EDITORIAL: Sex education needs to evolveThe Taiwan Association for Sexuality Education, the Chinese Association for the Development of Affective Education and the Action Alliance on Basic Education on Monday advocated for the implementation of more comprehensive sex education programs, saying that more emphasis must be placed on interpersonal relationships and emotional awareness. Instruction still leans heavily toward anatomy, reproduction and contraception — important subjects, but insufficient to prevent young people falling victim to sexual exploitation. Reports of child sexual abuse material linked to Taiwanese IP addresses more than doubled from 33,621 in 2019 to 72,902 in 2022. In 2024, roughly 70 percent of youth sexual exploitation cases involved online platforms. Amendments to the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例) in 2024, which raised penalties for paying to view sexual content involving minors, marked progress.

How Japan’s first female PM won over disillusioned young votersA clearer message on fiscal spending and national security and sharp social media skills have propelled Takaichi’s riseBy Erica Yokoyama and Akemi Terukina / BloombergThree months into her tenure as Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi is connecting with younger voters in a way her predecessors failed. She plays KPop Demon Hunters’ Golden on the drums with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and takes selfies with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “I’m fully behind her.”Takaichi’s smarter use of social media may be contributing to her popularity. Her pledge to “work, work, work, work and work” during her post-victory speech and a recent 3am meeting she called to study up on policies have been criticized, but have also projected an image of meritocracy over schmoozing with the old guard. “Some young voters see Takaichi as Abe’s successor and back her for that reason,” Hata said.

Japan to restart largest nuclear plant in worldAFP, TOKYOJapan would switch the world’s largest nuclear power plant back on next week, after a glitch with an alarm forced the suspension of its first restart since the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster. Takeyuki Inagaki, the head of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), yesterday said that they planned to start up the reactor on Monday. Takeyuki Inagaki, the head of Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, speaks during a news conference in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, yesterday. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world’s biggest nuclear power plant by potential capacity, although just one reactor of seven would restart. The facility had been offline since Japan pulled the plug on nuclear power after a colossal earthquake and tsunami sent three reactors at the Fukushima atomic plant into meltdown in 2011.

Li Zhenxiu case a loyalty breachBy Mark Chen 陳唐山Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀), who was born in China and moved to Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese citizen, is one of the party’s new legislators-at-large. I explained my legal obligation to assume public office in Taiwan. This highlights the paradox for people with such status holding public office in Taiwan. Moreover, the Constitutional Court has repeatedly clarified the duty of loyalty required of civil servants. This was deemed to serve the legitimate purpose of maintaining loyalty between the state and its civil servants.

PwC platform to aid Taiwanese firms’ US expansionCHALLENGES: The platform brings together accounting and legal experts in the two nations to deliver coordinated advisory services on investment and risk managementBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterPwC Taiwan has launched a Taiwan-US service platform to help Taiwanese companies expand into the US, underscoring a shift in corporate investment priorities, as nearly 40 percent of local firms now rank the US as their top overseas destination. “North America has moved from being an optional growth market to a core pillar of global strategy for many Taiwanese companies,” Hsu said. Photo: ReutersThe move reflects growing efforts by Taiwanese firms to diversify production bases, secure access to the US market and align operations with policy incentives tied to strategic industries such as semiconductors, electric vehicles and clean energy. The new platform offers advisory services covering taxation and regulation, mergers and acquisitions, site selection, customs and trade compliance, talent management, Mexico supply chain planning and cross-border capital markets support, PwC said. As Taiwanese firms continue to deepened their footprint across North America, demand for integrated, cross-border advisory support is expected to rise, reflecting a broader shift toward compliance-driven, regionally diversified investment strategies, PwC said.

MediaTek plans to double data center spendingBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterMediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it plans to double investment in data center-related technologies, including advanced packaging and high-speed interconnect technologies, to broaden the new business’ customer and service portfolios. The data center ASIC business would contribute 20 percent to the company’s revenue next year, MediaTek told investors on Wednesday. High-speed SerDes interface technologies are essential for AI, 5G and data center infrastructure to ensure signal integrity. “We will be the first-wave customer of 2-nanometer and A14 advanced process technologies, which will not be limited to data center [chip production],” Chen said. Intel’s EMIB technology is considered a potential alternative to TSMC’s chip-on-wafer-on-substrate technology amid severe supply constraints of the advanced packaging technology.

Joint Taiwan-US attack drone successfully testedBy Yimou Lee / Reuters, TAIPEITaiwan’s military and US-based Kratos Defense have successfully tested a new jet-powered attack drone, a move aimed at rapidly boosting the nation’s ability to field “large numbers” of low-cost drones amid a rising Chinese threat. In a recent test campaign at Kratos’ facility in Oklahoma City, engineers from both sides validated the integration of a Taiwanese mission payload on the Mighty Hornet IV attack drone, Kratos said in a statement on Thursday. Kratos called the test a “milestone” that could pave the way for deeper cooperation between the company and the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology. A Mighty Hornet IV, high-speed attack drone, right, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US technology company Kratos, is displayed during the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition in Taipei on Sept. 17 last year. Taipei has been working to secure cheaper, more numerous uncrewed systems that are key to complicating any potential Chinese attack.

CSBC ‘localizing’ sub supply chainBy Fang Wei-li and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan is implementing a strategy to ensure the domestic production of key components for Hai Kun-class submarines, CSBC Corp, Taiwan said yesterday, after revealing that the prototype has partially completed its dive testing. Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei TimesTorpedo tubes have proved to be a bottleneck in forging secure supply chains for the indigenous submarine program’s follow-up vessels, Tsai said. CSBC’s strategy for “localizing” submarine supply chains would therefore consider domestic and foreign manufacturers willing to establish a Taiwanese subsidiary or provide the necessary technology as a solution, he said. However, it does not rule out the possibility of taking part in the broadly defined defense sector supply chain collaborations with the US, he said. The US’ strategic priority of crafting trustworthy supply chains offers opportunities for the CSBC, as the company can contribute to the research and development of warships, government vessels and drones, Chen said.

Customer rights are protected under the Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of the Standard Form Contract for Retail Online Trading (零售業販售福袋定型化契約), it said. Fu Dai must clearly specify their contents, what brand they are from, price and amount sold, it said. A model gestures toward prizes on offer in lucky bags sold by FamilyMart at an event in Taipei on Dec. 23 last year. The products cannot be expired, show evidence of flaws or defects, or have no actual function, the division said. If the contents of the Fu Dai do not match the signage, consumers are entitled to return or request an exchange for a product of equal value, and sellers cannot refuse by claiming that Fu Dai cannot be refunded or exchanged, it added.

Care subsidy increasingSAFETY AND EFFICIENCY: The subsidy, taking effect in July, would promote leasing over buying smart assistive medical devices for late-life home careBy Lo Pi and Esme Yeh / Staff reportersThe long-term care subsidy amount is to be boosted to NT$60,000 over a three-year interval from July for each applicant who chooses to lease smart assistive devices instead of buying them, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday. Long-Term Care Department senior technical specialist Pai Shan-chi (白姍綺) said people who need assistive devices or accessible residential designs must first call the 1966 long-term care service hotline to apply for the subsidy. Those assessed as Level 2 to Level 8 in need of long-term care would be eligible, she said. The subsidy was NT$40,000 over three years for applicants who purchased traditional mechanical assistive devices of 47 types. While that subsidy remains, people would be offered an alternative beginning in July, in which the subsidy amount would increase to NT$60,000 if they lease smart devices, Pai said.

Groups push for review of Yilan HSR extensionRAILWAY RECKONING: Opponents to the planned HSR extension to Yilan County filed an appeal against the impact assessment, urging reconsideration of the planBy Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with CNAOpponents of a plan to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Yilan County yesterday filed an administrative appeal against its environmental impact assessment (EIA) conclusion, while more than 200 supporters protested outside the Ministry of Environment. Opponents of a plan to extend the high-speed rail from Taipei to Yilan County demonstrate in front of the Ministry of Environment in Taipei yesterday. Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) employees’ labor rights and the company’s revenue could be affected by the HSR extension, which would marginalize railway development and undermine railway operations nationwide, Chao said. The HSR extension would make more young people willing to stay and help attract more people to work in the county, he said. TRC president Feng Hui-sheng (馮輝昇) said the HSR extension would compete with the TRC not only for passengers traveling between Taipei and Yilan, but for those traveling from Taichung, Chiayi County or Tainan to Yilan County.

Amendments to the Act for Rebuilding Old Quarters for Military Dependents (國軍老舊眷村改建條例) were passed on Jan. 17 by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party. Premier Cho Jung-tai, center, attends company booths at an event in Taipei yesterday. It would also create a large financial burden on the special government fund designated for all military dependents’ villages across Taiwan, Cho said. This is the second time Cho has refused to countersign a law passed by the legislature, following his refusal to sign opposition-backed amendments to the local revenue-sharing law in December last year. Lo also said that relocating the 50 households to the Wanlung complex would allow the government to revitalize the original site, thereby generating significant revenue for the national treasury.

Constitutional Court finds NHI fines disproportionateBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAThe Constitutional Court yesterday struck down some penalties for failing to pay National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums, after finding the formula disproportionately harsh to the offense. The absentees were the same justices who dissented from a previous ruling against a Legislative Yuan bill to change the quorum of judges, which with its current number would deem the Constitutional Court unable to function. A sign for the Constitutional Court in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Chen lost at every level of the administrative courts before appealing to the Constitutional Court. The absentee justices told a news conference that they do not believe the Constitutional Court could be lawfully convened, as the amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) — which the court struck down — require nine judges to make a quorum.

CCP seeks to fool US on trends: expertBy Chen Cheng-yu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThis week’s think tank forum between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was a political ploy targeting the US to foster the illusion of changing public opinion in Taiwan and that the “Taiwan issue” is up for negotiation, cross-strait experts said yesterday. China’s ultimate goal is to “unify” with Taiwan, regardless of how it is accomplished, while the KMT is focused on returning to power, center director Lin Tzu-li (林子立) said. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen speaks at a think tank forum between the KMT and Chinese Communist Party in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of the KMTHowever, seeking to trade the nation’s sovereignty for a return to power is a trade-off with consequences that Taiwanese society cannot stand, Lin said. The main item was the collaboration on emerging industries, which might lead to another massive Taiwanese investment spree in China, Shen said.

Taipei finalizes NT$12.2 billion royalty deal with NvidiaStaff writer, with CNAThe Taipei City Government confirmed yesterday that it has negotiated a royalties of NT $12.2 billion (US$380 million) with AI chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday. Deputy Taipei Mayor Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) said the city government finalized the royalty price with Nvidia at NT$12.2 billion around noon yesterday. Lee said Nvidia is completing internal procedures, and the contract signing is expected as early as Feb. 11 and no later than Feb. 13. He added that the city will sign the contract with Nvidia Taiwan in principle, with the exact signing format adjusted to meet the company’s needs.