The Islamic State is not back, but its ideas endureBy Karishma Vaswani / Bloomberg OpinionThe deadliest domestic terror attack in Australia’s history is raising an uncomfortable question: Is there an Islamic State (IS) revival in Asia? A month later, Polish authorities arrested a law student suspected of plotting an IS-inspired attack at a Christmas market. “In Indonesia, Islamic State lost much of its appeal when it no longer became possible to go to Syria,” she said. It is not, but its ideology remains. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.

KMT blames Lai for budgetBy Liu Wan-lin / Staff reporterPresident William Lai (賴清德) should show more empathy, as he is the one causing an impasse in the legislative review of next year’s budget, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said yesterday, calling on Lai to have “three soft hearts” to resolve the deadlock. Photo: Taipei Times“We hope the legislature can support and assist the country’s progress by promptly reviewing the central government’s budget and the special defense budget,” Lai said. Lo said the difficulty in reviewing the general budget was that the budget the executiv branch submitted to the Legislative Yuan contains illegal omissions. Items that should have been included by law were not, resulting in the Legislative Yuan being unable to review it, he said. The KMT stands firm in defending national security and the welfare of military personnel, and has proposed a salary increase for soldiers, he said, adding that if the military salary increase budget is allocated, the Legislative Yuan would immediately review the general budget.

Train ridership up despite ticket price hikeGRAPH GOES UP: Ridership and revenue are both up since the railway restructured from an agency to a state-owned company last year as it seeks to shrink its deficitStaff writer, with CNAState-owned Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) reported yesterday that average daily passenger volume increased about 1.4 percent from a year earlier during the period of June to this month, despite raising ticket prices in June. A Taiwan Railways Corp. train is pictured in an undated photograph. Following the fare hike and passenger volume increase, sales for this year would increase by NT$2.6 billion from a year earlier, with average daily passenger volume predicted to rise 2.9 percent to almost 670,000, the company said. TRC said it has kept working with the government to promote the regional TPass program, and average daily passenger volume under TPass rose 26.3 percent from a year earlier to 185,000 from Jan. 1 to Dec. 19. The company said that it has continued to improve safety, as well as its on-time rate and convenience for passengers.

Taipei delegation meets with Shanghai officialsStaff writer, with CNATaipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua (林奕華), who led a delegation to Shanghai yesterday for a bilateral city-level summit, said ahead of her departure that the two sides would exchange experience in urban governance. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) is only planning to attend the summit on its second and final day today. Taipei Deputy Mayor Lin Yi-hua, center, speaks to reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. The delegation consists of 120 people, including the Taipei City Council speaker and 10 other councilors, as well as various city government officials, academics and experts, she said. The annual Taipei-Shanghai City Summit is the only platform for direct exchanges between officials on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Premier to sign, challenge new billsBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNAThe Executive Yuan is to countersign bills passed earlier this month reversing cuts to civil servants’ pensions, after which it would immediately file a petition for a constitutional judgement, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. The legislature on Dec. 12 passed amendments suspending cuts to civil servants’ pensions, reversing fiscal reform that aimed to reduce the government deficit. Yesterday was the deadline for the president to promulgate the amendments to the Civil Servants Retirement, Discharge and Pensions Act (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) and the Public School Employee Retirement, Discharge and Pensions Act (公立學校教職員退休資遣撫卹條例). Premier Cho Jung-tai, center, speaks to reporters in Taipei on Tuesday as Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee, left, and Executive Yuan Secretary-General Xavier Chang, right, look on. With the Constitutional Court resuming operations, the Executive Yuan would immediately seek a constitutional interpretation, Cho said.

Chinese villagers win battle against forced cremationAFP, BEIJINGProtests in rural China have thwarted government attempts to enforce cremation in place of traditional burials, demonstrators say, as economic pressures fuel unrest in poor areas. Photo: ReutersThe Chinese government has promoted cremation for decades, saying it preserves land, reduces costs and represents “modern” funeral practice. Cremation is commonplace in cities, but many rural communities view burials as an essential rite for the dead. While exceptions exist for 10 mainly Muslim ethnic minorities, the state encourages cremation wherever local conditions allow. A 2018 campaign against burials in Jiangxi Province sparked an outcry, including from state media, after videos showed officials destroying coffins.

Myanmar to hold first election in five years as criticism of junta rule growsAP, BANGKOKMyanmar is tomorrow to hold the first phase of a general election, its first vote in five years and an exercise that critics said would neither restore the country’s fragile democracy undone by a 2021 army takeover, nor end a devastating civil war triggered by the nation’s harsh military rule. Supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party attend the final day of campaign for the first phase of a general election in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, yesterday. Myanmar’s 80-year-old Suu Kyi and her party are not taking part in the election. Asian Network for Free Elections analyst Amael Vier said Myanmar’s political parties that won 90 percent of the seats in 2020 no longer exist today. An Election Protection Law with harsh penalties enacted this year put even more restrictions on political activity, effectively barring all public criticism of the polls.

Donovan’s Deep Dives: Two glimmers of hope for solving the constitutional crisesBy Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 / Staff ColumnistFollowing the rollercoaster ride of 2025, next year is already shaping up to be dramatic. Cheng announced Wang as the party’s “supreme advisor,” which may see him as a potential negotiator to break the constitutional deadlocks. KMT legislative caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) could theoretically also be a problem. After Wang, Ker is the most famous legislative insider and wheeler-dealer, and the two have a long history. Donovan’s Deep Dives is a regular column by Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) who writes in-depth analysis on everything about Taiwan’s political scene and geopolitics.

Hawaii bans feeding feral cats to protect native speciesAP, KAILUA-KONA, HawaiiThrongs of feral cats emerged from the shade of parked trucks and bushes as soon as the familiar Subaru Forester pulled into a dump on Hawaii’s Big Island. A Hawaii County law set to take effect at the start of the new year bans feeding feral animals on county property. It is an effort to protect native species, such as an endangered goose called the nene, from a super predator introduced to the islands by Europeans in the 18th century. “They’re both living creatures.”It is unclear how many feral cats — abandoned pets and their descendants — live on the Big Island. The cats threaten the native species directly — by killing them — and indirectly, biologists said.

The bill says that the data must be uploaded to a government server to preserve evidence that would help establish facts in childcare abuse cases, as well as clarifying matters for parents and childcare service operators. People hold placards and dolls at a news conference outside the Legislaive Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei TimesIndustry representatives protested against the planned rules outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Legislation that deals with surveillance footage must guarantee the privacy of children, help establish a professional, respectful and friendly childcare industry, improve the internal management and professionalism of childcare facilities, and establish a bilateral agreement and a code of conduct regarding such footage, Chiang said. Representatives of New Taipei City facilities said that the municipal government employs a significant number of male childcare staff and parents of girls often ask that male staff be excluded from diaper-changing duties for their children.

Legislature approves Youth Basic ActBy Lee Wen-hsin / Staff reporterThe Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the Youth Basic Act (青年基本法), which defines youth as people between the ages of 18 and 35, and incorporates a legal recognition of the right to citizenship at the age of 18. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu bangs a gavel to pass the Youth Basic Act at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Youth representatives should include people from diverse backgrounds, with at least half of the total members being youth representatives, and the representation of any gender must not be less than one-third. Regarding the establishment of a Youth Development Fund, the ruling and opposition parties did not reach a consensus during negotiations. Therefore, the Youth Basic Act stipulating that a Youth Development Fund “should” be established is not only legal, but also has both policy and fiscal legitimacy, he said.

Philippine worker center announcedStaff writer, with CNAThe government is preparing to open its first cross-border recruitment center, hosted by the Philippines, which would enable employers to hire overseas workers directly without the use of brokers, helping to ease personnel shortages, the Ministry of Labor said in a statement yesterday. The center is to open in the first quarter of next year and would initially help sectors with glaring labor shortages, including the hospitality and commercial port business sectors, the ministry said. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Lydia Huang (黃齡玉) said that the center would allow the government to deal directly with foreign authorities, helping ease the burden of foreign workers who are typically saddled with high brokerage fees before and during their time in Taiwan. With the new system, expenses for flights, health checkups and visas for migrant workers would in principle be paid by employers rather than workers, Huang said. The ministry said it plans to open more cross-border recruitment centers in other foreign countries that serve as the major sources of migrant workers to Taiwan, including Indonesia and Thailand.

Former CEO of green energy group indicted on money laundering chargesStaff writer, with CNACheng Yi-lin (鄭亦麟), a former deputy CEO of the state-run Green Energy Industry Promotion Center (GEIPC), has been indicted on corruption and money laundering charges, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. A nameplate at the main entrance of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is pictured yesterday. Citing the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防治法), prosecutors said they are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Cheng. His parents and brother were indicted in the case, with prosecutors seeking a two-year prison term for each. Hsiao was not indicted, as there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing on his part, prosecutors said.

Cabinet proposes public speech rulesSOCIAL HARMONY: The bill would only affect speech made in public likely to cause social problems, leaving private and personal communications protected as a rightBy Chung Li-hua and Chen Cheng-yu / Staff reportersThe Executive Yuan yesterday passed an amendment to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) that would have offenders face maximum fines of up to NT$30,000 for spreading hate speech in public places such as parks and train stations. The Ministry of the Interior said that hate speech affects the unity of the public. Therefore, the scope of the amendment focuses on “public” Internet content, such as setting up Web sites or using social media to post information that is freely accessible to the public, it said. On how such public speech would be handled, Deputy Interior Minister Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said that after the metro attack in Taipei on Friday last week, there has been a lot of imitative speech online. The Social Order Maintenance Act mainly targets more general, widespread speech that is not aimed at a specific individual or group, he said.

Snow falls on Yushan and HehuanshanStaff writer, with CNASnow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. A snowman is pictured on Hehuanshan in Nantou County yesterday. Snow accumulation totaled 2mm, CWA data showed. They would rebound slightly over the weekend, with highs reaching 20 to 23°C in northern Taiwan and 25 to 26°C in southern regions, it said.