KMT to propose own defense budget by deadline: spokesmanBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would submit its own draft of the special defense budget by Friday next week, when the legislature is set to deliberate different versions of the bill, KMT spokesman Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) said today. Following cross-party negotiations yesterday, the legislature agreed to schedule a review of the government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.94 billion) special defense budget alongside all other versions of the bill in the Foreign Affairs and National Defense and Finance committees. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has submitted its own version that would allocate NT$400 billion for certain weapons systems, to be reviewed annually. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesThe KMT has previously said it would also propose a draft budget, but has not yet submitted one. Speaking on a radio program this morning, Niu said that the KMT would “certainly respond” to US expectations by reviewing the budget for arms purchases.

Driver dead, two injured in Taipei van crashStaff writer, with CNAA driver who lost control of his van, injuring two pedestrians and striking a utility pole in Taipei's Wenshan District (文山) this morning, has died, authorities said. The Taipei Fire Department said it dispatched paramedics after receiving a call at 5:50am about a vehicle that had struck pedestrians on Jingxing Road in Taipei's Jingmei (景美) neighborhood. A van is pictured after crashing into a utility pole in Taipei's Wenshan District this morning. Wu's van swerved across the median and then jumped the sidewalk on the other side of the road, striking a married couple and then crashing into a utility pole, police said. Wu was sent to Wanfang Hospital for emergency treatment, where he was pronounced dead at 7:27am, authorities said.

While Trump’s setback is a win for Xi, Chinese officials, like others around the world, have been cautious in their reaction. Morgan Stanley estimates that the average US tariff on China stands at 24 percent. Either way, the impact of US tariffs for Beijing was already blunted last year by exporters diversifying into other markets. While the Chinese side might have more room to bargain, Trump has threatened new tariffs to gain leverage ahead of key meetings, and did so before his previous summit with Xi in October. Although it did not manifest, his initial threat of an additional 100 percent tariff on China roiled equity markets and commodities.

Strategic thinking amid tariff changesBy Simon Tang 湯先鈍The US Supreme Court’s decision on Friday last week in Learning Resources, Inc v Trump was not just a legal technicality, it was a structural shock to the tariff power of US presidents — and Taiwan should treat it as a strategic signal, not a partisan trophy. In a 6-3 ruling, the court held that US presidents cannot invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs. For Taiwanese firms, this reinforces a critical lesson: Strategic resilience matters more than presidential favor. For Taiwan, rather than being a moment for anxiety or triumphalism, it should be a moment for institutional literacy. Presidents change, but the architecture of US governance — judicial review, statutory limits and separation of powers — continues to shape outcomes.

‘Abolish ICE’ gets the most votes in Chicago snowplow-naming contestAPWhen it comes to putting a name to Chicago’s annual battle against its infamously inclement weather, it turns out that the practical is also the political. “Abolish ICE” was the top vote-getter in the city’s “You Name a Snowplow” contest. A man crosses Wacker Drive in front of a waiting city snowplow in Chicago on Jan. 28, 2019. Photo: Rich Hein / Chicago Sun-Times via APDespite mid-winter frigid cold, “ICE Out” protests in recent weeks have continued downtown, near ICE facilities and throughout the suburbs. Other winning contest names this year include “Stephen Coldbert,” for late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert.

Constructing political consensusBy Chen Yu-hsin 陳雨鑫Since taking office in 2024, President William Lai (賴清德) has faced an opposition-held majority in the legislature. Major policy initiatives have been blocked, with ramifications for governing efficiency and Taiwan’s broader political climate. Lee convened a national affairs conference, bringing together opposition and ruling party members, as well as academics, experts and community representatives, to deliberate on constitutional and political reforms. That helped lay the foundations for democratization, shifting the arena of political confrontation from the streets to formal institutions. It achieved a consensus on streamlining provincial governments and privatizing state-owned enterprises, providing direction for institutional reforms and an economic transition.

It was the second time that Kushner did not come in person to a French foreign ministry summons. US Ambassador to France Charles Kushner gives a news conference marking the 250th birthday of the US in Paris on Dec. 4. In an interview with France Info radio yesterday morning, Barrot said the ban would “naturally” affect Kushner’s ability to carry out his duties as an ambassador. He added that the diplomat, father of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, would not recover the access until he explains himself to the foreign ministry. In the radio interview, Barrot said he expected Kushner to also explain recent US sanctions on French officials, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton.

The government is to begin an open tender process and award concessions to operate the ports to two separate firms, Mulino said. Earlier this month, CK Hutchison warned Maersk of legal action should the Nordic company’s terminal unit try to take over operations at the two ports. CK Hutchison yesterday said that it considers Panama’s takeover of the two ports, and the court’s earlier ruling, unlawful. Announced in March last year, it could net CK Hutchison more than US$19 billion in cash if completed. To win Beijing’s approval, CK Hutchison also earlier invited state-owned China Cosco Shipping Corp to join the buyer consortium.

Taiwan’s education not so popularBy Julien Oeuillet 曾樂昂On Feb. 7, the New York Times ran a column by Nicholas Kristof (“What if the valedictorians were America’s cool kids?”) that blindly and lavishly praised education in Taiwan and in Asia more broadly. If Taiwanese education looks so wonderful through the eyes of the archetypal expat, gazing from an ivory tower, how is it that every Taiwanese parent I meet utterly loathes it? All of them are vocally critical of what they perceive as a monstrously antiquated, inefficient, counterproductive and borderline abusive education system, without exception. Their opposition to Taiwan’s education system is not always visible at first, because they comply with it, but this is largely because they believe they have no choice. For that reason, I believe the only thing standing between Taiwan’s education system and meaningful reform is the lack of awareness among frustrated parents that they are not alone.

Bumper berry harvest reviving NZ kakapo’s populationAP, WELLINGTONThe world’s only flightless parrot species was once thought to be doomed by design. However, the nocturnal and reclusive New Zealand native bird’s fate is teetering toward survival after an unlikely conservation effort that has coaxed the population from 50 to more than 200 over three decades. However, conservationists kept looking, and in the late 1970s, a new population of the birds was discovered. One reason the kakapo population has grown slowly is that its breeding is, like everything about the birds, peculiar. Native birds are beloved in New ZealandPerhaps the only thing stranger than the kakapo is the lengths to which New Zealanders have gone to save it.

Killing the goose that lays the gold medalBy Nancy QianThe Olympic Games have always been about more than sports, with the medal count serving as a measure of national vitality. Although immigrants bring talent and ambition, they also might compete for jobs or disseminate US-acquired knowledge abroad. For decades, the US has crowded the podium with the children of immigrants: Michelle Kwan (關穎珊, silver, 1998; bronze, 2002), Sasha Cohen (silver, 2006), Mirai Nagasu (bronze, 2018, team), Nathan Chen (陳巍, gold, 2022), and, this year, Ilia Malinin (gold, team) and Alysa Liu (劉美賢, gold). For example, the speed skater Apolo Ohno (gold, 2002, 2006; eight medals total) has a Japanese-born father, and snowboarder Chloe Kim (gold, 2018; gold, 2022; silver, 2026) is the daughter of South Korean immigrants. The list grows longer still if one includes champions descended from earlier waves of migration, such as Polish-American Tara Lipinski (gold, 1998) and Japanese-American Kristi Yamaguchi (gold, 1992).

EDITORIAL: Growth as US tariff policy changesTaiwan’s semiconductor-driven economy is expected to remain on a steep growth trajectory this year, as changes to US tariff policies are unlikely to undermine the growth momentum facilitated by Taiwan’s manufacturing technology leadership and capacity readiness amid artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spending sprees. The US Supreme Court last week ruled that US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs were unlawful. Trump has since pushed for a new 15 percent tariff on imports from all trade partners from yesterday. Most economists, industry analysts and investment consultancies also expect the tariff rule changes to have a limited effect on Taiwan’s economy in the initial stage. Some experts say that a “wait-and-see” approach would be best for the government, as US tariff policy remains fluid.

Citrini report author maps out playbook for dealing with AIBloombergArtificial intelligence (AI) may significantly displace workers and disrupt consumption-driven economies like the US in the near future, according to Alap Shah, co-author of a Citrini Research report that fueled a scare-trade selloff, and who is now calling for an AI tax to cushion job losses. Governments should consider taxing incremental or windfall gains from AI, Shah, chief investment officer at Lotus Technology Management, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Shah sketched out a scenario where 5 percent of white-collar workers could be cut within 18 months. Photo: ReutersTechnology shares have slid in recent weeks on fears AI could upend business models, with the weekend report from Citrini Research adding to concerns about widespread disruption and job losses. White-collar workers account for 50 percent of employment and drive roughly 75 percent of discretionary consumer spending, according to the Citrini paper.

E.Sun earnings hit record-high NT$34.29bn last yearBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterE.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) yesterday said it closed last year with record-high earnings and outlined an ambitious expansion blueprint for this year, with deeper integration of its new businesses intended to reinforce growth across its banking, securities and asset management franchises. At its earnings briefing in Taipei, the conglomerate struck a confident tone as strategy chief Charles Tan (譚宏) made his debut appearance, outlining a post-acquisition road map following the addition of asset management and life insurance operations. The Taipei-based financial group recorded net income of NT$34.29 billion (US$1.09 billion) last year, up 31.2 percent from 2024, and total revenue of NT$91.77 billion. E.Sun Financial Holding Co chairman Joseph Huang, center, president Chen Mao-chin, second left, and other company executives gesture at an earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. “E.Sun is not pursuing asset expansion for its own sake,” he said.

AI behemoths in US accuse Chinese rivals of data theft‘DISTILLATION’: OpenAI this month told US lawmakers that Chinese companies ‘free-ride on the capabilities developed by OpenAI and other US frontier labs’AFP, SAN FRANCISCOUS artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic PBC said on Monday that it had uncovered campaigns by three Chinese AI firms to illicitly extract capabilities from its Claude chatbot, in what it described as industrial-scale intellectual property theft. Photo: BloombergDistillation is a common practice within AI development, often used by companies to create cheaper, smaller versions of their own models. Anthropic said the Chinese companies achieved their ends through approximately 16 million exchanges with its Claude model and 24,000 fake accounts. Each campaign concentrated heavily on coding, agentic reasoning and tool use — areas in which Claude is considered a leader. Anthropic called for coordinated industry and government responses to address what it said no single company could tackle alone.