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January 23:

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered a speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, repeatedly mentioning Taiwan. He accused Russia of still being able to obtain electronic components from Taiwan and other places to manufacture missiles. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that since Russia launched its aggression, Taiwan has imposed strict high-tech export controls upon Russia and urged Ukraine to provide concrete intelligence.

January 23:

The opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan blocked for the eighth time the special national defense budget bill of NT$1.25 trillion (about US$400 billion) over eight years, preventing it from being sent to committee for review. At the same time, they passed a resolution inviting President Lai Ching-te to deliver a state report on arms procurement, national security, and cross-strait relations. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) proposed its own version of the national defense budget bill, limiting the special arms procurement budget to NT$400 billion (about US$12.76 billion), while the Kuomintang’s (KMT) version is still under discussion.

January 25:

According to a United Daily News report, in response to the military branches successively receiving American-made firepower equipment along with domestically produced missiles, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) established the highest-level “Joint Firepower Coordination Center” to coordinate asymmetric firepower deployments among the services. It is also reported that Taiwan and the United States have already conducted multiple joint staff operations. The MND did not deny this, saying that it is not convenient for MND to comment on the matter.

January 26: 

According to data from the National Science and Technology Council, by 2029 the scale of Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) computing power centers is expected to reach 450 MW. The current load is about 60 MW, meaning it will grow 7.5 times within three years, posing a major challenge for stable power supply. The board of the Taiwan Power Company approved last year’s financial report, with after-tax profits reaching NT$72.9 billion (about US$2.3 billion), a record high. Electricity price hikes are expected to remain frozen this year.

January 26:

South Korea’s National Assembly has yet to pass the U.S.-Korea trade agreement, and President Donald Trump of the United States threatened to impose additional tariffs on South Korea. President Lai took the opportunity to call on the Legislative Yuan to support the U.S.-Taiwan agreement to avoid uncertainties. The Legislative Yuan responded that it has not received any related documents, so there is no delay. After the new session begins, on March 3, Premier Cho will be invited to lead relevant ministries in delivering a special report.

January 28:

The KMT announced that Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-chen will lead a delegation of 40 experts and scholars to Beijing from February 2 to 4 to attend the Cross-Strait Exchange and Cooperation Prospect Forum organized by cross-strait think tanks. Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun stated that her overseas visits in the first half of the year are planned as mainland China first, then the United States, and she introduced the concept of a “Cross-Strait Peace Framework.”

January 28:

Honduras’ new president, Nasry Asfura, was sworn into his office. During his campaign, he advocated restoring diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Mainland China’s ambassador to Honduras, Yu Bo, attended the inauguration ceremony at Asfura’s invitation and released a photo of the two together, seemingly to demonstrate the stability of their diplomatic ties and to reaffirm the “One China” principle.

January 29:

Taiwan’s domestically built submarine, Hai Kun, completed its first submersion test, diving to about 50 meters. The test included sonar, propulsion systems, and underwater navigation instruments, lasting about eight hours.