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.

Furloughed workers rose slightly by end of monthStaff writer, with CNAThe number of workers on formal unpaid leave in Taiwan in the second half of last month rose slightly from the first half, with the manufacturing sector feeling the most pinch, according to the Ministry of Labor. The number of employers with unpaid leave programs in place rose by seven from Dec. 15 to 385 at the end of last month, the data indicated. During the 15-day period, a total of 6,409 workers were furloughed due to US tariffs on Taiwanese goods, compared with 6,339 recorded in middle of last month, according to the ministry data. Analysts said the rebound from a three-month low in furloughed workers showed the manufacturing sector remained haunted by the US tariff policies. However, the domestic demand-oriented service sector stayed relatively resilient, ministry data showed, with the number of furloughed workers in the wholesale and retail industry falling to 301 from 329 on Dec. 15.

With the US’ traditional allies now part of the buffet, this seismic development begs a question: Is the West worth saving and can it be? So, no, the West does not stretch back to ancient Greece, because the ancient Greeks never mentioned it, or conceived of it. “Don’t leave it to them,” Varouxakis told me, as we discussed the Trump administration’s assaults on Europe. The first recorded articulations of the West as a political identity came around the time of the 1821 to 1829 Greek War of Independence, Varouxakis told me. Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

Taiwan, Japan should join NATOBy James J. Y. Hsu 許正餘China’s recent aggressive military posture around Taiwan simply reflects the truth that China is a millennium behind, as Kobe City Councilor Norihiro Uehata has commented. For this reason alone, Taiwan and Japan should join NATO as members to stop an injustice aggression by the justice defense. Taiwan and Japan would be able to provide comprehensive support to NATO countries, spanning political, military and cooperative efforts, not to mention artificial intelligence and world’s most advanced chips. Taiwan and Japan joining NATO is the right step forward at a time when Russia is devastating Ukraine, and China is threatening Asian stability. If Taiwan and Japan could join the rank and file of Europe along with the Nordic countries, this could be the happiest country club in the world.

PLA drills are becoming routineBy Gahon Chiang 江佳紘Whenever the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stages major military drills around Taiwan, public discussion tends to fixate on “this time”: How close did they come? The core threat comes from a system that treats military spectacles as a routine instrument of governance. Put differently, coercive operations around Taiwan and nearby waters increasingly resemble a standing budget line, not sporadic surges. Within this governance logic, drills serve purposes beyond training. The root of long-term uncertainty in the western Pacific stems from an authoritarian system that treats military intimidation as a routine method of governance.

Taipei parathlete receives award for outstanding effortBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAThe New Taipei City Social Welfare Department on Thursday celebrated Paralympic competitor Chen Tzu-wei (張孜維), who received last year’s national Golden Eagle award for exemplary achievement by Taiwanese with disabilities. Chen, who suffers fromchildhood-onset muscular dystrophy, did not attend the first award ceremony held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in November due to illness. Paralympic competitor Chen Tzu-wei, center, poses with New Taipei City Social Welfare Department Commissioner Lee Mei-chen, left, and Bali Ai-hsin Home for Persons with Disabilities director Liu Wen-hsiang in New Taipei City on Thursday. Photo: Wong Yu-huang, Taipei TimesChen was formally presented with the award at the department, where he gave thanks to government workers for supporting his education and livelihood, the department said in a statement. Hsieh Hsin-min (謝鑫敏), former head of the Ai-hsin Home for Persons with Disabilities, said Chen is an inspiration and example to the children under the home’s care.