‘Hai Kun’ starts submerged sea trial
‘Hai Kun’ starts submerged sea trialSEA DEFENSE: Separately, the military simulated repelling a Chinese assault from the sea, using shore-launched missiles, drones and fast patrol boatsBy Hung Chen-hung and Fion Khan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and agenciesTaiwan’s first indigenous submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, yesterday departed from Kaohsiung to start its first submerged sea trial, where it was expected to dive to at least 50m. People watch the Hai Kun submarine sail out for submerged sea trials from the Port of Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: CNAThat would be followed by shallow-water submerged trials at depths of 50m to 100m, it said. Water surges from the sea following a mine explosion during combat-readiness drills at a naval base in Kaohsiung yesterday. A solider releases a drone during a military exercise outside a naval base in Kaohsiung yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Activists to protest amendments today
Activists to protest amendments todayCONTROVERSIAL: The opposition plans to once again ram through its amendments, which include retaining ill-gotten assets and shielding corrupt officials, an activist saidBy Chen Cheng-yu and Jason Pan / Staff reportersActivists are to hold a rally today at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to protest three controversial amendments they said would shield legislators convicted of corruption, protect ill-gotten party assets and reinstate a television network’s operating license. Concerned citizens are invited to join the rally, which would include marathon-style events and five news conferences throughout the day starting at 10am at the south side of the Legislative Yuan building, Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said yesterday, adding that the three “reprehensible” amendments would be explained. Democratic Progressive Party legislators hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Lai said the opposition parties are also colluding to lay the path for CTi TV to regain its operating license, after the National Communications Commission in 2020 refused to renew its license following numerous violations of media broadcasting regulations. Most of the public are aware of CTi TV’s pro-China stance and its biased, negative reporting on the ruling DPP administration, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Lawmakers pass changes to preventive detention
Lawmakers pass changes to preventive detentionBy Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNALawmakers yesterday passed a preliminary review of partial amendments that would expand the scope of offenses subject to preventive detention. The Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee discussed preventive detention amendments proposed by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus. A Hualien District Court bus for transporting suspects to detention is pictured on May 28 last year. It is necessary to expand the scope of offenses subject to preventive detention to protect the public and ensure smooth investigations, Wu’s amendments say. During the committee meeting, the Judicial Yuan expressed support for the amendments and proposed an integrated draft incorporating the legislators’ versions.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Activists urge faster exit from coal-fired electricity
Activists yesterday gathered in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei to call for ensuring the right to clean air by accelerating the retirement of coal power. Massive power consumption by the high-tech sector should not be used as an excuse to delay the retirement, they said. “The best energy is not green energy, but saving energy,” he said. The government should establish a coal retirement timeline that properly reflects a corresponding increase in gas power, she said. Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) in a statement last week also said that the first gas-fired power generation unit has been constructed at Taichung Power Plant and is being tested.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Local milk consumption rises to 210 tonnes yearly
Local milk consumption rises to 210 tonnes yearlyBy Esme Yeh / Staff reporterAnnual consumption of domestic milk amounted to 210 tonnes last year, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, as it unveiled a “Taiwan milk” label. The new “Taiwan milk” label for domestically produced milk is displayed at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Up to 85 percent of domestically produced milk is sold as fresh milk for household consumption, he said. Association president Wu Yung-chiang (吳永強) said the association organizes exhibitions and competitions to help increase domestic milk products’ visibility through sales channels and among consumers. Such efforts boosted consumption of domestically produced milk from 30 tonnes to 210 tonnes annually, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Lantern promotion
China purge could disrupt chain of command: sourceMORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “seriousBy Su Yong-yao, Lo Tien-pin and Esme Yeh
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Two prosecutors questioned by Chinese state security in Henan: MAC
Two prosecutors questioned by Chinese state security in Henan: MACStaff writer, with CNATwo Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. However, in some cases, Chinese authorities have used a Taiwanese’s relatives in China to pressure or threaten them, he said. Chinese authorities are exploiting Taiwanese public servants’ “lack of risk awareness and vigilance” to continuously expand their infiltration networks, he said. Chinese state security personnel also entered their hotel rooms to question them about their duties, supervisors and colleagues, the reports said. Yesterday, he said that the two prosecutors’ cases were separate from the cases he referred to on Jan. 16.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Chunghwa Telecom signs agreement for satellite gateway
Chunghwa Telecom signs agreement for satellite gatewayBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writerState-run Chunghwa Telecom and the Luxembourg-based satellite constellation operator SES group on Thursday last week signed a memorandum of understanding to build an O3b mPower gateway in Taiwan. Chunghwa Telecom in a statement said the agreement represents a leap for the telecommunications capabilities and service quality of Taiwan’s medium Earth orbit satellites. Chia Chung-yung, general manager of Chunghwa Telecom’s network technology group, left, gestures with an SES representative after signing a cooperation agreement on Thursday last week. Chia Chung-yung (賈仲雍), general manager of Chunghwa Telecom’s network technology group, said SES would share its technological expertise in network operations, satellite integration, cloud linkages, edge computing, the Internet of Things and machine vision. Inking the agreement is part of Chunghwa Telecom’s multipronged strategy to build a diversified next-gen telecommunications infrastructure via securing undersea cables, gateways, communications satellite constellations and microwave-based technology, Chia said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
China care packages a ‘united front’ tactic: OCAC
China care packages a ‘united front’ tactic: OCACBy Huang Ching-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerWhile Beijing has not prepared Lunar New Year care packages for overseas Taiwanese this year, Chinese embassies in Africa and North America have already issued warnings to expat groups not to invite Taiwanese officials to their holiday events, the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) said yesterday. China threatening overseas communities with “united front” rhetoric is a severe blow to the nation’s whole-of-society defense resilience efforts, Lee said. Overseas Community Affairs Council Deputy Director-General Lee Yen-hui speaks during a legislative committee meeting in Taipei yesterday. The OCAC also pledged to subsidize processing fees for the applications for three years and to cover partial interest for up to half a year. Transparency in supply chains and diversifying risks are becoming important considerations for the industrial and commercial sectors, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Fall of top general stirs uncertainty regarding China
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense on Saturday announced that Zhang Youxia (張又俠), second-in-command under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), is under investigation. Former Chinese Central Military Commission vice chairman Zhang Youxia, center, swears an oath at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 11, 2023. “The harder the people’s military fights against corruption, the stronger, purer and more combat effective it becomes.” Jiang said. Thompson said he believed Zhang Youxia was the one active-duty PLA officer who could give Xi objective advice about China’s military capabilities and shortcomings, as well as the human cost of conflict. Among senior Chinese generals, Zhang Youxia was a known figure to US officials, having joined a week-long military delegation to the US in May 2012 when he was a lower-level general.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Ex-officials slam HSR plan
The ministry initially planned to shorten the Taipei-Yilan route by building a straight railway line, to be operated by Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC). The Railway Bureau abandoned the plan in 2019 and advocated to have a HSR extension built instead, saying that it would reduce the travel time to 28 minutes and avoid the watershed. “The HSR proposal only surfaced 20 years after the nation considered whether the straight railway line should be built,” Hochen said. However, all these considerations were nowhere to be found in the bureau’s deliberations over the HSR extension,” he said. The cost of building the straight railway line increased by NT$86 billion (US$2.75 billion), while the HSR extension decreased by NT$12.6 billion, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:15 UTC
Fed keeps interest rates steady despite political pressure
Fed keeps interest rates steady despite political pressureAFP, WASHINGTONThe US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady at its first policy gathering this year, citing robust economic growth, as the central bank resists US President Donald Trump’s mounting pressure for cuts. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on January 28, 2026 in Washington. The Fed has made quarter-point cuts at its last three policy meetings, as officials worried about the cooling jobs market. However, solid GDP growth, relatively steady unemployment and stubborn inflation have provided reasons to pause cuts, putting officials again at odds with Trump, who has repeatedly urged for lower interest rates. Powell said the Fed would let economic data “light the way” on the future path of interest rates.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC
From Meta to Samsung, global tech unleashes spending to chase AI
From Meta to Samsung, global tech unleashes spending to chase AIBloombergThe world’s largest tech firms show no signs of easing up on artificial intelligence (AI) spending, a record wave that’s propelling hardware providers like Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. That is even as doubts persist about the staying power of AI demand to justify all that capital. Its suppliers have responded in kind: Yesterday, SK Hynix said it plans a “considerable increase” in capital expenditure, and Samsung said it is ratcheting up spending on its memory production capacity. Memory supply cannot keep pace with demand, SK Hynix’s DRAM marketing head Park Joon-deok said on a conference call yesterday. On the other hand, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg talked about “a major AI acceleration” that’s been brewing within the tech industry for over a year. Samsung is close to obtaining certification from Nvidia for the latest version of its AI memory chip.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC
Commerce tied to politics: Pegatron chair
Technology was once a force that improved people’s lives and promoted cross-border cooperation, but is increasingly used as a tool in geopolitical negotiations, he said. Pegatron Corp chairman Tung Tzu-hsien speaks at the opening of the Taipei Game Show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center yesterday. Tung’s remarks came on the same day after Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) expressed optimism that Beijing would permit the sale of the H200 chips to Chinese buyers. Tung yesterday said the recent developments do not herald the end of globalization, but rather that technology and trade have become increasingly shaped by geopolitics. While demand for advanced chips used in servers and AI applications remains strong, Taiwan must proceed cautiously amid potential challenges, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC
Market volatility likely to continue, central bank thinks
Consequently, even a partial selloff by FINIs could intensify downward pressures on the New Taiwan dollar exchange rate, the director said. Another board director said that Taiwan’s capital market has expanded rapidly for more than a year, characterized by rising stock market capitalization and significant growth in exchange-traded fund assets. Regarding the housing market, the bank maintained its selective credit control measures in response to real-estate market dynamics. One director said that elevated housing prices have caused the housing DSR to exceed the affordability threshold of 30 percent. The housing DSR remains one of the indicators for default risk, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2026 17:12 UTC