Notes from Central Taiwan: Dereliction of duty: 2025 in reviewTackling chronic gangsterism, boosting the birthrate, raising taxes on the wealthy — a look at the policies that should have been implemented, but weren’tBy Michael Turton / Contributing ReporterIt’s a good thing that 2025 is over. Photo: Lo Pei-derDEMOGRAPHIC SUICIDEInstead, Taiwan is now committed to demographic suicide in order to preserve its current political economy. Taiwan still has no real policy to promote foreign adventure tourism to take advantage of its magnificent mountains and seascapes. No trade-off of Europe for more investment and visibility in Asia and especially in defense of Taiwan. Notes from Central Taiwan is a column written by long-term resident Michael Turton, who provides incisive commentary informed by three decades of living in and writing about his adoptive country.

The drill was China’s seventh major military drill targeting Taiwan since August 2022. However, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) doubted the nation’s self-defense capability, questioning whether its indigenous submarines are functional. They instead passed resolutions condemning Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and requesting that National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) step down. The KMT’s and the opposition parties’ statements not only send a confusing message to the world, but signal to Beijing that its cognitive warfare is working. The TPP’s conflicting words and decisions, and the KMT’s statement and actions are playing into the PLA’s “three warfares” strategy.

The investment frenzy over AI played a key role in driving Asian stocks’ outperformance versus their global peers last year. While some see Asia a better venue for AI exposure given cheaper valuations, others point to the more pronounced risk of concentration of a few major tech firms in markets such as Taiwan and South Korea. Traditional dancers perform beneath inflatable figures during a ceremony celebrating the new year’s opening of the South Korea stock market at the Korea Exchange in Seoul on Friday last week. Photo: AFP“We’re calling more of an AI fatigue as opposed to a bubble,” Eastspring Investments (Hong Kong) Ltd equity portfolio specialist Ken Wong (黃嘉權) said. If there is a pullback in overall AI capital expenditure or earnings trajectory starts to deteriorate, there would be some risks, he said.

The world order after 2025By Yuen Yuen AngFor a mathematician, 2025 might stand out for being a “perfect square”: 45 multiplied by 45, a rare symmetry. Its significance goes far beyond numerical elegance — it marks the year the postwar global order expired and a new one was about to be born. Eighty years ago, as the world emerged from World War II, the victorious Western allies designed a system intended to prevent another catastrophic conflict. Some contours of the new world order — three in particular — are already visible. We have a chance to do better: to build a more plural, more equal and more ecologically grounded world order.

Chinese cyberattacks rising: NSB reportUNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB saidBy Huang Ching-hsuan and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writerChina’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. A bar chart shows the growth of Chinese cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure in nine sectors last year. A pie chart shows the distribution of Chinese hacking tactics against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure last year. This approach intends to delay or paralyze Taiwan’s critical infrastructure’s services, and therefore impact Taiwanese’s daily lives, it added.

South Korea’s Lee arrives in Beijing amid Asia tensionsAFP, BEIJINGSouth Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in China yesterday, eager to boost economic ties with Seoul’s largest trading partner while keeping a lid on potentially explosive issues such as Taiwan. Lee is the first South Korean leader to visit Beijing in six years, and his four-day trip comes less than a week after China carried out massive military drills around Taiwan. South Korean and Chinese flags are displayed at Tiananmen Square in Beijing yesterday. Kang Jun-young, a professor at Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said Beijing was seeking to draw South Korea away from Washington’s sphere of influence. “China views South Korea as the weakest link at a time when trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan is strengthening,” he said.

Trump’s announcement followed a predawn raid in which commandos grabbed Maduro and his wife while air strikes pounded sites in and around Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is escorted down a hallway at the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration in New York on Saturday. Trump said he was “designating people” from his Cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela, but gave no further details. One aspect that became clearer was Trump’s interest in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Trump was surprisingly cold about expectations that Machado could become Venezuela’s new leader, saying she does not have “support or respect” there.

Ministry welcomes SVG prime minister commentsStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed a recent pledge by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Prime Minister Godwin Friday that his government would maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. “Our diplomatic relations with Taiwan remain, as do our relations with all countries with which we have diplomatic ties,” Friday was quoted as saying in the front-page report. The ministry said in a statement that Taiwan “welcomes and appreciates” the SVG leader’s open pledge to maintain his country’s decades-long relations with Taiwan. Taiwan established diplomatic relations with SVG in 1981. He was sworn in after the party won 14 of the 15 parliamentary seats in November’s general election, ending former Vincentian prime minister Ralph Gonsalves’ 24-year rule.

Taiwan closely monitoring Venezuela developmentsStaff writer, with CNA and BloombergThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation in Venezuela, including the country’s role in international drug trafficking and the humanitarian crisis under its authoritarian government. Photo: CNAVenezuela’s situation has long affected regional stability and Taiwan would continue monitoring developments to safeguard Taiwanese there, the ministry said. “I don’t expect today’s events in Venezuela will dramatically alter Beijing’s calculus on Taiwan,” he wrote on social media. If Beijing shifts its approach, it will not be because of U.S. actions in Venezuela,” Hass wrote.

Flights and shipping affected by Chinese drillsTrips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes andBy Shelley Shan

India unveils Buddha gems after century abroad‘NOT JUST ARTIFACTS’: The Piprahwa gems, believed to date back to 200BC, are timeless symbols of peace, compassion and shared heritage, Pirojsha Godrej saidAFP, NEW DELHISacred ancient gems linked to the Buddha were unveiled yesterday in India for the first time since their colonial-era removal. The Piprahwa gems, a collection of more than 300 precious stones and ornaments believed to have been buried with relics of the Buddha at a stupa site in northern India, were formally displayed at an exhibition in New Delhi. The Piprahwa relics of the Buddha are displayed in New Delhi. The gems, believed to date back to about 200BC, were unearthed in 1898 by British colonial engineer William Claxton Peppe in Piprahwa, India. “The Piprahwa gems are not just artifacts,” company vice-chairman Pirojsha Godrej said.

Photo: Taipei TimesIf the overall budget bill is not passed this session, NT$78 billion would be affected, a ministry official said. Separately, a defense official urged the Legislative Yuan to pass the defense budget, citing Taiwan’s strategic importance as a gateway of the first island chain. That might fatally compromise the integrity of the second island chain, they said. The language showed that control over the first island chain is core to the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy, the official said. The US sees Taiwan’s proposed defense budget as an attempt to tailor the force structure to meet specific threats in the national security environment, they said.

US ready to respond if Iran kills protesters, Trump saysAFP, PARISUS President Donald Trump on Friday said Washington was “locked and loaded” to respond if Iran killed protesters, prompting Tehran to warn that intervention would destabilize the region. Protesters and security forces on Thursday clashed in several Iranian cities, with six people reported killed, the first deaths since the unrest escalated. Iranian shopkeepers and traders protest against the economic conditions in Tehran on Monday. Photo: EPAIf Iran “violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on social media. Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani warned Trump that “US interference in this internal matter would mean destabilizing the entire region and destroying America’s interests.”The American people “should be mindful of their soldiers’ safety,” Larijani added.

Ukraine hosts talks with security alliesPEACE PUSH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the US-brokered plan was ‘90 percent’ ready and shuffled his Cabinet ahead of a summit next weekAFP, KYIVUkraine yesterday hosted security advisers for crunch talks as Kyiv insisted negotiations are zeroing in on a deal, while Russia claimed a deadly New Year strike torpedoed the efforts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said about 15 countries would attend the talks, along with representatives from the EU and NATO, with a US delegation joining via video link. Leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing are expected to convene in France next week after yesterday’s talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, left, participates in a meeting in Kyiv on Friday. Zelenskiy last week said Ukraine has been able to wrest some concessions, notably removing the provision that land seized by Moscow’s army would be recognized as Russian.

Postal service releases Lunar New Year designsBy Tsai Yun-jung, Wu Liang Yi and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerChunghwa Post has unveiled red envelopes for gift-giving during the upcoming Year of the Horse and new editions of postage stamps for the new year. Envelopes bearing the zodiac sign of the horse would be sold in sets of three envelopes, one red and two yellow, for NT$15 per set, the state-owned postal service said on Friday. Chunghwa Post’s red envelopes featuring the upcoming Year of the Horse are pictured in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Chunghwa PostIn a statement last week, the postal service revealed a new edition of Taiwanese mountain flower-themed post stamps, following the original issue in 2021 and second edition in 2023. The postal service is additionally releasing commemorative stamps celebrating Taipei Dongyuan Elementary School’s championship in the 2025 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, beginning in February.