Taiwan to speak on EVs at US-India business forumSHARING EXPERTISE: Taiwanese experts are to join a range of high-profile speakers at the annual meeting to discuss security, healthcare and the economyStaff writer, with CNATaiwanese officials and experts are to speak on how the country developed its electric vehicle (EV) supply chain at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF), an annual event organized by the US and India. The forum, which is in its fourth year, is to take place virtually this year on Thursday and Friday. The panelists are to share how Taiwan has worked with like-minded partners to build a resilient EV supply chain, and how the country is accelerating research and development in the field, the agenda said. American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk is to open the session with remarks, while AIT Deputy Economic Chief Arati Shroff is to moderate. Taiwan External Trade Development Council chairman James Huang (黃志芳), Industrial Technology Research Institute vice president James Wang (王漢英) and Joan Shen, managing director of domestic electric vehicle manufacturer Tangeng Advanced Vehicles, are to speak at the session.

Graduates facing lower pay, longer unemploymentStaff Writer, with CNAUniversity graduates this year experienced the longest gap between graduation and employment in nine years, a survey showed yesterday. The poll conducted by jobhunting Web site yes123 showed that graduates waited an average of 2.8 months, or 84 days, following graduation before securing a full-time job. Eighty-one percent of them said they had been subject to a period of trial employment, the study showed. Of those, 70 percent underwent a three-month trial period, 15.6 percent had a one-month trial period and 9.8 percent received a two-week assessment, it showed. Monthly salaries for first-time employees averaged NT$30,660 this year, 0.3 percent lower than the NT$30,749 recorded last year, the survey showed.

Xpeng to go beyond road vehicles with AI, robots, flying carBloombergChinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng Inc (小鵬) unveiled details of new products and features, including an assisted driving system, a faster charging infrastructure and a flying car, as it signaled its intent to expand from its auto-manufacturing roots. The company also plans to partner with others to explore robo-taxi operations that would also start next year. Xpeng also presented a road map for its comprehensive charging network, which includes a mass-produced silicon carbide high-voltage fast charging platform and a geographically expanded charging facility deployment. The company also showed designs for a low-altitude flying car developed by its affiliate HT Aero (小鵬匯天), which raised more than US$500 million and is expected to start mass production in 2024. The prototype of a robot horse, equipped with bionic senses and multi-mode recognition technologies, is also part of Xpeng’s product lineup.

Ecuadoran sprinter Alex Quinonez shot dead at 32AFP, QUITOEcuadoran Olympic sprinter Alex Quinonez was shot dead in the port city of Guayaquil, authorities have said, sparking an outpouring of grief in a country struggling to contain a surge in violence. Quinonez, 32, and another person were found dead close to midnight on Friday, police said. Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso promised to bring the sprinter’s killers to justice. Relatives carry the coffin of Alex Quinonez at a funeral home in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Saturday. Ecuador’s Alex Quinonez celebrates on the podium after taking bronze in the World Athletic Championships men’s 200m final at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Oct. 2, 2019.

COVID-19: Virus cases in eastern Europe near 20 millionReutersCOVID-19 cases in eastern Europe are soon to surpass 20 million, according to a Reuters tally yesterday, as the region grapples with its worst outbreak since the pandemic started and inoculation efforts lag. Countries in the region have the lowest vaccination rates in Europe, with less than half of the population having received a single dose. Although it has just 4 percent of the world’s population, eastern Europe accounts for about 20 percent of all new cases reported globally. More than 40 percent of all new cases reported in eastern Europe were in Russia, with 120 people testing positive every five minutes, according to a Reuters analysis. Slovakia reported 3,480 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, its highest daily tally since March, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.

Uzbeks vote as leader runs against sparse oppositionAFP, TASHKENTVoting was under way in Uzbekistan’s presidential election yesterday, with incumbent Shavkat Mirziyoyev facing no real opposition, but plenty of challenges as he bids to reform the former Soviet country while maintaining its authoritarian foundations. Election workers listen to the Uzbek national anthem at a polling station in Tashkent yesterday. Mirziyoyev cast his own vote at a polling station on Tashkent’s outskirts, where he appeared alongside his wife, Ziroatkhon Hoshimova, and their three children. Mirziyoyev smiled as he posed for photographs before dropping his vote in the ballot box, but did not address the media. The man — who gave his first name, Sardor — said he would vote for Mirziyoyev.

“So we’ll stay focused on those things, and I won’t engage in any hypotheticals with respect to Taiwan,” he told reporters. At a CNN town hall meeting, Biden was asked whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China invaded. However, that does not prevent the US from providing aid to Taiwan, including potent military hardware. Asked if Biden’s comments raised the specter of NATO being dragged into a US conflict with China, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sought to avoid exacerbating the conflict. Last month, North Korea threatened unspecified countermeasures following the Biden administration’s decision to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.

Taiwan partners with Slovakia on space tech projectBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterA Taiwanese delegation to Slovakia signed seven memorandums of understanding (MOU) with public and private entities, including a space technology pact that would bring to Taiwan a project related to a blockchain application used by the European Space Agency, officials said on Friday. The 66-person delegation led by National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) yesterday concluded their three-day visit to Slovakia. Wu on Friday witnessed the signing of an MOU by the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association, the Slovak space company 3IPK and its partner company Decent, laying the foundation for a trilateral cooperation framework, it said. With the office’s support, 3IPK and Decent would provide a proof of concept project in Taiwan based on a blockchain application used by the European Space Agency, the ministry said. A Slovak delegation planned to visit Taiwan in May, but the trip has been postponed several times.

Asia’s tech shares climb, following US peers higherReuters, TOKYOTech stocks climbed in Asia on Friday, following US peers higher, while Chinese property stocks rallied following a surprise interest payment by debt-ridden property developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團). The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to 200.17, up 0.9 percent weekly. The TAIEX on Friday edged down less than 0.1 percent to close at 16,888.74 points, paring its weekly gain to 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 on Friday advanced 0.3 percent to 28,804.85 points, led by technology shares, while energy and basic materials shares were the biggest drags. India’s SENSEX fell 0.2 percent on Friday, taking its weekly loss to 0.8 percent.

Evergrande, earnings lift European stocksReutersEuropean stocks rose on Friday on a surge in technology stocks, strong earnings from France’s L’Oreal SA and a broad boost to sentiment provided by a surprise interest payment from debt-ridden China Evergrande Group (恆大集團). News that the Chinese property developer had made a bond payment to avert a default lifted the mood globally. France’s blue-chip CAC 40 rose 0.7 percent and outperformed its European peers, riding on a 5.1 percent surge in L’Oreal shares following the cosmetics company’s strong results. “That’s hopeful for the markets.”A bunch of upbeat earnings lifted Wall Street’s S&P 500 to a record high, while its European counterpart is less than 1 percent shy of its August peak. Eurozone inflation expectations hit their highest levels in years, putting additional pressure on the European Central Bank over its insistence on maintaining crisis-era stimulus.

Global supply chains are overloaded, not disruptedBy Karl Smith / Bloomberg OpinionThe first step toward understanding “the great supply chain disruption of 2021” is to recognize that the phrase itself is not quite accurate. Supply chains are not disrupted so much as overloaded, and the effects are more national than global. US retail sales soared in March and today stand roughly 20 percent higher than they were in December 2019. By contrast, retail sales in Europe are up just 4 percent. While the spike in energy prices is a global phenomenon, the rise in core prices is unique to the US and driven by the sharp rise in US retail sales.

US bill aims to reduce risk of China conflictDIRECT COMMUNICATION: The bipartisan legislation would, if passed, build ties with Taiwan and prioritize a hotline with China to resolve misunderstandings in a crisisStaff writer, with CNA, WashingtonTwo US senators on Wednesday introduced bipartisan legislation that they said is aimed at lowering tensions and reducing the risk of conflict in the Taiwan Strait. US Senator Edward Markey stands outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 20. “Bilateral confidence-building measures and crisis stability dialogues between the United States and the PRC [People’s Republic of China] are important mechanisms for maintaining deterrence and stability across the Taiwan Strait and should be prioritized,” the statement said. The US and China should prioritize the use of a military crisis hotline so leaders of the two countries can communicate directly in order to quickly resolve misunderstanding that could lead to military escalation, the bill says. Markey said the US must continue to support Taiwan’s participation in the international community and “help the country withstand cross-strait coercion, while taking clear action to avoid conflict in the region.”

Beijing misinterpreting Resolution 2758: US officialMUTUAL LOSS: By excluding Taiwan from the UN, ‘Beijing is denying the international community the ability to gain valuable contributions that Taiwan offers,’ an official saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter, with CNABeijing has inaccurately interpreted a UN resolution adopted in 1971 to exclude Taiwan from the international organization and its affiliates, a US Department of State official said on Thursday. “The People’s Republic of China [PRC] has misused Resolution 2758 to prevent Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” said Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of state in the department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, during a virtual talk hosted by the Washington-based German Marshall Fund. Only an elected government in Taiwan can represent its 23.5 million people on international occasions, including the UN, the ministry said. The PRC has been intentionally abusing the resolution to pressure the UN into excluding Taiwanese from its system, it added. The ministry denounced Beijing prioritizing its political maneuvers over the interests of global cooperation, while calling on international society to face China’s “overt plot” against Taiwan.

Mourinho’s Roma suffer a six-goal humiliationAFP, PARISJose Mourinho’s AS Roma on Thursday were humiliated 6-1 in the UEFA Europa Conference League at Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian champions whose fans are famed for carrying giant yellow toothbrushes to games. “It’s my responsibility, I chose to use these players,” Mourinho was quoted as saying by Italian media. Their fans have become great curiosities in the sport for their habit of waving giant, yellow toothbrushes in the stands. Carlos Perez scored a consolation goal for a much-changed Roma side, who had won their first two games in Group C, scoring eight goals and conceding just one. “Sometimes you need a slap to learn and we got a slap in the face today, one we fully deserved.

Nine indicted in controversial cat smuggling caseStaff writer, with CNAKaohsiung prosecutors yesterday indicted nine men who in the middle of August allegedly smuggled 154 cats from China, saying that they face prison sentences of up to seven years. The case sparked a debate over pet smuggling and the handling of seized animals, as authorities euthanized the cats over fears of rabies. The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office indicted four main suspects, as well as five others who allegedly worked on the fishing boat used to transport the animals, with breaching the Smuggling Penalty Act (懲治走私條例). Prosecutors recommended heavy penalties for the four, saying that they attempted to bring the purebred cats to Taiwan on the boat to evade quarantine requirements. The others indicted were the 55-year-old skipper of the fishing vessel, surnamed Lin (林); the 51-year-old chief engineer of the boat, surnamed Kao (高); and three Indonesian crew members, they said.