Taiwan carried out its first execution in five years and the first under President Lai Ching-te, upsetting rights groups and the European Union.

Taiwan carried out its first execution in five years late on Thursday, upsetting both rights groups and the European Union which called on the government to maintain its de facto moratorium on the death penalty.

The decision by Taiwan's justice ministry to carry out the first execution in the country since 2020 has attracted support and condemnation from a range of lawmakers and rights groups. It's also the first death sentence to be carried out since the Constitutional Court ruled last September that the scope of capital punishment should be narrowed and reserved for the most extreme cases.

China's tourism ministry said on Friday that it has begun preparations to resume group tours to Taiwan from Shanghai and Fujian province in the near future, with Taipei saying it welcomed the move.

China's culture and tourism ministry says it may soon allow more group visitors from certain regions to visit Taiwan.

TSMC's new U.S. plant is unlikely to get the most advanced chip technology before factories in Taiwan due to complex compliance issues, local construction regulations and various permitting requirements,

Taiwan computer chip maker TSMC reported Thursday that its profit in the last quarter rose 57%, buoyed by the artificial intelligence boom. The world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer reported a net profit of 374.