By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has irked politicians who favor Taiwanese independence with remarks this week. Tsai Hsin-yueh (蔡心岳), son of late Taiwanese-independence advocate Tsai You-chuan (蔡有全), wrote on Facebook that his father rejected political asylum and was imprisoned under the authoritarian regime. Fan said that she cannot be bought. She was approached by a go-between from Ko’s campaign team before the mayoral elections in 2014 and last year who asked if she wanted to run as a deputy mayor of Taipei for Ko, but she refused on the grounds that the SDP’s core beliefs about national sovereignty and gender equality differ from Ko’s, Fan said. Ko on Thursday said that “being bought means being bought, what is there to discuss?”“You [Fan] cannot even remain in your party,” he said.

Wang Jin-pyng (王金平): I have been disappointed since the oddity that was the party’s primary, and the oddness has continued with the legislator-at-large list. LT: What do you think caused the KMT to lose a substantial amount of support following last year’s nine-in-one general elections? [Jaw said during his Nov. 13 show that the party had never seen a more selfish chairperson than Wu Den-yih (吳敦義).] LT: Would you agree to head, even if in name only, a group of KMT supporters or a consulting group [for Kaohsiung Mayor and KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜)]? However, it will be difficult for China to play a pivotal role [in the elections].

In a not-unrelated move, the Solomon Islands’ Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani on Thursday said that his administration would work with the US and others to develop a deep-water port at Bina Harbour. Tuvalu and Malaita Province have been the focus of a renewed diplomatic push by Washington in recent months. Meanwhile, the US Congress wants to support Taiwan and its remaining diplomatic allies through the proposed Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act. Washington watching Taiwan’s back is nice, but the government cannot rely on that alone to combat China’s economic and diplomatic offensive. It needs to build alliances with non-governmental organizations in the region and around the world instead of spending so much time and money focused on the UN and its bodies.

AFP, SYDNEYChina wants to “take over” Australia’s political system with an “insidious” and systematic campaign of espionage and influence peddling, Canberra’s former spymaster warned in an interview published yesterday. Lewis singled out incidents of Chinese agents making large contributions to Australian political parties as part of a wide-ranging influence-peddling campaign that also targeted media and the country’s universities. I’m not trying to create paranoia, but there does need to be a level of sensible awareness,” Lewis said. Keating has branded Australia’s security agencies “nutters” for their allegedly hawkish stance on China and slammed the “pious,” “do-gooder” media for sensationalist reporting on Chinese influence operations. The effects in Australia have long concerned the White House, which has repeatedly warned Canberra against being complacent.

The Tesla cofounder unveiled the all-electric battery-powered Tesla Cybertruck in California, daring staff to hit the vehicle with sledgehammers and showing a video of it withstanding bullets shot from a 9mm gun. However, the demonstration of the vehicle’s indestructible windows did not appear to go entirely to plan after one assistant threw a steel ball bearing at the truck — only to see the armored glass shatter. “It didn’t go through,” said a clearly uncomfortable Musk, who was forced to push on through the remainder of the chaotic launch with the two smashed windows in full view. No date has been given for its release, but analysts said that it would not be ready before the end of 2021 at the earliest. Tesla dominates the global electric car market and has an especially firm grip on the US.

He did not want any “dancing on the Wall” or “rubbing the Soviets’ noses” in their catastrophically historic defeat. Bush’s secretary of state, James Baker, said the US strove “not to be braggadocio or triumphalist in our comments. Kissinger had persuaded Ford not to invite visiting Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn to the White House in 1975 for fear of offending Moscow. Five years earlier, a Lithuanian sailor jumped from a Soviet trawler onto a US Coast Guard cutter off Cape Cod and tried to defect. These historical incidents resonate today in the constant tension between prudence (or “accommodation”) and assertive morality (or “provocation”).

BloombergHog farms found using illegal vaccines would be punished under China’s intensified efforts to arrest its African swine fever crisis. “Farms that use these vaccines won’t be able to effectively prevent the disease and they could spread it further — something we take seriously,” Yang said. A ministry hotline for citizens to report outbreak “irregularities” would offer cash rewards of 30,000 yuan. Some domestic research institutes are conducting studies on vaccines, but these remain at the preclinical stage, while the safety of genetically modified organisms is evaluated, Yang said. Unauthorized experimental vaccines have been used to immunize millions of hogs in China, creating “chaos” because of their varying levels of efficacy, Caixin reported last week.

AFP, BOGOTAHundreds of thousands of Colombians on Thursday took to the streets of the capital, Bogota, amid a general strike to protest the policies of Colombian President Ivan Duque’s right-wing government. At night, a thunderous chorus of pot-banging, unusual in Colombia, took place in the cities of Cali and Medellin, and lasted for hours in Bogota. “Colombia won on this historic day of citizen mobilization,” a statement by organizers from the National Strike Committee said, as they requested an “immediate” meeting with Duque to discuss the protesters’ array of complaints. Duque later said that he had heard the protesters’ demands, but did not respond to their request for direct dialogue. In the center of Bogota, clashes took place at nightfall, when people wearing ski masks and hoods threw stones and other projectiles at police, who fought back with tear gas.

AP, HONG KONGPolice are to be out in force at polling stations in Hong Kong this weekend as keenly contested local elections take place amid ongoing anti-government protests. New Hong Kong Police Commissioner Chris Tang (鄧炳強) yesterday told reporters that officers would deal with any outbreak of violence immediately without hesitation. Six masked protesters surrendered before dawn, bringing to about 30 the number who have come out in the past day from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus besieged by police. Protesters are demanding fully democratic elections and an investigation into alleged police brutality in suppressing the demonstrations. Riot police kept watch, exchanging heated words with some protesters, but there were no major clashes ahead of district council elections tomorrow.

Staff writer, with CNA, BrusselsTaipei has placed sixth in a global award that ranks 110 cities worldwide based on their level of inclusive prosperity, the Taipei City government said late on Thursday. The measure of a city’s inclusive prosperity included GDP per capita, personal safety, housing affordability and environmental quality, as well as access to education, Internet and healthcare. After Taipei, the top 10 were filled out by Oslo; Ottawa; Kiel, Germany; and Geneva, Switzerland. The awards ceremony for the PICSA Top 20 was held at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, with Taipei City Government spokesperson Chou Tai-chu (周台竹) attending the event on behalf of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The PICSA report was commissioned by the Basque Government and compiled by Australian-based consulting firm D&L Partners.

By Jason Pan / Staff reporterWorkers from shipbuilding yards in Keelung joined Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) yesterday in voicing their support for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) indigenous defense submarine program to create jobs and facilitate the development of the nation’s defense industry. It is appropriate that the new facility to construct our indigenous submarines be based here,” Tsai Shih-ying told a news conference yesterday. Our members working at the Keelung shipyard all want it to get started soon. It will boost the shipbuilding sector with its cluster effect, and give Keelung’s shipyard a vital role in developing our domestic defense industry,” Lan said. “The shipbuilding industry has been stagnant in the past few years.

Staff writer, with CNATwo Thai travel bloggers, the sixth of 10 groups to spend a night at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, said on Thursday that they were impressed by the openness of the 100-year-old structure and of Taiwan. The couple, who arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday for a six-day stay, were selected from more than 160 entries as part of the “Spend a Night at Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building” program, organized by the Presidential Office, the General Association of Chinese Culture, the Tourism Bureau and other organizations. The campaign was launched in August to promote the 100th anniversary of the Presidential Office Building, with the winning groups spending the night in the security standby room turned guestroom, starting on Oct. 9. We know Taiwan very well, but there, something surprised me — the Presidential Office Building,” Pringthongfoo said. I could stay in a presidential office building.”The guest room was well decorated and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) even prepared a welcome card and delicacies from Hualien as snacks, she added.

Vehicles can also be equipped with a Driver Management System, which monitors the condition of the person at the wheel, he said. Installed on the steering wheel, the system can detect driver activities that are unsafe while operating a vehicle, such as smoking or using a cellphone, he added. The system issues a warning to correct such behavior, Su said. The technology could be used by bus companies, allowing them to monitor their drivers, Su said. The Advanced Driver Assistance System is one of those achievements, he said, adding that the university is ready to meet any challenges brought by its introduction to the market.

The original theme of the video was “Guard Congress, Protect Taiwan,” DPP spokesperson Lee Yen-jong (李晏榕) told a news conference in Taipei, calling on supporters to vote for the party to help it retain its legislative majority. The video, released last week, had 200,000 viewers in just one day and thousands of shares, she said. A professional team seems to have been behind the doctored version, as sound clips from Tsai’s speeches were spliced into the video, Lee said. The party is gathering evidence and is not ruling out filing charges against the person or people behind the doctored video, she said. The DPP condemns the behavior and calls on the public to “support the DPP if they want to keep their current lifestyle,” Lee said.

Others are for when you need the right cocktail to accompany the multitude of indulgences that adorn the Christmas table. To serve, add 50ml to a coupette or flute, then top with sparkling wine, and garnish to taste. PANETTONE HOT CHOCOLATEI love the spiced cakes of Christmas but there are always too many for any sensible consumption. Gently heat 100ml of the spiced milk with the grated chocolate and sugar, then pour into a cup with the chartreuse and gin. It will caramelise and warm in a way heating on the hob just won’t do.