US start-up to help Japan on AI chips
US start-up to help Japan on AI chipsBloombergThe Japanese government-backed research group developing semiconductors is to partner with US start-up Tenstorrent Inc on the design of its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chip. However, Rapidus would need customers for its facility and Keller’s team sees Japan working to ensure both supply and demand. “What Japan is doing is they recognize that you can’t just build a fab and hope,” Tenstorrent chief customer officer David Bennett said in an interview. In Japan, the company is to work on AI chip designs with the government research group, known as Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC). Last year, Kishida met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) to discuss AI regulation and infrastructure.
Source:Taipei Times
February 28, 2024 03:39 UTC
Nearly 40 nations to take part in smart city events
Nearly 40 nations to take part in smart city eventsCOOPERATION: The ICDF has inked an MOU to share Taiwan’s achievements in smart agriculture and talent cultivation with countries in the Asia-PacificBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterHundreds of government officials from 37 countries are to participate in next month’s Smart City Summit and Expo to exchange views on topics such as sustainable development and net zero emissions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. A promotional poster for the 2024 Smart City Summit and Expo is pictured yesterday. Photo: Screen grab from the Smart City Summit and Expo Web siteIn addition, nearly 900 industry representatives of 103 companies, associations or organizations from 32 countries are to take part in the events, she said. The participants are to learn about Taiwan’s experience in promoting smart city development and exchange views with the nation’s public and private sectors on diverse topics including green energy, sustainable development, smart transportation, medical care and education, she said. Taiwan’s technical mission in Paraguay held a Valentine’s Day sale in San Lorenzo from Feb. 9 to Feb. 16, which attracted more than 1,000 visitors, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2024 21:43 UTC
No need to halt death penalty debate
No need to halt death penalty debateBy Cui Jia-wei 崔家瑋Chuang Sheng-rong (莊勝榮), a lawyer and former National Assembly delegate, recently argued in an op-ed (“Court to hear death penalty arguments,” Feb. 24, page 8) that the Judicial Yuan, with the term of its current president about to expire, should not address the constitutionality of the death penalty. Regarding the death penalty, Chuang points out that Interpretation Nos. 194, 263 and 476 did not declare the death penalty unconstitutional. Chuang also mentions the wide range of issues involved in the death penalty debate, including public opinion, politics, law, religion, criminology and criminal policy. Although the death penalty issue is indeed complex, pushing discussion of it back would not lead to better outcomes.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2024 21:43 UTC
Disney, Reliance clinch India media merger pact
Disney, Reliance clinch India media merger pactBloombergWalt Disney Co and Reliance Industries Ltd have signed a binding pact to merge their media operations in India, people familiar with the matter said, as the US entertainment giant recasts its strategy amid intense competition in the world’s most-populous country. The media unit of Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and its affiliates are expected to own at least 61 percent in the merged entity, with Disney holding the rest, the people said. Disney and Reliance logos are seen in this illustration taken December 15, 2023. Disney owns a minority stake in broadcast service provider, Tata Play Ltd, which Reliance might consider acquiring, local news reports said. Disney has been grappling with challenges in India, such as retaining subscribers and securing coveted media assets, while Reliance has cornered a larger slice of the local media and entertainment businesses in recent years.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2024 18:43 UTC
India makes progress with US$21bn chip proposals
Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd is proposing a US$9 billion plant, while India’s Tata Group has put forward an US$8 billion chip fabrication unit, people familiar with the matter said. Although Tower’s sales are a fraction of giants Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), it makes components for large customers such as Broadcom Inc and serves fast-growing sectors like electric vehicles. The US$150 billion Tata group has previously said it plans to begin construction of a chip fabrication plant in Dholera this year. Tata operates India’s biggest smartphone component plant, constructed at a cost of more than US$700 million, in southern India. To qualify for state subsidies, any chip project would have to make detailed disclosures including whether it has binding agreements with a technology partner for production.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2024 18:43 UTC
Deterrents against Xi’s ambitions
The PLA Air Force is now dramatically more powerful than Taiwan’s, but still does not surpass the overall power of US forces in the region. Its air defense systems, while effective, could be improved, recent assessments showed. China’s military advancements, coupled with Taiwan’s steadfast desire to remain separate, mean that time is no longer the primary factor in China’s decision-making process. Nonetheless, the military deterrents remain intact, including the US nuclear arsenal, which consists of 5,550 warheads, significantly outnumbering China’s 350. Therefore, the question of whether China will invade now is less about objective deterrence and more about the rational analysis versus Xi’s personal ambitions.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2024 16:42 UTC
Brahma Chellaney on Taiwan: China’s self-serving historical tales
Brahma Chellaney on Taiwan: China’s self-serving historical talesWhen Beijing says “Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China” and calls this “an indisputable legal and historical fact,” it promotes a claim that has absolutely no basis in international law or history. But Taiwan has never been an integral part of China in history. China’s weak legal case was highlighted by the 2016 Hague ruling, when an international arbitral tribunal invalidated Chinese claims in the South China Sea. China’s “nine-dash line” encompassing much of the South China Sea exemplifies how it uses alleged history to pursue aggressive expansionism. This helps to rationalize its muscular foreign policy, which seeks to make real the legend that drives the CCP’s revisionist history — China’s centrality in the world.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2024 21:49 UTC
AI trying to predict your death is not as scary as it sounds
AI trying to predict your death is not as scary as it soundsBy F.D. The paper that spawned the fracas, in the journal Nature Computational Science, did involve using AI to predict death, but it was not very precise. Will doctors and hospital administrators put too much faith in the decisions or forecasts of AI because it is fast and sounds confident? Can the medical system use AI responsibly if people have unrealistic or magical ideas about what it can do? He is looking for a more coherent scientific understanding of the way algorithms can predict complex phenomena, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2024 18:49 UTC
EDITORIAL: New legislators show inexperience
EDITORIAL: New legislators show inexperienceNewly elected legislators reported to the Legislative Yuan on Feb. 1 and held their first official meeting on Tuesday, but its disoriented state has highlighted new legislators’ inexperience. The KMT caucus on Feb. 15 urged Han to hold consultations the next day regarding Chen. The food safety report on Friday was also disrupted by Han a few times, asking for “mutual respect among legislators and government officials” to share the 15-minute Q&A time, as a few new KMT legislators refused to let Chen speak. It is understandable that new legislators would want to prove their worth and raise their profile, but as lawmakers, legislators should first familiarize themselves with the Constitution, laws and legislative procedures. The new legislative caucuses and legislators must also put their political stunts aside and step up their game.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2024 03:45 UTC
Kashmiri holy water
His rosewater shop in the Khankah-e-Moula neighborhood in the old city of Kashmir’s main town Srinagar is a piece of history. A Kashmiri chef prepares wazwan (a multi-course Kashmiri cuisine) during a mass marriage ceremony. The traditional business of making rosewater, however, is not lucrative and the competition is immense. Zareef Ahmad Zareef, an octogenarian Kashmiri poet and cultural activist, remembers visiting the Kozgar shop when he was a child to purchase herbal medicines. “I do remember going there and purchasing different herbal syrups that were effective against cold and cough.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2024 20:10 UTC
Chinese regime’s intelligence network
Chinese regime’s intelligence networkBy Yu Kung 愚工US magazine Newsweek reported on Tuesday last week that the Norwegian government’s latest annual report on security challenges has also said that Chinese intelligence networks operate all over Europe and pose a security threat to the continent. This was following warnings from Germany, the UK and several other countries about Chinese espionage activities. International media have classified the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party as “pro-China,” which is indeed a fair assessment. The PRC uses its counterespionage and national security laws to suppress its citizens’ freedom of speech. It also finds ways to coerce or persuade other countries’ citizens to betray their homelands.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2024 19:18 UTC
Tibetans in Dharamsala prepare to mark 65 years in exile
But the anniversary has also put the question of who will succeed the ageing Dalai Lama into sharp focus, with the choice likely to spark a controversial geopolitical contest. Buddhist monks walk past portraits of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Mcleodganj. “Nothing is permanent,” he said, sitting in front of a Tibetan flag in the hills above the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama also lives. “So I chide my Chinese friends, saying: ‘You are waiting for this Dalai Lama to die. “Let us see whether His Holiness the Dalai Lama outlives the Communist Party, or the Communist Party outlives His Holiness,” he added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2024 17:59 UTC
Siblings seriously injured in Changhua car incident
Siblings seriously injured in Changhua car incidentStaff Writer, with CNAThree siblings of elementary-school age were injured, two of them seriously, when they were hit by a car as they crossed a street in Changhua County on Thursday evening, county police said. The heartbeats of the two sisters, who are in the third and fourth grades, stopped following the incident, but were later restarted by rescue personnel. An intersection in Changhua County where three children were hit by a car on Thursday is pictured yesterday. The other sister, being cared for at Changhua Christian Hospital, had low blood pressure and remained intubated in the facility’s pediatric intensive care unit because her condition was unstable. The Changhua County Government said Changhua County Commissioner Wang Huei-mei (王惠美) went to the hospitals after hearing about the children and gave the parents NT$20,000 to help them get through their ordeal.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2024 17:59 UTC
Lawyer Chen Chun-han’s legacy
Lawyer Chen Chun-han’s legacyBy Tshua Siu-ui 蔡守崴The recent passing of human rights lawyer and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator-at-large candidate Chen Chun-han (陳俊翰) has sparked widespread grief across political parties and throughout Taiwan. After the official announcement of Chen’s death, the DPP, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) all vowed to carry on his legacy of protecting the rights of people with disabilities. Living with spinal muscular atrophy, Chen was paralyzed from the neck down for the majority of his life. Lawyer Chen’s dedication to advocating for better medical treatments was indeed impressive, which made some wonder why he decided to return to Taiwan when he could have been a well-paid lawyer in the US. Chen’s mother and her tenacity undoubtedly deserves more recognition for her son’s accomplishments.
Source:Taipei Times
February 22, 2024 21:49 UTC
EDITORIAL: Indian workers should be welcomed
EDITORIAL: Indian workers should be welcomedThe Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in that country, signed a memorandum of understanding with its Indian counterpart, the India Taipei Association, on Friday last week to pave the way for Indian migrant workers to seek employment in Taiwan. That is, the government is not flinging open the nation’s doors to a flood of migrant workers. Taiwan already allows workers from Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand to seek employment in certain industries, but it has become apparent that these sources of migrant workers alone are not sufficient. Allowing Indian workers into Taiwan, to help bolster the nation’s requirements in industries such as construction, manufacturing, domestic labor and agriculture, could go some way to remedy this situation. Immigration and increasing the pool of migrant workers does have the potential to create social tensions if the public is not given access to the objective facts.
Source:Taipei Times
February 22, 2024 03:43 UTC