An exploration of ‘ROC aesthetic’By Cheng Mu-Chun 鄭睦群The Double Ten National Day celebrations again brought up the question of the display of uniquely Taiwanese elements compared with the “Republic of China [ROC] aesthetic.”Any discussion on how we are to understand the ROC aesthetic requires clarification on several points. Third, what were the factors behind constructing the “ROC aesthetic?” Finally, does a refined “ROC aesthetic” exist? What we call the “ROC aesthetic” never really existed in China; it gradually formed only after the ROC forces relocated to Taiwan after World War II. As a result, we have to conclude that a “Republican era aesthetic” is not the same as the “ROC aesthetic,” as it was developed only after the relocation to Taiwan. Aesthetic beauty was beside the point, the focus was the expression of an ideology, and for this reason we should probably not talk about the “ROC aesthetic,” but the “ROC ideological aesthetic.”Cheng Mu-Chun is the executive director of the Lee Teng-hui Foundation.

TSMC plans more Europe fabs: officialAI AIM: The chipmaker wants joint research and development programs with the Czech Republic, and the government is considering supporting investments in a Czech location Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is planning to build more plants in Europe with a focus on the market for artificial intelligence (AI) chips as the chipmaker expands its global footprint, a senior Taiwanese official said. “They have started construction of the first fab in Dresden; they are already planning the next few fabs in the future for different market sectors as well,” National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) told Bloomberg TV in an interview that aired yesterday. Wu did not specify a timeline for TSMC’s further expansion in Europe. TSMC in an e-mailed statement said it

China’s economy grows at weakest pace since last year as more stimulus urgedReuters, BEIJINGChina’s economy grew at the slowest pace since early last year in the third quarter, and although consumption and factory output figures beat forecasts last month a tumbling property sector remains a major challenge for Beijing as it races to revitalize growth. The world’s second-largest economy grew 4.6 percent in the third quarter, official data showed, a touch above a 4.5 percent forecast in a Reuters poll, but below the 4.7 percent pace in the second quarter. “Based on our comprehensive assessment, the economy in the fourth quarter is expected to continue the stabilization and recovery trend that occurred in September. “The recently announced stimulus measures could cushion the downside risks to next year’s growth, but are unlikely to reverse the structural downturn,” she said. A Reuters poll showed China’s economy is likely to expand 4.8 percent this year, undershooting Beijing’s target, and growth could cool further to 4.5 percent next year.

India’s space strategy: data and tiny satellitesBy leveraging its tech start-up culture, India can become a key player in outer spaceBy Nivedita Bhattacharjee / Reuters, BENGALURUIndia has a plan to carve out a beachhead in the battle for commercial space, officials say: crunching space data, building small satellites and launching them cheaply into orbit, rather than challenging heavyweights such as SpaceX head-on. Illustration: Mountain People“The world has gone from satellites the size of a Boeing plane to the size of a laptop,” Indian Space Association director-general Anil Kumar Bhatt said. Indian companies such as Bellatrix Aerospace, Pixxel, Agnikul Cosmos, Dhruva Space and others are already building, or have launched, small satellites or satellite components. India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), last month completed the third and final developmental flight for its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. The space downstream market is, at the end of the day, a software play,” Terrawatch Space founder Aravind Ravichandran said.

India cooperation beyond chipsBy Uma ChinnannanThe relationship between India and Taiwan is evolving, driven by a shared understanding of the need for enhanced cooperation across various sectors. The India Semiconductor Mission is a government initiative that allocates US$10 billion to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has driven government incentives across various facets of semiconductor production, underscoring the momentum behind recent semiconductor ties. While economic cooperation remains crucial, it is equally vital to focus on other forms of collaboration, and address the existing ties between India and Taiwan. By diversifying economic cooperation, fostering people-to-people relations and addressing common geopolitical challenges, India and Taiwan can strengthen their strategic partnership and unlock new avenues for mutual prosperity.

Team to track N Korea’s violations of sanctionsAFP, SEOULEleven countries, including South Korea, the US and Japan, are launching a new joint mechanism to monitor North Korea sanctions violations, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The decision follows Russia’s decision to veto the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea in March, effectively ending official oversight of sanctions imposed for the North’s banned nuclear and weapons programs. Russia’s veto was met with great criticism, with the US calling it a “self-interested effort to bury the panel’s reporting on its own collusion” with North Korea. Photo: EPA-EFEAlongside South Korea, the US and Japan, eight other countries — France, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — are to participate in the multilateral sanctions monitoring team (MSMT). The MSMT would “monitor and report violations and evasions of the sanction measures” of the UN Security Council resolutions, it said.

India is finally becoming a clean energy superpowerBy David Fickling / Bloomberg OpinionIt is better to under promise and over deliver. India’s clean power industry is finally making good on that dictum. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to connect 500 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy by 2030, equivalent to all the generators in France, Germany and Italy put together. Ill-advised tariffs on solar panels, combined with contractual and political support for fossil fuels and constant changes to the rules of renewable power auctions, made matters worse. Projects already in train would bring the total to 430GW, Indian Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi told the Indian parliament in August.

The Quad leaders unequivocally expressed their commitment to the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Although it is not a security grouping, the Quad addressed emerging maritime security challenges. For example, the Quad launched the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness to ensure freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad also announced the first-ever Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission next year in the Indo-Pacific region to improve interoperability. That puts a big question mark on the Quad countries’ shared idea about economic integration in the Indo-Pacific region.

Major parties all condemn China’s military drillsTHREATENING PEACE: China’s military activities would only further unify the commitment of Taiwanese to protect their sovereignty and democracy, the DPP saidBy Chen Yun, Lin Hsin-han, Lin Che-yuan and Lery Hiciano / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday condemned China’s latest military drills around Taiwan, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) expressed regrets over Beijing’s actions. A giant screen in Beijing yesterday displays news footage of military drills conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, south and east of Taiwan, by the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. TPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) asked on what legal grounds could China justify the provocative military exercises. China’s behavior would not win it any support within Taiwan, and would only further alienate Taiwanese, he said. The TPP resolutely opposes China’s military aggression, he said, adding that China should cease its detrimental actions and seek to engage with Taiwan through goodwill gestures.

India’s T20 World Cup hopes are in Pakistan’s hands after loss to AustraliaAFP, SHARJAH, United Arab EmiratesIndia on Sunday were left hoping archrivals Pakistan could rescue their Women’s T20 World Cup dreams after suffering an agonizing nine-run loss to defending champions Australia. Australia made sure of their semi-final spot by topping Group A with a perfect four wins from four matches. Australia’s Tahlia McGrath plays a shot against India in their Women’s T20 World Cup Group A match in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday. Tahlia McGrath led Australia after Healy dropped out with a foot injury, suffered while batting in a victory over Pakistan on Friday last week. Healy’s replacement Grace Harris top-scored with 40 and McGrath hit 32 as Australia posted 151-8 after electing to bat first.

What would victory in Ukraine look like? This brings us to Ukraine, where the definition of victory depends on the participants’ war aims and time horizons. If Ukraine defines victory as the return of all land that Russia has occupied since 2014, victory is not in sight. However, this possible victory also means that Putin must not be able to declare his own victory. While a Korean solution would not satisfy Ukraine’s maximalist goals in the short term, it would certainly deserve to be called a Ukrainian victory.

China faces criticism at ASEANBy Gurjit SinghThe annual summit of East Asia and other events around the ASEAN summit in October and November every year have become the most important gathering of leaders in the Indo-Pacific region. Besides the main summit, this included the high-profile East Asia Summit, ASEAN summits with its dialogue partners and the ASEAN Plus Three Summit with China, Japan and South Korea. It was apparently the first time that maritime issues related to the South China Sea were raised by ASEAN members at the ASEAN-China meeting. India spoke more openly about keeping the South China Sea free and open and emphasizing UNCLOS, which ASEAN prefers. He was nevertheless clear that Japan opposes the continuing and intensifying activities that infringe upon its sovereignty in the East China Sea.

Ratan Tata’s vision should still be India’sBy Mihir Sharma / Bloomberg OpinionIn India, the Tata name is ubiquitous. Ratan Tata’s own instincts seemed to have nudged him in a different direction. The week that Ratan Tata passed is also the first week in centuries that no steel is being poured in the UK. Whatever his faults, Ratan Tata always benchmarked himself and his group’s products against the world’s best. The country might not have lived up to that promise yet, but, like Ratan Tata, it should not stop believing.

Gunmen kill 20 people in Pakistan’s Balochistan‘DESTABILIZERS’: The province’s chief minister said ‘terrorists once again targeted poor laborers’ and added that ‘the killing of the innocent would be avenged’AP, QUETTA, PakistanGunmen killed 20 miners and wounded another seven in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said yesterday, drawing condemnation from authorities as a search was launched for the attackers. The attack in Balochistan Province came days ahead of a major security summit in the capital. A man is treated yesterday at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, following an attack in Balochistan Province a day earlier. Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister in Balochistan, said that “terrorists have once again targeted poor laborers.”The attackers were cruel and had an agenda to destabilize Pakistan, he said. They accuse the federal government in Islamabad of unfairly exploiting oil and mineral-rich Balochistan.

Modi’s surprise poll win could give rivals pauseFour months after a national election setback, Indian prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party sees recovery in Haryana state pollBy Andy Mukherjee / Bloomberg OpinionBarely four months after returning to power with a reduced parliamentary majority, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government looks tired and shaky. Although more important regional polls lie ahead, the Haryana results would give pause to Modi’s rivals inside the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as his political opponents outside. They are also penciling in a less-than-even chance for the BJP to win Jharkhand, a mineral-rich state in the east. “Becoming prime minister is not my ambition,” Gadkari is reported to have said. If anything, the prime minister might feel less pressure to give a better deal to farmers, soldiers, women or young people.