Taipei attacker mainly financed by mother: policeBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNAChang Wen (張文), who went on a stabbing spree in Taipei on Friday last week, was living solely on savings and financial support from his mother, the Taipei Police Department said today. Last week’s attacks at Taipei Main Station and near Zhongshan MRT station left four people dead, including Chang, while at least 11 others were injured. Taipei Metro Police Chief Liao Luo-yu speaks at a news conference in Taipei today. The task force concluded that Chang meticulously prepared for the attack after reviewing the timing and site-survey footage related to Chang’s purchases of weapons, investigators said. Meanwhile, Taipei Metro Police Chief Liao Luo-yu (廖洛育) today said that Taipei Metro Police are responsible for 117 metro stations across Taipei and New Taipei City — a system that handles more than 2 million passengers per day.

KMT, TPP move forward with motion to impeach LaiBy Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNAThe motion to impeach President William Lai (賴清德) has been placed on the agenda for the Legislative Yuan’s session on Friday, after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party today used their majority in the Procedure Committee to schedule it. The Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee today met to set the agenda for the legislative sessions from Friday through Tuesday next week. Chinese Nationalist Party caucus secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang speaks at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei in an undated photograph. The KMT caucus proposed impeaching Lai for allegedly contravening Article 72 of the Constitution by refusing to promulgate amendments to the fiscal planning act passed by the Legislative Yuan. The article states that the Legislative Yuan can initiate impeachment proceedings against the president if more than one-half of legislators agree.

High Court raises teens’ sentences in school stabbing caseBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNAThe High Court today increased the sentences of two New Taipei City teenagers over the fatal school stabbing of a classmate to 12 years for the boy and 11 years for the girl. In the second trial in the case, the panel of judges said that the facts of the crime were clearly established. The parents of the victim of a fatal school stabbing, left and right, on March 7 appear with New Taipei City Councilor Shih Yi-yu, center, to question the case’s judicial process. The High Court said that it also considered the opinions of the victim’s family. The sentences should indeed have been heavier to restore justice, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said.

KMT, TPP again stall special defense budgetBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNAThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), using their combined legislative majority, today again declined to schedule the government’s proposed special defense budget for discussion. The KMT and the TPP deliberately disregard basic legislative procedure, DPP spokeswoman Han Ying (韓瑩) said in a statement. The KMT has refused to acknowledge public support for improving national defense and turned its back on Taiwanese, she said. According to legislative procedure, bills and budget proposals must first pass the Procedure Committee and then be referred to a committee before they can be explained and substantively debated, she said. Apart from the special defense budget, several other amendments were also shelved from the agenda for plenary sessions scheduled from Friday through Tuesday next week.

Social safety net needs repair, VP says after stabbingsStaff writer, with CNAVice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday said Friday’s deadly stabbing attacks in downtown Taipei indicate that anxiety continues to exist in society, and that the social safety net needs to be repaired and improved. Hsiao made the comments while meeting recipients of the 22nd Golden Rudder Awards and the Bright Youth Awards at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim speaks to Golden Rudder Award and Bright Youth Award recipients at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday. Friday's attacks near two Taipei MRT railway stations once again highlighted “lingering social anxiety in Taiwan and the need to repair and strengthen the social safety net,” Hsiao said. Four people died, including Chang, who fell to his death from the six-story department store's roof while being pursued by police.

Temperatures could drop below 14°C from ThursdayStaff writer, with CNAA new wave of cold air is on Thursday expected to move in from the north and could strengthen into a continental cold air mass affecting Taiwan through Saturday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The CWA defines a continental cold air mass as conditions in which temperatures at the Taipei weather station fall to 14°C or below. The Central Weather Administration has forecast cooler temperatures from Thursday. Today, weakening northeasterly winds would cause temperatures to rebound across Taiwan under mostly cloudy to sunny skies, it said. Seasonal winds would strengthen slightly tomorrow, lowering temperatures in the north and northeast and increasing moisture, the agency said.

Crosby breaks scoring recordHISTORIC MOMENT: Sidney Crosby broke the record in the first period when his shot hit Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell tapped the rebound behind goalie Jakub DobesAP, PITTSBURGH, PennsylvaniaAs far as Sidney Crosby is concerned, Mario Lemieux is still No. Crosby broke Lemieux’s franchise scoring record with a goal and an assist in the first period of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-3 shoot-out win against the Montreal Canadiens. Crosby previously broke Lemieux’s record for the most assists in franchise history on Dec. 29 last year against the New York Islanders. Crosby is 45 goals behind Lemieux’s franchise record of 690. The biggest number on Sunday was Lemieux’ franchise scoring record.

“We’re seeing one-directional, sudden moves especially after last week’s monetary policy meeting, so I’m deeply concerned,” Japanese Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Atsushi Mimura told reporters. Japanese yen banknotes are pictured on September 22, 2022. After Mimura’s comments yesterday, the yen strengthened to as much as 157.51 to the greenback. The two-year yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy expectations, rose to the highest since 1997. Looser monetary policy typically is a tailwind for gold and silver, which do not pay interest.

Groups urge government to streamline reviewsBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterSolar energy associations yesterday urged the government to streamline a review of solar installations to help local companies ride through an industry slump, as some large-scale solar projects above fisheries were stalled due to new environmental protection regulations. That is adding to the already struggling solar companies,” Shen said. In addition, insufficient green energy supply would dent the competitive edge of local exporters as green energy adoption has become a major consideration of their global customers, he said. Green energy supply constraints would force local manufacturers to allocate their production lines overseas or to locations with a sufficient supply of renewable energy, Hu said. Lin (林甜宇) said that solar companies are facing challenges, such as securing land to deploy solar panels, time-consuming reviews, insufficient green energy supply and delays in energy storage deployment.

Global server shipments to reach 15m: consultancyBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterGlobal server shipments are expected to surge to 15 million units next year, from 4 million units this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers accounting for about 30 percent, driven by massive capital spending by major cloud service providers, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC) said on Thursday last week. Cloud operators Oracle Corp and CoreWeave Inc are also expected to ramp up purchases of AI and general-purpose servers for their data centers, Lin said. People examine an Nvidia GPU at the Pegatron Corp booth during the Computex Taipei trade show on May 20. Photo: Annabelle Chih, BloombergThe institute projected servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s graphics processing units to account for about 80 percent of total AI servers next year, with application-specific integrated circuit-based servers making up the remaining 20 percent. Meanwhile, for server and related component makers, “those who can integrate power, cooling, server racks and infrastructure are expected to secure more critical positions in the next wave of data center expansion, while those only sell components risk being commoditized,” Wei said.

AI prompts fastest economic growth in 15 yearsGROWTH FOR WHOM? The research institute expects GDP growth to hit 7.41 percent this year, more than double the 2.93 percent projection it made in July. Academia Sinica Institute of Economics research fellow Lin Chang-ching speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Growth figures mask deep structural imbalances, Academia Sinica vice president Peng Shin-kun (彭信坤) said. Academia Sinica projects economic growth of 3.71 percent next year, the most optimistic forecast among domestic research institutions.

Unemployment falls to a 25-year lowBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe unemployment rate fell to 3.33 percent last month, a 25-year low for November, underscoring continued stability in the labor market as year-end consumption activity gathers pace, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. By education level, university graduates recorded the highest unemployment rate at 4.52 percent, compared with 3.1 percent for those with graduate degrees and 2.96 percent for people with a senior-high or vocational education. The jobless rate fell to 5.85 percent for those aged 25 to 29 and to 3.33 percent for people aged 30 to 34, it said. Average unemployment duration edged up to 20 weeks last month, the agency said. Long-term unemployment — defined as joblessness lasting more than one year — stood at 47,000 people, slightly higher than a month earlier, it added.

Bank of Japan hikes benchmark rateINFLATION CONSIDERATION: The BOJ governor said that it would ‘keep making appropriate decisions’ and would adjust depending on the economy and prices The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest in 30 years and said more increases are in the pipeline if conditions allow, in a sign of growing conviction that it can attain the stable inflation target it has pursued for more than a decade. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s policy board increased the rate by 0.2 percentage points to 0.75 percent, in a unanimous decision, the bank said in a statement. The central bank cited the rising likelihood of its economic outlook being realized. The rate change was expected by all 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Previously interviewed by Japanese media using a pseudonym, Noguchi agreed to be identified by her real name. MORE AI COMPANIONSSuch weddings are not legally recognized in Japan, but data suggests more such unions could be in the offing. The number of marriages in Japan has roughly halved from 1947, which saw the first wave of a baby boom. Microsoft’s Copilot, for example, forbids users from creating “virtual girlfriends or boyfriends” to foster online romantic or sexual ties. “My relationship with AI is not a ‘convenient relationship that requires no patience,’” Noguchi said.

Villa dream of title glory after United victoryAFP, BIRMINGHAM, EnglandUnai Emery on Sunday insisted Aston Villa would not win the English Premier League, but the Spaniard’s ecstatic celebration of Morgan Rogers’ decisive strike against Manchester United revealed his true feelings about their surprise title charge. Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, second left, scores against Manchester United in their Premier League match at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, on Sunday. Villa sit third in the Premier League, just three points adrift of leaders Arsenal and one behind second-placed Manchester City as they chase a first English title since 1980-1981. “Of course we beat Arsenal and Manchester City here, but they have massive things tactically with players on a high level. Emery has turned Villa Park into a fortress, with just one home league defeat this calendar year, fewer than any other team.