Former President Ma Ying-jeou today said his latest trip to China, including
his first-time attendance at the Straits Forum, can promote "closer
people-to-people exchanges" across the Taiwan Strait, as he embarked on his
fourth visit to the mainland since leaving office.

Ma, who led Taiwan from 2008 to 2016, said he hopes this exchange will
encourage more young people from Taiwan to visit the mainland, and likewise
welcome young people from the mainland to visit Taiwan, adding that it would
help in the development of cross-strait peace.

Leading a group of Taiwanese students for a two-week visit to China till June
27, Ma, still a heavyweight in the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), is
scheduled to attend the 17th Straits Forum in Xiamen, which begins on Sunday.

Ma's planned attendance at the Straits Forum has drawn criticism from the
administration of President Lai Ching-te, with the Mainland Affairs Council
(MAC) urging him in a statement Wednesday not to become a propaganda tool for
Beijing's united front efforts targeting Taiwan.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has raised its travel advisories
for Israel and Iran amid rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East and
urged Taiwanese nationals currently in Iran to leave immediately for their
safety.

In a news release, MOFA said its travel advisory for Israel was raised to
Level 3 -- the orange label -- advising Taiwanese nationals to avoid
traveling there unless absolutely necessary.

The foreign affairs ministry also raised the alert for Iran to Level 4, or
red - the highest level - urging Taiwanese nationals staying in the Islamic
country to leave as soon as possible.

The announcement came hours after Israel launched an airstrike against Iran,
targeting the Iranian nuclear program, and some key government figures and
nuclear scientists.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has justified the attacks by saying
that it was about Israel's "survival," accusing Iran of accelerating its
nuclear program in recent months.
International reactions to Israel's actions have been mixed.

While U.S. President Donald Trump called the Israel's strike "excellent" and
warned there would be "more to come," other nations, including Germany and
France, as well as the United Nations, have urged both sides to deescalate.

Today, Iran, which characterized the strike as a "declaration of war,"
retaliated with missile targeting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Six people were being treated in hospital for severe burns following a gas
explosion at an animal feed processing plant in Taoyuan Friday.

The injured included four men and two women, aged between 24 and 53, who
suffered burns covering 40 to 80 percent of their bodies, the Taoyuan Fire
Department said. No fatalities were reported.

The department said it received a report at 2:44 p.m. about a fire at a feed
processing facility on Section 1 of Nanshan Road, likely caused by a gas
explosion.

Firefighters arrived at the scene within five minutes and extinguished the
blaze by 3:23 p.m., the department said. The cause of the incident is still
under investigation.

A 23-year-old student at Feng Chia University in Taichung died Friday
afternoon after being crushed by a fallen tree.

According to Cheng Ching Hospital's Chung Kang Branch, the student was sent
to the hospital without vital signs, with serious deformations to his head,
face, pelvis and thighs.

He was pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate him failed.

Three other people were also injured by the old Chinese banyan tree, which
likely toppled due to prolonged rainfall, according to the Fire Bureau.

A constitutional amendment proposed by Taiwan's two opposition parties to
abolish the Control Yuan and transfer its powers of presidential impeachment
to the Legislature has received enough support to move forward.

That, according to a lawmaker who sponsored the bill.

The amendment was sponsored by Huang Kuo-chang of the Taiwan People's Party
(TPP) and Lo Chih-chiang of the KMT, whose parties allege that the Control
Yuan has been acting in favor of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP).

Huang announced the proposed amendment during a press conference at the
Legislative Yuan in Taipei Friday morning, during which he said the Taiwanese
public has had enough with the Control Yuan members acting in the interests
of the DPP.

He later wrote about the bill's progress in a Facebook post.

According to the proposed amendment, the Control Yuan's powers of
impeachment, censure and audit will be moved to the Legislative Yuan.

Taiwan's Cabinet has announced Taiwan will have nine extended holidays in
2026, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break.

The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday in 2026 matches the length of the 2025
holiday. This year will featured six extended holidays in total.

The increase in extended holidays in 2026 is due to legislation that was
passed in early May with support from the opposition KMT and Taiwan People's
Party.

Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year's Eve becomes a national
holiday, and Labor Day will no longer be limited to blue-collar workers.

The legislation also designates Sept. 28, Oct. 25 and Dec. 25 as new
national holidays.

According to the latest calendar released by the Cabinet's
Directorate-General of Personnel Administration, the other eight extended
holidays in 2026 will include two four-day breaks and six three-day weekends.

The first four-day holiday will come in early April, combining Children's Day
and Tomb Sweeping Festival. The second will fall in late September, covering
Mid-Autumn Festival and Teachers' Day.