Earthquake effect
Minister to hit brakes on the Bilingual 2030 policyMEETING TARGETS: Due to the policy, local governments are in a rush to hire English teachers regardless of their qualifications, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao said Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is to hit the brakes on the Bilingual 2030 policy, but would keep it on the nation’s agenda, he said during an interview published yesterday. “These things take time,” he said. “We need to slow down.” Taiwanese enterprises are active globally and need people with professional-level proficiency in the English language, Cheng told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an exclusive interview. English-only universities are attractive to high-performing foreign students who can become part of the nation’s skilled workforce, he said. Cheng said that while president of National Sun Yat-sen University, he contributed toBy Rachel Lin and Jonathan Chin
Source:Taipei Times
June 05, 2024 17:15 UTC
Narendra Modi heading for victory in India election, but no landslide
Narendra Modi heading for victory in India election, but no landslideAFP, NEW DELHIIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his allies yesterday were heading for election victory, but the opposition said they had “punished” the ruling party to confound predictions and reduce their parliamentary majority. The main opposition Congress party was set to nearly double its parliamentary seats, in a remarkable turnaround largely driven by deals to field single candidates against the BJP’s electoral juggernaut. Supporters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi carry cutouts of his image as they celebrate the results of the general election in Varanasi, India, yesterday. Photo: AFP“Voters have punished the BJP,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told reporters. “BJP has failed to win a big majority on its own,” Congress lawmaker Rajeev Shukla told reporters.
Source:Taipei Times
June 04, 2024 18:41 UTC
Opposition’s amendments might not be too sound
Opposition’s amendments might not be too soundBy Hu Tien-tzu 胡天賜On Tuesday last week, the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of amendments aimed at updating Article 141 of the Criminal Code. Based on Constitutional Court rulings, the amended article is unconstitutional. According to Constitutional Court Judgement No. The overly broad scope for punishment raises concerns about the constitutionality of the amendments. The Legislative Yuan has the duty to proactively carry out investigations.
Source:Taipei Times
June 04, 2024 17:06 UTC
Taiwan’s Tang wins gold in Slovenia
Taiwan’s Tang wins gold in SloveniaEYE ON PARIS: Tang Chia-hung beat his personal record at the World Challenge Cup, with his coach saying the event was essentially training for the OlympicsStaff writer, with CNATaiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung won a gold medal in the horizontal bar at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Koper, Slovenia, on Sunday, scoring a personal best 15.400 points. Tang’s triumph extended his run of dominant performances in the lead-up to this summer’s Paris Olympics, for which he has already earned a spot. Taiwan’s Tang Chia-hung, right, and his coach Weng Shih-hang gesture after Tang won gold at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Koper, Slovenia, on Sunday. Aside from achieving a perfect landing that won him the gold, Tang challenged himself by performing a highly difficulty routine without the use of a mat, which meant no points were deducted for his routine. Tang was trailed by Croatia’s Tin Srbic who earned a silver medal with a score of 14.950, and Italy’s Carlo Macchini who won bronze with a score of 14.700.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2024 21:36 UTC
Indian PM Modi eyes election victory as his top opponent goes back behind bars
Indian PM Modi eyes election victory as his top opponent goes back behind barsAFP, NEW DELHIA top opponent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to keep fighting “dictatorship” before he returned to jail on Sunday, following elections widely expected to produce another landslide victory for the Hindu-nationalist leader. The chief minister of Delhi and a key leader in an alliance formed to compete against Modi, Kejriwal was detained in March over a long-running corruption probe. Photo: EPA-EFEHe was later released and allowed to campaign, but ordered to return to jail once voting ended. “When power becomes dictatorship, then jail becomes a responsibility,” said Kejriwal, who promised to continue “fighting” from behind bars. “I don’t know when I will return,” he told supporters in an emotional departure speech at his Aam Aadmi party headquarters.
Source:Taipei Times
June 03, 2024 17:29 UTC
EDITORIAL: Power grab disguised as ‘reform’
They would also criminalize “contempt of the legislature” by civil servants who make false statements during a hearing or questioning in the Legislative Yuan. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the bills are “unconstitutional” and an abusive overreach of legislative power, which might increase the risk of sensitive information leaks, infringe on the courts’ jurisdiction and harm individuals’ privacy rights. Many protesters also expressed concern that expanded legislative power would erode the Constitution, and benefit Beijing by hindering the government’s execution of policies and undermining President William Lai’s (賴清德) presidency. Ko said the TPP advocates for the division of three powers: the Legislative Yuan, Executive Yuan and Judicial Yuan. The public should continue to keep their eyes on the Legislative Yuan, especially on Fu and the KMT caucus, as their “victory” has seemingly encouraged and intensified their undisguised grab for power and could further harm the nation’s democracy.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2024 21:47 UTC
The problem with asking Google and AI for all the answers
The problem with asking Google and AI for all the answersIn an era of conspiracy theories and misinformation, it is even more vital that we humans have a firm grasp of basic factsBy CHRIS BRYANT / Bloomberg OpinionArtificial intelligence (AI) has persuaded a lot of folks that we need to radically overhaul education. Now that chatbots can speedily retrieve information and answer complex questions, why bother memorizing historical facts or quotations? There is a problem with these arguments: Humans require knowledge to think creatively. Outsourcing our memory and cognition to Google and AI risks making us dumber and more susceptible to misinformation — including errors made by AI. “There is a consensus in cognitive psychology that it takes knowledge to gain knowledge,” he wrote.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2024 16:57 UTC
Hindu holy city votes as India’s six-week election ends
Hindu holy city votes as India’s six-week election endsAFP, VARANASI, IndiaIndians yesterday flocked to the polls under scorching heat in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi as a marathon national election reached its final day, six weeks after voting first began. People line up outside a polling station during the seventh and final phase of voting in India’s general election in Varanasi yesterday. Photo: AFPIt is one of the final cities to vote in India’s grueling election and where support for Modi’s ever-closer alignment of religion and politics burns brightest. “I voted for growth and development of my country,” local resident Brijesh Taksali said outside a polling station. “Workshops here are closing down and the Modi government has been busy with the politics of temples and mosques,” the 44-year-old said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2024 03:31 UTC
India’s onion farmers cry foul at politicians’ price ploy
India’s onion farmers cry foul at politicians’ price ployFarmers dread elections when politicians implement policies to cut the price of the daily essential, appeasing consumers while leaving them in the lurchBy Bhuvan Bagga / AFP, NASHIK, IndiaAlmost every Indian meal requires an onion — one of the cooking essentials along with sugar and lentils that sweet-talking politicians use to curry favor with voters by lowering costs. The defeat was widely blamed on voters’ anger at high onion prices. Days before voting began in the onion belt of Nashik, Modi’s government lifted the export ban, but analysts called that a political ploy. Gulati said restrictions remained — including a minimum export price and 40 percent duty — and made exports unviable, leaving farmers teary-eyed. “People at the top fear that if onion prices rise, governments will fall,” said Jagannath Bhimaji Kute, 58, vice-president of a wholesale onion market in Nashik.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2024 02:02 UTC
Education needs an AI revolution
Education needs an AI revolutionBy Nigel P. DalyMore than a year and a half after ChatGPT’s release, the Ministry of Education has finally announced an initiative to overhaul Taiwan’s education system to accommodate artificial intelligence (AI), and develop AI literacy among teachers and students. AI literacy involves understanding the basic concepts of AI, such as how it works, its applications and the potential risks. However, in the context of education, moving from AI literacy to AI fluency would transform students from mere consumers of information into active participants in their learning process. My guess is that many teachers have no idea what an effective AI workflow is and how to develop AI fluency. Of course, if AI fluency becomes a major goal for Taiwan’s education, it would demand a revolution.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2024 03:48 UTC
National emergency call sought for India heatwave
National emergency call sought for India heatwaveAFP, NEW DELHIAn Indian court on Thursday urged the Indian government to declare a national emergency over the country’s ongoing heatwave, saying that hundreds of people have died during weeks of extreme weather. India is enduring a crushing heatwave with temperatures in several cities well above 45°C. An aerial photograph shows people waiting by a well in Shahapur District in India’s Maharashtra state on Sunday. Photo: AFP“Due to extreme weather conditions in the form of [the] heatwave, hundreds of people have lost their lives this month,” the court said. Ruling on the heatwave and such events in the future, it also said India should begin declaring them “national calamities.”This would allow the mobilization of emergency relief in a similar manner to floods, cyclones and natural disasters.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2024 03:48 UTC
Alchip Technologies confident of 30% growth despite a decline in its shares
Alchip Technologies Ltd’s logo is pictured on the company’s Web site. Photo: screen grab from the Alchip Technologies Ltd’s Web siteThe stock price decline was, to some extent, buoyed by Amazon.com’s NT$535 million (US$16.5 million) equity investment in Alchip via a share subscription last month. Shen said the company would regain strong revenue growth in 2026, after customers start adopting its new 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer AI chips. Additionally, the technology barrier is getting higher, meaning fewer competitors are capable of developing chips using advanced 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer process technologies, Shen said. To support its growth, Alchip is expanding its workforce primarily outside of China, as customers are trying to avert risk from geopolitical tensions.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2024 17:14 UTC
Cho promises to pursue reconciliation
The Executive Yuan, as an apparatus born of the Constitution and bound to oversee law-based administration, must loyally uphold and protect the document, Cho said. Premier Cho Jung-tai delivers a report to the legislature in Taipei yesterday. He cited the announcement of the second edition of the government’s “Anti-fraud Strategy Guidelines” as an example of the government’s efforts to crack down on one such issue. In terms of national security, the Cabinet would follow the president’s “four pillars” plan for peace and prosperity, he said. The four pillars are: bolstering Taiwan’s military deterrence, equating economic security with national security, developing partnerships with the world’s democracies, and steady and principled cross-strait leadership.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2024 17:14 UTC
TPP wants to abolish Control Yuan: legislator
TPP wants to abolish Control Yuan: legislatorBy Huang Ching-hsuan, Hsieh Chun-lin and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerTaiwan People’s Party caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said the party caucus has already signed onto a constitutional amendment to abolish the Control Yuan, although the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was reluctant to support the idea. The sign at the entrance to the Control Yuan in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. KMT Culture and Communications Committee head Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) yesterday said in a statement after the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting that the Control Yuan, under the leadership of Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), had accomplished nothing. The Control Yuan respects legislators’ rights and powers, so long as such a motion is made through a constitutional amendment, as the Constitution establishes the Control Yuan’s powers, Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said. Lee opposed freezing or removing the Control Yuan’s budget, because such methods would only affect how the government is run.
Source:Taipei Times
May 30, 2024 20:12 UTC
Will Taiwan become Hong Kong?
Will Taiwan become Hong Kong? The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) subjugation of Hong Kong came about through four major stages. Fourth: The police became involved in maintaining security and Chinese military units stationed in Hong Kong joined in. In 2019, the anti-extradition movement was launched against China’s hoisted legislation to extradite anyone in Hong Kong to mainland China, with at least 1 million people taking to the streets on June 9 and 16. Perhaps the protest refrain “Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow Taiwan” is true.
Source:Taipei Times
May 30, 2024 17:34 UTC