Flawed policy on boosting birthratesBy Chen Ching-yun 陳清雲On Sunday, the Taipei City Government’s pilot program to subsidize reduced working hours for parents opened for applications. Low birthrates are part of a long-term crisis of population structure and national development, meaning that, if the policy cannot be scaled, it is unlikely to make much of a difference. A promising option would be to integrate the policy into a broader system of flexible working hours. By pairing reduced and flexible working hours, rewards can be reaped for both caregivers and wider city operations. Low birthrates are not a regional issue, but a national crisis of an aging population and a shrinking labor force.

Japan start-up’s rocket launch fails for third timeAFP, TOKYOA Japanese start-up’s third attempt to put a satellite in orbit failed yesterday after its rocket spiraled back to Earth shortly after takeoff. 3 rocket ascend yesterday, shortly before the mission failed. The company’s first launch attempt ended in spectacular failure in March 2024 when the solid-fuel rocket exploded seconds after liftoff. The national Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is also on a mission to become a major player for satellite launches. However, in December last year, Japan’s flagship H3 rocket failed to launch a geolocation satellite into orbit due to engine failure.

The old version of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Daily Dietary Guidelines is pictured on March 13, 2018. Photo: Lin Yen-tung, Taipei TimesIt also recommend eating more fruits, raising daily consumption from two to four servings, to two to six servings. The guidelines formally included a “water section” for the first time, the HPA said, adding that water is indispensable in maintaining health, body functions and regular metabolism. The daily intake of milk and dairy products was adjusted from two servings per day to one serving, HPA Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said. The new guidelines reference international dietary recommendations, but are still primarily based on Taiwan’s National Nutrition and Health Survey data, as well as local study results, it said.

From left, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Wang Hung-wei, Lin Pei-hsiang and Ma Wen-chun hold placards at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “We hope to take a phased approach to move arms procurement forward concretely and transparently, as opposed to a one-time authorization of a blank check,” he said. Lin yesterday rejected accusations that the KMT had blocked the arms sales. “The KMT has always supported US government-to-government arms sales,” the KMT said in a statement. A special budget was planned because the procurements are urgent and necessary, Wu said.

Taiwan facing uphill battle in WBCSTRATEGY: Taiwan should be wary of overinvesting in their game against Japan, which could jeopardize two must-win games in Pool C, a commentator saidStaff writer, with CNA and AFPTaiwan face an uphill battle to make it to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after yesterday losing their Pool C opener to Australia 3-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan’s starter Hsu Jo-hsi pitches in the first inning of their World Baseball Classic Pool C opener against Australia at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. “I appreciate that the fans were cheering us, and a lot of them flew here to Tokyo,” Taiwan manager Tseng Hao-jiu said. Taiwan’s Yu Chang hits a single against Australia in the fourth inning of their World Baseball Classic Pool C game in Tokyo yesterday. Fans holds up banners and flags for Taiwan during their World Baseball Classic Pool C game against Australia in Tokyo yesterday.

Council to contest Li’s eligibility as legislatorDUAL NATIONALITY? Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng speaks in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday. The National Immigration Agency does not have records of Li renouncing her Chinese household registration before March last year, he added. Controversy surrounding Li’s qualifications have triggered doubts in other people about their own nationality status, the council said. Chiu said the council is monitoring the Chinese National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which opened this week.

Taiwan crude oil and gas reserves above minimumBy Meryl Kao / Staff ReporterTaiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure stable supplies of gas and crude oil, Kung added. Photo: CNATaiwan receives about 30 natural gas shipments each month, of which about 10 come from the Middle East, while the remaining 20 are from other regions, he said. As for natural gas prices, whether rates for households and power utilities would be adjusted next month is still under review, Kung said. To secure natural gas supply, the government is pursuing three approaches, Kung said.

Extended electricity outage strikes in Cuba‘UNRELIABLE GRID’: The US embassy in Cuba warned people in the nation to ‘prepare for significant disruptions,’ and conserve fuel, water, food and batteriesAP, HAVANAA blackout on Wednesday left millions of people without power in Havana and the rest of western Cuba in the latest outage in the nation, which is struggling with dwindling oil reserves and a crumbling electricity grid. The government’s electric utility on X said that the outage affected people from the western town of Pinar del Rio to the central town of Camaguey. People hold Ecuadoran and Cuban flags during a demonstration outside the Cuban embassy in Quito on Wednesday. Photo: ReutersThe US embassy warned people to “prepare for significant disruptions,” and conserve fuel, water, food and mobile phone batteries. State media reported that the outage was caused by a shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant east of Havana following a leak in its boiler.

HK spy trial opens at London courtBILL AND PETER: Two China-UK nationals are accused of targeting Hong Kong dissidents on behalf of a foreign intelligence service, prosecutors told the Old BaileyReuters, LONDONTwo men on Wednesday went on trial in London, accused by British prosecutors of spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy dissidents based in the UK on behalf of the territory’s authorities and, ultimately, China. Chi Leung Wai arrives at the Old Bailey in London on Oct. 25, 2024, after being charged with British National Security Act offenses. Yuen, a retired Hong Kong police officer, worked at Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office in London. Wai worked as a UK Border Force officer and as a volunteer part-time officer for the City of London Police, Atkinson said. “For reasons of national security, we cannot discuss identities, methods, or timelines so as not to jeopardize ongoing operations,” it said.

Reform high school examinationsBy Chen Chi-nung 陳啟濃A recent survey on academic pressure among junior-high students found that 44 percent sleep less than eight hours per day. Based on the understanding I have gained from more than 30 years of experience working in junior high schools, the results of this survey more than likely reflect reality. As a result, the heavy responsibility of helping them catch up once they enter junior high school falls on teachers. The questions on the Comprehensive Assessment Program for junior-high students clearly reflect the urban-rural disparities, and their level of difficulty surpasses that of the previous high school entrance examinations. Chen Chi-nung is the principal of a junior high school in Nantou County.

Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks, and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A combination of images taken from video show periscope footage of a US Navy submarine firing on and sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. Photo: AFP / US Department of DefenseThe Iranian ship was on its way back from participating in exercises last month hosted by the Indian Navy. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday said that a US submarine had sunk the ship with a torpedo. The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel, officials said.

Trump has said the operation against Iran could run for about four weeks, which would bring it close to the eve of the China trip. China’s embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on whether the Iran situation had changed plans to host Trump. Asked about the implications of the Iran strikes on talks with Xi, a White House official said Trump was “taking decisive action to eliminate major national security threats,” but did not mention China. For now, the US is betting that its Iran operation would not trigger any Chinese military response. The main US concern is that difficulty in rapidly replenishing reserves of munitions would reduce “medium-term deterrence” over the threat of Chinese military action against Taiwan, the official said.

In those already addicted, the GLP-1 drugs were linked to lower risks of hospitalization, overdose and death, according to the study. A recent study strongly suggests that GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic can help fight substance addiction. They compared people who received GLP-1 drugs with those treated with medications that lower blood sugar. WHAT THE RESEARCHERS FOUNDAl-Aly and his colleagues found that people starting the GLP-1 drugs had lower risks of developing addiction to multiple substances. She cautioned that the GLP-1 drugs don’t work the same way for all users and that they have risks that must be weighed against potential benefits.

Non-motorized canoe sails from Palau to TaiwanBy Esme Yeh / Staff reporterThe non-motorized canoe Alingano Maisu sailed more than 10,000km from Palau to Pingtung County’s Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) and is to sail into the Port of Kaohsiung tomorrow. Hunter School founder Sakinu Ahronglong and member Cudjuy Isumalji, indigenous people of Paiwan, were among the 13 crew members aboard Maisu. Crew members of the Alingano Maisu canoe and greeters pose for a photo Dapeng Bay in Pingtung County on Monday. A crew member said the canoe encountered a storm that lasted nearly 10 days shortly after they departed from Palau. The double-hulled canoe was robust enough to survive the storm and crew members from different countries developed a sense of togetherness, he said.

China increases military spending by 7 percentAFP, BEIJINGChina yesterday announced a 7 percent boost to its defense budget for this year. Photo: BloombergChinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) told delegates that China would bolster the military and “carry out major defense-related projects” over the next five years. Analysts said that the budget would finance military salary increases, training, maneuvers around Taiwan, cyberwarfare capabilities and advanced equipment purchases, among other things. Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said that China has continued its allocations of large percentages of its national budget on military buildup, despite a weakening economy and a decline in consumer spending. China has had a steady increase in military spending of about 7 to 8 percent each year since 2016, although its military spending compared with GDP was about 1.7 percent in 2024, well behind the US figure of 3.4 percent and Russia’s 7.1 percent, data from independent international research institute SIPRI showed.