Taiwan Tonight - Taiwan News | Jun. 2, 2026

Computex Taipei officially opened for its largest edition ever. In addition to Exhibition Halls 1 and 2 at the Nangang Exhibition Center and the Taipei International Convention Center, the show also has an exhibition area at Hall 1 of the Taipei World Trade Center. At the opening ceremony, President Lai Ching-da assured attendees that Taiwan's power supply will remain stable to meet higher demand from tech companies. Let's hear more. Over the next week, Taipower's reserve capacity margin will remain above 20 percent. There won't be any problems in maintaining a stable electricity supply through 2032. The government will continue pushing forward a second energy transition, ensuring that wherever technological development goes, stable electricity supply will follow. This year's theme is artificial intelligence and AI computing, which you can think of as the brain of AI. The second theme is robotics and mobility technologies. Meanwhile, our startup exhibition, InnoVEX, features nearly 500 startup teams from 22 countries around the world. The theme of this year's Computex is AI together, focusing on AI computing, robotics, mobility, and next-gen tech, bringing together more than 1,500 companies from over 30 countries and regions. Welcome to Taiwan. Anybody been to the night market yet? Everybody needs to go to the night market. Go see the fruit lady. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang greets reporters of more than 300 local and international outlets. He opens the session with a shout out to the fruit lady at night market before he's joined on stage by MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai, whose company had jointly developed the RTX Spark and AI chip for PCs. A lot of work. I'm so excited, feeling really energized. Boy, PC has a new life, it seems. Absolutely the right architecture for the agentic AI. We've been working on it for almost two years now. Yep. And so how has the journey been for you? Great journey. Are we still friends? Always. Well, I don't know. NVIDIA's new chip will go to next-generation Microsoft PCs. Meanwhile, Huang re-emphasized that NVIDIA's Vera CPU is built for AI agents and is especially suited for agentic AI thanks to its fast processing speed. He was asked if the introduction of Vera will take away from the market share of competitors such as AMD. We're not trying to take anything from anybody else. We're not trying to take any share because they're doing a fine job, because we want to address a future market that doesn't exist today. Vera will be even more popular than NVIDIA GPUs. Huang is confident that NVIDIA's new products will meet future demand worldwide. He was then asked by a BBC reporter what the company makes of investing in Taiwan's 150-company-strong ecosystem in the face of geopolitical risks. Here's what he said. Because Taiwan is investing in the ecosystem, the manufacturing in the United States, it doesn't change the fact that Taiwan is incredible at manufacturing. You should partner with the people who are doing it the best in the world. Huang said that Taiwan's leading companies, including TSMC, Amcor, SPIL, Wistron and Honghai, have been expanding in the US to improve supply chain resilience. He added that investing in Taiwan is not counterintuitive to supply chain diversification. He praised Taiwan's tech manufacturing, of which NVIDIA has become one of the biggest clients. NVIDIA also plans to bring the number of local hires to 4,000 upon the completion of its Taipei headquarters. A robot dog races across the grass, patrolling along a fence line on its own. It can climb slopes, traverse rough terrain and dodge obstacles, with environmental awareness in all directions. The robot dogs, integrated and developed by NCSIST, can carry weapon modules and navigate complex terrain for environmental reconnaissance and patrols. In the future, they are being integrated toward a combined reconnaissance and strike capability, helping effectively reduce personnel exposure to battlefield risks. Three robot dogs march side by side, each serving a different role. The LiDAR version can generate maps around the clock for base security patrols and nighttime surveillance. The reconnaissance model can zoom in on targets and track enemy movements. The FirePower version uses AI multi-target recognition to identify and lock onto moving enemies for precision strikes. In addition to coastal patrols, it may also be deployed for riot control and crowd dispersal. Beyond the systems developed by NCSIST, the robot dogs themselves are all based on the US-made Vision60 platform by Ghost Robotics. Weighing 52.4 kilograms and offering 8 to 10 hours of battery life, they are built to handle diverse terrain and extreme weather conditions. The robot dog also made a public appearance earlier at the American Institute in Taiwan's 250th anniversary event. By deploying them across different military camps and mission scenarios, we can build mapping data and meet operational needs. As long as they can help reduce personnel attrition and workload, more tasks can gradually be carried out by the robot dogs. Partnering with U.S. Robot Dog Technology, NCSIST aims to establish a non-red supply chain and localize production. The systems are currently undergoing testing at military facilities, but they could eventually become a major asset to Taiwan's armed forces and help build a more diverse, unmanned combat system. President Lai Ching-de this morning conferred the Order of Propitious Clouds on Milos Vistachil, the president of the Senate of the Czech Republic. The honor was awarded to him to recognize his years of standing up to pressure from China, firmly supporting Taiwan, and helping strengthen ties between Taiwan and Czechia. Let's hear from Lai. In 2020, when the world was still grappling with the pandemic, Senate President Vistachil stood firm against pressure from China and insisted on visiting Taiwan. When Speaker Vistachil said, I am Taiwanese and Taiwan's legislative yuan, it deeply moved the people of Taiwan and allowed the world to witness the courage of democracy, the strength of unity, and the Czech people's proud tradition of defending freedom. Today, on behalf of the Republic of China, Taiwan, I am presenting the Order of Propitious Clouds on Senate President Vistachil to recognize his steadfast support for Taiwan over the years. This medal reflects your extraordinary courage and symbolizes the highest respect and gratitude of the Taiwanese people. It is a great honor to receive the Order of Propitious Clouds, a decoration symbolizing the highest distinction. On a personal level, this is an immense honor for me. Our responsibility is to strengthen our country's resilience, resist these trends, and defend and protect our freedom and democracy. That is precisely why we need allies. Vistachil emphasized that in the face of expanding authoritarianism, both Taiwan and Czechia have experienced authoritarian rule and understand that democracy and freedom were hard won. Because of this, he said greater unity, cooperation, and deeper bilateral ties are needed. A T-34C trainer aircraft crashed at Gangshan Air Base in Kaohsiung just past 8 o'clock on Tuesday morning, killing the two pilots on board. The Air Force pilots were conducting a training mission simulating an engine failure when they crashed into the ground near the northern end of the runway 20 minutes after takeoff. The aircraft had undergone its most recent regular inspection in April of this year and had flown for more than 98 hours without any major malfunctions. The military has suspended all related training missions and grounded all T-34C trainers. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash. Tiny hands gently dig into the soil to plant seeds. Students at Xinpu Elementary School in Miaoli's Tongxiao Township don't just learn about plants from books. They get their hands dirty, helping endangered species grow right here on campus. Touching the leaves and inhaling their scent, the students are fascinated by these rare plants. The school converted its hillside campus into a nursery for threatened plant species, integrating ecological education into the curriculum to teach students more about their local environment. We discovered a great opportunity to restore plant life on our hillside campus. We integrated it into the curriculum, using the gardens and areas around campus as sites to restore threatened plant species. According to government figures, there are nearly 1,000 endangered plant species in Taiwan, nearly 300 of which are managed by the Hsinchu Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. In just this five-square-kilometer area in Xinpu, there are 17 threatened species, a concentration 125 times denser than the rest of Taiwan. Due to human activity and habitat destruction, these native plants are facing extinction. After doing work to conserve the plant, we collected seed from the wild and bring them back to propagate the next generation to return to the wild. It's a very important objective for us. To protect natural ecosystems, the Forestry Agency collaborated with Taiwan Railways for the first time this year to establish a nursery for threatened plants near Xinpu Station. The agency also hopes it'll become a draw for tourists. A cook prepares hot meals like egg pancakes and scallion pancakes. But this isn't a traditional Taiwanese breakfast shop. Instead, it's free breakfast provided by the landlords of a row of private studio apartments. The practice has been ongoing for six years. What the tenants find most heartwarming is that from Monday to Friday, a cook makes breakfast, and they can also take the piping hot egg pancakes, scallion pancakes or hot porridge back to their room. It tastes delicious as everything is cooked on the spot. I've rented homes in other areas before but I've never found such a good place as this one. This place is great. Besides the free breakfast, it's very quiet at night and the management is excellent. A trip to Japan inspired the landlady to come up with the idea. When my husband and I traveled to Japan, we stayed for a month. Almost all the guest houses provided breakfast. I thought if we also served breakfast for the guests in our rooms, wouldn't they feel happy and cared for? My husband said, let's give this a try. And I said, OK, we'll try it as soon as we get home. The rental studio apartment complex is located near Daren University and an agricultural technology park. There are many people from out of town looking to rent apartments. A 23 square meter studio starts at 4,700 NT a month, including breakfast. With nearly 100 rooms, it is often fully booked. If doing this makes you happy, then don't overthink it. Just do it without any second thoughts. And don't worry about what will happen next or how much it will cost. If you don't think much about it, you won't feel any pressure. The landlady and her husband used to run a factory, but now they've returned to their hometown to act as landlords. Knowing that they are serving people and making them happy gives them a sense of fulfillment. Due to its large size and number of customers, one 4,000 square meter discount store in Taoyuan has struggled to combat theft. The owner came up with a unique tactic, labeling all the shopping baskets in the store as stolen. These blue shopping carts are neatly stacked, but there's something odd about them. The phrase this one is stolen is written on each one. This left many customers confused, but the store owner explained his reasoning. Since there have continuously been cases of theft here, we mark the shopping carts to say this one is stolen. That way, if people see one outside, they can call the police because it really has been stolen. The carts were labeled purposefully to combat theft. This 4,000 square meter store in Taoyuan offers all kinds of discounted products, and people come for the cheap prices. But even with security cameras set up, the store is so large and has so many customers that it has struggled with theft. Labeling shopping baskets as stolen directs people to call the police if they see one outside the store. Beyond thieves, there was even a customer who spit betel nut into one of the displays. I don't think it's very appropriate. If you're going to chew betel nut, it would be better to find a trash can to throw it away. Other customers had a bad experience because he spat betel nut into the display sample. So when we were shopping, they saw a lump of spit. It was really gross. We reported him for violating the Waste Disposal Act. The owner already contacted the police and hopes customers like that will stay away in the future. 58-year-old Mr. Guo expresses his deepest gratitude to firefighters. A little more than a month ago, he lost his pulse after an electrical shock. Thanks to timely intervention by firefighters and emergency paramedics, he was successfully resuscitated. I was working on the electrical closure and got shocked and fell. I lost consciousness immediately after feeling the shock. I want to thank them for sparing no effort in rescuing me and allowing me to survive. At the time, Mr. Guo was working on an electrical closure in Taichung and accidentally got a shock which made him fall right off the ladder. Immediately afterwards, he'd lost consciousness and was on the brink of death. When the fire department was notified of the incident, they activated a two-pronged rescue protocol in collaboration with paramedics in the same precinct. When the ambulance arrived, paramedics immediately performed CPR and used an AED on him. An advanced medical team then took over and performed advanced cardiac life support. Our assessment was that he needed defibrillation, which we did twice on the scene. He regained breathing and pulse then. The eyewitness played an important role. They told us that he got a shock. When the advanced medical team arrived, they gave Mr. Guo cardiac stimulants and performed intubation on him to sustain his breathing. In other words, emergency treatment began on the scene and continued at the hospital. Unlike in past cases, he already received medication and sustained his breathing. The constructed airway was quite stable. In the past, we'd have to rush and gather supplies and administer medication. We already had vascular access to give him an injection. The fire bureau really did an excellent job at the front line, allowing him to regain his life. Mr. Guo later received comprehensive post-cardiac arrest care and was ejected after only a week with no complications. An aromatherapist gives a massage with essential oils, her hands gliding across muscle in fluid strokes. She uses elbow pressure and subtle shifts in body weight to adapt to the body's responses. On the other side, another masseuse uses rods and other tools to apply pressure from various angles, going step by step to work down through the tissue. At this event, seasoned sports recovery professionals demonstrated the skills they used to compete in various international competitions. Sports massage abroad emphasizes the Swedish style, using oil for the flow as well as stretching. They tend to focus on the fundamentals, but in Taiwan, the approach is more geared toward problem solving. For instance, we might use more active stretching. After gaining more exposure to other methods, we can combine all these different elements together. Traveling abroad allowed me to witness many different therapeutic elements like singing bowls or different body language, or healing through embrace or comforting touch. They put a greater emphasis on holistic mind-body therapy. These approaches redefine the meaning of stretching and massage. In our fast-paced modern world, people chasing maximum efficiency often tune out the distress signals sent by their own bodies and especially neglect post-workout recovery. When it comes to career longevity for athletes, recovery is especially important. To address this need, the Taiwan Exercise Recovery Association is to host Taiwan's first-ever exercise recovery techniques open in August. Right now in Taiwan, we haven't achieved true integration and collaboration across the entire industry. But overseas, sports massage competitions like this are becoming more common. We hope that through this kind of contest, we can foster a greater understanding and synergy among practitioners. As Taiwan's athletes continue to shine brighter on the international stage, the need for professional training and recovery is becoming ever more important. The association remains hopeful that moving forward, practitioners can incorporate cutting-edge techniques from around the world to create a more comprehensive and supportive environment for Taiwan's athletes.