Bafang Yunji backtracks on denial of tainted chili powder
Bafang Yunji backtracks on denial of tainted chili powderStaff writerThe Kaohsiung Department of Health on Tuesday said it ordered the dumpling chain Bafang Yunji (八方雲集) to recall all chili powder, after it was found to be a recipient of spices potentially tainted with the carcinogenic dye Sudan III. As explanation, it said it uses coarse chili powder, which is different from the fine chili powder tested by the department. Chili powder with the label “not up to standard” is pictured on Tuesday. Afterward, Bafang Yunji in a statement said it would cooperate with the investigation and stop using any ingredients purchased from the importers. The chili powder it uses is all tested by SGS for traces of Sudan III and other banned chemicals before it is shipped to factories, the company added.
Source:Taipei Times
March 05, 2024 16:23 UTC
Four Filipinos injured in China, Philippine S China Sea standoff
Four Filipinos injured in China, Philippine S China Sea standoffAP, MANILAChinese and Philippine coast guard vessels yesterday collided in the disputed South China Sea and four Filipino crewmembers were injured in high-seas confrontations. The BRP Sindangan of the Philippine Coast Guard had minor structural damage from the collision that happened shortly after dawn. Over an hour later, another Chinese coast guard ship first blocked then collided with a supply boat the Philippine coast guard was escorting, the Philippine officials said. Photo: AFP / Philippine Coast GuardThe supply boat, crewed by Filipino navy personnel, was later hit by water cannon blasts from two Chinese coast guard ships. A Chinese coast guard spokesperson said a Philippine ship deliberately rammed a Chinese coast guard vessel, causing a minor scratch.
Source:Taipei Times
March 05, 2024 16:12 UTC
TSMC’s expansion win for Taiwan
TSMC’s expansion win for TaiwanBy Paul Lin 林保華Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) held an opening ceremony for its first chip manufacturing fab in Kumamoto, Japan. It is owned by a joint venture, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), of which TSMC is the controlling shareholder. A Japanese emergency, therefore, should also be considered a Taiwanese emergency. The decline of the semiconductor industry in Japan is a Japanese emergency, hence it is only natural that TSMC helps Japan reinvigorate its semiconductor manufacturing. In the late 1980s, Japan’s thriving semiconductor manufacturing sector was disrupted by US government policy.
Source:Taipei Times
March 04, 2024 21:48 UTC
Living in the Vaal Triangle: The most polluted place on Earth
Living in the Vaal Triangle: The most polluted place on EarthThe region of South Africa regularly registers the highest levels of harmful particulate emissions on the planetBy Antony Sguazzin / BloombergJust southeast of Johannesburg, in a South African region known as the Vaal Triangle, 1.7 million people are living in a crossfire of some of the most dangerous pollution on Earth. Illustration: YushaThe toxins are causing hundreds of premature deaths every year across the Vaal Triangle and respiratory disease for many of those still breathing. In the mid-2000s, it declared the area as the Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area, the first zone in which it would make a concentrated effort to lower air pollution. It slashed particulate emissions by 87 percent since 2007 by suppressing dust and replacing old coal-burning equipment, ArcelorMittal said. In an area of the world as polluted as the Vaal Triangle, it could be difficult to see any positive changes on the horizon.
Source:Taipei Times
March 04, 2024 16:44 UTC
Cairo hosts Gaza truce talks as aid crisis continues
Cairo hosts Gaza truce talks as aid crisis continuesAFP, GAZA STRIP, Palestinian TerritoriesEgypt yesterday hosted envoys for talks on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the latest diplomatic effort as Gaza officials reported more deadly bombardment in the nearly five-month-old war. A senior Hamas official said that a delegation from the Palestinian group would discuss with mediators a proposal for a six-week truce, after a US official said Israel had broadly accepted its terms. People inspect a building hit by an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday. The Hamas official said the group would demand “the entry of at least 400 to 500 trucks per day” carrying food, medicine and fuel as part of a truce deal. Israel had yet to confirm whether it would attend the Cairo talks.
Source:Taipei Times
March 04, 2024 03:34 UTC
Indian ambassador says he is optimistic after MOU
Indian ambassador says he is optimistic after MOUMIGRANT WORKERS: The de facto ambassador said India and Taiwan could combine to become a ‘trusted source’ for the supply of technological goods to democraciesBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterIndia Taipei Association Director-General Manharsinh Laxmanbhai Yadav expressed optimism regarding cooperation between Taiwan and India after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) introducing Indian migrant workers to Taiwan. The MOU “holds the potential to address Taiwan’s labor shortage” and contributes to the growth and sustainability of Taiwanese industries, Yadav said. India Taipei Association Director-General Manharsinh Laxmanbhai Yadav speaks at an event in Taipei on Jan. 22 celebrating India’s Republic Day on Jan. 26. Taiwan welcomes Indian students and engineers who come to Taiwan for higher education or training, Wu told NewsX. The events would also serve as platforms for Taiwanese to exchange with Indian communities in Taiwan, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
March 03, 2024 18:40 UTC
Xi’s crackdown on China’s financial sector fuels industry brain drain
Xi’s crackdown on China’s financial sector fuels industry brain drainVilified by Beijing over their lavish lifestyles, Chinese finance workers are rethinking their careersBloomberg NewsHer annual bonus was slashed by 60 percent and her salary was frozen. Xi’s economic slogan for pursuing “high-quality development” signaled a desire to avoid another bout of unsustainable debt-fueled growth, potentially squeezing profits at the financial sector. “You never know when authorities might come up with another campaign to regulate the finance industry, there’s no certainty,” Gracie said. “I don’t think I can get as well paid as before in the finance industry,” she said, also asking that her full name not be disclosed. “I’d like to think the finance industry is still of relevance and importance,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 03, 2024 17:50 UTC
Work together, do not incite hate
For Taiwan to prosper, parties should lay down their arms, rid themselves of political prejudice and actually work together. Under the regime of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and then-president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), Taiwan saw the world’s longest period of martial law. KMT legislator Fu Kun-chi(傅?萁) even picked a fight and said the KMT would obstruct Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominations. Moreover, as speaker, Han should act fairly and neutrally, playing an important role in fostering unity. Due to inexplicable hatred, some pan-blue ignoramuses irrationally hate pro-localization governments and refuse to communicate with them.
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2024 21:45 UTC
AI still far from replacing humans
AI still far from replacing humansBy Nigel P. Daly and Laurence Chen 陳家宏It is job-finding season in Taiwan and many are becoming concerned about how the advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) would impact the workforce. Yes, AI automates some repetitive tasks, but other tasks still need humans. Some would remain human-only, while some would need humans enhanced by AI. Many people would lose jobs not to AI, but to AI-enhanced humans who streamline the workforce and increase profitability. Only humans who painstakingly work toward wisdom and become expert craftsmen are able to create works that are of value to humans and are valued by humans.
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2024 03:43 UTC
The rise and fall of the Japanese economy
In 1995, following a sharp appreciation of the yen, Japan’s economy was about three-quarters the size of the US economy. Today, Japan’s GDP amounts to just 15.4 percent that of the US, and China’s GDP has been larger than Japan’s since 2010. Add to that yen depreciation from 2012 to 2014, and Japan’s GDP declined (in US dollar terms), before flattening out. The list of measures needed to revitalize the Japanese economy is as well-known as it is long. If the economy’s fall to number four is not enough to wake Japan up, it is soon to fall to number five.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2024 17:10 UTC
Mechanisms should ensure the tech wealth is shared
The overwhelming power of Big Tech companies calls for government intervention to ensure that the value they create, as well as the value they extract in monopoly rents, is distributed fairly among workers and consumers. To curb the market power of Big Tech firms and ensure that new technologies benefit everyone, governments must invest in developing digital public infrastructure. Moreover, the establishment of public digital infrastructure is crucial to implementing certain policy measures, such as Nobel laureate economist Paul Romer’s proposed tax on digital advertising. However, Big Tech firms have undermined this implicit agreement by exploiting various legal loopholes to minimize their tax burdens, compromising the quality of their services, and routinely violating copyright laws. The time has come to establish effective and necessary institutional mechanisms to ensure that potentially transformative technologies benefit everyone, not just a privileged few.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2024 17:10 UTC
Beijing’s policy changes dangerous
Beijing’s policy changes dangerousBy Gong Lin-dong 宮臨冬This is the Year of the Dragon. Xi’s ethno-nationalistic policy of “de-Westernization” has brought about changes such as banning foreign names and restricting foreign holidays and celebrations. These policy changes could lead to conflict between China and religious countries. Taiwan has also been affected by China’s cultural policies, especially the younger generation. China’s cultural policies have domestic and international effects.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2024 03:43 UTC
India Okays US$15 billion of milestone chip plant investments
India Okays US$15 billion of milestone chip plant investmentsStaff writer, with BloombergIndia’s government has approved US$15.2 billion worth of investments in semiconductor fabrication plants, including a Tata Group proposal to build the country’s first major chipmaking facility. Photo: Reuters“We will start construction of this plant within 100 days,” the minister said during the briefing, referring to Tata’s fab. The government has offered to shoulder half the cost of any approved projects, up to an initial ceiling of US$10 billion. The semiconductor fund has already helped US memory maker Micron Technology Inc establish a US$2.75 billion assembly facility in Gujarat. Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC, 力積電) yesterday confirmed that it would assist Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd to build India’s first 12-inch wafer fab in Dholera, Gujarat.
Source:Taipei Times
February 29, 2024 18:41 UTC
India’s EV revolution is driven from the bottom up
India’s EV revolution is driven from the bottom upTruck owners are intensely sensitive to the combined costs of purchase, refueling and maintenance — and manufacturers seem on the cusp of hitting their sweet spotBy David Fickling / Bloomberg OpinionLife moves pretty fast. E-rickshaws took a 54 percent share of India’s three-wheeler market last year, driven by zippy, longer-range models and running costs that are a fraction of petroleum-powered alternatives. Only about 1.4 percent of India’s gasoline and diesel is consumed by three-wheelers, but two-wheelers gulp down about 17 percent of the total. Trucks are normally seen as the hardest segment for electric vehicles (EV) to crack. When the EV revolution arrives in India, it would come from the bottom up.
Source:Taipei Times
February 29, 2024 16:56 UTC
Politicians are stoking a climate backlash that threatens green goals
On the campaign trail, Trump has minimized the effects of climate change, attacked electric vehicles and pledged to repeal Biden’s signature climate law. These are emotional things to people,” said Bas Eickhout, a Dutch member of the European Parliament with the European Green Party. EUUndoing current climate policy in the EU would be even harder than torpedoing the IRA. This is because the British public consistently says it cares about climate change and thinks the government is not doing enough to tackle it. That made him an outlier among his South American neighbors — Brazil, Chile and Colombia have all elected leftist leaders who have pledged strong action on climate change.
Source:Taipei Times
February 28, 2024 16:38 UTC