Taipei Times Front Page Taiwan News Business Editorial & Opinion Sports World News Features Bilingual Pages Search Search All Front Page Taiwan News Business Editorial & Opinion Sports World News Features Bilingual Pages GO Mon, Aug 17, 2026 China wants to block drone bill: source ‘UNITED FRONT’ TACTICS: Beijing is pressuring Taiwanese politicians to block the Executive Yuan’s proposed special act to fund military uncrewed vehicles, a source said The Legislative Yuan is slated to hold cross-caucus negotiations on 14 versions of a draft uncrewed vehicle act on Thursday, amid rumors that Beijing is pressuring some Taiwanese politicians to block passage of a special bill proposed by the Ministry of National Defense to procure military drones an Taiwan protests S Korean biennale over name change ‘POLITICAL CENSORSHIP’: International audiences would see how Taiwanese artists respond to information warfare and geopolitics through their works, an artist said Taiwan yesterday reiterated its protest over the removal of “Taiwan” from the Gwangju Biennale pavilion name as participating Taiwanese artists condemned the move as political censorship. The 16th Gwangju Biennale is scheduled to take place in South Korea from Sept. 5 to Nov. 15. For the first time, Average annual personal income rises to record level Taiwan’s average annual personal income last year rose to a record NT$763,000 (US$23,810), with earnings increasing across all age groups on the back of strong economic growth, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said over the weekend. People younger than 30 earned a Thousands await aid after deadly Indonesian quake Help could not come soon enough on yesterday for thousands of evacuees on Indonesia’s Flores island after a powerful earthquake killed at least 53 people, injured dozens and damaged hundreds of houses and buildings. About 5,000 people fled their homes as the magnitude 7.7 quake hit the island early Russian strikes kill one in Ukraine, wound seven Russian strikes killed one person and wounded at least seven others in Ukraine, authorities said yesterday, while Moscow officials reported downing more than 100 drones heading toward the capital. Russia has increasingly been using long-range missiles in its war against Ukraine, while Kyiv has respo Cabinet to restore NT$1.25tn proposal FULL AMOUNT? With NT$780bn approved by the legislature and NT$210bn slated to fund drones, NT$260bn remains for items such as the president’s ‘T-Dome’ plan The Executive Yuan is to restore its proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.01 billion) special defense budget, which was cut by the opposition, through next year’s central government budget and this year’s supplementary budget, a source said yesterday.The legislature on Friday approved the government’s a Missile production passes key test: source MANUFACTURING RACE: An official said that the NCSIST, which had optimized its assembly lines, overcame challenges posed by the number of orders it received Taiwan has produced 2,577 missiles over the past five years, passing a key test of the nation’s capability to surge military production, a high-ranking defense official said yesterday.The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) achieved the figure by manufacturing missiles at Most Popular 1 McDonald’s halts shrimp burger sales over banned antibiotic 2 Chinese detained after boat discovered 3 China wants to block drone bill: source 4 Worker groups file criminal complaints against Uber Eats 5 Taiwan slows mobile Internet for drills Taiwan News Culture ministry cuts threaten Taiwan’s voice PRECEDENTED TARGET: 'To destroy a nation, first erase its history; to destroy a people, first destroy its culture,’ the culture minister quoted as opposition budget cuts hit Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) on Saturday lamented the erosion of Taiwan’s cultural sector, saying opposition parties had used cuts to the ministry’s funding “to destroy a people, first destroy its culture.”The Ministry of Culture’s proposed publicity budget of NT$47.38 million (US$1.48 million) DPP scorns premier’s frozen salary Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said the opposition parties’ move to freeze Premier Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) salary was illegal and unconstitutional.The opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan on Friday last week passed the central government’s annual budget a Businessman talks of TAO’s indifference BAD-FAITH DEALS: After being allegedly cheated out of a significant investment, he has spent a quarter century fruitlessly seeking redress from China and the TAO Former Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA) chairman Richard Wu (吳思鍾) yesterday called for suspension of cross-strait exchanges, accusing China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Song Tao (宋濤) of mistreating Taiwanese businesses.Wu, chairman of the Kingtel Communic AI could intensify Chinese election interference: DPP Beijing has established a comprehensive election interference industry supply chain for Taiwan, using artificial intelligence (AI) to target specific groups, impersonate people with highly realistic and tailored language and social media ecosystems with deepfake videos before elections, the Democrat National Human Rights Commission criticizes caning proposal Judicial caning, one of three referendum proposals approved by the Legislature, violates international human rights standards enshrined in Taiwan’s legal system, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said yesterday.In a statement, the NHRC said that while it understood public concern over ITRI develops tech therapy for anxiety ALTERNATIVE: The device stimulates the vagus nerve through the ear, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, helping to regulate areas of the brain, ITRI said The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has developed Taiwan’s first digital therapeutic technology for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which combines noninvasive micro-electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve through the ear with physiological data analysis. The Taiwan-based applie Time zone switch debate resurfaces online UNNECESSARY?: While some said that the switch would mean more sunlight exposure for workers, others said the government should promote flexible working hours instead An online debate has resurfaced on whether Taiwan should switch to the same time zone as Japan, with supporters citing its geographic location and saying that China would have no right to object.The debate erupted on Threads when users suggested that Taiwan should stop using the same time zone as Ch MOE to expand first aid training to school faculty The Ministry of Education is to expand the emergency medical technician (EMT) training from nurses to faculty and staff at schools to boost on-campus emergency medical services capacity, ministry official said last week.The emergency rescue golden hour for a student who has passed out or been injure Ceremony held for Paiwan cultural alliance Academia Sinica’s Institute of Ethnology and the Kaviyangan community in Pingtung County’s Taiwu Township (泰武) yesterday formalized a cultural alliance through a traditional Paiwan masanvetjek ceremony, pledging to regard one another as siblings (vetjek).The Tjerelai family of the Kaviyangan communi Business US to tell partners they must pick sides RIVAL BLOCS: Kazakhstan has signed on to the US’ and China’s AI frameworks; a US official said it was difficult to see how a country can be trusted while in a competing pact The US is preparing to tell dozens of countries they must pick sides in the artificial intelligence (AI) race with China, warning they would be excluded from a US-led AI coalition if they also sign up for Beijing’s competing framework, according to a US official and an internal draft reviewed by Reu Trump’s drone tariff deepens decoupling REDUCING DEPENDENCE: Levies on economies that struck trade deals with Trump, such as Taiwan, would be 15%, if all hardware and technology originates from those places US President Donald Trump’s administration is imposing tariffs of as much as 100 percent on imported drones and their components, escalating efforts to reduce US reliance on foreign suppliers and potentially accelerating a decoupling of drone supply chains with China. The top rate would apply to hea Heat, water scarcity driving stranded-asset risks: report Extreme heat and unreliable water supplies are threatening asset valuations across a growing number of sectors as everything from labor productivity to energy costs gets impacted, an analysis by Moody’s released on Friday showed. “Heat and water are no longer separate perils moving on separate timel Editorial & Opinion EDITORIAL: Budget’s passage very unimpressive The Legislative Yuan on Friday finally passed the long-delayed third reading of this year’s central government general budget, setting a new record for the tardiest passage of a general budget — delayed 266 days past the legal deadline, almost running headlong into the next year’s proposed general b Michael Mazza on Taiwan: The US Coast Guard to the rescue For the last 15 years, China has relied on gray zone operations to advance its territorial ambitions across Asia. And for 15 years, the US has struggled to respond. But the open door on which China has been pushing may finally be closing.Gray zone operations involve the assertive use of a variety of KMT no stranger to corruption Each time a major scandal arises, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) can be counted on to take the first opportunity to twist the narrative and label anyone involved “Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cronies.”The controversy around the Central Union Oil Corp’s (CUOC, 中聯油脂) tainted cooking oil sca Sports Lee matches Chang with 54th MLB hit ‘IT’S JUST UNREAL’: The Cardinals’ Joshua Baez hit home runs in each of his first three MLB at-bats in their victory over the Cubs, becoming the first player to do so The Detroit Tigers’ Taiwanese infielder Lee Hao-yu on Saturday recorded his 54th hit of the season in his first at-bat against the Chicago White Sox, matching Yu Chang for the most hits in a single season by a Taiwanese MLB player. Lee singled on a soft ground ball off Chicago starter Anthony Kay in Bangladesh win hailed as biggest Test triumph Former players and fans yesterday hailed Bangladesh’s first Test win in Australia as the country’s biggest achievement in the five-day game, saying it could be a turning point for their cricketing ambitions. Bangladesh sealed a historic nine-wicket thrashing inside four days in Darwin, marking their Corgis race, bark and sniff their way to glory It is not all about short-legged speed when 150 corgis gather for an international race celebrating the little dogs. There is a costume parade, the “smartest nose” and — of course — the loudest bark. The fifth Corgi Race Vilnius drew dogs and their owners to the Lithuanian capital’s Vingis park on S Pallister stuns Ledecky in Pan Pacs 800m Australian Lani Pallister on Saturday dealt US great Katie Ledecky her first 800m freestyle defeat in a major international meet, beating her one-time idol at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California. Pallister led wire-to-wire on the way to victory in 8 minuts, 06.10 seconds and World News Morocco arrests at least 111 migrants MASS BORDER CROSSING: Moroccan authorities prevented several groups from boarding trains and buses to northern cities such as Casablanca, Fez and Kenitra Moroccan police on Saturday arrested at least 111 people as they tried to enter Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides of the border after social media posts called for another mass migrant crossing. The attempted crossing came two …