‘Bilingual 2030’ needs improvingBy Kuo Chang-yi 郭昌益The government’s “Bilingual 2030” policy is undeniably an ambitious blueprint aimed at enhancing Taiwan’s international competitiveness. In many schools, bilingual education is not implemented across all grade levels due to a lack of resources. A student might have a bilingual physical education class in third grade, only to return to a fully Mandarin-taught curriculum in fourth grade. This is not bilingual education; it is merely a performance that sacrifices the depth of subject knowledge and fails to improve English proficiency. The goal should be to foster the ability to acquire knowledge through English reading, rather than just learning English for tests.

Israel seals off village after attackCONFLICT: Violence has surged in the West Bank in the past two years, and Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, while 44 Israelis have been killedAFP, QABATIYAH, Palestinian TerritoriesIsraeli forces on Saturday imposed a lockdown on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, their second day of operations there after a local resident killed two people in Israel. In the attack on Friday a 34-year-old Palestinian man killed two people in northern Israel. “This period is characterized by lone attackers and individuals staying illegally in [Israel]. During the same period, violence has also surged in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. According to official Israeli figures, at least 44 Israelis, soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the same period in the West Bank.

Corporate AI is a threat to freedomBy Richard K. SherwinEight years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that whoever masters artificial intelligence (AI) “will be the ruler of the world.” Since then, investments in the technology have skyrocketed, with US tech giants (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta) spending more than US$320 billion this year alone. There is a more immediate danger: Increasingly powerful, but opaque, AI algorithms are threatening freedom itself. The threat to freedom is twofold. Users of online services might think they are getting what they want — based, for example, on previous viewing choices or past purchases. Now, corporations seek to increase profits not only by marketing AI services, but also by deploying them to maximize the time users spend online, thereby increasing their exposure to targeted advertising.

The war is not coming, it is already quietly hereBy Hsiao Hsi-huei 蕭錫惠Taiwan does not exist in a state of true peace. Its situation is more akin to a prolonged, unofficial state of political warfare. This is the essence of political warfare: influencing a society’s decisions without ever firing a shot. A series of espionage cases uncovered this year are concrete examples of this kind of political warfare. If legislators’ travel to China continues to lack oversight and transparency, it would leave a gap in the defenses against political warfare.

Households with elderly members increased by 1.15 million in a decadeBy Hsu I-ping and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe number of households with elderly members has increased by 1.15 million over the past decade, creating a growing scene of aging families across the nation, Ministry of the Interior data showed. The figure represented an increase of about 1.15 million households with elderly residents, compared with about 2.27 million such households, or 26.61 percent, in September 2016 — an increase of more than 8 percentage points over the past decade. Taiwan’s low birthrate has driven household structures to shift from multigenerational families to single-generation households, housing researcher Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said. In 2000, children accounted for 21 percent of the population, while elderly people made up 9 percent, he said. Over the years, the number of children has dropped from 4.7 million to 2.74 million — a decline of 42 percent, while the elderly population has surged from 1.92 million to 4.49 million — an increase of 134 percent, Huang said.

Myanmar’s junta holds election after years of civil warAFP, YANGON, MyanmarVoters yesterday trickled to Myanmar’s heavily restricted polls, with the ruling junta touting the exercise as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government and triggered a civil war. Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed, while her hugely popular party has been dissolved and was not taking part. A woman walks past an election banner during the first phase of Myanmar’s general election in Yangon yesterday. “We guarantee it to be a free and fair election,” junta chief Min Aung Hlaing told reporters after casting his ballot in the capital, Naypyidaw. At a downtown Yangon station near the gleaming Sule Pagoda — the site of huge pro-democracy protests after the 2021 coup — 45-year-old Swe Maw dismissed international criticism.

The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. A map with Taiwan’s seven-color earthquake intensity scale shows that an intensity level of 4 was recorded in several administrative regions after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 11:05pm on Saturday. A graphic shows the peak ground acceleration of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 11:05pm on Saturday. The Hualien quake was a shallow fault-zone event, occurring at 15.5km deep, while Saturday’s Yilan quake was a subduction-zone earthquake caused by the Philippine Sea Plate subducting northward beneath the Eurasian Plate, Wu said.

Draft revisions proposed by DDP Legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) and 19 others would introduce the legal designation of “gray zone actors” and mandate that such actors proactively disclose their funding sources. First, “gray zone actors” who accept direct or indirect funding from infiltration sources, but fail to report or deliberately file false reports. Third, any person who, under the instruction, commission or funding of infiltration sources, donates activity funds to “gray zone” actors. “Gray zone” actors who fail to comply with reporting requirements, submit false reports or obstruct official inspections should bear criminal responsibility, it says. Separately, DPP Legislators Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) and Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) have proposed amendments to the National Security Act (國家安全法) to address gaps in penalties for participating in organizations affiliated with foreign hostile forces or facilitating them.

Trump, Zelenskiy meet to discuss peace planAFP, PALM BEACH, FloridaUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to sit down with US President Donald Trump yesterday and seek to secure his stamp of approval for a new proposal to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speak to the press as they meet in Halifax, Canada, on Saturday. “This attack is again Russia’s answer on our peace efforts, and this really showed that Putin doesn’t want peace,” he said. Zelenskiy held a conference call while in Canada with European leaders who, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pledged their full support for his peace efforts. Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.

Taiwan celebrates Christmas, kind of, once again after 25 yearsTaiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That

Taiwan celebrates Christmas, kind of, once again after 25 yearsTaiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That

US urges Beijing to cease pressure, engage in talksStaff writer, with CNA and AFPThe US Department of State yesterday urged Beijing to cease military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan. The arms sales “violate the one-China principle... seriously damaging China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. A spokesperson for the State Department yesterday stated opposition to Beijing’s actions. The US strongly opposes retaliation against US companies for supporting arms sales to Taiwan, they said, adding that the purpose of these arms sales is to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities. The spokesperson also urged Beijing to stop exerting military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue.

The Coast Guard Administration and Chunghwa Telecom on Jan. 4 said that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by the Shunxin-39. The investigation found that after running silent for a long time, it was spotted off the coast of Busan, South Korea, on Aug. 14. The ship name registered under the two frequency names was highly similar, with the one registered in Cameroon named “Shun Xin” and the one registered in Tanzania named “Xing Shun,” it found. Taiwan should step up its active radar pinging and visual recognition of ships, Su said, adding that if ships receive a radar signal without a corresponding AIS designation, they should treat it as suspicious and investigate. The air wing would provide a 3D monitoring capability at a moderate cost and should be considered by the government, Su said.

Huang Kuo-chang declares candidacy for New Taipei CityBy Wong Yu-huang / Staff reporterTaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday officially announced his candidacy for next year’s New Taipei City mayoral election, with former party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) attending the event to show his support. “New Taipei City is not a satellite city of Taipei. I want to make New Taipei City shine,” Huang said. Noting the residents of New Taipei City have given the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) 16 years to lead the city, Huang expressed the hope that the voters would give him four years and pledged he would do his best and give it his all. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, right, bumps fists with former party chairman Ko Wen-je at a press conference in New Taipei City yesterday.

Businessman seeks WWII tragedy closureStaff writer, with CNAWorld War II might have ended 80 years ago, but for businessman Hsu Shun-lung (許順隆), it continues to echo in Taiwan through a tragedy that has yet to be brought to a final resolution. Businessman Hsu Shun-lung, center, poses with members of the Preparatory Committee for Settlmenet of Sancha Mountain Incident Victims in an undated photograph. After learning of the history, Hsu in November last year began to coordinate efforts to recover the remains of the deceased rescuers. For Hsu, those actions were a start, but not enough to honor the deceased rescuers, whose remains, Hsu believes, are still in pristine condition on Sancha Mountain. That has not discouraged Hsu from pursuing his primary goal — to give the deceased rescuers a proper burial, he said.