Air force expected to conduct exercises this weekBy Lo Tien-pin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan’s air force is expected to conduct a series of exercises this week as part of its joint combat tactics specialty course, implementing a combat-like simulated environment, airdefensenews.com wrote on Facebook on Sunday, with Ministry of National Defense sources yesterday appearing to confirm the report. Unlike the air force’s Tien Lung exercises, this week’s joint combat tactics specialty training would not have a scoring system and is intended to allow participants to gain joint combat experience through trial and error, it wrote. An AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-Kuo fighter jet is pictured at an air force base in Chiayi County on Aug. 24, 2024. Photo: Liu Yu-chieh, Taipei TimesThe exercises are expected to last three weeks, it added. The ministry sources said on condition of anonymity that a combat-like exercise without prescripted scenarios would help improve the air force’s operational effectiveness and joint combat capabilities.

Legislative Yuan party caucuses name 16 committee convenersStaff Writer, with CNAThe Legislative Yuan party caucuses yesterday selected 16 conveners for eight standing committees, comprising eight lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), seven from the Kuomintang (KMT) and one from the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). KMT lawmaker Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) and DPP lawmaker Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) have been chosen as conveners of the committee. DPP lawmaker Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) and KMT lawmaker Huang Chien-hao (黃健豪) were selected as the conveners of the Transportation Committee. DPP lawmaker Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) and KMT lawmaker Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) were chosen as the conveners of the Finance Committee. As for the Economics Committee, DPP lawmaker Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) and TPP lawmaker Hung Yu-shiang (洪 毓祥) were chosen as the conveners.

Nuclear plans must be ended: groupsSAFETY CONCERNS: A retired professor said ‘convenient, safe and waste-free nuclear energy is illusory,’ and that safety and cost-effectiveness are mutually exclusive goalsBy Wu Po-hsuan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerProposals to revisit nuclear energy use in Taiwan should be scrapped, experts and groups opposing nuclear power said yesterday on the 15th anniversary of the Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster in Japan. “They have a high risk of incidents and the problem of nuclear waste disposal remains unsolved.”Masashi Goto, a Japanese nuclear energy engineer, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Nuclear power plants have an inherent risk from malfunctions, even in the absence of natural disasters, he said. The safety margin requirements of nuclear power and the pursuit of cost-effectiveness are contradictory requirements that cannot both be met, she said. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union wrote in a statement that it “strongly condemns” the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ decision to submit plans to restart two nuclear plants in Taiwan.

Trial opens for 4 men charged in Haiti assassinationAP, MIAMIGreed, arrogance and power were the driving forces behind four men charged in the US for the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s last elected president, Jovenel Moise, prosecutors said on Tuesday during opening statements. They are charged with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill Haiti’s former leader. Moise’s assassination led to unprecedented turmoil in the Caribbean nation, where gang leaders have grown increasingly violent and empowered. An artist paints a portrait of slain Haitian president Jovenel Moise near the presidential residence where he was killed two years ago in the Petion-ville area of Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2023. By June 2021, the conspirators realized Sanon had neither the constitutional qualifications nor sufficient popular support to become president.

None of the teenagers Singapore and Indonesia are monitoring are white. All the Indonesian teenagers authorities identified as being radicalized were affiliated with the “true crime community,” a popular Internet subculture. White supremacist content has also spread across other platforms, though often with a localized twist. In Singapore, authorities have turned to the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) to work with some teenagers detained for plotting far-right attacks. He also argued that if non-white youths could execute such attacks, white supremacists should be capable of more.

Beware diseases, WBC fans toldWATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with themBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterPeople who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Taiwan’s national baseball team for World Baseball Classic in Tokyo arrives at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Tuesday. Photo : CNAShe said there were 13 cases of flu with severe complications and two deaths reported last week. The CDC reported last week that accumulative measles cases in Japan since the beginning of this year has reached the highest number for the same period since 2020, with cases concentrated mainly in Tokyo, Aichi Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture. The CDC said there were 1,073 hospital visits for COVID-19 last week, indicating a low level of viral activity.

Taiwan ranks 5th globally in 2026 economic freedom indexStaff Writer, with CNATaiwan ranked fifth among 184 economies in the 2026 Index of Economic Freedom, slipping one place from a year earlier despite a slight increase in its overall score, according to the annual report released Tuesday by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. Taiwan received a score of 79.8, up 0.1 points from 2025. A chart of Taiwan’s Economics Freedom Index ranking is pictured in this photograph. The NDC said while Taiwan’s tax burden is higher than in Hong Kong and Singapore, it remains lower than that of China, Japan and South Korea. Looking ahead, the NDC said global economic conditions will be shaped by factors including the rapid development of AI, U.S. tariff policies, China’s industrial overcapacity, geopolitical risks and climate challenges.

Taipower to submit plan to restart Ma-anshan plantStaff writer, with CNATaiwan Power Co (Taipower) this month would submit a plan to restart the decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春), setting the stage for it to begin generating electricity as early as 2028, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) told a hearing at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chia-ning, Taipei TimesKung said that a safety inspection of the Ma-anshan plant is under way and that state-run Taipower is expected to submit a plan later this month to restart it. It phased out electricity generation at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) in 2019, at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) in 2023 and at Ma-anshan on May 17 last year. Fuel oil, pumped hydro and the final few months of nuclear power from Ma-anshan accounted for the rest, the data showed. In November last year, the government said that Taipower was expected to submit plans to reopen the Guosheng and Maanshan plants.

Japan’s governance of digital contentBy Eason Chen 陳裕翔One of the world’s largest Web sites for pirated manga, Bato.to, was shut down at the start of this year, sending shock waves through the anime and publishing industries. Publishers such as Kadokawa Corp, Kodansha and Shueisha have repeatedly joined forces to crack down on pirate Web sites. This model is gradually becoming an important trend in the global governance of digital content. If copyright protections are not strengthened, it would hinder Taiwan’s domestic content industry. Lastly, it should support the development of legitimate digital platforms to make it easier for readers to access content legally.

‘Orange Devils’ alumni perform in Taipei on 3/11 quake anniversaryStaff Writer, with CNAAlumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love Taiwan” in Chinese during the five-minute show. Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, known as the “Orange Devils,” perform at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday. Kyoto Tachibana’s marching band first visited Taiwan in 2022, when it became the first foreign performing group to appear at the country’s National Day celebrations. The alumni performing in Taipei are members of the band’s 121st class, many of whom participated in those earlier visits.

Highway Bureau targets late April fix for Danjiang Bridge noiseStaff Writer, with CNATaiwan’s Highway Bureau said yesterday it aims to finish work to fix wind-related noise generated by handrails on the Danjiang Bridge in New Taipei by late April. In a news release, the bureau said preliminary inspections suggest the noise is caused by wind interacting with the bridge’s pedestrian handrail structures. The soon-to-be-completed Danjiang Bridge is pictured in this photograph on Jan.15. The bureau said it first asked the design team to inspect the site in late January after receiving complaints. To eliminate the excessive noise, the plan is to install U- shaped rubber strips to damp vibrations, the bureau said.

As opening looms, locals ponder new bridgeStaff Writer, with CNA. Scheduled to open on May 12, the 920m bridge links Tamsui and Bali districts in New Taipei City across the Tamsui River estuary. The soon-to-be completed Danjiang Bridge is pictured on Jan.15. She described the Danjiang Bridge as “a beautiful piece of architecture” that could become a destination in its own right. As the opening date approaches, the Danjiang Bridge has become more than a piece of infrastructure, symbolizing both hope and uncertainty for communities long shaped by the Tamsui River.

The manufacturing business climate indicator rose to 13.81 points in January, up 1.32 points from 12.49 in December last year, lifting the sector’s “yellow-blue” — which indicates sluggish conditions — to “green,” signaling steady growth. The largest contribution came from the input reading, which increased by 1.13 points, suggesting stronger production and procurement activity. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPAThe demand gauge also rose by 0.66 points, indicating a modest uptick, the report said. In the electronic components sector, demand tied to AI applications, HPC and cloud services remained strong, resulting in double-digit annual growth in exports, export orders and industrial production, the report said. In the automobile and auto parts sector, demand from North America for components such as collision-related parts increased.

Taiwan’s hiring outlook improves for 2nd straight quarter in Q2: PollStaff writer, with CNATaiwan’s hiring outlook for the second quarter improved for a second straight quarter, with the financial services sector reporting the best hiring prospects, a survey released yesterday by human resources advisory firm ManpowerGroup Inc showed. Taiwan’s net employment outlook in the second quarter was 29 percent after seasonal adjustments, up from 22 percent in the first quarter and 20 percent a year earlier, the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey (MEOS) found. Among major business sectors in Taiwan, the financial and insurance sector recorded the strongest hiring outlook for the second quarter, with a net hiring score of 47 percent, up 23 percentage points from a quarter earlier, the survey showed. The trade and logistics sector came in second with a net hiring score of 34 percent in the second quarter, up 13 percentage points from a quarter earlier. Taiwan’s score for the second quarter was slightly below the global average of 31 percent.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun is pictured on Monday with New Taipei City Councilors. TAMING THE TPPHer immediate challenge is to finalize the party’s candidate list and a working plan for cooperation with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). Cheng has successfully cleared the path for Hammer Lee (李四川) to secure the party’s nomination for New Taipei City unopposed, a big win. Two races are getting widespread attention, and both could be storing up trouble for Cheng: Taichung and Hsinchu County. If Cheng can focus the electorate on local issues and fully leverage TPP support, the KMT could win big.