Taiwan beat SoftBank farm team in final warm-upStaff writer, with CNATaiwan yesterday defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ farm team 5-1 in their final warm-up game ahead of their World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool C opener. Taiwan’s bullpen used an unconventional rotation, with a different pitcher throwing each inning for the first seven innings. Lee Hao-yu, rear, tags a runner out during a warm-up game yesterday against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ farm team in Miyazaki, Japan, before the start of the World Baseball Classic. Batting leadoff, the Seattle native reached base in all four plate appearances with two hits, a walk and an RBI. “It’s a shame we only had one game to play together,” national team captain Chen Chieh-hsien said after the game.

Taiwan’s security rests on two pillars: US deterrence and the credibility of international law. Preventive war seeks to eliminate a potential danger before it materializes. Several respected international law scholars have argued that the threshold of imminence was not met in Iran’s case. Once preventive war becomes routine rather than exceptional, the vocabulary of “anticipated threat” becomes available to every major power. When the ground shifts beneath international law, Taiwan stands closer to the fault line than most.

Gaza’s fuel running short amid Iran conflictReuters, CAIRO and JERUSALEMGaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. A boy displaced during the two-year Israeli offensive looks out of a damaged car in Gaza City on Sunday. Most Palestinians in Gaza are internally displaced after Israel’s two-year war with Hamas. “Why is it our fault, in Gaza, with regional wars between Israel, Iran and America?

Taiwan-US trade deal still in limbo, premier saysStaff writer, with CNATaiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. Premier Cho Jung-tai, center, speaks to reporters before a legislative hearing in Taipei today, as Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, right, looks on. The ART, signed on Feb. 12, established a 15 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods and included provisions exempting 1,735 categories of goods from "reciprocal" duties. In a swift countermove, Trump signed a proclamation invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a global 15 percent tariff based on balance-of-payments authority.

Black sesame seeds from China fail inspectionStaff writer, with CNATaiwan has blocked 1,000kg of black sesame seeds imported from China after tests found excessive levels of the heavy metal cadmium, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today. Black sesame seeds are pictured in an undated photograph. As a result, its sesame imports would now be sampled on a batch-by-batch basis, it said. Other products from the same importer would continue to be subject to standard inspections, Liu said. The importer was found to have had two non-compliant shipments within six months and would now be subject to batch-by-batch inspections, Liu said.

Most support unmarried childbearing if support systems improveBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNANearly 70 percent of respondents in an online survey would support unmarried couples and single women having children, provided that support systems are improved, the Childcare Policy Alliance said today. Photo: CNAThe online questionnaire asked 1,305 respondents, 88.5 percent of whom were women, their attitudes toward unmarried and single women having children. In Europe, between 40 and 60 percent of children are born to unmarried parents and fertility rates remain at about 1.5 to 1.6, he said. Meanwhile, in Taiwan and South Korea where a culture of “marriage before children” prevails, birthrates have plummeted, he added. The Legislative Yuan should prioritize passing amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) that would allow single women to access assisted reproductive technology, she said.

China could easily trigger Taiwan data blackout: expertBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNAIf China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. China has deliberately targeted Taiwan's undersea cables as part of its expanding “gray zone” warfare toolkit, with a notable and alarming escalation since 2023, Hsu said in his testimony. In peacetime, average cable repair time exceeds 40 days, he said, adding that Taiwan has no indigenous cable repair ships. Hsu recommended actions to Congress, including passing the Taiwan Undersea Cable Resilience Initiative Act, introduced in July last year, investing in cable repair capacity and increasing sanctions on vessels that cut cables. Meanwhile, Taiwan should build domestic cable repair capacity, ideally with Japan, and its coast guard should expand vessel watch lists and patrols near critical cable corridors, he said.

No power rationing due to Middle East conflict, minister saysBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNA and ReutersTaiwan would not have to resort to power rationing due to a shortage of gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said today, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends to next month, Kung told the Legislative Yuan during an interpellation session. Premier Cho Jung-tai, left, and Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin attend an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei today. There would absolutely be no power rationing due to an LNG shortage, Kung said. If the conflict proves short-lived or limited in scope, it is less likely to affect power rates, he said, adding that restarting coal-fired power plants would be a last resort.

Middle East conflict affects 2,364 Taiwanese travelersStaff writer, with CNAEighty-seven tour groups consisting of 2,364 Taiwanese have been affected since war broke out in the Middle East on Saturday last week, leading to several countries shutting down their airspace, data released today by the Tourism Administration showed. The figure includes 36 groups with 949 travelers who canceled their trips and received refunds and 51 groups with 1,415 travelers whose return flights to Taiwan were disrupted, the data showed. Among those stranded abroad, five groups with 121 travelers have since boarded flights home, the administration said. People collect their luggage at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in an undated photograph. All three services were canceled today, the airport's Web site said.

MOFA condemns Iran’s ‘indiscriminate’ attacksBy Huang Ching-hsuan and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs today criticized Iran’s “indiscriminate” military attacks and expressed support for international efforts to assist Iranians in pursuing freedom and democracy. As an ally of the US and Israel, Taiwan condemns Iran’s “indiscriminate” attacks against other nations, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) told reporters before attending an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei today. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei speaks at the ministry in an undated photograph. With the assistance of Taiwan's representative office in Israel, they have safely arrived in Jordan, Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) told a regular news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s representative offices have contacted Taiwanese expatriates and travelers in the region one by one to confirm their safety, Wu said.

Heavy rain advisory in effect for Nantou CountyStaff writer, with CNAA heavy rain alert has today been issued for parts of Nantou County as heavy clouds move into Taiwan from southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. A frontal system is forecast to move southward across Taiwan during the day, bringing convective showers and heavier rain, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said. The Central Weather Administration today issued a heavy rain advisory for parts of Nantou County. Conditions are forecast to improve slightly on Thursday as temperatures rise, but southern and eastern Taiwan could still experience brief, isolated showers, Wu said. On Tuesday next week, sporadic showers are forecast for the north and east as northeasterly winds strengthen, he added.

Consumer confidence drops slightlyStaff writer, with CNAConsumer confidence last month weakened slightly as the six factors that make up the consumer confidence index (CCI) all fell, a monthly survey released by National Central University (NCU) yesterday showed. The CCI measures sentiment over the following six months across six factors: consumer prices, the domestic economic climate, the stock market, durable goods purchases, employment prospects and family finances. Consumer confidence dropped slightly last month. The university's CCI survey collected 3,197 valid responses from Taiwanese consumers aged 20 or older. It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

US senior envoy eyes APEC roles during Taipei tripSHOW OF SUPPORT? The US, left, and Republic of China flags are pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph. Launched in 1989, APEC is an intergovernmental forum for 21 member economies promoting free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Taiwan joined APEC in 1991 under the name “Chinese Taipei.”Mace’s visit to Taiwan comes as China is preparing to host this year’s APEC meetings in November in Shenzhen. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元), Taiwan’s APEC senior official, said earlier this year that Taiwan’s delegation had visited Shenzhen for an APEC-related event in late last year and did not receive any treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Bureau reports record high monthly labor funds gainStaff writer, with CNAThe Bureau of Labor Funds yesterday reported record high monthly gains for January from funds that it manages, citing booming global financial markets. The funds’ accumulated gains, which reflect overall increases in the value of assets and investments, totaled NT$394.7 billion (US$12.56 billion) in January, smashing the previous record of NT$300.6 billion in October last year, bureau data showed. Photo: ReutersBureau of Labor Funds Deputy Director Liu Li-ju (劉麗茹) said the gains were driven by a surge in global financial markets, but she expected a smaller return on the labor funds last month, as markets are unlikely to sustain all of their January gains. As of the end of January, the combined value of the funds managed by the bureau — the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund — was NT$7.98 trillion, the data showed. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Public Service Pension Fund yesterday said that its fund recorded NT$61.48 billion in gains in January, equal to a rate of return of 5.11 percent.

Passengers were stranded around the world as airlines sought to reroute around the Middle East, where most nations had slammed their airspace shut as Iran launched retaliatory strikes on the glittering Gulf cities. Tehran hit both Dubai International Airport — the world’s busiest for international traffic — and Kuwait’s main airport during its retaliation a day earlier. Stranded passengers wait at Velana International Airport in Male on Sunday after the cancelation of several flights destined for the Middle East. Even Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not affect the major air hubs of the Middle East through which travelers to destinations in much of Asia almost always transit, he said. Nations including France and Thailand have said they are looking at evacuating citizens from the Middle East.