MOFA mum on Romania office
A delegation from Romania led by Romanian Senator and Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China co-chair Cristian Ghinea, fourth right, pose for a photo at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport last year. Taiwan and Romania do not maintain formal diplomatic relations. Romania-related affairs are handled by the Taiwan representative offices in Slovakia and Hungary, although the Taiwan Trade Center, Bucharest, was established by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council in 2005 to manage Taiwan-Romanian trade and commerce. There are six Taiwanese businesses with facilities in Romania, dealing with computer hardware and software and resource recycling, with investment estimated at about US$224 million, FTV reported. If negotiations run smoothly, Taiwan could open a representative office in Bucharest by the end of the year, a diplomatic source told FTV.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Taiwan Railway fined NT$8.7m over four years
Taiwan Railway fined NT$8.7m over four yearsNONCOMPLIANCE: The firm breached Railway Bureau rules 12 times in 2023, once in 2024 and twice last year, while THSRC was fined thrice from 2022 to last yearBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTaiwan Railway Corp (TRC) was fined a total of NT$8.7 million (US$276,542) for 15 penalties accumulated between 2022 and last year for failing to comply with railway regulations, the Railway Bureau said. A Taiwan Railway Corp train is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Taipei TimesFrom 2022 to last year, the bureau conducted 144 inspections at TRC and 18 inspections at THSRC, it said. It had two cases in 2022, when it employed foreign workers without the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ approval, the bureau said. The bureau imposed a fine of NT$300,000 for each case in 2022, the bureau added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Using incinerators with no pollution controls punishable
Using incinerators with no pollution controls punishableBy Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with CNAOperating incinerators without air pollution control systems is punishable by up to five years in prison and millions in fines, the Ministry of Environment said last month. The platform has also been ordered to restrict the accounts linked with the posts, it said. An air pollution monitor with the Ministry of Environment logo is pictured in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of the Jhubei City OfficeIncinerators that are not equipped with air pollution control systems release dioxin, heavy metals and fine particulate matter that harm public health and the environment, it said. The Air Pollution Prevention Act (空氣污染防制法) also authorizes the ministry to impose a NT$20 million fine and to suspend the commercial license of entities involved in the installation or use of incinerators that are not equipped with appropriate pollution controls, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Sri Lanka thrash Oman with new high score
Sri Lanka thrash Oman with new high scoreAFP, KANDY, Sri LankaDasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match against Oman in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, yesterday. Photo: APHaving promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana shared the new ball with Dushmantha Chameera and they accounted for two wickets apiece.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Thai police detain shooter
Thai police detain shooterAFP, BANGKOKA teenage shooter accused of killing the principal of a school in Thailand using a police officer’s weapon was in custody yesterday, authorities said, after an attack that also injured two students. School director Sasiphat Sinsamosorn died in hospital early yesterday after being admitted with gunshot wounds and undergoing surgery, the Songkhla public relations department said in a statement. Thai police arrest a man at Patongprathankiriwat School in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, Thailand, on Wednesday. Photo: Royal Thai Police via APShe was shot before police intervened and apprehended the teenager, Songkhla police chief Teerasak Chaiyotha told reporters. A teenage girl was also hospitalized with gunshot wounds and underwent surgery, the Thai Ministry of Public Health said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Military looking to drones
Military looking to dronesBy Yimou Lee / Reuters, TAIPEIThe military has signed a contract to integrate US artificial intelligence (AI) and defense-technology firm Shield AI’s technology to build intelligent uncrewed systems, a move aimed at leveraging drones to counter the rising threat from China. Shield AI called the collaboration an “important foundation” that could lead to broader adoption of autonomous software with Taiwan’s top military research body, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. The logo of US aerospace and defence technology company Shield AI is seen during the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition in Taipei on September 19, 2025. Photo: AFP“We are helping enable the drone forces Taiwan is building with cutting-edge AI pilots that will allow drones to team and operate while GPS and communications are jammed,” said Shield AI president and cofounder Brandon Tseng, a former US Navy SEAL. As part of its broader “asymmetric warfare” program, Taipei has been working to secure cheaper, more numerous uncrewed systems designed to blunt any potential Chinese attack.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Taipei to conduct odor inspection at tofu shop
Taipei to conduct odor inspection at tofu shopStaff writer, with CNAThe Taipei City Government yesterday said it would schedule new inspections at a Zhongshan District (中山) stinky tofu shop that has already been fined NT$585,000 for odor violations, following a social media user’s claim that the smell was affecting her mental health. A plate of stinky tofu is pictured in Tainan on March 21, 2019. Photo: Wang Han-ping, Taipei TimesAs of yesterday, the post had been “liked” more than 19,000 times. On Feb. 9 last year, the agency conducted an odor concentration test at the restaurant, and odor odor levels more than 10 times the legal limit were detected, Yen said. The number of odor complaints against the restaurant then dropped to two to three per month, and subsequent inspections found no compliance issues, Yen added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Counting starts after polls close in Bangladesh
Counting starts after polls close in BangladeshAFP, DHAKACounting began yesterday in Bangladesh’s first election since a deadly 2024 uprising, with powerful political heir Tarique Rahman bullish about defeating an Islamist-led coalition. However, he faces a stiff challenge from a coalition led by the Muslim-majority country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami. An electoral official dumps ballots on to the floor as counting starts at a polling station during Bangladesh’s general election in Dhaka yesterday. By 2pm, more than 47 percent of voters had cast their ballots, the Bangladesh Election Commission said. Polls closed at 4:30pm and the counting started right away, with the results expected today.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
GDP per capita could surpass US$40,000: Cho
GDP per capita could surpass US$40,000: ChoRISING WAGES Both the GDP per capita and monthly minimum wage are increasing as Taiwan ably surfs the AI boom’s global economic swellBy Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNATaiwan’s GDP per capita could exceed US$40,000 this year and the monthly minimum wage could top NT$30,000 if the economy continues its steady growth trajectory, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Taiwan reported economic growth of 8.63 percent last year, with GDP per capita rising to US$39,477 amid favorable economic conditions, Cho said, adding that the nation’s stock market reached 33,000 points. Photo: CNAEchoing President William Lai’s (賴清德) call for the Legislative Yuan to pass the government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget, Cho said he sees signs of hope emerging in the legislature. Regarding controversies involving military pay raises, the Executive Yuan would seek a constitutional judgement, Cho said. Cho said he hoped that after the Lunar New Year recess, the legislature would review the special defense budget and the general budget to improve security.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Issues over China-born lawmaker swirl
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that Li’s request to renounce her Chinese citizenship would be denied, meaning that she remains a Chinese citizen. If Li did not renounce her Chinese citizenship until March last year, that means that she has completed naturalization procedures for less than a year, Chiu said. “However, there are three clear principles in handling cross-strait affairs: First, Chinese nationals cannot run for office in Taiwan. And third, they have three months to renounce their Chinese citizenship after they become registered Taiwanese citizens and must submit proof to the National Immigration Agency [NIA]. Chinese nationals would only be considered to have completed the naturalization process when they meet all three conditions,” Liang said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Deaths in Iran’s crackdown reach at least 7,000: group
Deaths in Iran’s crackdown reach at least 7,000: groupAP, DUBAI, United Arab EmiratesThe death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,002 people killed, with many more still feared dead, activists said yesterday. Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have dismissed a provincial television director after a reporter appeared to call for the death of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The incident happened during Wednesday’s live broadcast of the 47th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan Province.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:52 UTC
Mountain slide
Doncic exits as Lakers beat 76ersSUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:06 UTC
Jimmy Lai’s sentencing tells me this: Democracy is dead in HK
Jimmy Lai’s sentencing tells me this: Democracy is dead in HKWho will speak out for values and rights and my fellow democracy activist now that opposition has been silenced in Hong Kong? This sentence has a transparently political end, but the Hong Kong and Chinese governments make no bones about it. The one-sided celebration of Lai’s sentencing in Hong Kong reflects the importance of what he was fighting for: The right to express oneself and the right to conscience. The pervasive political violence against the people of Hong Kong has resulted in hundreds being jailed and has silenced millions. Nathan Law (羅冠聰) is a politician and activist from Hong Kong, and was leader of Demosisto from 2016 to 2018.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:06 UTC
Huang Kuo-chang not fit to run
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) served alongside me as an NPP legislator at the time. He was highly conscientious in his work, and Huang and I were rated as “outstanding” legislators by Citizen Congress Watch. While the public has been striving to boost the economy, Huang and the blue and white camp legislators have become nothing less than cancerous to national progress. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), as the largest opposition party, has 14 county commissioners and city mayors in total, and holds 52 seats in the legislature. Today, under even more severe national security threats, blue and white legislators refuse to even schedule the review of defense procurement bills.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:06 UTC
EDITORIAL: Staying alert to pro-China rhetoric
EDITORIAL: Staying alert to pro-China rhetoricThe top Chinese official in charge of Taiwan policy this week said that Beijing must gain dominance in cross-strait relations and firmly support “patriotic pro-reunification forces” in Taiwan. Wang this year took a softer tone regarding Taiwan and rhetorically revisited “peaceful cross-strait development,” which was completely removed from last year’s work conference report. Wang’s rhetoric targeted Taiwan’s nine-in-one local elections in November, and was consistent with Chinese interventions designed to benefit pro-China candidates, who are considered “patriots” promoting cross-strait unification. Another lesson that should not be overlooked is the situation in Hong Kong. For Taiwan, it is crucial to see through China’s united front rhetoric.
Source:Taipei Times
February 12, 2026 16:06 UTC