Police arrest Imran Khan after court convicts former PM
Police arrest Imran Khan after court convicts former PMAP, ISLAMABADPolice yesterday arrested former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan at his home in the eastern city of Lahore after a court convicted him in an asset concealment case and handed him a three-year prison sentence. Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan protest outside the press club in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir yesterday. Photo: AFPHis Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party condemned the ruling and said it would challenge the decision in a superior court. While a superior court can suspend the conviction, it is the country’s election body that has the final say on whether people can be in politics. “Instead Imran Khan used the time to delay the court proceedings and went back and forth to the high court and supreme court to halt this case,” she said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 05, 2023 18:35 UTC
Media get Taiwan history wrong
Media get Taiwan history wrongBy Gerrit van der WeesThere is no doubt that US-China relations are tense, as — under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — the communist government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is increasing its political, economic and military pressure on democratically governed Taiwan. During the next three to four decades, the Chinese Nationalists occupying Taiwan continued their claim to rule China. And this leads to the second misconception one often finds in international media: That “one China policy” means that the West recognizes Taiwan as part of China. Thus, the international media would bring more balance to their reporting if they included language highlighting Taiwan’s own history, culture and existence separate from China. He now teaches the history of Taiwan at George Mason University, and US relations with East Asia at the George Washington University Elliott School for International Affairs.
Source:Taipei Times
August 04, 2023 21:40 UTC
Foreign exchange reserves hit record high US$566.49bn
Foreign exchange reserves hit record high US$566.49bnASSET ALLOCATION: US government bonds remain the safest asset, despite the US’ credit rating being downgraded by Fitch Ratings, an official saidBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe nation’s foreign exchange reserves last month grew US$1.66 billion to a new high of US$566.49 billion, helped by value gains in major reserve currencies other than the US dollar, the central bank said yesterday. It was the ninth consecutive month foreign exchange reserves increased, even though the New Taiwan dollar lost 1.04 percent against the greenback after foreign portfolio managers cut their holdings in local shares and wired cash dividends to their home nations, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) told a news conference. The currency movements were due to the dividend season last month and this month, Tsai said, adding that foreign institutional investors wired about US$7 billion abroad last month. Tsai said US government bonds remain the safest asset with the best liquidity, despite the US’ credit rating being downgraded by Fitch Ratings. The downgrade would have little impact on the central bank’s asset allocation, as it would buy US government debt to better utilize the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, Tsai said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 04, 2023 18:38 UTC
EDITORIAL: Spy case warrants law reform
EDITORIAL: Spy case warrants law reformAn army officer and a suspected spy were arrested and questioned on Monday, while four others involved in the case were released on bail, the High Prosecutors’ Office said. Lawyer and former prosecutor Weng Wei-lun (翁偉倫) said that the case differs from previous espionage cases, which primarily involved retired military personnel who were recruited abroad and who accepted gifts in exchange for information. If money is the main motivator for military retirees to commit treason, then active military personnel would likely be similarly motivated to commit such acts. One recent case involved a suspected spy who cased pawnshops frequented by military personnel to identify those with money problems who would be most susceptible to recruitment for espionage. CTBC Business School Department of Business and Economic Law associate professor Chen Tsung-chien (陳重見) suggested that the problem might stem from Taiwanese judges’ poor understanding of national security issues, and suggested that a specialized court should try all national security cases.
Source:Taipei Times
August 04, 2023 16:43 UTC
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back, and maybe better than ever
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back, and maybe better than everThe seventh iteration of the franchise delves into the teenage-ness of its 15-year-old turtles in the gross-out humor and the comic book-like feel of the animationBy Jake Coyle / APThere are some good gags and clever innovations in the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, but there is one brilliant idea: casting Ice Cube as the voice of the movie’s mutant insect supervillain Super Fly. But we’re now up to the seventh Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film, not counting all the series and videogames. Mutant Mayhem, currently in theaters throughout Taiwan, can’t entirely get over the feeling of trodding over well-covered turtle ground. But the most important twist to this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles iteration may be diving into the teenage-ness of its 15-year-old turtles. Yet this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while a half shell of those films, has its own low-key charms.
Source:Taipei Times
August 04, 2023 00:43 UTC
Ukraine’s drones provide a lesson
Ukraine’s drones provide a lessonBy Fang Fu-chuan 方復權Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been going on for nearly a year and a half. At the end of last year Ukraine started building the world’s first “naval fleet of drones” to counter Russia’s Black Sea fleet, news reports said. One of Ukraine’s maritime drones — an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) that resembles a speedboat — is 5.5m long and weighs one tonne. The USV’s main functions include long-range maritime reconnaissance and coastal surveillance, escorting and supporting Ukraine’s conventional fleet and countering amphibious operations, among others. In such a scenario, easily concealed sea drones and their operators stationed in bunkers might well play a role in turning the tide of the war.
Source:Taipei Times
August 03, 2023 21:41 UTC
S Korea experts to test superconductor breakthrough claim
S Korea experts to test superconductor breakthrough claimBloombergSouth Korean experts have created a committee to verify claims about a potential breakthrough in superconductor technology that has been driving both excitement and controversy among markets and industry participants. The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics (KSSC) asked the Quantum Energy Research Centre to submit samples that are required in the verification process of room-temperature superconductors, the institution said in a statement on Wednesday. Excitement grew further after a video of a team of Chinese scientists replicating the South Korean team’s findings went viral. Research institutes of KSSC members are to conduct cross verification if the Quantum Energy Research Centre provides samples, the statement said. Meanwhile, investors continued to pile into some South Korean stocks seen as related to superconductors, even as the stock exchange warned of speculative bets and unfair trades.
Source:Taipei Times
August 03, 2023 18:37 UTC
Labor funds earn about NT$470bn in first half
The funds managed by the bureau, such as the Labor Pension Fund, the Labor Retirement Fund, the Labor Insurance Fund, the Employment Insurance Fund and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund, posted gains of NT$470.98 billion during the six-month period, for a rate of return of 8.59 percent. The new Labor Pension Fund, launched in July 2015, had NT$3.79 trillion in assets as of the end of June, the most of any of the labor funds, and reported a rate of return of 8.38 percent in the first half, the bureau said. Overall, the funds managed by the Bureau of Labor Funds had combined assets of NT$5.86 trillion as of the end of June and generated NT$178.08 billion in returns in June alone. Bureau of Labor Funds Deputy Director-General Liu Li-ju (劉麗茹) said the funds the agency manages have built positions in electronics stocks because the nation’s electronics industry, including TSMC, has stayed ahead of its peers in terms of global competition. From January 2013 to June this year, the funds have had an average 4.99 percent rate of return, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 03, 2023 18:37 UTC
Three strategies to stop phone fraud
Three strategies to stop phone fraudBy Chiueh Tzi-cker 闕志克Perpetrators carrying out transnational telecommunications fraud originally came from Taichung. As a result, failure to eradicate telecom fraud has consistently ranked very high on surveys of public complaints about the government. To curb telecom fraud, the National Communications Commission said it has urged telecoms to adopt the following two measures. The following are three ideas that could effectively stop telecom fraud. The first is to aggressively detect phone numbers that perpetrators use to carry out telecom fraud based on their specific usage patterns.
Source:Taipei Times
August 03, 2023 03:38 UTC
‘Brave, but mad’ Russian activist dies
‘Brave, but mad’ Russian activist diesAFP, DAVYDKOVO, RussiaDuring his trial, Anatoly Berezikov repeatedly said that he was afraid of “disappearing.” Two weeks later, on June 14, he was found dead in his cell in southwest Russia. Rights advocate Tatiana Sporycheva during an interview in Tbilisi on Monday last week shows a video clip of Anatoly Berezikov, right. Photo: AFPHis friends and allies dismiss that account, saying they believe Berezikov was tortured in detention, possibly leading to his death. They can kidnap you, imprison you, search you, intimidate you, torture you and kill you,” said Tatiana Sporycheva, a rights advocate who supported Berezikov. He claimed to have put up posters from an Ukrainian campaign that offers Russian soldiers guidance on how to surrender.
Source:Taipei Times
August 02, 2023 21:39 UTC
Tunisian president Kais Saied sacks his prime minister
Tunisian president Kais Saied sacks his prime ministerAFP, TUNISTunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday sacked Najla Bouden as prime minister without explanation and replaced her with former central bank executive Ahmed Hachani, whom he tasked with overcoming the “colossal challenges” facing the cash-strapped north African country. No official explanation was given for Bouden’s dismissal, but several local media firms highlighted Saied’s displeasure over a number of shortages, particularly of bread in state-subsidized bakeries. New Tunisian Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani, right, and Tunisian President Kais Saied shake hands at the presidential palace of Carthage in Tunis on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFESaied immediately appointed in her place Hachani, who until then worked at the Tunisian central bank and studied law at the University of Tunis, where Saied taught. The new head of government, a figure unknown to the general public, was sworn in before the president, the presidency video said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 02, 2023 18:39 UTC
Councilor slams Ko’s two books titled ‘White Power’
Ko has published two books, expounding his ideas to forge a new third political force in Taiwan, calling it “colorless,” or as a “white-color party,” and named them The White Power and The White Power II in English. Chang yesterday posted a message on social media saying Ko had written a book in 2014 that is on sale at online foreign platforms with the title The White Power, then followed up with a second book later that year, titled The White Power II. The TPP had to withdraw its slogan “Vote White, Vote Right,” due to the backlash from domestic media and Taiwan-based foreign journalists. The two books are still available online on international platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Wob with the title The White Power, Chang said. The TPP last week had to remove its slogan “Vote White, Vote Right” from its Web site following criticism about its resemblance to the language used by white supremacists.
Source:Taipei Times
August 02, 2023 18:39 UTC
Playing for a cause
From left, Brayden Sung, Audrey Sung and Jayden Sung pose for a photo before the Stars of Tomorrow Concerto Night at Eslite Performance Hall last Wednesday. Audrey Sung practices before the Stars of Tomorrow Concerto Night at Eslite Performance Hall last Wednesday. The three often do volunteer work together, such as helping at beach cleanups and playing for charity groups. Jayden Sung poses for a photo before the Stars of Tomorrow Concerto Night at Eslite Performance Hall last Wednesday. Brayden Sung poses for a photo before the Stars of Tomorrow Concerto Night at Eslite Performance Hall last Wednesday.
Source:Taipei Times
August 02, 2023 00:53 UTC
21 receipts win NT$10 million in May-June invoice lottery
21 receipts win NT$10 million in May-June invoice lotteryStaff writer, with CNAA total of 21 receipts with the NT $10 million (US$317,460) special prize-winning number 29268886 were issued in May and June as part of Taiwan’s invoice lottery, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said yesterday. There were 16 receipts issued with the number 12912565 that won the invoice lottery’s NT$2 million grand prize, the MOF saidThe MOF released the winning invoice lottery numbers for the May-June period on July 25. The MOF releases the winning invoice lottery numbers for the May-June period on July 25. FamilyMart said it issued two receipts with the winning special prize number and one with the winning grand prize number. Hi-Life said it issued one receipt each with the special prize number and grand prize number, with the special prize receipt issued in Hukou Township in Hsinchu County for a purchase of NT$15.
Source:Taipei Times
August 01, 2023 18:40 UTC
Welcome back
Biden set to order curb on tech investment in ChinaEXECUTIVE ORDER: The investment controls are part of a broader effort by the White House to limit China’s capabilities to develop next-generation technologies US President Joe Biden is planning to sign an executive order to limit critical US technology investments in China by the middle of next month, according to people familiar with the internal deliberations. The order focuses on semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It would not affect any existing investments and would only prohibit certain transactions. Other deals would have to be disclosed to the government. The timing for the order, slated for the second week of next month, has slipped many times before, and there is no guarantee it would not be delayed again, but internal discussions have already shifted from
Source:Taipei Times
August 01, 2023 18:38 UTC