Upgrades to boost defense: expertsBy Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe military’s upgraded Lockheed Martin F-16s are a major boost to Taiwan’s defense, defense experts said yesterday, as the air force marked the commission of the jets in a ceremony at Chiayi Air Base. Taiwan air force F-16V fighter jets are pictured yesterday in Chiayi County. “The air force’s potential to defeat a numerically superior enemy in modern air defense operations is greatly enhanced by the integrated tactical network capabilities offered by 4.5-generation fighters such as F-16Vs,” he said. The document says that the armed forces’ concept of all-out defense has shifted from defending beachheads and waters near Taiwan to pushing the defense zone toward the enemy, he said. Lin Ying-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor of strategic and international affairs at National Chung Cheng University, said that the AESA-equipped F-16Vs would be a welcome improvement for the air force.

US bid at unity derailed by S Korea-Japan rowAFP, WASHINGTONA US effort to show unity between two of its closest allies backfired, after Japanese and South Korean officials walked out and left the No. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks on the situation in Afghanistan at the US Department of State in Washington on Aug. 21. “Under these circumstances, we have decided that it is inappropriate to hold a joint news conference,” the spokesman said. During the trilateral meeting on Wednesday, the three sides reaffirmed their “shared commitment” to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Sherman said. She renewed US President Joe Biden’s offer of dialogue with North Korea, which so far remains unanswered.

KMT’s Yen looks to retake Taichung seatBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT’s) nominee for a by-election in Taichung’s second electoral district yesterday registered his candidacy with the Central Election Commission. Former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) confirmed his intent to run in the by-election on Jan. 9 to fill the seat left vacant after the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) was recalled on Oct. 23. Yen previously held the seat after winning a 2013 by-election to replace his father, former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), who was sentenced to prison in November 2012 for graft. Former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng in Taichung yesterday displays his completed registration form for the legislative by-election in the city’s second electoral district. He arrived at the commission’s Taichung office to register with only one office assistant present.

UN warns of soaring consumer pricesBOTTLENECKS: Surging freight rates will have a heavy impact on trade and undermine socioeconomic recovery until supply problems are resolved, an UNCTAD official saidAFP, GENEVAThe UN yesterday warned that a surge in container freight rates could mean higher prices for consumers next year unless COVID-19 pandemic-fueled problems are untangled. “Global consumer prices will rise significantly in the year ahead until shipping supply chain disruptions are unblocked and port constraints and terminal inefficiencies are tackled,” UNCTAD said in its Review of Maritime Transport 2021 report. The mismatch led to record container freight rates “on practically all container trade routes,” the report said. The rise in consumer prices is expected to be 7.5 percent in SIDS and 2.2 percent in LDCs. E-commerce — accelerated by the pandemic — has changed consumer shopping habits and spending patterns, the report said.

No change on Taiwan for CCP: officialEYE ON PRIZE: Although a CCP resolution mentions the ‘unswerving historical mission’ of ‘unifying’ China, its primary focus was on solidifying Xi’s position, Wellington Koo saidBy Hsieh Chun-lin and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe absence of a timeline for addressing the “Taiwan issue” in a “historical” Chinese Communist Party (CCP) resolution adopted last week indicates there is no change in Beijing’s Taiwan policy, despite saying it is central to party philosophy, National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday. Presidential Office Secretary-General David Lee, left, and National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo attend a legislative hearing in Taipei yesterday. The Taiwan comment was an obligatory mention that does not differ from previous CCP statements, he added. After his call with Xi on Monday, Biden told reporters in New Hampshire on Tuesday that Taiwan is “independent. US policy toward China is gradually becoming clearer, first by it firmly opposing any change in cross-strait stability by non-peaceful means, Koo said.

COVID-19: CECC reports five new virus cases, all importedVACCINE BREAKTHROUGH: One of the cases was a woman who is thought to have contracted the disease in India and recovered, posing little risk to the communityBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported five imported cases of COVID-19, including a case who returned to Taiwan in August, but tested positive on Tuesday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung in Taipei yesterday reports on emergency overseas travel arrangements for people who have received Taiwan’s Medigen COVID-19 vaccine. Photo: CNAThree of the imported cases are vaccine breakthrough infections, said CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. One of the breakthrough cases is a Taiwanese woman who returned from India on Aug. 20, but tested positive in a self-paid test on Tuesday, he said. She tested positive for antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein and the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, but tested negative for IgM and IgG, meaning that she was likely to have had a previous infection, he said.

The program will be broadcast at 2pm every Sunday, along with a special daily Taiwan Bravo themed segment on SetTV. Julian from FranceJulian now works with a local bed-and-breakfast in Penghu, providing reservation-only cuisine using locally sourced seafood made using French cooking methods. Lee went from not knowing anything about crabs to being able to prepare meals using crabs on her own to becoming a master chef, developing her own recipe for Southeast Asian curried crab. The stories of these new immigrants, told in the Taiwan Bravo TV program sponsored by the New Immigrants Development Fund, relate their experiences living in Taiwan and show how different cultures can come together. Brought to you by the Ministry of Interior National Immigration Agency and SetTV, sponsored by the New Immigrants Development Fund(Advertorial)Taiwan Bravo Line account: https://lin.ee/UvcPzddTaiwan Bravo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SETwearefamily/Taiwan Bravo Web site: http://setwearefamily.setn.com/Taiwan Bravo YouTube: https://bit.ly/331eyXb

A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a woman in Tainan yesterday. Those preferring to receive AstraZeneca as their second dose would not need to make any changes in the system, he said. Those who received AstraZeneca and Moderna did report having more side effects after the second dose, compared with those who received two doses of AstraZeneca, Lo said. On Tuesday, 216,664 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, bringing the nation’s first-dose vaccination rate to 76.58 percent and the full vaccination rate to 43.69 percent, he said. Asked about booster shots, Chuang said that by Jan. 31, only about 263,000 people in Taiwan would have had their second dose for more than six months.

Europe seems to have had enoughBy Manik MehtaResentment against China is growing not just in the US and Australia, but also increasingly in Europe, where leaders are showing signs of intense frustration over Beijing’s dictates on what is acceptable regarding its “one China” principle and, by default, on the Taiwan issue. By contrast, China’s autocratic rule is anathema not just for the US, but also for Europe. As in the US, Europe is not happy with China’s cultural policy, which purports to promote Chinese language and culture. The institutes, established in 2004 to popularize Chinese language learning, are closely connected with the CCP — which is disconcerting for many in the US and Europe. Indeed, institute director Thorsten Benner has called on Europe and the US to “identify economic and technological levers” to use against China.

Eswatini and Russia name top envoys to TaiwanDIPLOMACY: Former vice president Chen Chien-jen is to attend a democracy forum this week in Lithuania and speak about Taiwan’s democratization and COVID-19 responseStaff writer, with CNAThe Kingdom of Eswatini and Russia have named their top envoys to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Eswatini’s King Mswati III is pictured in a photograph taken from the Eswatini government’s official Twitter account. Former vice president Chen Chien-jen gives a thumbs-up sign in Taipei in an undated photograph. The former vice president is also to talk about Taiwan’s COVID-19 prevention experience and its response to disinformation in his speech titled “Taiwan as a Litmus Case for Democracy,” it said. Chen, who was the nation’s vice president from 2016 to last year, is now an academician at Academia Sinica.

Russia rejects accusations of endangering astronautsAP, MOSCOWRussian officials yesterday rejected accusations that they endangered astronauts aboard the International Space Station by conducting a weapons test that created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk. US officials on Monday accused Russia of destroying an old satellite with a missile in what they called a reckless and irresponsible strike. The debris could do major damage to the space station as it is orbiting at 28,000kph. The International Space Station is photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking on Oct. 4, 2018. Once the situation became clear early on Monday morning, the four Americans, one German and two Russians on board the International Space Station were ordered to immediately seek shelter in their docked capsules.

Yulon Motor to launch electric car using Foxtron designBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterYulon Motor Co (裕隆) yesterday said that it plans to introduce a new own-brand electric vehicle in 2023, designed by Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) on the MIH Open Platform backed by iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密). Yulon Motor would become Foxtron’s first customer. Foxtron, a venture of Yulon Motors and Hon Hai, was set up with initial capital of NT$15.58 billion (US$560.63 million at the current exchange rate) in November last year. “In Taiwan, Luxgen will be the first to introduce electric vehicles designed by Foxtron. “All automakers are facing stiff pressure amid surges in raw material and transportation costs,” Yulon Nissan vice president Chung Wen-chuan (鐘文川) said.

US should pledge to defend TaiwanBy Joseph BoscoUS President Joe Biden has just become the third president in 20 years to declare or strongly imply that the US would defend Taiwan against an attack from China. In April 2001, then-US president George W. Bush answered affirmatively when asked whether the US would protect Taiwan. Two weeks before,Biden had reported on his 90-minute telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and made this curious statement: “I’ve spoken with Xi about Taiwan. The obvious follow-up question is this: Did Washington decide secretly at some point that it would defend Taiwan if China attacks — and even made that clear privately to Beijing, as Trump’s tone implied? Biden needs to proceed with the Taiwan Representative Office name change, and to invite Taiwan to the Summit for Democracy, the RIMPAC naval exercises next year, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief joint exercises.

Jazz performance by Vincent Hsu focuses on changeBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAA performance video featuring jazz bassist Vincent Hsu (徐崇育) and his ensemble, Soy La Ley Afro-Cuban Jazz Band, premiered on Facebook on Friday. The performance was the result of a collaboration between the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in New York and the Rhode Island-based organizer FirstWorks. Jazz bassist Vincent Hsu holds an award trophy and jumps to celebrate winning at the Golden Bell Awards in Taipei on Sept. 19 last year. Photo: CNAThe performance, titled “Jazz Changed, Jazz Changes, Jazz Changin’,” aims to show that jazz is alive and well beyond its birthplace, and as suggested by the title, shows how the genre is always evolving, the organizer said. Hsu has been heavily influenced by New York’s Spanish Harlem, where he launched his music career, and his music brings together elements of New York jazz, Latin music, African polyrhythms and Taiwanese composition.

Honduran president says goodbye amid uncertaintyStaff writer, with CNAOutgoing Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez left Taiwan on Sunday, ending a three-day visit that marked the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between his Central American country and Taiwan. On Saturday, Hernandez met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to celebrate the 80 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Presidential Office Secretary-General David Lee, second left, accompanies Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, left, and his delegation at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. His previous visits were in 2015 and 2016 as Honduran president, and in 2010 as speaker of the Honduran Parliament. The latest visit came only months before the end of Hernandez’s second and final term as president, and amid uncertainty over Honduran foreign policy after the country’s presidential election on Nov. 28.