Ratan Tata’s vision should still be India’sBy Mihir Sharma / Bloomberg OpinionIn India, the Tata name is ubiquitous. Ratan Tata’s own instincts seemed to have nudged him in a different direction. The week that Ratan Tata passed is also the first week in centuries that no steel is being poured in the UK. Whatever his faults, Ratan Tata always benchmarked himself and his group’s products against the world’s best. The country might not have lived up to that promise yet, but, like Ratan Tata, it should not stop believing.
Source:Taipei Times
October 11, 2024 18:22 UTC
Gunmen kill 20 people in Pakistan’s Balochistan‘DESTABILIZERS’: The province’s chief minister said ‘terrorists once again targeted poor laborers’ and added that ‘the killing of the innocent would be avenged’AP, QUETTA, PakistanGunmen killed 20 miners and wounded another seven in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said yesterday, drawing condemnation from authorities as a search was launched for the attackers. The attack in Balochistan Province came days ahead of a major security summit in the capital. A man is treated yesterday at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, following an attack in Balochistan Province a day earlier. Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister in Balochistan, said that “terrorists have once again targeted poor laborers.”The attackers were cruel and had an agenda to destabilize Pakistan, he said. They accuse the federal government in Islamabad of unfairly exploiting oil and mineral-rich Balochistan.
Source:Taipei Times
October 11, 2024 18:22 UTC
Modi’s surprise poll win could give rivals pauseFour months after a national election setback, Indian prime minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party sees recovery in Haryana state pollBy Andy Mukherjee / Bloomberg OpinionBarely four months after returning to power with a reduced parliamentary majority, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government looks tired and shaky. Although more important regional polls lie ahead, the Haryana results would give pause to Modi’s rivals inside the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as his political opponents outside. They are also penciling in a less-than-even chance for the BJP to win Jharkhand, a mineral-rich state in the east. “Becoming prime minister is not my ambition,” Gadkari is reported to have said. If anything, the prime minister might feel less pressure to give a better deal to farmers, soldiers, women or young people.
Source:Taipei Times
October 10, 2024 17:39 UTC
Earth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance, experts sayRecord emissions, temperatures and population mean more scientists are looking into the possibility of societal collapse, report saysBy Damian Carrington / The GuardianMany of Earth’s “vital signs” have hit record extremes, indicating that “the future of humanity hangs in the balance,” a group of the world’s most senior climate experts have said. “Climate change has already displaced millions of people, with the potential to displace hundreds of millions or even billions. That would likely lead to greater geopolitical instability, possibly even partial societal collapse,” he said. “Climate change is a glaring symptom of a deeper systemic issue: Ecological overshoot, [which] is an inherently unstable state that cannot persist indefinitely. Even in the absence of global collapse, climate change could cause many millions of additional deaths by 2050.
Source:Taipei Times
October 10, 2024 17:38 UTC
Peace treaty dangerous: legislatorBy Fang Wei-li and Lery Hiciano / Staff Reporter, and Staff WriterSigning a cross-strait “peace agreement” would be the most dangerous outcome, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) said on Friday in reaction to a think tank report on the potential economic and cyberwarfare tactics China might use on Taiwan. Photo: ReutersThe most dangerous outcome would be China forcing Taiwan into signing a “peace treaty” under duress, which would turn the invasion of the nation into a domestic issue rather than an international act of war, he said. Some lawmakers have promoted the possibility of a peace agreement, which plays into China’s plans and poses a significant threat to Taiwan, he added. China’s cyberattacks against Taiwan have increased dramatically since 2016, with recent reports saying that Beijing has been working with Russian hackers, Shen said. Taiwan should analyze and examine every small attack to prevent further exploits and fix vulnerabilities, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2024 07:44 UTC
Brahma Chellaney On Taiwan: Taiwan needs concrete diplomatic support from foreign friendsAs China steps up a campaign to diplomatically isolate and squeeze Taiwan, it has become more imperative than ever that Taipei play a greater role internationally with the support of the democratic world. To help safeguard its autonomous status, Taiwan needs to go beyond bolstering its defenses with weapons like anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles. But are Taiwan’s foreign friends willing to translate their rhetoric into action by helping Taipei carve out more international space for itself? Beating back China’s effort to turn Taiwan into an international pariah demands sustained external support for Taipei. China has already poached a number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, including in Central America where Taipei had strong relationships.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2024 21:47 UTC
Meta unveils AI video generatorAFP, SAN FRANCISCOMeta Platforms Inc on Friday provided a look at a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model it is working on that lets people create short videos, complete with audio, from text prompts and photos. The tech titan touted “Meta Movie Gen” as a “breakthrough” when it comes to using an AI engine to produce video and audio. Meta said it would seek feedback from filmmakers and creators as it eases toward making the video-generating AI engine publicly available. DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc’s Google, also has a video generation tool, called Veo, which was unveiled earlier this year. However, the rise of AI tools for creating realistic videos has prompted worries about “deepfakes” that pirate people’s likenesses.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2024 21:44 UTC
Supreme Court upholds life sentence for man who was removed from death rowBy Wen Yu-te and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe Supreme Court in a retrial on Friday upheld the life sentence handed to convicted murderer Liu Chih-ming (劉志明), formally removing him from death row, where he has been for the better part of the past decade. Liu’s case is the first time the court commuted a death sentence to a life term, after the Constitutional Court on Sept. 20 found the death penalty constitutional, but said it should be limited to special and exceptional circumstances. The Supreme Court in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. In an appeal, the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court upheld the death penalty for Liu. The Supreme Court in its ruling then upheld the life sentence handed to Liu in the fourth retrial, which is the final verdict.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2024 03:44 UTC
The dangers of ‘Zero Day’ rhetoricBy Chen Chi-nung 陳啟濃A Chinese invasion of Taiwan and the internal contradictions it could trigger are depicted in a 17-minute-long trailer of Zero Day, an upcoming Taiwanese television series. The story concept appears to resonate with people because it reveals the real situation in Taiwan and signs of division. The greatest value of the drama would be to raise the sense of crisis among Taiwanese and unveil the CCP’s use of infiltration tactics. Lacking a sense of crisis puts a country in a situation where it might defeat itself. Describing the show as war-provoking gives the CCP cover for its ambition to wage war on Taiwan and portrays the government as a troublemaker.
Source:Taipei Times
August 09, 2024 21:45 UTC
Power-grab amendments must goBy Huang Di-ying 黃帝穎During a hearing at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) were left flummoxed, despite their credentials. The KMT and the TPP cannot rationally discuss the “principle of separation of powers” as delineated in the court’s interpretations No. 585, 633 and 729, as well as the principle of legal clarity, comparative law and proper legal procedures. The court reviewed the case, thoroughly exposing the unconstitutionality of the bill, which was an attempt to grab more power. Huang Di-ying is a lawyer and policy committee member in the Taiwan Nation Alliance.
Source:Taipei Times
August 09, 2024 17:04 UTC
Infineon opens plant in MalaysiaBloombergMalaysia is gaining more heft in the global supply chain as Infineon Technologies AG opens a major semiconductor manufacturing complex in the country, the Southeast Asian nation’s prime minister said. Employees work inside the Infineon Technologies AG complex in Kulim, Malaysia, on Wednesday. The new plant is to focus on making power semiconductors that can help with decarbonization in the automotive, industrial and data center fields. It is expected to eventually create a total of 4,000 jobs, Infineon said. Malaysia has in past years emerged as a global hub for packaging and assembling.
Source:Taipei Times
August 09, 2024 03:43 UTC
In 1976 they rejected an offer from the IOC to compete as Team “Taiwan” instead of “Republic of China”. Today, “Team Taiwan” would more accurately represent the population, which increasingly identifies as primarily Taiwanese, but it is no longer an option. Photo: ReutersNow, Taiwan is one of just three teams whose flag is banned at the Olympics. Taiwan and Chinese Taipei are still all Taiwan,” said Ivy Shieh, a Taiwanese fan also watching the match. “When facing the Chinese team, the IOC will treat Taiwan very harshly,” Wu told Taiwan media.
Source:Taipei Times
August 08, 2024 23:12 UTC
Nothing wrong with ‘Taiwanese’By Lau Seng-hian 劉承賢Aurelijus Vijunas’ recent opinion article “An accurate term for ‘Taiwanese’” (Aug. 3, page 8) argues that ‘Taiwanese’ (the common name for Hoklo) is not a suitable name for the Southern Min variety spoken in Taiwan. While Taiwanese is a Southern Min variety, many languages are named independently of their typological classification. Hakka and indigenous languages are undeniably important, but Taiwanese serves as the representative language of Taiwanese culture, arts, history and place names. Language is a key to culture, and if I truly wanted to become Taiwanese, learning Taiwanese should have been important.”As Pape observed, Taiwanese is key to understanding Taiwan’s culture. In contrast, Mandarin was imposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and is not inherently connected to Taiwanese identity.
Source:Taipei Times
August 07, 2024 21:47 UTC
How China views the US presidential electionThe most likely scenario is a period of tension in which China’s leadership and a new administration in Washington weigh each other’s strengths and weaknessesBy Ian Bremmer / NEW YORKHow will the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) react to the highly unpredictable election in the US in November? Their only disagreement, Chinese leaders believe, is about which economic and political weapons to use to contain China, and how and when to use them. However, this is not to suggest that China views the two parties as effectively the same. Alternatively, they could appeal to various US allies that remain dependent on good economic relations with China. The bigger risk, then, is that China’s leaders conclude that the limited engagement of the past year has not produced good results, and that the next hostile US president would always be just one election away.
Source:Taipei Times
August 07, 2024 18:34 UTC
Taipei rated most affordable Asian destinationBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterCheaper hotel rates and delicious street food made Taipei the most affordable city in Asia to visit in the second half of this year, a travel trend analysis conducted by Leisure and Travel magazine and the Web site Kayak.com showed. Taipei and nine other Asian cities were selected as affordable travel destinations based on “average round-trip economy airfare” and “the average rate of a one-night stay in a standard double hotel room,” they said. The results of their analysis, published on Wednesday last week, showed that the average cost of a round-trip flight and one night at a hotel in Taipei was US$1,141. Taipei was followed by Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta, with a round-trip flight and one-night stay costing US$1,452 and US$1,478 respectively, the analysis showed. The other affordable travel destinations in Asia were New Delhi, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Osaka.
Source:Taipei Times
August 07, 2024 15:09 UTC