Japan bear crisis sparks culinary craze
Japan bear crisis sparks culinary crazeAFP, CHICHIBU, JapanSince Japan recorded a spike in deadly bear attacks, Koji Suzuki has struggled to keep up with booming demand for grilled cuts of the animal at his restaurant. A restaurant worker grills fish over a hearth at a restaurant that offers bear meat in Chichibu, Japan, on Dec. 12. People eat bear meat hot pot at a restaurant in Chichibu, Japan, on Dec. 12. However, much of the bear meat still goes to waste, partly due to a shortage of government-approved processing facilities. “Bear meat is a tourism resource for us,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
Waymo to update software after jam amid power loss
Waymo to update software after jam amid power lossReuters, WASHINGTONWaymo on Tuesday said that it would update software used to operate its self-driving vehicles and improve its emergency response protocols after its robotaxis stalled in parts of San Francisco on Saturday due to a widespread power outage that snarled traffic and gridlocked parts of the city. Videos posted on social media showed Waymo robotaxis stuck at intersections with their hazard lights on as traffic lights stopped working due to the outage. A Waymo autonomous taxi navigates in San Francisco on Wednesday last week. Waymo is implementing fleet-wide updates that provide vehicles with “specific power outage context, allowing it to navigate more decisively.”Waymo also said it would improve its emergency response protocols by incorporating lessons from this event. On Monday, the California Public Utilities Commission said that it was reviewing the issue of stalled Waymo vehicles.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
Prosecutors appeal Mickey Huang suspended sentence
Prosecutors appeal Mickey Huang suspended sentenceStaff writer, with CNAThe High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday appealed the sentence handed down last month to former television personality Mickey Huang (黃子佼) for purchasing child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors argued that Huang’s actions seriously harmed the physical and mental development of children and teenagers, and therefore he should not receive a suspended sentence. Television personality Mickey Huang arrives at the High Administrative Court on Oct. 21. Photo: CNAGranting a suspended sentence on the grounds that he had reached settlements with the victims and paid compensation was an incorrect application of the law, they said. However, considering Huang had no previous criminal record and reached settlements with the victims, the court granted him a suspended sentence, and required him to perform 180 hours of community service and attend three legal education sessions.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
CDC forecasts ‘relatively low’ flu season
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠) on Tuesday said flu activity remained at a relatively low level last week, which is “rare” for this time of the year, although there were 16 severe flu cases and six flu-related deaths confirmed last week. Among the 16 severe cases, 13 were unvaccinated in this flu season (beginning on Oct. 1), and among the six deaths, all had chronic illnesses and five were unvaccinated in this flu season, Lee said. Globally, flu activity is rising, with nearby countries, including China, Japan and South Korea, at high levels, and rising activity reported in Europe, the US and Canada, she added. As of Monday, 6.547 million doses of government-funded flu vaccines had been administered this flu season, and there were only about 280,000 doses remaining, so eligible recipients are advised to get vaccinated as early as possible before they run out, he said. As seasonal flu activity usually peaks around the Lunar New Year holidays in Taiwan, he said the centers expect flu cases in the holidays in February to be lower than previous years.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The battle over the constitution veers sharply into the farcical
Donovan’s Deep Dives: The battle over the constitution veers sharply into the farcicalThe current legislative speaker lacks the gravitas to force the main parties to negotiate. The Constitutional Court hears oral arguments on the constitutionality of changes to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act at the court in Taipei on May 12. Again, the Constitutional Court was out of action. The KMT caucus yesterday proposed amendments that would allow rulings of the Constitutional Court to be overturned by a public referendum. This requires half of lawmakers to propose, two-thirds of lawmakers to approve and then it would proceed to — you guessed it — the Constitutional Court.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
Impeachment is not just a slogan
Impeachment is not just a sloganBy John ChengThe public debate surrounding the impeachment campaign against President William Lai (賴清德) has been framed as a clash of political wills: a defiant president versus an aggrieved legislature. This is why the Executive Yuan refused to countersign the measure. Huang, in particular, is well aware that impeachment was designed for clear, egregious abuses of power, not policy disputes manufactured by forcing the Executive Yuan into an unconstitutional corner. A future legislature would learn that it can force the Executive Yuan into an impossible choice: Contravene the Constitution or be accused of doing so. Whether you voted for him or not, Lai is still the president, and impeachment is the most serious step a democracy can take against its own leader.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
Industrial production surges 16.42%
Industrial production surges 16.42%MORE GROWTH: The manufacturing production index is this month expected to rise up to 16.8 percent, with full-year growth potentially hitting a new high, an official saidBy Meryl Kao / Staff reporterThe industrial production index rose 16.42 percent year-on-year to 119.31 last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications that boosted output of information and communications technology and electronics products, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. The manufacturing production index, which comprises 94.63 percent of the industrial production index, increased 17.35 percent to 120.84 last month, recording the 21st consecutive month of annual growth and exceeding the ministry’s forecast of 113.9 to 117.9, it said. In the first 11 months of this year, the industrial and manufacturing production indices rose 16.25 percent and 17.38 percent respectively from the same period last year, ministry data showed. While production momentum for information and electronic products is expected to remain strong this month, traditional industries continue to face intense overseas competition and weak demand, Chen said. The ministry forecast the manufacturing production index in the fourth quarter to rise 15.1 percent to 16.4 percent year-on-year to between 119.91 and 121.25, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
Limits of Taiwan’s governance being tested
Limits of Taiwan’s governance being testedBy Yeh Chieh-ting 葉介庭The limits of Taiwan’s Constitution are being severely tested. After decades of rule under Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), the president came to be seen as the highest seat of political power. As the president became directly elected in 1996, Taiwan contended with how to divide power and accountability between the president, the premier and the legislature. Taiwan’s constitutional crises are testing the edges of the system. He is an adviser to the International Taiwan Studies Center at National Taiwan Normal University and is the founder of Ketagalan Media.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:55 UTC
Japanese official calls for closer collaboration
Suzuki, a former Japanese minister of justice in the Cabinet of former Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba and a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), arrived on Monday with his delegation. From left, Japanese representatives Akihisa Nagashima, Keisuke Suzuki and Junichi Kanda attend a news conference at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei yesterday. “We have concluded that to make sure a Taiwan contingency does not happen, we need to beef up our deterrence capabilities,” he said, without elaborating. Asked whether he discussed ways to enhance bilateral defense cooperation during the meetings in Taipei, Suzuki did not give a direct answer. Lawmakers traveling overseas to conduct exchanges would continue despite the lack of official ties between Tokyo and Taipei, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:11 UTC
PLA activity around Taiwan doubles
Defense spending, be it part of a regular or special budget, is important, as it shows that the nation is willing to defend itself and fufill its responsibility to regional stability, he said. Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien speaks at an event in an undated photograph. Lawmakers from across the political divide should support adding the defense budget to the agenda of the Procedure Committee, he said, adding that the ministry is open to discussion and oversight regarding the bill. It described a Chinese military that is increasingly sophisticated and resilient, wary of large-scale agreements with the US and learning lessons from Russia’s setbacks in Ukraine as it increases pressure on Taiwan. It describes the goals as achieving “strategic decisive victory” over Taiwan, “strategic counterbalance” against the US, and “strategic deterrence and control” against other regional countries.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:11 UTC
Plane crash in Turkey kills Libya’s army chief of staff
Plane crash in Turkey kills Libya’s army chief of staffReuters, ANKARA and TRIPOLIA private jet that crashed on Tuesday, killing Libya’s army chief of staff and seven others on board, had reported an electrical fault and requested an emergency landing shortly before contact was lost, a Turkish official said yesterday. Search teams found the black box of the plane early yesterday, Turkish Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya said. Turkish Minister of the Interior Ali Yerlikaya, center, speaks at the site of a jet crash near Kesikkavak, Turkey, yesterday. Mohammed al-Menfi, head of the Tripoli-based Presidential Council, said that the deputy chief of staff would assume al-Haddad’s duties until a new chief is appointed. Al-Haddad, from the coastal city of Misrata about 200km east of Tripoli, was appointed chief of staff in 2020.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:11 UTC
Civic groups, DPP slam stalling of fiscal budget
Civic groups, DPP slam stalling of fiscal budgetBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterCivic groups, including childcare advocates, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday held a news conference at the legislature, condemning the opposition parties for stalling on the passage of next year’s budget, which they said resulted in withholding of funds, halting of subsidies to families and the suspension of public childcare centers. Democratic Progressive Party legislators Rosalia Wu, second left, Lin Yueh-chin, third left, and Chen Pei-yu, third right, pose for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “KMT and TPP legislators telling people that they ‘prioritize bills related to social welfare programs’ is just a lie,” she said. It is aimed at upgrading public childcare facilities and would rely on steady financial support from the central government,” she said. Lin criticized KMT and TPP legislators for prioritizing amending the Nationality (國籍法) and Constitutional Court Procedure (憲法訴訟法) acts, instead of dealing with the fiscal budget, saying that the budget is crucial in realizing welfare programs.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:03 UTC
DGBAS warns about budget deadlock
DGBAS warns about budget deadlockDEFENSE JEOPARDIZED? Although the DGBAS has yet to make a formal assessment, growth is estimated to decline by 0.05 percent per NT$10 billion (US$317.7 million) in cuts to government spending, DGBAS Minister Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿) told a legislative hearing on the budget fight’s impact on the economy. Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Chen Shu-tzu speaks at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. The deadlock over funding jeopardizes the Ministry of National Defense’s budget of NT$78 billion, an amount accounting for 26 percent of next year’s budget, she said. “The KMT and TPP have opened a gap in the nation’s defenses, gladdened China and disheartened Taiwanese,” Wu said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:03 UTC
Sra Kacaw indicted over alleged illicit payment scheme
Sra Kacaw indicted over alleged illicit payment schemeStaff writer, with CNAChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sra Kacaw has been indicted for allegedly receiving NT$7.11 million (US$225,858) in bribes between 2020 and 2023, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sra Kacaw speaks to reporters before attending a legislative session yesterday. The indictment said that Sra Kacaw had been elected four times as a lawmaker and should have known better. Instead, the legislator from Hualien County took bribes from businessmen and pressured government agencies to help them, prosecutors said. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office launched an investigation in the second half of last year into allegations that Sra Kacaw had received money from businessmen via his assistant beginning in December 2020.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:03 UTC
Antibiotic injection recalled after glass fragments found in vials: TFDA
Antibiotic injection recalled after glass fragments found in vials: TFDAStaff Writer, with CNATaiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has ordered the recall of more than 27,000 vials of an antibiotic injection produced by Yung Shin Pharmaceutical Industrial Co. and purchased by medical facilities around Taiwan, after glass fragments were found in one vial, the agency said. The affected product is Tapimycin Injection Yung Shin, an antibiotic used to treat infections, according to a drug recall notice issued by the TFDA on Monday. The recall involves a single batch, lot number TYI4 T012, after a hospital reported discovering glass fragments in one vial, prompting the recall, said Huang Mei-chen (黃 玫甄), a senior technical specialist with the TFDA. As of now, a total of 27,680 vials from the batch have already been sold, Huang said. Huang noted that the same product was recalled in 2021 after glass fragments were found.
Source:Taipei Times
December 24, 2025 16:03 UTC