AI prompts fastest economic growth in 15 years
AI prompts fastest economic growth in 15 yearsGROWTH FOR WHOM? The research institute expects GDP growth to hit 7.41 percent this year, more than double the 2.93 percent projection it made in July. Academia Sinica Institute of Economics research fellow Lin Chang-ching speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Growth figures mask deep structural imbalances, Academia Sinica vice president Peng Shin-kun (彭信坤) said. Academia Sinica projects economic growth of 3.71 percent next year, the most optimistic forecast among domestic research institutions.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 17:13 UTC
Unemployment falls to a 25-year low
Unemployment falls to a 25-year lowBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe unemployment rate fell to 3.33 percent last month, a 25-year low for November, underscoring continued stability in the labor market as year-end consumption activity gathers pace, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. By education level, university graduates recorded the highest unemployment rate at 4.52 percent, compared with 3.1 percent for those with graduate degrees and 2.96 percent for people with a senior-high or vocational education. The jobless rate fell to 5.85 percent for those aged 25 to 29 and to 3.33 percent for people aged 30 to 34, it said. Average unemployment duration edged up to 20 weeks last month, the agency said. Long-term unemployment — defined as joblessness lasting more than one year — stood at 47,000 people, slightly higher than a month earlier, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 17:13 UTC
Domestic product
Bank of Japan hikes benchmark rateINFLATION CONSIDERATION: The BOJ governor said that it would ‘keep making appropriate decisions’ and would adjust depending on the economy and prices The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest in 30 years and said more increases are in the pipeline if conditions allow, in a sign of growing conviction that it can attain the stable inflation target it has pursued for more than a decade. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s policy board increased the rate by 0.2 percentage points to 0.75 percent, in a unanimous decision, the bank said in a statement. The central bank cited the rising likelihood of its economic outlook being realized. The rate change was expected by all 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 17:13 UTC
AI romance blooms as Japan woman weds virtual partner of her dreams
Previously interviewed by Japanese media using a pseudonym, Noguchi agreed to be identified by her real name. MORE AI COMPANIONSSuch weddings are not legally recognized in Japan, but data suggests more such unions could be in the offing. The number of marriages in Japan has roughly halved from 1947, which saw the first wave of a baby boom. Microsoft’s Copilot, for example, forbids users from creating “virtual girlfriends or boyfriends” to foster online romantic or sexual ties. “My relationship with AI is not a ‘convenient relationship that requires no patience,’” Noguchi said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 17:13 UTC
Villa dream of title glory after United victory
Villa dream of title glory after United victoryAFP, BIRMINGHAM, EnglandUnai Emery on Sunday insisted Aston Villa would not win the English Premier League, but the Spaniard’s ecstatic celebration of Morgan Rogers’ decisive strike against Manchester United revealed his true feelings about their surprise title charge. Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, second left, scores against Manchester United in their Premier League match at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, on Sunday. Villa sit third in the Premier League, just three points adrift of leaders Arsenal and one behind second-placed Manchester City as they chase a first English title since 1980-1981. “Of course we beat Arsenal and Manchester City here, but they have massive things tactically with players on a high level. Emery has turned Villa Park into a fortress, with just one home league defeat this calendar year, fewer than any other team.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 17:12 UTC
Chiang should cancel China trip
Chiang should cancel his trip to Shanghai for the forum. Equally, comprehensive institutional reviews and corrective measures are needed if Chiang is to lead Taipei residents out of this traumatic episode and restore faith in the city’s safety. If Chiang neglects the latter for the former, Taipei’s residents could ensure that he pays a domestic political price. Friday’s incident has come as a reminder that public safety is not an abstract or distant issue. In its aftermath, Chiang announced the rollout of educational materials to help people better understand how to respond in a crisis.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:36 UTC
Banned film exposes HK’s censorship trend: director
Banned film exposes HK’s censorship trend: directorAFP, HONG KONGAfter four months of restless waiting, filmmaker Kiwi Chow (周冠威) received a dreaded, but not altogether unexpected, message: Hong Kong censors had banned his new movie from reaching the big screen. Film director Kiwi Chow poses for a photograph in his office in Hong Kong on Wednesday last week. Film censorship rules were tightened a year later. Asked about Deadline, the Hong Kong Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration said it would not comment on individual applications. Hong Kong banned no films between 2016 and 2020, but that figure jumped to 10 in 2023.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
Support for Japan PM firm despite China row
Support for Japan PM firm despite China rowBloombergJapanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s support ratings held steady at historically high levels, polls conducted over the weekend showed, in a sign of her continued popularity despite the fallout from a dispute with China over comments she made on Taiwan last month. An FNN poll gave the prime minister a support rating of 75.9 percent. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers welcoming remarks at a summit, attended by the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Tokyo on Saturday. Her ratings are the highest for a Japanese prime minister in about two decades stretching back to the administration of Junichiro Koizumi, Yomiuri reported. The Kyodo poll showed that 57 percent of respondents did not think Takaichi’s comments were careless.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
Deporting US democracy
Deporting US democracyBy Timothy SnyderIn certain ways, this autumn in the US has recalled the autumn of 1938 in Nazi Germany, when mass deportation of undocumented people was one of Hitler’s most ambitious coercive policies before the start of World War II. A family was deported; a desperate refugee took revenge; the government organized a pogrom and reorganized its police; war followed. A policy of mass deportation had led to a reaction that, although unpredictable in its details, was not surprising. For the Nazis, the mass deportation and pogrom of autumn 1938 were steps toward creating a centralized national police agency, the Reich Security Main Office, the following year. That would be the classic next step in the regime change that Trump seems determined to carry out in the US.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
Long-term care expansion to start next week
Long-term care expansion to start next weekBy Lin Chih-yi, Lo Kuo-chia and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe Ministry of Health and Welfare is to launch the second stage of its Long-term Care 3.0 on Thursday next week, expanding dementia services and upgrading community-based care as Taiwan transitions to a “super-aged” society. It also expanded the scope and payment limits of community-based transportation services, increased the reimbursement for nutritional care services and adjusted the content of home respite services. Under Long-term Care 3.0, eligibility for long-term care services would be expanded to include people with early-onset dementia — defined as those younger than 50 with functional impairments — to enable earlier intervention, the ministry said. People with very mild or mild dementia who retain mobility could attend community-based dementia centers, while those with BPSD could use designated centers, he said. Those with long-term care needs could access home-based or community care services, while people requiring 24-hour intensive care could move to group homes or designated sections of residential institutions.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
EDITORIAL: What is ahead for the AI industry
EDITORIAL: What is ahead for the AI industryBenefiting from the continued rise in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technology applications, Taiwan’s tech-driven exports rose significantly, and private investment further increased this year, prompting the central bank to revise upward its economic growth forecasts last week. In addition, the central bank said it has paid attention to the market’s recent concerns about an AI bubble after AI stocks corrected meaningfully from their highs, as the market began reassessing whether AI firms’ massive capital expenditures had sufficient end-demand support. The big question is whether the AI industry would face a bubble bursting in the near term, similar to the dotcom bubble in 2000. That explains why the market remains concerned about whether the massive capital expenditures of cloud service providers and other AI-focused firms have become imbalanced. However, as the central bank pointed out, the process of transforming new technologies into substantial productivity inevitably involves a transitional period of adjustment and adaptation, which is an unavoidable path for industrial innovation and upgrading.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
Man who fought Taipei attacker honored
People lay flowers near exit M7 of Taipei Main Station yesterday. Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei TimesMinister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said that the ministry would respect the wishes of Yu’s family. He later died of sepsis and was enshrined at the Taoyuan Martyrs’ Shrine. Huang added that Yu's father had served in the military and that the couple had raised their sons with strict discipline. She described Yu as a devoted son who had shown courage and a strong sense of responsibility from a young age.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
Car blast kills Russian general hours after US talks
Car blast kills Russian general hours after US talksAFP, MOSCOWA car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. People inspect a damaged Kia Sorento at the scene where Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was killed by a car bomb in Moscow yesterday. Photo: ReutersRussian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, was killed when the bomb, which had been placed under his parked car, detonated in a residential quarter of southern Moscow. He also commanded Russian forces in Syria in 2015 and 2016. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev also met with the US team, which included Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
Minister discusses use of public alerts
The 27-year-old suspect, identified as Chang Wen (張文), jumped off a building and died while being chased by the police. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang attends a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in Taipei yesterday. “Earthquake alerts are sent when seismic intensity at some regions is expected to reach a certain level. While local government officials can use cell broadcasts amid a major attack, they must ensure that residents are informed on how to evacuate under such circumstances, she said. Lawmakers asked whether the attack will be included in the National Public Safety Guide for responding to major violent or public safety threats, and whether similar future attacks could trigger emergency text alerts to notify the public.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC
Japan takes final step to restart large nuclear plant
Japan takes final step to restart large nuclear plantReuters, NIIGATA, JapanJapan yesterday took the final step to allow the world’s largest nuclear power plant to resume operations with a regional vote, a watershed moment in the country’s return to nuclear energy nearly 15 years after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, about 220km northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Protesters take part in a rally near the Niigata Prefectural Government Office Building in Niigata, Japan, yesterday, before a vote on the partial restart of the Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. Photo: ReutersKashiwazaki-Kariwa is to be the first restarted plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which ran the doomed Fukushima plant. “There is no end in terms of ensuring the safety of Niigata residents.”A woman swims in the water near the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world’s largest nuclear facilities, in Kashiwazaki, Japan, on Sunday.
Source:Taipei Times
December 22, 2025 16:35 UTC