Taiwan is learning from companies in Ukraine that continue to operate during the country's fight against Russia, a senior Taiwan official said Wednesday, as the island speeds up contingency planning amid heightened Chinese threats. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the objection of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up its military pressure against the island in recent years, including holding several rounds of major war games. "We hope to learn from Ukraine's first-hand experiences -- how private companies helped build the resilience of its government and society during wartime," said a senior Taiwan security official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

PENGHU, Taiwan – Taiwan fired warning shots at a Chinese drone which buzzed an offshore islet on Tuesday shortly after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said she had ordered Taiwan's military to take "strong countermeasures" against what she termed Chinese provocations. It was the first time such warning shots have been fired during a period of heightened tensions between China and Taiwan. Beijing views the island as its own territory, while Taiwan strongly disputes China's sovereignty claims. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

TAIPEI – Between 2012 and 2018, Taiwanese authorities closed 594 schools islandwide. They also cut thousands of classes at the remaining schools and reduced the hiring of new teachers. All were steps taken in response to an ongoing fall in enrollments -- approximately 100,000 fewer students per year during that period. The drop is the result of Taiwan's declining birthrate, with women today bearing an average of 1.06 children, far below the 2.1 replacement rate needed to maintain the population. Beyond empty schools, such a decline spells trouble across the social and economic map, especially as Taiwanese are living significantly longer than in the past, with projections suggesting that by 2065 there will be one working-age adult for every retiree.

Microsoft Corp is focusing on Taiwanese specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) during its current recruitment season, a Microsoft Taiwan official said on Wednesday. Michael Chang (張仁烔), chief executive of the new Microsoft AI research and development center in Taiwan, said the company wants to recruit Taiwanese students because of the hard and soft skills that they possess. "Not only are some Taiwanese skilled at data analysis and coding, but they are also insightful, creative and good team players," Chang said. The talent pool is actually one of the main reasons that Microsoft decided to base its AI research and development center in Taiwan, he said. Microsoft Taiwan president Ken Sun (孫基康) told a news conference on Jan. 10 that the company planned to have a 100-person research team at the center within two years and double that number within five years, with a key focus on Chinese-language input for SwiftKey, user-intent technology and AI forward integration applications.

Taipei, March 14 (CNA) Leading multinational tech company Microsoft is focusing on recruiting artificial intelligence (AI) talent from Taiwan during its current recruitment season, a Microsoft Taiwan official said Wednesday. Michael Chang (張仁烔), chief executive officer of the newly announced Microsoft AI research and development hub in Taiwan, explained that Microsoft is targeting AI talent in Taiwan because of the hard and soft skills that local students possess. Not only are some Taiwanese skilled at data analysis and coding, but they are also insightful, creative and good team players, Chang continued. The talent base in Taiwan is actually one of the main reasons Microsoft decided to base its AI research and development center here, he said. To this end, many of Microsoft's AI department managers from around the world visited Taiwan Tuesday for a press conference on its campus recruitment.

You could have walked there faster! Amazon's much-hyped first ever drone delivery was to the company's next door neighbour just 765 yards away (so no wonder it only took 13 minutes) Amazon boss Jeff Bezos announced firm completed first drone delivery in Cambridge on December 7 Amazon Air debut took just 13 minutes from order to delivery destination, with drone travelling at 400ft But it emerged the delivery was sent to the company's next door neighbour - just 765 yards away Drones will only be used during daylight and in sunny conditions and will not fly in rain, ice or strong winds But it emerged the delivery was sent to the company's next door neighbour - just 765 yards away Watch video Caught on camera: Checkout line fight erupts over couponing Watch video GRAPHIC CONTENT: Suspect shoots Georgia police officers Watch video Dangerous Porsche driver cuts up fellow motorists in Liverpool Watch video Lamborghini shredded by Taiwan government for illegal importation Watch video ...

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I've said before that Computex is ASUS' show -- and what better demonstration than having the recently-elected President of Taiwan "talk" to your newly announced home robot? Crowd noise necessitated several repeated commands to ASUS' Zenbo play some music, but if it was apparently a live demonstration (ASUS' PR affirmed to our Engadget Chinese colleagues that it was), then it's pretty impressive. Unfortunately, the Zenbo's SOS "lifesaving" feature failed in the midst of the trade show chaos. Check out the successful part of the interaction between world leader and... 600 house robot, right after the break.

TAIPEI – A Taiwan artist has refused to see the big picture and instead captured the likeness of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen, to celebrate her inauguration next month, on a single grain of rice. Chen Forng-Shean, who has also sculpted the face of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong on rice, said the staple was a fitting medium for his work because it met the basic needs of ethnic Chinese. "Rice gives nourishment to the proverbial belly of the ethnic Chinese people. I used rice (as a medium) to encourage Taiwan's leader, Tsai Ing-wen, hoping that she can take care of the common people, so they don't need to endure hunger, and improve their financial situation," he said. He outlined the facial features and accompanying Chinese characters with a needle-point pen onto the surface before carving and then dabbing black paint into the grooves. It took three months and more than 10 tries to get the sculpture to Chen's satisfaction.