Xi’s consolidation of power at the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th National Congress and his policy pronouncements at the event indicate that the invasion threat is increasing, the article cites Wu as saying in Taipei on Friday last week. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu gestures during an interview with the Washington Post on Friday last week. “It might show that Xi Jinping does not trust the bureaucracy in making Taiwan policy, and he seems to have his own small circle in thinking about Taiwan,” Wu was quoted as saying. Xi would then be near the end of his third presidential term and he could desire to cement his historical legacy by invading Taiwan, Wu said. However, if Taiwan falls, China would be emboldened to make further advances, Wu added.

Death penalty cases and new lawBy MariaWilkinsonFor the first time since the Legislative Yuan passed the new Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) in 2019, the Judicial Yuan on Oct. 24 heard a case involving a death penalty inmate. The court chose only Huang Chun-chi’s (黃春棋) death penalty appeal out of the 38 death penalty cases that applied, along with a corruption case and an innocence case to represent the entirety of multiple claims. The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty submitted a brief to the Constitutional Court. According to the US Supreme Court’s “death is different” jurisprudence, the death penalty is “qualitatively different” from all other punishments, so there should be more robust safeguards to examine such cases. Maria Wilkinson is an English correspondent for the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty.

Elan Microelectronics shares plunge on weak guidance, contract penaltyBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterShares of Elan Microelectronics Corp (義隆電子) yesterday tumbled 4.22 percent after the chip designer gave a gloomy financial forecast for this quarter given weaker-than-expected demand for notebook computers and penalties for not exercising a contract signed with its chip supplier. As customer demand has weakened significantly, Elan said it opted not to honor a three-year chip supply agreement with a foundry service provider, making it the nation’s first chip designer to default on a chip supply contract. “Our orders from Chromebook makers are only half of that last year.”As customer demand dipped, Elan chose to default on the supply contract and book the full penalty this quarter, Yeh said. “All of our product lines have shown weak momentum in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter,” he said. Last quarter, Elan reported that net profit contracted 33 percent to NT$522 million from NT$784 million in the third quarter.

Prosecutors, III investigating Kao controversiesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterPublic prosecutors have initiated an investigation into allegations of wage fraud by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Hsinchu mayoral candidate Ann Kao (高虹安), while officials at the Institute for Information Industry (III) are looking to sue Kao for breach of trust over alleged illegal transfer of patents to benefit a private company. The latest allegations came from her rival for the Hsinchu mayoral post — Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Hsinchu mayoral candidate Lin Keng-jen (林耕仁). Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Ann Kao speaks to reporters in Hsinchu County in an undated photograph. Lin and other KMT members also accused Kao of illegally transferring two III patents to Servtech Co, a Taipei-based software company that Kao said she cofounded. In addition, III vice president Hsiao Po-jen (蕭博仁) yesterday said that the institute is looking to file a breach-of-trust lawsuit against Kao and is gathering evidence.

Top China PC maker posts earnings above estimatesBloombergLenovo Group Ltd’s (聯想) earnings climbed 6 percent after China’s top PC maker relied on cost reductions and new businesses to weather an unprecedented slump in global computing demand. Photo: ReutersLenovo and rivals Dell Technologies Inc and HP Inc are struggling with a global PC market that saw its steepest quarterly drop on record — the fourth straight decline in shipments. The effect on Lenovo’s sales is limited because such products are only a small part of the company’s business in China, Yang said. Lenovo last quarter lowered spending on research and development as well as advertising and promotions to support its profit margins. The company has been counting on growth from businesses beyond its core division — such as in servers, cloud computing and data storage — to help offset worsening PC sales.

Former Taipei deputy mayor Vivian Huang, on bike, announces her “healthy city” platform as part of her campaign for Taipei mayor at her office in Taipei’s Daan District yesterday. Photo: CNAImplied in the proposal would be that Huang and Hsinchu City Councilor Lin Ken-jeng (林耕仁), the KMT’s Hsinchu mayoral candidate, would not be given support by their own parties. Do you also agree that residents’ rights and interests can be politically exchanged so you can become mayor?” she asked. Jaw’s remark neglected people’s opinions and showed that he thought of them only as pawns, she wrote. KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who was campaigning with Lin in Hsinchu, said that it would be impossible for Huang to agree with Jaw’s proposal or for the KMT to make such a sacrifice.

PLA drills reveal shortcomings: reportIN THE DARK: Poor public communication left many people learning about the PLA military exercises online, which was rife with disinformation, a think tank report saidBy Aaron Tu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerChina’s military exercises around Taiwan earlier this year showed that intelligence and public affairs mechanisms need to be revised, a defense think tank said. Chinese jets participate in military exercises around Taiwan on Aug. 7. Photo: Xinhua news agency via APSince the exercises, PLA craft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait has “become routine,” erasing the informal dividing line that previously had generally been respected, it said. As opposed to the third Taiwan Strait crisis, the government “suffered unprecedented criticism” for its insufficient intelligence, the center said. The government should create an entirely new intelligence exchange mechanism with the US, which should include the exchange of personnel, as well as intelligence, the report said.

Credit Suisse is not for sale, Axel Lehmann saysBloombergAny bargain hunters hoping to snap up Credit Suisse Group AG now that the lender’s revamp has pushed its stock down yet again might find themselves getting short shrift. “We are going to thrive again, so we don’t have any takeover discussions,” Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong on Monday. The logo of Credit Suisse is pictured at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, on Oct. 4. Credit Suisse is also starting initial headcount reductions of 2,700 positions in the fourth quarter and would ultimately slash the workforce by about 17 percent, or approximately 9,000 roles. “I think the region really has inherent growth,” Lehmann said, adding that the firm monitors geopolitical tensions carefully.

ASE announces capital spending cutsSEASONAL DECLINE: The company expects that revenue for next year would be flat, with the semiconductor industry as a whole expected to experience a downturn ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest chip testing and packaging service provider, yesterday reported record-high net profits for last quarter, but also announced cuts to capital spending this year by about 10 percent as demand slows. Three months ago, ASE said that it would spend US$2 billion this year on new facilities and manufacturing equipment, with more than half the amount earmarked for chip packaging operations, but capital spending was yesterday lowered to US$1.8 billion. ASE yesterday attributed customers’ longer-than-expected inventory digestion to the capital spending cuts. The Kaohsiung-based company expects the customer inventory correction period to stretch into theBy Lisa Wang

Consider US, Japan absentee voting solutions: TPPLOCAL ELECTIONS: Japan created exclusive voting stations for COVID-19 cases, and South Korea allotted special voting hours for their polls, the TPP caucus saidBy Huang Ching-hsuan and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus yesterday urged the Central Election Committee (CEC) to consult voting regulations in the US, Japan and South Korea to create a way for people infected with COVID-19 to vote in local elections on Nov. 26. A proposed amendment to the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to allow absentee voting was submitted to the legislature more than two years ago, but the CEC did not propose its own version, he added. However, no effort was made to pass the amendment or establish the absentee voting system in time for the local elections, Chiu said. The CEC said in October last year that absentee voting would not be allowed in the referendum held in December last year, as “regulations and complementary measures were not in place,” Jang added. As a “technology island” and a democratic model in East Asia, Taiwan should prioritize implementing an absentee voting system, he said.

Bridge collapse in India kills more than 130 peopleAFP, MORBI, IndiaAt least 137 people died in western India when a colonial-era pedestrian bridge packed with revelers collapsed into the river below, police said yesterday. Rescue personnel conduct search operations after a bridge across the Machhu River collapsed in Morbi, India, yesterday. “I saw the bridge collapse before my eyes,” said one witness who worked all night on rescue efforts, without giving his name. Authorities launched a rescue operation following the collapse, with boats and divers searching the river all night and yesterday. “The thoughts and prayers of the government & people of Taiwan go out to those affected by the tragic bridge collapse in Gujarat.

Expect ill-fated ploys under Xi’s authorityBy HoonTing 雲程Predictions are always tricky, especially when they involve the actions of individuals. However, if there were a reshuffle of up to four members, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) would have a tighter grip on power than before, Chen said. Dictators are known to be arbitrary and volatile, and should not be expected to behave any other way. By the end of a fourth term, Xi would be an advanced age, but not older than many other dictators through history. If the original rule is overturned by force, the rule-breaker has to watch out for potential threats.

Mask mandate to be lifted in phases: CECCPROTECTION: Daily cases have been declining, albeit at a slow pace, and could fall below 10,000 by December, which could lead to an easing of mask requirements The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that the mask mandate would be lifted in phases, as it predicted that daily case counts could fall below 10,000 by December. Case numbers have begun falling, but the pace of decline is slow, CECC head Victor Wang (王必勝) told a regular news conference. If the trend continues, daily cases could drop below 10,000 by December, he added. Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) has said that once cases fall below that number, COVID-19 would be considered “like the flu.” Asked whether the CECC would downgrade or reclassify COVID-19 as a non-notifiable disease afterBy Yang Yuan-ting and William Hetherington

Number of SMEs at new high last year: ministryStaff writer, with CNAThe number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan hit a new high last year, up 3.03 percent to 1.596 million from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a white paper on Friday. SMEs are defined as companies with paid-in capital of no more than NT$100 million (US$3.1 million) or fewer than 200 regular employees. The companies accounted for 98.92 percent of Taiwan’s total 1.613 million enterprises last year, the ministry said. About 80 percent of SMEs were in the service sector, with 46.18 percent in the wholesale or retail businesses, the white paper said. The number of SMEs owned by women was 586,304, or 37.16 percent of the total, it said.

Oceans require political attentionBy Tommy Chung 鍾孟勳The marine ecosystem is looking over the abyss. However, to recover our ocean’s biodiversity, local governments are essential. Since last year, Greenpeace has advocated for the passage of an ocean conservation bill with 10 demands. More than 280 stores and thousands of people have also responded to its call for the ocean conservation bill. Local governments and candidates should highlight ocean conservation in their political agendas.