China might quarantine Taiwan, report saysBy Wu Meng-feng and William Hetherington / Staff writersChina might seek to isolate Taiwan and weaken its economy through a “quarantine,” which would make it difficult for the US to respond and force Taipei to negotiate on unification, CNN reported on Saturday. However, China might choose to initiate a quarantine, rather than a military invasion of Taiwan, to avoid US involvement, it said. Furthermore, the China Coast Guard has 150 ocean-going vessels and 400 smaller ones, while the Coast Guard Administration has only 10 ocean-going ships and about 160 smaller ones, it said. The actions taken by Beijing to isolate Taiwan during a quarantine might be relatively limited, but they would still have the effect of strangling Taiwan economically, they said. “Limited search and/or seizure actions have an effect on flights to Taiwan as a quarantine can easily be extended to the air,” CNN said.

Lai urged to discard ‘two-state theory’By Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerPresident William Lai (賴清德) should backpedal from his new “two-state theory” and return to the “one China” principle in line with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution, to foster and rebuild mutual trust across the Taiwan Strait, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday. Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen speaks to reporters in Taipei on June 16. Lai must explain why China did not make such moves under the administrations of former presidents Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Hsiao said. The spike in cross-strait tension was due to Lai’s “unconstitutional statements regarding the new ‘two-state theory,’” Hsiao said, adding that the statements were regrettable. The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation would continue to foster cross-strait youth events in the hope of laying a solid foundation to build mutual trust, he said.

Ko, TPP sowing legislative chaosBy Michael Lin 林正二On Friday, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators denied a Cabinet request to reconsider a set of controversial bills. In the past few days, the former Taipei mayor has been particularly anxious, following a recent poll revealing that support for the TPP has plummeted. The collaboration between the TPP and the KMT in the past few months has led to nothing but chaos, resulting in unconstitutional actions and the introduction of bills infringing on people’s rights. Yet, by failing to push TPP legislators to vote for reconsideration, he has missed an opportunity to regain lost support. If he were to lead the seven TPP legislators to correct their course, Ko might still have a chance for a political comeback.

In recent years, techno-libertarians have been lining up to attach themselves, remora-like, to the US government. The answer has become increasingly clear: Leading Silicon Valley techno-libertarians are against the state only insofar as it is not enriching them personally. When faced with the prospect of the government becoming a major client, once-principled opposition to state power dissipates. Another example is Marc Andreessen, a founder of leading Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (known as a16z), where Srinivasan was briefly a partner. Maybe techno-libertarians need a more accurate, if less glamorous, label.

What a medical exam scandal says about Modi’s IndiaSome have suggested a ‘one nation, one syllabus’ policy, which would mean the jostling over who should control the supply of doctors would be about history rather than physics, biology or chemistryBy Andy Mukherje / Bloomberg OpinionA scandal involving allegedly leaked papers and irregular scoring in a government-run Indian medical entrance exam has exposed a deeper fault line. The nationwide test conducted last month had 2.4 million aspirants jostling for 100,000 seats in the country’s medical colleges. Tamil Nadu has 11 percent of the country’s doctors with 6 percent of its population, thanks to the medical colleges it directly funds. An exam that overlooks the differences in schooling offered by the boards of 28 states emaciates local education. A national test is a threat to this political autonomy.

Export orders up 7%, exceeding estimateGROWTH: Orders from Southeast Asian countries showed the strongest growth in ICT products. Export orders last month expanded to US$48.89 billion last month, beating the ministry’s estimate of US$48.5 billion for May, or outpacing its estimate of 6.2 percent annual growth. “Export orders in the second quarter are to ride out of a seven-quarter decline as prolonged inventory corrections are coming to an end for most industries,” Department of Statistics Director Huang Yu-ling (黃于玲) said via telephone. “We expect export orders to grow every quarter in the second half of this year amid normal seasonality.”It remains to be seen if the growth of export orders swings back to positive territory for the whole year, as major central banks hesitate to cut interest rates and the geopolitical situation remains precarious, Huang said. Last year, export orders dipped for a second straight year, falling by 15.9 percent year-on-year amid supply chain inventory adjustments and sagging end-market demand, ministry data showed.

There is no shame in being ChineseCompanies like Shein that are shifting headquarters and erasing connections to China are making a mistake. Being seen as a Chinese company limits demand for the initial public offering, especially from US-based pension and endowment funds, or global investors wary of Washington’s economic sanctions. Shein and Chinese rival Temu are now attracting more repeat shoppers than eBay Inc, largely because their products are cheap. From electric vehicles to smart home appliances and cross-border e-commerce, Chinese companies are gaining market share because of their access to the vast industrial catalogue and efficient supply chains at home. There is no shame in being Chinese.

TSMC plant halted over possible archeological findLIMITING THE IMPACT: Due to the discovery at the site of the firm’s first advanced packaging plant in Chiayi, plans are being made to begin work on its second plant Construction of a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) packaging plant in Chiayi County has been halted following the discovery of suspected archeological ruins, local authorities said on Monday. The discovery was made at the end of last month, during construction of the first of two planned packaging plants using sophisticated chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) technology at the Chiayi Science Park (嘉義科學園區) — the Chiayi section of the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區). Construction on the plant only began last month, and it was scheduled to begin production in 2028. In accordance with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法), a review committee convened early this

Taiwan sets sights on India tourists, but flights an issueBy William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNAThe government would target the Indian corporate incentive market in a bid to reach its target of 10 million annual tourists to Taiwan, Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Trust Lin (林信任) said yesterday. However, to achieve that aim, direct flights to India need to resume, he said. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Trust Lin speaks to reporters at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “On June 20 this year, we invited operators from the Indian tourism industry to Taiwan for the first time,” Lin said. Lin said that the Tourism Administration has been busy promoting incentive travel in many overseas markets, hoping to attract companies to travel to Taiwan.

Whampoa officers pick CCP over integrityBy Tzou Jiing-wen 鄒景雯On Sunday, the Whampoa Military Academy, founded by the Republic of China in 1924, celebrated its 100th anniversary. When visiting the Museum of the War of Chinese People’s Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 2014, he refused the company of Chinese officials. According to Lee, Hau made three promises in confidence: to never enter CCP state bureaus, to never accept the hospitality of CCP officials and to never engage with media criticizing the ROC. Despite serving under two different ruling parties, Hau remained steadfast in his views, defending the head of the Whampoa Military Academy as well as his own vision for the ROC. How can the Whampoa officials who chose to forsake these fundamental principles and become instruments of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army face their friends and fellow soldiers at home?

At least eight people killed in India train crashAFP, KOLKATA, IndiaAt least eight people were killed in India yesterday when a goods train driver missed a signal and slammed into an express passenger train from behind, police and railway officials said. People gather at the site of a collision between an express passenger train and a goods train in Nirmaljote, India, yesterday. “A goods train disregarded the signal and hit the train from behind,” Sinha said. Sinha said the casualties could have been worse, but a guard wagon and two others carrying post that were attached to the back of the passenger train took the brunt of the crash. In that crash, a packed passenger train was mistakenly diverted onto a loop line and slammed into a stationary goods train loaded with iron ore.

The forced assimilation of TibetBy Khedroob ThondupThe situation in Tibet is complex and sensitive, with reports saying the Chinese government is attempting to assimilate Tibetan culture into the Han culture. China’s approach to education in Tibet has raised significant concerns regarding the forced assimilation of Tibetan children. The educational content of the schools revolve around the Han culture, with Mandarin as the medium of instruction. The system is seen as a large-scale program intended to assimilate Tibetans into Han culture. The measures are part of what some experts describe as a policy of forced assimilation, which runs contrary to international human rights standards for education, linguistic and cultural rights, and freedom of religion or belief.

Brahma Chellaney On Taiwan: Is US prepared for a Taiwan invasion? There are ominous signs that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is preparing his country for a war over Taiwan. In fact, US President Joe Biden recently plunged the US deeper into the Ukraine war by permitting Kyiv to use American-donated weapons to strike inside Russia. More fundamentally, the drawn-out Ukraine war is crimping America’s China policy and weakening its deterrent posture in the Indo-Pacific, thereby making a Taiwan Strait crisis more likely. Indeed, the last thing Xi wants is an end to the Ukraine war because that would leave the US free to pivot to Asia.

US to step in if PLA strikes: ex-Japan officerBy Wu Che-yu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe US would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan, retired Japanese lieutenant general Hirotaka Yamashita said. Yamashita made the remarks in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on Friday. He is in Taiwan to promote his book on Taiwan Strait security. Retired Japanese lieutenant general Hirotaka Yamashita gestures in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) in Taipei on Friday. To invade Taiwan, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) must deploy a massive number of troops across the Taiwan Strait, exposing vulnerable troop transport ships to smaller asymmetric weapons systems, he said.

Anyone who tried to separate Taiwan from China would be “crushed to pieces,” he said during the premier defense summit. Past Chinese defense ministers have made similar threats to those of Dong. However, the US has made its intentions clear regarding this “offshore battle” — it aims to deter China from launching a sudden attack. Once all hell breaks loose in the Taiwan Strait, China worries that others would follow suit. Given the low morale of the Chinese military, can the armed forces really afford to battle on four different fronts simultaneously?