TPP denies Ko Wen-je reached a deal with the KMT
TPP denies Ko Wen-je reached a deal with the KMTStaff writer, with CNATaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has not reached a deal with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to collaborate in the presidential and legislative elections, a TPP spokeswoman said yesterday. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je, the party’s presidential candidate, speaks at the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan on Monday. Photo: CNAHowever, Ko’s campaign office on Tuesday denied the report. “The report is pure fabrication,” Vicky Chen (陳智菡), a spokeswoman for Ko’s campaign office, told reporters. The office would start introducing Ko’s campaign platform this month, beginning with healthcare and long-term care policies, which would be unveiled today, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 06, 2023 03:35 UTC
India hosts ‘climate cup’ in Ladakh
It is the first of its kind “climate-friendly” soccer tournament in the ecologically fragile territory where oxygen is thin and breathing is hard. A player scores a goal during a match of the “climate cup” on the outskirts of Leh, India, yesterday. The tournament is “our attempt to use sports for spreading awareness about the perils of climate change in Ladakh,” local administrator Tashi Gyalson said. “Recent trends are showing clear changes in climate patterns,” India Meteorological Department meteorologist Mukhtar Ahmed said. Local officials say the soccer matches were organized keeping in mind some of these climate concerns.
Source:Taipei Times
September 05, 2023 23:07 UTC
No charges against ‘UDN’ over ‘bioweapons’ report based on falsified file
“As an experienced political news reporter, Kao should know that the minutes, on which his entire story was based, came from a Cabinet-level meeting. “Chinese state media have also helped spread the report, making it a fuel for Beijing’s cognitive warfare against Taiwan. The report also tarnished Taiwan’s image in the international community and could have triggered international sanctions, she said. “While the government supports freedom of the press and speech, using misinformation or disinformation hurts the people and the country. The United Daily News should take its social responsibility seriously and admit that it is wrong,” Lin said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 05, 2023 21:37 UTC
Communication and deterrence key to Ko’s China policy
Communication and deterrence key to Ko’s China policyStaff writer, with CNATaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he would make “deterrence and communication” the foundation of his China policy to avoid staking Taiwan’s future on “goodwill” alone. Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan, the former Taipei mayor pledged to increase defense spending to deter a potential Chinese invasion while engaging in dialogue with Beijing. “The keyword for cross-strait relations is ‘step-by-step,’” said Ko, who is second behind Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, in most polls. Ko told European company representatives that he knew foreign investors in the country were most concerned about Taiwan’s energy supply. The chamber of commerce represents 1,050 members from more than 450 European companies with operations in Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
September 04, 2023 16:52 UTC
FEATURE: Parties battle for younger voters as elections loom
In 2020, just after democracy protests in Hong Kong, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a landslide victory, partly because of high turnout among younger voters, according to analysts and voter surveys. Younger voters are again playing a role, but this time they are gravitating to a dark horse candidate who has become the DPP’s closest challenger. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), a 64-year-old former Taipei mayor, has won over many younger voters with plain talk on issues such as high housing costs, rather than focusing on the China threat. Then-Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je waves to his supporters during the launch of his book in Taipei on June 30, 2018. While Ko of the small TPP lags Lai by 17 percentage points, he leads among voters younger than 40, a Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation survey conducted in the middle of last month found.
Source:Taipei Times
September 04, 2023 16:52 UTC
Xi’s ‘hard-won’ stability in Xinjiang
Xi’s ‘hard-won’ stability in XinjiangBy Kok BayraqDuring his visit to East Turkistan (Xinjiang) on Aug. 25, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) described the situation in the region as “hard-won stability.” It makes one wonder what exactly the hardships were that this arrogant authoritarian was referring to. However, considering the military and police forces that have been stationed in the Uighur region for a long time, it is not impossible for 100,000 troops to have thrown 3 million unarmed people into camps. In the past five years, 22 governments and parliaments of the US and Europe have defined China’s Uighur policy as genocide and crimes against humanity. China’s efforts to cover up the Uighur genocide through Muslim countries have sometimes had unexpected results. Xi’s reminder of “hard-won stability” is, in essence, the justification of his order to continue the Uighur genocide.
Source:Taipei Times
September 03, 2023 21:46 UTC
Fuel prices raised due to Saudi cut speculations
Fuel prices raised due to Saudi cut speculationsBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices are to rise NT$0.1 per liter this week as international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said in separate statements yesterday. CPC attributed the rise in crude oil prices to market speculations that Saudi Arabia might extend daily oil production cuts through next month, while Formosa said a sharp drop in US crude oil inventories also weighed on the global oil market during the week. Based on CPC’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil increased 1.07 percent from a week earlier, it said. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to increase to NT$31.2, NT$32.7 and NT$34.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$29.3 at CPC stations and to NT$29.1 at Formosa pumps, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 03, 2023 21:36 UTC
India sends probe to the sun after moon landing
India sends probe to the sun after moon landingAFP, SRIHARIKOTA, IndiaIndia’s space program yesterday blasted off a spacecraft toward the center of the solar system, a week after the country’s successful uncrewed moon landing. The Aditya-L1 spacecraft lifts off yesterday from the space center in Sriharikota, India. Students celebrate as they watch the livestreamed launch of the PSLV XL rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 in Kolkata, India, yesterday. “It is a challenging mission for India,” astrophysicist Somak Raychaudhury told broadcaster NDTV on Friday. Aditya-L1 would be traveling on the ISRO-designed, 320-tonne PSLV XL rocket that has been a mainstay of the Indian space program, powering earlier launches to the Earth’s moon and Mars.
Source:Taipei Times
September 02, 2023 16:40 UTC
Heidenheim draw with Dortmund
Heidenheim draw with DortmundAP, BERLINNiclas Fullkrug made his Borussia Dortmund debut on Friday, but could not prevent the team squandering a two-goal lead as promoted Heidenheim fought back to draw 2-2 and claim their first point in the Bundesliga. “Two-nil down after 14 minutes and then to take a point, Heidenheim in Dortmund, it’s mega,” visiting coach Frank Schmidt said. Dortmund fans whistled at their team at fulltime, frustrated after they failed to make more of their chances in an error-strewn performance. Borussia Dortmund’s Niclas Fullkrug, front, second right, waits for a corner-kick during their Bundesliga match against Heidenheim in Dortmund, Germany, on Friday. Photo: AFPIt was Dortmund’s second consecutive draw after they opened with a fortunate win over Cologne.
Source:Taipei Times
September 02, 2023 16:40 UTC
EDITORIAL: Gou is not a liar-in-training
EDITORIAL: Gou is not a liar-in-trainingHon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) on Monday announced that he will run in next year’s presidential election as an independent candidate, pledging to bring 50 years of peace to Taiwan, double the nation’s GDP growth rate and bring prosperity to the public. Touting finance and business management chops, Gou said the era of “entrepreneurs’ rule” has come and only he has the skills needed in a future president of Taiwan. He also called for unity among “anti-green coalition” opposition party candidates to remove the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from power. As a political freshman, there are many aspects I still need to learn,” he wrote on Facebook on Friday. Gou also demonstrated his arrogance towards the process in a news conference on Monday.
Source:Taipei Times
September 02, 2023 16:39 UTC
Dell, HP, Foxconn apply for India production aid
Dell, HP, Foxconn apply for India production aidBloombergSome of the world’s biggest tech companies, including Dell Technologies Inc, HP Inc and Apple Inc supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), have applied for state aid to manufacture laptops in India. Under Modi’s plan, companies are entitled to cash back of almost 5 percent of factory prices of finished products. The Indian government is trying to replicate the success of incentives it introduced in 2020 to jump-start the local assembly of smartphones. Companies could begin production under the plan by early next year, he added. Apple has yet to apply for incentives to locally assemble its MacBook laptops and iPad tablets, Indian government officials said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 01, 2023 20:09 UTC
Central bank governor among top eight
Central bank governor among top eightCNA, with staff writerCentral bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) has earned the fourth “A” grade of his career, in an annual report issued by the New York-based Global Finance magazine. In the Central Banker Report Cards 2023 released by Global Finance overnight, Yang was listed among eight central bankers in the world who received an “A” grade, the magazine said in a statement. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long attends a media briefing in Taipei on July 29. Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei TimesThis year’s Central Banker Report Cards, published annually by Global Finance since 1994, graded the central bank governors of 101 key countries, territories and districts in the world, including the EU, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Bank of Central African States and the Central Bank of West African States. Yang, who has been working at Taiwan’s central bank since 1989 and became its governor in 2018, received an “A” grade in the annual central banker report in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and an “A-” in 2021.
Source:Taipei Times
September 01, 2023 20:07 UTC
Hypocrisy around radioactivity
Interestingly, some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians had a knee-jerk reaction to Hsieh’s post about the quality of these hot springs. However, these KMT politicians have made two kinds of mistakes, namely word substitution and self-contradiction. Firstly, Hsieh’s post was about hot springs and made no mention of Fukushima at all, yet his critics are determined to conflate these two issues. If so, why is no KMT politician willing to live next door to a nuclear power station? Unfortunately, given an opportunity to teach the public a thing or two about science, these KMT politicians prefer to vilify a particular person based on their own prejudices.
Source:Taipei Times
August 31, 2023 21:43 UTC
Property presales could exceed NT$200 billion in fall
Property presales could exceed NT$200 billion in fallBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterPresale projects and new houses for sale in the coming fall sales season could exceed NT$200 billion (US$6.28 billion) in northern Taiwan, representing a 16.6 percent increase from the same time last year, as developers seek to cash in on preferential lending terms for first-home buyers, My Housing Monthly (住展雜誌) said yesterday. The volume might hit NT$212.2 billion during this fall season, which would be the second highest in eight years, despite recent bans on transfers of presale house purchase agreements and an ongoing economic slowdown, it said. New Taipei City ranks second with NT$65.6 billion worth of new housing, it said, pointing out that Sanchong District (三重) alone underpins 60 percent, or about NT$40 billion. Keelung and Yilan would have NT$1.51 billion and NT$495 million of new housing aimed at local residents, it said. The fall season starts on Sept. 28 and lasts through October.
Source:Taipei Times
August 31, 2023 17:10 UTC
Minister in good wishes to exchange students
Minister in good wishes to exchange studentsBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterMinister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) presented a national flag to 40 students as they are to embark on a 10-day trip to Saint Lucia tomorrow as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) International Youth Ambassador Exchange Program. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, center wearing suit, yesterday poses for a photograph with Taiwanese students headed to Saint Lucia for 10 days on an exchange visit. He thanked the program for enhancing the people-to-people relationship between Taiwan and Saint Lucia, adding that the youth ambassadors would be warmly welcomed by locals. Tourism and agriculture are key industries in Saint Lucia, and Taiwan’s technical missions have been assisting locals in planting various crops, it said. The youth ambassadors are to share their trip on the program’s Facebook page, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
August 31, 2023 17:08 UTC