EDITORIAL: ‘One China’ compromise crumbling
EDITORIAL: ‘One China’ compromise crumblingAnother year, and another UN General Assembly is convening without Taiwan. However, unlike previous years, Taiwan seems to be riding a higher wave of support than usual. Cracks are opening wider at all levels, from town halls to huge multilateral organizations such as the UN and the WHO. What was once an acceptable compromise to keep Beijing happy is now being seen for the danger it poses. Even if Taiwan is not readmitted into the UN any time soon, it does not mean that the nation cannot speak out.
Source:Taipei Times
September 13, 2021 15:56 UTC
Macau’s pro-democracy camp loses ground in vote marred by low turnout
Macau’s pro-democracy camp loses ground in vote marred by low turnoutAFP, HONG KONGMacau’s pro-democracy camp has lost further ground in the territory’s legislature, according to preliminary results yesterday from an election marred by low turnout and a ban on “disloyal” candidates. Authorities in Macau had disqualified 21 candidates — most of them from the pro-democracy camp — from Sunday’s election on national security grounds. Macau Chief Executive Ho lat-seng casts his ballot at a polling center during a legislative election in Macau on Sunday. The other 19 lawmakers include 12 indirectly chosen from professional sectors and seven appointed by Macau’s chief executive. The disqualification of pro-democracy candidates in Macau followed similar rulings in Hong Kong, where authorities have moved to crush dissent and the territory’s pro-democracy movement with a National Security Law and a radical electoral overhaul.
Source:Taipei Times
September 13, 2021 15:56 UTC
Elliott injury overshadows Liverpool’s win at Leeds
Elliott injury overshadows Liverpool’s win at LeedsAFP, LEEDS, EnglandVirgil van Dijk offered his support to Liverpool’s teenage star Harvey Elliott after the 18-year-old midfielder’s left ankle was dislocated, overshadowing an impressive 3-0 win for the Reds at Leeds United on Sunday. Leeds midfielder Pascal Struijk was sent off for a challenge from behind on Elliott midway through the second half. By that point, Liverpool were already comfortably ahead thanks to Mohamed Salah’s 100th English Premier League goal and Fabinho’s 50th-minute strike. Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott receives medical attention after sustaining an injury in their English Premier League match against Leeds United at Elland Road in Leeds, England, on Sunday. Van Dijk’s own long-term injury — cruciate ligament damage in his right knee — derailed Liverpool’s title defense last season.
Source:Taipei Times
September 13, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ricciardo leads incredible McLaren 1-2
Ricciardo had nipped past pole-sitter Verstappen at the start to lead virtually throughout, with the Australian followed across the line by his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo celebrates after winning the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday. Marshalls remove Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s car after a collision with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton during the Italian Grand Prix in Monza on Sunday. “Thank God for the halo which saved me, and saved my neck.”“I am so grateful I am still here. For McLaren to be on the podium it’s huge, let alone one-two... For once I’m lost for words.”
Source:Taipei Times
September 13, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taiwanese movies to be featured in London film festival
Taiwanese movies to be featured in London film festivalStaff writer, with CNAFifteen Taiwanese films are to be screened in cinemas across London later this month at the Queer East Film Festival, which is to showcase films from 15 Asian countries, its organizers have said. Veteran actor Chang Feng is pictured in a scene from director Tsai Ming-liang’s film Days. Wang said that Taiwanese LGBTQ+ films cover a wide range of topics, such as cross-gender issues, adoption, surrogate mothers and Taiwan’s White Terror era. Chou, former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) and Vita Lin (林杏鴻), founder of the Taiwan International Queer Film Festival, are to be among the panelists sharing their experiences and stories with people across Asia, the organizers said. Launched last year, the Queer East Film Festival seeks to facilitate a better understanding of the richness of queer Asian heritage and to bridge the cultural distance between the UK public and the Asian region, the festival’s organizers said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 13, 2021 15:56 UTC
Science parks chart record revenue
Science parks chart record revenueBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterTaiwan’s three science parks posted a record combined revenue of NT$1.71 trillion (US$61.69 billion) for the first half of this year, up 25.2 percent year-on-year and the fastest increase in almost eight years, the Ministry of Science and Technology told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The three parks — Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) and the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) — generated combined exports of about NT$1.28 trillion in the first six months of the year, also a new high, the ministry said. From left, Department of Academia-Industry Collaboration and Science Park Affairs Director-General Andrea Hsu, Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau Director-General Su Chen-kang, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Chen Tzong-chyuan, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong, Hsinchu Science Park Bureau Director-General Wayne Wang and Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau Director-General Hsu Maw-shin pose for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, has a presence at all three science parks, accounting for 17 percent of overall revenue in Hsinchu Science Park, 42.27 percent in the Central Taiwan Science Park and 55 percent in the Southern Taiwan Science Park, ministry data showed. It predicted whole-year growth of 15 percent for the three science parks’ combined revenue this year.
Source:Taipei Times
September 13, 2021 15:56 UTC
Myanmar junta, coup critic vie for UN position
Myanmar junta, coup critic vie for UN positionThe Guardian, BANGKOKThe UN faces a dilemma when its General Assembly convenes next week, after Myanmar’s military junta and the country’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) launched rival bids to fill the country’s seat. Myanmar’s military, which seized power in February, has sought to replace Burmese Ambassador to the UN Kyaw Moe Tun, an outspoken critic of the coup. The junta and the NUG, which was set up partly by ousted politicians, are believed to have submitted applications to the UN’s credentials committee. Burmese Ambassador to the UN Kyaw Moe Tun addresses the Human Rights Council at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 11, 2019. This could mean an empty seat, or it could allow Kyaw Moe Tun to continue on a provisional basis.
Source:Taipei Times
September 13, 2021 15:56 UTC
Feminist love stories?
Feminist love stories? Photo: AP“Feminist love stories are our genre,’’ Cohen says in an interview alongside West. But our perspective as documentary filmmakers is that it’s kind of like a gold mine.’’It’s an ongoing project. Cohen and West are currently editing another documentary about an extraordinary American woman they expect to release next year. And, yes, Cohen promises, this film, too, features what she calls a great feminist love story.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 21:33 UTC
The foreigners on YouTube defending China
The foreigners on YouTube defending ChinaAFP, BEIJINGWith YouTube videos “debunking” allegations of human rights abuses and diatribes on Western “conspiracies” against China, an unlikely set of foreigners is loudly defending Beijing against international critics. Lee Barrett speaks on his YouTube channel, as seen on a computer screen in Beijing on Sept. 2. Their backgrounds are often in fields unrelated to current affairs or politics, while their videos blend scenes of everyday life with passionate commentaries defending China. His videos have featured tours sponsored by the government-run China Radio International, where he interviews other YouTubers about criticisms of China and explores rural development projects. It is difficult to quantify the influence of the YouTubers outside China, with many of their commenters claiming to be grateful Chinese.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 16:14 UTC
Memorial hall a mirror of Taipei’s values: commission
The commission on Wednesday last week announced initial plans for erasing traces of authoritarianism from the memorial hall, starting with its “axis of worship,” or the 6.3m-tall bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in the main building. The front gate to Liberty Square frames the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Oct. 28 last year. “The nation should not be spending so many resources to commemorate an authoritarian ruler,” the commission said, adding that original plans for the space did not even include a memorial hall. Under the party-state system created by Chiang, all political and military power was controlled by one individual, the commission said. The memorial should be given back to the people and reinterpreted to inspire education about the nation’s past, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 15:56 UTC
Typhoon disrupts travel, cuts power to thousands of homes as it barrels north
Typhoon disrupts travel, cuts power to thousands of homes as it barrels northStaff writer, with AFP and CNATyphoon Chanthu yesterday unleashed powerful winds and heavy rain on eastern Taiwan, disrupting travel and cutting electricity to thousands of homes, but sparing the island a direct hit. Police officers remove a fallen tree from a road in Hualien County yesterday. The typhoon was packing sustained winds of up to 162kph, with gusts of up to 198kph, it said. People struggle to keep their umbrellas open among gusts of wind and rain brought by Typhoon Chanthu in Taipei yesterday. In a rare exception to the rule, not a single typhoon made landfall last year, the first time in 56 years.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 15:56 UTC
F1 Saturday sprint ‘not fish, not meat’: Mercedes’ Wolff
F1 Saturday sprint ‘not fish, not meat’: Mercedes’ WolffReutersMercedes team boss Toto Wolff on Saturday dismissed Formula One’s experimental sprint format as “not fish, not meat,” adding that it was not doing much for the sport either. The 100km qualifying race was trialed for the second time at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, but drivers struggled to overtake. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas drives during the sprint race of the Grand Prix of Italy in Monza, Italy, on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFEValtteri Bottas won the sprint for Mercedes, leading all the way, but the Finn was to start last yesterday due to engine penalties. “We don’t want gimmicks, we don’t want to cannibalize, we don’t want to affect the integrity,” he added.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 15:56 UTC
Listed firms’ revenue up 11.97%
Listed firms’ revenue up 11.97%SHIFTING DYNAMICS An imbalance in supply and demand during the pandemic resulted in a boost to the shipping industry, while other sectors also benefitedBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe combined revenue of companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange last month increased 11.97 percent year-on-year to NT$3.145 trillion (US$113.5 billion), the bourse said on Saturday. The exchange said in a statement that 661 firms reported revenue growth, while 292 reported a decline. The combined revenue of listed firms last grew 14.16 percent from August 2019, before COVID-19 was a factor, it added. Accumulated revenue for the 953 listed firms in the first eight months of the year reached NT$24.1 trillion, up 18.61 percent year-on-year, the exchange said, adding that the increase compared with the same period in 2019 was 16.45 percent. Firms in the shipping and transportation, plastics, and iron and steel industries reported the highest revenue increases during the eight-month period, the exchange added.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 15:56 UTC
A self-made billionaire’s quest to save Evergrande
A self-made billionaire’s quest to save EvergrandeAFP, BEIJINGFrom rural poverty to real estate billions, the fortunes of Evergrande Group (恆大集團) chairman Xu Jiayin (許家印) tracked China’s runaway growth for much of the past two decades — but now he is battling to save his conglomerate from a quagmire of debt. They warned that Evergrande is “close to collapse,” with large losses looming for banks, bondholders and home buyers. Evergrande Group chairman Xu Jiayin speaks at an earnings conference in Hong Kong on March 26, 2019. In 2010, Xu bought an embattled Guangzhou soccer team, renaming it Guangzhou Evergrande and pouring money into world-class players and coaches. Without the country’s reform and opening up, Evergrande is not what it is today,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 15:56 UTC
The UN needs Taiwan: US groups
Taiwan’s outstanding epidemic preparedness from last year, paired with its ability to meet the needs of the global supply chain, demonstrates that “Taiwan can help and is ready to help,” the Southern Californian groups said. Photo courtesy of the Taiwanese American Center of Northern California via CNA“Now is the time for the UN to accept Taiwan and for Taiwan to make a contribution,” they added. Taiwan is a force for good in the world, TECO in Los Angeles Director-General Louis Huang (黃敏境) said. “Not only does Taiwan need the UN, but the UN needs Taiwan, too,” the groups said, adding that the nation’s excellence in technology, healthcare and soft power, as well as its global trade status, can help the global organization. Representatives from eight Taiwanese expat community organizations in Northern California on Saturday issued a similar call at a news conference in San Jose.
Source:Taipei Times
September 12, 2021 15:56 UTC