Cho temporarily advises against providing info to China-born lawmakerBy Chung Li-hua and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerUntil China-born Taiwan People's Party Legislator Li Zhenxiu’s (李貞秀) eligibility to serve in public office has been confirmed, government agencies should not provide her with any information, confidential or otherwise, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said today. Taiwan People's Party Legislator Li Zhenxiu holds up a sign saying "bullying" at the legislature in Taipei on Tuesday. Under Article 20 of the Nationality Act (國籍法), people who hold other nationalities are prohibited from serving in public office. Under the cross-strait law, Chinese nationals are only eligible to run for public office after they have become a naturalized Taiwanese citizen for at least 10 years. Li’s case is unclear under both the Nationality Act and the cross-strait act, Cho said, advising all ministries to refrain from providing her any information, confidential or otherwise.

Koxinga statue takes spotlight in Lantern Festival previewStaff writer, with CNAOrganizers yesterday offered a sneak peek of this year's Taiwan Lantern Festival's religious culture zone, featuring a 10m-high Koxinga statue from Sikou Kaiyuan Temple valued at more than NT$3 million (US$96,027). The statue is modeled after the 52m original in Sikou Township (溪口), visible from the main road and equivalent to a seven-story building, the Chiayi County Government said. A statue of Koxinga and other defied figures stand atop Sikou Kaiyuan Temple in Chiayi County yesterday. During the preview, Chiayi County Commissioner Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) and representatives from 10 local religious groups toured the lantern zone, offered blessings for the festival and showcased some displays still under installation. This year's Taiwan Lantern Festival runs from Tuesday next week to March 15 in Chiayi County, with organizers expecting millions of visitors.

Cool, rainy weather expected over 228 holidayStaff writer, with CNACooler temperatures and scattered rain showers are forecast for northern and central Taiwan over the 228 Peace Memorial Day weekend, beginning tomorrow, independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said. Photo: Taipei TimesHowever, the arrival of a weather front tonight is to bring occasional rain showers and cooler temperatures to northern and central Taiwan tomorrow, Wu said. From Sunday afternoon through Monday, there would be a brief window of drier and warmer weather across Taiwan, he said. Temperatures in northern and central Taiwan are to remain in the low to mid-20s tomorrow and Saturday, before rising into the upper-20s on Sunday, the Central Weather Administration said. In the south, temperatures are to hover in the upper-20s throughout the three-day holiday weekend, the agency's forecast showed.

Taiwan investment in EU grows 650% over decade amid closer trade tiesStaff Writer, with CNATaiwan’s investment in the European Union (EU) has surged 650% over the past decade as trade ties between the two economies continue to strengthen, according to data from Taiwan’s International Trade Administration (ITA). From 2016 to 2025, Taiwan’s total investment in the EU reached about US$13.88 billion, compared with US$1.85 billion from 2006 to 2015, representing an increase of approximately 650 percent, the data show. The EU is Taiwan’s fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade totaling more than US$68.64 billion in 2024, and it is also Taiwan’s largest source of foreign investment. Taiwan’s investment in the EU had previously been relatively limited, with Taiwanese businesses mainly concentrating funds in China and Southeast Asia, she said. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides had gradually established multiple economic and trade cooperation platforms, Hsu said.

His testimony came as investors await Nvidia’s earnings release, when the company might outline progress toward regaining access to the lucrative Chinese market. More broadly, Peters said that there is a stringent approach to cracking down on companies that are contravening export control rules. Underscoring this approach, Peters also said he would be open to increasing the statute of limitations to 10 years and lifting enforcement penalties to potentially more than four times the value of unlawful transactions. He also answered a question from US Representative Bill Huizenga on semiconductor smuggling specifically, calling it a top enforcement priority. “There is chip smuggling,” Peters said.

The military needs updated training methods, strategies, equipment and technology to bolster its asymmetric warfare capabilities, Lai said at an air force ceremony to promote generals. Lai urged the military to initiate institutional reforms to facilitate the full integration of artificial intelligence and novel technologies necessary to wage asymmetric warfare effectively. President William Lai speaks at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday. Chiang, a veteran C-130 transport aircraft pilot, consistently displayed exemplary leadership, calm professionalism and skill as a pilot in his many years of service, Lai said. In May 1957, the US leased the ship to the navy, which renamed it the ROCS Chung Hsi (中熙).

Martial Law-era files declassifiedBy Wang Hao 汪浩After more than a year of review, the National Security Bureau on Monday said it has completed a sweeping declassification of political archives from the Martial Law period, transferring the full collection to the National Archives Administration under the National Development Council. The move marks another significant step in Taiwan’s long journey toward transitional justice. For decades, public understanding of authoritarian-era surveillance and political trials has relied heavily on survivors’ testimonies and fragmentary historical records. Questions remain about earlier archival practices — particularly the bundling or merging of files — that might have resulted in missing material. Truth does not quietly sediment on its own.

Photo: EPAThere were five new births per 1,000 people last year, up from 4.7 in 2024. That compared with 4.6 in Taiwan last year, 5.6 in China last year and 5.7 in Japan in 2024, where the trend remains downward. Hallym University sociology professor Shin Kyung-ah said the data needed more scrutiny because of statistical effects such as population composition changes. In a biennial government survey in 2024, 52.5 percent of South Koreans expressed positive views about marriage, up from 50.1 percent in 2022. Last year, new births rose 6.8 percent to 254,457, the biggest percentage rise since 2007, while deaths rose 1.3 percent to 363,389, resulting in the population shrinking for the sixth consecutive year.

Tuckova’s recognition of these shared experiences highlights the untapped potential of Taiwan’s cultural diplomacy. Despite their potential Taiwan’s cultural achievements are less cohesively marketed. By investing in production quality, digital platforms and global marketing, South Korea transformed into a global trend-setter. Beijing would undoubtedly try to control Taiwan’s international space. By taking a strategic cue from South Korea, Taiwan can ensure that more eyes — and ears — are focused on its own story.

Hegseth warns Anthropic to let military use its AIAP, WASHINGTONUS Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic’s CEO until tomorrow to open the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology for unrestricted military use or risk losing its government contract, a person familiar with their meeting said on Tuesday. Anthropic makes the chatbot Claude and is the last of its peers to not supply its technology to a new US military internal network. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stands outside the Pentagon in Washington on Jan. 15. It also comes as Hegseth has vowed to root out what he calls a “woke culture” in the armed forces. The Pentagon objects to Anthropic’s ethical restrictions, saying military operations need tools that do not come with built-in limitations, the senior Pentagon official said.

AI-powered robot Buddhist monk unveiled in JapanAFP, TOKYOJapanese researchers have unveiled a robot monk powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that they say can dispense spiritual advice and maybe one day ease shortages of its human counterparts. A Buddhist monk conducts a special prayer meeting at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo on Aug. 9, 2024. The robot is the latest offering from Seiji Kumagai, a professor at the university’s Institute for the Future of Human Society. Using AI models from OpenAI and others, he has worked with engineering firms to develop religious AI chatbots like Buddha Bot and a catechism bot. For his new creation, Kumagai installed his updated “BuddhaBotPlus” on a Chinese-made “Unitree G1” humanoid robot to create the AI robo-monk.

Huang’s game of political survivalBy Liu Che-ting 劉哲廷The New Taipei City mayoral race should have been a matter of local politics. Instead, due to political coordination between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), along with maneuvering by TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), it has devolved into an absurd spectacle centered around one individual’s political survival. Such an absurd declaration is more than just strategic maneuvering — it exposes the loosening of party boundaries. Party identity, individual political survival and voter expectations have all become entangled in an unsolvable triangle. This election highlights a core dilemma in the nation’s local politics — the subtle, intertwined relationship between party boundaries, individual strategy and voters’ expectations.

Albanese receives bomb threat over Shen YunReuters, SYDNEYAustralian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday said he did not take his security for granted, after he was evacuated from his residence for several hours following a bomb threat sent to a Chinese dance group. Albanese was evacuated from his Canberra residence late on Tuesday following the threat, and returned a few hours later after nothing suspicious was found. The bomb scare was among several e-mails threatening Albanese sent to a representative of Shen Yun, a classical Chinese dance troupe banned in China that is due to perform in Australia this month, a spokesperson for the group said in a statement. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends an event in Canberra on Feb. 11. Albanese yesterday laughed off the incident, posting a photo of his pet dog Toto, a female Cavoodle, on Instagram with the caption: “Toto on alert but all good.

However, Trump’s speech — met with repeated standing ovations from Republicans, while Democrats remained seated in protest and sometimes heckled — was notably short on actual policy announcements. US President Donald Trump, center, delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of the US Congress in Washington on Tuesday night, as Vice President J.D. Demonstrators hold signs during the “People’s State of the Union” rally outside of the US Capitol in Washington on Tuesday night. Top Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer called Trump’s speech “delusional,” and said it failed to address the struggles of ordinary Americans. Underwater in opinion polls, Trump focused on what he said were his administration’s economic achievements, but offered little solace for voters angered by the cost of living.

Kaohsiung, Subic Bay ports sign sister-port agreementStaff writer, with CNAThe Port of Kaohsiung and the Port of Subic Bay in the Philippines officially signed a sister-port agreement yesterday, marking an expansion of maritime cooperation between Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The signing ceremony was held during the 14th anniversary celebration of Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) at the Port of Kaohsiung Cruise Terminal and drew more than 200 participants, including senior officials and industry representatives. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai, center, poses with other event guests at the event marking the 14th anniversary of Taiwan International Ports Corp in Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: CNAKaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the development of the Port of Kaohsiung is closely linked to the city’s growth. Chen added that the city government will continue working with the port on digital transformation and sustainable development to create the best possible prospects for Kaohsiung Port’s future.