Court changes ruled unconstitutional‘ILLEGAL RULING’: The KMT and the TPP slammed the Constitutional Court judgement, saying it contravened the law and was trying to clear the way for a ‘green dictatorship’By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNAThe Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year are unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers. The Constitution stipulates that the Constitutional Court shall have 15 grand justices. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesFive of the remaining grand justices ruled the bill unconstitutional, handing down the Court’s first judgement this year. The other three justices said the judgement is invalid, as amendments promulgated in January stipulate that the Court must have 10 grand justices to deliberate. “The Constitutional Court session was therefore held illegally, and the ruling is, of course, illegal,” it added.

Vietnam will not let go of the global economyBy Daniel Moss / Bloomberg OpinionThe fortitude of the world economy is an eye-opener. The communist-led nation has become thoroughly intertwined with the fate of global capitalism. Vietnam still looks like a trade war winner, the label fans pinned on it during Trump’s first term. Along with praise for the global economy’s springiness, there are signs that growth is to slow. Consumers around the world need the stuff Vietnam churns out, ranging from sneakers to furniture and computers.

Taiwan urged to establish regional defense networkBy Fang Wei-li and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerOn the front lines of the Indo-Pacific, a region rife with conflict as China and Russia challenge global security and order, Taiwan must deepen collaboration and dialogue with like-minded countries and establish a robust, pan-democratic defense network, Institute for National Defense and Security Research chairman Huo Shou-ye (霍守業) told a forum in Taipei on Tuesday. Among them was former minister of national defense Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明憲), who said that Taiwan increasing its defense spending, development of drones and submarine capabilities, and reinforcing infrastructure protection capabilities would help make the nation more resilient and deter China from a military invasion. Panelists attend a foum hosted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei on Tuesday. Photo: CNATsai said he hoped the US, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and other friendly nations would continue to deepen defense collaborations with Taiwan. Institute assistant researcher Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅) said China’s “gray zone” tactics aim to portray Taiwan as part of China, and to suggest that the differences in governance between Taiwan and China do not matter.

Rocket artillery offers opportunitiesBy Huang Wei-ping 黃惟冰The US government on Wednesday announced its latest round of arms sales to Taiwan, with eight packages at an estimated combined cost of more than US$11.1 billion. The most expensive item is the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a long-range precision strike system. The package includes 82 launch vehicles and 1,203 artillery rockets, as well as 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) with a range of up to 300km. After all, widely published and publicly available information shows that Taiwan possesses a number of long-range strike weapons — some with ranges that extend well beyond 300km. This US arms sale would not only increase Taiwan’s weapons inventory at the tactical level, but sends a strategic signal.

KMT, TPP to attempt to impeach President LaiStaff writer, with CNAThe opposition parties yesterday said they would attempt to impeach President William Lai (賴清德) over what they described as his “undemocratic” practices, despite practical obstacles that would preclude the scenario. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party lawmakers pose with giant banners outside the legislature in Taipei yesterday. He said the opposition caucuses would tender a motion to impeach Lai for review at a plenary session, but he did not specify when. “It is the KMT and TPP combining to take power from other government branches and to paralyze the Constitutional Court. Now they pass a motion to impeach President Lai.

Netanyahu would struggle to shrug off charges of war crimesBy Julian Borger / The GuardianThe arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) represent an earthquake on the world’s legal landscape: the first time a Western ally from a modern democracy has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global judicial body. Inside Israel, the warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant would not have an immediate effect. In the short term, they are likely to rally support around the prime minister from a defiant Israeli public. The stigma of being an accused war criminal is a hard one to shrug off. If, upon the issuing of the warrants, Netanyahu again goes to the US to speak to Congress, for example, it at least massively embarrasses the US and makes their hypocrisy so plain to see.”

The HAT for the IDS prototype is 83 to 85 percent complete, Republic of China Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Chiu Chun-jung (邱俊榮) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei TimesTaiwan’s first domestically built submarine prototype was unveiled in Kaohsiung in September last year at a ceremony presided over by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). For next fiscal year, the Ministry of National Defense has budgeted approximately NT$1.996 billion for the production of new submarines. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo speaks to reporters at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. “However, the testing of the first prototype submarine has not been completed.

Putin’s missile sends a clear message to the West: ‘Back off’The Russian president is in a difficult position, as he could stoke a serious crisis if he escalates now, but the West could keep pushing through clear Russian red lines if he does notBy Guy Faulconbridge / Reuters, MOSCOWRussian President Vladimir Putin’s hypersonic missile carried a simple message to the West over Ukraine: Back off, and if you do not, Russia reserves the right to hit US and British military facilities. “Putin is saying to the West stop — halt — back off,” former Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov told Reuters. The source did not clarify whether he was talking about tactical battlefield weapons or long-range nuclear missiles. However, if he does not, then the West could interpret him as weak and keep pushing through clear Russian red lines. Firing what the US believes is a new ballistic missile in response is a clear warning to the West, but a carefully calibrated one, analysts said.

Temperatures to fall from WednesdayBy Lin Chih-yi and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe first cold air mass of the season is to affect Taiwan from Wednesday, preceeded by a front that is to bring rain to the north and east tomorrow before temperatures dip nationwide, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei TimesThe first cold air mass of the season is to affect Taiwan from Wednesday to Saturday, she added. Nighttime temperatures in the north are to dip to as low as 12°C, while daytime temperatures are to hover around 20°C, Chen said. Temperatures in central and southern Taiwan are to dip as low as 14°C and 15°C respectively, and may fall below 10°C in localized mountainous areas, she said. Although the cold mass is to ease from Saturday afternoon, there would still be a large temperature difference between night and day, Chen said.

Taiwan has already taken a hit in the wake of the implementation of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). On a similar note, AI champion Nvidia Corp lists in its overall plans a renewable energy demand of 100TWh as an investment condition. With such a massive lack of renewable energy supply, it would be difficult for the current renewables doubling policy to succeed. “Innovation capability” is the magic keyword in the title of the Statute for Industrial Innovation (產業創新條例) guidelines. They would guarantee that renewable energy supply is adequate and lead to industry stability and sound development, which could assist Taiwanese exporters and whole-system economic stability and sound growth.

The case is against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, who is executive director of the green energy business, and six other individuals. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had made crony capitalism — especially Gautam Adani’s proximity to Modi — the central piece of his campaign, particularly in the Maharashtra poll. For regional opposition leaders, Adani’s link with Modi has not exactly been a hot button issue. In a press conference on Thursday last week, the Congress Party leader called for Buch’s removal and Gautam Adani’s arrest. While the DOJ indictment came too late to sway the vote in Maharashtra, it might yet cast a long shadow — on India’s national politics and relations with Washington next year.

The Philippine Presidential Security Command boosted Marcos’ security and said it considered Duterte’s threat, which was “made so brazenly in public,” a national security issue. Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte listens as she attends a joint committee hearing of the House of Representatives in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, investigating the war on drugs during the administration of his father former President Rodrigo Duterte. The Philippine constitution states that if a president dies, sustains a permanent disability, is removed from office or resigns, the vice president takes over and serves the rest of the term. In a predawn online news conference, an angry Sara Duterte accused Marcos of incompetence as a president and of being a liar, along with his wife and the House speaker in expletives-laden remarks. I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM [Marcos], [first lady] Liza Araneta and [Speaker] Martin Romualdez.

Trump names hedge fund manager as US Treasury secretaryAFP, WASHINGTONUS President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named billionaire Scott Bessent as his US Treasury secretary, choosing the hedge fund manager to help execute an agenda promising tax cuts and tariffs. “Scott is widely respected as one of the world’s foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists,” Trump said in a statement. Scott Bessent speaks during a rally for former US president Donald Trump in Asheville, North Carolina, on Aug. 14. The US Department of Treasury has oversight across a range of areas, from federal finances to bank supervision. In 2015, he raised capital, including US$2 billion from Soros, to start his own hedge fund.

For example, then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) transited through Hawaii during outbound and return trips in a visit to Central American allies in 2014, the source said. Despite rumors that Lai is treated worse than his predecessors Ma and former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the US government’s handling of Taiwanese presidents’ transit through its territories significantly improved during Tsai’s presidency, the source said. That attested to Washington’s faith in the Democratic Progressive Party as a more reliable government worthy of dialogue and cooperation, the source said. Citing the editorial, the source said such narratives attempted to foster the illusion that Washington harbors suspicions of Lai and is giving him discriminatory treatment. Washington’s attitude toward Taiwanese presidents’ stopovers would not change because it is a different time or due to international situations, and its continued assistance despite regime changes shows the solid ties between Taiwan and the US, they said.

However, a spate of random acts of violence is challenging the “party knows best” narrative. Even some independent data points to the perception that China’s law and order standards are among the best in the world. That deal in China has worked so long as the CCP continues to provide clear evidence that living standards are improving. Such independent windows into the party’s opaque world challenge the narrative that citizens are satisfied with their government. Previously, she was the BBC’s lead Asia presenter and worked for the BBC across Asia and South Asia for two decades.