A worker looks on at a coal sorting facility in Suluktu, Kyrgyzstan, on Dec. 12. Coalminers load coal rocks into a mine cart at the Kara-Altyn Ken coal mine outside Suluktu, Kyrgyzstan, on Dec. 13. Nimadjan Abdulayevich, 64, walks past a Soviet mosaic in Suluktu, Kyrgyzstan, on Dec. 12. The mayor said he hoped Suluktu would recover its “past glory” thanks to growing demand for coal. A mosaic nearby extols the glory of Soviet power, showing a miner with a red star behind him.
Wall Street rises on new data releaseLESS JITTERY: After sell-offs on Thursday, Friday’s data eased some concerns that the Fed could keep raising rates and edge the economy into a recession, an analyst saidReutersThe S&P 500 on Friday closed higher, in a light trading day ahead of a long weekend, as investors assessed inflation data against rate hike and recession fears. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.1 percent last month after climbing 0.4 percent in October. Wall Street indices on Thursday sold off sharply after revised data indicated a resilient US economy, fueling worries that the Fed could keep hiking rates for longer and end up pushing the economy into a recession. “This is a clear indication that this is a bad news is good news kind of market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 176.44 points, or 0.53 percent, to 33,203.93, while the S&P 500 gained 22.43 points, or 0.59 percent, to 3,844.82.
Holiday advice for home bartenders, plus 4 festive cocktailsLooking to create a bit of winter luxury when tending bar at home this holiday season? Currently at the cocktail bar Velvet, at London’s five-star Corinthia hotel, Calabrese goes by the nickname “The Maestro.”A Wintertime Negroni cocktail. A Chocolate Orange Martini cocktail. For his chocolate orange martini, Girvan explains how he creates simple yet delicious dipped-chocolate candied fruits. ‧ MASON’S CHOCOLATE ORANGE MARTINI2 ounces chocolate vodka1 ounce triple secMix ingredients together over ice and stir.
The employment index is expected to soften in the next six months, compared with the second half of this year, the poll showed. Manufacturers also have a dim view about profit margins next year, with the profit measure dropping from 37.5 to 36, it showed. A recovery from a downturn induced by virus restrictions should sustain local service providers through next year, CIER researcher Chen Shin-hui (陳馨蕙) said. Taiwan’s loosening of COVID-19 controls raised the non-manufacturing business index by 9.4 points to 52.4 in the second half of this year, Chen said. Despite business improvement, service providers said that profit margin is expected to stay in contraction at 47.2 due to mounting operating and personnel costs, the survey showed.
Hon Hai India subsidiary granted state subsidiesPLI SCHEME: Indian authorities said Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development has been given the green light to receive about 3.57 billion rupeesStaff writer, with CNAA Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) subsidiary has secured approval for subsidies from Indian authorities for spending and sales from its production base in the country under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, the Indian Press Information Bureau said in a statement on Wednesday. Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Pvt Ltd has been given the green light to receive about 3.57 billion rupees (US$43.1 million) for its spending and sales from Aug. 1 last year to March 21, the bureau said. A woman walks past signage for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co in New Taipe City yesterday. In addition to the Hon Hai unit, Padget Electronics Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned unit of Indian electronics maker Dixon Technologies Ltd, has also secured 583 million rupees, the statement said. Hon Hai Precision Industry has solid experience in producing iPhones in India, having manufactured the iPhone XR, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 in Chennai, the sources said.
Steaker founder detained over allegations of fraudFINANCIAL ANOMALIES: Wilson Huang and four other executives could face charges for allegedly defrauding investors of more than NT$2 billion, prosecutors saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterWilson Huang (黃偉軒), founder and CEO of cryptocurrency asset management platform Steaker, was yesterday detained after being questioned as part of a criminal investigation into alleged fraud and other financial irregularities. Steaker, which is engaged in digital financial investment, cryptocurrency exchange and asset fund management, is suspected of defrauding investors of more than NT$2 billion (US$65.19 million). Wilson Huang, founder of digital asset management platform Steaker, is pictured in a screen grab. Wilson Huang was denied bail and detained with restricted communication to prevent him from fleeing, destroying evidence, colluding with others and hampering the investigation, prosecutors said. Steaker was founded by Wilson Huang in 2019, with its headquarters in Taipei.
Finance minister leaving post to return to teachingStaff writer, with CNAMinister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) is to step down from his post on Monday to return to teaching at National Taipei University, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said yesterday. Su has tendered his resignation and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has approved it, Lo said. Su Jain-rong has been on leave from his post at the university, where he is a professor in the Department of Public Finance. Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong, left, and Deputy Minister of Finance Frank Juan attend a news conference in Taipei on March 19, 2020. Photo: CNADeputy Minister of Finance Frank Juan (阮清華) is to take on Su Jain-rong’s duties as acting minister after his departure, Lo added.
Three firms dominate mobile network awards: reportStaff writer, with CNATaiwan’s 5G mobile network market is extremely dynamic with fierce competition, but the Mobile Experience Awards were dominated by three of the five national operators, Opensignal said in its report for this month. Opensignal is a UK-based mobile analytics company that specializes in analyzing the consumer mobile experience. Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) won all four of the speed categories: Download Speed Experience, Upload Speed Experience, 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed. Of the four, it retained three from the last report, and replaced Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) as the winner of the Upload Speed Experience category due to its a 1.8 megabits per second (Mbps), or 14.7 percent, increase in overall upload speed, Opensignal’s Taiwan Mobile Network Experience Report said. Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) was the outright winner of the Games Experience award, and tied first with Chunghwa Telecom for the Video Experience award, Voice App Experience, 5G Video Experience, 5G Games Experience and 5G Voice App Experience awards.
Afghan women defy Taliban gym ban with secret fitness clubsBy Bahaar Joya and Emma Batha / Thomson Reuters FoundationHidden in the basement of a private home in the Afghan capital Kabul, gym instructor Laila Ahmad takes a group of women through a clandestine exercise class — the windows are blacked out, there is no pumping music and visitors arrive by a back door. The Taliban banned women from gyms and parks last month, the latest clampdown in a progressive erosion of their freedoms that drew swift international condemnation. The ruling Taliban has banned women from attending university in Afghanistan, according to an order issued on Tuesday. When the Taliban shut her school, Yosef gathered together some sports equipment and moved it into her home. Her biggest fear is that the Taliban will shut the gym.
Hon Hai to sell its stake in TsinghuaUNWINDING CHINA DEAL: The company said the investment had not yet been finalized, amid an ongoing government probe that could lead to a NT$25 million fine A subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is planning to dispose of its indirect minority stake in China’s Tsinghua Unigroup Co (清華紫光), the latest sign that Beijing’s chip industry is becoming increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. Hon Hai’s China-listed Foxconn Industrial Internet Co (FII, 富士康工業互聯網) is planning to sell the shares to Yantai Haixiu IC Investment Center (煙臺海秀積體電路產業投資中心) for no less than 5.38 billion yuan (US$771.5 million), a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing showed on Friday. Hon Hai said in a separate statement on Saturday that it decided to sell the stake to avoid uncertainty because the investment
Learning from US’ Ukraine policyBy Joseph BoscoIf Washington’s support for Ukraine against Russia’s aggression is a model for the US’ role after a Chinese attack on Taiwan, Taiwanese are in for a rough ride. Encouraged by US and NATO acquiescence, Putin planned his next move toward “national reunification” and “territorial integrity.”That move consisted of the 2014 invasion of eastern Ukraine and Crimea. No administration since 1979 has issued a definitive declaration that the US would actively defend Taiwan, aside from sending it limited arms with which it could try to defend itself. Biden attempted to shed new light on the situation by stating four times, in increasingly specific terms, that the US would send its own fighting forces to defend Taiwan. That is all the more reason for Biden to state formally a US commitment to defend Taiwan while ensuring that Ukraine gets all it needs to defend itself.
EDITORIAL: Exchange programs build better tiesThe US Senate on Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which would not only provide military aid to Taiwan, but implement the Taiwan Fellowship Act to send US federal employees to Taiwan to learn Mandarin and work in government agencies. On the other hand, allowing US or any foreign federal employees to work in government agencies might raise concerns about national security. The government must assign dedicated officials to negotiate and arrange the US fellows’ internships for security reasons, while maximizing potential advances in Taiwan-US relations. Due to China’s increasing threat to the international community, Taiwan has become a crucial element in maintaining stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. Taipei should consider establishing more fellowship exchange programs with like-minded countries to deepen cultural, political and economic ties.
It’s a first step toward a hoped-for system that would track carbon dioxide and pH in all five Great Lakes over multiple years, said project co-leader Reagan Errera of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Photo: APOceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb carbon dioxide that human activity pumps into the atmosphere — the primary cause of climate change. Researchers say Great Lakes also could approach acidity around the same rate as in oceans by 2100. One measures carbon dioxide pressure in the water column and the other pH. Increasing water acidity in lab tanks to projected 2100 levels more than tripled their mortality rates, according to a report last year.
Defense firm L3Harris to buy Aerojet for US$4.7bn with eye on missile demandReutersUS defense contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc on Sunday said it would purchase Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc in a US$4.7 billion all-cash transaction, as it looks to tap into rising demand for missiles amid the Ukraine conflict. The deal, which is expected to be completed next year, would add to L3Harris’ Space & Airborne Systems unit, which makes electronic warfare equipment and avionics sensors. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on July 1. Aerojet develops and manufactures liquid and solid rocket propulsion and hypersonic engines for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Aerojet makes the RS-25 engines for NASA’s launch vehicle, as well as the RL10 engines that power launch vehicles made by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin.
Promoting track two diplomacyBy Neval MulaomerovicTaiwan’s international status remains in a state of flux, still plagued by isolation from multilateral institutions such as the UN, the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Track two diplomacy has transformed into a vital and dynamic form of international engagement. Whereas track one diplomacy involves government representation, track two diplomacy empowers civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to take the lead on promoting bilateral and multilateral communication. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is actively promoting track two diplomatic engagements through her administration’s flagship foreign policy, the New Southbound Policy. Track two diplomatic engagements have shown promising results, although further contributions from think tanks, civil society and governments are necessary to secure Taiwan’s future.
