Blinken vows ‘action’ if China attacks‘NOT ALONE’: There are many countries that share the US’ ‘determination to make sure that we preserve peace and stability in that part of the world,’ Blinken saidReuters, WASHINGTONThe US and its allies would take unspecified “action” if China were to use force to alter the “status quo” over Taiwan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. Blinken was asked at a forum hosted by the New York Times whether the US would step in to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by China. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses a news conference at the US Department of State in Washington on Wednesday. Blinken did not say what sort of action he was referring to. US President Joe Biden caused a stir last month when he said the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked.

Post-Merkel Germany must revise PRC stanceBy Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財The international democratic community is worried about China’s “wolf warrior” role, which has been condemned by many countries. Italy, which was the first G7 member state to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative, seems to have woken up from its China dream. Former communist bloc members the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia have also made about-faces and are saying “no” to China. Communist China under President Xi Jinping (習近平) is throwing its growing military weight around. Will it ultimately bring stability and harmony to the international community, or will it bring discord and disaster?

The investment is part of the government’s Invest in Taiwan program, which provides incentives for advanced manufacturing projects, such as favorable loan terms. That first investment should finish development by the end of the year, the ministry said. Macronix has invested in its Taiwanese facilities as it focuses on high-end 3D NAND and advanced NOR flash memory chips, the ministry said. The new investment is expected to create 97 jobs for highly qualified tech personnel, it added. Anji is a designer and maker of solar projects, and a developer of solar power plants.

Xi warns against new ‘cold war’ in Asia-Pacific regionAP, WELLINGTONChinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday warned against letting tensions in the Asia-Pacific region cause a relapse into a “cold war” mentality. Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking over videolink, addresses the APEC CEO Summit in Wellington on Wednesday. His reference to the Cold War echoes Beijing’s oft-stated position that the US should abandon that way of thinking in dealing with China. “The Asia-Pacific region cannot and should not relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era,” Xi said. Xi also said the region should make sure to keep supply lines functioning and to continue liberalizing trade and investment.

Book review: China’s media warfare against TaiwanFor Chinese strategists, media warfare, and the broader political warfare effort of which media warfare is part, is just as important as building the PLA into a force able to defeat Taiwan’s militaryBy Grant Newsham / Contributing reporterCan the People’s Republic of China (PRC) invade and conquer Taiwan? Last year, he published a seminal work on PRC Political Warfare: Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China’s plan to “Win without Fighting.”This time, Gershaneck focuses on what China has done and is doing to Taiwan on the media warfare front. To Chinese strategists, media warfare (and the broader political warfare effort of which media warfare is part) is just as important as building the PLA into a force able to defeat the US military. RECOMMENDATIONSThe author wrote his most recent book to help Western nations “better detect, deter, counter and defeat” Chinese media warfare — and political warfare writ large. But certainly the US Government has its own media warfare and political warfare effort to match and defeat whatever Beijing is doing?

US lawmakers wave from inside a bus as they leave the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian yesterday voices China’s objection to a visit by US lawmakers to Taiwan. Su — who is director of the institute’s Division of Defense Strategy and Resources — was a speaker at a defense ministry news conference on Tuesday, at which it released a national defense report. These signals demonstrate that Washington’s policy toward Taiwan has moved from “strategic ambiguity” toward “strategic clarity,” he said, but added that the government cannot reveal too much about the delegation’s itinerary at this time. The visit can be viewed as an attempt to boost Taiwan-US cooperation in military affairs, Su said.

Lithuania aims to send charter tours to Taiwan: panelStaff writer, with CNALithuania is looking forward to helping local tourism and travel firms create charter-flight tour packages to Taiwan, Dalius Morkvenas, Lithuania’s head of tourism, told a travel symposium in Taipei on Monday. Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei TimesMorkvenas serves as managing director of Lithuania Travel, the Baltic nation’s agency responsible for tourism marketing and promotion, following the liquidation of Lithuania’s tourism department in 2019. Having an “air travel connection” is important for tourism, and Lithuania is prepared to help its travel companies create and promote charter-flight tours to Taiwan, Morkvenas said. With Taiwan’s appreciation of outdoor scenic attractions, local firms should strike while the iron is hot and promote post-pandemic outdoor tourism to Lithuania, Lin added. A local participant suggested organizing cultural exchanges as a means of promoting tourism between Lithuania and Taiwan.

Local researchers make advanced MRAM device‘A BREAKTHROUGH’: TSRI Fabrication Service Division director Li Kai-shin said the key step forward in making the device entailed perpendicular magnetic anisotropyBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) yesterday unveiled a new memory device it developed with university researchers, saying that they are the world’s second team after Intel to make the breakthrough. Magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) is widely regarded as having the potential to become a mainstream device, TSRI Fabrication Service Division director Li Kai-shin (李愷信) told a news conference in Taipei. To develop the device, global manufacturers have been working on various techniques, including spin-transfer-torque MRAM (STT-MRAM) and spin-orbit-torque MRAM (SOT-MRAM), although SOT-MRAM is still mostly in the research phase, he said. A next-generation memory device, developed by researchers from the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, National Taiwan University, National Tsing Hua University and the Industrial Technology Research Institute, is pictured at a news conference at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taipei yesterday. While Intel did not reveal the structural features of its device, the team clarified the physical mechanism involved in making the device, he added.

Wang, Lee ready for IndonesiaJUGGLING COMMITMENTS: Taiwan’s Lee Yang said that he and Wang Chi-lin are protecting themselves and others, while doing ‘our best to prepare for each match’Staff writer, with CNAOlympic gold medalists Wang Chi-lin and Lee Yang depart today for Bali, Indonesia, to compete in the three-tournament Indonesia Badminton Festival, looking to regain the form that carried them to victory for Taiwan at the Summer Games in Tokyo. 44 Yoshinori Takeuchi and Keiichiro Matsui of Japan in the first round of the Super 750 Indonesia Masters, which offers prize money of US$600,000. Wang and Lee are also seeded third as the festival continues with the Super 1000 Indonesia Open, which opens on Nov. 23 with a US$850,000 purse. Taiwan’s Lee Yang, left, returns as Wang Chi-lin positions himself during their men’s doubles badminton final against China’s Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo on July 31. To advance to the top in Indonesia, Wang and Lee might need to face the two top-seeded Indonesia teams, which they defeated under pressure-packed conditions at the Olympics, as well as the in-form pairing of Hoki and Kobayashi.

Toshiba told Agence France-Presse the option of splitting its business up was under consideration, but said nothing had been decided yet. The Nikkei, which did not cite sources, said the move could be announced on Friday, when Toshiba reports earnings and unveils a new mid-term business plan. The Nikkei report said that splitting up conglomerates had been a successful strategy for some firms in the US, including Hewlett-Packard Co. However, for others, such as chemical giant DuPont Co, which separated into three firms under shareholder pressure, overall market capitalization is now lower, the business daily said. The move is relatively rare in Japan, and Toshiba would be the first major conglomerate to split into completely independent listed companies, the Nikkei said.

Ministry denies accusations of discriminationSTUDENT COMPLAINTS: One said they were asked to wait four months for an appointment, but ministry officials in Taipei said no discrimination is toleratedBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denied accusations by a group of students from Africa, who said that officials discriminated against them in processing their visa applications. In an online news conference yesterday, the students accused the Taipei Trade Office in Nigeria of blocking their visa applications. Photo: screen grab from the InternetMany of the students had applied for visas at other foreign embassies, but what they experienced at the Taiwan office was terrible, they said. The students have sought help from the Taiwan International Student Movement, an advocacy group for the rights of international students, which also called on the ministry to stop discriminating against African students. However, since Aug. 23, overseas students have been allowed to enter Taiwan and overseas offices have been accepting applications for student visas, Ou said.

The government has announced automatic 30-day visa extensions each month this year to avoid forcing foreigners to leave Taiwan while the pandemic continues to affect the world and travel restrictions are in effect. The extension policy would continue to be reviewed and adjusted as necessary, in accordance with the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) assessment of COVID-19 conditions, the agency said. The death involved a woman in her 90s, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on June 1, Chen said. Chen announced that three types of COVID-19 vaccines — AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna — would be offered in the 14th round of the national vaccination program. Asked if a mix-and-match approach to COVID-19 vaccines could be approved in the 15th round, Chen said “it is possible,” but it would depend on the delivery of vaccines later this month.

“Tight capacity and clear order visibility for chips, the main growth driver, lend further support to Taiwan’s exports,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said at a media briefing in Taipei. Electronics shipments grew 12.4 percent to US$14.58 billion, while exports of information and communications technology products soared 26.9 percent to US$5.88 billion last month, the ministry’s monthly report showed. Imports of agricultural and industrial materials surged 48.8 percent to US$23.67 billion, while semiconductor equipment imports rose 46.3 percent to US$3.14 billion, it said. In the first 10 months of the year, exports jumped 30 percent to US$364.2 billion, while imports advanced 33.7 percent to US$310.38 billion, the ministry said. Tsai said fast vaccination rates worldwide allowed companies and consumers confidence to embark on purchasing activity.

Protesters on Friday hold a sign inside the venue at the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Only 51 percent said they would definitely take individual climate action, with 14 percent saying they would definitely not and 35 percent torn. People in Poland and Singapore (56 percent) were the most willing to act, and in Germany (44 percent) and the Netherlands (37 percent) the least. People carry a sign on Saturday as they attend a protest during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain. “Citizens are undeniably concerned by the state of the planet, but these findings raise doubts regarding their level of commitment to preserving it,” the study said.

Taiwanese company converts sugarcane into masksStaff writer, with CNAPolyester and textiles producer Far Eastern New Century Corp (FENC, 遠東新世紀) has developed a bio-based material derived from sugarcane bagasse that can be used in the production of masks. While the quality of bio-based fibers and petroleum-based synthetic fibers are similar, biodegradable materials are gentler on the skin and have good water absorption, the company said. Bio-based fibers cost about US$3 per kilogram — about three times that of petroleum-based alternatives, FENC said. The bio-based fibers can also be used to produce products such as diapers and alcohol wipes, the executive said. The firm’s biodegradable unwoven fibers include a green polyethylene made out of sugarcane ethanol.