Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.”“Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a speech during a ceremony at the Ryongsong Machine Complex in North Korea on Monday. Put simply, it was like hitching a cart to a goat — an accidental mistake in our cadre appointment process,” Kim said. Impoverished North Korea has long prioritized its military and banned nuclear weapons programs over providing for its people. The North Korean leader is “using public accountability as a shock tactic to warn party officials,” he added.

Local consumer confidence rises modestly: reportREAL-ESTATE WOES: While the willingness to spend improved, housing sentiment remained weak, with the home-buying index falling to minus-42.2By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwanese consumer confidence improved modestly this month, supported by a stable economic outlook and rising optimism toward local equities, although concerns over inflation and a sluggish housing market continued to weigh on sentiment, a survey released yesterday by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed. The figures suggest that consumer pessimism has eased, although confidence has yet to turn decisively positive. The improvement reflected greater confidence in income stability and employment conditions, Cathay Financial said. However, housing sentiment remained weak. The stock market confidence index rose to 37, while the risk appetite index climbed to 23.9, both near record highs, the survey showed.

DPP caucus seeks interpretation of pension cut revisionBy Chen Cheng-yu, Lin Hsin-han and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with taff writerThe Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it is seeking a constitutional interpretation and an injunction against amendments to the pension bill passed by the opposition-dominated legislature last month. Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming, center, holds a placard along with other caucus officials at a press conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei TimesThe amendments would result in an earlier-than-anticipated bankruptcy of the Public Service Pension Fund, and challenge the principles of separation of powers and the rule of law, the DPP said. The caucus’ move came after that of the Executive Yuan and the Examination Yuan. The Cabinet last month filed a petition for constitutional interpretation and a temporary injunction regarding the amendments, arguing that there were significant procedural flaws, contravening the constitutional requirement for proper legislative processes.

Immigration as a force for goodBy Eason Chen 陳裕翔The situation in Japan unfolding over immigration in the past few years, and its social implications, are well worth Taiwan’s attention. The objectives of Taiwan’s immigration and long-term resident policy system remain hazy at best. They are important choices to be made in the process of ensuring that the immigration system is able to foster social integration and not exacerbate division. Japan’s tightening of its immigration policy is a forced and direct response to mounting social pressures. Rather than becoming a policy quandary kicked down the road, immigration can, in this way, function as a genuinely positive force for society.

Taiwan-US deal seen boosting growthBloombergBarclays PLC raised its forecast for Taiwan’s growth after the nation reached a trade deal with the US, although the bank joined other forecasters in seeing some downward pressure on the New Taiwan dollar over the medium-term. Barclays raised its estimate for Taiwan’s GDP growth to 3.9 percent from 1.9 percent, the UK-based bank said in a report on Monday. Last week, Taiwan’s trade negotiators announced a deal with the US that would lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent from 20 percent. The most important outcome in the trade deal is the reduced uncertainties around semiconductor tariffs, according to Barclays. While overseas investment by Taiwanese slowed last year, it is likely to increase this year.

It is worthy of attention because naming the self-inflicted costs could act as a much-needed deterrent. So, they start using interactive porn like webcam sites and live-streamed content and, without really noticing it, their use increases insidiously. However, over time, this more interactive porn becomes a central feature of their lives. Every real relationship skill gets built through productive conflict — disappointment, compromise and communication — not through effortless, frictionless fantasy. As AI rapidly changes and more impressionable young people get access to it, getting that fuller warning out might stop someone before they ever rationalize trying something this harmful.

Australia closes beaches in wake of shark attacksAFP, SYDNEYSwimmers and surfers yesterday were warned to steer clear of beaches in parts of eastern Australia after four shark attacks in the space of 48 hours. Heavy rains stirring up murky waters have been blamed for the unusual spate of attacks in the state of New South Wales. Surf Life Saving New South Wales said the turbid waters were ideal for bull sharks, urging people to stick to the pool until conditions cleared. In one of those attacks, a shark bit a man’s legs as he surfed at Manly, leaving him in a critical condition. Scientists said that heavy rain had attracted bull sharks to coastal areas where rivers emptied into the sea.

Export orders grow 43.8%By Meryl Kao / Staff reporterExport orders last month expanded 43.8 percent year-on-year to US$76.2 billion, the 11th straight month of double-digit percentage growth and the highest for a single month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Export orders last quarter rose 35.9 percent year-on-year to US$218.63 billion and surged 26 percent to US$743.73 billion for the year, a record high and exceeding the ministry’s forecast of US$738.7 billion to US$740.7 billion. Electronic components and information and communications technology (ICT) products accounted for more than 90 percent of last year’s export order growth, he said. The ministry projected export orders this month to reach US$70 billion to US$72 billion, or an annual increase of 45.7 percent to 49.9 percent, he said. Export orders soared 39.9 percent year-on-year for electronic components last month, surged 88.1 percent for ICT products, rose 17.2 percent for machinery products and increased 13.1 percent for optoelectronic products, ministry data showed.

Goal missed despite decline in traffic fatalitiesHALF BY 2030: The number of deaths in incidents involving pedestrians decreased in the first 10 months of last year to the lowest level since 2008, data showedBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTaiwan failed to meet its target of reducing overall traffic fatalities last year, despite recording a historic low in pedestrian deaths, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The ministry wants to halve deaths from traffic incidents from 2023 levels by 2030, requiring a 7 percent decrease annually. “A1” traffic fatalities — defined as deaths occurring within 24 hours of an incident — stood at 1,484 for the first 10 months of last year, while pedestrian deaths totaled 185. Compared with the same period in 2023, both figures were down, by 9.8 percent and 9.3 percent respectively, he said. By region, Tainan recorded the largest increase in overall traffic fatalities, up 25 from the same period in 2024.

No invitation to Asfura’s inauguration: ministryALLEGIANCE: Taiwan and Honduras do not have diplomatic relations, although the president-elect said he intended to restore official ties, a MOFA official saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaiwan has not been invited to attend Honduran president-elect Nasry Asfura’s inauguration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, in response to questions about whether Taiwan would send officials to attend. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2023, ending an 82-year relationship, and later established ties with China. However, during Honduras’ presidential election last year, two candidates — including Asfura — announced their intention to restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan if they were elected. Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Deputy Director-General Lu Chao-jui speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. In other news, Lu said Paraguayan Minister of Health Maria Teresa Baran is to visit Taiwan from Monday next week.

Trump unloads on allies as Davos showdown loomsAFP, ZURICH, SwitzerlandUS President Donald Trump has made an astonishing series of attacks apparently designed to humiliate allies France, the UK and Canada as the row over Greenland threatens to engulf the Davos forum. In a flurry of social media posts and comments to reporters a day before he leaves for the elite gathering today, Trump leaked apparently private text messages from French President Emmanuel Macron. French President Emmanuel Macron, left, meets US President Donald Trump at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 23 last year. Trump first expressed his disdain for Macron’s refusal to join his so-called “Board of Peace” for resolving conflicts worldwide. Trump in May last year had endorsed the deal after it was signed.

MOFA warns of buying, selling Taiwan passports after convictionsStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese not to sell or buy their country’s passports, warning that such moves were illegal and could lead to sentences of up to seven years in prison. According to local media reports, the four were charged with selling Taiwanese passports to a Chinese human trafficking ring. Prosecutors said the Chinese human trafficking ring had over the years asked the accused to buy local passports before selling them to buyers overseas, local reports said. Since then, it has closely monitored passports believed to have been sold overseas, MOFA said. Buying or selling passports to others violates Article 29 of the Passport Act (護照條例), which stipulates that violators will face a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine of up to NT $700,000.

MOU on education signed in JapanBy Rachel Lin and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Ministry of Education’s Primary and Secondary School International Educational Exchange Alliance on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture to deepen bilateral education exchanges in sustainability issues and semiconductors. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of EducationThe MOU was signed by National Tainan Chia-Chi Senior High School principal Chen Yun-ju (陳韻如) and board superintendent Hiroki Ooi. Japan is the country with most sister schools in Taiwan, at least 290, showing that both sides have established solid ties as education partners, the ministry said. K-12 Education Administration Director-General Sun Min-yi (孫旻儀) said the prefecture is the fourth Japanese local government — following Chiba, Miyagi and Shizuoka prefectures — to sign an education MOU with the alliance. The MOU is aimed at facilitating exchanges and research on semiconductors and sustainable development goals-related environmental issues, especially for senior-high students, she said.

Shortcomings of safety handbookBy Caroline Ying-hsuan Chen 陳穎萱As tensions across the Taiwan Strait continue to escalate, public attention to “whole-of-society defense resilience” has reached unprecedented levels in Taiwan. In response, the government in November released the guidebook In Case of Crisis: Taiwan’s National Public Safety Guide (the “Orange Book”) and distributed it to every household. After reading the handbook, do Taiwanese truly believe they can secure their safety and effectively respond to emergencies? The experimental group was presented with a summary of the handbook, while the control group read an unrelated article about public art installations. Caroline Ying-hsuan Chen is a policy analyst at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.

Australia passes stricter gun and hate crime lawsAFP, SYDNEYAustralian politicians yesterday voted in favor of tougher hate crime and gun laws, weeks after gunmen targeting Jewish people on Bondi Beach killed 15 people. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives backed the legislation in response to the Dec. 14 shooting at the famous Sydney beach. “We’re taking action on both — tackling anti-Semitism, tackling hate, and getting dangerous guns off our streets.”Legislative reforms on guns and hate speech were voted on separately. The hate speech legislation would toughen laws and penalties for people seeking to spread hate and radicalization, or to promote violence. On firearms, Australia would set up a national gun buyback scheme, tighten rules on imports of firearms and expand background checks for gun permits to allow input from the intelligence services.