Authorities have been searching for the missing F-16V aircraft and its pilot, Air Force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏 毅), following the incident on Tuesday. The incident has renewed public attention on Taiwan’s plan to have Auto-GCAS installed on all of its F-16V aircraft, a project scheduled for completion in 2028. Taiwan’s Air Force will urge US to install automatic ground collision avoidance systems (Auto-GCAS) on its F-16V jets. The Air Force subsequently announced that all F-16s would be fitted with Auto-GCAS. In addition to accelerating installation, he suggested the Air Force could also follow U.S. practice by issuing pilots military-grade watches.

Pingtung shelter urges people not to abandon petsGREAT RESPONSIBILITY: A Pingtung County official urged members of the public to carefully assess their ability to care for animals before deciding to adopt a petBy Lo Hsin-chen and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer“Exotic” pets, including goats, ducks and turtle, are available for adoption, the Pingtung County Animal Shelter has said, encouraging members of the public not to abandon animals or keep animals illegally. A person pets a rabbit at the Pingtung County Animal Shelter on Monday. Photo: Lo Hsin-cheng, Taipei TimesThe county’s Department of Agriculture, which oversees the shelter, has urged the public not to abandon animals, which harms animal welfare and the ecological environment. Animal Protection Division Director Li Chi-ya (李繼雅) said that once livestock or exotic pets are admitted to the shelter, their details are posted on the national animal shelter Web site system and shared through the department’s animal protection Facebook page. Priority is given to Pingtung County residents, and follow-up checks are conducted for six months after adoption, she said.

Budget shows shift in Taiwan-US cooperation: sourceBy Fang Wei-li and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.66 billion) defense budget would signal not only major arms procurements, but also a strategic shift in Taiwan-US defense cooperation toward local munitions production and joint production on artificial intelligence (AI) systems, a source said on Saturday last week. Cooperation would begin with drones and artillery shells, and later expand to precision-guided munitions and AI-assisted decisionmaking systems, the source said. Global defense production has been strained by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, prompting the US to promote “friend shoring” to share manufacturing burdens. This would mark a shift in Taiwan-US relations from a buyer-seller model to a joint production partnership, they said. The goal is to locally produce precision-guided munitions by introducing US technologies, tools and production systems, they said.

Air quality to deteriorate nationwide from tomorrowA strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants wereBy Kayleigh Madjar

Timeline of key events of Taiwan Air Force F-16 fleetStaff Writer, with CNAThe disappearance from radar of an F-16V fighter jet during a nighttime training mission off eastern Taiwan on Tuesday has renewed attention on Taiwan’s F-16 fleet. 14 April 1997:Taiwan’s first two F-16 fighter jets flew from the United States to Taiwan and were assigned to Chiayi Air Base. 15 May 2013:An F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea near Chiayi Air Base during a training mission, with pilot Wu Yen-ting (吳彥霆) ejecting to safety. 7 Nov. 2020:An F-16 fighter jet disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Hualien Air Base, with pilot Chiang Cheng-chih (蔣正志) declared missing, later formally declared dead. 19 Dec. 2023:Taiwanese company Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) upgraded 139 F-16 fighter jets to the F-16V configuration.

Taiwan property market to stay lukewarm in early 2026: Cushman & WakefieldStaff writer, with CNATaiwan’s property market is expected to remain steady but subdued early this year, with transaction volumes staying flat and commercial real estate demand supported mainly by the technology sector, Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan said on Tuesday. The outlook for local property market remains cautious as capital conditions and the policy environment show little improvement, Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan managing director Billy Yen (顏炳立) said at a news conference in Taipei. Shrinking land supply, a cooling presale market, and tight mortgage restrictions also continue to weigh on demand, Yen said. Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan managing director Billy Yen speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday. Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan said that AI and semiconductor firms are expected to continue supporting commercial property demand in the first half of this year.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.31 percent from a year earlier last month, marking the eighth consecutive month that inflation stayed below the central bank’s 2 percent target. The latest CPI data reflected a sharp decline in vegetable prices, even as costs for miscellaneous goods and housing continued to climb, DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) said. Core CPI, which excludes volatile items and is closely watched as a gauge of underlying inflation, rose 1.83 percent, driven mainly by higher service charges, he said. The producer price index (PPI), which measures price movements at the wholesale level, fell 2.57 percent year-on-year last month, little changed from a 2.61 percent decline the previous month. Full-year CPI grew 1.66 percent last year — the lowest in five years and the first time in four years that the annual inflation gauge came in below 2 percent, Tsao said.

Nan Shan Life’s exposure to Venezuela stood at NT$13.55 billion, Peng said. Total bank exposure to Colombia was NT$816 million, with the largest single exposure at NT$392 million. In contrast, Taiwan’s insurance sector had no exposure to Venezuela, while its total exposure to Colombia was NT$138.51 billion, with one insurer alone accounting for NT$62.91 billion. Kuo asked the FSC head whether the insurer with NT$62.91 billion in exposure was Nan Shan Life, which Peng confirmed. Under the Financial Holding Company Act (金融控股公司法), firms are required to disclose their exposure amounts, the legislator said.

Yet civil and social organizations like religion are a massive part of the social landscape. In each of those cases a Taiwan-wide farmers’ association became involved, in addition to local organizations. Similarly, in East Turkestan — Xinjiang as the PRC calls it — thousands of mosques have been destroyed and religious organizations tightly controlled. It’s not just armed revolt that the PRC fears in occupying Taiwan, but this long history of resistance through organization. It’s time for us to talk more about what kind of future Taiwan can envision under PRC rule.

Samsung warns of memory-related price hikesBloombergSamsung Electronics Co expects memorychip supply shortages to raise prices across the electronics industry, including potentially among its own consumer products. Counterpoint Research in November last year forecast a 50 percent price rise for memory modules through the second quarter of this year. Samsung is better positioned than competitors who are unable to manufacture memory for their own products, and Lee sees the company outpacing the broader market. Samsung shares yesterday rose as much as 4 percent. Research analysts are scrambling to raise price targets on TSMC shares, underscoring continued bullishness on the chipmaking giant after its record surge.

Photo: AFPMORE FUNDING, RESOURCES, SUPPORTAcademics cited access to rapidly developing industries in China’s massive market as a draw. Four of the top five leading research institutions in natural and health sciences last year were Chinese, according to an index by the journal Nature. That is a change from the past, when US and European institutions held sway. But in the last five years, “the funding, resources and support” available — far more than overseas — changed the calculus. But he grew uncomfortable with Beijing’s political climate after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, due to China’s close relationship with Moscow.

In 2003, he was paralysed from the waist down after being shot multiple times by terrorists while filming in Saudi Arabia. Invasion , by Frank Gardner. This, alone, makes the passages of this novel that deal with China’s deployment of weapons and miliary equipment ahead of an invasion of Taiwan scarily plausible. The prevention of the invasion and, with it, World War III may hinge on her rescue. This might be hard to avoid in a book that targets a general readership but could surely have been done more subtly.

PentaPro to invest NT$3bn in new factory in TaiwanBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterPentaPro Materials Inc (宇川精材), which produces metal organic precursors used in advanced chip production, yesterday said it plans to invest NT$3 billion (US$95.17 million) in a new factory in Taiwan to meet rising demand. The company’s semiconductor precursors are high-purity chemical liquids used in chip manufacturing. “Utilization of the existing factory is running in high gear now,” PentaPro co-CEO C.Y. To cope with growing demand, PentaPro said it is revamping an older production line to produce advanced semiconductor precursors later this year. Semiconductor precursors accounted for more than 70 percent of the company’s revenue last year, PentaPro said.

Taipei Book Fair Foundation chairman Rex How, left, poses for a photograph with representatives from different foreign embassies at a news conference for the Taipei International Book Exhibition in Taipei yesterday. Taipei Book Fair Foundation chairman Rex How (郝明義) said the Thai pavilion would be a good opportunity for Taiwanese to learn more about Thailand, as there are many similarities and exchanges, but also distinctive cultures. He thanked all countries participating in the book fair for their support, as well as the ministry for raising the value of culture coins for teenagers aged 13 to 15 from NT$600 to NT$1,200 this year and for distributing them before the event so that teenagers could spend them on books at the fair. Thai Trade Office Director Kallaya Leewongcharoen said the Thai Pavillion proudly presents “CreaTHAIvity,” a fusion of creativity and “Thainess,” which captures the essence of Thai imagination, rich cultural heritage and the country’s diverse storytelling traditions from every region. The Thai Pavillion would host more than 30 activities and performances, featuring Thai authors and artists, forums, language and cultural shows, and even Thai cuisine, she said.

Toxic Nestle formula not sold in Taiwan: companyStaff writer, with CNANestle Taiwan yesterday said that affected batches of baby formula have not been sold in Taiwan, even as at least 30 countries have issued recalls over concerns that the products contain the toxin cereulide. In a statement, the company said that its products sold in Taiwan are all safe for consumption. The company said that it has implemented necessary control measures to protect consumers’ trust in its products and safety. A screen grab of an announcement issued by Nestle Taiwan is pictured yesterday. Screen grab from the Web site of Nestle TaiwanThe international food company also welcomed people to contact its customer service centers for any questions.