Our days are getting longer as the polar ice caps melt
As the planet’s mass becomes more oblate, or flatter, it spins more slowly and thus an Earth day gets longer. No one expected to ever need a negative leap second, so it has never been tested. While some experts believe a negative leap second is inevitable, we will eventually abandon leap seconds entirely. In 2022, the General Conference on Weights and Measures voted to end the leap second from 2035 for 100 years. Perhaps this should hasten the leap second’s demise.
Source:Taipei Times
July 22, 2024 17:16 UTC
Researchers test Tsua-Ing rocket engine for first time
Researchers test Tsua-Ing rocket engine for first timeBy Esme Yeh / Staff writer, with CNAA National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) research team at 6:06am yesterday launched a rocket from a site in Syuhai Village (旭海) in Pingtung County. It was the first test of a Tsua-Ing hybrid rocket engine, and the sixth sounding rocket to take off from the launch site established by the National Science and Technology Council. The rocket was jointly built by the university’s ASARe Lab, the Advanced Rocket Research Center (ARRC) and the MEMS Servo Control System Laboratory (MSCL). The ASARe Lab integrated the rocket’s systems and designed the launch pad, while the ARRC provided the Tsua-Ing hybrid rocket engine and the MSCL provided the avionics system, Tan Zu said yesterday. Meanwhile, a National Science and Technology Council official said that TASA has initiated its Launch Vehicle Program, which aims to ensure that Taiwan is self-reliant in satellite launch technology.
Source:Taipei Times
July 22, 2024 03:34 UTC
What new residents actually require
New residents are people, just like ordinary Taiwanese, especially those who come from Southeast Asian countries. If enacted, the “new residents’ protection law” drafted by the Ministry of the Interior would just be a bonus measure, just like mother-tongue education. The vulnerable need protection, but we do not really need it. Taiwanese entrepreneurs’ lack of knowledge about Southeast Asian countries makes them depend on guidance from those Chinese entrepreneurs. Given this situation, dealing with the lack of a Southeast Asian talent pool would be much more beneficial to new residents than the planned “new residents’ protection law.”Nguyen Thi Thanh Ngan is the founder of Study Vietnamese Every Day.
Source:Taipei Times
July 21, 2024 17:45 UTC
EDITORIAL: KMT, TPP are instigating crisis
EDITORIAL: KMT, TPP are instigating crisisThe first session of the 11th Legislative Yuan’s four-year term ended on Tuesday, and 55 bills were passed in the session, which is the fewest bills passed in one session in 12 years. In the last two days of the session, lawmakers rushed to pass a slew of resolutions and bills, mainly proposed by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators, who have a combined majority in the legislature. It was arrogant how they drafted the amendments covertly, and some party legislators, who were forced to vote uniformly with the caucuses’ decisions, looked clueless. TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) last month said she had to suppress the urge to vote against a KMT-proposed bill and follow her caucus. The two parties’ attitude is the source of the constitutional crisis they claim to be trying to prevent.
Source:Taipei Times
July 21, 2024 17:44 UTC
First Taiwanese swims across English Channel
First Taiwanese swims across English ChannelBy Esme Yeh / Staff writer, with CNAHsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. Taiwanese swimmer Hsu Wen-erh holds a Taiwan national flag on a ship yesterday after finishing her swim across the English Channel. Hsu said she left the UK at 8:30am, swimming without a wetsuit, with the aim of reaching France before dark. I swam with my eyes closed almost all the way through the last two hours,” Hsu said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 21, 2024 03:43 UTC
Some questions for the ‘naive’ Ma
Some questions for the ‘naive’ MaBy Jerome KeatingIn a recent interview with the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called President William Lai (賴清德) “naive.”As always with Ma, one must first deconstruct what he is saying to fully understand the parallel universe he insists on defending. The quickest way is to confront Ma with a series of pointed questions that force him to take clear stands on the complex issues involved and prevent him from his usual ramblings. This leads to a final set of questions that interviewers could direct at Ma: “Do you feel that the CCP would change and become democratic? Would it be on the side of democracy or not?”Those are some questions that international journalists could ask Ma in any interview. Such questions would surely lay bare whether it is Lai or Ma who is naive.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2024 21:45 UTC
Transgender man officially changes gender
Transgender man officially changes genderStaff writer, with CNAA transgender man, identified as Nemo (尼莫), changed the gender designation on his identification card in Taipei on Friday, becoming the first transgender man in the nation to do so without undergoing gender-affirming surgery. Photo: CNA“Seeing this [updated gender marker on Nemo’s ID card] gave me goose bumps,” said Mimi, Nemo’s wife. They were accompanied to the household registration office in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) by Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) secretary-general Chien Chih-chieh (簡至潔). “With [Nemo’s] new ID card, every day is a gift, and every day is a new start,” Chien said. The court revoked the decision by the household registration office to deny Nemo’s application to change the gender on his ID card from female to male.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2024 21:43 UTC
Tony Blair should stop fueling the artificial intelligence hype
Tony Blair should stop fueling the artificial intelligence hypeThe UK must not fall under the spell of the former British prime minister’s unhelpful and unreliable claims about what AI can actually doBy Parmy Olson / Bloomberg OpinionWith the world mired in confusion about how useful the artificial intelligence (AI) boom really is, an odd contribution has come from former British prime minister Tony Blair. The same paper recommends the British government invest in AI technology and “upgrade its data systems,” without naming any providers. A spokesman for the Tony Blair Institute said: “Mr. “The Larry Ellison Foundation donation is not the only large donation TBI [Tony Blair Institute] has,” the spokesman said. It would be a shame if the new British government fell under the spell of Blair and AI without due diligence.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2024 16:15 UTC
Rethinking one’s way of teaching, studying
Rethinking one’s way of teaching, studyingBy Teng Hon-yuan 鄧鴻源This year’s Advanced Subjects Test, the second round of the joint college entrance examination, was held on Friday and Saturday last week. Their main problem with the test was that its scope was too broad and the test was too subjective. Instead of denouncing the test questions, it would be better to spend more time understanding the new trends and reformulating one’s approach to teaching, Yeh said. In other words, the test questions for Citizenship and Society are not too difficult. Secondary-school education in Europe, the US and Japan does not only focus on textbooks: Students often read extracurricular books they can discuss in the classroom.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2024 16:15 UTC
Taiwan tops World Mathematics contest
Taiwan tops World Mathematics contestCALCULUS IN MALAYSIA: Liu Cheng-lin, a high-school student from Taichung, was No. The World Mathematics Invitational returned to Malaysia after eight years for its 12th edition this year, which began on Friday last week, Ou said. Children take a World Mathematics Invitational test in Guilin, China, in 2020. Photo: screen grab from the World Mathematics Invitational Web siteContestants ranged from kindergarten to senior-high-school level, he said. In addition to the diamond, gold, silver and bronze awards won by Taiwanese, the nation also garnered nine merit awards.
Source:Taipei Times
July 20, 2024 03:41 UTC
Enacting fraud law cannot wait
Enacting fraud law cannot waitBy Lo Cheng-chung 羅承宗The 11th Legislative Yuan on Wednesday ended its first session, passing new laws against fraud, including amendments to provisions of the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法). The new laws were passed quickly after three readings and without much debate. The Executive Yuan had passed the draft laws in May and sent them to the Legislative Yuan for review. However, this also highlights how dissatisfied Taiwanese are with widespread fraud activities. How can fraud activities be effectively managed and eliminated in this era of transnational social platforms?
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2024 21:41 UTC
EU member states must stand with Taiwan
EU member states must stand with TaiwanBy Matteo AngioliOn June 27 and 28 the heads of government of the EU held the first meeting of the European Council after the EU elections. The EU must stand with Taiwan by increasing trade and facilitating Taipei’s meaningful participation in international organizations to nurture a global community of peace built on the power of deterrence and democratic universal values. A resolution adopted by the European Parliament in December called on member states to “facilitate and encourage cultural and educational exchanges in order to promote scientific and academic collaborations in the context of the broader trade and investment relationship.”This is the path that EU member states should confirm for this new legislature. The European Council conclusions of June 30 last year read: “The European Union is concerned about growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The European Council opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion.
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2024 16:19 UTC
Experts see negative outlook for Chinese economy in the wake of Third Plenum
Chiu made the comment at a conference in Taipei on China’s Third Plenum. The Chinese official meeting, typically held once every five years, is today scheduled to conclude, with Chinese officials expected to publish records of the proceedings in the following days. Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng speaks at a forum on the Chinese Communist Party’s Third Plenum in Taipei yesterday. Citing China’s official directive to deepen reforms and modernization, he said China’s important economic indicators are not likely to improve in the short term. China’s problems would likely prove intractable for at least two decades, as they were symptoms of political interference in the economy, Ming said, adding that Beijing is at risk of creating a caged economy.
Source:Taipei Times
July 19, 2024 03:35 UTC
TSMC projects more than 25% growth
TSMC projects more than 25% growthEXPECTATIONS: The firm, which is on track to outpace global foundry industry revenue growth, said it expects constrained advanced process capacity amid stronger AI demandBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday increased its projected revenue growth for this year to above 25 percent, as stronger-than-expected demand for premium smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) devices are to drive greater utilization of cutting-edge 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips. In April TSMC estimated 21 to 24 percent annual growth. The firm’s revenue growth is on track to greatly outpace the global foundry industry, which is expected to rise about 10 percent this year. Advanced packing capacity would continue to be constrained through next year, even though TSMC plans to more than double its chip-on-wafer-on-substrate capacity next year, he said. For this quarter, TSMC expects revenue to reach an all-time high, expanding by 7.59 percent to 11.43 percent sequentially to between US$22.4 billion and US$23.2 billion compared with US$20.82 billion last quarter.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2024 18:45 UTC
Committee unveils investment plans
Committee unveils investment plansDEVELOPMENT PATH: The committee approved a proposal to teach 200,000 people artificial intelligence skills and attract 120,000 foreign experts, the premier saidBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAThe Economic Development Committee yesterday detailed its plans and drafted a proposal aiming to attract domestic and international investment into vital industries, which are valued at NT$3 trillion to NT$4 trillion (US$92 billion to US$123 billion). If approved, the proposal would require drafting new laws to ensure that the Grand Taiwan Investment policy is launched successfully, Cho said. Photo: CNAThe committee also passed a proposal to establish an Asian asset management center with Taiwanese characteristics, Cho said. The program would continue a 2020 program to improve children’s medical care, which would end this year. Personnel training on the handling of newborns, and children’s cancer, severe and genetic-related cases would be prioritized, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 18, 2024 18:41 UTC