China’s BYD Co poised to overtake Tesla in EV sales
China’s BYD Co poised to overtake Tesla in EV salesPOTENTIAL demand: Tesla’s chance of reclaiming its leadership in EVs seems uncertain, but breakthrough in full self-driving could help boost sales, an analyst saidAFP, NEW YORKChinese auto giant BYD Co (比亞迪) is poised to surpass Tesla Inc as the world’s biggest electric vehicle (EV) company in annual sales. As of the end of last month, BYD, which also produces hybrid vehicles, had sold 2.07 million EVs. Deutsche Bank AG, which projects just 405,000 Tesla EV sales during the fourth quarter, sees the company’s sales down by about one-third in North America and Europe, and by one-tenth in China. Tesla has also faced rising EV competition from BYD and other Chinese companies, and from European giants. Former US president Joe Biden imposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese EV imports, which could potentially go up under Trump.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 17:13 UTC
DPP and KMT both condemn the other’s stance on exercise
DPP and KMT both condemn the other’s stance on exerciseStaff writer, with CNAAs Beijing began a military exercise around Taiwan yesterday, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) condemned each other’s approach toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began an exercise called “Justice Mission 2025” yesterday in the Taiwan Strait and seas to Taiwan’s north, southwest, southeast and east. The PLA said it would conduct live-fire drills today from 8am to 6pm in five designated maritime and airspace zones around Taiwan. Photo: EPAThe exercise triggered recriminations by the DPP and KMT against each other. The TPP urged Beijing to halt actions that undermined stability in the Taiwan Strait and act responsibly to maintain regional peace.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 17:12 UTC
Supreme Court upholds ex-city councilor’s sentence
Supreme Court upholds ex-city councilor’s sentenceStaff writer, with CNAThe Supreme Court last week rejected an appeal by former New Taipei City councilor Chen Ko-ming (陳科名), upholding his sentence of 10 years and eight months in prison on bribery charges. The courts determined that Chen illegally obtained NT$13.07 million (US$415,580) through the scheme, in contravention of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Prosecutors said they concluded that Chen received more than NT$17.17 million in bribes and other improper benefits. The Taiwan High Court upheld the original verdict, and the Supreme Court on Tuesday last week dismissed further appeals, making the judgement final. Prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence for Tsai.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 17:12 UTC
YouTube doctor fake: group
YouTube doctor fake: groupBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA self-styled “doctor” sharing health-related content on YouTube is likely an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated character, Taiwan FactCheck Center said, while two Taipei hospitals confirmed that no such doctor works for them. “Doctor Chen Chi-ming” (陳志明醫師) had posted several videos sharing health-related content, mainly healthcare tips for middle-aged and elderly people. The channel, which is no longer listed on YouTube, had more than 23,000 subscribers at one point, with one video receiving 150,000 views. A screen grab from the YouTube channel of “Doctor Chen Chi-ming” is pictured on Sunday. The hospitals confirmed that no “Doctor Chen Chi-ming” works at their hospitals, and that his claim about a “breakthrough therapy” for diabetes does not exist, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 17:12 UTC
Enrollment falls below 60% at 6 colleges
Enrollment falls below 60% at 6 collegesPRECARIOUS: Low freshman enrollment rates not only put colleges’ finances and academics at risk, but also could put them at risk of closing down, a source saidBy Rachel Lin and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writerSix colleges reported an enrollment rate of less than 60 percent this year, following years of low birthrates, data released yesterday by the Ministry of Education showed. The release of this year’s freshman enrollment rates at colleges and universities comes as education experts expressed concern over higher education enrollment. Freshman enrollment rates are also an important indicator in determining if the ministry should open discussions on possible school closure, they said. The ministry would continue to monitor enrollment rates and education quality to ensure students’ rights and welfare are protected, it said. Enrollment rates for starting master’s degrees or doctoral programs were also declining, with 54 colleges or universities reporting zero enrollment this year.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 17:12 UTC
Bondi victims’ families demand probe
Bondi victims’ families demand probe‘CRISIS’? Albanese last week said that a New South Wales-led royal commission — where the shooting occurred — would suffice and promised full support. Our loved ones were celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach, a festival of light and joy, in an iconic public space that should have been safe,” the letter said. But with a well-led Commonwealth Royal Commission and strong action, you may be able to save many more,” they said. The call for a royal commission echoes voices in the broader Jewish community, legal experts and other politicians.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 17:11 UTC
Chinese monument near Panama Canal torn down
Chinese monument near Panama Canal torn downAFP, PANAMA CITYNear the entrance to the Panama Canal, a monument to China’s contributions to the interoceanic waterway was torn down on Saturday night by order of local authorities. In a surprising move that has been criticized by leaders in Panama and China, the mayor’s office of the locality of Arraijan ordered the demolition of the monument built in 2004 to symbolize friendship between the countries. People pose for a photograph near the original site of a removed Chinese monument in Panama City on Sunday. The US and China are the main users of the 80km canal, which sees the passage of 5 percent of global maritime trade. The Panama Canal was under US control from 1914 to 1999, when it was taken over by Panama.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:47 UTC
Nine killed as Turkish police raid alleged IS house
Nine killed as Turkish police raid alleged IS houseAP, ANKARAIslamic State (IS) militants yesterday clashed with police in northwest Turkey, leaving three police officers and six militants dead, the Turkish minister of the interior said. The shooting occurred in Elmali district in Yalova, south of Istanbul, as police stormed a house where the militants were hiding. Turkish gendarmerie special forces leave the site where Turkish security forces launched an operation on a house believed to contain suspected Islamic State militants in Yalova, Turkey, yesterday. The operation in Yalova was carried out with “great care,” because women and children were inside the house where the militants were located, he said. Meanwhile, the Yalova Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation, assigning five prosecutors to lead the probe, Turkish Minister of Justice Yilmaz Tunc said on social media.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC
What to expect from new Honduras
What to expect from new HondurasBy Juan Fernando Herrera RamosAfter more than three weeks since the Honduran elections took place, its National Electoral Council finally certified the new president of Honduras. He also said that he intends to work closely with the US, Taiwan and Israel to promote economic development in Honduras. While controversial, the timing of the pardon was widely interpreted within Honduras as a clear political signal of which party Trump was supporting. At the same time, it reiterated its desire to continue cooperating with the new government on Honduras’ development, conditional on respect for Beijing’s “one China” principle. For Honduras, the choice ahead is not between China and Taiwan in abstract geopolitical terms.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC
Bondi hero says he wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
Bondi hero says he wanted to protect ‘innocent people’AFP, SYDNEYBondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed al-Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrestled the gun from him, saying in an interview published yesterday with a US outlet he wanted to protect “innocent people.”Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram are accused of targeting a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens in what authorities have described as an anti-Semitic terrorist attack. Despite the tragedy, tales of heroism emerged of those who tried to stop the two gunmen during their deadly rampage. Ahmed al-Ahmed talks to New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns, not pictured, at St George Hospital in Sydney in a photograph released on Dec.16. “My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview that aired yesterday. Al-Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC
Myanmar’s USDP wins first phase of poll
Myanmar’s USDP wins first phase of pollCONTROVERSY: Western diplomats and the UN rights chief have condemned the vote, citing a crackdown on dissent and a candidate list stacked with military alliesAFP, NAYPYIDAWMyanmar’s dominant pro-military party is “winning a majority” in the first phase of junta-run elections, a party source said yesterday, after democracy watchdogs warned the poll would entrench military rule. The armed forces snatched power in a 2021 coup, but on Sunday opened voting in a phased month-long election they pledge would return power to the people. The military overturned the results of the last poll in 2020 after Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, trounced the USDP. The military and USDP then alleged massive voter fraud, claims which international monitors say were unfounded. However, on Sunday military chief Min Aung Hlaing said the armed forces could be trusted to hand back power to a civilian-led government.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC
CCI dips 0.35 points amid tariff worries
The consumer confidence index (CCI) declined 0.35 points from October to 64.3, leaving the gauge broadly flat, the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development said. Consumer sentiment outlook remains highly sensitive to developments in US tariff policy, which are expected to become clearer in the first quarter of next year, center director Dachrahn Wu (吳大任) said. Photo: CNA“Once US tariff policies become clear, the direction of consumer confidence will be either very positive or very negative,” Wu said, underscoring the risk of heightened volatility in sentiment. The government’s business climate monitoring score rose two points from October to 37, remaining in the yellow-red zone for three consecutive months and just one point below a boom. However, gains remained uneven, with AI-related sectors leading growth in exports, production and employment, while traditional industries continued to face headwinds, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC
Sexual harassment case mishandled, female doctors say
Sexual harassment case mishandled, female doctors sayBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taipei Doctors’ Union and two former doctors at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital yesterday accused the hospital of downplaying accusations of sexual harassment and imposing a light penalty on a male executive. Taipei Doctors’ Union president Chen Liang-fu, second right, holds a poster at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo courtesy of the Taipei Doctors’ UnionWhen a female worker was in a recovery room after a miscarriage, the director allegedly rubbed her breasts with his hands, she said. She said the victims had filed sexual harassment complaints with the hospital, but the administration failed to protect the victims, and the grievance committee failed to avoid conflicts of interest. The union said the director is still an official of a doctor’s association, holding academic resources and authority, raising concerns that other young female doctors might be at risk.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC
EDITORIAL: Truth behind tax revenue surplus
EDITORIAL: Truth behind tax revenue surplusTaiwan has had a tax revenue surplus every year since 2021, with last year’s figure reaching NT$528.3 billion (US$16.8 billion), which brought the cumulative surpluses of the past four years to NT$1.87 trillion, Ministry of Finance data showed. It is natural for some people to have such questions, as they mistakenly believe that tax revenue surplus means the government has extra income, but that is not the case. Tax revenue surplus simply means that the tax collected by the government exceeds the amount it projected. On the other hand, this year’s tax revenue shortfall might signal a correction in the structural inaccuracy of the government’s tax revenue forecasting model. The result was that actual tax revenue consistently exceeded the expected amount, creating a structural, excess tax revenue trend that continued year after year.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC
Watchdog group chooses annual word for legislature
Watchdog group chooses annual word for legislatureBy Hsieh Chun-lin and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe word hui (毀, “destroy”) was chosen as this year’s word representing the legislature, Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) said yesterday. Members of the Citizen Congress Watch hold a press conference outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday with a poster showing the character “destroy” as the word representing this year’s legislature. “People are worried about infiltration of enemy state agents and proxies into the legislature to endanger national security and undermine Taiwanese sovereignty,” Hsieh said. The legislative offices are full of leaks, with a number of legislative aides caught stealing and passing secrets to China,” he added. All these actions conspire to open the doors for the enemy state Chinese forces to operate more easily in Taiwan,” Hsieh added.
Source:Taipei Times
December 29, 2025 16:45 UTC