Tsai’s grand justice nominees approvedCONSTITUTIONAL COURT: The KMT and the TPP boycotted the vote, but the DPP’s and the NPP’s votes were more than enough to approve the four nomineesStaff writer, with CNALawmakers yesterday approved all four grand justice nominees proposed by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in a vote boycotted by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). A grand justice nomination is approved when more than 50 percent of all lawmakers vote in favor of it, which means each nominee required at least 57 votes in the 113-seat legislature. Legislators vote on grand justice nominees at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. The party was likely referring to Yo, as some TPP and KMT legislators have cast doubt on the attorney’s competency to serve as a grand justice. With the new appointees, the number of women serving as grand justices is to reach a record five.

China is misreading India relationsBy Sana Hashmi 胡莎娜“Good fences make good neighbors” is a dictum that China seems to disregard, particularly concerning India-China relations. However, it appears unlikely that relations with China are to be normalized in the near future. India’s China policy comprises two crucial aspects: Keeping negotiation channels open and highlighting the significance of resolving the border dispute without sidelining it any longer. Despite being a significant counterweight to China in the region, India has no intention of containing China. However, for India, relations with China are still considered important and substantive, but until China pays sufficient attention to India’s concerns and works to address them, there will be no normalization in ties.

Mayor backs seat removal on Taipei’s Brown LineStaff writerTaipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) on Wednesday defended new subway cars for the Wenhu (Brown) Line that remove most seating in the hopes of increasing capacity on the perennially crowded line. The newly designed interior of a Wenhu (Brown) Line carriage on the Taipei MRT is pictured in an undated photograph. The design attracted criticism from some city councilors, who after trialing the new carriages on Wednesday said the design was unfriendly. The main reasons people cite for not wanting to ride the Brown Line aside from inconvenience is a lack of seating and crowding, she said, adding that the change would make people’s commute even less comfortable. She also questioned whether the carriages were tested for the increased weight, as the Brown Line was not designed for such high capacity.

Kings star Yang hints at retiring after affair claimStaff writer, with CNAP.League+ (PLG) two-time regular-season Most Valuable Player Yang Chin-min late on Sunday hinted that he was considering retiring following an online forum post by a fan who claimed his ex-girlfriend had an affair with the New Taipei Kings shooting guard. The New Taipei Kings’ Yang Chin-min warms up before Game 1 of the P.League+ Finals against the Taipei Fubon Braves in New Taipei City on June 3. Photo: CNAWhile many online commenters debated the veracity of the claims, others posted images of Yang allegedly flirting with female fans. In Facebook and Instagram posts on Sunday evening, the Kings thanked Yang for his contributions to the franchise over the past two years. For the Kings, the loss of Yang would exacerbate the team’s lack of depth, league broadcaster Ryan Chen said on Monday.

Taliban treatment of women could be ‘gender apartheid,’ UN expert saysReuters, GENEVA, SwitzerlandA UN expert on Monday said that the treatment of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban could amount to “gender apartheid,” as their rights continue to be gravely infringed by the country’s de facto authorities. The UN defines gender apartheid as “economic and social sexual discrimination against individuals because of their gender or sex.”A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul on May 23. The Taliban seized power in August 2021, drastically curtailing women’s freedoms and rights, including their ability to attend high school and university. In April, Taliban authorities began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the UN after stopping women working for aid groups in December last year. Taliban authorities say they respect women’s rights in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Rohingya refugees face soaring hunger and crime after aid cutsThe cuts — forced by a massive shortfall in funding — have stoked fears of a rise in acute malnutrition and child deaths in the world’s largest refugee settlementBy Emma Batha / Thomson Reuters Foundation, LondonEvery day 5-year-old Jannat hunts for bottles and cans in the Rohingya refugee camp where she lives in Bangladesh. She is one of a growing number of children turning to garbage picking since the UN slashed rations for nearly 1 million Rohingya camp residents to just 9 cents a meal this month. A group of Rohingya refugees on June 14 prepare for midday prayer at a makeshift camp in Kutupalong, Ukhiya Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Increasing hunger could also drive up child marriage, child labor and domestic abuse as tensions spiral. UN agencies and humanitarian groups want Bangladesh to lift its restrictions so the refugees can begin to support themselves.

Google seeking suppliers in India for Pixel phonesBloombergAlphabet Inc’s Google is scouting for suppliers in India to assemble its Pixel smartphones as it borrows from Apple Inc’s playbook of diversifying beyond China. Google would be the latest global technology player to move production to India. Google Pixel 7a phones are displayed at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, California, on May 10. Google built about 9 million Pixel smartphones last year, Counterpoint Research said, and the discussions in India underscore its plans to move production beyond China and Vietnam. Local assembly could help drive up Pixel sales, and if the phone effort is successful, Google could also move production of other hardware such as speakers to India, the people said.

The three members submitted a report on the conditions macaques face, in which they called on the Council of Agriculture — which oversees the Forestry Bureau — to review and improve laws governing the protection of wildlife, including macaques. The lack of such laws has resulted in people capturing macaques to raise them privately, and in some cases killing females to capture their infants, they said. The members said their investigation uncovered 151 cases of people raising macaques, with some reportedly buying the animals for NT$50,000 to NT$60,000 each. The members said that although the macaques are no longer on the protected species list, they are unique to Taiwan and should be protected by law. The report made suggestions about the rescue and release of macaques into the wild, including the potential to release the animals on Taiwan’s uninhabited islands.

TRI slashes its GDP forecast to 1.45%CONSERVATION: Declines in electricity consumption by commercial users confirmed the institute’s view, it said, adding that high-voltage use last month fell 3.94 percentBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Research Institute (TRI, 台灣綜合研究院) yesterday cut its forecast for GDP growth this year from 2.51 percent to 1.45 percent, as high inflation and monetary tightening around the world create an unfavorable environment for exports and private investment. The effects of monetary tightening by major central banks has grown more evident this year and would persist, in light of weak corporate sentiment around the world, TRI president Wu Tsai-yi (吳再益) told an economic forum in Taipei. Recent drops in electricity use by industrial and commercial users confirmed its downbeat view, TRI said. Consumption of high-voltage electricity last month fell 3.94 percent from a year earlier, declining for the eighth consecutive month, it said. Energy consumption by semiconductor firms has also slowed in the past few months after aggressive gains in previous years, it said.

People walk past a MediaTek Inc display at the PT Expo in Beijing on June 4. Photo: APThe report also said that MediaTek would collaborate with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to produce the AI server chips using its advanced 5-nanometer processes. Citing industrial sources, the report said that as part of the partnership with Google, MediaTek would provide serializer/deserializer solutions to Google, which would help the US company enhance its tensor processing unit efforts to make the newest chips used in AI servers. MediaTek is collaborating with other firms in AI development. By tapping into Nvidia’s core expertise in AI, the cloud, graphics technology and the software ecosystem, along with its advanced driver assistance systems, MediaTek would bolster the capabilities of its Dimensity Auto platform, the company has said.

Taiwan popular destination for Asia-Pacific travelersStaff writer, with CNATaiwan was ranked the seventh-most popular destination for travelers from the Asia-Pacific region in a report released by Mastercard Inc last week. Taiwan first entered the top 10 destinations for Asia-Pacific travelers in February in seventh place and retained that position in March, the Travel Industry Trends 2023 report said. Australia was the most favored destination among Asia-Pacific travelers, ahead of the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the UK, in that order, said the report, which was released on Tuesday by the Mastercard Economics Institute. Mastercard Taiwan general manager Eva Chen poses for a photograph in Taipei on Tuesday last week. “Across Asia-Pacific, rapid urbanization, technological advancements and a burgeoning middle class contribute to the rise in outbound tourism,” the report said.

TSMC regains US$500 billion market capAI RUSH: Investors, including Cathie Wood, remain upbeat about AI, and TSMC is seen as a key enabler for its growth, given its technology leadership, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) regained its US$500 billion market capitalization after investors ramped up bets on tech leaders best placed to ride an anticipated artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Asia’s most valuable company gained 3.31 percent yesterday in Taipei trading, fueled also by hopes that a post-COVID-19 chip downturn is nearing an end. That took its gain to 32.22 percent so far this year, cementing its position among the world’s 10 most valuable corporations after overtaking Visa Inc last month. TSMC’s gains contributed about 160 points alone to the TAIEX yesterday, which closed up 261.23 points, or 1.54 percent, at 17,216.60,

Khawaja scores Ashes century as Australia fight backAP, BIRMINGHAM, EnglandOpener Usman Khawaja raced away in delight and threw his bat high into the air on Saturday after scoring his first Test century in England as Australia made 311-5 on day two of the Ashes at Edgbaston. Australia’s deficit was down to 82 runs after Khawaja revived Australia’s fortunes with an unbeaten 126. Moments later, Khawaja was bowled on 112 by Stuart Broad, but was called back because of a no-ball. Australia’s Usman Khawaja celebrates scoring a century on day two of the first Ashes Test match against England at Edgbaston, England, on Saturday. The celebration “was a combination of having three Ashes tours in England and being dropped in two of them.

Sex pest laws must be tightenedBy Liu Yung-chien 劉永健Recently, numerous sexual harassment and assault incidents have been exposed in Taiwan. Sexual harassment is different from sexual assault. For these reasons, sexual harassment laws are difficult to enforce. First, it should clearly define sexual assault, sexual harassment and indecency. If the legislature cannot address these problems, extending the statute of limitations for sexual harassment from one year to two years might be an alternative.

He was eventually deported (or in his words, half-coerced and half-tricked by the authorities into smuggling himself) back to Taiwan. Hou Dejian was one of the “four gentlemen” who led a hunger strike at this monument at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The 1978 Descendents of the Dragon (龍的傳人), which expressed pride in being Chinese, was a huge hit in both Taiwan and later China. Hou writes that he was struggling financially at that time as he was notoriously difficult to work with. “I didn’t have the courage to directly refuse them, but I decided to temporarily leave Taiwan,” he writes.