🇹🇼Week of October 12

Taiwan's legislature gave a third reading to a bill exempting people aged 65 and over from National Health Insurance premiums on a conditional basis, with the central government covering the cost. The bill had earlier cleared a second reading, and supporters cast it as delivering on a promised policy.123

Health minister Shih Chung-liang said the change would not raise health-insurance revenue and could strain the system's reserve fund and narrow resources available elsewhere. He said the issue had kept him awake at night and cited a figure in arguing the fairness question.14

TPP legislator Chen Chao-tzu said the waiver would ease the burden on adult children who pay premiums for elderly parents. Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je defended the principle behind the measure, saying doctors hold that medical care is a universal value and should not differ by region.53

Attributed claim: The dispute sets the legislature's policy promise against the health ministry's fiscal warning: supporters in the legislature present the waiver as relief for families, while Shih argues that without new revenue it draws down reserves and limits resources.124

Premier Cho Jung-tai responded to the payout proposal by stressing that the government will not leave debt to future generations. The Democratic Progressive Party has said the payout should not be raised in a bidding war with opposition parties, warning that competitive increases will never end, and the Executive Yuan has set out three principles for any cash distribution.12

Lawyer Huang Ti-ying attacked the proposal and KMT legislator Fu Kun-chi directly, saying the push damages public finances, tramples the constitution, and amounts to writing bad cheques to defraud the public. The criticism was carried in coverage framing the payout as an election-season manoeuvre by the KMT.324

Attributed claim: Coverage of the payout splits along editorial lines: the centre-right Liberty Times casts the timing as the KMT trying to rescue its election campaign, with the Executive Yuan forced to show its hand the day before a vote, while centre outlets Public Television and Yahoo News report the legislative step and the fraud accusation without that campaign-rescue framing.154

Typhoon Champi has developed a visible eye and is rapidly intensifying, with forecasters saying it could be upgraded to a strong typhoon as early as tonight. Former Central Weather Administration chief Cheng Ming-de said the storm has strengthened, and the weather agency has not ruled out issuing a maritime warning.12

The storm is expected to reach waters off Taiwan's east coast around the 22nd, though its track remains under observation. Forecasters see two possible paths toward Taiwan, with disagreement persisting over whether the typhoon will turn north.34

The most severe effects are expected next Friday and Saturday, and the chance of the typhoon heading directly at Taiwan has risen.45

帛琉總統惠恕仁表示，帛琉與台灣保持外交關係是帛琉自己的選擇，並拒絕了北京方面要求其斷絕與台北關係的施壓。他將中國的壓力描述為一種威脅，會破壞區域互信。12345

據報導，中國駐帛琉大使提出以一百萬中國遊客作為交換條件，換取帛琉與台灣斷交。惠恕仁拒絕了這一提議，並堅持承認台灣是帛琉的選擇。145

惠恕仁呼籲日本和韓國加強軍事力量，並主張小國必須共同行動，以遏制中國的強勢行為。23

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a tanker attempting to pass illegally through the Strait of Hormuz struck a mine, caught fire and burned. The vessel was a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that sank in the strait, according to coverage of the incident.12

Shipping operators have continued to send vessels through the Strait of Hormuz despite attacks on Singapore-flagged ships, with coverage examining why the industry keeps accepting the risk. International oil supply pressure has not eased, and geopolitical tension is described as adding further risk to the strait.34

Videos circulated after the sinking purporting to show Iranian fishermen scooping up large numbers of iPhones floating on the sea surface were judged to be AI-generated, the Liberty Times reported. The claim that the water was covered with phones spread alongside the sinking reports.54