Labor Minister Hung Sun-han says the government will move to strengthen legal
protections for sick leave following the death of a flight attendant in
October.

Speaking at the Legislative Yuan, Hung said crew interviews conducted during
the MOL investigation showed that EVA Air "excessively used" its evaluation
management system, causing staff to believe that applying for sick leave
would lead to punitive treatment.

He says the ministry will amend laws to state that when a worker takes no
more than 10 days of sick leave in a year, the employer may not impose
unfavorable treatment.

Deputy Labor Minister Lee Chien-hung says the amendments are scheduled to
take effect Jan. 1 next year, authorizing fines of up to $1 million NT for
employers who violate the rules.

According to the MOL's plan, once a worker claims they faced unfavorable
treatment for taking sick leave, the employer will bear the burden of proof.

Employers will also not be allowed to withhold an employee's entire bonus due
to partial-month sick leave.

The Executive Yuan on Thursday approved draft amendments to a law controlling
how tax revenues are allocated to local governments.

The changes drafted by the Ministry of Finance would see the central
government allocate a record $1.2 trillion NT in tax revenues to Taiwan's 22
city and county governments.

Cabinet Secretary-General Xavier Chang says allocations to the island's six
special municipalities, that's Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan
and Kaohsiung, would rise by 15 percent under the plan.

Allocations to the 16 other city and county governments would increase by 25
percent.

The Cabinet's draft bill faces dim prospects in the opposition-controlled
Legislature, which passed its own revisions to the revenue allocation act
last Friday.

The KMT stated that the amendments the Legislature passed should take
precedence.

The TPP accused the Cabinet of "using erroneous numbers to deceive people,"
and vowed to take steps against what it called the Cabinet's
"unconstitutional, disorderly" actions.

A Ministry of Health and Welfare committee says National Health Insurance
premiums will remain unchanged next year.

The National Health Insurance Committee says the general premium rate will
stay at 5.17 percent, following a monthly meeting of the committee in Taipei.

The committee says NHI reserves are projected to stand at the equivalent of
about two months of expenditures by the end of 2026 -- above the legally
required minimum of one month.

The announcement comes after budget negotiations in September, during which
representatives from hospitals, clinics, dental services and traditional
Chinese medicine clinics agreed on the total NHI spending for 2026.

All four sectors secured the maximum approved growth rate of 5.5 percent,
bringing next year's total NHI budget to $988.3 billion NT.

The leaders of Taiwan's opposition KMT and TPP met Wednesday to discuss the
prospects for collaboration in the 2026 local elections.

Speaking during their public meeting in New Taipei, KMT Chairperson Cheng
Li-wun told TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang that she hoped the parties' recent
cooperation in the Legislature would deepen in the run-up to local elections.

Huang, meanwhile, said he would direct the TPP's think tank to reach out to
its KMT counterpart to discuss local governance and the parties' 2026
election goals.

The two parties have also increasingly warmed to the idea of collaborating in
the November 2026 local elections, and even forming what they have called a
"unity government" after the 2028 national elections.

Cheng said such an arrangement would not look like some of the parliamentary
governments in Europe, but rather like the dual executive system in France.

The TPP had stated that it wanted to reach a cooperation agreement with the
KMT by March, and Cheng said she thought such a timeframe was "reasonable."

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a bill requiring the State Department to
regularly review and update the rules governing U.S. engagement with Taiwan.

The Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which was passed without objection,
directs the State Department to "identify opportunities and plans to lift
self-imposed restrictions on relations with Taiwan," according to the U.S.
Congress website.

The bill also requires that the guidelines take into account that Taiwan is
"governed by a representative government peacefully constituted through free
and fair elections."

The bipartisan act would require the State Department to assess on a
two-yearly basis whether current guidelines can deepen and expand U.S.-Taiwan
relations and reflect the value and importance of the bilateral relationship.

The act will take effect once President Donald Trump signs it into law.