Premier to sign, challenge new billsBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNAThe Executive Yuan is to countersign bills passed earlier this month reversing cuts to civil servants’ pensions, after which it would immediately file a petition for a constitutional judgement, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. The legislature on Dec. 12 passed amendments suspending cuts to civil servants’ pensions, reversing fiscal reform that aimed to reduce the government deficit. Yesterday was the deadline for the president to promulgate the amendments to the Civil Servants Retirement, Discharge and Pensions Act (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) and the Public School Employee Retirement, Discharge and Pensions Act (公立學校教職員退休資遣撫卹條例). Premier Cho Jung-tai, center, speaks to reporters in Taipei on Tuesday as Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee, left, and Executive Yuan Secretary-General Xavier Chang, right, look on. With the Constitutional Court resuming operations, the Executive Yuan would immediately seek a constitutional interpretation, Cho said.

Chinese villagers win battle against forced cremationAFP, BEIJINGProtests in rural China have thwarted government attempts to enforce cremation in place of traditional burials, demonstrators say, as economic pressures fuel unrest in poor areas. Photo: ReutersThe Chinese government has promoted cremation for decades, saying it preserves land, reduces costs and represents “modern” funeral practice. Cremation is commonplace in cities, but many rural communities view burials as an essential rite for the dead. While exceptions exist for 10 mainly Muslim ethnic minorities, the state encourages cremation wherever local conditions allow. A 2018 campaign against burials in Jiangxi Province sparked an outcry, including from state media, after videos showed officials destroying coffins.

Myanmar to hold first election in five years as criticism of junta rule growsAP, BANGKOKMyanmar is tomorrow to hold the first phase of a general election, its first vote in five years and an exercise that critics said would neither restore the country’s fragile democracy undone by a 2021 army takeover, nor end a devastating civil war triggered by the nation’s harsh military rule. Supporters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party attend the final day of campaign for the first phase of a general election in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, yesterday. Myanmar’s 80-year-old Suu Kyi and her party are not taking part in the election. Asian Network for Free Elections analyst Amael Vier said Myanmar’s political parties that won 90 percent of the seats in 2020 no longer exist today. An Election Protection Law with harsh penalties enacted this year put even more restrictions on political activity, effectively barring all public criticism of the polls.

Donovan’s Deep Dives: Two glimmers of hope for solving the constitutional crisesBy Courtney Donovan Smith 石東文 / Staff ColumnistFollowing the rollercoaster ride of 2025, next year is already shaping up to be dramatic. Cheng announced Wang as the party’s “supreme advisor,” which may see him as a potential negotiator to break the constitutional deadlocks. KMT legislative caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) could theoretically also be a problem. After Wang, Ker is the most famous legislative insider and wheeler-dealer, and the two have a long history. Donovan’s Deep Dives is a regular column by Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文) who writes in-depth analysis on everything about Taiwan’s political scene and geopolitics.

Hawaii bans feeding feral cats to protect native speciesAP, KAILUA-KONA, HawaiiThrongs of feral cats emerged from the shade of parked trucks and bushes as soon as the familiar Subaru Forester pulled into a dump on Hawaii’s Big Island. A Hawaii County law set to take effect at the start of the new year bans feeding feral animals on county property. It is an effort to protect native species, such as an endangered goose called the nene, from a super predator introduced to the islands by Europeans in the 18th century. “They’re both living creatures.”It is unclear how many feral cats — abandoned pets and their descendants — live on the Big Island. The cats threaten the native species directly — by killing them — and indirectly, biologists said.

The bill says that the data must be uploaded to a government server to preserve evidence that would help establish facts in childcare abuse cases, as well as clarifying matters for parents and childcare service operators. People hold placards and dolls at a news conference outside the Legislaive Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei TimesIndustry representatives protested against the planned rules outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Legislation that deals with surveillance footage must guarantee the privacy of children, help establish a professional, respectful and friendly childcare industry, improve the internal management and professionalism of childcare facilities, and establish a bilateral agreement and a code of conduct regarding such footage, Chiang said. Representatives of New Taipei City facilities said that the municipal government employs a significant number of male childcare staff and parents of girls often ask that male staff be excluded from diaper-changing duties for their children.

Legislature approves Youth Basic ActBy Lee Wen-hsin / Staff reporterThe Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the Youth Basic Act (青年基本法), which defines youth as people between the ages of 18 and 35, and incorporates a legal recognition of the right to citizenship at the age of 18. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu bangs a gavel to pass the Youth Basic Act at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Youth representatives should include people from diverse backgrounds, with at least half of the total members being youth representatives, and the representation of any gender must not be less than one-third. Regarding the establishment of a Youth Development Fund, the ruling and opposition parties did not reach a consensus during negotiations. Therefore, the Youth Basic Act stipulating that a Youth Development Fund “should” be established is not only legal, but also has both policy and fiscal legitimacy, he said.

Philippine worker center announcedStaff writer, with CNAThe government is preparing to open its first cross-border recruitment center, hosted by the Philippines, which would enable employers to hire overseas workers directly without the use of brokers, helping to ease personnel shortages, the Ministry of Labor said in a statement yesterday. The center is to open in the first quarter of next year and would initially help sectors with glaring labor shortages, including the hospitality and commercial port business sectors, the ministry said. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Lydia Huang (黃齡玉) said that the center would allow the government to deal directly with foreign authorities, helping ease the burden of foreign workers who are typically saddled with high brokerage fees before and during their time in Taiwan. With the new system, expenses for flights, health checkups and visas for migrant workers would in principle be paid by employers rather than workers, Huang said. The ministry said it plans to open more cross-border recruitment centers in other foreign countries that serve as the major sources of migrant workers to Taiwan, including Indonesia and Thailand.

Former CEO of green energy group indicted on money laundering chargesStaff writer, with CNACheng Yi-lin (鄭亦麟), a former deputy CEO of the state-run Green Energy Industry Promotion Center (GEIPC), has been indicted on corruption and money laundering charges, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. A nameplate at the main entrance of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is pictured yesterday. Citing the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防治法), prosecutors said they are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Cheng. His parents and brother were indicted in the case, with prosecutors seeking a two-year prison term for each. Hsiao was not indicted, as there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing on his part, prosecutors said.

Cabinet proposes public speech rulesSOCIAL HARMONY: The bill would only affect speech made in public likely to cause social problems, leaving private and personal communications protected as a rightBy Chung Li-hua and Chen Cheng-yu / Staff reportersThe Executive Yuan yesterday passed an amendment to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) that would have offenders face maximum fines of up to NT$30,000 for spreading hate speech in public places such as parks and train stations. The Ministry of the Interior said that hate speech affects the unity of the public. Therefore, the scope of the amendment focuses on “public” Internet content, such as setting up Web sites or using social media to post information that is freely accessible to the public, it said. On how such public speech would be handled, Deputy Interior Minister Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said that after the metro attack in Taipei on Friday last week, there has been a lot of imitative speech online. The Social Order Maintenance Act mainly targets more general, widespread speech that is not aimed at a specific individual or group, he said.

Snow falls on Yushan and HehuanshanStaff writer, with CNASnow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. A snowman is pictured on Hehuanshan in Nantou County yesterday. Snow accumulation totaled 2mm, CWA data showed. They would rebound slightly over the weekend, with highs reaching 20 to 23°C in northern Taiwan and 25 to 26°C in southern regions, it said.

Taiwan, Thailand links boosted by worship of MatsuBy Jason Pan / Staff reporter, with CNADevotees of Matsu in Taiwan and Thailand are forging closer ties at a ceremony to mark 20 years since the founding of a temple in Bangkok, as well as the start of work to expand the site devoted to the sea goddess, officials said on Thursday. Photo: CNARepresentatives of Changhua Nanyao Temple (彰化南瑤宮) in 2006 transported the deity to the Thailand temple to grant it permission to establish a “branch shrine,” she said. “Over the past two decades, Mazho Temple has flourished, providing divine protection to Taiwanese and Thais alike,” she said. More than 1,000 people from across Thailand, as well as visitors from Taiwan, attended the ceremony, officials said. “It will be an expansive new temple to sustain our belief in Matsu and Taiwanese culture for the next generation,” Lin said.

Penghu announces schedule for festivalFIREWORKS BONANZA: From April to August, fireworks and drone light shows are to be put on at seven locations across the outlying county once or twice a weekBy Liu Yu-ching and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Penghu County Government yesterday announced the schedule for next summer’s international fireworks festival, revealing a collaboration with classic Japanese anime franchise Dragon Ball Z. The main festival would run through Aug. 25, one month longer than in previous years, it said. A poster released yesterday for next year’s Penghu International Fireworks Festival shows a Dragon Ball Z character. The opening and closing events on May 4 and Aug. 25 are to have 12-minute fireworks displays accompanied by 10-minute drone shows, while other dates would offer a 10-minute fireworks and 10-minute drone displays, it said. The partnership with Dragon Ball Z is a first for Penghu’s fireworks festival, it added.

China hits US defense firms with sanctions over arms sales to TaiwanReuters, BEIJINGChina’s foreign ministry announced sanctions yesterday targeting 10 individuals and 20 US defence firms, including Boeing’s St. Louis branch, over arms sales to Taiwan. The measures freeze any assets the companies and individuals hold in China and bar domestic organisations and individuals from doing business with them, the ministry said. Individuals on the list, including the founder of defence firm Anduril Industries and nine senior executives from the sanctioned firms, are also banned from entering China, it added. The move follows Washington’s announcement last week of US$11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever US weapons package for the island. The Us is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

Police officers tackle a mock attacker at a bus hub during a security drill in Taipei yesterday. Chiang said the drill conducted yesterday was aimed at boosting responses to random, indiscriminate attacks to “ensure the safety of all citizens.”People take part in a drill at MRT Taipei City Hall Station yesterday simulating a fire bomb attack. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei TimesThe two mock attackers simulated throwing Molotov cocktails onto the platform in a metro stop near Taipei City Hall, with police evacuating passengers and putting out the pretend fire. SWAT team members take part in a drill at MRT Taipei City Hall Station yesterday. Investigators found searches for “random killings” on his iPad, including material related to a Taipei metro stabbing in 2014 in which four people were killed.