Denmark and Sweden experienced a series of public protests this year where anti-Islam activists burned or otherwise damaged copies of the Koran, triggering demands that the Nordic governments ban the practice. More than 500 demonstrations that included burnings of the Koran or flags were registered since July, Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said. Domestic critics in Sweden and Denmark have argued that any limitations on criticizing religion, including by burning Korans, undermine hard-fought liberal freedoms in the region. “History will judge us harshly for this, and with good reason,” said Inger Stojberg, leader of the anti-immigration Denmark Democrats party. Sweden is also considering how to prevent burning of the Koran, but is looking at whether police should factor in national security when deciding on protest applications rather than a ban.

The US and the UK are aligned on key challenges they face in the Indo-Pacific region, including “ensuring peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Blinken told a news conference after he met with Cameron in Washington. Countering “Chinese cyberattacks and other hostile acts” are crucial for the UK and the US, Cameron said, while calling for closer cooperation between allies to deal with Beijing. The UK not only has to protect itself and its systems against cybercrime and other threats posed by China, but also “align better with our allies,” he said. “The EU reaffirmed its consistent one China policy and expressed concerns about increased tensions in the Taiwan Strait,” the European Council said in a press release after the meetings. Regional and global prosperity and security are threatened by increased instability in the East and South China seas, the press release said.

Consequently, elections are the best showcase for observing politicians and parties as they try to make the best possible impression. Biden, who succeeded in preventing Trump from getting re-elected, won a slim majority of young people’s votes — 55 percent, according to polls. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) leaders might not agree with this phenomenon of the party going back to its origins. These wishful calculations do not take into account the problem that the KMT and the TPP are by no means alike. Can the members of today’s KMT get their act together and make up for the failings of their forebears?

Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of her family’s properties, Chen said, adding that Wu’s attorneys are working closely with the CEC to resolve the situation. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu hosts a meeting at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Monday. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times“We emphasize that the offices of Wu and [TPP Chairman and presidential candidate] Ko [Wen-je (柯文哲)] will handle the matter according to law,” he said. Ko owns nine plots of land and six properties in Taipei, Hsinchu City and Penghu County, bank deposits totaling NT$24.6 million, NT$950,000 in fund benefit certificates and seven life insurance savings policies.

Ko slammed for misleading commentsBy Chen Yu-fu and Jonathan ChinStaff reporters, with staff writerPan-green politicians yesterday slammed Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) misleading comments about COP28, after the former Taipei mayor claimed that tripling nuclear power was a consensus reached at the climate conference. “The most important conclusion in the past few days [at COP28] is that nuclear energy should be increased three times by 2050, using 2020 as a baseline,” Ko wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hung Sun-han is pictured in an undated photograph. These countries pledged to triple nuclear power to attract international bank loans, which Ko untruthfully construed as a COP28 mandate to build nuclear plants, he said. Ko’s comments are irresponsible as the view that nuclear energy is a form of green energy remains disputed, said Lim Hak-yan (林學淵), the deputy secretary-general of Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.

China’s credit rating downgraded over debt fearsAFP, BEIJINGRatings agency Moody’s yesterday downgraded the outlook on China’s credit rating to “negative” from “stable” on the back of rising debt in the world’s second-largest economy. The move “reflects the increased risks related to structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth and the ongoing downsizing of the property sector,” it added. China’s vast property sector is mired in a deep debt crisis, with some of the nation’s biggest developers owing hundreds of billions of dollars and facing bankruptcy. Construction and real estate account for about a quarter of China’s GDP. The Chinese Ministry of Finance said it was “disappointed with Moody’s decision.”“Moody’s concerns about China’s economic growth prospects and fiscal sustainability are unnecessary,” a ministry spokesperson said, adding that China’s macroeconomy has continued to recover.

Chinese denied visas due to lack of details: officialsNO RELIGIOUS VISIT: The interior minister said visas were not issued for 218 applicants for a tour of Taiwan organized by a temple due to their own non-response Chinese who had sought to enter Taiwan for a religious event were not granted visas because they were not “religious personnel” and planned to visit places not listed on their group tour’s itinerary, then never supplied supplemental information upon request, the Ministry of the Interior and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Visas were not issued for 218 of the 239 applicants, as they did not provide additional information or explanations as requested, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) told a committee at the legislature in Taipei. Multiple groups, including the Taiwan Matsu Fellowship, had signed a petition that soughtBy Cheng Ching-yi,Chen Yu-fu and Jake Chung

KMT-TPP alliance talks under probeWHEELING AND DEALING? “Hou and Ko, with Chu and Ma acting as mediators, were wheeling and dealing on who gets to control which government ministry or other government position. Huang said this contravened Article 84 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法). The talks broke down as the parties bickered over the use of public surveys and other issues, with the principals refusing to back down from their positions. We will not back down and shall continue to create ... a better political culture for our future generations,” she said.

EDITORIAL: Kissinger’s death the end of an eraHenry Kissinger, giant of US foreign policy, died on Wednesday last week. His backroom wheeling and dealing is often credited as the only way the US could have normalized relations with China. Nixon and Kissinger did not seem to mind sacrificing the little guy — a recurring theme of Kissinger’s career. For better or worse, China, the US and Taiwan are stuck with the frameworks concocted in back rooms by Kissinger and his contemporaries. Kissinger’s passing marks a transition into a new era, which is an era not served by the rules of a game played decades past.

IPhone maker Hon Hai plans US$1.6 billion in India expansion bidBloombergIPhone maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) plans to expand its footprint in India with another NT$50 billion (US$1.6 billion) investment for construction projects. The news comes as Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), and other Taiwanese electronics manufacturers continue to diversify their businesses outside of China as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing. The company has been making iPhones and other products in India for several years, including the latest iPhone 15. In September, a Foxconn representative in India said on LinkedIn that the Taiwanese company plans to double the size of its business in the South Asian country. Foxconn already operates nine production campuses and more than 30 factories employing tens of thousands of people in India, where it takes in around $10 billion of revenue annually.

Ko Wen-je overtakes William Lai in approval rate pollBloombergA new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted from Nov. 19 through last Tuesday. From left, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je; Vice President William Lai, the Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate; and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, are pictured in a composite photograph. A TVBS poll conducted Friday last week through Sunday showed Lai leading with 34 percent, Hou in second at 31 percent and Ko in third at 23 percent.

Chef Min Woo Lee serves up victory in Australian PGAAP, BRISBANE, AustraliaMin Woo Lee yesterday started celebrating his first Australian PGA Championship title on the next-to-last hole when he put on a chef’s hat and did a synchronized clap along with the boisterous crowd before jogging off to the 18th. Australia’s Min Woo Lee claps with the crowd while wearing a chef’s hat on the 17th hole of the final round of the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane yesterday. “I’ve always thought I could win, but it took a while to get over the hump,” he said. Lee is next week to play in the Australian Open that has a joint tournament format to feature men’s and women’s fields. His sister, two-time major winner Minjee Lee, would also be playing in Sydney.

After naming Hsiao as his running mate on Monday last week, the pair the next day registered for the Jan. 13 election. Democratic Progressive Party presidential canddiate William Lai, front center, and running mate Hsiao Bi-khim, front left, attend a campaign rally in Hualien City yesterday. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je speaks at a gathering with young people in Taipei yesterday. At a campaign event in Taipei, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT’s presidential candidate, said DPP was resorting to ideological manipulation in its campaign. New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, front center, and his running mate, Jaw Shaw-kong, middle center, attend a campaign rally in Taipei yesterday.

EDITORIAL: Lai victory is not guaranteedThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) had engaged in weeks of political horse-trading between high-ranking officials, hoping to form a joint ticket to win January’s presidential election, but it all ended in a dramatic public falling out on live television on Thursday. While the answer seems obvious, it still might not be as “easy” a win for Lai and his running mate — former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) — as many disappointed pan-blue supporters believe. With the KMT and TPP, which seek closer China ties, having failed to form a joint ticket, it is likely that Beijing would ramp up its efforts to interfere in Taiwan’s election process. There is still time for voters to shift their support based on how the three campaigns present themselves, as well as Chinese interference. So there is no guaranteed win for any party.

315 legislative candidates have registeredStaff Writer, with CNAThe nation’s political parties are weighing the possible effects on legislative elections of a failure by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to strike a deal for a joint presidential ticket. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), 315 legislative candidates have registered to compete for 73 seats in the single-member districts, while 16 political parties registered their lists, with 178 nominees, for 34 at-large seats. TDemocratic Progressive Party legislative candidate Huang Hsiu-fang, front left, gestures during a campaign event in Changhua County yesterday. For the at-large seats, the KMT, the TPP and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) all registered to the fullest extent of 34 candidates. Taiwan People’s Party’s legislative candidates take the stage during a campaign event in New Taipei City on Sunday last week.