In recent years, several political scandals have broken out in Hualien County. Not long ago, former Yuli Township (玉里) mayor Tsai Chiu-lung (蔡秋龍) was sentenced to 11 years in the first instance for embezzlement of NT$70,000 in public funds.In May, former Hualien County Government Civil Affairs Depar
The moment rivers traverse borders, their courses affect terrains and political responses. Sitting atop the glistening snowy Tibetan Plateau is the Angsi Glacier, the source of the Brahmaputra. The river meanders from China down to India’s Arunachal Pradesh and subsequently flows into the Ganges Del
Dialogue is essential when relations between countries turn confrontational. The tragedy is that not only are the stakes greater during such times, but dialogue itself becomes synonymous with appeasement. This phenomenon was observable in coverage of the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Russ
The opposition parties have claimed that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been beaten in a complete shutout following two failed mass recall movements. They interpret the failure as a political warning to President William Lai (賴清德). Moreover, there is no lack of harsh criticism circulatin
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Commuters crammed inside hot and clammy underground trains into London’s financial center over the past few months might be wondering what life could be like working in another city.While climate change is raising temperatures everywhere, cities such as Beijing or New York offer more air-conditioned
Peak population is coming for all of us. Sensible measures could respond to the strains imposed by smaller families, but cultural norms matter as much as policy outcomes.While US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was undoubtedly the main attraction at Jackson Hole, there were other weighty issues
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung (沈有忠) on Thursday last week urged democratic nations to boycott China’s military parade on Wednesday next week.The parade, a grand display of Beijing’s military hardware, is meant to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in Worl
For the first time in five decades, Sweden is to build new nuclear power plants, undoubtedly a milestone in the nation’s energy transition.Back in the 1980s, Sweden voted to phase out nuclear power in a referendum. Now, the Swedish parliament has approved a plan to build several small modular reacto
Under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Manila has asserted its territorial sovereignty with a steady, unflinching stance in its dealings with China. From advancing defense and security cooperation with like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthening its defense capabilities,
As the dust settled on the recall movement, I found myself traveling through Poland and the Baltic states. Passing through passport control at Tallinn airport in Estonia, one word stood out everywhere on banners and signs: freedom.Wednesday last week was Estonia’s Restoration of Independence Day, wh
EDITORIAL CARTOON
It has long been obvious that something has gone askew with the UK’s ability to build. The planning paperwork for a modest-sized apartment block in London can run to more than 1,000 pages, whereas a few decades ago it might have been a handful. The documentation for the Lower Thames Crossing, a road
US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs on a wide range of imports from India, ostensibly a penalty for buying Russian oil, represents another shock to the international trading system — and a sharp reversal of good relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These tariffs
Nothing speaks more to the hell that climate change is creating on Earth than the wildfires tearing through our landscapes. In recent days, Spain and Portugal have battled ferocious blazes, killing at least six and charring an area twice the size of London, as Europe suffers its worst wildfire seaso
The fallout from the mass recalls and the referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant continues to monopolize the news. The general consensus is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been bloodied and found wanting, and is in need of reflection and a course correction if it
Being only human, people often have a habit of taking credit for positive outcomes, while blaming their environment — especially the government — for negative ones. Therefore, in democratic countries, it is not abnormal for a party that has been in power for a long time to experience a decline in su
In its third term of occupying the Executive Yuan, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has grown dull and lost the power to shape public discourse. The groups that initiated the mass recall movement appeared to be on track to a sweeping victory after getting 32 candidates on recall ballots. By th
In July 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) made a historic visit to Tibet, becoming the first president of the People’s Republic of China to do so since Jiang Zemin (江澤民) in 1999. During the unannounced trip, which came against the backdrop of the China-India border clashes, Xi traveled to Nyi
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