Modi opens new parliament building in part of makeoverReuters, NEW DELHIIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s new parliament building yesterday, a modern complex which is part of his Hindu nationalist government’s grand plan to give a makeover to the British colonial-era architecture in the nation’s capital. Vehicles drive past the new parliament building in New Delhi on Friday. “To open a new parliament building without the opposition, it does not mean there is a democracy in the country. The triangular-shaped parliament complex is just across from the old, circular heritage building built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927, two decades before India’s independence. The old parliament is to be converted into a museum.

First China-made passenger jet makes maiden flight‘COMING OF AGE’: The C919 commercial jetliner would operate on China Eastern Airlines’ route between Shanghai and the southwestern city of Chengdu, CCTV saidAFP, BEIJINGChina’s first domestically produced passenger jet made its maiden commercial flight yesterday, a milestone event in the nation’s decades-long effort to compete with Western rivals in the air. Beijing hopes that the C919 commercial jetliner would challenge foreign models such as the Boeing Co 737 MAX and the Airbus SE A320, but many of its parts are sourced from abroad. A passenger takes photos as he boards China’s first domestically produced passenger jet C919 before its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing, at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport yesterday. China has invested heavily in production of the homegrown jet as it seeks to become self-sufficient in key technologies. The aircraft is manufactured by state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC, 中國商用飛機), but many of its parts — including its engines — are sourced from overseas.

A worker washes his face at a coal mine operated by South Eastern Coalfields Ltd in Gevra, India, on May 10. A worker stands under an umbrella as a dump truck passes at a coal mine in Gevra, India, on May 10. Trucks drive in a coal mine in Gevra, India, on May 10. He helps dig coal for state-owned Coal India Ltd, one of the largest producers globally. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, the unit of Coal India, said the order does allow coal mining to continue as it is linked to essential services, specifically power supply.

Chennai stand between Gujarat and IPL titleReuters, NEW DELHIRevenge will fuel Gujarat Titans’ title defense when they clash with four-time winners the Chennai Super Kings today in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final in Ahmedabad. Gujarat, who won the title in their debut season last year, topped the group stage this season, but went down to the M.S. Gujarat Titans batsman Shubman Gill raises his bat to celebrate passing 100 during their Indian Premier League qualifier against the Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. “I think this was probably my best innings so far in the IPL,” Gill said. Chennai have an opportunity to match Mumbai’s five IPL titles in what could be their talismanic leader Dhoni’s final season.

China bars US chips made by MicronSECURITY RISK: Chinese companies could respond to the announcement by moving away from all products made by the US firm, diverting business toward Korean rivals China delivered the latest salvo in an escalating semiconductor war with the US, announcing that Micron Technology Inc products have failed to pass a cybersecurity review in the country. Operators of key infrastructure in China should not buy the company’s goods, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it found “relatively serious” cybersecurity risks in Micron products sold in China. The components caused “significant security risks to our critical information infrastructure supply chain,” which would affect national security, it said. The results come more than a month after China announced an investigation on imports from

US official raises concern on China’s treatment of firmsBloombergUS Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Thursday expressed concern about recent actions Beijing has taken against US companies in a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (王文濤). The encounter marked the highest-level visit to the US by a Chinese official in more than two years. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo testifies during a US Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday last week. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce in its own statement said that the meeting was candid and constructive, and that Wang expressed concerns about US chip policy and export controls with Raimondo. The trip fits a broader trend of Chinese officials traveling more often in the months since the country ended its COVID-19 restrictions.

Rather than framing Tsai’s visit as being that of a story of Taiwan “provoking” China — Beijing’s preferred narrative — the post reversed that framing. The caption was not the only example of international media centering Taiwan in its reporting of Tsai’s trip. Beijing’s international strategy on Taiwan is to convince the world that Taiwan does not exist. All too often international media allow Beijing’s narrative — otherwise known as discourse operations — to shape their reporting on Taiwan. When reporting on Taiwan, international media should be careful to center Taiwan’s perspective, not Beijing’s pronouncements or framing of Taiwan.

EDITORIAL: Getting through to ChineseA report published in the Journal of Contemporary China on May 14 indicated that about half of Chinese would be in favor of using military force to achieve unification with Taiwan. All of this means that Chinese military aggression against Taiwan is exceedingly likely to result in failure and be highly detrimental to China. The Chinese public, for all its nationalistic posturing, is aware of this. Moreover, the Chinese public has been allowed to discuss the issue online. Those messages seem to be getting through to the Chinese public.

EDITORIAL: No place for bigotsNational Taiwan University (NTU) has come under fire after an offensive set of proposals by two students running for president and vice president of the student council caused an uproar over the weekend. This and similar incidents in the past reveal underlying issues in Taiwan’s education system, social environment and right to free speech. As Taiwan has a test-oriented education system, pre-college students spend most of their time studying, taking exams and going to cram schools. As a result, students who get into top-ranking universities, such as NTU, usually share a similar privileged background and educational experience. In a similar manner, NTU should expel or mete out equivalent punishments to the two students.

Pharmally International Holding Co chairman Tony Huang (黃文烈) — who is also known as Huang Wen-lieh — and other businesspeople, were indicted on charges of security fraud, stock manipulation and fraudulent financial reporting in 2020, the ministry said. Pharmally International Holding Co chairman Tony Huang, also known as Huang Wen-lieh, is pictured in an undated photograph. Reports said that Tony Huang traveled from Singapore to the UK, and was detained in Thailand during a transit on his return flight. Huang Tzu-yen and Chen apparently manage subsidiary companies in Singapore, and are also wanted in the Pharmally case, the ministry said. Wang encountered financial difficulties and sought assistance from Tony Huang, who had been investing in real estate in China’s Xiamen since 2003, investigators said.

Meta, Google aiding in removing fake investment adsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterFrom April 10 to Friday last week, Meta Platforms Inc and Google Taiwan removed a combined 1,363 scam investment advertisements from their platforms, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday, as it warned of the continuing prevalence of fraudulent information. That compares with the 39 scam ads they deleted a month earlier, the commission said. During the period, the commission detected 1,615 ads that were highly likely to be scams to Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, and Meta removed about 83 percent of them, or 1,338 ads, it said. Photo: Tyrone Su, ReutersThe commission found 105 suspicious ads on Google during the same period, with Google deleting 25 ads, or 24 percent of the total, it said. Besides partnering with online platforms, the commission said it is to tighten the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act (證券投資信託及顧問法) to curb investment misinformation.

Media need to verify AI content: NCCACCURACY: The NCC ordered SET News and Formosa News to improve their election day coverage after irregularities were discovered in their Nov. 26 vote count reportsBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterBroadcast media must verify the authenticity of information before airing it, including content created using ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence (AI) generative applications, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday. “Broadcast media might use images and content generated by AI. Controversies caused by AI generative applications would still be addressed after the commission receives complaints from viewers, she added. The two news channels have been told to address the issues, NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said. “They should report vote counts based on valid sources, and explain how and where they get their voting data before the vote count begins,” Wong said.

YouBike’s plan for hack compensation, cybersecurity dueBy Tsai Ya-hua and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerYouBike Co was given until today to draw up a plan to improve its cybersecurity and compensate the 40,593 people whose personal data was compromised in last week’s hacks, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Tuesday. The hackers accessed the cellphone numbers of YouBike users and their passwords used for Web sites and platforms other than YouBike, and changed user e-ticket verification data and ride records, the company said. Photo: CNAThe cellphone numbers of the bike users — obtained via unknown means — were used to log in to the accounts using brute-force attacks, YouBike said. YouBike users need to use the forgotten password function on the official Web site to set new passwords and gain access to their accounts, it said. Fees for using the bicycle-sharing service are paid only at physical service points such as bike meters and customer service centers, it said.

Quality of NTU students decliningBy Chen Chi-nung 陳啟濃The controversial proposals by two candidates running for president and vice president of the student council at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) Economics Department have given society a glimpse of the “character” of NTU students. The proposals should have entailed issues that NTU students wish to address. There are many reasons why there has been a decline in the overall quality of NTU students. The fast-paced digital world might have also contributed to NTU students’ shallow mindsets. Campaign proposals can still be fun and interesting, but issuing crude and sexist proposals should be beneath any college student, let alone an NTU student.

Inflation to top central bank’s agendaMONETARY POLICY: Central bank governor Yang Chin-long said that his biggest concern is core CPI, as a high reading would suggest sticky inflationary pressuresBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterCore consumer prices would top the list of concerns when the central bank revisits its monetary policy next month, as headline inflation has held steady while core readings continue to rise, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said yesterday. Yang shared his views on inflation and other economic issues while taking questions from lawmakers during a legislative hearing in Taipei, ahead of the central bank’s next board meeting on June 15. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long speaks during a legislative session in Taipei yesterday. If core CPI climbs higher, the central bank could raise interest rates again to tame inflation, although it would also take the nation’s economic health into consideration, he said. Dining costs, once risen, have little chance of falling before the year-on-year comparison effect fades, Yang said, responding to comments the central bank has failed to rein in inflation.