Lagarde has not decided on term end, ECB saysEuropean Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is expected to step down from her role before her eight-year term ends in October next year, the Financial Times reported. Lagarde wants to leave before the French presidential election in April next year, which would allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to find her replacement together, the report said, citing an unidentified person familiar with her thoughts on the matter. It is not clear yet when she might exit, the report said. “President Lagarde is totally focused on her mission and has not taken any decision regarding the end of

Beijing’s trade restrictions target JapanAFP, BEIJINGChina yesterday imposed export restrictions on dozens of Japanese firms that it said were involved in building up Tokyo’s military, escalating a months-long row. A man walks past Mitsubishi Heavy Industries signage outside the company’s headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. Shares in Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd sank almost 5 percent in Tokyo, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shed close to 4 percent and IHI Corp tumbled nearly 7 percent. Several of the firms listed are active in the defense industry, manufacturing kits including ships, fighter jets and missiles for the Japanese military. Japanese firms dealing with China were already struggling with delays in getting approvals, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies professor emeritus of Japan-China relations Noriyuki Kawamura said.

AI demand to boost ChipMOS spending‘STRONG DEMAND’: As ChipMOS is facing capacity constraints, it reserves most of its capacity for major customers and has to turn down small-scale orders, its chairman saidBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterChip packaging services provider ChipMOS Technologies Inc (南茂科技) yesterday said it plans to ramp up capital expenditure this year amid growing chip demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. The company said that part of the spending would be used to build advanced chip packaging capacity for customers’ next-generation chips used in cutting-edge AI devices. “The deployment of AI and cloud-based data centers is fueling enterprises’ demand for NAND flash and DRAM chips. Together with the emergence of cutting-edge AI devices, demand for memory chips is on the rise,” Cheng said. It reported the strongest quarterly earnings in nine quarters for last quarter, benefiting from strong demand for memory packaging and testing services.

NSB forms task force to prevent foreign election interferenceCOMMON GROUND: Lai told Taiwanese businesspeople that his administration would strive to work with Beijing on common interests in peace and prosperityBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAThe National Security Bureau (NSB) has established a task force at President William Lai’s (賴清德) request to prevent foreign interference in the Nov. 28 local elections, the bureau said yesterday. China is expected to use disinformation, fake polls, election gambling, and the lure of tourism and economic exchange to meddle in the elections, he said. President William Lai speaks at a ceremony at the National Security Bureau in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNATaiwan faces new types of national security threats emanating from China amid a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, Lai said. They include facilitating an ecosystem for AI start-ups, introducing the technology to small and medium-sized businesses, and promoting its use in the daily lives of Taiwanese, Lai said.

One worker critical in Minquan Bridge construction accidentStaff Writer, with CNATwo workers were rescued from a vehicle that fell into a river at a construction site near Minquan Bridge in Taipei yesterday afternoon, leaving one without vital signs, authorities said. 6 watergate on the Keelung River by Yingfeng Riverside Park, when the vehicle returned to the site after a lunch break and was parking. Firefighers from Taipei City Fire Department try to rescue to two workers in a construction site near the Minquan Bridge in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Cheng Ching-yi, Taipei TimesFirefighters and other construction personnel immediately launched a rescue operation using a lifeboat at the site. The construction project aims to address structural aging and surface settlement on the old bridge.

Google to launch budget Pixel 10a in Taiwan March 5Staff Writer, with CNAU.S.-based tech giant Google LLC announced yesterday that its latest budget-friendly smartphone, the Pixel 10a, will go on sale in Taiwan starting March 5, highlighting the deep involvement of its Taiwan- based research and development team. In a post on its official blog, Google said the Pixel 10a is the eighth-generation device in its A-series lineup and the most durable A-series model to date, crediting close collaboration with local engineers. The Pixel 10a will be available in four color options in Taiwan -- lavender, berry, fog and obsidian. All Gemini users can also access the Nano Banana AI image generator for photo recomposition, image synthesis and custom picture creation, Google said. Google said the Pixel 10a introduces several advanced photographic tools to the A-series for the first time, including automatic group photo enhancement, shooting guidance and collaborative photo features.

Magnitude 5.6 earthquake shakes northeastStaff writer, with CNAA magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off northeastern Taiwan at 12:37pm yesterday, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The hypocenter of the temblor was at sea, about 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 66.8km, the data showed. A Central Weather Administration graphic shows data from a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that struck off Yilan County yesterday. Photo courtesy of the Central Weather AdministrationThe earthquake’s intensity was highest in Yilan County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. December’s quake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter at sea about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed.

KMT to propose legislative oversight for advanced chip technology exportsStaff Writer, with CNAThe main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) will introduce a bill requiring legislative approval for the export of advanced chip technologies, aiming to ensure such know-how remains in Taiwan, the party said yesterday. As the Legislature reconvened from its winter recess on Tuesday, the KMT, which forms a majority alongside the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a strategy workshop to outline its priorities for the new session, listing 42 bills as its top legislative agenda. Central to the agenda is a chip and national security bill, being drafted by the party’s think tank, that would keep the most advanced research and production effectively based in Taiwan, limit the scale of overseas factories, and prohibit exports to any country or region without legislative approval, the party said. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu speaks in a plenary session in legislature in Taipei yesterday. The KMT is also set to push through an amendment to the Act of Military Service for Officers and Non- commissioned Officers of the Armed Forces, aiming to enhance pension benefits for retired personnel and their surviving families, the party said.

MOFA warns Taiwanese travelers not to abuse visa-free statusDIPLOMATIC HEADACHE: Some people travel abroad to engage in illegal activity, but they still request the government’s help when they get in trouble, MOFA saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged people not to abuse Taiwan’s visa-free status by breaking the law abroad, following reports of Taiwanese flying to countries to engage in telecom fraud. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Michael Lin speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNASome Taiwanese traveled to South Korea to engage in telecom fraud, online gambling rings, money muling or other illegal activities, he said. Sixty-two countries have extradition agreements with China and 67 countries have mutual legal assistance treaties with China, he said. In some cases, Taiwanese who completed their criminal sentences abroad were informed by local authorities that China’s representative office had been contacted about extraditing them to China, Lin said.

Taipei has struck two deals with the White House to lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent from 20 percent. Photo: CNAUnder last month’s agreement, Taiwan companies are to invest US$250 billion to boost production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence in the US, while Taiwan would also guarantee an additional US$250 billion in credit to facilitate further investment. The deal with the US includes 2,072 types of tariff-exempt goods for Taiwan, Cheng said. Should the US apply Section 122 measures on Taiwan, it would negatively affect GDP, total export volume and employment, she said. Taiwan’s auto parts exports should not be affected, as they are protected by last month’s deal under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.

Taiwan to join PIF after absence last year: MOFAStaff writer, with CNATaiwan is to attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting later this year in Palau, a senior diplomat said yesterday, after it and other nonmembers of the bloc were barred from last year’s meeting. At the conclusion of the event, the buses would be used from public transportation in Palau, Lin Chia-lung said at the time. Taiwan has been a “development partner” in the PIF since 1993. Only three PIF members — Palau, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu — have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Alingano Maisu sailed from Palau to Taiwan last year, docking at Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Taitung County.

Phone, text scam attempts fall 36.97% year-on-year in TaiwanStaff Writer, with CNATaiwan recorded about 25 million scam calls and text messages last year, a 36.97 percent drop from a year earlier and the steepest decline among Asian countries, according to a Taiwanese tech company yesterday. Loan scams accounted for nearly 80 percent of all fraudulent text messages in Taiwan last year, making them the largest scam category, Gogolook’s report said. Because these messages are professionally formatted and use formal language, they are easily mistaken for legitimate communications and have become one of the categories of text scam that has gradually grown in recent years, it said. In terms of nuisance calls, financial lending ranked first among calls received by Taiwan residents, with 14.59 million identified calls, according to the report. Product marketing ranked second among nuisance calls with 10.35 million calls, including tea sales and real estate brokerage, the report said.

Taiwan releases forced labor prevention guide for businessesStaff Writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Labor (MOL) yesterday released a reference guide to help Taiwanese businesses prevent forced labor and “reduce operational risks” amid growing international scrutiny of migrant workers’ rights in the country’s supply chains. The guide is intended to help businesses build “effective mechanisms” to prevent forced labor and embed “respect for human rights” in supply chain management, said Lydia Huang (黃齡玉), head of MOL’s Workforce Development Agency. The Ministry of Labor’s 11 indicators for forced labor are pictured in this diagram. The guide was issued following the recent signing of the Taiwan-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, under which both sides agreed to include labor protections, such as a ban on imports of goods produced with forced labor. The guide introduces the International Labour Organization’s 11 forced labor indicators, including signs of forced labor such as debt bondage, restriction of movement, excessive overtime and retention of identity documents, Huang said.

Ex-Hualien mayor Wei enters commissioner raceBy Wang Chin-yi and Jason Pan / Staff reportersFormer Hualien City mayor Wei Chia-hsien (魏嘉賢) on Sunday declared his candidacy for county commissioner, joining several pan-blue camp figures seeking to end Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi’s (傅?萁) more than two decades of political dominance in the county. Hualien County Councilor Wei Chia-hsien speaks in an undated photograph. Hualien County Council Speaker Chang Chun (張峻), another KMT stalwart, is also expected to enter the commissioner race in the Nov. 28 nine-in-one local elections. Fu rose to prominence in Hualien politics when he was elected to the legislature in 2001, before serving two terms as a county commissioner. After taking office as commissioner, Fu on Dec. 20, 2009, appointed his then-ex wife and current Hualien County Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) as deputy county commissioner, two days after they divorced.

Kaohsiung man arrested over Taipei MRT threatStaff writer, with CNAA Kaohsiung man was arrested early this morning after calling the Taipei metro system threatening to kill people on a city subway, the Taipei Police Department said. The suspect is a 36-year-old man who reportedly has a history of making prank calls threatening violence, several sources said. Passengers enter and exit a train at the Taipei Metro’s Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station on July 19, 2021. Following the call, members of the Taipei police and fire departments were deployed to Songshan Station. The case would be handed over to Taipei prosecutors for further questioning and possible prosecution as a part of the ongoing investigation.