Proposal to investigate NDF investments passesBy Lee Wen-hsin and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writerA proposal by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus to set up an investigation committee into National Development Fund (NDF) investments passed during a plenary vote at the legislature yesterday. Despite opposition from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the proposal passed with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and TPP lawmakers, who hold a combined majority in the legislature, voting in favor of it. Legislators from different parties hold placards stating their respective stances on a proposal to investigate NDF investments, at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. A committee to investigate the agency’s investments and managerial misconduct should be established, with the results compiled into a report to inform about the reforms that are needed, it said. The committee would investigate whether wrong decisions were made regarding investments, corruption was covered up due to external intervention and whether the fund properly reviewed its failed investments to make improvements, it added.

One lesson from the war game was the value of anti-ship missiles, Cancian said. In the next couple of years, “I think the most effective thing you could do is to give Taiwan 500 Harpoon missiles,” he said. “The other lesson is that once the fighting begins, it’s impossible to get any forces or reinforcements onto Taiwan,” Cancian said. Since Chinese forces would surround Taiwan, the US would not be able to get an airlift or sealift to the nation “at least for the first three or four weeks,” he said. “Taiwan would have to fight at least the first month, and maybe the first two months, with whatever it starts out with,” he added.

Adani Group faces US chargesBRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: An Adani statement denied all charges, while share prices plummet and Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called for the founder’s arrestAFP, NEW DELHIIndia’s Adani Group yesterday called US charges that their billionaire tycoon founder Gautam Adani had paid more than US$250 million in bribes “baseless,” as the opposition leader demanded his arrest. Chairperson and founder of Indian conglomerate Adani Group, Gautam Adani, speaks at the World Congress of Accountants in Mumbai on November 19, 2022. But we know that won’t happen as Modi is protecting him,” Gandhi told reporters in New Delhi. Adani and two other board members of his Adani Group “lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors,” US attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. The indictment drove steep losses in flagship listed unit Adani Enterprises Ltd and multiple other subsidiaries immediately after the Mumbai stock exchange reopened yesterday.

Israel, Hezbollah trade blows despite ceasefire talksReuters, JERUSALEM and BEIRUTIsrael and Lebanon’s Hezbollah traded deadly blows yesterday as their war raged on, despite signs of progress in US ceasefire efforts, with airstrikes pounding Beirut’s southern suburbs and rockets flying into northern Israel. US mediator Amos Hochstein was in Israel for talks with Israeli officials to try to secure a ceasefire, which he said was “within our grasp” during a visit to Beirut earlier this week. Smoke rises from Beirut southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Ashrafieh, Lebanon, November 21, 2024. Photo: ReutersIn southern Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike killed three people in the village of Chaaitiyeh, about 10km from the border, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. Speaking before he left Beirut, Hochstein said he was going to Israel to try to close an agreement if possible.

KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩), a committee coconvener, was presiding, but DPP lawmakers occupied the podium area to protest alleged contraventions of procedures by Hsu. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying, center, left, attempts to reach the podium at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNAThe proposal to increase the recall threshold would deprive Taiwanese of their right to recall unfit, incompetent elected officials, or those found guilty of crimes, they said. There was pushing and shoving as Hsu, supported by other KMT lawmakers, called for the meeting to start and gave no time for examination of the proposed amendments before suspending proceedings. KMT Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄), who initiated the amendments, said that they are needed, as recalls have succeeded “too easily” due to low thresholds.

Tensions over China’s overcapacity will rise under TrumpBy Brendan KellyWhile US president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats are likely to dominate headlines in the near term, China’s industrial overcapacity remains a larger, core challenge for the global economy and trading system in the coming years. On Oct. 29, a month after US tariffs targeting China’s overcapacity went into effect, the European Commission imposed its own tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). The policies driving China’s overcapacity — and the resulting trade tensions — are probably here to stay. That said, addressing the complex global challenges posed by China’s overcapacity will require additional trade restrictions and innovative policy tools. Tackling China’s overcapacity problem will require rebalancing the economy and overhauling industrial policies.

Case closed on Ko vice president buy-off claimBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAAn investigation into allegations by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) that someone offered him US$200 million to run for vice president instead of president has been disbanded for lack of evidence, the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office said today. After the revelation, attorney Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) filed a complaint with the prosecutors’ office, saying the offer would contravene the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) if proven true. Huang also called on Ko to reveal the identity of the alleged perpetrator. Prosecutors said they questioned Ko and Chen as witnesses to ascertain the person’s identity and searched for evidence. However, as there was no prosecutable evidence, the office closed the case earlier this year, they added.

Man-yi floods thousands of Philippine homesWORST IS OVER? Typhoon Man-yi drenched swaths of the Philippines over the weekend, swelling the Cagayan river and tributaries, and forcing the release of water from Magat Dam. The Cagayan broke its banks, spilling water over already sodden farmland and communities, affecting tens of thousands of people. An aerial view shows flooding from a river overflow caused by heavy rains and induced by Typhoon Man-yi in Tuguegarao City, Philippines, on Monday. Man-yi dumped heavy rain, smashed flimsy buildings, knocked out power and claimed at least eight lives.

“The people of Taiwan and Hong Kong share a common pursuit of freedom and democracy,” she said. The Hong Kong government should protect its people’s rights, freedom of speech and the right to an unbiased judiciary process, it said. The Democratic Progressive Party also condemned the rulings, saying that the full-on persecution of Hong Kong’s democracy supporters highlights the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian nature. Hong Kong Outlanders, a Hong Kong support group in Taiwan, panned the ruling as illogical and symbolized the death of the concepts of the rule of law and an independent judiciary in Hong Kong. The group urged the Taiwanese government to continue to support Hong Kong protesters and provide them with channels to conditionally seek asylum.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer works on board a UK government plane as he travels to a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday. No British prime minister has met Xi since then-British prime minister Theresa May visited Beijing in 2018 in the midst of a trade push during Brexit negotiations, although her successor, former British prime minister Boris Johnson, spoke to the Chinese president during the pandemic. Then-British prime minister Rishi Sunak attempted to renew relations at the G20 summit in 2022 where a bilateral was planned, but cancelled due to Ukraine developments. However, Conservative leaders have toyed with designating China a threat to British security — stronger language than the US had used. Reeves, who is understood to be taking a leading role in pursuing new economic opportunities with China, is to head to Beijing in January.

Nomura expects Fed to pause rate cutReutersThe US Federal Reserve is no longer expected to cut interest rates at its policy meeting next month, Nomura Holdings Inc said, making it the first global brokerage to signal a pause in the US central bank’s rate-cutting cycle in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win. Nomura now expects the Fed to deliver only two 25-basis-point rate reductions at its March and June meetings next year, leaving the brokerage’s Fed funds rate projection unchanged at 4.125 percent throughout the year. It has cut rates by 75 basis points this year. This follows the Fed’s increasing hesitancy to cut rates as a major political shift is under way after Trump’s presidential victory. Traders now see a 34.7 percent chance of the central bank pausing rate cuts next month, according to CME Group Inc’s FedWatch Tool.

A messier Middle East awaits Trump’s second administrationThe Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term have so far survived the war in Gaza, but keeping his Arab and Israeli friends happy will be challengingBy Marc Champion / Bloomberg OpinionIt did not take long. For many Israelis, not just Ben Gvir, they have fond memories of Trump’s first term. Illustration: YushaEven so, it would be foolish to say we know exactly what Trump would do over the next four years. That is especially true in the Middle East, where popular fury over the plight of Palestinians in Gaza has created genuine constraints on Arab leaders. Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

Ko leave as TPP chair extendedBy Lin Che-yuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) today said it would not appoint an interim chairperson, after it extended Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) leave for another three months as he remains under investigation for alleged corruption. Taiwan People’s Party central committee members hold a news conference in Taipei today. The TPP today held a central committee meeting to discuss extending Ko’s leave of absence. Party spokeswoman Celina Wu (吳怡萱) told reporters after the meeting that all 14 committee members agreed to extend his leave until Feb. 28. In the meantime, party affairs would continue to be run by an emergency response team comprised of three party members, she added.

Boeing to cut 400 jobs as company strugglesAP, SEATTLEBoeing Co has delivered layoff notices to more than 400 members of its professional aerospace labor union, part of thousands of cuts planned as the company struggles to recover from financial and regulatory trouble as well as an eight-week strike by its machinists’ union. The Boeing Co logo is displayed on top of company offices near Los Angeles International Airport in El Segundo, California on Jan. 18. Photo: AFPBoeing announced last month that it planned to cut 10 percent of its workforce, about 17,000 jobs, in the coming months. Boeing chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg told employees the company must “reset its workforce levels to align with our financial reality.”The SPEEA said the cuts had affected 438 members. The union’s local chapter has 17,000 Boeing employees who are largely based in Washington, with some in Oregon, California and Utah.

In his first term as president, Trump brokered diplomatic detentes between Israel and several Arab states. In his second, he would encounter a region in which Israeli military successes have dramatically reset the balance of power. Illustration: YushaThe regional situation has improved markedly from a year ago, when Israel looked shockingly vulnerable and Iran and its proxies seemed ascendant. Trump would likely renew his “maximum pressure” campaign to starve Iran of resources. Trump would have to prove that the US would not simply abandon them when tensions spiral, as he did when Iran attacked Saudi Arabian oil facilities in 2019.