MRT Red Line extension, Sanyin Line to open in JuneStaff writer, with CNAThe New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. A systems check is conducted in February at the Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, the new eastern terminal of Taipei Metro’s Tamsui-Xinyi Line. Several cultural and public facility projects are also advancing.

US assesses China not planning to invade Taiwan in 2027Reuters, WASHINGTONChina does not plan to invade Taiwan next year and seeks to control the nation without the use of force, the US intelligence community said yesterday, striking a measured tone on one of the world's ‌biggest potential flashpoints. Chinese aircraft carrier the Liaoning takes part in a military drill in the western Pacific on April 18, 2018. The US "assesses that Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027, nor do they have a fixed timeline for achieving unification," the report said. "China has never abandoned the use of force against Taiwan, and its continued military intimidation and gray-zone operations pose serious threats not only to Taiwan but also to regional peace and stability," it said. Tokyo had been unnerved by muted US rhetorical support for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after her remarks last year that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese military response.

Bilingual policy has lost sight of its visionBy Keith M. GrahamA recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. In the early years of Bilingual 2030, the ministry’s K-12 Administration promoted the Bilingual Instruction in Select Domains Program (部分領域課程雙語教學實施計畫). However, the current program steps back from that preparation, creating a disconnect between the bilingual policy at different education levels. If Taiwan is to go forward pursuing the original vision for the bilingual education policy, then the ministry should return to promoting bilingual teaching in schools to realign the K-12 policy with that of higher education and the National Development Council’s broader economic vision. However, the recent shift in the ministry’s approach to the K-12 bilingual policy signals that there might not be the political will to do so.

Colombia, Ecuador clash over bombBORDER INCIDENT: Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the bomb was ‘maybe dropped’ unintentionally and landed 100m from the home of a poor familyAFP, BOGOTAThe leaders of Colombia and Ecuador on Tuesday sparred over allegations that the Ecuadoran bombing of suspected criminal hideouts near their shared border had spilled into Colombian territory. On Tuesday, Petro posted on X a photograph of an unexploded “bomb” that he said had fallen on the border between Colombia and Ecuador. A bomb is pictured in Vereda El Amarradero, Colombia, on Tuesday. A Colombian armed forces spokesperson told reporters that bomb disposal teams successfully deactivated the device on Tuesday night. Colombia and Ecuador share a 586km border, along which Colombian guerrilla groups and criminal organizations from both countries operate.

Still, one idea seems to link the disparate events that have defined the breakdown of the post-World War II and post-Cold War international order in recent years: that whatever new order emerges would be built around spheres of influence. Seeking to avoid direct confrontation, the US, China and Russia are again turning to spheres of influence. A second, even more fundamental obstacle to the emergence of exclusive spheres of influence lies in the ambitions of today’s major powers themselves. Rather than a neat division of influence in Asia, the more likely outcome is a complex mix of competition and accommodation. The third Gulf War also highlights the inoperative nature of spheres of influence in a highly contested region where states hedge their bets to survive.

Over 100 residents in Nantou County’s Mingjian Township on Monday protest a proposed incinerator in the heart of Taiwan’s tea-growing region. Not surprisingly, they settled on state-owned land, since they will only have to clear that with the central government. Hsu noted in a meeting last month that Nantou is the only county in Taiwan without a waste incinerator. Photo: Chen Feng-li, Liberty TimesIncinerator opponents in Mingjian have formed the Mingjian Township Anti-Incinerator Association (名間鄉反焚化爐自救會) to fight the project. Photo: Chang Hsieh-sheng, Taipei TimesBUREAUCRATIC APPROACHThe Nantou County Magistrate’s deployment of the terms “rational” and “scientific” is a classic bureaucratic approach.

Suicide is one of Greenland’s leading causes of premature death and the autonomous Danish territory has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Nunu, a Greenlandic fighter, last month celebrates after being declared the winner against his Danish opponent during a “Fight for Greenland” bout in Nuuk, Greenland. The former Danish colony faces numerous social challenges, including drug and alcohol addiction and social inequality. A boy has water poured over his head last month during a break in a boxing match in Nuuk, Greenland. ‘RELIEF’After his mother’s suicide, William turned first to alcohol and drugs.

Cuba promises ‘unbreakable resistance’ to US‘DECISIONS’: Cuba is open to talks with Washington and allowing additional investment, but it will not discuss changing its political system, a Cuban envoy saidAFP, HAVANACuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Tuesday said that the US would face “unbreakable resistance” if it tries to take over the island nation, as authorities scrambled to fix a nationwide electricity blackout. Cuba’s government is under pressure, with Washington enforcing an oil blockade and saying that it wants to end the nearly seven-decade-old US standoff with the state. Trump on Monday said that he would “take” Cuba, adding: “We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.”However, Diaz-Canel was defiant in the face of Washington’s threats. “Faced with the worst-case scenario, Cuba has one guarantee: Any external aggressor will encounter an unbreakable resistance,” he wrote on X.Cuba is open to broad talks with Washington and allowing more investment, but it will not discuss changing its political system, an envoy told reporters on Tuesday. “Nothing related with our political system, nothing with our political model — our constitutional model — is part of the negotiations and never will it be part of that,” Dieguez said.

EDITORIAL: Regional unity to fend off BeijingPhilippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman for maritime affairs Rogelio Villanueva on Monday said that Manila’s claims in the South China Sea are backed by international law. Beijing has occupied a growing number of reefs and shoals in the South China Sea through land reclamation and has militarized several of them, installing radar systems, runways, missile batteries and military ports, among other facilities. Beijing often invokes international conventions when they support its narrative, but dismisses or discredits them when they do not. Nations in the Indo-Pacific region must demonstrate unity and resolve in responding to China’s actions if they hope to prevent consolidation of control in the South China Sea. What remains lacking is a unified framework among Indo-Pacific states that have territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Peru names new prime minister after Miralles resignationAFP, LIMAPeruvian Interim President Jose Maria Balcazar on Tuesday appointed General Luis Enrique Arroyo as prime minister, after Denisse Miralles unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday — three weeks into her tenure. Peruvian Prime Minister Luis Arroyo speaks at a news conference in Lima on Tuesday. Photo: EPAMiralles, 49, previously served as economy minister for Balcazar’s predecessor, former Peruvian president Jose Jeri, who was impeached last month on graft allegations. Peruvian Interim President Jose Maria Balcazar attends a ceremony in Lima on Tuesday. “The presidency of the Republic of Peru thanks Mrs Denisse Miralles for the services given to the nation,” Balcazar’s office said in a statement published on social media.

Samsung and AMD to partner as workers mull strikeBloombergSamsung Electronics Co has agreed to supply and collaborate with AMD on next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) memory and computing technologies. Samsung Electronics Co cochief executive officer Jun Young-hyun, speaks during a shareholders’ meeting in Suwon, South Korea, yesterday. Samsung, SK Hynix Inc and Micron Technology Inc dominate the supply of memory chips globally. Separately, tens of thousands of Samsung workers yesterday said that they would strike in May over a wage dispute, raising concerns over chip production. More than 66,000 of nearly 90,000 unionized workers voted on whether to strike, the association of three unions said in a statement.

Writing in the inaugural issue of Statecraft and Strategy, a quarterly journal published by the American Foreign Policy Council, Lin said the core of Taiwan’s defense approach is to eliminate any expectation in Beijing that military pressure could succeed at an acceptable cost. Taiwan’s defense strategy is designed to counter China’s rapidly expanding military capabilities and deny the possibility of a swift takeover, he said. National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan speaks at a forum held by the Taiwan Asia Exchange Foundation in Taipei on Oct. 8 last year. To that end, Taiwan and its partners should “prepare clearly defined, trigger-based economic and political measures” that could be implemented rapidly in response to aggression, Lin said. Demonstrating the ability to sustain daily life amid disruption, maintain effective defense and coordinate closely with international partners would make any attempt to alter the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait impractical, Lin said, adding that such a strategy is key to preserving peace.

BNP Paribas Cardif’s exit not reflective of investment environment: FSCStaff writer, with CNAThe decision by French property insurer BNP Paribas Cardif SA to withdraw from the Taiwanese market does not indicate that the local investment environment is worsening, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Peng Jin-lung (彭金隆) said yesterday. The FSC confirmed on Sunday that it has received an application from BNP Paribas Cardif’s Taiwan branch to terminate its business in Taiwan after it inaugurated operations in 2000. The French insurer has a staff of 32 in Taiwan and 48,000 valid policies, mostly involving home and fire insurance and personal injury insurance, Tsai said. Even though its headquarters in France had injected NT$483 million (US$15.17 million) into the Taiwan branch in recent three years, BNP Paribas Cardif in Taiwan still incurred losses for at least five years in a row, he said. He added that if the company is involved in any legal action in Taiwan, it will have to complete the process before leaving.

Trump’s war jolts global central banksDAMAGE REPORT: Global central banks are assessing war-driven inflation risks as the law of unintended consequences careens around the world, spiking oil prices Central banks from Washington to London and from Jakarta to Taipei are about to make their first assessments of economic damage after more than two weeks of conflict between the US and Iran. Decisions this week encompassing every member of the G7 and eight of the world’s 10 most-traded currency jurisdictions are likely to confirm to investors that the specter of a new inflation shock is already worrying enough to prompt heightened caution. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to do exactly what everyone anticipated weeks ahead of its March 17-18 policy gathering: hold rates steady. The narrative surrounding that

Pushback on Taiwan defense budget sends wrong message: Ex-MSC chairStaff Writer, with CNAFormer Munich Security Conference (MSC) Chairman Christoph Heusgen said Tuesday that ongoing pushback in Taiwan against a NT $1.25 trillion (US$39.26 billion) defense bill due to political differences could send the wrong message to the world. Speaking to CNA in an interview in Taipei, Heusgen, who chaired the annual MSC from 2022 to 2025, said a majority of Germans now support significantly increasing their country’s defense budget despite minimal economic growth in recent years. Asked what kind of message the ongoing domestic pushback against the supplementary defense budget proposed by Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government could send to the world, Heusgen said there were two. “One message is a message of surprise,” he said. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced in November 2025 that his administration would propose a supplementary defense budget of NT$1.25 trillion to be spent over the next eight years in response to a growing Chinese threat.