China looms over EV maker’s graphite dealBy Liam Denning / Bloomberg OpinionGraphite, the stuff in pencils, does not typically feature in thrillers; that is reserved for the likes of uranium and gold. Graphite, prized for its inertness, is at the center of the tightening convergence between control of critical minerals, the energy transition and national security. China’s grip on the global graphite supply chain, in terms of production and refining, is the tightest of all the major critical minerals needed for batteries. Energy transition was certainly a theme of the various speeches in that meeting room on Thursday. Given the yawning gap in Republican and Democratic positions on energy transition, it would be premature to play up the bipartisan aspect here.

The strange departure of Kao from the TPPBy Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財Hsinchu City Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) announced her departure from the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) immediately after she was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison by the Taipei District Court for embezzling public funds during her time as a legislator. From the TPP’s perspective, Kao was the party’s only head of local government — a high-ranking party member, an important asset and a rising star. Kao could leverage her “victimhood” in subsequent election campaigns, either by running for re-election in Hsinchu City or seeking higher-ranking roles. If Kao was politically persecuted, she and the TPP would benefit from it, as told from the above, then how could the party be hurt? If Kao was being subject to political victimization, why did she not mobilize the TPP’s resources to seek redress through the justice system?

Four found alive days after deadly India landslidesReuters, CHOORALMALA, IndiaFour people were rescued from a house in India’s Kerala state yesterday, three days after devastating landslides, as search operations accelerated after the building of a key bridge that helped transport heavy equipment to the affected area. The disaster, the worst in Kerala since deadly floods in 2018, has led to the death of 195 people, with nearly 200 still missing, authorities said. A member of the National Disaster Response Force, front right, evacuates stranded pilgrims from Kedarnath, India, yesterday. Two men and two women were found alive by the army in a marooned, remote area yesterday, said V.T. Experts said the area had received heavy rain in the past two weeks that softened the soil before extremely heavy rainfall on Monday triggered the landslides.

Following the ministers meeting, the Quad announced the establishment of a Quad Cyber Ambassadors Meeting which would discuss capacity-building projects and responsible state behavior in cyberspace. First, Quad countries need to divide their responsibilities and work toward fulfilling these initiatives with other partners. China’s response to the Quad meeting is to label it an effort to curtail China’s influence. The South China Sea and China’s actions were a dominant feature of this Quad meeting and a carryover of the meetings in Vientiane. The Quad is here to stay, and it is evolving.

TPP chairman, officials meet with Japanese lawmakersSTRONG TIES: Taiwan and Japan share democratic values and have an amicable relationship, offering assistance to each other during times of calamity, the TPP saidBy Lin Che-yuan and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe high-level “Mingteh Project” (明德專案) national security meeting between US, Japanese and Taiwanese officials should be resumed, as the rise of China threatens neighboring countries, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said at a meeting with a Japanese delegation in Taipei on Wednesday. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je, front row center, gestures along with party members and a visiting Japanese delegation in Taipei on Wednesday. Taiwan and Japan support each other in times of hardship and share one of the closest bilateral relations, Ko said. Meanwhile, the TPP press release said Huang met with a number of politicians during her trip to the US last week that included visits to think tanks. After the meeting, Ko used the TPP’s fifth-anniversary memorial beer to drink a toast with the guests for the friendship between Taiwan and Japan.

EDITORIAL: Dialogue key to reducing tensionsA joint statement on Monday issued by the foreign ministers of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) members Australia, India, Japan and the US in Tokyo expressed “serious concern” about the situation in the South China Sea. He made it clear that the disagreements between India and China were to be dealt with through dialogue, without contributions from any third party. To see Japan increase its military spending and consolidate its armed forces is not going to assuage their concerns. The announcement of the US’ new military command in Japan can only be expected to increase those jitters. However, there is no substitute for dialogue as a means to reducing tensions and stopping mutual escalation in the region.

Tibetans hail new US legislationBy Tenzing DhamdulUS President Joe Biden signed the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, into law on July 12. However, he made sure to note in his signed statement that the US recognizes Tibet (as referenced in the act) as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Tibetans throughout the world welcomed the act and celebrated it. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the US for its backing of Tibet even before the Resolve Tibet Act was signed into law. The US law on Tibet comes at a time when there are growing ties between the Tibetans and Taiwan.

Will artificial intelligence put an end to money? However, the situation will be very different if we someday live in a world governed by an artificial intelligence (AI) endowed with complete information and infinite processing capabilities. We need money because we live in a market economy, not a preprogrammed world. Do we still need money? This vision of “techno-socialism” is very far from the model of a decentralized, free society.

TPP has no respect for the law and separationBy Linus Chiou 邱士哲The Constitutional Court’s temporary injunction said that 12 sections of the recently passed legislature reform laws, backed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), were urgent threats to governance. Following the court’s decision, the KMT caucus said that “judicial independence has died.” Many TPP supporters also echoed similar sentiments. Largely failing to address the constitutionality of the reforms, the KMT and the TPP have chosen the low road, ie, when in doubt, blame the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Moreover, following Ann Kao’s (高虹安) sentencing for corruption, the TPP continues to mount a vapid defense of the once-promising political star. Shifting the blame and the goalposts are tactics that the TPP uses when rulings are not in its favor.

India PM Modi’s budget has a large credibility gapBy Mihir Sharma / Bloomberg OpinionTen years after he was first elected India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi might finally have diagnosed why India’s growth, while better than in many countries, has not taken off the way his supporters expected in 2014. The federal budget that Indian Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman announced earlier this week is to serve as the major economic policy road map for the year. It wisely focused on three issues: debt, factor markets such as land and labor, and jobs. However, while Modi has stored up credibility as a fiscal hawk, he has none left as a reformer. Modi’s diagnosis of what has gone wrong with India’s growth has come 10 years too late.

Gray zone activities refer to provocative actions that are not so egregious they would demand a warlike response, but neither are they of a peaceful nature. Bringing clarity to China’s gray zone activities would dispel the “ambiguity” around the term itself, Australian think tank the Lowy Institute says. The phrase “gray zone” is open to misinterpretation, and allows for a degree of doubt regarding Beijing’s original intentions, it says. It is not just the Philippines that has been the target of China’s coercive behavior. Manila, sensing the power of the name game, also decided to use its own for the parts of the South China Sea it claims.

China an ‘important interlocutor,’ Meloni tells XiAFP, BEIJINGItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni yesterday hailed China as an “important interlocutor” in managing global tensions as she met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, walks into a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, front left, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing yesterday. Photo: EPA-EFE“There is growing insecurity at an international level and I think that China is inevitably a very important interlocutor to address all these dynamics,” Meloni told Xi. Meloni’s administration withdrew from the Belt and Road Initiative in December last year, having been the only G7 nation to sign up. Meloni’s administration has since sought to mend Italy’s ties with China, Italy’s second-largest non-EU trading partner after the US.

Bangladesh youth uprising echoes the Arab Spring protestsBy M. Niaz AsadullahIn recent weeks, the Bangladeshi government has cracked down violently on students demanding equitable access to coveted government jobs amid an unemployment crisis. Bangladesh’s youth uprising, with its echoes of the Arab Spring, illustrates how corruption, cronyism and inequality tend to accompany GDP growth, especially under an increasingly authoritarian regime. However, Bangladesh’s High Court in June reinstated the controversial job quota system, sparking widespread protests. Despite being temporarily quelled, the youth protests could still expand into a wider anti-government movement. Bangladesh has a rich history of youth protests, which played a crucial role in laying the foundation for the country’s independence in 1971.

EDITORIAL: Lessons from alleged abuse caseA preschool teacher in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) was indicted in August last year on charges of alleged sexual assault and offenses of forced obscenity against six girls. Parents reported the first suspected case to the authorities in July 2022. After more parents accused him of sexual abuse, prosecutors indicted and detained Mao in July last year — a year after the first case was reported. There has been a public outcry, because the Taipei City Government seemed to have quickly dismissed the case in 2022, while prosecutors were still investigating it, allowing Mao to continue teaching. Moreover, the case is also a reminder for parents and schools to reconsider when they should start teaching children about the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching to prevent sexual abuse.

Farming losses from typhoon reach NT$1.8bnTHE AFTERMATH: Typhoon Gaemi had stranded eight cargo ships, halted Alishan railway operations, and left 10 people dead, two missing and 895 injured in its wakeStaff Writer, with CNAAgricultural losses in Taiwan caused by Typhoon Gaemi totaled approximately NT$1.8 billion (US$54.83 million) as of 11am yesterday, Ministry of Agriculture statistics showed. The three administrative areas that sustained the greatest losses were Pingtung County at NT$386 million, Chiayi County at NT$384 million and Yunlin County at NT$368 million, the data showed. A taro field devastated by Typhoon Gaemi is pictured in Hualien County yesterday. The cargo ships ran aground along Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County coastlines, the CGA’s Southern Branch said. A chicken farm in Tainan flooded from torrential rain brought by Typhoon Gaemi is pictured in an undated photograph.