MJIB raids eight alleged Chinese firms over hirings
MJIB raids eight alleged Chinese firms over hiringsStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) last week launched a multicity raid of eight technology companies with alleged links to China that are believed to have hired staff illegally in Taiwan. The companies allegedly faked business registrations, posing as branch offices of overseas firms with foreign or Taiwanese investment capital, and allegedly hired personnel without authorization, it said. Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau agents at an undisclosed location raid a firm accused of hiring staff illegally in Taiwan. Local media reports said that two of the companies are Fuzhou Sinoregal and Quectel Wireless Solutions, which is headquartered in Shanghai. Since 2016, the company has reportedly contracted a Taiwanese firm to hire R&D employees on its behalf, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2023 04:48 UTC
Ryan Hass On Taiwan: Now is the time to build zones of political consensus
Ryan Hass On Taiwan: Now is the time to build zones of political consensusElection seasons expose societal divisions and contrasting visions about the future of Taiwan. This presents an opportunity for Taiwan’s political candidates to demonstrate leadership in carving out zones of political consensus. Another area of potential political consensus could be an agreement that the next administration should prioritize building stockpiles of critical materials. America’s political system is providing a powerful advertisement of the risks of allowing zones of political consensus to crumble. There are both lessons from America’s travails and opportunities through the upcoming campaign season for Taiwan’s leaders to build zones of political consensus.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2023 04:48 UTC
Modi opens new parliament building in part of makeover
Modi opens new parliament building in part of makeoverReuters, NEW DELHIIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s new parliament building yesterday, a modern complex which is part of his Hindu nationalist government’s grand plan to give a makeover to the British colonial-era architecture in the nation’s capital. Vehicles drive past the new parliament building in New Delhi on Friday. “To open a new parliament building without the opposition, it does not mean there is a democracy in the country. The triangular-shaped parliament complex is just across from the old, circular heritage building built by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1927, two decades before India’s independence. The old parliament is to be converted into a museum.
Source:Taipei Times
May 28, 2023 22:49 UTC
First China-made passenger jet makes maiden flight
First China-made passenger jet makes maiden flight‘COMING OF AGE’: The C919 commercial jetliner would operate on China Eastern Airlines’ route between Shanghai and the southwestern city of Chengdu, CCTV saidAFP, BEIJINGChina’s first domestically produced passenger jet made its maiden commercial flight yesterday, a milestone event in the nation’s decades-long effort to compete with Western rivals in the air. Beijing hopes that the C919 commercial jetliner would challenge foreign models such as the Boeing Co 737 MAX and the Airbus SE A320, but many of its parts are sourced from abroad. A passenger takes photos as he boards China’s first domestically produced passenger jet C919 before its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing, at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport yesterday. China has invested heavily in production of the homegrown jet as it seeks to become self-sufficient in key technologies. The aircraft is manufactured by state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC, 中國商用飛機), but many of its parts — including its engines — are sourced from overseas.
Source:Taipei Times
May 28, 2023 18:35 UTC
India’s workers are trapped in a vicious cycle of coal and heat
A worker washes his face at a coal mine operated by South Eastern Coalfields Ltd in Gevra, India, on May 10. A worker stands under an umbrella as a dump truck passes at a coal mine in Gevra, India, on May 10. Trucks drive in a coal mine in Gevra, India, on May 10. He helps dig coal for state-owned Coal India Ltd, one of the largest producers globally. Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, the unit of Coal India, said the order does allow coal mining to continue as it is linked to essential services, specifically power supply.
Source:Taipei Times
May 27, 2023 17:26 UTC
Chennai stand between Gujarat and IPL title
Chennai stand between Gujarat and IPL titleReuters, NEW DELHIRevenge will fuel Gujarat Titans’ title defense when they clash with four-time winners the Chennai Super Kings today in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final in Ahmedabad. Gujarat, who won the title in their debut season last year, topped the group stage this season, but went down to the M.S. Gujarat Titans batsman Shubman Gill raises his bat to celebrate passing 100 during their Indian Premier League qualifier against the Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. “I think this was probably my best innings so far in the IPL,” Gill said. Chennai have an opportunity to match Mumbai’s five IPL titles in what could be their talismanic leader Dhoni’s final season.
Source:Taipei Times
May 27, 2023 16:59 UTC
Round and round
China bars US chips made by MicronSECURITY RISK: Chinese companies could respond to the announcement by moving away from all products made by the US firm, diverting business toward Korean rivals China delivered the latest salvo in an escalating semiconductor war with the US, announcing that Micron Technology Inc products have failed to pass a cybersecurity review in the country. Operators of key infrastructure in China should not buy the company’s goods, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it found “relatively serious” cybersecurity risks in Micron products sold in China. The components caused “significant security risks to our critical information infrastructure supply chain,” which would affect national security, it said. The results come more than a month after China announced an investigation on imports from
Source:Taipei Times
May 27, 2023 03:30 UTC
US official raises concern on China’s treatment of firms
US official raises concern on China’s treatment of firmsBloombergUS Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Thursday expressed concern about recent actions Beijing has taken against US companies in a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (王文濤). The encounter marked the highest-level visit to the US by a Chinese official in more than two years. US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo testifies during a US Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday last week. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce in its own statement said that the meeting was candid and constructive, and that Wang expressed concerns about US chip policy and export controls with Raimondo. The trip fits a broader trend of Chinese officials traveling more often in the months since the country ended its COVID-19 restrictions.
Source:Taipei Times
May 27, 2023 03:30 UTC
Fixing media framing of Taiwan
Rather than framing Tsai’s visit as being that of a story of Taiwan “provoking” China — Beijing’s preferred narrative — the post reversed that framing. The caption was not the only example of international media centering Taiwan in its reporting of Tsai’s trip. Beijing’s international strategy on Taiwan is to convince the world that Taiwan does not exist. All too often international media allow Beijing’s narrative — otherwise known as discourse operations — to shape their reporting on Taiwan. When reporting on Taiwan, international media should be careful to center Taiwan’s perspective, not Beijing’s pronouncements or framing of Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
May 26, 2023 21:43 UTC
EDITORIAL: Getting through to Chinese
EDITORIAL: Getting through to ChineseA report published in the Journal of Contemporary China on May 14 indicated that about half of Chinese would be in favor of using military force to achieve unification with Taiwan. All of this means that Chinese military aggression against Taiwan is exceedingly likely to result in failure and be highly detrimental to China. The Chinese public, for all its nationalistic posturing, is aware of this. Moreover, the Chinese public has been allowed to discuss the issue online. Those messages seem to be getting through to the Chinese public.
Source:Taipei Times
May 26, 2023 21:43 UTC
EDITORIAL: No place for bigots
EDITORIAL: No place for bigotsNational Taiwan University (NTU) has come under fire after an offensive set of proposals by two students running for president and vice president of the student council caused an uproar over the weekend. This and similar incidents in the past reveal underlying issues in Taiwan’s education system, social environment and right to free speech. As Taiwan has a test-oriented education system, pre-college students spend most of their time studying, taking exams and going to cram schools. As a result, students who get into top-ranking universities, such as NTU, usually share a similar privileged background and educational experience. In a similar manner, NTU should expel or mete out equivalent punishments to the two students.
Source:Taipei Times
May 25, 2023 21:47 UTC
Extradition is sought for Pharmally suspect Huang
Pharmally International Holding Co chairman Tony Huang (黃文烈) — who is also known as Huang Wen-lieh — and other businesspeople, were indicted on charges of security fraud, stock manipulation and fraudulent financial reporting in 2020, the ministry said. Pharmally International Holding Co chairman Tony Huang, also known as Huang Wen-lieh, is pictured in an undated photograph. Reports said that Tony Huang traveled from Singapore to the UK, and was detained in Thailand during a transit on his return flight. Huang Tzu-yen and Chen apparently manage subsidiary companies in Singapore, and are also wanted in the Pharmally case, the ministry said. Wang encountered financial difficulties and sought assistance from Tony Huang, who had been investing in real estate in China’s Xiamen since 2003, investigators said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 25, 2023 19:00 UTC
Meta, Google aiding in removing fake investment ads
Meta, Google aiding in removing fake investment adsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterFrom April 10 to Friday last week, Meta Platforms Inc and Google Taiwan removed a combined 1,363 scam investment advertisements from their platforms, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday, as it warned of the continuing prevalence of fraudulent information. That compares with the 39 scam ads they deleted a month earlier, the commission said. During the period, the commission detected 1,615 ads that were highly likely to be scams to Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, and Meta removed about 83 percent of them, or 1,338 ads, it said. Photo: Tyrone Su, ReutersThe commission found 105 suspicious ads on Google during the same period, with Google deleting 25 ads, or 24 percent of the total, it said. Besides partnering with online platforms, the commission said it is to tighten the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act (證券投資信託及顧問法) to curb investment misinformation.
Source:Taipei Times
May 25, 2023 18:38 UTC
Media need to verify AI content: NCC
Media need to verify AI content: NCCACCURACY: The NCC ordered SET News and Formosa News to improve their election day coverage after irregularities were discovered in their Nov. 26 vote count reportsBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterBroadcast media must verify the authenticity of information before airing it, including content created using ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence (AI) generative applications, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday. “Broadcast media might use images and content generated by AI. Controversies caused by AI generative applications would still be addressed after the commission receives complaints from viewers, she added. The two news channels have been told to address the issues, NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said. “They should report vote counts based on valid sources, and explain how and where they get their voting data before the vote count begins,” Wong said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 25, 2023 10:44 UTC
YouBike’s plan for hack compensation, cybersecurity due
YouBike’s plan for hack compensation, cybersecurity dueBy Tsai Ya-hua and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerYouBike Co was given until today to draw up a plan to improve its cybersecurity and compensate the 40,593 people whose personal data was compromised in last week’s hacks, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Tuesday. The hackers accessed the cellphone numbers of YouBike users and their passwords used for Web sites and platforms other than YouBike, and changed user e-ticket verification data and ride records, the company said. Photo: CNAThe cellphone numbers of the bike users — obtained via unknown means — were used to log in to the accounts using brute-force attacks, YouBike said. YouBike users need to use the forgotten password function on the official Web site to set new passwords and gain access to their accounts, it said. Fees for using the bicycle-sharing service are paid only at physical service points such as bike meters and customer service centers, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 25, 2023 04:42 UTC