Taiwan’s voters can only vote on one single day, which makes it harder for some citizens to cast ballots in a variety of circumstances. Then, like now, Taiwan had no provisions for alternative means to cast a vote other than in person on a single election day. Far too many police officers and medical workers report that they do not vote in Taiwanese elections, because they need to stay on the job throughout election day. Alternatively, if such an issue appeared for the first time on election day, election officials would have less time to discover and resolve it. Taiwan should also allow voters who have a legitimate reason for not being able to vote in person to vote from home.

In addition, the central bank intervened in the local market last month to shore up the local currency, which weighed on overall foreign exchange reserves, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said during a news conference in Taipei. Euro, Hong Kong dollar, US dollar, Japanese yen, British pound and Chinese yuan banknotes are seen in a picture illustration taken on Jan. 21, 2016. Tsai linked the foreign fund outflow to a cash dividend distribution on the part of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker. Despite the retreat in foreign exchange reserves last month, Taiwan holds the world’s fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves after China, Japan and Switzerland, Tsai said. The central bank would maintain ample foreign exchange reserves to ensure stability in local financial markets and guard against any sudden fund outflows by foreign investors, he added.

As of this writing it was looking like Taiwan is about to lose Tuvalu after the recent election there. Similarly, in 2019 the Solomon Islands, neighbors to Bougainville, switched from Taiwan to the PRC, another move in the Great Game in the Pacific. Taiwan offers numerous such cleavages for Beijing to exploit. Occasionally, one even hears proposals that Taipei could be split off from the rest of Taiwan as Northern Ireland is from Ireland. I do not know of any research finding this in Taiwan, but the structure of support for Ko is suggestive of future trends.

Diesel to drop NT$0.1 amid airstrikes in Jordan, IraqBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline prices are to remain unchanged this week, even though international crude oil prices continued to rise last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Diesel prices are to decrease by NT$0.1 per liter this week, following a drop of NT$0.2 per liter last week, the two companies said in separate statements. “The decline in the annual growth rate of US personal consumption expenditures price index in December and Washington’s threats to strike back following attacks on US troops in Jordan led the global oil prices to rise last week,” CPC said. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to stay at NT$29.0, NT$30.5 and NT$32.5 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said. The price of premium diesel is to be NT$27.4 at CPC stations and NT$27.2 at Formosa pumps, they said.

Ko draws criticism for ‘college-educated’ jibeStaff writer, with CNATaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) drew criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as well as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) after saying that his party would have won the election if ballot access was limited to college-educated voters. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je, center, attends a meet-and-greet event in Tapei yesterday, the latest in a series of events thanking supporters of his presidential campaign following the Jan. 13 elections. Ko said that, by definition, it is hard for a party of elites to win a majority. Nevertheless, “If there was a rule stating that only college-educated people could vote,” the TPP would have won the election, he said. KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) dismissed the remarks as “yet another gaffe” by the TPP chair.

EDITORIAL: TPP horse-trading creates doubtMore than two weeks of heated discussions and speculation about which political party might win the legislative speakership ended with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator-at-large Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) elected as the new speaker on Thursday. However, “how to recall the legislative speaker” became a hot search term that same day, while new debates arose the following day. Unsurprisingly, the KMT secured the speaker and deputy speaker roles. Although both sides were cordial and expressed goodwill, he knew the negotiations would fail as both parties refused to concede. Ko yesterday said he might file a defamation lawsuit against Wu over allegedly proposing the murky speakership quid pro quo.

North Korea calls for ‘war readiness’AP, SEOULPyongyang yesterday extended a provocative series of weapons tests by firing cruise missiles into the sea, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for his military to step up war preparations and toured a shipyard. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the US and South Korean militaries were analyzing the North Korean launches into its western sea. South Korea’s military detected multiple missiles, but it did not immediately provide a specific number or an assessment of their flights, the joint chiefs said. A woman at a railway station in Seoul yesterday walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not specify when Kim visited Nampho.

European countries have become heavily involved in the war in Ukraine by supporting the Ukrainian forces militarily. As such, the worry that war may return to more European countries has become more real, too. Whether European countries would support Taiwan in the event of a Taiwan contingency similar to how it has supported Ukraine is unclear. The European public finally understood the importance of Taiwan’s democracy, one that is constantly under threat from China. Last year, when Taiwan’s fertility rate was still low and I pitched pretty much the same story again, it sold exceptionally well.

Tata is building the iPhone assembly plant in Hosur city, which is to be its second such facility in the country. The Tata Group logo is pictured at a business meeting organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on March 23, 2009. Photo: Reuters, Vijay MathurThe Taiwanese firm would provide technical and engineering support at the plant, the sources said. Tata’s first iPhone assembly plant is in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, which it took over from Taiwan’s Wistron Corp (緯創) last year. Pegatron independently operates an iPhone assembly plant in Tamil Nadu and is in talks to add a second facility.

EDITORIAL: Han unsuitable for speakerWith only eight legislative seats, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) is by some distance the smallest of the three parties in the new legislature, but as no party has a majority, the other two looked to it for support to guarantee victory in yesterday’s election for legislative speaker. This essentially ensured the election of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator-at-large Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) without casting a single vote for either Han or the incumbent speaker, You Si-kun (游錫堃) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The DPP did not get what it wanted, nor did Lai, both of whom would have a difficult time in the next four years with Han as speaker. Han has essentially said he would use the speakership as a gavel with which to beat the DPP about the head. The political machinations should not matter, as the legislative speaker should be non-partisan and neutral, but that is the elephant in the room: There is not even a pretense of a promise of neutrality.

US House passes Taiwan double-tax relief packageStaff writer, with agenciesThe US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a measure that would eliminate double taxation between Taiwan and the US as part of a larger taxation package. The US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act was included in a US$78 billion package of tax breaks for businesses and low-income families passed by a 357 to 70 vote. Photo: EPA-EFEThe Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 now heads to the US Senate, where Republicans have voiced resistance to some aspects of the larger bill. However, the strong bipartisan support shown by the House vote might influence its passage in the Senate. After the bill passed committee review last month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that its progress was encouraging and welcomed, and that the White House expected it to pass the US Congress and be signed into law by US President Joe Biden.

The institute, a semi-official task force funded by multiple government agencies, reviews complaints about online content and relays them to the agencies. Ministry of Health and Welfare officials hold placards at a news conference for raising awareness of the amended Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act in Taipei on Mar. Photo: CNAComplaints about online content involving sexual exploitation of children are forwarded to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which is in charge of enforcing the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例). PTT voluntarily took down the post, as it knows that the institute does not issues notices arbitrarily, she added. Disseminating pictures of children being sexually exploited is different from disseminating pornographic content, Liu said.

This escalation of capabilities is attributed to the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), officially recognized as the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Rocket Force. Notably, the PLA is the only army with a specialized rocket force functioning as a unique armed service. The PLARF has its own Rocket Force Command College, Rocket Force University of Engineering and Rocket Force Non-commissioned Officer School. The presence of a dedicated rocket force enables China to concentrate on advancing missile technologies, encompassing guidance systems, propulsion and precision capabilities. It is important to note that these figures exclude launchers deployed by the PLA Air Force and the PLA Navy.

He said his research indicates that social media is one of the crucial factors leading to a global democratic recession. The Investigation Bureau this month inaugurated its Cognitive Warfare Research Center dedicated to studying disinformation threats to Taiwan’s democracy and security. In addition to research, Taiwan needs more ways to prevent, confront and eliminate computer-based cognitive warfare attempts. A lot of election-related disinformation has been traced to Chinese-based content farms and social media platforms, such Douyin and its international version, TikTok. In addition to communicating with major platforms to remove disinformation, the government should pass legislation on the usage of Chinese apps and social media.

Legislative speaker matters for EUBy Marcin Jerzewski and Jakub Janda 葉皓勤，楊雅嚳Tomorrow, the 11th Legislative Yuan is to elect its speaker. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, incumbent Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) More recently, he oversaw the inauguration of the Department of International Affairs, the first unit in the Legislative Yuan responsible for comprehensively managing all matters related to parliamentary diplomacy. If the new legislative speaker presses for policies aimed at appeasing China or openly fights the Lai administration, European politicians would pay close attention and take action. He reinstated the International Affairs Department and held high-profile engagements with EU diplomats to showcase the KMT’s readiness to participate in the process of diversifying Taiwan’s international relations.