The Tai-Ex opened up 628-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
43,720 on turnover of $21.8-billion N-T.

Shares in Taiwan plunged over 1,100 points Thursday as investors feared a
sell-off on Wall Street following heavy losses in Nvidia futures amid
controversy surrounding its CEO Jensen Huang.

Analysts say market sentiment was hurt by an approximately 8 percent decline
in Nvidia's shares in after-hours trading.

Many investors feared the weakness of the IC designer will spread to other
AI-related stocks when the U.S. markets open today

The Bureau of Consular Affairs says passports already issued remain valid
despite a data breach involving more than 70,000 passport photos.

The statement comes after the agency said it discovered the breach on
November 4 and immediately formed a task force to isolate the affected
servers, investigate the incident, preserve evidence and report the breach to
authorities.

The bureau has apologized for the personal data breach (資料洩露) and the public
concern it's caused, but is stressing that passport holders do not need to
apply for replacements.

According to the bureau, it has made contingency plans to ensure its services
will not be disrupted again and the affected websites have been restored,
passed security tests and resumed operations.

HUANG AS CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE LOOMS

Reuters is reporting that former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang had a
third extramarital affair — this time with a second unnamed employee at the
company — deepening the scandal that forced his resignation on Thursday.

Huang stepped down after thirty-three years at the firm he co-founded, and
has agreed to appear before members of the US Congress next week in a
closed-door session over national security concerns linked to (與…有關) his
alleged relationship with a suspected Chinese spy.

Nvidia's shares have fallen eleven per cent in a week, wiping close to two
trillion dollars off the company's market value.

James Gooderson reports from Washington.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says no migrant caravans have reached the
U.S. border since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025.

Sheinbaum made the statement Thursday in response to Trump's threat to double
tariffs on Mexican goods unless Mexico stops migrants from traveling through
its territory.

Sheinbaum says a caravan of about 600 migrants in Chiapas has largely
dispersed (被驅散了).

Mexican authorities are also in talks with another group of Honduran migrants.

Sheinbaum rules out using force to break up caravans, emphasizing Mexico's
experience in handling such situations.

Pope Leo XIV has denounced the “machismo” (大男人主義行) and violence against women
that is prevalent in Peru.

He is demanding that women be protected and respected.

He also met with six survivors of clergy sexual abuse, and instructed
Peruvian bishops especially to respond to victims of clergy sexual abuse with
truth and justice.

The pope called the Catholic hierarchy to be models of unity and communion.

The Tai-Ex opened down 77-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
44,180 on turnover of $20-billion N-T.

Shares in Taiwan closed sharply higher Wednesday, up over 1,500 points, led
by TSMC's almost 5 percent gain after the contract chipmaker announced higher
quarterly cash dividend payout and strong October sales.

Buying spread to other semiconductor stocks including ASIC designer AIchip
Technologies, MediaTek Inc., and United Microelectronics.

Analysts say after the National Financial Stabilization Fund announced market
intervention Friday, market sentiment improved, and the financial sector also
attracted strong buying.

In related news....

Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun has voiced support for a proposal to double
the National Financial Stabilization Fund, saying a larger fund would give
the government greater flexibility to intervene (介入、干預) in the stock market
amid growing political and economic volatility.

Chuang told lawmakers the market capitalization of the local stock market
stood at around 9.2 trillion NT when the fund was established in 2000 but had
since increased more than 17-fold.

Foreign institutional investors now account for 46.78 percent of total market
capitalization, compared with just 8.44 percent in 2000.

He said that the fund's current size could face growing challenges in
conducting market interventions.

Lawmakers have proposed amending the Statute for the Establishment and
Administration of the National Financial Stabilization Fund to double its
size to NT$1 trillion.

The current law allows the fund to borrow from financial institutions, backed
by shares held by the National Treasury in public and private enterprises...
and from the postal deposit system, the Postal Life Insurance Fund, the Labor
Insurance Fund, the Labor Pension Fund and the Civil Servant Pension Fund.

ON TERRITORY

Two days of US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have ended in
Abu Dhabi with agreement on a major prisoner-of-war exchange but no
breakthrough on the key issues of territory or a ceasefire.

European representatives from France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy
were present in Abu Dhabi, but Russia's delegation refused to meet them. US
mediators acknowledged a deep lack of (缺乏) trust between the two sides.

James Gooderson in Washington says US President Donald Trump has been using
what critics describe as a carrot-and-stick approach to try to end the war.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni says law enforcement found no concrete threat
after thousands of school buildings were evacuated due to an emailed bomb
threat.

This is part of a series of disruptions affecting European institutions.

Schools in Ireland, Scotland, and Northern Ireland also received threats, but
no evacuations were reported.

Meloni says the threats aim to create fear and chaos.

Italian authorities are working with European counterparts (對應的官員/同僚) to
identify the source.

The email, which also threatened Meloni, purportedly came from an unknown
group.

Authorities have not linked the threats to any group or state.

Pope Leo the fourteenth has arrived in Peru, where he spent 20 years learning
how to be a pastor.

The visit to Peru is the final leg of Leo's three-country South America tour.

The pope seemed moved as he came out of his charter plane, smiling as he
greeted Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori.

The Vatican estimates that some 3 million people lined the motorcade (車隊)
route into town, waving flags of Peru and the Vatican.

Over the coming days, Leo will celebrate Mass in all his old stomping
grounds, and his speeches will be closely watched, especially one he's set to
deliver from the square in front of Lima's cathedral.

The Tai-Ex opened up 424-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
43,135 on turnover of $16.8-billion N-T.

Taiwan shares extended their gains Tuesday, with the benchmark Taiex surging
more than 1,000 points following an overnight rally on Wall Street, as
falling crude oil prices eased inflation concerns.

Analysts say AI-related stocks abroad showed signs of stabilizing as the
impact resulting from a controversy (爭議) surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
was limited only to the company itself.

With technology stocks drawing much of the buying interest, nontech shares
were mixed, and financial stocks also lost ground.

The Centers for Disease Control is continuing to expanded access to publicly
funded antiviral drugs for the flu.

Under the measure, people in designated groups at higher risk of flu who
develop flu-like symptoms can receive publicly funded antiviral drugs.

The deadline for the program has now been extended (延長) from this Sunday to
the end of the month.

Eligible groups include infection-control personnel at medical institutions,
residents and staff of long-term care facilities, childcare workers and
nannies, and students from preschool through senior high school.

The measure also covers people living with or caring for individuals at high
risk of severe influenza, livestock and poultry farm workers, zoo personnel,
and veterinary quarantine personnel.

Counterterror police in England have arrested a U.S. Army soldier on
suspicion of espionage related to Russia.

The 41-year-old man was taken into custody Tuesday.

Authorities suspect him of assisting a foreign intelligence service and
obtaining or disclosing (揭露) protected information.

Three officials say he was serving in a NATO unit designed to quickly respond
to crises or short-notice operations.

The Metropolitan Police said its counterterror forces worked closely with the
FBI and U.S. military on the case.

The arrest comes during heightened concern over threats to American forces
stationed in Britain and tension between Moscow and much of Europe.

Police said the arrest isn't related to other counterterrorism
investigations.

The US House of Representatives has voted to sideline (刻意閒置，被淘汰 )a resolution
to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, referring it to committee and
effectively ending the effort to remove him over his handling of the war in
Iran.

The vote was 211 to 204, with Republican Representative Thomas Massie of
Kentucky the only member of his party to break ranks and vote with Democrats
against the referral.

Massie had filed eight articles of impeachment on Monday, accusing Hegseth of
unlawful conduct at the Pentagon, but House Speaker Mike Johnson had vowed to
block the move.

Simon Marks reports from Washington.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg is at the U.N. climate talks, where she
criticized the annual proceedings and stressed the need to put people and the
planet ahead of profits and power.

This year’s conference, known as COP31, is being held in Antalya, Turkey,
following a year of deadly climate-related disasters, including heat waves
and floods, and another energy shock triggered by the Iran war.

Thunberg arrived on Tuesday, warning that when it comes to climate change,
“everything and everyone we love is at stake (處於危險中)”.

Youth climate activists from around the world welcomed her attendance at the
gathering, which runs through Nov. 20-th.

The Tai-Ex opened up 469-points this morning from yesterday's close, at
42,130 on turnover of $17.2-billion N-T.

Taiwan shares posted their second-largest single-day point gain on Monday
after the National Financial Stabilization Fund authorized market
intervention Friday following heavy recent losses.

The decision marked the 10th time the stabilization fund has authorized
market intervention to curb market volatility since its establishment in
2000.

Before Monday's rally, the Taiex had fallen about 21 percent, from its
intraday high of 49,968.92 points recorded on Oct. 6 amid concerns over AI
development.

Taiwan Railways Corporation says, it will allow passengers to buy tickets
online up to 5 minutes before departure, instead of 30 minutes.

That policy is in effect starting today.

The deadline for changing tickets online will also be extended...

allowing passengers to make changes up to half an hour before their original
train's departure, as opposed to the previous 1 hour cutoff.

TRC is also updating its mobile app to allow passengers to collect multiple
tickets across all fare categories (類別) on a single mobile phone.

Previously, the app allowed users to collect only one full-fare ticket along
with multiple discounted tickets for children or senior citizens.

The update will remove that restriction, allowing multiple tickets across all
fare categories to be accessed on one device.

CHINESE SPY, TRUMP CONFIRMS

US President Donald Trump has confirmed the FBI is investigating Nvidia chief
executive Jensen Huang over his relationship with a woman American
intelligence agencies say is a Chinese spy — with the president saying he
believes Huang had no knowledge of the woman's alleged espionage activities.

Nvidia's board has launched its own investigation, led by outside counsel,
while Nvidia shares fell more than four per cent on Monday. China has
dismissed the espionage allegations as unsubstantiated (未經證實).

James Gooderson in Washington says the FBI probe is just one of several
overlapping investigations, including a two-year Justice Department criminal
inquiry into the Singapore-based company at the centre of the case.

France has blamed Iran for a cyberattack on supermarket fridges last month.

The French Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Monday.

The attack on October 12-th sent refrigerator temperatures soaring ( 劇烈上升),
affecting about 700 of the country’s 10-thousand supermarkets.

Paris prosecutors said investigators found that Iran’s paramilitary
Revolutionary Guard was behind the large-scale cyberattack.

The ministry condemned the attacks as unacceptable.

British science fiction writer M. John Harrison has won the prestigious
Booker Prize for his novel "The End of Everything."

The book, set on England’s Channel coast in the near future, explores themes
of catastrophe and apocalypse.

It centers on a beachcomber who discovers a mysterious artifact after society
is shattered by an unspecified calamity.

The judges praised the novel for its ambition and expert writing, noting its
reflection of current political anxieties (令人焦慮的事).

At 81, Harrison is the oldest winner of the Booker Prize, which is open to
English-language novels published in the U.K. and Ireland.