Beware of Chinese distortions: ministry
Beware of Chinese distortions: ministryBy Yang Cheng-yu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that Taiwanese should be wary of Chinese cognitive warfare tactics. The ministry issued the remarks following US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s call with Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) on Wednesday. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense’s statement regarding the conversation distorted the US’ stance on the Taiwan Strait issue in an attempt to mislead Taiwanese, the ministry said. Photo: ReutersThe statement attempts to undermine Taiwanese confidence and US relations by means of cognitive warfare tactics, it added. “The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign, independent country that does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, nor will the Taiwanese people bow to Beijing’s threat of force,” the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 22, 2022 03:58 UTC
Wimbledon bans Russian, Belarusian players due to war
Wimbledon bans Russian, Belarusian players due to warAFP, LONDONWimbledon has banned Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s tournament in response to the invasion of Ukraine, but ATP and WTA organizers on Wednesday branded the move “unfair” and “very disappointing.”The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which runs Wimbledon, said it was acting to “limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible.”Russian men’s world No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka — a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year — are the leading players affected by the ban. Photo: AFP“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players,” the club said in a statement. ATP and WTA bosses said that the Wimbledon ban is discriminatory and sets a damaging precedent. “The players, the tennis players, the athletes have nothing to do with it [war].
Source:Taipei Times
April 22, 2022 00:47 UTC
Pelosi devoted to supporting Taiwan
Pelosi devoted to supporting TaiwanBy Stanley Kao 高碩泰To commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and to show Washington’s staunch support for Taiwan, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had planned to visit Taiwan on April 10, but she postponed her trip to Asia after testing positive for COVID-19. If Pelosi can still visit upon her recovery, Taiwanese would no doubt be charmed by her avid support for the nation after meeting this “feisty grandma” firsthand. While transiting through the US, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has spoken with Pelosi by telephone a number of times. When Tsai was re-elected in 2020, Pelosi took the opportunity to issue a statement congratulating Tsai on behalf of the US Congress. Confronted with the changing tides of international relations, Taiwan’s door is always open for Pelosi.
Source:Taipei Times
April 22, 2022 00:08 UTC
Export orders beat forecast, rise 16.2%
The figure beat the ministry’s estimate of US$168.9 billion to US$170.4 billion, indicating milder seasonal weakness. Photo: CNAThat was evident in continued growth in export orders from China, including Hong Kong, which rose 11.4 percent annually to US$43.76 billion, the ministry said. It expects export orders to slide 9.1 to 11.5 percent on a monthly basis to between US$55.5 billion and US$57 billion this month. “We are conservative about export orders estimates, due to rising uncertainty. During the first three months of this year, orders for electronics products — primarily semiconductors — surged 25 percent annually to US$57.77 billion, making the segment the biggest contributor to export orders, ministry data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
April 21, 2022 04:11 UTC
CIER upgrades yearly GDP forecast to 3.96 percent
CIER upgrades yearly GDP forecast to 3.96 percentBALANCED GROWTH: The institute said achieving 4 percent GDP growth this year was difficult, but not impossible, due to monetary tightening and rising inflationBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year to 3.96 percent, saying that achieving 4 percent growth would be difficult amid worsening inflation, tight monetary policies and geopolitical tensions. Photo: CNAThe CIER’s latest forecast, which it based on strong growth in exports and private investment, also put the institute at odds with the IMF, which on Tuesday cut its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth by 0.1 percentage points to 3.2 percent. However, uncertainty persists due to the Russia-Ukraine war, worsening inflation, faster interest rate hikes globally and spreading lockdowns in China, which accounts for about 40 percent of Taiwan’s exports. Intensifying downside risks make GDP growth of 4 percent increasingly difficult, although not impossible, depending on how unfavorable factors turn out, the academic said. Taiwan’s exports and imports might expand 17.25 percent and 17.42 percent annually this year, softening from 29.34 percent and 33.32 percent last year respectively, CIER said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 21, 2022 04:11 UTC
Transport options for infected eased
They are Taipei, New Taipei City, Kaohsiung, Keelung and Taoyuan, as well as Changhua, Chiayi, Hualien, Lienchiang and Yilan counties, he said. A borough office worker in Kaohsiung’s Cianjin District delivers a COVID-19 care kit to a person in home quarantine yesterday. In urgent cases, people who cannot contact the health department first would not be fined, he said. Asked to elaborate on the warning signs of an “emergency case,” Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that at-home care guidelines for cases were revised on Tuesday. As a specialists’ meeting was being held at the center yesterday to discuss topics including warning signs in children, the meeting’s final recommendations would also be added to the guidelines, Lo said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 20, 2022 16:54 UTC
New Indian ‘sex start-ups’ challenge old taboo
New Indian ‘sex start-ups’ challenge old tabooDespite its heritage as the land of the Kama Sutra, talking about sex is often taboo in India, but a generational shift in attitudes to intimacy is proving fertile ground for start-ups helping to spice up the bedroomAFP, MUMBAIThe couple behind a new start-up using adult toys and cheeky adverts to challenge long-held taboos say they want to take the “shame, guilt and fear” out of sex in India. Investors too are betting on this untapped market in the vast country of 1.4 billion: India’s nascent sex toys sector was valued at US$91 million by TechSci Research in 2020, and predicted to grow 16 percent annually. Benefiting from capital pouring into Indian tech start-ups during the pandemic, the firm received seed funding from venture capitalist firms. “This is a situation that’s fundamentally broken,” she said, adding that Indian women often face a culture of enforced silence around sex. Requesting anonymity, one 32-year-old professional, says of the shift in attitudes: “It’s exciting that this is finally happening in India.
Source:Taipei Times
April 20, 2022 16:51 UTC
Foundation to bring healthcare to policy countries
Foundation to bring healthcare to policy countriesBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff writer, with CNAA group of medical organizations yesterday inaugurated Medical Excellence Taiwan (MET), a foundation that aims to bring healthcare to countries included in the government’s New Southbound Policy. Funded by 12 medical institutions, three associations and four companies, MET was created to promote Taiwan’s medical services on the global stage. MEDICAL SERVICESTaiwan should continue to improve its medical services and expand capacity, and deepen ties with other nations through medical services to help the industry expand into policy countries, Lai said. Taiwan’s medical institutions should take into consideration their goals, available talent pool and regulations as they develop their operations in policy countries, Lai said. NURTURING TALENTThe institutions also need to devise plans to nurture local medical talent in policy countries, using Taiwan’s medical education resources, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
April 19, 2022 21:59 UTC
US’ McCarthy urges faster arms delivery to Taiwan
US’ McCarthy urges faster arms delivery to TaiwanBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writerUS House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Sunday called for speedier delivery of weapons to Taiwan, saying that the invasion of Ukraine should serve as a “lesson” to Washington when responding to cross-strait tensions. US House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters at the US Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: APMcCarthy then urged the White House to avoid making the same mistake in the Taiwan Strait. “What we need to do is learn from here ... but also look to the future of what China is doing,” he said. “Taiwan has been waiting more than a year for weapons they’ve already purchased to defend themselves.”“Let democracies defend themselves,” he added.
Source:Taipei Times
April 19, 2022 13:15 UTC
FlickPlay and The Sandbox take step toward metaverse
FlickPlay and The Sandbox take step toward metaverseReutersGaming companies FlickPlay and The Sandbox yesterday announced a new partnership that would allow players to use a blockchain asset on both platforms, representing a key step in the building of the metaverse. The metaverse involves people moving freely between virtual worlds on different platforms, and taking their virtual clothing and other belongings with them, a concept called interoperability. Virtual land plots on The Sandbox, a gaming platform that allows users to build a virtual world using non-fungible tokens, are pictured on March 25. The integration is notable because it might be the first to bridge an NFT in the virtual world with usage linked to the physical world, The Sandbox cofounder Sebastien Borget said. The partnership with FlickPlay would help “create a more immersive experience that extends into the metaverse and The Sandbox,” Borget said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 19, 2022 02:33 UTC
‘Big investors’ fall for second quarter
‘Big investors’ fall for second quarterBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe number of so-called “big investors” — those trading NT$500 million (US$17.13 million) or more in a single quarter — fell for a second consecutive quarter to 2,799 last quarter, the lowest number in the past five quarters, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Only 2,401 big investors were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020. The decline in big investors correlated with a 2.8 percent decline on the TAIEX. Photo: CNAThe number of “mid-sized investors” — those trading NT$100 million to NT$500 million in shares in a single quarter — plummeted 28 percent from a quarter earlier to 21,926 last quarter, also the lowest in the past five quarters, it showed. Local individual investors accounted for 61.5 percent of the total turnover last quarter, down from 65 percent a quarter earlier, while foreign institutional investors made up 28.5 percent, up from 26 percent, the data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
April 19, 2022 02:33 UTC
Chinese venture aims to skirt US sanctions: expert
Chinese venture aims to skirt US sanctions: expertCONCERTED EFFORT: A planned venture fund will likely serve as a platform to enhance competition with and acquire technology from the US, an expert saidStaff writer, with CNAA plan by a group of Chinese military and business institutions to invest US$471 million to set up a venture capital fund aims to secure high-end military technology by circumventing US sanctions, a defense expert said on Friday. It is an important supplier of war simulation and pilot training systems to the Chinese military, Yang said. China Poly is among 102 state-owned enterprises under the supervision of the Chinese Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Participants in the planned venture fund have close ties with Chinese authorities, he said, adding that China Poly is one of its largest controlling institutions. Poly Technologies (保利科技有限公司), a subsidiary of China Poly, is the largest state-owned supplier of military equipment, missile technologies and drones to the Chinese military, Yang said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 18, 2022 03:57 UTC
US troops should be based in Taiwan, Bolton says
US troops should be based in Taiwan, Bolton saysBy Yang Cheng-yu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerFormer US national security adviser John Bolton on Saturday called for US troops to be stationed in Taiwan, harkening back to the allies’ arrangement prior to 1979. Given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Bolton called for Taiwan to be protected through political and military deterrence. Former US national security advisor John Bolton delivers a speech over videolink during the Global Taiwan National Affairs Symposium forum on Saturday. Photo: screen grab from the InternetIt could also mean stationing troops in Taiwan as the US did before formal diplomatic relations were severed in 1979, a move Bolton said would benefit both sides. Bolton, who served from 2018 to 2019 under former US president Donald Trump, made the comments in a prerecorded address to the Global Taiwan National Affairs Symposium organized by Taiwanese independence groups.
Source:Taipei Times
April 18, 2022 03:53 UTC
Russian ultimatum to forces in Mariupol expires
Russian ultimatum to forces in Mariupol expiresAFP, KYIVA Russian ultimatum for the last remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender expired yesterday, with Moscow poised for a major strategic victory in the southeastern port city. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russian forces to allow evacuations from Mariupol, which Moscow’s forces claim to have brought under their control, although Ukrainian fighters remain holed up in the city’s fortress-like steelworks. “Once again, we demand the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians, especially women and children, from Mariupol,” Vereshchuk wrote. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine’s unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24. With fighting raging in the east, Vereshchuk said that humanitarian corridors allowing civilians to flee would not open yesterday after failing to agree to terms with Russian forces.
Source:Taipei Times
April 17, 2022 20:29 UTC
Ukrainian scholarship students arriving in Taiwan
The “Taiwan Scholarships for Ukrainian Students and Scholars” were designed to help Ukrainian students and researchers come to Taiwan for an internship or a short-term visit, the academy said, adding that it covers a round-trip flight, accommodation and an allowance. Separately yesterday, Tunghai University in central Taiwan said that it would accommodate 18 Ukrainian students to show its support for the country amid Russia’s invasion. The university said it had originally planned to support 10 Ukrainian students to study and live in Taiwan for four years, using a NT$16 million donation that it had received from a local foundation. The other students should receive Mandarin training before enrolling in departments such as foreign languages, finance and business administration, it added. The 18 students are in Warsaw and could arrive in Taiwan by the end of this month, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 17, 2022 20:29 UTC