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AUSTRALIA

Macquarie to buy AirTrunk

The country is set for its second-largest private equity deal of the past year, with Macquarie Group Ltd’s infrastructure arm agreeing to buy most of data-center firm AirTrunk. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets finalized an agreement late last week to take control of AirTrunk, people familiar with the matter said. The investment values the business at about A$3 billion (US$2.1 billion), the people said. AirTrunk chief executive officer Robin Khuda would keep a minority stake after the transaction, the people said. AirTrunk is currently owned by investors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s special situations arm and TPG Sixth Street Partners.

GERMANY

State generates surplus

The federal government made a low double-digit billion euro surplus last year, Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported yesterday, thanks to higher tax revenues and record-low interest rates. Unused special funds — including money set aside for renovating schools or incentives for fighting climate change — also contributed to the surplus, Sueddeutsche added, citing government sources.

INVESTMENT

UAE to spend in Indonesia

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to invest US$22.8 billion in Indonesia through a sovereign wealth fund being set up by Indonesian President Joko Widodo as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to finance billions of dollars of infrastructure and energy projects. The UAE plans to invest in building Indonesia’s new capital and also develop properties in Aceh Province, the cabinet secretariat said in a statement, citing Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan.

SOUTH KOREA

Chinese tourist boom likely

The nations’ years-long disputes with China are being resolved, and analysts at Nomura Holdings Inc expect Chinese tourists to return en masse to the nation of K-pop. Nomura said in a note on Friday last week that Chinese group-package trips are resuming and received confirmation from a major travel agency in the country that its tour companies have started offering services to domestic customers for the upcoming spring festival.

CHINA

Goldman to double staff

Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to double its headcount in the Chinese Communist Party-ruled nation over the next five years, provided it continues down the path of opening up its financial markets. The ambition to raise staffing to 600 is part of a five-year plan drawn up by executives at the New York-based investment bank, said a person familiar with matter who asked not to be identified discussing confidential plans.

AUTOMAKERS

Porsche deliveries up 10%

Porsche AG shrugged off widespread industry malaise, reporting record deliveries for last year and predicting that its first all-electric model Taycan would foster further growth this year. Global deliveries rose 10 percent to 280,800 vehicles last year, driven mainly by strong consumer appetite for the Macan and Cayenne sport utility vehicles, Porsche said in a statement yesterday. “We’re optimistic that we can sustain the high demand in 2020,” Porsche sales chief Detlev von Platen said in the statement. Sales momentum should benefit from “the introduction of some new models and full order books for the Taycan,” he said.

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title: World Business Quick Take


content_text:
Walmart fires more than 50 in India, denies exit plans

Walmart Inc has fired more than 50 employees in India, including eight senior executives, as it restructures its business in the country, people familiar with the matter said.

The cuts are due to a greater incorporation of technology into its local operations and a bigger focus on integrating e-commerce with its brick-and-mortar wholesale business, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the restructuring.

A report from local daily the Economic Times, published yesterday, said that more job cuts are planned for April and that the company was planning to shut down its physical presence in the country after struggling to turn a profit.

People familiar with the matter said that this was untrue and that the company plans to continue adding brick-and-mortar wholesale stores.

The world’s largest retailer “remains committed” to growing in India and keeps looking for ways to operate more effectively, it said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. “This requires us to review our corporate structure.”

The job cuts come as competition grows fiercer in the local retail market. Amazon.com Inc is stepping up investment, and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is preparing to roll out his e-commerce venture.

Global retailers such as Walmart have been stymied by regulations in India that are designed to protect local mom-and-pop stores — known as kiranas — from foreign competition. Prevented from selling directly to consumers, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company has focused on building a wholesale business that supplies local store owners, and has also pivoted to e-commerce by acquiring Flipkart Online Services Pvt for US$16 billion in 2018.

Political pressure is now growing for stricter regulation of foreign-owned e-commerce platforms as well, while a broad consumption slowdown has added to retailers’ woes.

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Taiwan’s economy is expected to remain healthy this year with GDP growth of 2.1 percent on the back of improving exports and stable domestic demand, but cross-strait relations could affect the tourism sector, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) said yesterday.

“Stable domestic demand, alongside robust external demand, underpins our positive outlook,” ANZ economists Bansi Madhavani and Raymond Yeung (楊宇霆) said in a report.

Madhavani and Yeung expect domestic demand to add 1.5 percentage points to Taiwan’s GDP this year, and external demand to contribute another 0.6 percentage points, the report showed.

Based on government data, exports are forecast to grow 1.9 percent this year, reversing a contraction of 1.4 percent, the report said.

Manufacturing surveys and production trends already pointed to an incipient recovery, ANZ said, adding that an ongoing revival of the semiconductor industry would benefit the export outlook and the domestic corporate sector.

Global semiconductor sales might register growth of 5.9 percent this year following a 12.8 percent decline last year, ANZ said.

Major local tech firms, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), have raised their capital expenditures to US$14 billion or more due to the increased market penetration rate expected from 5G-enabled smartphones, the report said.

Positive cyclical movements in the technology sector would allow exports and industrial production to stage a comeback in the first half of the year, and a sustained recovery would underpin momentum through the second half, it said.

US-China trade tensions have prompted production migration, which has realigned the electronics supply chain and enabled Taiwan to integrate more in Asia’s value chain, the report said.

Meanwhile, policymakers have introduced incentives to attract investment and encourage local manufacturers to move operations home from China, the report said, adding that business-friendly policies place Taiwan in a position to benefit from a revival in the tech sector, facilitating a 2.5 percent increase in exports next year.

Cross-strait relations might cloud issues for the tourism sector, ANZ said.

Arrivals from Asia accounted for more than 89 percent of all tourists last year, with visitors from China making up nearly 25 percent, it said, adding that it remains to be seen whether Beijing’s restrictions on tourist visits to Taiwan will be kept in place after the elections

However, improvements in growth outlook and stock market performance would support consumer sentiment, ANZ said.

Inflation is likely to remain low, with readings for headline and core consumer prices expected to edge up 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent respectively this year, the lowest in Asia, it said.

Benign inflation would allow the central bank to hold policy rates at 1.375 percent for the year, it said.

The New Taiwan dollar could trade at NT$30 to the US dollar as ongoing currency and capital flows reflect optimism, ANZ said.

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title: ANZ sets GDP forecast at ‘healthy’ 2.1%


title: Donald Trump’s latest blunder a foreign policy gift to China

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US President Donald Trump’s decision to order the assassination of general Qassem Suleimani, Iran’s most powerful military commander, has raised the specter, albeit still distant, of all-out war between the US and the Islamic Republic. There is only one winner in this situation: China.

With Trump’s latest blunder, history may not be repeating itself, but it is certainly rhyming. When George W. Bush began his presidency in January 2001, his neoconservative advisers identified China as the biggest long-term threat to the US. So his administration labeled China a “strategic competitor” and set to work on containing the US’ Asian rival.

In April 2001 — the same month a US Navy spy plane accidentally collided with a Chinese fighter jet while on a routine surveillance mission over the South China Sea — the US announced the sale of a weapons package to Taiwan over Chinese protests. Bilateral relations plunged to their lowest point since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1979.

Everything changed on Sept. 11, 2001, when the US was struck by the single deadliest terrorist attack in history. The Bush administration became so preoccupied with retaliating against al-Qaeda — an objective that led to the catastrophic decision to invade Iraq two years later — that it all but forgot the distant specter of an Asian superpower.

Just three months after 9/11, the Bush administration signed off on China’s accession to the WTO, and China’s economy shifted into high gear. In 2000, China’s economic output amounted to US$1.21 trillion — less than 12 percent of US GDP. By the end of Bush’s second term, in 2008, China’s GDP had reached US$4.6 trillion — more than 31 percent of the US’. Today, China’s GDP stands at about 65 percent of the US level.

In this sense, China owes its “economic miracle” to the 9/11 terrorist attacks — or, more precisely, to the Bush administration’s disastrous response. Two decades from now, we may well be saying the same about the Suleimani assassination.

Like Bush, when Trump entered the White House, his administration quickly branded China the US’ top geopolitical adversary and adopted a confrontational policy, exemplified by a trade war that, despite a “phase one” agreement, has yet to be resolved. In effect, Trump revived great power competition — focused primarily on containing China — as the organizing principle of US foreign policy.

Then Trump had Suleimani killed, and all eyes turned toward Iran. If the conflict continues to escalate — even if it stops short of all-out war — the US will most likely redirect significant resources toward confronting the Islamic Republic, and, like after 9/11, move China to the foreign-policy back burner.

For Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), capitalizing on this shift will require a carefully calibrated response. The events unfolding in the Middle East present a tantalizing strategic opportunity for China, but, as Xi probably recognizes, his best bet is to declare support for Iran — and continue to import Iranian oil surreptitiously, in defiance of US sanctions — but avoid provoking Trump, say, by supplying weapons to the Iranians.

However, even as China limits its involvement, it cannot go entirely unnoticed. The country’s growing power — and the US’ interest in containing it — will factor into the strategic calculus of both sides in the US-Iran conflict.

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title: Taiwan News Quick Take

people: 沈智慧 林佳龍

content_text:
TRANSPORTATION

E-payment discount to end

The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp board yesterday approved a proposal to cancel a 20 percent discount for tickets purchased using electronic payment cards. The Taipei City Government approved the plan last month, and needs to give it the final approval after the board’s decision. Instead of the discount policy, the company is to introduce a loyalty reward program, which would offer cash rebates when a rider swipes their card at an MRT gate, it said. Passengers riding the MRT 11 to 20 times per month would receive a 10 percent rebate in the following month, and an increase of 5 percent for every additional 10 rides, the company said, adding that those who ride 51 times or more per month would receive a rebate of 30 percent. The new policy is to take effect on Feb. 1, it said.

HEALTH

Experts arrive in Wuhan

Two Taiwanese health experts have arrived in Wuhan, China, to learn more about a pneumonia outbreak that has left one person dead and infected more than three dozen, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The experts arrived in the city late on Sunday and are expected to stay there for two days under the guidance of local health officials, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said. As of Sunday, 41 cases had been confirmed in the city, seven of whom were in a critical condition, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The WHO has designated the novel coronavirus as 2019-nCoV and has urged all countries to improve public awareness and adopt self-protection measures against it.

SOCIETY

Couriers mull labor action

Foodpanda couriers are mulling whether to go on strike on Thursday to protest the company’s decision to cut delivery fees. Several social media posts by the couriers expressed displeasure over the company’s announcement on Friday last week that the delivery fee per trip would be reduced from NT$70 to NT$60 from Thursday. The couriers expressed anger that the food delivery platform made the decision without consulting them, with some urging coworkers online not to take orders on Thursday in protest. Foodpanda on Sunday said the rate change aims to offer its couriers a more stable income, as they would be able to deliver more orders per hour. It would continue to engage in dialogue with its couriers to discern their views on the changes, the company said. Taiwan Labour Front secretary-general Son Yu-liam (孫友聯) supported a strike, saying that Foodpanda cannot unilaterally change the contract.

POLITICS

Minister mum on career

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday refused to disclose his next career move following the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) victory in Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections. Lin was credited for helping DPP legislative candidates’ campaigns in Taichung, where he served as mayor from 2014 to 2018. The most notable result was winning two seats in the city previously held by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates — three-term lawmaker Sheng Chih-hwei (沈智慧) and two-term lawmaker Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆) — for the DPP’s candidate, Zhuang Ching-cheng (莊競程), and Taiwan Statebuilding Party challenger Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) respectively. The victories caused local Chinese-language media to speculate that Lin might again run for Taichung mayor in 2022.

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Eight items fail Lunar New Year food tests

FINES POSSIBLE:A health official said that white radishes, peppers, loofah products and pickled cucumbers were found to have pesticide residues exceeding legal limits
Eight items failed an inspection of food products traditionally eaten over the Lunar New Year holiday, a failure rate of 4.2 percent among the 191 tested, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday.

The inspection was mainly of dried ingredients, including daylilies, bamboo mushrooms, wood ear fungus and spices, as well as fruits and vegetables, meats, nuts, candies, pastries and preserved fruit popularly purchased in preparation for the holiday.

“The Lunar New Year’s random sample inspection of food was conducted on 191 items and eight items failed, including seven that contained pesticide residues above regulatory limits,” Food and Drug Division head Chen Yi-ting (陳怡婷) said.

Of the eight items, four were Sichuan peppers that contained one to three types of pesticide residue exceeding legal limits, white radish, pickled cucumber and loofah products that had pesticide residues exceeding regulatory limits, and a dried daylily found to contain excessive sulfur dioxide additives, Chen said.

According to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), the seven items with excessive pesticide residues could incur fines of NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (US$2,003 to US$6.68 million), while the item with excessive additives could incur a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million, Chen said.

Consuming food that contains too much sulfur dioxide can trigger asthma, so dried daylilies should be smelled before purchase and those with a stinging odor should be avoided, the department said.

People should carefully check packaging and labels before making a purchase, it said.

The department also recommended that people avoid too much processed food, preferably replacing it with fresh fruit and vegetables during the holidays.

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people: 吳敦義 謝龍介 侯友宜 江啟臣 魏平政 蔣萬安 曾永權 韓國瑜

title: KMT task force to review options

content_text:
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi speaks to reporters at a news conference in the city yesterday.Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to form a task force to review its defeats in Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections, and propose plans to reform the party, KMT deputy spokesman Huang Hsin-hua (黃心華) said yesterday.

Top party officials met for the first time since the elections, and the party’s “major setbacks” were discussed and an agreement reached to establish a task force to thoroughly review the party’s performance and propose reform plans, Huang said.

They also discussed the resignation of KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and executive-level members, he said, adding: “Once the Central Standing Committee approves of it, a chairperson by-election will be held immediately.”

To ensure the operation of the party during the transitional period, all management-level members have been urged to continue carrying out their duties, he said.

Among those at the meeting were KMT Vice Chairman Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), Organizational Development Committee director Tu Chien-teh (杜建德), Culture and Communications Committee director-general Cheng Mei-hua (程美華), Administration and Management Committee director Chiu Da-chan (邱大展), Disciplinary Committee director Wei Ping-cheng (魏平政) and other executive-level members.

Wu on Saturday night said that he and all executive-level members involved in the elections would tender their resignation to the Central Standing Committee tomorrow to take responsibility for the defeats.

The committee is expected to approve Wu’s resignation, but no one has yet publicly committed to running to succeed him.

KMT Tainan chapter head Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) had previously said that he would run for chairmanship after the elections, but he appears to be rethinking the move.

Party members have floated the names of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), and KMT legislators Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and Johnny Chiang (江啟臣).

Asked by reporters in Kaohsiung yesterday if he was interested, Han said he “has absolutely no plan” to run for chairman.

In an interview with China Review News Agency published yesterday, Johnny Chiang denied considering the idea, saying his priority is to stabilize things on the legislative front for the KMT.

Hou and Chiang Wan-an were vague when pressed on Sunday.

As New Taipei City mayor, he is preoccupied with his job of running the city, Hou said, adding yesterday that KMT members should calm down and ponder the party’s issues and its next steps.

Chiang Wan-an said that the KMT must thoroughly review its losses and that its problems “would not be solved in a short time.”

Additional reporting by Tsai Wen-chu and CNA

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title: US-China deal unchanged: Mnuchin

content_text:
US-China deal unchanged: Mnuchin

SIGNING:The US Treasury boss said translation was a ‘technical issue,’ but purchase commitments by China were unaltered, even though Beijing has not confirmed them
China’s commitments in the “phase one” trade deal with the US were not changed during a lengthy translation process and would be released this week as the document is signed in Washington, US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

Mnuchin told Fox News Channel that the deal reached on Dec. 13 still calls for China to buy US$40 billion to US$50 billion worth of US agricultural products annually, as well as a total of US$200 billion of US goods over two years.

“It wasn’t changed in translation. I don’t know where that rumor started,” Mnuchin said on the Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo show.

“We have been going through a translation process that I think we said was really a technical issue, and the language will be released this week. So I think it is, the day of the signing, we will be releasing the English version,” Mnuchin said.

“And people can see: This is a very, very extensive agreement,” he added.

White House officials had said as late as Friday that the final Chinese text was not yet completed, even as invitations went out to more than 200 people for a Jan. 15 signing event at the White House.

Asked if he still expected China to purchase US$40 billion to US$50 billion in US farm products under the deal, Mnuchin said: “I do. Let me just say, it is US$200 billion of additional products across the board over the next two years, and, specifically in agriculture, US$40 billion to US$50 billion.”

Thus far, Beijing has not confirmed those purchase commitments, and recent government actions in the agriculture industry have raised questions over the US$40 billion to US$50 billion target cited repeatedly by officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Chinese officials have been careful not to publicly discuss details of the phase one deal, because Washington has changed its position multiple times during negotiations, three Chinese officials with knowledge of the situation told reporters last week.

Signing of the trade deal tomorrow eases Trump’s 18-month trade dispute aimed at altering China’s trade and economic practices, but tariffs on about US$370 billion worth of Chinese imports per year are to be left in place.

Those are expected to be addressed in phase two negotiations, which Washington wants to launch this year, covering thornier issues untouched by the phase one deal, including Beijing’s heavy subsidies to Chinese state-owned enterprises, restrictions on digital trade and cybersecurity issues.

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title: 2020 Elections Focus: Vote reveals divide with China

people: 習近平 宋楚瑜 韓國瑜 蔡英文

content_text:
Democratic Progressive Party supporters wait for the election results outside the party’s headquarters in Taipei on Saturday.Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The landslide re-election of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) underscores Taiwanese’s embrace of an identity distinct from China — a shift that the communist leaders of China refuse to accept.

It is a contradiction that would keep Taiwan’s 23 million people at odds with its much larger neighbor for the foreseeable future and put increasing strains on Beijing’s “one China” principle, which holds that Taiwan and China are part of one country.

Tsai, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), on Saturday swept to a second four-year term with 57 percent of the vote. Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, tallied 39 percent, while People First Party Chairman and the party’s candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) got 4 percent.

The question for the next four years is whether the governments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will stay the course or escalate their battle of wills.

China might step up its campaign to try to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and economically, although it might also be rethinking that approach after efforts to do so during Tsai’s first term only seemed to build support for her at home.

Her big win could embolden some in the DPP to look for ways to nudge Taiwan toward formal independence from China, the party’s official goal; but even symbolic steps would anger China and could invite retaliation, and Tsai herself has shown no signs of going down that path.

In the Chinese Civil War between the KMT under Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) Communists for control of China after World War II, the communists triumphed in 1949, and Chiang retreated to Taiwan, where he set up a rival government that he ran with an iron fist while harboring hopes of taking back the entire country from the communists.

That is no longer a realistic goal, and with each passing decade, Chiang’s dream has been replaced by a growing sense that Taiwan is not a part of China, particularly among the younger generations.

They see their home as a separate entity with its own democratic ideals and do not want to be subsumed by China and the Chinese Communist Party.

The long-running and at times violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that started in June last year reinforced that sentiment.

Early last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) proposed talks with Taiwan on joining China under a “one country, two systems” framework similar to the one that governs Hong Kong, the former British colony returned to China in 1997.

Most Taiwanese oppose the idea, and Tsai capitalized politically on the Hong Kong protests, saying they illustrate why “one country, two systems” does not work.

DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) last month said that discussion on constitutional change could start in a second Tsai term.

That could include changing the flag or the definition of the Republic of China’s territory to include just Taiwan, rather than both the island and the mainland, although the party does not advocate those changes.

China’s official Xinhua news agency said in a commentary on the election that China has a full policy toolbox to curb Taiwanese independence activities and benefit Taiwanese “compatriots.”

Tsai focused in her campaign on preserving Taiwan’s democracy rather than any fundamental change to the nation’s political status.

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content_text:
Police watchdog finds ‘shortcomings’ during HK protests

NOT WELCOME:Beijing said it barred the head of Human Rights Watch from entering the territory on Sunday due to the group’s support for the protests
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li inspects an honor guard of the Hong Kong Police Force at Edinburgh Place yesterday before deliving a speech to mark the ceremonial opening of the legal year at City Hall.Photo: Reuters
An investigation by Hong Kong’s police watchdog into the conduct of the territory’s officers throughout recent unrest has revealed “many shortcomings,” the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported yesterday.

The 300-page report from the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) found a failure to separate peaceful demonstrators from violent protesters, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified people.

The probe also determined there was a lack of communication among front-line police commanders during protests and insufficient “ceasefire” guidelines when using tear gas, the newspaper said.

The report, which has not yet been officially released, is scheduled to be discussed at a meeting of the IPCC this week.

If approved, it would be submitted to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) for possible release in the coming weeks.

An IPCC spokeswoman yesterday said the agency declined to comment and the Hong Kong Police Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment, although the police have consistently defended their actions as a response to recurring violence from protesters, some hurling Molotov cocktails and attacking officers.

The IPCC report detailed examinations of several major protests, the Economic Journal said.

Those include a million-strong rally followed by clashes on June 9, demonstrations on June 12 and the events of July 1, when protesters broke into and ransacked the Legislative Council building.

It does not have extended sections on two prominent incidents that spurred outrage against the police: the July 21 attacks on protesters and subway passengers by mobs of men wearing white T-shirts in Yuen Long and the riot police’s Aug. 31 storming of a subway station in Prince Edward.

In other developments, China yesterday said it barred the head of the internationally renowned organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) from entering the territory due to the group’s support for the ongoing protest movement.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said that the group had instigated “anti-China activists” to “engage in radical violent crimes, and incite separatist activities hyping Hong Kong independence.”

Groups such as Human Rights Watch were responsible for the current unrest in Hong Kong, and “deserve sanctions and must pay a price,” Geng told reporters at a daily briefing in Beijing.

HRW executive director Kenneth Roth had planned to launch the organization’s annual world report in Hong Kong this week, but was barred from entering on Sunday and put on a flight back to the US.

In other developments, Lam yesterday told a regional financial forum in Hong Kong that the territory’s strengths as a global financial hub have not been undermined by the months of protests.

Its financial system remained stable thanks to lessons learned since the Asian financial crisis, she said.

Additional reporting by AP and Reuters

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content_text:
A museum official holds Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake by Japanese artist Hokusai Katsushika at a press preview event at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei yesterday.Photo: CNA
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Japanese artist Hokusai Katsushika is to be displayed at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei from Saturday as part of an ukiyo-e exhibition.

Organized by Taipei-based Media Sphere Communications and Japan’s Kobe Shimbun, The History of Ukiyo-e (江湖風華-五大浮世繪師展) contains 146 works by five artists.

In addition to Katsushika, the other artists are Hiroshige Utagawa, Utamaro Kitagawa, Sharaku Toshusai and Kuniyoshi Utagawa, the organizers said.

Three of the original works were unboxed yesterday — The Great Wave off Kanagawa and South Wind, Clear Sky from Katsushika’s “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” series, as well as Hiroshige Utagawa’s Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.”

The works arrived in Taipei on Sunday, said Ryuki Ohtani, a representative from Kobe Shimbun.

South Wind, Clear Sky, which is also known as Red Fuji, is one of 46 works in the “Fuji” series, Ohtani said.

The woodblock print portrays a view of Mount Fuji from Japan’s Yamanashi Prefecture, he said, adding that the use of red in the work became more “exaggerated” due to its popularity during the Edo period.

With its bold composition, The Great Wave off Kanagawa captures stillness and movement, he said.

As a person would have had to brave wind and rain at sea to witness a view like the one depicted in the print, it is unknown whether the artist saw such a scene, Ohtani said.

Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake is symbolic of the Japonism art movement, Ohtani said, adding that it inspired Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh to create his own version in oil paint.

The exhibition runs through April 19, although two works by Katsushika — South Wind, Clear Sky and The Ghost of Kohada Koheiji — would only be displayed until April 6, the organizers said.

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title: ‘Wave’ unboxed in Taipei


content_text:
CAL, EVA to add flights to cope with Manila shutdown

China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday said that they would add more flights between Taipei and Manila today to help about 1,000 passengers left stranded by flight cancelations due to a volcanic eruption in the Philippines on Sunday.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila suspended flights from Sunday evening to noon yesterday after Taal volcano erupted, spewing lava and ash.

CAL yesterday canceled four flights between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Manila, while EVA canceled six flights on Sunday and yesterday.

The number of affected passengers was estimated to be at least 1,000, the airlines said.

“In addition to the Manila airport’s suspension, we had to cancel our flights, as volcanic ash would endanger our jets. Ash parcels, ejected into the atmosphere by the eruption, could abrade the engines and even lead to their shutdown,” EVA spokesman David Chen (陳耀銘) said by telephone.

The airline has been monitoring the ash particles and would avoid them when resuming the flights to and from Manila, Chen said.

EVA received approval from Taiwanese and Philippine regulators to add two more flights yesterday evening, while it is still waiting for an approval from the Philippine government to add two more flights this morning, Chen said.

CAL would also add two flights this morning for its passengers, it said in a statement.

Separately, CAL’s revenue for last year declined 1.44 percent annually to NT$168.39 billion (US$5.62 billion), while EVA’s revenue edged up 0.76 percent to NT$181.27 billion.

CAL attributed the sluggish passenger numbers to fewer Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, while its cargo business was affected by weaker demand amid the US-China trade tensions.

EVA said its nearly flattish performance was affected by a flight attendants’ strike in June and July that led to the canceling of 469 round-trip flights and a loss of NT$2.11 billion in revenue.

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content_text:
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) successfully secured a second term with a landslide win. Young Taiwanese have drawn the most attention by sending a clear message in this election: Taiwan’s future is determined by the younger generation, not the older generation as it was previously.

The evidence is the youth voting rate. Taiwan, as a young democracy, has shown that young people cherish and value their way of life: democracy, freedom and respect for human rights.

As a young Taiwanese and undergraduate student of political science, I would argue that the election results are intriguing and unprecedented, but concerning.

On the one hand, we should give three cheers for young people, as they exercised their duty as a citizen in a nation governed by the rule of law. On the other hand, we should face the nation: A Taiwan divided against itself cannot stand. What is concerning is that the elections seemed to turn into a battle between the young and the old. The former is in favor of Tsai standing firm against China, while the latter supported the so-called “commoner president,” Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate.

There are three factors that have encouraged young people to vote for their own destiny:

First, the Hong Kong streets flooded by anti-extradition bill protesters. In the eyes of young Taiwanese, the scene in neighboring Hong Kong is the most powerful image reflecting the imagined communities of a possible future.

Hong Kongers, in particular those who made huge sacrifices and put themselves at jeopardy, tell young Taiwanese: In three decades, Hong Kong will come under Beijing’s direct control. The foundations of its way of life, as Beijing promised and negotiated with the UK, have been eroding day by day.

If Hong Kongers, especially the youth, do not stand up now and put their lives at risk to fight for their destiny as much as they can, then they would never be allowed to speak a word on matters of democracy, freedom, fair elections and basic rights, let alone an assembly.

Young Taiwanese have said a loud and a clear “no” to China. Nobody but Taiwanese can decide Taiwan’s future and way of life.

Taiwanese have very different shared and cherished values from those in China: democracy versus tyranny, freedom versus suppression, and human rights versus ethnic cleansing.

Second, in the minds of Taiwanese youth, national security is at risk, while the KMT is opening a can of worms. The KMT’s list of legislator-at-large nominees was appalling: retired general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), placed No. 4, was not only unacceptable, but also generated resentment. On what grounds can a retired general participating in the 150th anniversary event of Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) birthday and standing for the Chinese national anthem in Beijing represent Taiwanese in the Legislative Yuan, which is the last line of defense for the foundation of the nation’s democracy: participation, discussion and open debate. General Wu and KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) should be ashamed of themselves.

Last and certainly not least, in the ears of Taiwanese youth, it was irritating and offensive to hear a candidate only criticize others, but lack specific and feasible national policies for this great nation.

During the three televised platform presentations and the presidential debate, Han imitated US President Donald Trump when Trump was the Republican presidential nominee and locked in a fierce battle with his rival, former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton. Trump attacked his opponents from every aspect without concrete evidence and deliberation. It is a terrible precedent for a constitutional democracy.

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title: The youth can decide their future

people: 蔡英文 韓國瑜 吳敦義 吳斯懷


content_text:
The results of Saturday’s legislative election showed that Taiwanese politics is still dominated by the nation’s two largest political parties.

Although younger Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians have asked KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) to assume responsibility for the party’s defeats in the presidential and legislative elections and step down, the outcome was by no means a crushing blow to the party.

In terms of party votes, the KMT gained two legislator-at-large seats from four years ago to tie with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) at 13.

This means that the standoff between the pan-green and pan-blue camps at the Legislative Yuan in the past four years is likely to persist. The KMT, with its sizeable caucus of 38 lawmakers, is expected to maintain an obstructionist stance against bills introduced by the DPP.

That President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) beat Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the KMT’s presidential candidate, by almost 2.65 million votes raises the question of why the DPP did not perform similarly with regard to party votes.

The answer might lie in the rise of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), led by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), which raked in 11.2 percent of party votes and landed five legislative seats, supplanting the New Power Party (NPP) as the nation’s third-largest party.

The TPP fared better than expected: Critics and opinion polls had predicted that it would win four seats.

The result suggests that a sizeable number of voters still believed in Ko, who managed to siphon off not just floating votes, but also some borderline “green” votes, despite him lashing out at Tsai and the DPP, and his remarks about pro-democracy movements in China, which had been labeled “pro-China.”

The loyalty that Ko’s diehard supporters have shown is unsettling. He has on numerous occasions proclaimed the matter of independence versus unification a non-issue, saying that the government should instead focus on providing people with comfortable lives.

Ko has made a U-turn regarding his cross-strait stance from his days as a political novice, leading to the accusation that he “lacks a central belief.”

His penchant to pit the issue of the nation’s right to self-determination against prospects of a financially more comfortable life sounds dangerously like KMT rhetoric.

The TPP is to have five legislative seats and the NPP three — similar to the NPP’s five seats and the People First Party’s (PFP) three at the beginning of the current legislative term.

However, just as the NPP could not become a “decisive minority” party due to the vast difference between the number of seats held by the DPP caucus and other caucuses, the TPP is not expected to hold much sway over the DPP either.

Furthermore, the ratio of seats held by minor parties to the total number of legislative seats remains the same, the only difference being the PFP’s exit.

The overall legislative landscape is largely unchanged. This would allow the DPP to push its policies.

However, the DPP should remember not to introduce unpopular policies, like when it amended the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) for a second time in 2018.

It would be interesting to see whether the TPP could boost its popularity and what the NPP does to stay relevant.

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people: 吳敦義 柯文哲 韓國瑜 蔡英文

title: EDITORIAL: Results reaffirm bipartisan politics


content_text:
HK’s first digital bank has 6% rate that dwarfs HSBC’s

COMPETITION:New banks could find it hard to make inroads in Hong Kong, with Bloomberg Intelligence expecting them to take only a 1.5% share by 2025
The first of Hong Kong’s new generation of digital banks has announced its arrival with a 6 percent introductory rate for deposits.

ZA Bank Ltd (眾安銀行), one of eight firms preparing to launch digital-only banks in Hong Kong, has begun a trial run that pays a select group of depositors more than 3 percentage points more than banks such as HSBC Holdings PLC and Standard Chartered PLC.

Although many doubt whether the new banks can maintain such rates, the offer is a warning of upcoming competition for the territory’s US$410 billion local currency time-deposit business.

“This is more of a gimmick, which shouldn’t become a norm, but competition for funds is indeed getting higher as eight more banks are coming out,” said Terry Siu (蕭啟洪), treasurer at CMB Wing Lung Bank Ltd (招商永隆銀行), which pays 3.8 percent to new savers for two-month Hong Kong dollar deposits.

ZA last month began a pilot for the territory’s first digital-only bank. It is offering the 6 percent rate for three-month Hong Kong dollar deposits capped at HK$200,000 (US$25,732), a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The accounts are set at a 2 percent rate, but offer a top up of as much as 4 percent to select clients, the person said.

Standard Chartered, HSBC and BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd (中銀香港) pay 1.9 to 2.3 percent for the maturity.

The launch of virtual banks is approaching at a time when tensions stoked by pro-democracy protests in the territory show few signs of abating.

Deposit rates could stay elevated as the unrest persists amid concerns over money outflows.

So far, there have not been any signs that cash is fleeing the territory, although banks have said some clients are inquiring about opening accounts elsewhere as a precaution.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) — the de facto central bank — steers the economy and maintains stability by pegging the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar.

A spokeswoman for ZA, a unit of ZhongAn Technologies International Group Ltd (眾安科技國際集團), declined to comment on the rate, but said that it would roll out new offerings in stages.

ZA has said it would provide users with a “full suite of services 24/7,” allowing customers to open an account in five minutes with just a Hong Kong identity card.

An HKMA spokeswoman said in a comment to Bloomberg on Friday that it “notes” that some banks might offer “promotional” rates to some clients, while emphasizing that banking products are commercial decisions.

“While the Monetary Authority will not interfere with the commercial decisions of individual institutions, it would be a concern if a virtual bank planned to aggressively build market share at the expense of recording substantial losses in the initial years of operation without any credible plan for profitability in the medium term,” she said.

Virtual banks are similar to traditional retail banking services in that they would be able to accept deposits and give out loans.

However, they are not expected to set up physical branches, which would keep costs down.

Bloomberg Intelligence anticipates the new banks would find it difficult to make inroads into Hong Kong’s loan market, grabbing just a 1.5 percent share by 2025, as they would be held back by challenges in attracting deposits and high costs for interbank funding.

Bank of East Asia Ltd (東亞銀行) senior foreign-exchange strategist Alan Yip (葉澤恒) was also skeptical about the fat rate being offered by ZA becoming a trend.

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content_text:
Nissan Motor Co executives have stepped up contingency planning for a possible split from Renault SA after former Nissan chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn’s dramatic escape from Japan, the Financial Times reported, citing people it did not identify.

The preliminary discussions for a separation include a total divide in engineering and manufacturing, as well as changes to Nissan’s board, it said.

Renault and Nissan declined to comment, the newspaper said.

It said that Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, who is due to announce several combined projects for the alliance in coming weeks, held doubts about the partnership enduring when he replaced Ghosn last year.

Nissan’s recently appointed chief executive officer Makoto Uchida has been working closely with Senard on these new projects, a person close to Nissan management said.

Yet even during the Ghosn era, some engineers were not happy about Ghosn’s push to combine engineering and manufacturing, people close to Nissan said.

Both automakers would likely seek new partners in the event of a full split, the newspaper said.

Ghosn, the former head of both companies, built up Renault-Nissan over the past two decades. He escaped from house arrest in Japan last month and resurfaced in Lebanon, saying that he would not stand trial on charges of financial crimes “in a rigged Japanese justice system.”

However, Japan does not believe Ghosn is a victim, the first poll published since he fled to Lebanon showed.

More than 90 percent of respondents said they were not convinced by Ghosn’s criticisms of Japan’s criminal justice system, a survey by Tokyo-based broadcaster Fuji News Network (FNN) showed.

Just 4 percent found Ghosn convincing, FNN reported.

FNN did not provide a margin of error for the poll of 1,040 people, which it carried out on Saturday and Sunday last week.

In a widely broadcast news conference in Beirut on Jan. 8, Ghosn accused Japan of breaching his human rights and said that he lost any hope of a fair trial on charges of financial crimes.

His accusations prompted Japanese Minister of Justice Masako Mori to defend the system in a series of five press conferences last week.

About 61 percent of respondents in the poll approved of using GPS devices to prevent defendants from skipping bail, while 28 percent disagreed.

Ghosn was not fitted with such a device at the time of his escape.

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title: Nissan planning for Renault split: report


content_text:
2020 Elections Analysis: Local factions lose power: academics

‘DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM’:The diminishing power of local factions would force candidates to communicate with the public, University of Taipei associate professor Timothy Ting said
Following tightly contested legislative elections on Saturday, academics expressed their opinions on the potentially diminishing effects of local factions on politics and weighed in on variables that Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) could bring to the Legislative Yuan.

Asked about the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) being closely matched with regard to the number of party votes won, Taiwan Association of University Professors vice president Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said the result signals that the KMT and the DPP secured their “default” support base.

The KMT had better prospects going into the elections than it did in 2016, when then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) canceled a year-end cash gift for civil servants and consistently received an approval rating of about 10 percent, Chen said, adding that although the KMT was defeated in Saturday’s presidential election, it still had life left in it.

Meanwhile, the DPP had regrouped from a bitter presidential primary between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former premier William Lai (賴清德) and rallied from a crushing defeat in the 2018 local elections, thanks to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and a US-China trade dispute, both of which were capitalized on by Tsai to boost her popularity, he said.

Regarding the prospect of the TPP — which emerged as the third-largest party in the legislature by winning 11.2 percent of the party vote for five legislator-at-large seats, Chen said the party’s sole purpose is to advance Ko’s popularity.

To this aim, Ko has purposefully placed his most trustworthy aide, former Taipei City Government adviser Tsai Pi-ju (蔡璧如), in a safe position on the the party’s list of legislative-at-large nominees to ensure she lands a seat, he said.

The soon-to-be formed TPP caucus would not be a decisive minority in the legislature, but would be able to provide checks and balances during cross-caucus negotiations by freezing bills sponsored by the DPP on Ko’s instructions, thus giving it a difficult time, he said.

Much like the People First Party, fronted by Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), the TPP is a “one-man party” that is likely to disintegrate if a presidential bid by Ko in 2024 is unsuccessful, he added.

University of Taipei associate professor Timothy Ting (丁庭宇) shared a similar opinion on the TPP, saying that Ko could seek to grow his party by poaching members of other parties.

If by any chance regional lawmakers of the KMT feel insecure, they could fall prey to Ko’s poaching, Ting said.

He dismissed Ko’s bid to form an “opposition alliance” with the KMT and New Power Party (NPP), saying that there is no reason for the KMT caucus, which is much larger, to join the TPP caucus.

The function of the TPP and NPP legislative caucuses would be to elaborate on their values — for example by participating in votes on bills, despite knowing that their motions will not pass, Ting said.

Commenting on the defeat of KMT legislative candidate Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡) — daughter of former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味) — to former Yunlin County commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of the DPP, Ting said it had to do with Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung’s (陳吉仲) resourcefulness in stabilizing local peanut wholesale prices and accusing the Chang family of manipulating peanut prices for profit.

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people: 張嘉郡 宋楚瑜 柯文哲 蘇治芬 賴清德 蔡英文 馬英九 張榮味


content_text:
New Power Party legislator-at-large-elect Claire Wang speaks to reporters outside a police station in Taipei’s Neihu District yesterday.Photo: Cheng Ying-yi, Taipei Times
The New Power Party’s (NPP) Claire Wang (王婉諭), who secured a legislator-at-large seat in Saturday’s elections, yesterday launched legal action in Taipei over comments made online about her children.

Wang, a mother of four, lost her three-year-old daughter in an attack in 2016.

Her daughter, nicknamed “Little Lightbulb” (小燈泡), was decapitated on a street in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).

Following her win on Saturday, a person surnamed Wang (王) wrote on Facebook: “It is okay, there are two more who can be slashed,” reports said.

Another commenter, surnamed Chen (陳), wrote: “There are two more that can be slashed, made into lanterns,” reports said.

Claire Wang yesterday said that in addition to the two commenters, she is to file lawsuits for threatening and endangering safety against other Facebook account owners who “liked” the comments, as “likes” signaled support.

She has received critical comments since the attack, but they have intensified since she began to seek public office, she said.

While people should hold her to the highest standards, criticism should be targeted at her performance in the Legislative Yuan and her stance on public issues, she said.

They should not come in the form of “malicious” comments that tear society apart, divide people, have no benefit and are potentially criminal, Claire Wang said.

‘ZERO TOLERANCE’

No parent would tolerate threats such as the ones that have been made against her children, Claire Wang said, adding: “As a mother, I will definitely protect my children.”

By filing the lawsuits, hopefully the malicious comments would end, she said, adding that she hopes the people who made them will take responsibility for what they wrote.

After the elections, everyone still lives in the same land, she said.

While the losing sides might feel frustrated and their moods would inevitably be affected, the elections are over, she said, calling for unity as the nation moves forward.

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title: NPP’s Claire Wang starts legal action over threats


content_text:
Taipower to trim coal use at Taichung Power Plant

GROWING DEMAND:A spokesman for the state-run firm said that it would need to accommodate Taiwanese manufacturers that are moving production lines home
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said that it would reduce coal consumption at the Taichung Power Plant to 12.6 million tonnes by the end of this year, while aiming to provide a stable electricity supply for Taiwanese companies returning to invest in the country.

“We are currently setting the goal at 12.6 million tonnes [of coal] for the Taichung Power Plant this year, which is much lower than our original goal of 16 million tonnes last year,” Taipower spokesman Hsu Tsao-hua (徐造華) told reporters at a media luncheon.

Although the number is regarded as relatively easy to achieve, as the plant consumed 12.64 million tonnes of coal last year, Hsu said it could be a hard feat for the company as it seeks to increase electricity generation due to Taiwan’s increasingly hot summers.

Taipower would also need to accommodate growing electricity consumption from Taiwanese companies setting up production facilities nationwide, Taipower chairman Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) said.

“We need to be fully prepared, as we expect power consumption to peak between next year and 2022 based on data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy,” Yang said, adding that the company would increase the proportion of electricity generated by natural gas.

Last month, the Taichung City Government revoked the operating licenses for two of the Taichung Power Plant’s coal-fired generators, after accusing it of contributing to the city’s poor air quality.

“The shutdown of two of our generators has led to a decline of 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent in our power reserve margin, which we seek to keep above 10 percent,” Yang said, adding that the company has applied to appeal the Taichung City Government’s decision.

Meanwhile, Yang said that increases in energy consumption would mainly come from semiconductor firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電).

The company would strive toward reaching the government’s goal of abolishing nuclear power by 2025 and increasing energy from renewable sources to 20 percent of all power generated, Yang said.

Renewable energy sources, including hydropower, solar power, biowaste, geothermal energy and offshore wind power, contributed to about 5.6 percent of the total power generated in Taiwan in the first 10 months of last year, Bureau of Energy data showed.

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title: TSMC hires former Intel lobbyist over US-China tensions

content_text:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), a major chipmaker for Apple Inc and Huawei Technologies Co (華為), has recruited rival Intel Corp’s former top lobbyist Peter Cleveland to spearhead an unprecedented effort in Washington to mitigate the effect of US-Chinese trade tensions.

The world’s biggest contract chipmaker joins a growing number of companies with Chinese business interests that are stepping up US lobbying, aiming to gauge and lessen the fallout from Washington’s ongoing dispute with Beijing.

TSMC said in July that it was considering starting government relations operations in the US.

Cleveland, who headed Intel’s lobbying effort for more than a decade, updated his LinkedIn profile this month to reflect new responsibilities including representing TSMC on policy, legislative and regulatory matters.

There has been speculation that US sanctions could affect TSMC’s shipments to Huawei, but the Taiwanese chipmaker has publicly quashed talk of US pressure for it to stop supplying its No. 2 customer, which Washington blacklisted and views as a national security threat.

“Peter Cleveland is helping TSMC enhance communications with stakeholders, including government officials at a global level,” TSMC spokeswoman Nina Kao (高孟華) said by telephone.

While there have previously been TSMC staffers tasked with similar responsibilities, Cleveland’s arrival coalesces the effort under one independent position, Kao said.

Huawei is TSMC’s largest customer after Apple, contributing about 10 percent of its revenue, Bloomberg supply chain data showed.

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title: President pitches Taiwan-US trade deal

content_text:
President Tsai Ing-wen, front right, welcomes members of the American Enterprise Institute at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.Photo: CNA
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday again floated the idea of a trade agreement between Taiwan and the US during a meeting with a delegation from the American Enterprise Institute.

Tsai thanked the members of the think tank for visiting Taiwan to observe Saturday’s elections, in which she won a second term, and for their focus on democracy and the Indo-Pacific strategy.

“Relations between Taiwan and the United States are the best they have ever been thanks to our joint efforts over the past three years,” Tsai said.

Last year, a number of US multinationals increased their investment in Taiwan, Tsai said.

She said that signing a bilateral trade deal would lead to further economic and trade growth.

Tsai, who has floated the idea of a trade deal with the US to her visitors on several occasions during her first term, said that Taiwan would continue to move toward that goal.

She also expressed her concerns to Australian delegation members over the Gondwana Rainforests being damaged by bushfires, calling it a sad situation and offering assistance if needed.

Taiwan, the US and Australia are partners in the Indo-Pacific region, having cooperated closely over the past three years, Tsai said.

Taiwan would continue to make an even greater contribution to the region, she said, particularly in the areas of disaster prevention and relief, humanitarian assistance, women’s empowerment and the digital economy.

She also said Taiwan looked forward to working with like-minded countries to boost exchanges on such issues as media literacy, democratic literacy and mechanisms to defend democracy.

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content_text:
Stocks rise after Tsai’s election victory

EXTENDED GAINS LIKELY:In the 30 days after the past six presidential elections, the TAIEX climbed an average of 7.4%, the chairman of President Capital Management said
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) landslide election victory has reinforced a winning run for Taiwan’s financial markets.

Saturday’s election results are helping extend what has been a positive period of investor sentiment for Taiwan, with the TAIEX closing up 0.74 percent at 12,113.42 points yesterday, its highest level in more than three weeks, while the New Taiwan dollar gained 0.22 percent to end at NT$29.952 per US dollar, the highest in nearly 19 months.

The yield on 10-year government bonds was little changed at 0.6456 percent.

Foreign investors bought a net NT$10.75 billion (US$358.91 million) of local stocks, the most in almost a month, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.

“Investors will pay attention to beneficiary stocks in the short-term,” Mega International Investment Services Co (兆豐投顧) chairman Shelly Lee (李秀利) said. “With the upcoming trade deal signing and expectations of [US] Federal Reserve easing, the bullish trend will continue for Taiwan’s markets.”

Buying in select stocks favored by Tsai’s “five plus two” industrial development policy, such as in the green energy and defense industries, got a boost yesterday, and stocks in the biotech and medical care sector were among the best performers on bets that they would continue to benefit from supportive government policies.

Century Iron & Steel Industrial Co (世紀鋼構) and Hsin Kuang Steel Co (新光鋼鐵), which are keen to invest in offshore wind power development, moved sharply higher, rising 3.42 percent and 2.39 percent respectively, to close at NT$72.5 and NT$32.1.

In terms of national defense, shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船), rose 0.95 percent to close at NT$26.5, while Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔航空) ended unchanged at NT$34.95, after coming off a high of NT$36.7 on profit taking.

A gauge of tourism stocks was the worst performer, ending 2.63 percent lower, amid concerns that the election result would further worsen cross-strait ties.

If recent history is any guide, Taiwan’s equities are poised to extend gains in the coming month. The TAIEX has climbed by an average of 7.4 percent in the 30 days after the past six presidential elections, as investor concern about political risk fades.

“Taiwan stocks tend to rise after an election, as uncertainty is removed,” President Capital Management Co (統一投顧) chairman Li Fang-kuo (黎方國) said.

He sees the TAIEX hitting a record high by April, helped by continued inflows and a strong outlook for the technology sector.

Strong foreign inflows into the technology sector have in turn helped boost the NT dollar.

The NT dollar is expected to rise to 29.5 per US dollar by year-end, driven by the appeal of companies related to 5G and further repatriation of investment, said Cliff Tan (陳仲華), head of global markets research for East Asia at MUFG Bank Ltd.

Government bonds are expected to be boosted by limited supply under Tsai’s leadership, Jih Sun Securities Co (日盛證券) trader Kevin Shih said.

However, the market would remain constrained by global trade concerns, analysts said.

“Although the United States and China are scheduled to sign a phase one trade deal on Jan. 15, many investors still want to see the contents of the agreement,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang said.

Additional reporting by CNA

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people: 賴香伶 柯文哲 張其祿 蔡壁如

title: 2020 Elections: TPP to name ex-labor head caucus convener

content_text:
Taiwan People’s Party legislator-at-large-elect Tsai Pi-ju holds a news conference in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Shen Pei-yao, Taipei Times
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) plans to make TPP legislator-at-large-elect Lai Hsiang-lin (賴香伶) its legislative caucus convener, TPP legislator-at-large-elect Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如) said yesterday.

Lai is the former Taipei Department of Labor commissioner and Tsai is a former Taipei City Government adviser.

The TPP secured five legislator-at-large seats in Saturday’s elections and may form a legislative caucus.

Tsai, a close aide to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is the TPP chairman, said that the party also plans to make TPP legislator-at-large-elect Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) its deputy convener.

Jang is the dean of National Sun Yat-sen University College of Social Sciences.

Citing Ko’s remark about the party going down its own path and not joining the pan-blue or pan-green camp, Tsai said the TPP and the New Power Party (NPP) have many common ideals, so the TPP would like to talk with the NPP.

As long as proposed policies or legislation are beneficial to the public interest, the TPP would cooperate with other parties, she said, adding that it is also considering forming an alliance of opposition parties.

Ko on Sunday at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport answered questions about the party’s plans before departing for a trip to Europe including the Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won an absolute majority at the legislature, so the TPP cannot become a “critical minority” party that he hoped it would be, Ko said.

“The DPP can do whatever it wants,” he said, adding that the legislative speaker and deputy legislative speaker are likely to be from the DPP.

Asked how Taiwan can resolve a cross-strait deadlock, Ko said he had heard people saying that “the Chinese Communist Party has been the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] worst teammate” during the presidential election.

The election results reflect the attitude of Taiwanese, so “facing the problem is the first step to solving the problem,” Ko said.

The Chinese government should think about why it often provides “incentives to benefit Taiwanese, and yet Taiwanese run farther and farther away from it,” which implies that something is wrong with Beijing’s long-term policy of suppressing Taiwan, he said.

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title: Han returns to mayor job

people: 吳敦義 蔡英文 韓國瑜

content_text:
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu, right, speaks at a news conference at the Kaohsiung City Government yesterday.Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday returned to work at the Kaohsiung City Government and apologized to the city’s residents for not attending to his mayoral duties during his presidential campaign.

“I am sorry for having been away from Kaohsiung for three full months. I am sorry that I have not been there with you,” Han told a news conference at the Kaohsiung City Government.

Han on Oct. 16 last year took a leave of absence to run as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in the presidential election, which on Saturday culminated with him losing to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) by more than 2.6 million votes.

Although he had been on leave, the city government continued to carry out its duties, he said.

His priority would be to ensure that city residents experience a good Lunar New Year holiday, Han said, adding that he would keep the city safe and clean, and its consumer prices stable.

Asked about a post-election international news conference in Kaohsiung on Saturday, which he abruptly canceled at the last minute, Han said he canceled the conference because he had already given a speech on stage.

He had spoken his mind and urged his supporters to return home and calmly accept the election results in a concession speech earlier that day, he said.

“We hoped people would calm down, because they were very emotional... They were almost out of control,” Han added.

Asked about video footage showing him dining at a hotpot restaurant reportedly soon after the canceled news conference, Han said he had treated his campaign team to a meal, as none of them had had dinner.

Han declined to answer a question about younger KMT members’ call for a review of the party’s cross-strait policy, saying that it is irrelevant to the city government.

However, he said that there is a storm awaiting the nation.

“Members of the public must be united and the central government must lead the nation along a path with the most favorable conditions, while avoiding the opposite,” Han said.

Asked if he would consider running for party chairman if KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) steps down, Han said he has “absolutely no plans” to run for the post.

While a coalition of civic groups continue with a campaign to recall Han, he said that the campaign was launched just two months after he became mayor.

That such a campaign exists shows the value of freedom and democracy, Han said, adding that his team at the city government would continue to work hard.

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content_text:
Greenpeace asks Tsai to act quickly on energy, climate

Greenpeace Taiwan members hold banners outside Taiwan Television’s building in Taipei during the third presidential presentation on Dec. 27 warning of a climate emergency.Photo courtesy of Greenpeace Taiwan
Greenpeace Taiwan yesterday asked President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to quickly devise long-term solutions to energy issues and climate change.

The group said that 1,298 government agencies and organizations worldwide have declared a climate emergency to combat climate change consequences, but Taiwan still lacks adequate action plans.

During the presidential campaign period, climate policies proposed by the three candidates, including Tsai, were rated by Greenpeace Taiwan, which concluded that they all performed “below average.”

The Tsai administration has failed to present proactive carbon-cutting goals and long-term plans for energy transformation, it said, adding that the results of carbon reduction in the past four years were disappointing, while a lack of improvement would make it difficult to keep the climate crisis at bay.

Without stricter measures to reduce carbon, Taiwan would only slow other countries down in the global efforts to mitigate climate change, Greenpeace Taiwan energy project campaign specialist Alynne Tsai (蔡篤慰) said.

While Tsai Ing-wen has unveiled long-term plans for the development of offshore wind power, other areas of green energy development still lack vision, making development goals after 2025 for other renewable energy sources an urgent need, Alynne Tsai said.

Now that Tsai Ing-wen has won a second term, she should follow the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines to keep rising temperatures within 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels to prevent a climate catastrophe, Greenpeace Taiwan said.

A complete timeline to phase out coal power is needed, too, it said.

Greenpeace Taiwan said that the government’s four most urgent climate change policies are, in descending order: carbon-cutting goals, long-term plans for the development of renewables, renewables obligations for major power consumers and a timeline to phase out coal power.

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content_text:
Main lantern unveiled for Taichung festival: a tree

GROWTH OF ART:Organizers said that the lantern is a continuation of artist Lin Shuen-long’s ‘A Seed Fallen From the Sky,’ with the seed growing into a tall tree
Artist Lin Shuen-long, center, yesterday talks with Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung, left, at a news conference at the Grand Hotel Taipei to unveil a model of the main lantern for this year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival.Photo: CNA
The main lantern at this year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival features a 15m-tall giant tree design that symbolizes the nation’s cities and its 23 million people, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.

A model of the lantern, titled The Guardian of the Forest — Tree of Light (森生守護-光之樹), was unveiled at the Grand Hotel Taipei.

The main lantern would be displayed at the Houli Horse Ranch and Forest Park Area in Taichung, which is hosting the festival this year, the bureau said, adding that it would be illuminated for the first time at the opening ceremony on Feb. 8.

Shows featuring the main lantern would be presented on the hour while the festival is open from Feb. 8 to Feb. 23, the bureau said.

The lantern was designed by artist Lin Shuen-long (林舜龍), who in 2018 had an example of his work on display at the Taichung World Flora Expo, which was also staged in the ranch and forest area, the bureau said.

The lantern is a continuation of his work at the expo, which ended in April last year, with his previous piece called A Seed Fallen From the Sky (從天上掉下來的一顆種子,籽仔), it said.

The seed has grown to a towering tree, it said.

The lantern was built by combining wooden boards and steel, and consists of 22 main structural units, representing the nation’s 22 administrative areas, the bureau said.

It has 368 bud-shaped lanterns and 2,359 heart-shaped leaves, representing the nation’s 368 township administrations and 23.59 million people, it said.

People can enter the main lantern to view the design from the inside, the bureau said.

They can use an interactive device called a “Seed Balloon” that can descend upon verbal command and diffuse fragrances, it added.

The main lantern could be used as a landmark at the ranch and forest area or be turned into a micro-museum after the festival ends, so the benefits of the festival could continue, it said.

As this year is the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac, small lanterns the bureau is to give to visitors would feature two cartoon rats dressed in the traditional Chinese garments of a bride and a groom, it said.

Designer Lin Chia-wei (林佳葦) said she was inspired by the Chinese folk story about a rat couple wanting to find a groom for their beloved daughter.

“I have the image of a bridegroom printed on one side of the paper and that of a bride on the other side. People can decide whether they want to assemble a bride or a groom lantern,” Lin said.

“The neck and waist of the lantern are movable,” she said.

“When the strings are pulled, the parts move to make the rat bow with its paws clasped, a traditional Lunar New Year’s Day greeting,” she said, adding that the lanterns can be used as puppets.

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said that the ministry has appropriated about NT$210 million (US$7.01 million) to cover training of festival staff, marketing, shuttle buses and rail services.

“We want the 31st Taiwan Lantern Festival to be a model for Taiwan Lantern Festival 2.0, which will set new standards for other cities and counties to follow over the next 30 years,” he said.

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title: Su and Cabinet resign, but Su to stay on

people: 蘇貞昌 蔡英文

content_text:
Premier Su Tseng-chang, left, and other members of his Cabinet attend a meeting at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday.Photo: CNA / Executive Yuan
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) led his Cabinet in resigning en masse yesterday evening, weeks earlier than required by the Constitution, following Saturday’s elections that saw President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) win re-election and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) retain its legislative majority.

However, Su will continue to serve as premier after the president earlier in the day asked him to remain in his post, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.

Tsai met with Su in the Presidential Office at noon, and asked him to continue to serve as head of the Executive Yuan to maintain stability, and Su agreed, Chang said.

Tsai had told a news conference on Saturday night that she expected to keep her executive team for her second term to maintain a level of stability amid rapidly changing domestic and international situations.

The 72-year-old Su became premier on Jan. 14 last year. He served as premier from Jan. 25, 2006, to May 20, 2007, and as DPP chairman from 2012 to 2014.

By law, the Cabinet has to resign before the start of the next Legislative Yuan, which will be on Feb. 1.

Lawmakers elected on Saturday will have several personnel nominations to review once they take their seats and during the course of their four-year terms.

The Act Governing the Exercise of Legislative Power (立法院職權行使法) stipulates that legislators should exercise their power of giving consent to the auditor general, prosecutor-general, grand justices, and the president, vice president and other members of the Control Yuan and Examination Yuan, adding that the appointees should be voted on during plenary sessions of the Legislative Yuan without deliberations.

The nominations would be confirmed if they win more than half of the legislative votes, the act says.

Tsai has the opportunity to make a substantive impact on the membership of those posts.

The term of the current Control Yuan members is to expire on July 31, so lawmakers must review the qualifications of Tsai’s nominees and give consent to them by that time.

Current Examination Yuan members are to step down when their terms ends on Aug. 31. The number of nominees to replace them will be reduced to seven or nine, a reduction stipulated by an amendment to the Organic Act of the Examination Yuan (考試院組織法) last year.

The terms of four of the Council of Grand Justices — Huang Horng-shya (黃虹霞), Wu Chen-huan (吳陳鐶), Tsai Ming-cheng (蔡明誠) and Lin Jiun-yi (林俊益) — are to expire on Sept. 30, 2023.

Once they are replaced, all 15 justices would have been nominated by Tsai Ing-wen. She will also be able to nominate a new prosecutor-general, whose term ends in May 2022.

Lawmakers are also to confirm the premier’s nominees for members of the National Communications Commission, Central Election Commission and Fair Trade Commission.

As the terms of these commissioners would overlap to ensure the continuity of governance, lawmakers would confirm the nominees twice during their four-year terms.

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content_text:
B: If the idea is to reward employees for their hard work, why is the company asking them to perform on stage?

A: Hmm, good question. Perhaps because it makes the event more fun and makes employees feel like they are involved. Otherwise, would you prefer the entire banquet consisted of speeches by managers?

B: If they were continually handing out prizes I wouldn’t mind.

B: 既然是要犒賞員工的辛勞，為什麼還要你們上台表演啊？

A: 嗯，這是個好問題！可能是因為這樣比較有趣，而且讓員工有參與感吧。不然，你覺得整場宴會都在聽長官致詞，會比較好嗎？

B: 如果他們一直加碼抽獎的話我不介意啊。

English 英文:

Chinese 中文:

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title: EVERYDAY ENGLISH


content_text:
China’s auto market is likely to shrink for the third consecutive year this year, the country’s top auto body said yesterday, with industry watchers hoping a sales recovery in lower-tier cities helps ease the pace of decline.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said it expects a 2 percent fall in vehicle sales.

That would compare with 8.2 percent last year when sales were pressured by new emission standards in a shrinking economy that was contending with tit-for-tat import tariffs with the US.

CAAM, affirming its forecast announced last month, also said taht auto sales declined for the 18th consecutive month last month.

Annual sales started falling in 2018, by 2.8 percent, halting a growth march that began in the 1990s.

“The negative effect of cutting purchase tax in 2015 to 2017 has disappeared, and car sales in lower-tier cities are expected to recover,” LMC Automotive Ltd senior analyst Alan Kang (康軍) said.

“The easing of trade tensions between China and the United States has also helped restore consumer confidence,” said Kang, who expects China’s vehicle sales to grow 0.05 percent this year.

Sales of new-energy vehicles last month sank 27.4 percent, resulting in an overall 4 percent decline last year.

China’s new-energy vehicle sales jumped 62 percent in 2018, but a subsidy cut hurt sales last year.

Global automakers have been cautious with their predictions after cutting production, shutting factories and firing staff last year.

Executives at automakers such as Geely Holding Group (吉利控股集團) and Ford Motor Co partner Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd (重慶長安汽車) have said they expect fiercer competition to weed out weaker players.

Ford yesterday said that its China auto sales slumped more than one-quarter last year for its third year of decline.

However, the latest fall was slower than the 37 percent weathered in 2018, and the automaker said that it saw its market share stabilize in the high-to-premium segment.

It remained cautious about this year, echoing bearish comments on China’s market from General Motors Co.

“We expect the market downturn to continue in 2020, and anticipate ongoing headwinds in our China business,” GM China president Matt Tsien said last week as the US automaker reported a 15 percent drop in China sales for last year.

Volkswagen AG, whose sport-utility vehicles helped it report a smaller 1.1 percent year-on-year fall in sales in the first 11 months of last year, has said it expects China’s market to grow at a relatively slow pace for the next five years.

The bright spots have been Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co Ltd, as well as US electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc, which started delivering Model 3 sedans from its US$2 billion Shanghai plant this month.

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title: Chinese agency forecasts 2% decline in auto sales


title: Bencic wins in Adelaide, agony for Alex de Minaur

content_text:
World No. 7 Belinda Bencic won her first match of the season yesterday, but there was agony for Alex de Minaur as the men’s top seed pulled out of the Adelaide International.

The Swiss 22-year-old, a wild-card entry who lost her opening match of the year last week in Shenzhen, beat Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-4, 6-4.

Bencic, who had lost her past two matches against the qualifier, overcame hot conditions at Memorial Drive as she makes final preparations for next week’s Australian Open.

She survived a first set against Kasatkina featuring five breaks of serve and secured her second-round place with a break in the final game of the second.

“It was very difficult, but I like the heat and I’m happy to be here for the first time,” Bencic said. “Her game is really tough, it doesn’t match up with mine. I had to work hard.”

Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, American Danielle Collins and Croat Donna Vekic were among other women to clear the first hurdle.

In the men’s draw Britain’s Dan Evans beat Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero 6-2, 6-4, while Jeremy Chardy overcame fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3, 7-5.

A devastated De Minaur withdrew due to an abdominal injury, casting doubt over his fitness for the first major of the season.

“I re-aggravated an abdominal injury and have had to withdraw,” said De Minaur, who had an intense week leading Australia at the ATP Cup. “It’s devastating, Adelaide has been part of my schedule for a long time.”

ASB CLASSIC

AP, AUCKLAND, New Zealand

Defending champion Tennys Sandgren of the US moved into the second round of the ASB Classic, beating New Zealand doubles specialist Michael Venus 6-4, 6-3.

Sandgren won his maiden ATP title in Auckland last year, beating Briton Cameron Norrie in the final. He looked strong yesterday with 15 aces in a 70-minute win.

Venus is ranked 10th in the world in doubles, but was playing his first singles match since a Davis Cup tie in 2018.

In other first-round matches, Brazilian qualifier Thiego Montiero beat Cameron Norrie 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, while Hubert Hurkacz of Poland advanced with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Lorenzo Sonego.

WTA Hobart

AFP, HOBART, Australia

Kristyna Pliskova yesterday advanced to the second round at the WTA Hobart International, at which Taiwanese sisters Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan are to play in the doubles.

Pliskova beat Nina Stojanovic 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The Chans are to play Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko and Sharon Fichman of Canada in the round of 16 today.

Additional reporting by staff writer

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title: ATP Cup shows Djokovic is king

content_text:
From left, Serbia’s Nikola Milojevic, Dusan Lajovic, Novak Djokovic, Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki pose with a Serbian flag and the ATP Cup at Mrs Macquaries Point in Sydney yesterday.Photo: EPA-EFE
The inaugural 24-nation ATP Cup team competition played in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney over 10 days in the lead-up to the Australian Open raised some talking points:

NEW INNOVATIONS

The new tournament won plenty of plaudits, with players also hailing the team spirit and competitive matches.

Innovations were trialled at the ATP Cup, including on-court coaching and team zones in the corners of the court, which were wildly popular. There were also real-time statistics, data and match vision available to the captain and players, plus a video-review system to challenge contentious decisions such as foot faults.

While it worked well, there was also high-profile criticism from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal that playing another team event so close to the Davis Cup in November was too much.

“I think is a great competition, but at the same time I can’t change my mind that two World Cups in one month is not real. So [it] is not possible,” Nadal said on Sunday.

KING NOVAK

Djokovic underlined his credentials as king of the hardcourts and favorite to win an unprecedented eighth Australian Open title.

The Serbian superstar never looked like losing, coming through tough tests from the likes of Denis Shapovalov, Daniil Medvedev and world No. 1 Nadal in Sunday’s final to remain unbeaten.

“I mean, it is the perfect preparation,” the 16-time Grand Slam winner said. “This has been one of the highlights of my career, because you can’t really match any big win in tennis with the win that you get to share with your team, with your friends.”

“It has been an amazing event,” he added.

ZVEREV CRASHES

Big things have been tipped for Alexander Zverev since he burst into the top 10 in 2017, but the 22-year-old is yet to fully deliver. The young German won just one title last year and slipped down the rankings to seven from four at the start of the season.

He failed spectacularly at the ATP Cup, looking lost on court as he crashed in all three of his games.

To make matters worse, he was reportedly stung by a bluebottle while swimming at an Australian beach, although it was nothing serious.

“It’s not really that high,” the dejected Zverev said of his confidence. “Generally I’m not playing good, so there’s a lot of things that I still need to improve, but it’s the start of the season.”

Asked how he could fix what was wrong before the Australian Open, he replied: “On the practice court.”

‘WHY NOT WOMEN?’

If an early-season team event is good enough for the men, then why not women as well?

Djokovic said he supported the idea, as did former US Open runner-up Madison Keys after criticism that women had been sidelined at the WTA Brisbane International.

The event was played at the Queensland Tennis Centre, the same as the ATP Cup, but the men monopolized center court.

Maria Sharapova said that theirs felt like a “second-hand” tournament, while Sloane Stephens, who is on the WTA players’ council, complained that female players “weren’t in the conversation to even be considered” for the main court.

Tennis officials said that they were working on a “new concept” for women in the Australian summer.

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title: Jordan’s king says Islamic State group on the rise again

content_text:
King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday said that the Islamic State (also known by the acronym ISIS) group was regrouping and was once again on the rise in the Middle East.

Months after the ousting of the group last year from their last Syrian holdout, Abdullah said his “major concern is that we have seen over the past year the re-establishment and rise of ISIS, not only in southern eastern Syria but also in western Iraq.”

“We have to deal with the reemergence of ISIS,” the king added in an interview with TV channel France 24 ahead of talks this week in Brussels, Strasbourg and Paris.

He also said many foreign fighters from Syria were now in Libya.

“From a European perspective, with Libya being much closer to Europe, this is going to be an important discussion in the next couple of days,” Abdullah said.

“Several thousand fighters have left Idlib [Syria] through the northern border and have ended up in Libya, that is something that we in the region, but also our European friends will have to address in 2020,” the king said.

Regarding last week’s spiking of tensions between Iran and the US, Abdullah said he hoped that “in the next several months we set the right tone for the region, which is really to bring the temperature down.”

“So far it looks like de-escalation, we hope that that continues to be the trend. We can’t afford instability in our part of the world,” he said. “Whatever happens in Tehran will affect Baghdad, Amman, Beirut, the Israeli Palestinian process.”

Abdullah added that the recent deployment of Turkish troops in a training capacity to Libya “will only create more confusion” in the country.

Both sides in Libya’s conflict agreed to a ceasefire from Sunday to end nine months of fighting, following weeks of international diplomacy and calls for a truce by power brokers Russia and Turkey.

A UN report in November last year said several countries were violating the arms embargo on Libya since 2011.

Jordan, whose stability is seen as vital for the volatile Middle East, hosts about 1.3 million refugees from Syria.

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