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EZ NEWS April 2, 2025

Posted on 2026-04-02 14:39:14

KMT chair eyeing peace across Taiwan Strait with China visit

Posted on 2026-04-02 14:39:14

K-M-T Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is vowing to "lay a foundation for peace"
across the Taiwan Strait and regional stability (地區穩定) during her trip to
China next week.

Cheng is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing during
her six-day trip.

According to Cheng, the K-M-T has unavoidable historical mission (任務) to
prove that the two sides of the strait can lay the foundation for peaceful
and stable cross-strait relations, regional stability and global peace.

Cheng is slated to visit Jiangsu, Shanghai and Beijing from April 7 to 12.

However, other details of her itinerary (行程) have yet to be released.

Airport expects record number of travelers over holiday weekend

Posted on 2026-04-02 14:39:19

The Taoyuan International Airport Corporation says it expects to handle some
920,000 passengers and 4,590 flights over this coming weekend's Children's
Day and Tomb-Sweeping Day (清明節) holiday.

According to the airport operator, peak outbound travel day (尖峰出境日) on
Friday could see 162,000 passengers - which would surpass (超過) last year's
record.

The airport says it is now implementing AI-powered security screening systems
to manage the increased passenger volume.

The systems display estimated wait times at departure checkpoints using
headcount data (數人頭資料) and color-coded signals to indicate queue
statuses for passengers.

The airport is also advising passengers to use online check-in and automated
(自動化的) e-Gate services during the long weekend holiday period.

Four astronauts embark on a flight around the moon

Posted on 2026-04-02 14:39:21

In international news,

Four astronauts have embarked (展開旅行) on a high-stakes flight around the
moon.

It's the liftoff in NASA's push toward a lunar landing in two years.

The 32-story moon rocket blasted off (發射) from Florida's Kennedy Space
Center earlier this morning Taiwan time carrying three Americans and one
Canadian.

The Artemis II crew will spend a day in orbit around Earth (地球軌道)
checking their capsule before firing the main engine that will propel (推進)
them to the moon.

The nearly 10-day mission will see them fly around the moon and set a
distance record, before coming back home.

Indonesia Strong Earthquake

Posted on 2026-04-02 14:39:21

The U.S. Geological Surveys says that a powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake has
struck in the Molucca Sea region northeast of Indonesia.

The quake, which struck early today local time, had a depth of 35 kilometers
and its epicenter was 127 kilometers west-northwest of Ternate, Indonesia.

Authorities in North Sulawesi have reported one death and one person injured
so far.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency have issued a
tsunami warning, though it said the threat level remained under close
monitoring.

Indonesia sits on major seismic faults (地震斷層) and is frequently hit by
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Russia takes full control of Ukraine's Luhansk region

Posted on 2026-04-02 14:39:25

The Russian Defense Ministry says its forces have taken full control of the
Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

However, a Ukrainian military spokesperson says there have been no
battlefield changes in the area in the last six months.

Luhansk is one of four Ukrainian regions Russia claimed as its own in 2022
and More than 99-per cent of the region has long been under Russian control.

The Kremlin is also reiterated its demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from
the part of Donetsk which Moscow does not control to end what it's called the
"hot phase" of the war (熱戰階段).

Kyiv has repeatedly dismissed that demand.

Hershey going back to the basics with ingredients for Reese's

Posted on 2026-04-02 14:39:25

And finally,

American confectionery (糖果) company Hershey says it will shift back to
classic recipe for all Reese's products following criticism.

The A-P's Jennifer King reports.

EZ NEWS APR 1, 2026

Posted on 2026-04-01 10:45:13

Tai-Ex opening

Posted on 2026-04-01 10:45:17

The Tai-Ex opened up 169-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
31,892 on turnover of 7.8-billion N-T.

The market tumbled nearly 800 points on Tuesday, led by the electronics
sector, amid weakening market sentiment as Donald Trump's war with Iran
continues.

Report say South Korea set to revise Taiwan e-arrival card designation

Posted on 2026-04-01 10:45:19

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency is reporting the Seoul is taking steps to
revise its electronic arrival card following call from Taiwan to change the
island's designation.

The system has listed Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" in dropdown menus in its new
online entry system.

Reports say South Korea's foreign ministry now plans to remove the "previous
departure place" and "next destination" fields from the system.

The move comes after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Taiwan said it
would temporarily hold off on taking retaliatory (報復性的. ) adjustments -
citing South Korea's ongoing review and its expectation of a positive
response to its concerns.

The foreign ministry had said it would consider retaliatory adjustments to
how South Korea is labeled in Taiwan's electronic arrival system if no
response from Seoul was received by March 31.

CDC to buy record 7.05 million flu vaccines for free annual program

Posted on 2026-04-01 10:45:19

The Centers for Disease Control plans to purchase over 7-million flu jabs for
its annual publicly-funded vaccination campaign.

According to C-D-C Director-General Philip Luo, the government will purchase
a record 7.05-million doses of flu vaccine for this year's free flu
vaccination program in order to provide coverage (覆蓋範圍) for around 30-per
cent of the population.

The purchase has an estimated budget of 1.78-billion N-T and is expected to
be finalized later this month.

The C-D-C director-general says the government will once again be purchasing
trivalent vaccines for the fall flu season - meaning vaccines that protect
against two A and one B flu strains.

UAE Bars Iranians from Entering or Transiting

Posted on 2026-04-01 10:45:19

The United Arab Emirates has barred Iranians from entering or transiting
(過境) the country as the war rages.

That's according to three major airlines.

The long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, as well as the lower-cost airline
FlyDubai, made the announcements today on their websites.

Authorities offered no official comment.

But the change comes as Dubai already has shut down the Iranian Hospital and
Iranian Club in the city, two institutions in the city-state dating back to
the time of the shah.

US journalist kidnapped in Iraq

Posted on 2026-04-01 10:45:19

An American female journalist has been kidnapped (被綁架) in Iraq.

The Iraqi interior ministry says one suspect had been arrested.

Nick Harper reports from Washington.

King Charles April State Visit to US

Posted on 2026-04-01 10:45:23

King Charles III is going ahead with a state visit to the United States in
April, despite calls for the ceremonial (儀式的) event to be called off due
to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated criticism (批評) of the British
government for failing to support the war in Iran.

Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that the king would travel to the U.S. in late
April to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Trump put the dates as April 27-30.

The king also will travel to Bermuda in conjunction with the U.S. trip, his
first visit to the overseas territory as monarch.

The visit follows Trump’s state visit to the U.K. in September, seen as part
of Britain’s effort to shore up the relationship between the two countries.

EZ NEWS MAR 31, 2026

Posted on 2026-03-31 11:11:13

Tai-Ex opening

Posted on 2026-03-31 11:11:15

The Tai-Ex opened down 99-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
32,419 on turnover of 9.3-billion N-T.

The market moved sharply lower on Monday as yet another a spike in crude oil
prices led investors to trim their holdings of large-cap stocks, particularly
those in the electronics sector.

KMT chair 'gladly accepts' Xi's invitation to visit China next week

Posted on 2026-03-31 11:11:16

K-M-T Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun has announced that she's "gladly accepted" an
invitation from Xi Jinping to visit China next week.

Speaking at a press conference after news of the invitation was released,
Cheng said she believe the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must firmly pursue
a path of peace to ensure regional stability, and the well-being of future
generations.

Cheng told reporters that the trip will "show the people of Taiwan and the
world that the two sides of the Strait are not destined for war, nor do they
need to remain on the brink of (處於邊緣) military conflict.

The six-day trip includes stops in Jiangsu, Shanghai and Beijing.

CPI will rise 1.9% in 2026 if oil prices average US$100

Posted on 2026-03-31 11:11:16

Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long is warning that the consumer price index
is likely to jump 1.9-per cent this year, if international crude oil prices
increase to an average of 100 U-S dollars per barrel.

Speaking at a meeting of the Legislative Financial Committee, Yang said
although the projected 1.9-per cent growth in the consumer price index is
higher than the central bank's recent estimate of 1.8-per cent, it is still
below a 2-per cent alert level.

Yang also told lawmakers that the central bank will raise interest rates to
deal with inflationary pressure - and if inflationary concerns take hold, the
bank will also take steps to tighten its monetary (金融的) policy.

White House says it's not changing Cuba policy after allowing Russian oil

Posted on 2026-03-31 11:11:17

delivery

The Trump Administration says its fuel sanctions on Cuba have not been
lifted, despite allowing a Russian oil tanker to make a delivery to the
island.

The US cut off shipments from Venezuela after deposing (罷免) the country's
president and threatened steep tariffs on countries that sent fuel to Cuba
-in a bid to pressure the government to collapse.

Toni Waterman has more from Washington.

Spain Catholic Church Takes Steps Towards Compensation for Sexual Abuse

Posted on 2026-03-31 11:11:18

Victims

Spain’s Catholic bishops and the government have taken another step toward
compensating victims of sexual abuse by clergy members who have died or whose
possible crimes are too old to be prosecuted.

Spain's Catholic bishops agreed in January to let the Spanish government’s
ombudsman have the final say in the church’s compensation of such victims.

The government and Spain’s bishops signed paperwork on Monday detailing how
the new church-state reparation system would work.

The president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference Archbishop said that the
system would take effect April 15-th.

The text won't include amounts or scales for the compensation (賠償) that
sexual abuse victims would be entitled to (有權獲得/享有).

Compensation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

EZ NEWS MAR 30, 2026

Posted on 2026-03-30 10:44:13

Tai-Ex opening

Posted on 2026-03-30 10:44:15

The Tai-Ex opened down 102-points this morning from Friday's close, at 33,009
on turnover of 8.4-billion N-T.

The market slumped on Friday, closing down 225-points, or 0.68-per cent,
after Wall Street had its worst day since the start of Donald Trump's Iran
war over growing doubts about a de-escalation and oil prices have gained more
than 1-per cent

Cancer treatment cost NHI record NT$156 billion in 2025

Posted on 2026-03-30 10:44:16

The National Health Insurance Administration says National Health Insurance
spending on cancer treatment rose to a record 156.7-billion N-T last year.

That was an increase of 26.5-billion N-T from 2020.

According to the administration, the number of patients seeking cancer
treatment increased to 970,104 in 2025, reflecting an average annual increase
of 5-per cent over the past five years.

Data shows breast cancer accounted for the largest number of cases.

The administration says the rising costs are mainly driven by Taiwan's aging
population and expanded cancer screening programs, reflecting increased
health investment and improved access (通路) to care.

CWA warns of aftershocks from Pingtung earthquake

Posted on 2026-03-30 10:44:18

The Central Weather Administration's Seismological Center is warning of
possible aftershocks over the coming week following Sunday's magnitude 4.7
earthquake the rattled (使慌亂，使緊張) the south Sunday morning.

That quake was centered some 29-kilometers south-southeast of Pingtung County
Hall at a depth of 23-kilometers and was felt across parts of Pingtung,
Taitung, Kaohsiung, Tainan and Chiayi.

According to the Seismological Center, the quake could result in aftershocks
of between magnitudes 4 and 5 on the weather administration's intensity
scale.

The center says the quake was caused by the Eurasian Plate subducting beneath
the Philippine Sea Plate along Taiwan's Chaozhou Fault zone.

Trump Fine with Russia Delivering Oil to Cuba

Posted on 2026-03-30 10:44:19

US President Donald Trump says he has “no problem” with a Russian oil
tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island, which has been
brought to its knees (使陷入困境，打敗) by a U.S. oil blockade.

Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington, that "they have to
survive".

Tracking data shows the oil tanker carrying approximately 730-thousand
barrels of oil, was just off the eastern tip of the island on Sunday night
and slated to land in the city of Matanzas by Tuesday.

Trump has effectively cut Cuba off from key oil shipments in an effort to
force regime change.

Island-wide blackouts have roiled Cubans already grappling with years of
crisis, and lack of gasoline and basic resources has crippled hospital and
slashed public transport.

Iran warns the US against a ground invasion as regional powers meet in

Posted on 2026-03-30 10:44:23

Pakistan

Iran threatens the US as Pakistan says it will host talks between the
countries in a bid to broker an end to the war.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports

Egypt Imposes Early Closing to Cut Energy Costs

Posted on 2026-03-30 10:44:25

Egypt is imposing early closing times for shops, cafes and restaurants to cut
oil use as energy prices surge (猛漲的) during the war.

The rules were enacted nationwide Saturday and are forcing most businesses to
shut by 9 p.m. for a month.

The government is also dimming (使變暗) streetlights and advertising.

Offices in the capital close by 6 p.m.

Some civil servants work from home one day a week.

Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly says Egypt faces soaring import costs for
fuel.

Tourist areas are exempt.

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