North Korea calls for ‘war readiness’AP, SEOULPyongyang yesterday extended a provocative series of weapons tests by firing cruise missiles into the sea, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for his military to step up war preparations and toured a shipyard. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the US and South Korean militaries were analyzing the North Korean launches into its western sea. South Korea’s military detected multiple missiles, but it did not immediately provide a specific number or an assessment of their flights, the joint chiefs said. A woman at a railway station in Seoul yesterday walks past a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not specify when Kim visited Nampho.

European countries have become heavily involved in the war in Ukraine by supporting the Ukrainian forces militarily. As such, the worry that war may return to more European countries has become more real, too. Whether European countries would support Taiwan in the event of a Taiwan contingency similar to how it has supported Ukraine is unclear. The European public finally understood the importance of Taiwan’s democracy, one that is constantly under threat from China. Last year, when Taiwan’s fertility rate was still low and I pitched pretty much the same story again, it sold exceptionally well.

Tata is building the iPhone assembly plant in Hosur city, which is to be its second such facility in the country. The Tata Group logo is pictured at a business meeting organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on March 23, 2009. Photo: Reuters, Vijay MathurThe Taiwanese firm would provide technical and engineering support at the plant, the sources said. Tata’s first iPhone assembly plant is in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, which it took over from Taiwan’s Wistron Corp (緯創) last year. Pegatron independently operates an iPhone assembly plant in Tamil Nadu and is in talks to add a second facility.

EDITORIAL: Han unsuitable for speakerWith only eight legislative seats, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) is by some distance the smallest of the three parties in the new legislature, but as no party has a majority, the other two looked to it for support to guarantee victory in yesterday’s election for legislative speaker. This essentially ensured the election of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator-at-large Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) without casting a single vote for either Han or the incumbent speaker, You Si-kun (游錫堃) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The DPP did not get what it wanted, nor did Lai, both of whom would have a difficult time in the next four years with Han as speaker. Han has essentially said he would use the speakership as a gavel with which to beat the DPP about the head. The political machinations should not matter, as the legislative speaker should be non-partisan and neutral, but that is the elephant in the room: There is not even a pretense of a promise of neutrality.

US House passes Taiwan double-tax relief packageStaff writer, with agenciesThe US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a measure that would eliminate double taxation between Taiwan and the US as part of a larger taxation package. The US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act was included in a US$78 billion package of tax breaks for businesses and low-income families passed by a 357 to 70 vote. Photo: EPA-EFEThe Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 now heads to the US Senate, where Republicans have voiced resistance to some aspects of the larger bill. However, the strong bipartisan support shown by the House vote might influence its passage in the Senate. After the bill passed committee review last month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that its progress was encouraging and welcomed, and that the White House expected it to pass the US Congress and be signed into law by US President Joe Biden.

The institute, a semi-official task force funded by multiple government agencies, reviews complaints about online content and relays them to the agencies. Ministry of Health and Welfare officials hold placards at a news conference for raising awareness of the amended Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act in Taipei on Mar. Photo: CNAComplaints about online content involving sexual exploitation of children are forwarded to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which is in charge of enforcing the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例). PTT voluntarily took down the post, as it knows that the institute does not issues notices arbitrarily, she added. Disseminating pictures of children being sexually exploited is different from disseminating pornographic content, Liu said.

This escalation of capabilities is attributed to the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), officially recognized as the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Rocket Force. Notably, the PLA is the only army with a specialized rocket force functioning as a unique armed service. The PLARF has its own Rocket Force Command College, Rocket Force University of Engineering and Rocket Force Non-commissioned Officer School. The presence of a dedicated rocket force enables China to concentrate on advancing missile technologies, encompassing guidance systems, propulsion and precision capabilities. It is important to note that these figures exclude launchers deployed by the PLA Air Force and the PLA Navy.

He said his research indicates that social media is one of the crucial factors leading to a global democratic recession. The Investigation Bureau this month inaugurated its Cognitive Warfare Research Center dedicated to studying disinformation threats to Taiwan’s democracy and security. In addition to research, Taiwan needs more ways to prevent, confront and eliminate computer-based cognitive warfare attempts. A lot of election-related disinformation has been traced to Chinese-based content farms and social media platforms, such Douyin and its international version, TikTok. In addition to communicating with major platforms to remove disinformation, the government should pass legislation on the usage of Chinese apps and social media.

Legislative speaker matters for EUBy Marcin Jerzewski and Jakub Janda 葉皓勤，楊雅嚳Tomorrow, the 11th Legislative Yuan is to elect its speaker. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, incumbent Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) More recently, he oversaw the inauguration of the Department of International Affairs, the first unit in the Legislative Yuan responsible for comprehensively managing all matters related to parliamentary diplomacy. If the new legislative speaker presses for policies aimed at appeasing China or openly fights the Lai administration, European politicians would pay close attention and take action. He reinstated the International Affairs Department and held high-profile engagements with EU diplomats to showcase the KMT’s readiness to participate in the process of diversifying Taiwan’s international relations.

Election results spell trouble for top partiesBy Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財After the presidential election, how should Taiwanese interpret the results? First, the Democratic Progressive Party has lost half of the young people’s votes that used to be in its pockets. So why are young people indifferent to such achievements, and why can these accomplishments not effectively transform into votes? For the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), over time voters on the left and right of the political spectrum have been moving toward the center. As for the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), just look toward the New Party and the People First Party that departed from the KMT.

You and Han visit TPP ahead of speaker voteKINGMAKERS: The TPP caucus has set conditions for which side would receive its eight votes, by outlining a list of reforms for the new legislatureBy Hsieh Chun-ling and Jason Pan / Staff reportersLeading figures in the legislative speaker contest from the two biggest political parties visited the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus office yesterday to seek support ahead of the vote by legislators on Thursday. Incumbent Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) In the morning, it was the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) prospective candidates for speaker and deputy speaker, former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and former KMT chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who visited the TPP caucus office for a closed-door meeting. Democratic Progressive Party legislative speaker nominee You Si-kun, front, second left, shakes hands with incoming Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislator-at-large Huang Kuo-chang during a visit to the TPP caucus offices at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. He said that it is the norm for the legislative speaker to visit all the political parties.

Number of female board members far behind malesStaff writer, with CNAThe number of female board members in companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the over-the-counter (OTC) market is far below the number of male board members, this year’s gender report released by the Executive Yuan yesterday showed. In the report, the Cabinet’s gender equality department said listed companies on the main board and the OTC market recorded a total of 2,233 female board members in 2022, up 861 from a year earlier, while female board members accounted for 15.6 percent of the total, up 3.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Despite the growth, the number of female board members still lags far behind the number of male board members at listed companies, which was 12,125 in 2022, making up 84.4 percent of the total. Female members of the Examination Yuan and female judges in the Judicial Yuan made up more than 50 percent, while female members of the Control Yuan accounted for more than 40 percent, the Executive Yuan said. However, in the Constitutional Court, female justices accounted for only 26.7 percent in 2022, the report said.

EDITORIAL: Issues with financial digitalizationThere is no denying that the digital economy has great potential in terms of size and scope. At the same time, digital platforms and assets are under greater regulatory scrutiny than ever before. In Taiwan, financial institutions — such as banks, insurance companies, securities and futures brokerages, investment trust enterprises and asset management firms — are highly regulated and subject to licensing requirements. As for virtual asset management, the commission faces the same regulatory dilemma between prudential regulation and financial innovation. When fintech brings greater convenience, the essential question remains: How can digitalization benefits be extended to all parties without hindering financial innovation and market competition?

Military should do more about balloons: expertsPERSISTENCE: Even though Beijing’s tactics failed to sway Taiwanese voters, China continues to send balloons as a form of harassment, a researcher saidBy Wu Su-wei and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe military should enhance its response to China’s “gray zone” operations near Taiwan, and consider shooting down Chinese balloons over the ocean, Taiwanese researchers said on Saturday. Photo: AFP / Chase Doak“It costs China comparatively little to send balloons into Taiwanese airspace, and we should remain highly vigilant in the face of these incursions,” he said. From Jan. 14 to Friday, 22 balloons were detected, three of which passed over Taiwan proper, the data showed. The current sea conditions around the Taiwan Strait make it difficult for China to conduct drills with warships, but they are ideal for balloons, Shu said. China uses the balloons to collect information on atmospheric data over Taiwan, as well as Taiwan’s military deployments on the ground, which would help it prepare for launching rockets and missiles, he said.

Gasoline prices up as oil rises amid storm, conflictsBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline prices are set to increase by NT$0.1 per liter this week as global crude oil prices moved higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said in separate statements yesterday. Crude oil prices rose last week as the geopolitical situation in the Middle East turned tense and crude oil output in an oil field in the US state of North Dakota dropped due to a winter storm that impacted production, the companies said. News reports that Russian oil refining facilities had been attacked by Ukraine also raised market concerns over oil supply, while the better-than-expected showing of US GDP growth in the fourth quarter of last year offered a better outlook for oil demand, they added. Gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are today to increase to NT$29.0, NT$30.5 and NT$32.5 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said. However, the price of premium diesel is set to drop NT$0.2 per liter to NT$27.5 at CPC stations while the price is set to drop to NT$27.3 at Formosa pumps after the companies factored in their oil price formulas, domestic market competition and global market trends, they said.