Meta unveils AI video generatorAFP, SAN FRANCISCOMeta Platforms Inc on Friday provided a look at a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model it is working on that lets people create short videos, complete with audio, from text prompts and photos. The tech titan touted “Meta Movie Gen” as a “breakthrough” when it comes to using an AI engine to produce video and audio. Meta said it would seek feedback from filmmakers and creators as it eases toward making the video-generating AI engine publicly available. DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc’s Google, also has a video generation tool, called Veo, which was unveiled earlier this year. However, the rise of AI tools for creating realistic videos has prompted worries about “deepfakes” that pirate people’s likenesses.

Supreme Court upholds life sentence for man who was removed from death rowBy Wen Yu-te and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe Supreme Court in a retrial on Friday upheld the life sentence handed to convicted murderer Liu Chih-ming (劉志明), formally removing him from death row, where he has been for the better part of the past decade. Liu’s case is the first time the court commuted a death sentence to a life term, after the Constitutional Court on Sept. 20 found the death penalty constitutional, but said it should be limited to special and exceptional circumstances. The Supreme Court in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. In an appeal, the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court upheld the death penalty for Liu. The Supreme Court in its ruling then upheld the life sentence handed to Liu in the fourth retrial, which is the final verdict.

The dangers of ‘Zero Day’ rhetoricBy Chen Chi-nung 陳啟濃A Chinese invasion of Taiwan and the internal contradictions it could trigger are depicted in a 17-minute-long trailer of Zero Day, an upcoming Taiwanese television series. The story concept appears to resonate with people because it reveals the real situation in Taiwan and signs of division. The greatest value of the drama would be to raise the sense of crisis among Taiwanese and unveil the CCP’s use of infiltration tactics. Lacking a sense of crisis puts a country in a situation where it might defeat itself. Describing the show as war-provoking gives the CCP cover for its ambition to wage war on Taiwan and portrays the government as a troublemaker.

Power-grab amendments must goBy Huang Di-ying 黃帝穎During a hearing at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) were left flummoxed, despite their credentials. The KMT and the TPP cannot rationally discuss the “principle of separation of powers” as delineated in the court’s interpretations No. 585, 633 and 729, as well as the principle of legal clarity, comparative law and proper legal procedures. The court reviewed the case, thoroughly exposing the unconstitutionality of the bill, which was an attempt to grab more power. Huang Di-ying is a lawyer and policy committee member in the Taiwan Nation Alliance.

Infineon opens plant in MalaysiaBloombergMalaysia is gaining more heft in the global supply chain as Infineon Technologies AG opens a major semiconductor manufacturing complex in the country, the Southeast Asian nation’s prime minister said. Employees work inside the Infineon Technologies AG complex in Kulim, Malaysia, on Wednesday. The new plant is to focus on making power semiconductors that can help with decarbonization in the automotive, industrial and data center fields. It is expected to eventually create a total of 4,000 jobs, Infineon said. Malaysia has in past years emerged as a global hub for packaging and assembling.

In 1976 they rejected an offer from the IOC to compete as Team “Taiwan” instead of “Republic of China”. Today, “Team Taiwan” would more accurately represent the population, which increasingly identifies as primarily Taiwanese, but it is no longer an option. Photo: ReutersNow, Taiwan is one of just three teams whose flag is banned at the Olympics. Taiwan and Chinese Taipei are still all Taiwan,” said Ivy Shieh, a Taiwanese fan also watching the match. “When facing the Chinese team, the IOC will treat Taiwan very harshly,” Wu told Taiwan media.

Nothing wrong with ‘Taiwanese’By Lau Seng-hian 劉承賢Aurelijus Vijunas’ recent opinion article “An accurate term for ‘Taiwanese’” (Aug. 3, page 8) argues that ‘Taiwanese’ (the common name for Hoklo) is not a suitable name for the Southern Min variety spoken in Taiwan. While Taiwanese is a Southern Min variety, many languages are named independently of their typological classification. Hakka and indigenous languages are undeniably important, but Taiwanese serves as the representative language of Taiwanese culture, arts, history and place names. Language is a key to culture, and if I truly wanted to become Taiwanese, learning Taiwanese should have been important.”As Pape observed, Taiwanese is key to understanding Taiwan’s culture. In contrast, Mandarin was imposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and is not inherently connected to Taiwanese identity.

How China views the US presidential electionThe most likely scenario is a period of tension in which China’s leadership and a new administration in Washington weigh each other’s strengths and weaknessesBy Ian Bremmer / NEW YORKHow will the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) react to the highly unpredictable election in the US in November? Their only disagreement, Chinese leaders believe, is about which economic and political weapons to use to contain China, and how and when to use them. However, this is not to suggest that China views the two parties as effectively the same. Alternatively, they could appeal to various US allies that remain dependent on good economic relations with China. The bigger risk, then, is that China’s leaders conclude that the limited engagement of the past year has not produced good results, and that the next hostile US president would always be just one election away.

Taipei rated most affordable Asian destinationBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterCheaper hotel rates and delicious street food made Taipei the most affordable city in Asia to visit in the second half of this year, a travel trend analysis conducted by Leisure and Travel magazine and the Web site Kayak.com showed. Taipei and nine other Asian cities were selected as affordable travel destinations based on “average round-trip economy airfare” and “the average rate of a one-night stay in a standard double hotel room,” they said. The results of their analysis, published on Wednesday last week, showed that the average cost of a round-trip flight and one night at a hotel in Taipei was US$1,141. Taipei was followed by Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, with a round-trip flight and one-night stay costing US$1,452 and US$1,478 respectively, the analysis showed. The other affordable travel destinations in Asia were New Delhi, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Osaka.

Fans blame China for Paris sign confiscationsStaff writer, with CNAMore Taiwanese spectators at the Paris Olympics have reported having signs and banners confiscated by security staff or snatched by Chinese fans. Although she reported the oversized Chinese flag, she said venue staff took no action over the banner. At the same event, a towel with the word “Taiwan” printed on it was confiscated from a Taiwanese supporter by venue staff. Taiwan has participated in the Olympic Games as “Chinese Taipei” since 1984, with athletes competing under the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag. Prior to that it participated as “Formosa” and “Taiwan.”“When facing the Chinese team, the IOC will treat Taiwan very harshly.

“Chinese Taipei” is not merely a fake place, but part of a strategic campaign by China to conquer Taiwan in the minds of the global public, forcing the international community to accept the fiction that China has authority over Taiwan, as I have written before in the Taipei Times (“Taiwan’s ‘Chinese Taipei’ problem,” May 22, page 8). If Taiwanese wish to be seen as Taiwan, they must fight back and contest this blatant discrimination and cognitive warfare. “Chinese Taipei” has not remained confined to the Olympics. “Chinese Taipei creep” has led to the widespread adoption of the term in numerous contexts to refer to Taiwan, leading to the false impression that it is a real place or identity. While international media have increasingly referred to the team as “Taiwan,” most sportscasters continue to use the false “Chinese Taipei” term.

Taiwan celebrates badminton Olympic goldFESTIVE MOOD: President William Lai and other top politicians congratulated Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin, while some businesses offered special promotionsStaff writer, with CNAPeople across Taiwan celebrated the nation’s first Olympic gold at Paris 2024 after Taiwan’s badminton duo emerged victorious over their Chinese opponents on Sunday. Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) fought a tough 76-minute battle against the world No. 1 duo from China — Liang Weikeng (梁偉鏗) and Wang Chang (王昶) — to defend their men’s doubles badminton title. Taiwan supporters had high expectations for the badminton pair, who previously won gold in the Tokyo 2020 Games. Businesses in Taiwan are also getting caught up in Olympic fever, with many announcing special offers in recognition of Lee and Wang’s badminton victory.

Ministry in touch with 3 nationals in LebanonStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it has been keeping in touch with three nationals who continue to stay in Lebanon, despite its warning to leave the country as soon as possible as tensions rise in the Middle East. Passengers wait after their flights were delayed or canceled at Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanon, yesterday. Photo: EPA-EFEThe ministry yesterday said that there were five Taiwanese citizens living in Lebanon, citing information obtained by Taiwan’s representative office in Jordan that is in charge of Lebanon affairs. The ministry is keeping in touch with the three citizens remaining in Lebanon and will offer assistance to help them leave should they decide to, it added. Meanwhile, the ministry reiterated its advice to Taiwanese citizens not to travel to Lebanon and Israel for safety reasons.

Unusually, this year’s speech never mentioned military spending. In fact, defense spending has fallen below 2 percent of GDP for the first time in decades. More than half of India’s defense budget goes to personnel costs. Local defense production grew nearly 17 percent in the past financial year and is up 60 percent since 2019 to 2020. Meanwhile, private Indian companies must incorporate the cost of creating new factories and product lines into their bids.

Warren Buffett slashes longtime Apple stakeAP, OMAHA, NebraskaBillionaire Warren Buffett slashed Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s massive Apple Inc stake in a move that could prove unsettling for the broader stock market — because the investor is so revered and because there had been little positive financial news lately. That gave investors the impression that Buffett might hold on to Apple indefinitely as he has with the Coca-Cola Co and American Express Co shares he bought decades ago. However, he has trimmed the Apple stake over the past year and has recently also sold off some of his stock in Bank of America Corp and Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD Co (比亞迪) while buying little. At the end of the first quarter, Berkshire’s Apple stake was worth US$135.4 billion. Shanahan said he estimates that Berkshire still holds about 400 million Apple shares.