EDITORIAL: Expect China’s woes to worsen
This long-term, unbalanced development has led to China’s economic woes, with more economists believing the country is facing a scenario of “balance sheet recession,” as consumers and businesses stop borrowing and investing even though interest rates continue to fall. It took Japan about 20 years to emerge from a balance sheet recession, and it appears much more difficult for China to solve this problem in the short term. China should address the balance sheet recession by repairing the imbalance in its economic balance sheet over a long period of weak demand. China’s economic downturn is likely to continue, and the phenomenon of deflation is reflected in the slump in demand. Another solution to the balance sheet recession is to transfer private debt to the government, and then monetize the debt by printing a large amount of money.
Source:Taipei Times
August 27, 2023 21:39 UTC
BOJ holds course due to inflation: Ueda
BOJ holds course due to inflation: Ueda‘DISAPPOINTMENT’: he BOJ governor said that last month’s economic data for China was ‘on the weak side,’ but the US economy provided ‘some offset’ to JapanBloombergBank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said that price growth remains slower than the central bank’s goal, explaining why officials are continuing with their current monetary-policy strategy. “We think underlying inflation is still a bit below our target of 2 percent,” Ueda said on Saturday during a panel discussion at the US Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Powell said in a Friday speech in Wyoming that the US central bank is ready to tighten again if needed to tame inflation. Getting inflation down to 2 percent is expected to require softer labor-market conditions and a period of below-trend economic growth, he said. The BOJ loosened a grip on its yield curve control program last month in Ueda’s first surprise move.
Source:Taipei Times
August 27, 2023 17:38 UTC
Navy to add missile system to fleet
Navy to add missile system to fleetSUPERIOR: Retrofitting ships with vertical missile launch systems would enhance air-defense capabilities as a higher firing rate is enabled, a defense official saidBy Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe navy is retrofitting its fleet with domestically developed Huayang air defense missile vertical launch systems, after the launchers recently passed certification tests, a defense official said on condition of anonymity on Wednesday. The Kaohsiung had previously been a command ship in the navy, the official said, adding that an add-on seen on the vessel was likely a prototype active phased array radar unit. Photo courtesy of the Republic of China NavyThe navy plans to equip Kang Ding-class frigates, the proposed next-generation guided missile frigates, the landing platform dock Yushan and potentially other warships, he said. Retrofitting the ship class with vertical launch systems — which have a superior firing rate over older launch systems — would bolster the navy’s anti-air capabilities, the official said. The retrofit would enhance the fleet’s air-defense capabilities, as vertical launch systems enable a higher firing rate than is possible with older missile launch systems, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 27, 2023 14:59 UTC
Spain soccer official refuses to resign
Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales, front, reacts after the FIFA Women’s World Cup final against England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Aug. 20. Among those applauding Rubiales were women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda and men’s national team coach Luis de la Fuente. Until Friday’s assembly, he had received no public support in Spain, with political parties speaking out against him. Hermoso contradicted Rubiales’ version in two statements, one issued through her FUTRPO players union and a second published on social media. The statement included photographs that it said show Hermoso lifting Rubiales off the ground during the medals ceremony.
Source:Taipei Times
August 27, 2023 00:40 UTC
Psychological leave for teachers
Psychological leave for teachersBy Liu Wei-ting 劉韋廷More than a dozen Taiwanese universities have reportedly launched a system of psychological leave. Psychological leave allows students to take a break from their studies if they feel burnt out and need time to recover. Schools allow students to take three days off per semester without a doctor’s note, but teachers and universities’ psychological counseling centers are required to ask them about their health. However, teachers need psychological leave too, especially part-time staff or substitute teachers who are not yet formal teachers. Students can take psychological leave, but the pressure on teachers is not insubstantial in comparison.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2023 21:41 UTC
China’s population-control disaster
China’s population-control disasterBy Yi Fuxian 易富賢More than four decades after China began opening up to the world, the Chinese government’s decisionmaking process remains shrouded in secrecy. In reality, even without any official restrictions, China’s population would have peaked at about 1.6 billion and then gradually declined. In 2007, I published a book in Hong Kong, Big Country With an Empty Nest, challenging the assumptions underlying China’s population-control measures and advocating their immediate end. I further angered the authorities by pointing out that China’s population had been vastly overestimated, and had started declining in 2018. In reflecting on my experiences of challenging China’s population-control policies over the past quarter-century, I find some solace in that my estimates have been vindicated.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2023 17:08 UTC
Crush at Games in Madagascar kills at least 13
Crush at Games in Madagascar kills at least 13AP and AFP, ANTANANARIVOAt least 13 people died in a crush at a stadium in Madagascar on Friday as sports fans gathered for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games, local media reported. Seven minors died.”The stampede occurred at the entrance to the stadium, where about 50,000 people had arrived to attend the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games. TV images broadcast images of dazed and shocked people trying to locate their shoes piled among objects lost in the deadly crush. The Indian Ocean Island Games are a multi-disciplinary competition being held in Madagascar until Sept. 3. They have been staged every four years in different islands in the southwest Indian Ocean for about 40 years.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2023 17:05 UTC
Japan’s deflation a lesson for China
Japan’s deflation a lesson for ChinaBy Takatoshi ItoEconomic news from China has triggered the same helpless, sinking feeling that gripped me when Japan’s property bubble collapsed from 1991 to 1992. After the property bubble burst, that rate sank to 0 to 2 percent. Foreign portfolio investors are pulling out of Chinese capital markets, and inward foreign direct investment is declining fast. If the property bubble bursts, China’s banks and government must avoid the mistakes Japan made three decades ago. Chinese banks must not succumb to the “evergreening” temptation and extend new loans to insolvent “zombie” borrowers so that they appear healthy.
Source:Taipei Times
August 26, 2023 07:53 UTC
World knows PRC cause of tension: Lai
Speaking to foreign reporters in Taipei, Lai said it was not President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) or Taiwan that was to blame for tensions. Vice President William Lai interacts with the media in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ann Wang, ReutersLai has said he does not seek to change Taiwan’s official name, the Republic of China. Both Lai and Tsai have said that as Taiwan is already an independent country, there is no need for a separate declaration of independence. Lai thanked US President Joe Biden’s administration for its efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait over the past three years.
Source:Taipei Times
August 25, 2023 20:31 UTC
Bargain hunters
Citigroup Inc to focus on its strengths in TaiwanTaipei Times (TT): What is your view on the sale of Taiwan’s consumer banking businesses to DBS? Citi Asia-Pacific chief executive officer Peter Babej: It was a difficult decision, but the right decision in the long term for our business, our people and the firm. If we look 10 or 20 years down the road, we are not the best owner, because we cannot put as much into the local consumer franchise as some other institutions that are more focused on this side of the business. We are very happy that close to 3,000 of our colleagues ended up with DBS. By Crystal Hsu
Source:Taipei Times
August 25, 2023 20:11 UTC
IRSTs to vastly improve F-16V’s long-range detection, target tracking: experts
IRSTs to vastly improve F-16V’s long-range detection, target tracking: expertsStaff writer, with CNAA proposed US arms package comprising infrared search and track systems (IRSTs) for the nation’s fleet of F-16V aircraft would vastly improve their long-range detection and target tracking, significantly boosting air-to-air combat capabilities, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. Military experts expressed similar views, with one saying that IRSTs would allow fighter jets to track the infrared energy from enemy aircraft, without activating radar. The US military in 2020 launched an IRST upgrade program called the IRST-21, and the resultant product has been used on F-15 and F-16 jets to target stealth jets and small drones that have small radar footprints, Su said. When Taiwan takes delivery of the IRSTs, it would be able to more effectively counter Chinese stealth fighter jets such as the J-20, Su said. The advanced sensor systems would allow F-16V jets to hit enemy aircraft with AIM-20 missiles beyond visual range, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 25, 2023 03:41 UTC
The wild, queer and bloody high school sex comedy coming to theaters
The only way they can figure out how to get close to said cheerleaders, however, is to form an all-female self-defense class that quickly devolves into a bloody fight club. They knew it had the potential to be riotously funny, slyly insightful and boundary pushing for queer teen representation. From left: Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott, Zamani Wilder, Summer Joy Campbell, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber and Virginia Tucker in a scene from Bottoms. And then there’s the fight club, which they had to keep reminding everyone wasn’t just a joke. “I think some people still thought it was just going to be a fun comedy.
Source:Taipei Times
August 24, 2023 20:22 UTC
Taiwan must be more proactive
Taiwan must be more proactiveBy Hu Wen-chi 胡文琦The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) on Monday voted to expel Taiwan after more than two decades as a permanent observer and replace it with China, whose growing economic influence in Latin America has increasingly marginalized Taipei. Prior to the vote, US lawmakers have voiced concerns over the proposal, initiated by Nicaragua, to eject Taiwan as a permanent observer and invite China. Nicaragua in 2021 broke its longstanding diplomatic ties with Taiwan and switched allegiance to Beijing. Instead, it must take proactive action to communicate and coordinate with the US’ House of Representatives and Senate. Only by building on mutual respect and collaborating with like-minded friends can Taiwan and the US plan the next step forward.
Source:Taipei Times
August 24, 2023 16:38 UTC
Xi skips speech on economy at BRICS summit
Xi skips speech on economy at BRICS summitBloombergChinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) failed to attend a business forum in South Africa where he was expected to deliver a speech defending China’s economy and its support for emerging markets, as fears mount that the Asian nation’s struggles could cause global turbulence. Instead, delegates were greeted on stage by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (王文濤), who read the speech without giving an explanation for Xi’s absence. “The Chinese economy has strong resilience, tremendous potential and great vitality. Photo: AFPHours later, Xi attended a dinner with the leaders of South Africa, Brazil and India, and Russia’s foreign minister, who are in Johannesburg for the annual BRICS summit of emerging market powers. Prior to South Africa, the Chinese leader had spent just two days overseas this year, when he visited Russia.
Source:Taipei Times
August 24, 2023 09:13 UTC
Wanted Hong Kong activists in Britain decry ‘harassment’
Wanted Hong Kong activists in Britain decry ‘harassment’The activists fear for themselves abroad and their families back homeAFP, LONDONA heightened fear for their safety, increased worry for their families, and a desperate search for international support — this is what dominates everyday life for two activists in Britain who are among Hong Kong’s most wanted. Australian lawyer Kevin Yam, who is among eight overseas-based Hong Kong activists who have bounties on them by Hong Kong authorities for alleged breaches of a Hong Kong national security law, poses last month for a photo in Sydney, Australia. ‘HARASSING’ FAMILIES, COLLEAGUESAnna Kwok, 26, a Washington DC-based Hong Kong activist, who has been designated by the Hong Kong police as a fugitive with a HK$1 million dollar bounty offered for her arrest, is photographed on July 11 near the White House in Washington, DC, US. “I will remind myself... the burden on us is still much less than what the people in Hong Kong are bearing,” he said. “We are here to speak out the truth and what is really happening in Hong Kong, and (urge) the global community to implement a more assertive policy towards China and towards Hong Kong,” Law said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 24, 2023 03:48 UTC