Five US policy shifts could reshape financial marketsBy Dambisa MoyoAmid the chaos and uncertainty unleashed by tariff wars and foreign adventurism, it is easy to overlook US President Donald Trump’s administration’s five domestic policy initiatives that could fundamentally reshape financial markets and, by extension, the broader global economy. Currently, these funds enjoy tax-free status on their US investments, much like most institutional investors. However, large institutional investors control only 2 percent of the US single-family housing market. Fewer synchronized disclosures could increase information asymmetry, benefiting well-resourced institutional investors over smaller market participants. The clear takeaway is that the US policy and regulatory environment is changing rapidly, potentially altering valuation dynamics, capital flows and the overall architecture of financial markets.

The two aspects of democratic maturityBy Leonard Fong-sheng Wang 王鳳生This year marks the 79th anniversary of one of the most defining and painful moments in Taiwan’s modern history. The 228 Incident carries the weight of collective memory and the long journey toward democratic transformation. Together, they form two essential dimensions of democratic maturity. Under such conditions, Taiwan’s internal cohesion and external predictability hold regional significance. As East Asia faces mounting geopolitical uncertainty, Taiwan has an opportunity to demonstrate political maturity: Confronting history without weaponizing it, and strengthening national defense without inflaming internal division.

GDP growth benefits remain unequalBy Wang Chin-ho 王清厚Taiwan’s economy took off in the 1970s and 1980s, transforming it from a developing nation into a beautiful, developed country. Taiwan’s GDP per capita surpassing US$40,000 can be partly attributed to negative population growth. Since GDP per capita is calculated by dividing GDP by the population, negative or zero population growth naturally pushes the figure higher. That Taiwan’s GDP per capita has risen from stabilizing at US$30,000 to surpassing US$40,000 in just five years highlights the strength of its economic growth. As GDP growth primarily benefits the tech sector, traditional industries continue to struggle and economic gains are not being shared broadly among the population.

Kenya revives railway to nowhere without BeijingBloombergKenya next month is to resume construction of a Chinese-backed railway it abandoned almost seven years ago after funding dried up — this time without taking new loans from Beijing. Students line up to board a Standard Gauge Railway passenger train at Kutoka Station in Kenya on Oct. 22, 2019. Kenya last year switched the railway’s dollar loans into yuan, cutting debt-servicing costs by US$215 million a year. China has raised concerns about Kenya securitizing the railway levy, saying it was contractually earmarked as a backstop for servicing the original Chinese loans, Mbadi said, but added that the government plans to move forward. China Road and Bridge Corp, the contractor, is willing to put US$500 million into the railway project, Mbadi said.

S Korea to finally get fully functioning Google MapsReuters, SEOULSouth Korea would soon no longer be one of the few countries where Google Maps does not work properly, after its security-conscious government reversed a two-decade stance to approve the export of high-precision map data to overseas servers. Those conditions include blurring military and other sensitive security-related facilities, as well as restricting longitude and latitude coordinates for South Korean territory on products such as Google Maps and Google Earth, it said. Google Maps is pictured on a smartphone and on a computer in Seoul yesterday. Photo: AFPThe decision is expected to hurt Naver and Kakao — local Internet giants which dominate the country’s market for digital map services. “We welcome today’s decision and look forward to our ongoing collaboration with local officials to bring a fully functioning Google Maps to Korea,” Google vice president Cris Turner said.

EDITORIAL: Confronting an uncomfortable pastToday marks the 79th anniversary of the 228 Incident, an anti-government protest that began on Taipei’s Dihua Street (迪化街) the morning after a Taiwanese widow — accused of selling contraband cigarettes — was assaulted by Monopoly Bureau agents. Their stories are not abstractions from a distant past — they are lived experiences that continue to shape family histories and collective consciousness. Confronting uncomfortable chapters in a nation’s history is not an act of division, but rather a prerequisite for reconciliation grounded in honesty. It is about safeguarding the principles that emerged in the decades that followed — accountability, political pluralism and respect for human dignity. In remembering 228 with clarity and resolve, Taiwan affirms not only its past, but the democratic future it has chosen and continues to build.

An ideal site for a new legislatureBy Huang Wei-ping 黃惟冰According to media reports, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has expressed interest in promoting the relocation of the Legislative Yuan, with the Grand Hotel Taipei as the preferred site. However, with regard to site location, building structure and political significance, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) is clearly the superior option. Firstly, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is located beside an MRT station that serves as an interchange for the Red (Tamsui-Xinyi) and Green (Songshan-Xindian) lines. Compared with the current location of the Legislative Yuan, the added sense of distance could prove detrimental to shaping the new image of the legislature. Moreover, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall’s overtly authoritarian, cult of personality design is fundamentally out of step with a modern, democratic society.

Support local identities in schoolsBy Hsiao Chia-hung 蕭嘉弘For this academic year’s university admissions, more than 300 university departments are assessing applicants based on a single subject, out of which 189 departments would consider only Chinese language and literature. Local languages, meanwhile, have long been left out in the cold within the Taiwanese education system. Just as English emphasizes reading and writing assessments, introducing local languages into the testing system would also likely begin with literacy tests. High school is designed to prepare students for university, and local languages are already a mandatory subject. It would be a win-win for applicants and selection committees alike, and provide an impetus and stronger resolve for students studying local languages.

In the film, guitarist Tell Chang (張凱翔) proudly says: “There is no AI in our sound.”From left to right: Tu Chia-chin, KT Chang and Tell Chang, in a selfie with fans. Elephant Gym is classified as math rock, a mostly instrumental genre. Elephant Gym has just returned from a world tour that took them across Asia, Europe and the Americas — all of it documented in the film. “I asked the other two how much they were willing to reveal in the film,” Tell Chang says. Elephant Gym instead displays a remarkably mature ability to resolve conflict and move forward together.

CDC confirms the year’s first local measles caseBy Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNATaiwan’s first domestic measles case of the year has been confirmed and more than 500 contacts are being monitored until March 17, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Measles outbreaks continue globally, with India, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam reporting cases since last year, the CDC said. Japan has reported 43 measles cases so far this year, the highest figure over same period in nearly seven years, with the most cases reported in Tokyo and Osaka, it said. He visited two different hospitals on Monday, Thursday and Friday last week, and was diagnosed with dengue fever on the third visit, he said. There had been 19 cases of dengue fever as of Wednesday, lower than the same period in 2024 and last year, the CDC said.

Taiwan should adopt ‘hellscape’ strategy: think tankOTHER OPTIONS: Given possible US intervention and Taiwanese counterattacks, China might opt to blockade Taiwan or take its outlying islands instead of an all-out invasionStaff writer, with CNA, WASHINGTONA US think tank has urged Taiwan to adopt a “hellscape” strategy that would flood the Taiwan Strait with drones and other uncrewed systems to deter invasion by China. In its report, Hellscape for Taiwan, published on Thursday, the Center for a New American Security said Taipei’s asymmetric defense approach — often described as a “porcupine strategy” — needs to evolve to keep pace with the growing capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The “hellscape” strategy involves saturating the air and waters around Taiwan with thousands of drones and other platforms capable of striking invading forces from multiple domains at once. It also recommended building domestic manufacturing capacity and integrating uncrewed systems into a doctrine that links sensors, shooters and command networks. Another possibility was a limited operation to take Taiwan’s outlying islands, testing international resolve while avoiding the enormous costs of invading Taiwan proper.

The Ta Kung Pao (大公報) yesterday alleged that Liu’s nephew, Yen Wen-chun (顏文群), who holds senior management positions in three Chinese companies, gave Liu political donations. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang speaks in an undated photograph. The office last month listed Liu as a “diehard Taiwanese independence separatist,” and banned her and their family from entering China and its territories. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the state-owned Ta Kung Pao to spread fake news and attack Liu, the MAC said. The government supports normal cross-strait interactions, as Taiwanese investors or jobseekers in China would bolster local economic development and facilitate cross-strait interactions, the MAC said.

Philippines-Japan-US drills conducted over Bashi ChannelAFP, MANILAThe Philippine, US and Japanese militaries conducted joint exercises this week over the Bashi Channel that separates the Philippines from Taiwan, officials said yesterday. It marks the first time that so-called “Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activities” (MMCAs) involving the countries have expanded beyond the South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have engaged in repeated clashes over disputed territory. US Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey sails below an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter during a joint military exercise in the South China Sea. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Public Affairs Office / AFPLittle more than 100km separates the Philippines and Taiwan. It included a live-fire gunnery exercise conducted by the guided missile frigate, BRP Antonio Luna.

Japan’s LDP approves plan to bolster intelligenceAFP, TOKYOJapanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved plans to beef up the country’s intelligence capability, a party official said yesterday, as Takaichi pushes ahead with a defense overhaul. The proposal, agreed by the intelligence strategy headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), includes establishing an upgraded intelligence bureau and bolstering “foreign intelligence collection capabilities,” an LDP official said. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at her office in Tokyo on Wednesday last week. “One of the central pillars of the major policy shift [under Takaichi] is a fundamental strengthening of intelligence,” LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi said. The prime minister has vowed that Japan would steadfastly protect its territory, waters and airspace.

Japanese state hands Rapidus US$1.6 billionBloombergThe Japanese government would invest ￥250 billion (US$1.6 billion) in state-backed Rapidus Corp as part of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s pledge to boost domestic chipmaking. Under the new arrangement, the government would initially hold only about 10 percent of Rapidus’ voting shares and own the majority of its stake in non-voting stock, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official Tomoshige Nambu said yesterday. The Rapidus Corp booth is pictured at the Semicon Japan exhibition in Tokyo on Dec. 17 last year. Photo: BloombergHowever, the state retains the right to convert them into voting shares to seize majority control if the company faces financial distress. On top of state support, Rapidus has also secured ￥167.6 billion from about 30 private companies to help its goal of launching mass production by March 2028.