced his candidacy for next year’s New Taipei City mayoral election, with former party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) attending the event to show his support. “New Taipei City is not a satellite city of Taipei. I want to make New Taipei City shine,” Huang said. Noting the residents of New Taipei City have given the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) 16 years to lead the city, Huang expressed the hope that the voters would give him four years and pledged he would do his best and give it his all. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, right, bumps fists with former party chairman Ko Wen-je at a press conference in New Taipei City yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:17 UTC
Businessman seeks WWII tragedy closure
Businessman seeks WWII tragedy closureStaff writer, with CNAWorld War II might have ended 80 years ago, but for businessman Hsu Shun-lung (許順隆), it continues to echo in Taiwan through a tragedy that has yet to be brought to a final resolution. Businessman Hsu Shun-lung, center, poses with members of the Preparatory Committee for Settlmenet of Sancha Mountain Incident Victims in an undated photograph. After learning of the history, Hsu in November last year began to coordinate efforts to recover the remains of the deceased rescuers. For Hsu, those actions were a start, but not enough to honor the deceased rescuers, whose remains, Hsu believes, are still in pristine condition on Sancha Mountain. That has not discouraged Hsu from pursuing his primary goal — to give the deceased rescuers a proper burial, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:17 UTC
Thailand and Cambodia agree to second ceasefire
Thailand and Cambodia agree to second ceasefireReuters, BANGKOKThailand and Cambodia yesterday ended weeks of fierce border clashes with a second ceasefire in the worst fighting in years between the Southeast Asian nations. The ceasefire was holding, Thai Ministry of Defense spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri said about two hours after it went into effect at noon. Cambodian Minister of Defense Tea Seiha, left, shakes hands with his Thai couterpart, Nattaphon Narkphanit, at the General Border Committee Meeting in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, yesterday. An earlier ceasefire broke down this month, with each side accusing the other of moves that led to clashes. Thailand would also return 18 Cambodian soldiers in its custody since the July clashes if the ceasefire is fully maintained for 72 hours, according to the agreement.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:13 UTC
MOI renovation plans to benefit 600 old buildings
The project is to have a NT$5 billion budget and target four to six-story apartment buildings aged 30 years or older, as well as terraced townhouses and independent residential buildings that are six stories or fewer, the Ministry of the Interior’s (MOI) proposal said. Each apartment would have a funding ceiling of NT$9.6 million, and interior renovations would be capped at NT$200,000. Elderly residents, defined as those aged 65 or older, and disadvantaged residents would receive a maximum of NT$300,000 in interior renovation funds. The meeting would also discuss amendments to the Expediting Reconstruction of Urban Unsafe and Old Buildings Act (都市危險及老舊建築物加速重建條例), they added. The amendments state that “unsafe and old” buildings eligible for renovation subsidies must have residents in at least half of the building’s residential units.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:13 UTC
England snap 15-year losing streak
England’s Harry Brook, third right, plays a shot on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. England’s Harry Brook hits the winning runs on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. Photo: AFPEngland had not won a Test in Australia since January 2011 in Sydney, losing 16 and drawing two since. England’s Josh Tongue, right, celebrates taking a wicket on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday. An England supporter celebrates after their win on day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:13 UTC
‘Comanche’ and ‘LawConnect’ duel
‘Comanche’ and ‘LawConnect’ duelAP, HOBART, AustraliaSupermaxis Master Lock Comanche and defending champions LawConnect yesterday continued their close duel on the second day of the 80th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. LawConnect was forced to contend with a broken mainsheet and halyard overnight, but fixed both issues and remained in pursuit of Comanche, which is skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo. The fleet departs from Sydney Harbour at the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Friday. LawConnect sails in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race near the start on Friday. LawConnect led the fleet out of Sydney Harbour in search of its third straight line honors win.
Source:Taipei Times
December 27, 2025 17:13 UTC