Total lunar eclipse to coincide with Lantern FestivalStaff writer, with CNAA total lunar eclipse is to coincide with the Lantern Festival on Tuesday next week, giving skywatchers across Taiwan a rare chance to see a "blood moon," the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Tuesday. An illustration photograph depicts the progression of a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth passes between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow that gives the moon a reddish-copper hue during totality, the CWA said. The last total lunar eclipse visible in Taiwan occurred on Sept. 7 last year. A live Web cast is to begin at 5:40pm on the CWA Web site, it added.

Li Zhenxiu’s documents 'unusual,’ but decision lies with legislature: MACBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNADocuments submitted by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) proving her renunciation of Chinese household registration were “unusual,” but whether she would be allowed to remain in her post is up to the legislature, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said today. Li, who was born in China and has lived in Taiwan for more than three decades, was sworn in as a TPP legislator-at-large on Feb. 3. Taiwan People's Party Legislator Li Zhenxiu, right, swears an oath of office at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Feb. 3. Under the cross-strait act, Chinese nationals are eligible to run for public office after they have become a naturalized Taiwanese citizen for at least 10 years. Li said she came to Taiwan in 1993 through marriage and obtained a Taiwanese ID card and household registration in 1999, while also officially canceling her household registration in China’s Hunan Province.

E-cigarette fines reach NT$880m since law changeBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNAA total of NT$880 million (US$27.99 million) in fines for illegal e-cigarettes and unapproved heated tobacco products have been imposed nationwide in the past three years, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said today. Authorities have issued 10,084 penalties, including 3,266 cases involving e-cigarettes and 6,818 involving heated tobacco products, the agency said. Heated tobacco products and related devices must pass a health risk assessment review before they can be manufactured or imported, it said. While HPA surveys show a downward trend in e-cigarette use among college, high-school and junior-high students, HPA Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) urged continued vigilance. The agency has asked the Ministry of Education to help promote tobacco hazard prevention to ensure that students do not fall into the trap of using or sharing illegal tobacco products with peers, she said.

Legislature to review special defense budget next weekBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNAThe Legislative Yuan is to send the Executive Yuan’s version of the special defense budget to its plenary session on Friday next week, after a cross-party consensus was reached today. The parties concluded that the Cabinet’s version is to be reviewed alongside the Taiwan People Party’s (TPP) version in the Foreign and National Defense and Finance committees. Other proposals should be proposed before Thursday next week, they added. President William Lai (賴清德) in November last year announced a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.76 billion) special defense budget to be allocated over eight years, including arms purchases from the US. The special budget should incorporate items that safeguard national security and defense autonomy, drive local industrial growth and cater to the needs of the national defense industry, he said.

Taiwan seeks US assurances tariff deal terms will not changeBy Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee / Reuters, TAIPEITaiwan is to work with the US to ensure the beneficial terms it has already agreed do not change despite ructions following the US Supreme Court striking down US President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said today. Taiwan has struck two deals with the US to lower the tariffs on its exports to the country to 15 percent from 20 percent. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesUnder last month's deal, 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. Cheng, who led the talks with the US, said the government has been in touch already with Washington, although did not say with whom. Preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan's semiconductor exports already agreed with the US would also not change, but Taiwan's high trade surplus with the US is a risk going forward, Cheng added.

Quake likely December magnitude 7 aftershock: CWAStaff writer, with CNAThis afternoon's magnitude 5.6 earthquake in northeastern Taiwan was probably an aftershock of December's magnitude 7 quake, with further aftershocks possible, but likely minor, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Taiwan at 12:37pm, with its epicenter about 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 66.8km, CWA data showed. Photo courtesy of the Central Weather AdministrationThe tremor was probably an aftershock of the magnitude 7 quake on Dec. 27, given the two events' similar locations and the two-month interval consistent with an aftershock sequence, CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) said. The December earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its epicenter located at sea about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 72.8km. Further aftershocks cannot be ruled out, although their surface impact would be limited given the main quake's considerable depth, Wu added.

DPP caucus elects new leaders, Tsai Chi-chang named whipBy Lee Wen-hsin and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAThe Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus today elected Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) to replace Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) as caucus whip. As it does at the beginning of each legislative session, the DPP caucus convened to elect its new leaders. The lawmakers elected Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) to serve as caucus chief executive and Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) as secretary-general. Outgoing Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming, center right, embraces newly elected whip Legislator Tsai Chi-chang at a meeting in Taipei this morning. Photo courtesy of the Democratic Progressive Party caucusThe party saw a rare competition in the election of caucus whip, as Ker has held the position for 25 years.

Magnitude 5.6 quake shakes northern TaiwanBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writerA magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. Photo courtesy of the Central Weather AdministrationThe maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received an emergency alert on their mobile phones sent by the CWA.

Western Taiwan saw least winter rain since 1951: CWABy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNAWestern Taiwan saw the least rainfall this winter since 1951, with five weather stations across the nation recording the least cumulative rainfall since records began, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Central Weather Administration Weather Forecast Center Director Huang Chun-hsi presents the spring weather forecast at a news conference in Taipei today. The entire main island saw 158.4mm of rain this winter, the fifth-lowest volume since 1951, and only about 60 percent of the climate average of 260.6mm, he said. The season saw just 24.2 days of rain, lower than the average of 32.6 and marking the fourth fewest since 1951, he added. Temperatures from next month to May are forecast to be normal or above normal, while rainfall is expected to be below normal to near normal, Huang said.

Philippine officials visit disputed Thitu IslandReuters, THITU ISLAND, South China SeaAs the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) plane descended toward the country’s most strategically important outpost in the disputed South China Sea, passengers’ phones lit up with a roaming alert: “Welcome to CHINA.”Among those on board were Philippine Senator Risa Hontiveros and PCG spokesman Jay Tarriela, both outspoken critics of Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea. A Philippine Coast Guard member uses his phone to record a view of Philippine-occupied Thitu Island while onboard a plane in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday. A China Coast Guard ship is seen through a telescopic view in Philippine-occupied Thitu Island in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday. Residents and officials pose together inside a covered gymnasium in Philippine-occupied Thitu Island in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday. “There are times when Chinese coast guard vessels would chase us away, so we are forced to stay on one side of the island.

That quip came to mind watching US President Donald Trump’s foreign minister, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, address this year’s Munich Security Conference. In 2016, Rubio called Trump “a con artist” who could not be trusted with the nuclear codes. In Munich, Rubio saturated his speech with performative reassurance. Rubio’s promise of a future “as proud, as sovereign, and as vital as our civilization’s past” gives the game away. Whereas Talleyrand served France’s interests while reshaping Europe’s balance of power, Rubio serves a president who mistakes demolition for strength and nostalgia for renewal.

Chinese sensitivity and the Dalai LamaBy Dolma TseringThe Dalai Lama on Feb. 1 made history by winning his first Grammy Award for his spoken word album Meditations. The footage was framed to imply inappropriate conduct by the Dalai Lama, despite Tibetan representatives saying the clip was taken out of context. China’s targeting of the Dalai Lama highlights how modern authoritarian regimes confront symbolic threats that cannot be neutralized through conventional coercive tools. The Dalai Lama presents Beijing with a particularly acute challenge. The Chinese government’s use of sexual insinuation and reputational manipulation against the Dalai Lama reflects a broader authoritarian playbook.

‘One Battle After Another’ wins 6 prizes including best picture at BAFTA’sHollywood stars and British celebrities, from Paddington Bear to the Prince and Princess of Wales, gathered at London’s Royal Festival Hall for the awardsBy Jill Lawless / AP, LONDONPolitically charged thriller One Battle After Another won six prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, building momentum ahead of Hollywood’s Academy Awards next month. Blues-steeped vampire epic Sinners and gothic horror story Frankenstein won three awards each, while Shakespearean family tragedy Hamnet won two including best British film. Paul Thomas Anderson on Sunday poses with the awards for best director, cinematography, and adapted screenplay for One Battle After Another at the 79th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA’s, in London. William presented an award in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. OSCARS BELLWETHERThe British prizes, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, often provide hints about who will win at Hollywood’s Academy Awards, held this year on March 15.

Social media can be addictive even for adults, but there are ways to cut backBy Barbara Ortutay and Kaitlyn Huamani / APSocial media addiction has been compared to casinos, opioids and cigarettes. Photo: BloombergMuch of the concern around social media addiction has focused on children. But adults are also susceptible to using social media so much that it starts affecting their day-to-day lives. That’s partly because there is no widespread consensus on what constitutes social media addiction and whether underlying mental health issues contribute to problematic use. But just because there is no official agreement on the issue doesn’t mean excessive social media use can’t be harmful, some experts say.

Beware of illegal medical product sales, FDA warnsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterMany people might have purchased health-related products during holiday sales to restock home care supplies, but some commonly used products are categorized as medical devices and must be sold with a legal permit, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said. The agency is urging people to only purchase medical-grade masks, bandages, condoms and other medical devices from legal sources, as selling the items without a permit is illegal. Photo: CNAThrough the agency’s promotion and cooperation with e-commerce platforms, the number of illegal sales has fallen in the past year, FDA Medical Devices and Cosmetics Division Director Chien Chia-hung (錢嘉宏) said. People who sell medical devices without a permit face a fine of up to NT$1 million (US$31,784), in accordance with the Medical Devices Act (醫療器材管理法), Chien said. People should carefully read the instructions and use the medical device products correctly to ensure safety, it added.