Taipei Floral Picnic to feature exclusive ‘Pokemon Go’ eventANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops areBy Sun Wei-jung and Fion Khan

Seoul to revise disputed e-arrival card, report saysStaff writer, with CNA, SEOULSouth Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs logo in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. The change follows controversy over the system listing Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus in its online entry system. Earlier, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would consider retaliatory adjustments to how South Korea is labeled in Taiwan’s own system if no response was received by yesterday.

Wonderful says 2026 sales to riseBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterCable and connector maker Wonderful Hi-Tech Co (萬泰科技) yesterday said revenue is expected to grow sequentially each quarter this year, with full-year revenue likely to surpass the company’s target of NT$10 billion (NT$312.7 million). The company reported revenue last year grew 6.1 percent year-on-year to NT$8.63 billion. The optimism underscores the company’s confidence in securing orders for high-speed cables for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite-related products, and other higher-margin, customized cables, Wonderful Hi-Tech chairman Ringo Chang (張銘烈) told an earnings conference in Taipei. Wonderful Hi-Tech Co chairman Ringo Chang, right, and president Steve Chang pose for a photograph at an earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. Demand for satellite-related cables remains robust, given steady shipment growth among its US-based satellite customers, Wonderful Hi-Tech president Steve Chang (張程雅) said.

New streamlined Taiwan Pass to go on sale todayMORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. A graphic released yesterday shows details of the new streamlined Taiwan Pass. Photo courtesy of the Tourism AdministrationThe agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, it said.

TS Financial says it is positioned for growth this yearBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) yesterday said it is positioned for growth this year, driven by robust global demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI) and stable domestic economic conditions. TS Financial Holding Co president Welch Lin, center, chief financial officer Linda Chen, second left, and other company executives attend an earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. TS Financial has already completed mergers of the group’s investment trust and life insurance units, he said. “These integrations are designed to position TS Financial as a top-tier international financial institution,” he said. TS Financial reported net profit of NT$37.4 billion (US$1.17 billion) last year, or earnings per share of NT$1.91, up 86 percent from the previous year.

Can Cheng speak for Taiwan? By John ChengChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has been framed as a step toward peace. It is Beijing that routinely sends warplanes across the Taiwan Strait median line, conducts large-scale exercises around Taiwan and dictates the terms under which any dialogue might occur. Reality leads to a question that cannot be avoided: If Xi were to say: “Peace, of course — but under unification,” what would Cheng reply? John Cheng is a retired businessman from Hong Kong now living in Taiwan.

Premier Cho Jung-tai, left, and Director General of Personnel Administration Chun-jung, second left, speak to lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. If Cheng approaches any dialogue supporting the so-called “1992 consensus” and Beijing’s “one China” principle, it would be detrimental to Taiwan’s national interests, he said. Polling consistently shows that Taiwanese do not accept the “1992 consensus,” nor does the international community universally subscribe to Beijing’s “one China” principle, Cho added. Accepting Beijing’s narrative would only divide Taiwanese society, damage national morale and send misleading signals to the global community, Chiu said. “My worry is not about what agreements she might sign, but that she is going there to receive orders from Xi to continue disrupting the government and weakening Taiwan’s national defense,” she said.

Another “friend from the KMT” present at the rally was former KMT vice presidential candidate Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康). The KMT needs the TPP to maintain its effective legislative majority until 2028, and it needs it to be “on board,” functioning and undistracted. However, the KMT has no strategic reason to support Huang in the long term. The TPP needs him as its head; Huang knows this, and readily concedes it. Huang looks isolated, with support from the KMT in spirit only, and from a distance or very contingent on the KMT’s interests.

Chess and soccer form an unexpected allianceAFP, LONDONErling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are among the Premier League stars “addicted” to chess, helping to spark a surge in the game’s popularity among younger people. Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen juggles a soccer ball prior to the fifth round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament at the Philips-Stadion in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in 2020. Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, a five-time world champion, is a huge soccer fan and the Norwegian’s love for both games has played a role in the unexpected crossover. On the surface, the contemplative, cerebral nature of chess is a contrast to the physicality and aggression of soccer. For Kane, his true love remains soccer, leaving chess as the perfect way to relax.

Approval ratings of Japan’s TakaichiBy Wang Hui-sheng 王輝生Since taking office in October last year, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has maintained consistently high approval ratings for her Cabinet. Throughout Japan’s political history, it has been rare for a prime minister to sustain such a high level of support nearly six months after taking office. Just after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe stepped down, Japan’s policy toward China became more cautious. Against this backdrop, Takaichi rose to prominence, and a combination of circumstances led her to become Japan’s first female prime minister. Looking ahead, how Japan adjusts its geopolitical security policies and laws would become a key challenge for the Takaichi administration.

Illustration: Mountain PeopleOne point of agreement was that the first shots of the next world war would almost certainly be fired in space — with simultaneous volleys being exchanged in cyberspace, which increasingly overlaps with the space domain. More hostile types of attack include directed energy such as lasers or physical missiles, fired from the same space orbit or from the ground. As ever in the history of war and weaponry, the accelerating innovation in space has already triggered an arms race in some orbits, especially those relatively close to Earth. In an atmospheric analogy, US military satellites maneuver more like Boeing 747s (not all that nimbly, that is), while the US Space Force wants them to move like F-15s. This asymmetry explains why the US generally takes a different approach to space than Russia or China.

Cheng’s trip to boost illusion of unification: sourceBy Chen Yun and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) upcoming visit to China is intended to bolster Cheng’s pro-unification stance within the KMT and create the illusion for US President Donald Trump that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are leaning toward unification, a national security source said yesterday on condition of anonymity. The source gave two reasons why Beijing decided to schedule Cheng’s trip after Tomb Sweeping Day ahead of the meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), which has been postponed from this month to next month. First is to create the illusion that Beijing is “entirely in control” of the Taiwan situation, and to foster the impression that Taiwanese support unification, the source said. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, center, speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Monday. The second reason stems from growing support within the KMT to support the special defense budget, the source said.

In reality, Putin, a former KGB agent in East Germany who later headed the FSB, has resorted to growing political repression the longer his more than quarter-century rule in Russia has gone on. A law set to take effect April 1 grants the FSB the authority to obtain copies of any organization’s databases without a court order. Putin signed separate legislation in February allowing the FSB to suspend mobile, landline and Internet communications under certain conditions. The FSB has the final say over which apps are included on that list, according to Russian news outlet The Bell. “Today, the screws are being tightened to the limit,” said Viktor Zvagelsky, the head of the organization Business Against Corruption.

Gov’t asks CPC, FPCC to boost production as plastic bag prices soarStaff writer, with CNAPremier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said the government has asked Taiwan’s two largest petrochemical companies to increase production as the war in the Middle East continues to disrupt global oil supply, driving up plastic bag costs. Premier Cho Jung-tai, left, answers questions about the energy and material supply situation at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNACho replied that the government has instructed the state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan, to make up for current ethylene production shortfalls. Cho said the government has also asked Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) to increase production. The company has said it could not increase production as much as CPC Corp, with the final amount of increase yet to be confirmed.

Strack-Zimmermann is leading an 11-member delegation on a visit to Taiwan from Monday to tomorrow. President William Lai, sixth right, poses with European Parliament Committee on Security and Defence Chair Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, sixth left, and other members of an European Parliament delegation at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday. Strack-Zimmermann called on the EU to deepen cooperation with Taiwan in secure supply chains, semiconductors, information security, critical infrastructure and resilient defense industries. The delegation also includes Spanish MEPs Nicolas Pascual de la Parte and Jose Cepeda, Estonian MEP Urmas Paet, Latvian MEP Martins Stakis and Greek MEP Nikolas Farantouris, the ministry said. The visit comes as China welcomes its first delegation of European Parliament members in eight years.