Suhua Highway project progressing
Suhua Highway project progressingBy Chen Chia-yi and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAA project to bolster the east coast Suhua Highway against natural disasters yesterday passed a preliminary environmental impact assessment, after a Ministry of Environment committee ordered more precautions to be added to protect woodlands and rivers. The project entails buttressing sections of the highway left out of a previous road improvement plan completed four years ago, Directorate-General of Highways Director Chen Wen-juei (陳文瑞) told the committee in Taipei. Construction equipment moves dirt along the Chongde section of the Suhua Highway in Hualien County in an undated photograph. It urged bureau planners to come up with solutions that would help preserve or increase biodiversity as part of the project. Strengthening the highway against natural disasters is crucial for increasing Taiwan’s resilience amid a worsening climate crisis, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 14, 2024 21:45 UTC
China targeting citizens abroad for political activism
China targeting citizens abroad for political activismAFP, LONDONChina is targeting citizens studying abroad for their political activism, rights group Amnesty International said yesterday, with some students reporting harassment of family members back home. China does not tolerate political dissent and has used sophisticated tech tools and intimidation to crack down on domestic protesters and activists. Moreover, Beijing’s curbs on political activism are increasingly expanding abroad in the form of “transnational repression,” Amnesty International said in a report, citing interviews with dozens of students in eight European and North American countries. Photo: ReutersOverseas students reported that family members in China received threats after they attended events abroad, including commemorations of the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, the group said. It has previously rejected claims that it targets citizens living abroad, insisting that it respects other countries’ sovereignty and that any policing operations are conducted in accordance with the law.
Source:Taipei Times
May 14, 2024 00:36 UTC
We can create more inclusive technology
However, technology should be based on human needs, regardless of whether the people it serves are familiar with the latest technology or not. Softbank’s solution for this family blends modern technology with traditional interfaces to cleverly “upgrade” the old couple’s home devices. In addition to Cloud VHS, Softbank also created a number of similar designs that combine modern technology with traditional interactive interfaces. We tend to view new and old technologies as polar opposites, believing that old devices should be discarded, ignoring that many in our society are unable to learn new technologies quickly. Through the concept of human-centered design, we can create more inclusive and universal technology products, so that everyone can benefit from them.
Source:Taipei Times
May 13, 2024 16:37 UTC
Panama’s new president inherits a success story gone wrong
Little did he know that by the time his term was about to end this year, all the pillars that made Panama the most successful Latin American economy of the past 30 years would be shaking. Despite doubling the region’s average GDP per capita this century and achieving the income levels of an Eastern European country, Panama remains embroiled in the same difficulties as its neighbors. The good news is that unlike some of his regional peers, Mulino is biased in favor of the private sector. Mulino needs to solve his Martinelli problem quickly, and rally the broad-based support necessary to put Panama back on the path to prosperity. Juan Pablo Spinetto is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin American business, economic affairs and politics.
Source:Taipei Times
May 13, 2024 16:37 UTC
Australia is making big investments in defense
Australia is making big investments in defenseBy Ray Song 宋磊Following China’s rapid rise in the past few years, its People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has already changed the face of the first island chain. These developments pose credible and realistic threats to countries strung along the first and second island chains. Additionally, plans to build nuclear submarines benefit Australia’s national defense industry development. Since Australia is a small-to-medium-sized country in the region, its national security needs are shaped by threats beyond its immediate environment. To improve national security, the Australian government and military are taking the initiative to invest heavily in their defense.
Source:Taipei Times
May 12, 2024 16:38 UTC
What explains the BJP’s rise?
What explains the BJP’s rise? Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — the world’s largest political party — is widely expected to win. India’s direct benefits program is by far the most tangible source of the BJP’s mass appeal. In the 2019 election, members who switched from rival parties to the BJP won 56.52 percent of the time, compared to 14.9 percent for those who switched to other parties. The BJP would need to guard against the pathologies of incumbency, lest it starts looking like Congress, once a great political party whose relevance is currently being questioned by many.
Source:Taipei Times
May 12, 2024 16:38 UTC
Thanks, tourists; views of Mount Fuji are now blocked
The government has been promoting the country to foreign visitors for years with immense success. Yet from increasingly unaffordable hotels to suitcase-clogged streets becoming nigh-unwalkable, the downsides are mounting for ordinary residents. Many of the country’s iconic experiences, from the Mount Fuji convenience store to shooting video at Shibuya’s “Scramble Crossing,” simply do not cost any money. The country needs to grapple with these problems before over-tourism replaces omotenashi. Japan needs fixes better than simply blocking everything off.
Source:Taipei Times
May 11, 2024 17:47 UTC
The PLA’s strategic force reorganization
The PLA’s strategic force reorganizationBy Antonio GraceffoOn April 19, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) decommissioned the Strategic Support Force (SSF), a unit that originated from the PLA Rocket Force in 2015. It will be replaced with three co-equal forces—the Aerospace Force, Cyberspace Force, and Information Support Force (ISF). The elimination of the SSF and the creation of the ISF are part of a broader military reorganization, resulting in the PLA’s new structure of four services — Army, Navy, Air Force and Rocket Force —supported by four forces directly under the supreme Central Military Commission (CMC): the existing Joint Logistics Support Force (JLSF), plus the three new forces — the Aerospace Force (ASF), Cyberspace Force (CSF) and Information Support Force (ISF). The decommissioning of the Strategic Support Force (SSF) suggests that China’s military leadership felt the SSF was not optimized for modern needs. Experts believe the ISF will closely collaborate with the Aerospace Force (ASF) and Cyberspace Force (CSF).
Source:Taipei Times
May 11, 2024 17:47 UTC
Air force conducts live-fire exercises before inauguration
Air force conducts live-fire exercises before inaugurationAFP, TAIPEITaiwan’s air force conducted live-fire training exercises deploying fighter jets, missiles and laser-guided bombs, the Military News Agency said yesterday, releasing footage of the drills 10 days before the inauguration of a new president China calls a “dangerous separatist.”The May 20 inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) would be closely watched globally. The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Military News Agency said yesterday that Taipei’s air force had conducted routine training exercises for its jet pilots “to enhance precision strike capabilities in aerial combat,” without specifying when. Footage released by the agency showed personnel loading the projectiles — which had “US Air Force” displayed on them — under the wings of the jets. A pilot then released the missiles from the fighter jet, and the video footage showed an explosion in the waters around Penghu. Thursday’s show of maritime force was “the fourth formation of Chinese coast guard ships sailing in Kinmen waters” in May, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 10, 2024 18:40 UTC
To stop climate change, use the power of price
To stop climate change, use the power of priceBy The Editorial Board / Bloomberg OpinionA barrel of oil fetches about US$80 on the global market. Another option is carbon trading, whereby governments impose emissions limits and let markets set the price. However, unifying those markets to achieve something close to a global price remains a distant prospect. The global weighted average price of carbon is about US$5 per tonne, less than one-10th the minimum estimated level required to keep climate change in check. For examle, experts at the IMF have proposed price floors that governments could establish using taxes, carbon trading or equivalent measures.
Source:Taipei Times
May 10, 2024 17:53 UTC
Operators of iQiyi guilty in 2nd trial
Operators of iQiyi guilty in 2nd trialStaff writer, with CNAThe High Court on Wednesday overturned the ruling of a lower court and found three Taiwanese guilty of helping Chinese over-the-top (OTT) service provider iQiyi illegally operate in Taiwan. The iQiYi Inc logo is pictured in a laptop in Beijing on Aug. 22 last year. The firm’s application to establish a subsidiary in Taiwan was rejected by the Investment Commission in 2016. Fan and Yang were each sentenced to five months in prison, with Chao given three months. Fan, a former political commentator, said that the case was politically motivated and that he was considering appealing the verdict.
Source:Taipei Times
May 09, 2024 21:38 UTC
The hollowing out of India’s democracy is aided by the West
The hollowing out of India’s democracy is aided by the WestBy lending credence to Bharatiya Janata Party hype, Western business leaders, politicians and media have become complicit in India’s democratic declineBy Pranab BardhanIndia’s ongoing parliamentary election, in which nearly 1 billion people could cast their votes over a six-week period, should represent an extraordinary exercise of democracy. After all, the leader who has presided over this process — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — remains wildly popular. These defections contribute to a decline in reported political corruption, but the actual extent of the problem is another story. By blocking investigations of questionable business deals involving BJP leaders, the government effectively grants those it favors a kind of “sovereign guarantee” of impunity. By lending credence to BJP hype, Western business leaders, politicians and media have become complicit in the hollowing out of India’s democracy.
Source:Taipei Times
May 09, 2024 18:25 UTC
EDITORIAL: Foreign labor a sellers’ market
EDITORIAL: Foreign labor a sellers’ marketOn Wednesday last week, US President Joe Biden called the immigration policies of Japan and India “xenophobic,” lumping them in with China and Russia. Tokyo’s policy on streamlining the introduction of foreign workers to increase the number of non-Japanese in the workforce would suggest that it is far from the truth that Japan “does not want” immigrants. In these countries, the debate has shifted from how to bolster the birthrate to how to attract more foreign workers. Instead of treating foreign workers as short-term solutions to a long-term problem, they need to look into ways to integrate them and recognize them as full, legitimate members of society. They need to be aware that it is increasingly a sellers’ market, and that there is a race on.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2024 21:47 UTC
Russians are coming to terms with Putin’s war in Ukraine
Russians are coming to terms with Putin’s war in UkrainePeople who feared the dangers of war when the invasion was launched now view being a soldier as just another jobBloombergRussians are learning to live with the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed in Ukraine. Platon Mamatov, 41, last month signed a contract to return to Ukraine after spending six months at the front last year. The Kremlin presented the predetermined election in which he faced no real competition as evidence that the public fully supports Putin’s showdown with the West. The impact on Russians’ living standards is “too small to radically change the public mood,” Snegovaya said. Support among ordinary Russians for peace talks tends to rise only when the army experiences battlefield reverses in Ukraine, Snegovaya said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2024 17:51 UTC
Israeli forces seize Gaza side of Rafah border crossing
Israeli forces seize Gaza side of Rafah border crossingAP, CAIROIsraeli tanks yesterday seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge. Displaced Palestinians flee Rafah with their belongings in the Gaza Strip yesterday following an evacuation order by the Israeli army. The Israeli 401st Brigade entered the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing early yesterday, the Israeli military said, taking “operational control” of it. The Rafah crossing with Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel are critical points of entry for food, medicine and other supplies keeping Gaza’s population of 2.3 million alive. Israeli authorities denied the UN humanitarian affairs office access to the Rafah crossing yesterday, its spokesman Jens Laerke said, warning that the disruption could break the fragile aid operation.
Source:Taipei Times
May 07, 2024 17:01 UTC