Ukraine cities attacked by Russia
Ukraine cities attacked by RussiaReutersRussian forces attacked Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, its second-largest city of Kharkiv and other centers early yesterday, officials said, triggering fires and dealing new blows to energy infrastructure. The strikes injured four people, officials in the two largest cities said. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the attacks targeted energy infrastructure and called for tough decisions to keep heating systems from freezing. The attacks also coincided with talk of a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure adopted by both Russia and Ukraine at the request of US President Donald Trump. Russia said the ceasefire ended on Sunday, while Ukraine said it was to continue for a week from Friday last week.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
UK’s China engagement is a message to the US
The Chinese Communist Party justifies its dictatorial rule today by pointing to this era of domestic weakness and foreign invasions. Travel bans were lifted on six British China hawks (mostly Conservative Party members). He secured visa-free travel for Britons traveling to China for less than 30 days — good news for the Chinese hospitality industry. China would use the site to replace six existing buildings that together occupy more space and are perhaps more difficult to monitor. At the end of 2023, China was responsible for 0.2 percent of foreign direct investment in the UK.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
‘Two suns’ in a replay of historical Chinese plot
‘Two suns’ in a replay of historical Chinese plotBy Li Jung-shian 李忠憲It has become clear what kind of people former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) are. Other TPP backers still favor Ko, arguing that his assessment of the milk policy was accurate and accusing Ko critics of being against the white camp or manipulated by the pan-green camp. While it seems obvious that Ko’s remarks widened the gap between the blue and white camps, it has also provoked a significant power struggle among TPP supporters. The comparison to a power struggle in ancient China works for Ko, too. The Chinese palace drama will continue, revealing the cruelty and unpredictability of political reality, which is often more astonishing than fiction.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
Workers in rural India powering AI revolution
Workers in rural India powering AI revolutionAFP, BENGALURU, IndiaTending crops by day and then logging on for a night shift of data labeling, 27-year-old Chandmani Kerketta is part of a rising rural Indian workforce helping power an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. The work is basic, but essential for machine learning — data labeling, annotation and quality checks. Artificial intelligence data labeler Chandmani Kerketta poses for a photograph at her family farm in Parchuttu, India, on Jan. 15. “In Jharkhand, farming is everything.”Anju Kumari, 25, another rural AI worker in Jharkhand using a national fiber-optic cable network laid by Indian Railways, said the job had provided her with a pathway to a wider world. Cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai host major international players, but India’s AI push is also expanding into more remote regions.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
Chinese purges, regional stability
The purge was not just an anti-corruption campaign, but also a blatant political security operation. For Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the military is not professional armed forces, but the final insurance policy of his regime. Serving as the first vice chairman of the CMC, Zhang was only subordinate to Xi, while Liu controlled the commission’s pivotal joint staff affairs. Both being investigated at the same time showed that Xi has completely lost trust in the chain of military command. It lies in recognizing that when the CCP uses its military as a political tool, uncertainty over regional security only increases.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
China is losing more than just two ports in Panama
China is losing more than just two ports in PanamaBy J.P. Spinetto / Bloomberg OpinionThe Panamanian Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday last week invalidating Hong Kong–based CK Hutchison Holdings’ contract to operate two key ports at either end of the Panama Canal caps a month marked by high-profile strategic defeats for Beijing in the region. However, the ruling in Panama might prove the most consequential setback of all. The canal remains one of the world’s most strategic infrastructure assets, handling about 5 percent of global trade. China is the largest user of the waterway after the US, quietly building a string of assets around it, even if the canal itself remains firmly under the independent control of the Panama Canal Authority. After becoming the first Latin American country to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Panama under President Jose Raul Mulino has moved back toward its historically close alignment with Washington.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
EDITORIAL: The ends of the rare earth
China is using its dominance in rare earths as a bargaining chip in its trade negotiatons with the US and the EU. As of last year, it controlled 60 to 70 percent of global rare earth mining production and more than 90 percent of processing capacity. Tokyo on Monday said that rare earths have been found in sediment from ocean depths of 6,000m. To promote mining, processing and manufacturing of rare earths in India’s eastern and southern states, New Delhi has listed rare earths alongside semiconductors as a strategic sector. Taiwan, which has limited access to domestic rare earths, imports 90 percent of its supplies, with 95 percent of that from China.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
Artificial intelligence and the future of education
Artificial intelligence and the future of educationBy Pinelopi Koujianou GoldbergThe rapid progress of large language models (LLMs) over the past two years has led some to say that artificial intelligence (AI) would soon make college education, especially in the liberal arts, obsolete. From this perspective, education — and especially higher education — plays a more important role than ever. Students need to understand the underlying concepts and logic, rather than mastering every step of the execution. At the same time, evaluation based on personal interaction raises legitimate worries about bias. Some say that AI would reduce the need for formal education by providing information and personalized guidance on demand.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
Taiwan-US ties under Trump 2.0
Taiwan-US ties under Trump 2.0By Sumit KumarIn the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump continued to shake the foundations of the liberal international order to realize his “America first” policy. However, amid an atmosphere of uncertainty and unpredictability, the Trump administration brought some clarity to its policy toward Taiwan. The Trump administration has many reasons to feel pleased, because the change in Taiwan’s defense strategy would boost the US’ defense and military industry. The US National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy also accorded importance to peace and security in the Taiwan Strait. The first year of the second Trump administration was marked by a hybrid policy of transactionalism and strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 18:14 UTC
Citibank forecasts boost in investment activity
Citibank forecasts boost in investment activityBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterCitibank expects investment activity across the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen further this year, supported by resilient equity markets, accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) investment and rising cross-border capital flows, the global bank’s senior executives said yesterday. Kenneth Chow, Citi cohead of Asia equity capital markets, told an online news conference that investor sentiment has turned more forward-looking after a strong rally in regional equities. From left, Citibank executives Ling Zhang, Vikram Chavali, Jan Metzger, Ho-Yin Lee and Kenneth Chow attend the Investment Banking 2026 Outlook event yesterday. Citi has raised more than US$30 billion for Taiwanese clients since 2020 from global capital markets to support their growth. Jan Metzger, Citi’s head of Asia-Pacific banking, capital markets and advisory, said that overall deal activity has rebounded sharply.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 17:17 UTC
SpaceX combines with xAI at US$1.25tn valuation
SpaceX combines with xAI at US$1.25tn valuationBloombergElon Musk is combining Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) and x.AI Corp (xAI) in a deal that values the enlarged entity at US$1.25 trillion, as the world’s richest man looks to fuel his increasingly costly ambitions in artificial intelligence (AI) and space exploration. The deal gives SpaceX a valuation of US$1 trillion, and xAI a value of US$250 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Photo: APThe combined company’s valuation was announced to employees in a memo on Monday, some of the people said earlier. XAI raised funds at a US$230 billion valuation last month, while SpaceX was set to go ahead with a share sale in December at a valuation of about US$800 billion. The billionaire acquired social media platform Twitter in late 2022, renamed it X, then merged the site with his artificial intelligence start-up xAI in a US$33 billion deal.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 17:17 UTC
Holiday spirit
Nvidia’s Huang touts OpenAI investmentCONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 17:17 UTC
Farmer detained over illegal disposal of dead poultry
Farmer detained over illegal disposal of dead poultryStaff writer, with CNAA Taichung egg farm operator was yesterday detained by prosecutors and held incommunicado on suspicion of illegally disposing of chickens that died following an avian influenza outbreak. The Taichung District Court approved the detention, finding that the farmer, surnamed Yun (雲), operator of Fengkang Egg Ranch in the city’s Fongyuan District (豐原), met the legal grounds and necessity for custody. Disease prevention workers get ready to disinfect an egg farm in Taichung’s Fongyuan District on Thursday. Prosecutors searched the farm and Yun’s residence, and questioned Yun, two employees and Yen. Yen is suspected of illegally allowing hazardous waste to be dumped and buried on his land without approval from authorities, prosecutors said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 17:14 UTC
Taipei international book fair opens, focus on Thailand
Taipei international book fair opens, focus on ThailandStaff writer, with CNAThe Taipei International Book Exhibition (TiBE) opened yesterday. It is the 34th edition of Taiwan’s largest international book event of the year. The exhibition, taking place at Taipei World Trade Center, runs through Sunday, featuring 509 booths from 29 countries and more than 60 international authors, co-organizer Taipei Book Fair Foundation said in a statement yesterday. People walk among booths at the Taipei International Book Exhibition at the Taipei World Trade Center yesterday. At least 18 Thai writers are expected to attend, including Veeraporn Nitiprapha, the first Thai writer to receive the Southeast Asian Writers Award twice, and former Thai parliamentarian Pita Limjaroenrat, the foundation said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 17:13 UTC
China unity talks ‘premature,’ KMT says
China unity talks ‘premature,’ KMT saysDIALOGUE HOPES: KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun said that the most important task was to establish a peace framework, if it is also acceptable to Taiwan and ChinaBy Lin Hsin-han, Hollie Younger and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writers and CNAChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) told The Economist in an interview that she considers talks on peaceful unification with China “premature,” the party said in a statement yesterday. Cheng spoke about cross-strait peace, national identity, national defense and security, and US-China relations in the interview, the statement said. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun speaks at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting in Tapei on Wednesday last week. She said she hopes for exchanges and dialogue with China, including meeting with Xi, as she advocates for cross-strait reconciliation. The so-called “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2026 17:13 UTC