China’s claim to Indian territoryBy Dorjee Phunchu DinglowIn a stark reminder of China’s persistent territorial overreach, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a woman from Arunachal Pradesh holding an Indian passport, was detained for 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong Airport on Nov. 24 last year. This incident is not isolated, but part of a pattern where China uses border disputes to assert dominance, denying Arunachalis their Indian identity. The area, once called the North-East Frontier Agency, became a union territory in 1972 and a full state in 1987. China’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh stems from a mix of strategic, resource and ideological motives. His sacrifice, untainted by any Chinese influence, is commemorated through memorials, bridges and tournaments named in his honor across Arunachal Pradesh.

Substack makes money from Nazi newslettersANTI-SEMITISM: Some newsletters promote hateful ideas such as white supremacy and Holocaust denial, with one describing Adolf Hitler as ‘one of the greatest men of all time’The GuardianThe global publishing platform Substack is generating revenue from newsletters that promote virulent Nazi ideology, white supremacy and anti-Semitism, a Guardian investigation has found. Substack takes about 10 percent of the revenue the newsletters make. The full name of the Nazi party was the National Socialist German Workers’ party. Antisemitism Policy Trust chief executive Danny Stone said harmful online content often inspired real-life attacks. Its cofounder, Hamish McKenzie, addressed its decision to host Nazi content in one of his own posts on the site in 2023.

Why Asia cannot undo decades of falling fertility ratesSingapore’s financial incentives to boost its birthrate are not bad policy, but fail to account for a shift in social values, experts sayBy Daniel Moss / Bloomberg OpinionSingapore has been put on notice. Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and China all have rates of fertility well below 2.1, the level at which demographers say a society reproduces itself. Unlike Japan, South Korea and China, Singapore strives to attract the workers it needs — especially in industries it considers strategic such as technology, engineering and finance. It is one thing to galvanize residents around the need to lift fertility, but dire predictions are not the solution. Singapore is right that fertility news is not likely to be encouraging, but it did not suddenly arrive at this moment.

Black market for Russian, Iranian oil is in troubleBy Javier Blas / Bloomberg OpinionOil smuggling has been so enormously profitable that no matter how many obstacles Washington and Brussels put up, the barrels kept flowing. With a daily turnover of US$1 billion, the black market has been just too attractive. If anything, the switch has made the mainstream oil market tighter, putting a floor under prices. Under pressure from the US and the EU, it stopped importing Iranian oil in 2019, and it has reduced its purchases of Russian crude. That shifts 800,000 barrels a day from the black market into the regular market.

Takaichi wins big, Japan’s national broadcaster reportsAFP, TOKYOJapanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling coalition won a super-majority of at least two-thirds of the seats in yesterday’s snap lower house elections, national broadcaster NHK projected. Takaichi’s ruling bloc capitalized on her honeymoon start as Japan’s first female prime minister. If confirmed, it would be the best result for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since elections in 2017 under Takaichi’s mentor, assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. “We received backing for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s responsible, proactive fiscal policies and a strengthening of national defense capabilities,” LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki told Japanese media. The anti-immigration Sanseito party was projected to have increased its seats from two to between five and 14, NHK said.

Trump’s Iran gamble comes with big risksBy Ian BremmerAlthough Iran is not in the western hemisphere, it might well be the next theater where US President Donald Trump tries to reshape reality with military force — but unlike his quick win in Venezuela, US intervention in Iran could easily spiral out of control. Trump has made his position clear: Iran’s rulers can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way means accepting a deal tougher than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement) that Trump walked away from during his first term. The hard way means military strikes — big ones. If Trump strikes Khamenei, expect a bigger spike in the range of US$5 to US$10 per barrel — or possibly more if the transition goes badly.

EDITORIAL: Film disrespects Taiwanese historyThe wrap-up press event on Feb. 1 for the new local period suspense film Murder of the Century (世紀血案), adapted from the true story of the Lin family murders (林家血案) in 1980, has sparked waves of condemnation in the past week, as well as a boycott. In the incident, Lin’s mother and seven-year-old twin daughters were stabbed to death, while his eldest daughter survived a severe knife injury. The 84-year-old Lin and his family were not approached for their consent before the movie was filmed, which triggered significant public concern of re-traumatization and exploitation. It also caused speculation about potential hidden motives for making the film and outrage toward the production team for its disregard for the privacy and dignity of the survivors. Claiming a “neutral” stance while depicting a high-profile political murder that took place under an authoritarian regime is inexcusable, and only lends itself to glossing over historical facts.

Liquor-based food raises alcohol use indicators: doctorBy Cheng Shu-ting and Jason Pan / Staff reportersAs a cold front hits, many in Taiwan might turn to alcohol-based dishes such as ginger duck stew and chicken soup cooked with wine to keep warm, but doctors cautioned that the alcohol in such dishes could affect blood test results. A pot of ginger duck stew is pictured in an undated photograph. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) tests are usually used in evaluations, as they reflect longer-term regular alcohol consumption, instead of just short-term binge drinking, Su said. “Many people believe that when they stop drinking alcohol one or two weeks before they get tested, their indices would go down, but that is not correct,” Su said. However, some people consume ginger duck stew or wine-cooked chicken soup on cold winter days, which raises their CDT index, he said.

The film, titled Murder of the Century (世紀血案), was based on the murders of three members of the Lin family on Feb. 28, 1980. Actor Johnny Kou poses for a photograph at a news conference promoting the film Murder of the Century in Taipei on Sunday last week. Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei TimesThe Lin family murders is one of the highest-profile homicide cases in modern Taiwanese history and remains unsolved. Kou, who plays the role of a Taiwan Garrison Command and National Security Bureau high official in the film, apologized to the Lin family in a statement on Facebook. He expressed deep remorse and said that his insufficient understanding of the tragedy caused secondary harm to the Lin family.

T’way Air flight lands safely at Taoyuan airport after losing a tireStaff writer, with CNAA passenger jet operated by South Korean low-cost carrier T’way Air lost a tire on landing at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, prompting the temporary closure of its north runway and disrupting 14 flights. The T’way Air flight, arriving from Jeju Island, touched down on the north runway at 3:52 pm, when its right main landing gear tire detached, according to Taoyuan International Airport Corp. A T’way Air plane is pictured at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. After foreign object debris (FOD), including aircraft components, was marked and removed, the north runway resumed normal operations at 5:35 pm. However, Japan Airlines flight JL8671, which landed shortly after the T’way Air jet, was delayed by about one hour while waiting on a taxiway for FOD clearance.

KMT rhetoric shifting to pro-China, silence on US under Cheng: academicBy Chen Yu-fu / Staff ReporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) approach toward the US has undergone a shift under the leadership of Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), publicly evolving into a stance that is “pro-China, skeptical of the US and no longer anti-communist,” an academic said yesterday. “However, Cheng has so far not uttered the words ‘pro-US’ at all,” Chen said. Chen said that Ma consistently placed “closeness to the US” as a top priority, whereas the current KMT leadership no longer even mentions the concept. Chen added that Cheng, meanwhile, has not mentioned opposition to communism since assuming the party leadership. “The KMT’s party charter explicitly states opposition to communism,” Chen said.

Man arrested for starting fires in two MRT stationsBy Wang Kuan-jen and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writerA 73-year-old man was arrested for allegedly starting fires in two Taipei MRT bathrooms yesterday to draw attention to his repeated petitions to be excluded from a redevelopment. The man, surnamed Zeng (曾), owns land in an area that is being redeveloped in Taichung’s Shengang District (神岡). He then traveled to Taipei Main Station via bus and dropped off four petition letters at Taiwan Railway Corp’s office building, they said. From Ximen Station, Zeng took the metro to Shandao Temple Station, where he allegedly lit another fire in the men’s bathroom, they said. Believing their efforts have gone unnoticed, Zeng allegedly came to Taipei and committed arson to draw attention to this issue, sources said.

KMT must open its eyes to the real enemyBy Huang Yi-sheng 黃義勝Watching news footage of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with their counterparts across the Taiwan Strait, I could not help but feel a profound sense of temporal displacement. From a constitutional perspective, this was an “independence movement” launched within the ROC that successfully split the national territory. For the KMT, it was the agony of a destroyed home and a lost nation. Ironically, one party is a historic enemy who tried to exterminate the KMT; the other is a competitor who inherited its brand and systems. In Taiwan’s internal political arena, the KMT fights the DPP tooth and nail, treating them as irreconcilable enemies.

India-US trade deal to give tariff-free access to Harley bikes, but not for TeslaReuters, NEW DELHIIndia is to slash tariffs on high-end US vehicles to 30 percent from as high as 110 percent and eliminate duties on Harley-Davidson Inc bikes under an interim trade pact, an official said, but New Delhi would not make concessions for electric vehicles, a move that pointedly leaves Tesla Inc out. Under the deal, tariffs on traditional internal-combustion cars with engine capacity of more than 3,000cc would fall gradually to 30 percent over 10 years, an Indian government official said. India also agreed to address long-standing nontariff barriers to the trade in US food and agricultural products. “Agricultural output from India will now be able to go to the US on zero duties,” Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told a news conference on Saturday. “We have not given any concessions or done anything that will hurt the farmers,” he said, referring to the joint statement.

Budget holdup could cost dealsStaff writer, with CNAA US college professor has said that Washington’s “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” is good for Taiwan, but warned that continued delays in passing defense budgets could jeopardize Taiwan’s priority partner status. The national flags of Taiwan, bottom left, and the US fly outside a hotel in Houston, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2017. Lai has said Taiwan’s defense spending is expected to rise to 3.3 percent of gross domestic product this year and that the government aims to increase that to 5 percent by 2030. Hunzeker said that the US executive branch and US Congress are “clearly unhappy” that Taiwan’s regular defense budget and special defense budget have been blocked in the Legislative Yuan. The KMT said it would immediately review the defense budget with the Taiwan People’s Party if the Democratic Progressive Party-led government would approve pay raises for military personnel.