EDITORIAL: Enhancing supply chain resilienceThe government and Taiwanese semiconductor companies should focus on enhancing local domestic supply chain resilience as geopolitical tensions and war in the Middle East pose a growing risk to chip production. Many semiconductor companies believe that supply chain disruption is a distant headache, with significantly stronger supply chain resilience and countermeasures put in place after the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The supply of helium, used in semiconductor production, could become a choke point after Qatar shut down its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and helium output following strikes on its infrastructure. While the Ministry of Economic Affairs is confident that LNG supplies are adequate, supply chain resilience must cover many bases. However, as peace talks crawl along, semiconductor companies should shift their efforts to improve domestic supply chain resilience and avoid supply constraints of all of their critical materials from becoming a bottleneck for chip production.

Child dies of enterovirus, adult contracts rare casePATTERN: Enterovirus cases usually rise after the Lunar New Year holiday, reaching a peak around the Dragon Boat Festival, before falling in summer, a CDC official saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA child died last week from enterovirus infection, the first death this year from the disease, while a rare case of severe enterovirus infection was reported in a man in his 30s, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The child, who died in southern Taiwan and was younger than 10, did not have underlying health conditions, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Lin Min-cheng speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday. Regarding the man with enterovirus, infections predominantly affect children, making the severe infection of a person in their 30s rare, Lin said. Hospitals reported 3,009 emergency visits for enterovirus infection last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said.

Manila’s jeepney drivers struggle as oil prices soarAFP, MANILAThe sun was not quite up as Eric Helera unlocked the doors of his jeepney, wiped down its two long passenger benches, and checked his brake fluid before another day ferrying Manila commuters. Jeepney driver Eric Helera, left, speaks with fellow drivers at a terminal in Manila on Monday. “I’m on the side of the jeepney drivers,” salesclerk Trixie Brumuela said of potentially pricier rides. “Fuel prices rose, but fares didn’t, so they’re losing money,” the 35-year-old said outside one of Manila’s ubiquitous jeepney terminals, while conceding she was struggling to make ends meet herself. While a government cash handout expected today — the first for embattled jeepney drivers — would be welcome, “5,000 pesos ... won’t carry you that far,” Helera said.

NTU looking to bring in outside talentTALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide PalmBy Rachel Lin and Jake Chung

Colombian military plane crash kills 66AP, BOGOTAA military transport plane with 128 people on board, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after taking off on Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, killing at least 66 people and leaving dozens injured, the head of Colombia’s armed forces said. “Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died,” he said. Members of the Colombian armed forces, rescue workers and volunteers conduct rescue operations at the crash site of a military plane in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, on Monday. Puerto Leguizamo is in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru. “I don’t think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,” Saumeth said.

Illustration: Mountain PeopleIt has become clear that age limits are good politics, but are they effective policy? They might prove to be a useful stopgap, but they also let governments and tech companies dodge the harder fight. However, if the data do not improve within five years, “I would then have to conclude that I was wrong in thinking that reducing social media use would improve mental health,” he added. The target, in his view, is social media, not the broader Web. The push for age limits is a welcome break from the fantasy that tech companies can police themselves, but a birthday is not a safety policy.

Global air quality worsened in 2025POLLUTION: Pakistan and Bangladesh had the highest average PM2.5 concentrations, while French Polynesia and Puerto Rico recorded the lowest, IQAir Group saidBloombergGlobal air quality declined in 2025, with more cities reporting standards below international health guidelines on the impact of severe wildfires and pollution from sectors including fossil fuels and agriculture. Photo: EPAThe “productivity of a whole future generation will be linked” to air quality, IQAir global chief executive officer Frank Hammes said. “We know that air pollution reduces IQ, we know that air pollution reduces the ability of physical labor, and we know that air pollution ultimately will cost the health system as people need medical attention and drop out of the labor force,” he added. While some nations, including China, are imposing stricter air quality standards, policies are being rolled back in the US under the Environmental Protection Agency’s drive to remove rules seen as inflating costs and limiting consumer choice. The Switzerland-based company is a provider of air quality data and supplies purification and monitoring systems.

Taiwan’s AI ambitions hit a wallBy Romain BlachierTaiwan no longer wants to merely manufacture the chips that power artificial intelligence (AI). Now layer AI data centers on top. Ninety-seven percent of Taiwan’s energy is imported. TSMC alone eats up close to 10 percent of all the electricity Taiwan generates — and some projections put that figure at 24 percent by 2030. The underlying logic is hard to argue with: Why should a data center get a free pass that no steel mill or petrochemical plant would ever receive?

Japan to drop ‘most important’ tag for China tiesReuters, TOKYO and BEIJINGJapan is to downgrade its description of ties with China from “one of its most important” in an annual diplomatic report, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters, as relations with Beijing worsen. Printed Chinese and Japanese flags are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. Photo: ReutersThe shift in tone underscores a deterioration in ties that has become entrenched since November, when Takaichi angered Beijing by saying that Japan could deploy its military if a Chinese move against Taiwan also threatened its territory. Beijing responded by reimposing restrictions on Japanese seafood imports, urging its citizens to avoid travel to Japan and announcing curbs on rare earths and critical minerals used in electronic components. Separately, China has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese after what it described as a “forceful break-in” at its embassy in Tokyo, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Managing Taipower’s, CPC’s debt amid chaosBy Liao Huei-chu 廖惠珠Global oil and gas markets are in turmoil. Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), through efforts on multiple fronts, earned about NT$70 billion (US$2.19 billion) last year, slightly offsetting accumulated losses of more than NT$400 billion. Taipower, CPC, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) each hold substantial amounts of debt in Taiwan. The difference between them is that TSMC borrows to finance new, profitable investments, whereas Taipower and CPC borrow mainly to service debt. With severely weakened balance sheets, it is unclear how CPC and Taipower can obtain sufficient financing and compete internationally for supplies.

Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric drawing renewed scrutinyBy Tiffany Stanley / AP, WASHINGTONSince becoming the US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth has found no shortage of ways to bring his strand of conservative evangelicalism into the Pentagon. Now the defense secretary’s Christian rhetoric has taken on new meaning after the US and Israel went to war with Iran, an Islamic theocracy. “Prophetically, we’re right on cue,” Christian Zionist pastor John Hagee, head of Christians United for Israel, said of the Iran war. Hegseth has not said the Iran war is part of Christian prophecy. “The intrusion of Christian nationalist policy, not just Christian nationalist rhetoric ... that is what’s troubling,” said Youssef Chouhoud, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University.

‘Perfect Japan’ posts spark Gen Z social media backlashAFP, TOKYOTake an everyday video on any suburban transport network, add anime-style music and a rosy filter, and it’s suddenly a scene from the Japanese holiday of your dreams. That’s the “Japan effect”: a Gen Z social media trend satirizing the often-romanticized image of the Asian country, which welcomed a record number of visitors last year. Residents of Kyoto and other tourist hotspots have expressed exasperation with selfie-taking crowds, and now an online backlash against Japan fever is growing. For instance, many women have experienced groping, said Sato, a contributor to “Blossom The Project,” an Instagram account focused on Japanese social issues. When asked if posts about Japan could be unrealistic, she said: “To tell the truth, no...

Environmental Impact Assessment: Can Taiwan bring back the clouded leopard? Suki, a clouded leopard given by a German zoo to the Taipei Zoo in 2016. Among Paiwan people, who call the animal likuljaw, clouded leopard skins and teeth were reserved for tribal chiefs and senior nobles. Taiwanese officials (including those at the NTM) have yet to update how they categorize the local clouded leopard. What’s more, he says, we can’t be absolutely certain that what’s labeled as a Formosan clouded leopard in a museum was actually caught in Taiwan.

Lens object to moving PSG showdownAFP, SANT FELIU DE GUIXOLS, SpainFrench Ineos rider Dorian Godon on Monday won the first stage of the Tour of Catalonia as Belgian Remco Evenepoel came second in a photo finish and Tom Pidcock was third. The 105th edition of the seven-day tour is packed with stars, with Jonas Vingegaard favorite to win after his masterclass at Paris-Nice. Jonathan Gradit of RC Lens, bottom, tackles Paris Saint-Germain’s Ibrahim Mbaye, center, in their Ligue 1 match at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Sept. 14 last year. “I did my studies in Girona and live there now, and often said I’d win a stage like this one day,” the newly-signed Ineos rider said. “It would have been better to wait a bit, the last 50m seemed to last an hour,” he said after holding off a counterattack from Evenepoel.

Sabalenka and Sinner advanceTARGET: Sabalenka hopes to be the fifth woman to achieve the Indian Wells-Miami double after Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Iga SwiatekAFP, MIAMIJannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Monday kept their “Sunshine Double” dreams alive with emphatic victories at the Miami Open as defending men’s singles champion Jakub Mensik joined a slew of seeds who crashed out. Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns to China’s Zheng Qinwen in their Miami Open women’s singles match in Florida on Monday. Fourth seed Coco Gauff downed Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, while fifth seed Jessica Pegula beat another Romanian, Jacqueline Cristian, 6-4, 6-1. In the men’s singles, Italian second seed Sinner was always in control against France’s Moutet on the Hard Rock Stadium’s main court. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur and eighth seed Ben Shelton.