content_text:
墨新聞｜記者張游舜／台北報導

2025彩虹織女－原時尚服飾設計競賽」決賽，國慶日午後在南投會展中心盛大舉辦，縣長許淑華特別穿著由南投織女工藝師林喜美與設計師洪福伸合作創作的縣長專屬原時尚服裝，帶頭走秀展示運用原民傳統織布結合運動風格，詮釋的「原時尚運動風」主題，成為現場矚目焦點，隨後登場的連串精彩決選原時尚服裝秀，更為原時尚創作風潮及產業注入嶄新又充沛的活力。

許縣長表示，原住民傳統編織不僅是文化象徵，更是族群智慧的展現，南投縣政府近年積極推動原民工藝創新政策，透過工作坊培訓、設計競賽與展演活動，持續推廣傳統技藝的保存與應用，並期盼以時尚語彙讓世界看見台灣的文化自信，鼓勵更多年輕族群勇敢投入創作，將原民文化推向國際時尚舞台，縣府會持續推動原民文化產業升級，為推廣原住民族工藝文化打造時尚創作平台，鼓勵青年朋友大膽運用傳統技藝，創作發展出全新且具競爭力的文化產業。

今年南投彩虹織女決賽，評審團由國寶級工藝師張鳳英領軍，與國際時尚藝術文化協會理事長溫筱鴻、設計師許艷玲、設計師簡國彥及縣府新聞及行政處長蔡明志共同評選，張鳳英表示，本屆作品兼具原民精神與市場潛力，創意十足、展現世代融合的力量，十組入圍決賽作品均展現極高完成度與文化意象。

「2025彩虹織女－原時尚服飾設計競賽」決賽，由知名伊林名模群專業走秀展演十組決賽作品的原民特色與創新風格，令在場包括縣議員林庭秝、全文才及爆滿觀眾都目不睱給的專注欣賞，而空手道國手辜翠萍與角力國手曾怡瑄也首次登上伸展台展演主題服裝，展現運動與原民時尚融合的全新樣貌。在地廬山部落出身的賽德克族歌手幽谷·瓦歷斯也演唱多首創作歌曲，並在晚間的國慶焰火舞台上展出二十套精選作品，讓全國觀眾透過直播見證彩虹織女設計師們的創意成果。

活動現場亦展示了「彩虹織女工作坊」的成果，包括T恤、背心及包包等量產商品，皆由FUSIO FUSIO品牌設計師洪福伸親自指導製作，將織女手作布料融入實穿商品中，開啟傳統工藝量產化與品牌化的新契機。期望透過設計商品化，讓部落藝術走進生活市場，展現兼具文化厚度與商業價值的「原時尚」。

縣府原住民族行政處指出，「彩虹織女」競賽不僅是一場服裝比賽，更是文化創意與設計能量的展現。未來將持續辦理培訓課程與跨界合作，讓更多織女與青年設計師攜手，創造屬於台灣的時尚語言。更多活動資訊與作品花絮，請上「彩虹織女」臉書粉絲專頁查詢。

照片／南投縣政府提供

此篇文章最開始出處為: 南投彩虹織女決賽華麗登場 許縣長領軍走秀展現原創時尚風潮

taiwan-subdivisions: 南投 南投縣 員林

people: 許淑華 全文才

title: 南投彩虹織女決賽華麗登場　許縣長領軍走秀展現原創時尚風潮


title: 慶祝國慶　南投千人擂茶香

taiwan-subdivisions: 南投 水里 南投縣

content_text:
墨新聞｜記者張游舜／台北報導

國慶日、喝擂茶，為國家慶生。南投世界茶業博覽會10日下午舉辦千人擂茶活動，適逢雙十國慶，230組擂茶報名秒殺，南投縣長許淑華表示，國慶焰火在南投，茶博會湧入大量人潮，買氣特別好，茶博最後2天活動，民眾要把握機會參加。

茶博會大型活動輪番上陣，由水里農會負責的千人擂茶，10日下午登場，許縣長偕同副縣長王瑞德、水里農會幹部等人在台上示範製作擂茶，台下參加民眾依照標示順序，將茶葉、花生、芝麻、米、堅果等五穀雜糧，在擂缽中磨成細糊狀，再沖入熱水飲用。

茶博會今年最特別，喝擂茶，為國家慶生外，晚上還可以看國慶焰火；千人擂茶現場，有呼朋引伴的民眾，聚在一起擂茶；也有一家大小出遊，在中興新村大操場上，做擂茶，沖泡後飲用，自在聊天，度過悠閒的下午。

許縣長指出，由於國慶焰火在南投，民眾踴躍參加擂茶活動，遊客也比往年多，且據反映買氣也特別好。截至10日中午統計，參加茶博人數已有78萬人次，消費金額達1億2千萬餘元，感謝各地來的民眾，用行動支持這場茶的嘉年華。

許縣長同時邀請大家，在觀賞焰火之餘，別錯過最後兩天的茶博盛會，｢朝品茶香、夜賞焰火」享受南投｢特有版」的國家慶典活動。

照片／南投縣政府提供

此篇文章最開始出處為: 慶祝國慶 南投千人擂茶香


title: 國慶焰火在南投登場　逾4萬發焰火璀璨點亮夜空

taiwan-subdivisions: 南投 成功 臺中 南投縣

countries: 中華民國 台灣

people: 許淑華 韓國瑜

content_text:
墨新聞｜記者張游舜／台北報導

中華民國114歲生日，長達四十分鐘的焰火秀10日晚上八點在南投貓羅溪畔升起，焰火璀璨，不但是近十年來最大，更吸引數萬民眾前往欣賞，南投建縣以來第一次國慶焰火，4萬3千發焰火照亮夜空。南投縣長許淑華還親自充當DJ，熱情表演，將活動推向高潮，是最大驚喜。

賴總統表示，慶祝中華民國國慶，昨天在臺中特別舉辦晚會為國家暖壽，今天早上也在總統府前廣場舉辦大型慶祝活動，晚上特別來到南投來看煙火秀表演。賴總統指出，為了國慶活動，立法院韓院長非常辛苦；南投縣許縣長為了建縣以來第一次焰火秀表演，全力以赴，大家做了最好的準備，也祝中華民國生日快樂。

114年中華民國國慶焰火在南投！南投縣長許淑華感謝慶籌會主任委員韓國瑜院長，將國慶焰火施放的重責大任交給南投縣政府，為了這場盛典，南投總動員，全力以赴！對所有南投的鄉親來說，這是光榮與驕傲的時刻，透過焰火，也讓各界看到南投人的熱情。

為了這場國家慶典，縣府卯足全力安排節目，下午四時起各項表演陸續登場，為活動暖身，週邊攤商也開張迎賓，吃、喝供應俱全，讓民眾看表演、欣賞焰火同時，也能有逛夜市的感覺。

許縣長指出，南投是台灣之心，台灣的第一高山「玉山」在南投、第一湖泊「日月潭」在南投、最長的溪流「濁水溪」也在南投！今年焰火施放，南投的美麗風景爲發想，打造「七彩水墨焰火」，將傳統結合潮流音樂元素，帶給國人同胞視覺震撼與感官饗宴。

許縣長表示，南投不僅是台灣的觀光首都，還是農業大縣，當中有我們引以為傲的台灣茶，每年雙十假期，縣府都會在具有歷史意義的省政府所在地「中興新村」舉辦「南投世界茶業博覽會」。今年結合國慶焰火活動亮點，感謝全國朋友用行動支持這場茶的嘉年華，並享受南投｢特有版」的國家慶典活動。

許縣長表示，大家齊聚在南投，這不僅是一場慶典，更是一份對國家的祝福。願燦爛焰火映照出我們對國家的熱愛與驕傲！願中華民國，持續繁榮、永續前行！中華民國生日快樂！

為了炒熱活動氣氛，許縣長意外扮ＤＪ大秀才藝，親自來一段熱情表演，為來賓帶來意外驚喜，氣氛瞬間被推向最高潮，賴總統、韓院長隨著拍手喝采，為中華民國慶生。

立法院長韓國瑜表示，南投是台灣的心臟，很高興舉辦建縣70多年來第一場中央級國慶活動；去年南投縣許縣長向他反映，南投縣民一樣在繳稅，但從來沒有人關心，於是今年國慶焰火不但在南投，為了補償，中央加發10年來最多焰火，達到4萬3千多發。

韓院長指出，南投縣47萬人口，南投鄉親發展令人感動，小籠包鼎泰豐老闆的媽媽是南投人，海內外也有很多南投成功的僑胞，對南投這塊土地充滿情感和熱情。在南投辦國慶焰火，特別有意義。

韓院長同時稱許南投縣府團隊，成功將中秋節、國慶及茶博會串聯起來，去年南投茶博遊客有97萬人次，今年縣府聰明設計，將連續假期連在一起辦活動，他呼籲讓南投茶博遊客破一百萬人次。大家重新審視南投的美和潛力，他感謝所有協助焰火的單位，並高喊中華民國生日快樂。

照片／南投縣政府提供／記者張游舜攝

此篇文章最開始出處為: 國慶焰火在南投登場 逾4萬發焰火璀璨點亮夜空


title: Lai unveils ‘T-Dome’ defense plan

content_text:
NATIONAL DAY: The ‘Taiwan Dome’ would form the centerpiece of new efforts to bolster air defense and be modeled after Israel’s ‘Iron Dome,’ sources said

President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged to strengthen the nation’s air defense capabilities and build a “T-Dome” system to create a safety net against growing military threats from China.

“We will accelerate our building of the T-Dome, establish a rigorous air defense system in Taiwan with multi-layered defense, high-level detection and effective interception, and weave a safety net for Taiwan to protect the lives and property of citizens,” he said in his National Day address.

In his keynote address marking the Republic of China’s (ROC) 114th anniversary, Lai said the lessons of World War II have taught nations worldwide “to ensure that the tragedies of history are never repeated.”

President William Lai gestures during his Double Ten National Day speech at the National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

“The outcomes of that conflict tell us that aggression fails, unity prevails and that peace is won through strength,” he said.

Lai reiterated his administration’s commitment to raise Taiwan’s defense budget to 3 percent of GDP next year and 5 percent by 2030, saying that developing the “T-Dome” system is among its key objectives.

He said that Taiwan would integrate “high-tech and artificial intelligence [AI]” to develop a “smart defense combat system,” invest in innovative defense research and cooperate with defense industries in advanced nations to boost domestic capabilities.

He did not provide details about the “T-Dome” system.

A Reuters report published late on Thursday ahead of Lai’s speech said the “T-Dome” — short for Taiwan Dome — is intended to counter increasingly complex threats, including drones, rockets, missiles and military aircraft.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, Reuters said the system is modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense network, with planning still under way and “initial integration” expected to begin soon, one source said.


content_text:
National Infectious Disease Bank to be completed next year, NHRI says

BIOBANK:  The idea of building the facility dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Ministry of Health and Welfare saw the need for a centralized biorepository

The National Infectious Disease Bank is expected to be completed next year, facilitating Taiwan’s research and international cooperation on epidemic prevention, National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) president Sytwu Huey-kang (司徒惠康) said yesterday.

The NHRI has been constructing the facility to support the development of epidemic-prevention technologies, domestically produced vaccines, diagnostic reagents and new medicines to combat infectious diseases, Sytwu said.

In his Double 10 National Day address, President William Lai (賴清德) said that the project remains on schedule, adding that Taiwan aims to deepen cooperation with other countries in biotechnology.

“Through our program for investment in smart healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship, with a budget of NT$10 billion [US$327.39 million], we will encourage more companies to engage in innovative research and development, expand investment and drive the biomedical industry toward becoming a trillion-New Taiwan-dollar sector — another ‘sacred mountain protecting the nation,’” Lai said.

The idea of building the facility dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the Ministry of Health and Welfare began considering the need for a centralized biorepository, Sytwu said.

Then-minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) first proposed the idea of creating a national platform, to be built by the NHRI, for the systematic collection of biological specimens, such as blood, saliva or mucus for research and development use, Sytwu said.

The NHRI developed the idea and submitted a proposal to the minister in 2020, outlining plans to establish a national database encompassing a wide range of infectious agents, such as bacteria, fungi and viruses, he said.

The bank building is expected to be completed next year, he added.

To address regulatory hurdles, the NHRI and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a mechanism for biomaterial transfer, he added.

Previously, specimens collected by the CDC could only be used for diagnosis, disease prevention and public health control, Sytwu said.

Under the new MOU, such specimens can be legally transferred to the NHRI for wider use in research, including the creation of new medicines, vaccines and rapid test kits he said.

The collaboration would centralize research resources and create a national-level database accessible to academic institutions and the biomedical industry, he added.

Sytwu said the NHRI has officially joined the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) and the Asian Consortium for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Microbial Resources (ACM).

The WFCC, based in the Netherlands, has nearly 80 member states and more than 100 participating organizations worldwide, while the Japan-based ACM has about 35 member institutions, he said.

Through cooperation with the organizations, Taiwan can share key pathogen data and ensure that its locally collected pathogen strains are included in international preservation systems, he added.

Taiwan would be represented by its national flag in these international platforms and engage in reciprocal cooperation, he said.

That means Taiwan can deposit its endemic bacterial and viral strains into global databases and access foreign pathogen samples to better understand international epidemic trends, he added.

Research on large-scale epidemics would no longer be confined to individual countries, Sytwu said, adding that international data sharing and joint research would be critical for tracking pathogen variations and accelerating the development of vaccines and medicines.

That is a crucial step in Taiwan’s quest for stronger disease prevention resilience, in line with international standards in the post-COVID-19 era, he added.

Additional reporting by CNA

people: 賴清德 陳時中


content_text:
Ceasefire in Gaza has taken effect, Israeli military says

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in Gaza yesterday, the Israeli military said, hours after Israel’s Cabinet approved a deal to pause the fighting and exchange the remaining hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Tens of thousands of people who had gathered in Wadi Gaza in central Gaza in the morning started walking north after the military’s announcement at noon local time. Beforehand, Palestinians reported heavy shelling in parts of Gaza throughout yesterday morning, but no significant bombardment was reported after.

The ceasefire is a key step toward ending a ruinous two-year war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, destabilized the Middle East, and left dozens of hostages, living and dead, in the territory.

Displaced Palestinians make their way along a road as they return to northern Gaza after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza went into effect in the central Gaza Strip yesterday.

Photo: Reuters

Still, the broader plan advanced by US President Donald Trump includes many unanswered questions, such as whether and how Hamas would disarm and who would govern Gaza.

A brief statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office early yesterday said the Israeli Cabinet approved the “outline” of a deal to release the hostages, without mentioning other aspects of the plan that are more controversial.

Israeli troops have begun to withdraw to agreed-upon deployment lines, the military said.

An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the withdrawal, said the military would control about 50 percent of Gaza in their new positions.

Senior Hamas official and lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayyas gave a speech on Thursday laying out what he said were the core elements of the ceasefire deal: Israel releasing about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, opening the border crossing with Egypt, allowing aid to flow and Israeli forces withdrawing.

Khalil al-Hayya said all women and children held in Israeli jails would also be freed. He did not offer details on the extent of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

A list published yesterday by Israel of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal did not include high-profile prisoner Marwan Barghouti, the most popular Palestinian leader and a potentially unifying figure. Israel views some others as terrorist masterminds who murdered Israeli civilians and has refused to release them in past exchanges.

The Trump administration and mediators had given assurances that the war is over, al-Hayya said, adding that Hamas and other Palestinian factions would now focus on achieving self-determination and establishing a Palestinian state.

To help support and monitor the ceasefire deal, US officials said they would send about 200 troops to Israel as part of a broader, international team.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not authorized for release.


content_text:
The Nobel Peace Prize yesterday was awarded to Venezuela’s opposition leader and democracy advocate Maria Corina Machado, a “unifying” figure in what has become a “brutal” state, the Nobel jury said.

Woken in the middle of the night by a call from Norwegian Nobel Committee secretary Kristian Berg Harpviken, who informed her of the prize, the 58-year-old said she was confident the opposition would succeed in securing a peaceful transition to democracy in her country.

“We’re not there yet. We’re working very hard to achieve it, but I’m sure that we will prevail,” she told Kristian Berg Harpviken in a video of the call posted to X.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters during a protest on the eve of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration on Jan. 9.  Photo: AFP

“This is certainly the biggest recognition to our people that certainly deserve it,” she said. “I am just, you know, one person. I certainly do not deserve this,” she added.

Machado, who has lived in hiding for the past year, was honored “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.

The committee hailed her as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”

“Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions,” it said.

Rumors have circulated on social networks that she is sheltering at the US embassy.

Machado was the opposition’s presidential candidate for Venezuela’s elections last year, but Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government blocked her candidacy.

Always dressed in white, she was welcomed like a rock star at rallies, her supporters rushing to get a glimpse or touch her, holding up babies and children, and proffering handwritten notes of support and presents of baseball caps or flowers.

Venezuela has evolved from a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a “brutal authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis,” Frydnes said.

The opposition has been systematically suppressed by means of “election rigging, legal prosecution and imprisonment.”

Machado has been a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided,” he said.

She was not among those mentioned as possible laureates in the run-up to yesterday’s announcement.

US President Donald Trump had made no secret of his desire to win this year’s Peace Prize, and his office derided the decision as “politics over peace.”

“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung wrote on X.

The committee had made its choice days before the recent announcement of a deal to end the fighting in Gaza.

Nobel experts said that Trump had no chance, adding that his “America First” policies run counter to the ideals of the Peace Prize as laid out in Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will creating the award.

Frydnes said the Nobel Committee is not swayed by lobbying campaigns for the prize.

“We base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel,” he said.

The prize comes with a gold medal, a diploma and a prize sum of US$1.2 million.

It would be presented at a formal ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10.

title: Maria Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize


content_text:
TECH SETBACK: Nvidia Corp said that the US is the company’s largest market and the legislation, although well-intentioned, addresses a nonexistent problem

Advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chipmakers Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) have to ensure US companies get priority access to their products before China under legislation the US Senate has passed, a setback for the industry’s efforts to block the measure.

The bipartisan legislation was easily approved in a vote late on Thursday. It is designed to bolster US competitiveness in cutting-edge industries, and curb exports to China and other foreign adversaries, lead Republican cosponsor US Senator Jim Banks said.

US tech leaders and groups have criticized the bill, arguing it would instead restrict competition and weaken innovation.

People walk to Nvidia corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Sept. 22.

Photo: EPA

“Today, the Senate acted to make sure American customers — including small businesses and start-ups — aren’t forced to wait in line behind China’s tech giants when purchasing the latest AI chips,” lead Democratic cosponsor US Senator Elizabeth Warren said.

Senators approved the measure as part of their annual defense policy bill after a month-long stalemate, but its path to becoming law remains unclear. The US House of Representatives passed its version last month without the export-controls language, and lawmakers in both chambers must now negotiate a final package that might not include the provision.

The US Senate action follows a deal this summer by the administration of US President Donald Trump with Nvidia and AMD to ease export restrictions to China. Opponents are expected to keep pressing the US Congress to drop the measure.

Nvidia last month said that the US is the company’s largest market and the legislation, although well-intentioned, addresses a nonexistent problem.

The measure is a “major win for US economic competitiveness and national security,” AI policy nonprofit Americans for Responsible Innovation president Brad Carson said in a statement.

In related news, Beijing has intensified enforcement of its import restrictions on US chips, including Nvidia’s AI processors, the Financial Times reported, as China sharpens its focus on promoting home-grown production.

Chinese customs officials were dispatched to key ports to conduct strict checks on semiconductor shipments, the newspaper reported.

The newspaper said the inspections initially targeted Nvidia’s H20 and RTX Pro 6000D, designed to adhere to US export controls.

The checks have been extended to include all advanced semiconductor products that breach US export controls, the report said.

title: US Senate passes export curbs for AI chips


title: Include mental health in disaster response: groups

content_text:
CARE NEEDED: Disaster survivors should be checked for symptoms of mental stress and given special care, as they could develop another mental illness, a doctor said

Civil groups yesterday called on the government to integrate emotional crisis management into its post-disaster relief procedures, as yesterday marked World Mental Health Day.

World Mental Health Day, initiated by the World Federation for Mental Health, has been observed annually on Oct. 10 since 1992 to promote mental health education.

This year’s theme is “Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies,” the National Education Action Alliance and the Taiwan Federation for Mental Health said in a joint statement.

The flooding in Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復), caused by a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) overflowing during Typhoon Ragasa, was a core issue for mental health, the groups said, citing research and data from health organizations.

The federation’s research found that one-third of disaster victims experience significant psychological effects, while WHO data showed that about 22 percent of those affected by a disaster could develop mental health issues such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The groups said that seven schools were closed for nearly two weeks after the barrier lake overflowed.

Students, parents and teachers had to take detours to school and lost school supplies, they said, adding that school grounds were also used as temporary shelters.

In addition to providing counseling, mental health crisis response teams should be immediately set up in schools and communities affected by disasters, the groups said.

Safe spaces and stress relief stations that provide psychological care with the help of counselors, volunteers and community mental health center staff should also be established, they said, adding that it would encourage people to share their concerns and help refer them to group support or individual therapy as needed.

Psychological resilience is not just about telling victims to “be strong”; it is about integrating schools, families and communities into a safety network, federation president Chang Chueh (張?) said.

Triage and follow-up systems should be established, while training for teachers and volunteers should be provided, she said.

In other news, Lu Yung-chin (盧永欽), director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Jianan Psychiatric Center Clinical Psychology Department, said that people who suddenly had to face a life-or-death situation or the death of loved ones might develop PTSD, so they should receive special care or counseling in the month after the incident.

Lu cited as an example the case of a six-year-old girl, called Hsiao Yee (小沂) by local media, who was stranded near the roof of a flooded house for two days, saying that although it was heartbreaking to see her burst into tears when rescued, it was a good way to release her stress.

Humans have a natural potential for self-regulation, but if a young child who survived a life-threatening natural disaster becomes speechless or emotionless, then they should be checked for possible PTSD, he said.

Within 30 days after a disaster, survivors should be checked for symptoms of mental stress, such as nightmares, night sweats, palpitations or panic, Lu said, adding that they should be given special care, counseling and companionship to help them move past the trauma.

If the stress is not addressed promptly, it might develop into chronic PTSD, which could affect their ability to function daily or turn into another mental illness, he said, urging people to seek professional medical assistance as early as possible.

Additional reporting by Wu Chun-feng


title: Hospitals across the nation welcome new National Day babies

content_text:
Hospitals across the nation celebrated the birth of babies born yesterday, Taiwan’s National Day.

Among them was a baby born at Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in Taipei to a woman surnamed Weng (翁), who is in her 30s.

“I did not pick the date on purpose, as babies born on this day do not come with a lifetime of perks,” Weng said with a laugh.

Doctor and nurses hold “National Day babies” born yesterday at a hospital in Hsinchu City. Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu City Government

As of noon yesterday, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City had reported eight “National Day babies,” while Taipei Chang Gung Memorial Hospital recorded two. Mackay Memorial Hospital and Cathay General Hospital each reported five births.

Shin Kong hospital said it had already welcomed four babies and two more were expected later yesterday.

Lee Wei-chun (李維鈞), director of Shin Kong’s high-risk pregnancy center, discouraged parents from scheduling caesarean deliveries just to deliver on an auspicious date.

Staffing levels are also typically lower during holidays and medical resources should be reserved for those in genuine need, Lee said.

Da Chien General Hospital in Miaoli County said it welcomed five newborns yesterday, including two pairs of twin boys delivered by caesarean section.

The mother of one set of twins, a 34-year-old woman surnamed Chen (陳), had gestational diabetes, the hospital said.

Her pregnancy reached 37 weeks yesterday, and her doctors scheduled the caesarean section for that day.


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work together: Taiwan and Japan have opportunities to cooperate in carbon capture and storage development, given the two’s geographical similarities, an expert said

A draft bill for carbon storage management would be announced next month at the earliest, aiming to store 6 million tonnes of carbon by 2035, the Ministry of Environment said.

The ministry on Wednesday held a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) International Conference, inviting Japanese and local experts to exchange research and experience in the development of national CCS strategies.

CCS is a critical technique for Taiwan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, Deputy Minister of Environment Hsieh Yein-rui (謝燕儒) said.

The entrance to the Ministry of Environment in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times

In line with the carbon reduction goal of 38 percent — plus or minus 2 percent — announced by President William Lai (賴清德) this year, the ministry aims to remove 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide via CCS by 2035, he said.

“As Japan is in an earthquake belt like Taiwan, its legal infrastructure, technological development and public communication are exemplary for us,” Hsieh said.

The number of developing CCS projects across the world rose by 60 percent to 628 last year, of which 50 facilities were in operation, 44 were under construction and 534 were being planned, he said, citing data from the Global CCS Institute.

Climate Change Administration Director-General Tsai Ling-yi (蔡玲儀) said that the bill on carbon storage management is expected to be announced next month.

Given capturing, delivering and storing carbon dioxide is expensive, innovating technologies to reduce its costs has finally caught international attention, she said, adding that interagency cooperation is indispensable to developing a CCS industrial chain.

Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Taipei Office Deputy Representative Gen Kawai said that Japan unveiled its long-term CCS roadmap on March 2023, which outlined its goal of reaching an annual carbon storage capacity of 6 million to 12 million tonnes by 2030.

“The carbon storage potential of Japan’s coastal areas is estimated to be 150 billion to 240 billion tonnes,” he said.

To accelerate the development of CCS business models, the Japanese government promulgated the CCS Business Act in May last year, which stipulated a licensing system for carbon storage businesses and a notification system for carbon dioxide pipeline transportation businesses, Kawai said.

Japan also selected nine advanced CCS projects that include carbon capture, delivery and storage to create a CCS value chain, he said.

For example, the Tomakomai Area CCS project in Hokkaido reached a carbon storage of 300,000 tonnes in 2019, Kawai said.

Taiwan and Japan are surrounded by water, and their geographical similarities are expected to provide more opportunities for exchange and cooperation between the two sides in CCS development, he said, adding that the association would continue to offer support.

National Central University Carbon Storage and Geothermal Research Center director Lin Tien-shun (林殿順) said that the carbon storage potential of western Taiwan is estimated to be more than 40 billion tonnes.

Pilot test sites have been set up in areas with higher potential, including Taichung’s Tiezhenshan (鐵砧山) and Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮), he said.

University of Tokyo engineering professor Takeshi Tsuji said that monitoring and management of carbon storage sites is important to ensure safety.

The University of Tokyo and National Taiwan University have been collaborating on developing a portable active seismic source device that could be used in monitoring storage sites, he said, adding that they were low-cost and environmentally friendly.

The small, handheld device could be used to continuously monitor the reservoirs at a depth of about 1km by generating seismic signals, Tsuji said.

title: Ministry aims to store 6 million tonnes of carbon


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Electric fans, rice cookers and hair dryers are the most often repaired small appliances, Circular Taiwan Network campaigner and Nanji Fix cofounder Yahsuan Tsai (蔡亞軒) said ahead of International Repair Day on Saturday next week.

International Repair Day falls on the third Saturday of October every year and the Ministry of Environment has commissioned the Institute of Environment and Resources to promote repair culture in collaboration with at least 33 repair communities nationwide.

Institute chairman and Deputy Minister of Environment Yeh Jiunn-horng (葉俊宏) last week said that repairing is the easiest and most economical way to reduce waste and carbon emissions.

Technicians repair a rice cooker and other appliances in an undated photograph. Photo: Hunag Yi-ching, Taipei Times

Taiwan has taken part in the worldwide right-to-repair movement since 2022, he said.

The ministry organized 58 repair training sessions and 817 repair service sites have been established nationwide over the past two years, Yeh said, adding that people could visit the ministry’s national repair map (https://recycle.moenv.gov.tw/utmap/) to find the service sites.

Resource Circulation Administration Deputy Director-General Hsu Chih-lun (許智倫) said that green design and extended usage have been incorporated into the Resource Circulation Promotion Act (資源循環推動法).

The goal is to boost the durability and repairability of products by standardizing their parts and components, and making repair essentials easily accessible, he said.

Tsai encouraged people to cultivate basic repair capabilities, as many small household appliances could easily be fixed without advanced techniques.

For example, about 30 percent of seemingly broken electric fans only needed lubricant oil sprays or a new fuse, which cost less than NT$50, he said, adding that store repairs for small appliances cost hundreds of New Taiwan dollars.

The awareness of “repairing instead of replacing” should be raised and more repair sites should be set up nationwide given the massive repair demand, Tsai said.

Ensuring the right to repair by making products repairable with proper guidelines and reasonable costs is also important, Tsai added.

The government should promote easy-to-repair product designs jointly with manufacturers to extend product lifetimes by making their components easier to disassemble, maintain and replace, he said.

Nanji Fix research showed that of the small appliances brought to repair communities in Taipei, Hsinchu, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Changhua County from 2016 to this year, electric fans were the most common item that needed repairs, Tsai said.

Rice cookers were the second-most frequently repaired items, followed by hair dryers, CD players or radios, electric kettles or pots, lamps, microwaves, ovens or food dehydrators, juicers or blenders and toys, he said.

The ministry is to hold an event in collaboration with repair groups at Imma in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) on Saturday and Sunday next week, where repair services for small appliances, shoes, clothing, bicycles, toys and other objects would be offered. Hands-on activities would also be held.

The first 500 participants who bring an object for repair could take home up to 600ml of laundry detergent for free, using their own container.

title: People invited to bring appliances to be repaired


title: Defense, economy linked in Lai’s speech

content_text:
FOUNDATION: Building up Taiwan’s defense capabilities, especially in collaboration with allies, would accelerate the upgrading and transitioning of industries, a source said

The defense goals stated by President William Lai (賴清德) in his National Day address are closely linked to the layout of the nation’s economic strategy, a source said yesterday on condition of anonymity.

Lai said in his speech that the government aims to achieve three major goals through a new special defense budget: the implementation of the T-Dome, a system of layered defense with a highly sensitive anti-air system for effective missile interception that would protect the lives and properties of the Taiwanese public; the continued introduction of new technologies to be used in tandem with artificial intelligence to create a smart defense system that would maximize the deterrence factor of Taiwan’s asymmetrical strategy; and continued investments in innovative defense technologies.

These goals would not only enable greater autonomy for the domestic defense sector, enhance the nation’s asymmetrical combat capabilities and solidify the foundations of the domestic defense industry, but would also help Taiwan work with like-minded nations on the international stage to form a joint line of defense for freedom and democracy, further bolstering Taiwan’s strategic position, the source said.

President William Lai, right, waves a national flag with his wife, Wu Mei-ju, during the Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

The national defense budget is not only concerned with defense, but also with building up domestic capabilities by bolstering the national defense industry, the source said, adding that in this sense, the national defense budget could also be seen as the economic budget.

Domestic and autonomous research and development of design and manufacturing capabilities, and the growth of the local supply chain would accelerate the upgrading and transitioning of basic industrial sectors into providers for the defense industry, the source said.

By extension, the younger generation would have more opportunities to work in start-ups, high-tech, and the artificial intelligence research and development sectors, they said.

Lai’s speech about the special defense budget and the T-Dome project was not a spontaneous move, they added.

In an opinion piece published by Foreign Affairs magazine on Thursday, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote that “peace cannot be secured through appeasement” and urged democratic countries to work together.

This ties in with the president’s talking points that “strength is not just expressed through military might, but also through whole-of-society resilience,” and that “the whole society participates ... helping ourselves so that we can help others,” the source said.

Meanwhile, a national security official said Lai’s de-emphasis on cross-strait relations in this year’s speech allowed him to deliver a brisker narrative on Taiwan’s critical position on the international stage, emphasizing that “the common ground between democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China should be the joint pursuit of peace.”

Unlike before, the president did not repeat the phrase “Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other,” as “Taiwan” is already the “greatest consensus in Taiwanese society,” with the nation sticking to the “four commitments” and “four pillars of peace” plan, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The “four commitments,” touted by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in her National Day address in 2021, state that the Taiwanese government and its people “are committed to maintaining a free and democratic constitutional system, ensuring that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China will not be subordinate to each other, resisting annexation or encroachment upon Taiwan’s sovereignty, and guaranteeing that the future of the Republic of China is decided by the will of Taiwanese.”

Lai’s “four pillars” for preserving peace in the Taiwan Strait are to continue building Taiwan’s defense capabilities, enhancing economic security, deepening democratic partnerships, and facilitating cross-strait dialogue and exchanges.

Lai’s cross-strait discourse, which began with a mention of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, centered on peace, the official said.

It highlights three points: First, that Taiwan’s critical position on the international stage should be the hub of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, the official said.

Second is the president’s call to China to live up to its responsibility as a major power, and third, that Taiwan will strengthen its capabilities to protect and uphold peace, the official added.

The central theme of peace stems from the G7 communique of 2024, which states: “We reaffirm that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity,” the official said.

Peace is not only just the core foundation of Lai’s cross-strait policy, but also the common consensus of the international community, the official said.

people: 蔡英文 賴清德


title: Lai’s national address disappointing, KMT, TPP say

people: 賴清德 韓國瑜

content_text:
By Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday expressed regrets over President William Lai’s (賴清德) National Day address, saying it was beneath his station as president, disconnected from the public, ignored historical truths about Taiwan, and was oblivious to the difficulties facing the Taiwanese public today.

KMT spokesman Teng Kai-hsun (鄧凱勛) said Lai’s speech showed that he only has two approaches for handling cross-strait issues — relying on US President Donald Trump and calling out China — and lacked concrete methods to facilitate cross-strait interaction and dialogue.

The discontinuation of cross-strait dialogue has led to an unquestionable spiral of enmity, but Lai continues to indulge in ideological manipulation rather than seeking actual solutions, Teng said.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu, center, speaks at the party’s Double Ten National Day flag-raising ceremony at KMT headquarters in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA

Lai’s claims of economic growth in his speech were “cold numbers” that ran counter to what Taiwanese are feeling, as more than 1.2 million people have a monthly wage of less than NT$31,000, Teng said, quoting part of Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) speech yesterday.

Young people face ever-increasing property and commodity prices while their wages stagnate, he said, adding that Lai should feel good about his governance only if people are benefiting from his policies, rather than rattling off statistics.

National Day should be a day of celebration for everyone in the nation, not a stage for the ruling party to indulge in self-praise, he said.

The nation would only continue to be rent asunder by warring ideologies while Lai lives in his own parallel universe created by slogans, he said.

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) said the president’s National Day speech last year centered on “unify Taiwan, fulfill our dreams together,” but he has failed to deliver in reality, as the public instead witnessed Lai taking the lead in creating tension in society by backing a campaign to recall opposition lawmakers.

Noting this year Lai’s speech spoke of revitalizing Taiwanese democracy, strengthening the economy through innovation, providing balanced care, increasing influence with diplomatic partners, buttressing national defense resilience and promoting the greater good of the people, the TPP said it hoped those would not again become empty words.

The party hopes the president would be sincere in setting aside differences with all parties, it added.

Meanwhile, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said that Lai’s refusal in his National Day address to mention the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) or cross-strait interactions while stressing that “peace is won through strength” is a complete abandonment of obtaining a peaceful resolution on the cross-strait issue.

“That we are opting for direct military opposition is a dangerous signal and makes one pessimistic about the future,” Hsiao said, adding that a president focused on militaristic expansion would only make Taiwan a more dangerous place and leave its citizens with less dignity.

Hsiao said Lai’s insistence on using the word “China” to refer to Beijing and refusal to use the terms “mainland China” or “the mainland” since taking office last year are proof that he supports the “two-state theory,” adding that this leaves little room for both sides to maneuver.

The president of the Republic of China’s most important job is to ensure continued peace across the Taiwan Strait and the safety of Taiwan, and to do so, Lai must respect the Constitution and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area so that Taiwan and China could arrive at a peaceful resolution of their differences based on the same political foundation, he said.

Additional reporting by Liu Wan-lin


content_text:
Foreign dignitaries enjoy local food at National Day reception

Foreign dignitaries, including visiting governors-general of Belize and Saint Lucia, yesterday enjoyed an array of Taiwanese delicacies at a National Day reception in Taipei, accompanied by President William Lai (賴清德), as part of the Republic of China (ROC) National Day celebrations.

During the event held at the Taipei Guest House, Lai and the visiting governors-general -- Dame Froyla Tzalam of Belize and Sir Cyril Errol Melchiades Charles of Saint Lucia -- enjoyed Taiwanese pork dishes and ice cream.

As host, the president presented each guest from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies with a cup of ice cream as he introduced them to Taiwanese cuisine.

President William Lai, first left, joins foreign dignitaries at a National Day reception held at the Taipei Guest House in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times

Lai told reporters that he gave Charles a cup of tea- flavored ice cream after learning that the Saint Lucian politician enjoys drinking tea.

In addition to food and beverages, the annual reception featured performances by two Taichung-based groups — MAD Theater and Eye Catching Circus — as well as Kaohsiung-based Bemove Dance Company, with music played by Louis and the Artistar Quintet.

Meanwhile, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) accompanied Raul Luis Latorre Martinez, president of Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies, at the reception, which featured popular Taiwanese dishes, including those from Moon Moon Food, a Michelin Bib Gourmand awardee from Taipei.

A total of 212 foreign dignitaries took part in this year’s ROC National Day celebrations, including delegates from three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies -- Belize, Saint Lucia and Paraguay, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

The guests include 138 members of visiting foreign delegations and 74 foreign representatives currently stationed in Taiwan, along with their spouses, the MOFA said in a statement.

Also attending the National Day celebrations and related events were a Swedish parliamentary delegation, participants in the European Valued Important Partnership Initiative, and a 28-member Taiwan-friendly Japanese parliamentary group, the ministry added.

people: 賴清德 蕭美琴


title: Takaichi’s letter delivered to Lai: Japanese MP

content_text:
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Sanae Takaichi, who is expected to be Japan’s next prime minister, has sent a letter to President William Lai (賴清德), which was delivered yesterday by a delegation of Japanese parliamentarians, one of its members said.

Hajime Sasaki, a senior official of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, told a news conference in Taipei that he did not see the content of the letter, but believed it was a thank you in response to Lai’s congratulatory message to Takaichi on her election as LDP leader.

Takaichi’s handwritten letter was delivered to Lai during a luncheon he hosted yesterday for the group of Japanese parliamentarians, who were in Taiwan to attend the Double Ten National Day celebrations, Sasaki said.

Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo yesterday.

Photo: Kyodo via Reuters

Sasaki said that based on his understanding, Takaichi wrote the letter in her capacity as the newly elected leader of the LDP and addressed it to the chairman of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Similar letters have been sent before by LDP leaders to the heads of Taiwan’s ruling party, he said.

Sasaki is one of the 28 delegates from the parliamentary council who are on a two-day visit primarily to attend the National Day celebrations.

The council, which promotes bilateral ties between Taiwan and Japan, comprises more than 260 Japanese lawmakers from different political parties, and its members attend the Double Ten National Day celebrations practically every year.

Takaichi, a senior Diet member who served as minister of state for economic security from 2022 to last year, defeated Shinjiro Koizumi in an LDP leadership runoff on Saturday last week.


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NATIONAL DAY:  Oct. 10 is a political trap that suppresses Taiwanese identity and denies Taiwan’s sovereignty, pro-localization groups said

Oct. 10 should not be Taiwan’s national day and Taiwanese should determine for themselves a date that reflects their national identity, pro-localization parties told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

Double Ten National Day signifies the imposition of the Republic of China (ROC) foreign regime by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) when it took over Taiwan by military force, putting the land under colonial rule, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Hsing-huan (王興煥) told the news conference, which was attended by representatives of the World United Formosans for Independence, the Green Party Taiwan, the Taiwan Obasang Political Equality Party and the Taiwan Nation Alliance, as well as former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文).

“The celebrations on this day are designed to erase Taiwanese identity and deny Taiwan’s national sovereignty,” he said. “It is wrong for the ruling party to mark Oct. 10 as a so-called national day, as the events that the date marks took place in China and have no direct connection to Taiwan.”

From left, Taiwan Nation Alliance convener Kuo Chung-kuo, senior presidential adviser Yao Chia-wen, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Hsing-huan, World United Formosans for Independence chairman Richard Chen, Taiwan Obasang Political Equality Party member Shen Pei-ling and Green Party Taiwan general convener Kan Chung-wei hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times

“Oct. 10 should not be hailed with parades and ceremonies, because it deludes Taiwanese into the ROC political trap,” he said. “It suppresses Taiwanese identity and gives the world the false impression that they agree with the one China principle.”

“Taiwanese should not celebrate the advent of the ROC,” he said. “That is not Taiwan’s national day.”

Yao said he has attended several National Day ceremonies, and has heard former DPP presidents and party leaders shouting “Happy birthday to the ROC.”

“It was laughable, but at the same time, I felt anguished ... because Taiwanese should not be celebrating that date,” he said.

“Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) created the Double Ten idea to firm up his regime and legitimize the KMT’s military rule over Taiwan,” he said. “Now, even the DPP as the ruling party continues to celebrate the day.”

“It needs to be stopped,” he added.

“The Chinese republican movement to overthrow the Manchu regime [Qing Dynasty] in 1911 has historic significance, as it ended the imperial era in China,” Yao said. “Historians and academics can study those events, but it is wrong for Taiwan’s government to commemorate them each year on a national day.”

World United Formosans for Independence chairman Richard Chen (陳南天) said that the DPP government was committing a grave error by persisting with Double Ten celebrations.

“The ROC regime is a foreign colonial power from China that forcefully occupies the people of Taiwan,” Chen said. “Double Ten is like organizing a birthday party for foreign invaders who illegally imposed military rule.”

title: Pro-independence groups oppose marking Oct. 10


content_text:
The Ministry of National Defense’s Defense Innovation Office (DIO) is working on the logistics to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) with military tasks as well as acquire drones and counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS), with a range of small procurement projects slated for next year, a defense official said on Thursday.

The defense ministry unveiled the 2025 National Defense Report earlier the same day, which included a section on the DIO, launched last year, to help source private-sector technologies for military uses.

In response to media queries on whether the office’s responsibilities include integrating AI and drones into the military, Shih Chi-liang (史奇良), an official from the ministry’s Department of Integrated Assessment, said the DIO has established diversified procurement channels for drone and C-UAS systems and is assessing the needs of military units and the General Staff Headquarters before procurement programs are officially initiated.

Department of Integrated Assessment official Shih Chi-liang speaks at a news conference at the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei on Thursday. Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times

Regarding AI applications, Shih said the office is conducting open solicitations to develop prototypes for three projects: an AI automatic-identification system for satellite imagery, an augmented-reality intelligent combat system and an intelligent warehouse management system.

The selection process for contractors has been finalized and the development of prototypes is expected to begin next year, he said.

Low-quantity purchases are planned for next year to procure items such as fiber-optic equipment, uncrewed aerial systems, light weapons, C-UAS systems and fire-control systems, he added.

“The goal is to deliver these items to units for field trials and evaluation, so we can assess their operational effectiveness and use the results as a reference when considering larger follow-on procurements,” Shih said.

Reporters at the conference asked why the military appears to be under-equipped in counter-drone capabilities, as the report noted that current measures include flare guns, rifles and machine guns.

These solutions have been adopted because drone-jamming systems “have yet to be procured,” the report said.

Director-General of the Administration Office Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said C-UAS systems are evolving rapidly, and the ministry is working diligently to identify which new technologies and systems best meet the nation’s needs.

title: Defense unit working on AI, drone procurement


content_text:
MAC considering sending high-level official focusing on China to the US

COOPERATION:  The US government, Congress and think tanks are interested in having an official who can research and share information on China, a source said

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is considering sending a high-level official to the US in response to a request from Washington and in line with the administration of President William Lai’s (賴清德) goal of deepening exchanges between the two nations, a source said earlier this week.

The council has two officials stationed abroad: one at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, and the other at the Brussels-based Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium, the source said.

The council is looking to increase the capacity of the US office to share research and information on China with the US, which is in line with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ “integrated diplomacy” policy, the source said, adding that the council is considering sending one additional official to the US.

The US government, Congress and think tanks have repeatedly expressed their interest in obtaining information on China or China-related issues, and the council is willing to cooperate on this front, the source said.

With the US pro-actively pursuing this issue, there will be more opportunities for Taiwan-US collaboration, the source said.

A person familiar with cross-strait affairs said the council had high-level officials stationed at Taiwan’s offices in Hong Kong and Macau, but withdrew them after Beijing demanded that Taiwanese officials sign a statement expressing their support for Beijing’s “one China” principle.

Council officials stationed in the US are typically entry-level civil servants, the source said, adding that the opportunity for the council to dispatch senior officials to the US would facilitate collaboration between the two nations.


title: PRC slaps extra fees on US ships

content_text:
SHIPPING SPAT: The additional Chinese port fees on US vessels could hurt the US less than the US port fees to be heaped on the legion of Chinese ships

Vessels owned or operated by US firms and individuals — or those built in the US or that fly the US flag — are to be charged additional port fees per voyage starting on Tuesday next week, the Chinese Ministry of Transport said.

The fees are a countermeasure against upcoming US port fees on Chinese ships, the ministry said yesterday.

Also starting on Tuesday next week, ships built in China — or operated or owned by Chinese entities — would need to pay a fee at their first port of call in the US. Fees could top US$1 million for a ship carrying more than 10,000 containers, and could rise annually through 2028, according to analyst estimates.

A cargo ship full of shipping containers is docked at the Port of Oakland, California, on Aug. 4. Photo: Reuters

Vessels owned or operated by a Chinese entity would face a flat fee of US$80 per net tonnage per voyage to the US.

The US fees on China-linked vessels, following a probe by the US Trade Representative, are part of a broader US effort to revive domestic shipbuilding, and blunt China’s naval and commercial shipping power.

“It is clearly discriminatory and severely damages the legitimate interests of China’s shipping industry, seriously disrupts the stability of the global supply chain, and seriously undermines the international economic and trade order,” the ministry said.

Over the past two decades, China has catapulted itself to the No. 1 position in the shipbuilding world, with its biggest shipyards handling both commercial and military projects.

The Chinese fees on US vessels could hurt the US less than the US fees to be heaped on the legion of Chinese ships.

Chinese shipyards last year built more than 1,000 commercial vessels, while the US constructed fewer than 10, military and industry analysts said.

For US vessels berthing at Chinese ports from Tuesday next week, the rate would be 400 yuan (US$56) per net tonne, the ministry said.

That is to increase to 640 yuan from April 17 next year and to 880 yuan from April 17, 2027.

For vessels calling at Chinese ports from April 17, 2028, the charge would be 1,120 yuan per net tonne.

Tensions between China and the US have started to deepen since last month, with the two superpowers looking to be struggling to move beyond their current trade tariff truce — a 90-day pause from Aug. 11 that ends on Nov. 9.

Retaliatory tariffs in the US-China trade war this year have sharply curtailed Chinese imports of US agriculture and energy products.

“There is not much impact likely on agriculture trade, but this step goes to show that China is still irritated with US and they are not going to allow US agricultural imports anytime soon,” said one oilseed trader at an international company, which sells soybeans to China. “You don’t take such steps if you’re trying to resolve matters. Chinese crushers might have to do without US beans this year.”


title: Pegatron revenue declines 12.3%

content_text:
Pegatron Corp (和碩), a key assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhones, on Thursday reported a 12.3 percent year-on-year decline in revenue for last quarter to NT$257.86 billion (US$8.44 billion), but it expects revenue to improve in the second half on traditional holiday demand.

The fourth quarter is usually the peak season for its communications products, a company official said on condition of anonymity.

As Apple released its new iPhone 17 series early last month, sales in the communications segment rose sequentially last month, the official said.

Apple iPhone 17 models are displayed at an Apple Store in New York on Sept. 19. Photo: AFP

Shipments to Apple have been stable and in line with earlier expectations, they said.

Pegatron shipped 2.4 million notebook computers last quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter, the official said.

The momentum remains stable this quarter, they said.

The company also expects shipments of servers in the second half to be stronger than in the first half, in line with its previous guidance, the official said.

The new plant in Mexico that the company acquired last year entered volume production last quarter, they said.

Pegatron on Tuesday said that it had acquired another plant in Texas for US$30.72 million to boost server production capacity to increase supply chain resilience as requested by its customers.

The company also made progress in tapping into the auto onboard computer market, as it has begun shipping products to a major US electric automaker.

Pegatron said it plans to launch new products with two other automakers from the US, Japan or Europe.

Separately, Inventec Corp (英業達) on Thursday reported a 7.57 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to NT$176.29 billion for last quarter, a record for the period, supported by stable notebook and server shipments.

Inventec shipped 5.4 million notebook computers last quarter, flat from the previous quarter.

Notebook shipments are expected to decline slightly this quarter from the previous quarter, indicating that the holiday season effect is unlikely to materialize, a company official said.

Notebook computer shipments are still expected to grow 3 to 5 percent year-on-year this year, the company said.

Server shipments increased last quarter from the previous quarter, but revenue declined due to an unfavorable product mix, the company said.

Server shipments this quarter are expected to decline further, the official said.

Most servers shipped by Inventec would be Nvidia Corp’s B200 HGX this quarter, as they were last quarter, the company said.

Servers accounted for about 40 percent of Inventec’s total revenue last quarter.

The company said it aims to increase that to 50 percent for the whole of the year.


content_text:
Gourmet Master to overhaul its supply chain, close stores

Gourmet Master Co (美食-KY), operator of the 85°C cafe chain (85度C) in Taiwan and overseas, is undertaking its largest restructuring in five years, announcing plans to close more than 40 unprofitable stores and overhaul its supply chain in China.

The move, approved by the firm’s board on Thursday, underscores the growing challenges it faces in the world’s second-largest consumer market, where competition in the food and beverage sector has intensified amid weak consumer spending.

The company said the optimization aims to improve operating efficiency, concentrate resources in high-performing regions, and strengthen long-term profitability and shareholder returns.

As of the end of June, 85°C operated 441 outlets in China, down 21 from the start of the year. The number of closures planned for this year is to exceed 40 — more than 10 percent of the total — with a faster pace expected in the second half.

The planned shutdowns would mainly target underperforming regions.

Jiangsu Province hosts the largest number of 85°C stores at 134, followed by Shanghai with 119 and Fujian with 109.

The brand’s presence in Anhui, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Sichuan and Chongqing remains limited to single digits, making northern and southwestern China the most likely areas for withdrawal.

Beyond store consolidation, Gourmet Master said it would also restructure its supply chain and production footprint.

Its China operations currently follow a “one major, three minor” model, with a central factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, supported by satellite plants in Fujian, Guangdong and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Warehouse and logistics capacity would be adjusted in tandem with the store optimization to enhance cost controls and operational efficiency, it said in a stock market filing.

The China business has become a drag on Gourmet Master’s overall performance. The firm posted a loss of about NT$200 million (US$6.55 million) from its China operations in the first half of this year, following a nearly NT$400 million loss last year. The segment last turned a profit in 2021, but slipped into losses in the second half of 2023 as market conditions deteriorated.

Without structural changes, annual losses could surpass NT$400 million this year, the company said.

Gourmet Master operates more than 1,000 outlets globally, with Taiwan and the US serving as its key profit centers.

The group has expanded its footprint in North America and Southeast Asia to diversify revenue sources.

The firm said it would disclose further details about its China restructuring — including the progress of store closures, supply chain adjustments and its strategic plans — in its third-quarter earnings announcement early next month, followed by an investor briefing later in the month.


content_text:
Intel Corp, the embattled chipmaker now backed by the US government, has introduced new products and manufacturing technology that are central to its turnaround bid.

The company on Thursday announced that its Panther Lake processor designs are in full production and are to go on sale in laptops early next year. The new chips are made with 18A technology, which Intel says offers advantages that none of its competitors can yet match.

The unveiling follows a furious six-month stretch for Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武). After taking the job in mid-March, he has tried to shake up Intel, while also seeking outside help.

People walk by the entrance to Intel corporate headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Sept. 22. Photo: EPA

The US government has become the chipmaker’s biggest investor as part of an unconventional deal brokered by the White House, while Nvidia Corp and SoftBank Group Corp have acquired multibillion-dollar stakes.

Although the dealmaking has lifted Intel’s stock price, the company still needs to show that new products would win back lost market share and attract customers to its foundry division — a business that makes chips for outside clients.

The Panther Lake design builds on its predecessors’ strengths and eliminates their shortcomings, Intel executives said at a company event in Arizona.

The processors would more readily balance a PC’s need to run demanding software, such as artificial intelligence (AI) models, without rapidly draining batteries.

Intel executives explained the benefits of their latest offerings in presentations hosted near a new factory at its Ocotillo site in Arizona. Known as Fab 52, the facility is the first to go into mass production with the 18A technique.

The once-dominant chipmaker is suffering through its second year of losses, and analysts do not expect a return to profitability before 2027. That slump reflects a dramatic drop in revenue — triggered by market-share declines and a failure to capitalize on surging demand for AI chips in data centers. By getting the jump on Intel in AI, Nvidia has become the industry’s dominant player.

Intel is also shouldering the costly burden of trying to update its factories. Fab 52 alone required more steel than the Eiffel Tower to build and contains machines that cost hundreds of millions of US dollars each.

Over three days of presentations at the event, Intel executives repeatedly asserted that 18A is the most advanced chip production technology developed and deployed in the US. That made-in-the-US spirit lines up with a government push to bolster domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on factories in East Asia.

The company can make 18A-equipped factories pay for themselves by producing chips for its own needs, Intel said, but the next phase, a technology called 14A, would require outside customers and a high volume of orders to be cost-effective.

Getting the new 18A chips to market, in products that demonstrate better performance for consumers, would be the first step toward re-establishing Intel’s credibility, Intel foundry business general manager Kevin O’Buckley said.

title: Intel debuts new technology as part of turnaround bid


content_text: A worker waits to unload coconuts from a truck at a wholesale market in Varanasi, India, yesterday.

title: Quite the shy


content_text:
At a news conference on Tuesday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) called for national action against labor abuse, urging the government to pass legislation to establish and enforce mandatory human rights due diligence standards for businesses.

Her remarks followed US Customs and Border Protection’s import ban on Taiwan-made bicycles and components by Giant Manufacturing — the first time a Taiwanese manufacturer has faced such sanctions.

The Withhold Release Order (WRO), issued on Sept. 24, cited multiple labor rights infringements, from abusive working and living conditions and withheld wages to debt bondage and excessive overtime.

Taiwan is no stranger to scandals involving abuses of migrant workers — a longstanding systemic issue that was placed under the international spotlight just months ago by a CNN report detailing human rights abuses in the nation’s fishing industry.

In response to the WRO, Giant spokesman Ken Li (李書耕) said that US Customs and Border Protection had not visited the company’s factories to conduct on-site investigations, implying that the US order lacked sufficient justification. The company said that it is “committed to upholding human rights” and would file a petition to revoke the ban.

Given Taiwan’s ongoing trade negotiations with Washington, some have suggested that the WRO might be politically motivated, but in truth, the motivations behind the order are irrelevant.

Taiwan’s legal framework for protecting labor rights, especially for migrant workers, remains hollow and fragmented. Labor agencies, legal loopholes and inconsistent enforcement create ripe conditions for such abuses to persist across industries.

A study by the Taiwan Labor Front found that many of the nation’s top 500 enterprises are ignorant of human rights principles, while the National Human Rights Commission highlighted the heavy reliance on high-intensity, low-wage labor in Taiwan’s manufacturing and construction sectors, often leading to practices that constitute forced labor.

Taiwan’s credibility is being put to the test. This case not only has the potential to damage one company’s reputation, but risks undermining confidence in Taiwan’s export integrity at a moment when the nation desperately needs to deepen global partnerships.

Lawmakers should heed the calls for mandatory human rights due diligence standards, expanded labor rights protections for migrant workers and more rigorous monitoring of working conditions.

Firms must be legally required to identify, prevent and remedy rights violations in their operations and supply chains. Inspections should be made rigorous, whistle-blowers protected and businesses educated on international labor norms. Standards must be made mandatory and enforced properly, and gaps in government supervision must be closed.

Reducing reliance on labor brokers and promoting direct hiring could also minimize opportunities for the exploitation of foreign workers. Transparency, accountability and enforceable consequences are the cornerstones of meaningful reform.

The sanctions on Giant have created a rare policy window. With the new legislative session under way, now is an opportune time for lawmakers to take decisive action on strengthening labor rights protections.

This is critical not only for safeguarding Taiwan’s international reputation, but for protecting export industries already under pressure from US tariffs. Immediate action could prevent future labor abuses, rebuild trust in Taiwanese supply chains and demonstrate that the nation upholds labor standards.

Giant might be the first Taiwanese manufacturer to face sanctions of this kind, but it would not be the last if the nation’s systemic failures continue to go unaddressed. Without legislative reform and stronger government oversight, more companies could find themselves in similar crises.

title: EDITORIAL: Reinforce labor rights protections


content_text:
A recent trio of opinion articles in this newspaper reflects the growing anxiety surrounding Washington’s reported request for Taiwan to shift up to 50 percent of its semiconductor production abroad — a process likely to take 10 years, even under the most serious and coordinated effort. Simon H. Tang (湯先鈍) issued a sharp warning (“US trade threatens silicon shield,” Oct. 4, page 8), calling the move a threat to Taiwan’s “silicon shield,” which he argues deters aggression by making Taiwan indispensable. On the same day, Hsiao Hsi-huei (蕭錫惠) (“Responding to US semiconductor policy shift,” Oct. 4, page 8) focused on the economic implications, describing the strategy as a mercantilist deviation from comparative advantage, although he urged pragmatic diplomacy in response, and. Y. Tony Yang (“Rethinking TSMC’s future path,” Oct. 4, page 8) took a more optimistic view, framing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) global expansion not as a loss, but as a strategic evolution — one that positions Taiwan as the brain of a distributed technological empire.

While differing in tone, all three pieces treat TSMC as the cornerstone of Taiwan’s security. That is the illusion we must dispel.

The idea of the “silicon shield” is rooted in reality. Taiwan’s dominance in chip manufacturing has certainly raised the cost of conflict and made the world hesitate. Howerver, this “shield” has been mythologized into something it was never meant to be: a guarantee of Taiwan’s security. As a result, every time TSMC invests abroad, politicians, especially in the opposition, cry betrayal: “Selling TSMC, selling Taiwan.”

We must confront a harder truth: That guarantee never existed. It is a comforting illusion — a convenient assumption, not a strategic fact. If the US defends Taiwan, it would not be for TSMC. It would be to prevent the collapse of the Indo-Pacific order — a geopolitical shift that would strike at the heart of US strategic interests.

It is only when we accept this premise and let go of the shield illusion that we can discuss Taiwan’s future — and TSMC’s role in it — with clarity and seriousness.

The shield theory stumbles on a key point: Indispensability is fungible. Whoever controls TSMC controls the shield, at least in the short term. If Taiwan is free, the world depends on Taiwan. If Beijing were to seize Taiwan, the world might be forced, however reluctantly, to depend on TSMC under Chinese control. Yet that reliance would be fragile and unsustainable.

TSMC is not like rare earths, where one nation truly dominates supply. Semiconductor manufacturing is a global collaboration: The US designs, Japan supplies materials, the Netherlands builds lithography machines, and Taiwan manufactures. If China takes Taiwan, that ecosystem collapses. The West could respond by cutting off access to supporting machines, software, chemicals, and servicing contracts. The seized TSMC would freeze in place.

This is not a political preference — it is a strategic imperative. The most advanced chips power not only iPhones, but satellites, fighter jets, quantum research, and artificial intelligence-driven weapons systems. No democratic government could allow its tools, software, or materials to be used by a Beijing-controlled TSMC to fuel China’s military modernization.

Even if China were to absorb Taiwan without a shot fired, the logic would not change. The West would still be compelled to cut off access to the most advanced tools, software and materials.

Seen from this perspective, it is more accurate to say that Taiwan shields TSMC. If Taiwan falls to China, the world loses TSMC — a crown jewel that cannot be replicated. No other location can match the cost-efficiency, execution speed and deep institutional trust embedded in Taiwan’s unique ecosystem.

Either way, TSMC must be seen for what it is: a remarkable company, a symbol of Taiwan’s ingenuity, and a contributor to its international importance — but not its shield of last resort. TSMC’s investments abroad are not betrayal. They are sound business strategies. By spreading production while keeping innovation anchored in Taiwan, TSMC enhances rather than diminishes its value to the world. It moves from being a single point of failure to a trusted global partner. That is not surrender. That is strength.

The real shield for Taiwan is not silicon. It is strength. The strength of its democracy, where legitimacy flows from the people. The strength of its alliances, built on shared values. The strength of its military deterrence, to increase the cost of invasion. The strength of its people — courageous, principled and engaged with the world. And yes, the strength of its integration into the semiconductor ecosystem, not because it hoards production, but because it leads innovation.

In the end, we must confront what no supply chain can guarantee: that the leaders in Beijing are rational. That they value long-term stability over short-term conquest. That they understand what they could destroy far outweighs what they might gain. And above all, that they place human life first — before pride, power, conquest or any imagined mandate of history.

If reason fails — if obsession overtakes restraint — then no company, no factory and no chip would save us. Only winning the war can.

TSMC is a shield, yes — but not the kind we imagine. It is not a wall that can block invasion. It is a warning light, signaling to the world just how deeply every economy would suffer if it were lost. The real wall must be built elsewhere: in deterrence, in alliances and in the resolve of Taiwanese to remain free.

Let us be proud of what TSMC has achieved — and stop deluding ourselves that it holds some magical power to shield Taiwan from war or guarantee US intervention.

John Cheng is a retired businessman from Hong Kong now

title: TSMC not shield how many think


content_text:
Internet personality Holger Chen (陳之漢), commonly known as Kuan Chang (館長), apparently called for the decapitation of President William Lai (賴清德) during a live stream on Sunday. Could such a violent remark really be forgiven?

Let us first look to the US. Title 18, Section 871 of the US Code stipulates that any form of threat involving death or bodily harm to the president, president-elect or vice president constitutes a federal felony.

An illustrative case study is the 2017 incident involving comedian Kathy Griffin, who posed holding a bloody model of US President Donald Trump’s severed head. Griffin argued it was artistic satire, but she faced an immediate wave of repercussions — sponsors terminated their contracts with her, CNN ended its collaboration with her and canceled her role as a co-host for an upcoming New Year’s Eve special, her entertainment career collapsed overnight and she was subject to investigation by the US Secret Service.

The harshest criticism of Griffin did not come only from Trump’s Republican Party — even Democrats who shared the same political stance and opposed Trump distanced themselves from her, calling her actions “vile and wrong.” Her sponsors accused her of contravening their companies’ core values.

The responses to this incident were not in defense of Trump as an individual, but of the office of the US President — one that represents the very dignity of the nation’s institutions and democratic order. Griffin released a video apologizing for her actions, saying she had gone too far and crossed the line.

In the UK, a man who sent death threats to former British prime minister Theresa May and other politicians in 2020 was rebuked by the judge and sentenced to two years in prison. In France, a young man was charged with “individual terrorist activity” after threatening to kill French President Emmanuel Macron in a video game chatroom in 2017.

Violent threats against democratically elected leaders are, in essence, attacks on the entire democratic system. Every responsible political figure and citizen has a responsibility to stand up and defend the fundamental boundaries of that system, regardless of whether they agree with the current leader’s policies.

Let us return to Taiwan. In response to Chen’s remark about beheading Lai, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has remained silent, while the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has voiced support. TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), a good friend of Chen’s, staged a ridiculous show of sympathy on Tuesday following the incident, saying that Chen just tends to speak his mind without filters. With his comments, Huang is putting his own private interests above public safety — brushing off a call for beheading the president as some sort of joke is, in effect, a way of encouraging extremist rhetoric.

In his live stream comments, Chen was directly targeting his Chinese audience — he even added: “I am waiting, brothers, I think about it day and night.” How is this any different from advocating for forced unification?

Lin Han is a junior-high school teacher.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen

people: 賴清德 黃國昌

title: Beheading comments problematic


title: Taiwan: India’s distant neighbor

content_text:
Between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with which India shares a contested land border, India and its civil society seem to have moved much closer to the former, notwithstanding the lack of official diplomatic relations.

The relationship between India and Taiwan is evident in the growing popularity of Taiwanese brands, from electronics to bubble tea. Taiwan has proved over the years that it is not only a technological miracle, but also a democratic miracle.

India and Taiwan have calibrated the relationship between the two in a substantive way, with burgeoning economic engagement and people-to-people contact leveraging shared democratic values.

India does not accord diplomatic recognition to Taiwan because of its “one China” policy. However, there has been simultaneous engagement with Taiwan within the framework of that policy.

In 1992, Taiwan’s External Trade Development Council, a semi-official institution affiliated with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, set up a Taiwan Trade Center in Mumbai as a liaison office in charge of promoting trade with India.

The relationship was deepened in 1995 when the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center was set up in New Delhi to provide consular services and to facilitate other functions similar to an embassy. India also established the India Taipei Association as an equivalent institution in Taipei.

India is slowly shedding its diffidence to reach out to Taiwan. A report of the Indian parliament’s Standing Committee of External Affairs, headed by Indian politician Shashi Tharoor and presented to parliament in the wake of Doklam incident in the India-China-Bhutan border area in 2017 observed: “It comes as a matter of concern to the Committee that even when India is overly cautious about China’s sensitivities while dealing with Taiwan and Tibet, China does not exhibit the same deference while dealing with India’s sovereignty concerns, be it in the case of Arunachal Pradesh or that of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir... The Committee strongly feel that the Government should contemplate using all options including its relations with Taiwan, as part of such an approach.”

In April 2021, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs offered condolences to Taiwan after a major train crash in Taiwan killed 51 people. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked India “for the expression of sentiment and support and said this genuinely friendly gesture will touch the people and bring Taiwan and India closer in a real and lasting manner.”

Although Taiwan is not a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a security partnership of India, the US, Australia and Japan, its imperative resonates in the constellation of the Indo-Pacific edifice, as it is a bulwark against Chinese expansionism.

A blockade of Taiwan would have catastrophic consequences not only on regional geopolitics, but also the geopolitics of the world at large. Taiwan lies astride major maritime routes in the region, and conflict in the area would affect shipping across the world.

India has urged restraint and avoidance of unilateral action to change the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and alluded to the militarization of Taiwan Strait. Freedom of navigation and sea lines of communication are seamlessly intertwined with Indo-Pacific architecture.

Rup Narayan Das is a former senior fellow at the Monohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, and was a Taiwan Fellow at National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. The views expressed here are personal.


content_text: In the past month, two important developments are poised to equip Taiwan with expanded capabilities to play foreign policy offense in an age where Taiwan’s diplomatic space is seriously constricted by a hegemonic Beijing. Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) led a delegation of Taiwan and US companies to the Philippines to promote trilateral economic cooperation between the three countries. Additionally, in the past two weeks, Taiwan has placed chip export controls on South Africa in an escalating standoff over the placing of its diplomatic mission in Pretoria, causing the South Africans to pause and ask for consultations to resolve

title: EDITORIAL CARTOON


title: India needs to step up as a reliable partner for Europe

content_text:
The EU is tolerating India’s ties with Russia, but New Delhi needs to reciprocate and seize the moment, before the US and China ensure that a deal with Europe is no longer on offer

When the leaders of the EU set out their new strategy to engage India last month, they hoped it would result in a few favorable headlines about the new partnership. They did indeed read multiple India-related headlines in the next days — but about its participation in “strategic” military exercises with Russia and Belarus.

Brussels, which has been pushing for more concessions, must have felt like someone had set out to humiliate them. That was not the intent, of course, and officials in New Delhi were surprised and puzzled by the anger in Europe.

Clearly, both sides struggle to understand each other. At the moment, though, it does look like the Europeans are trying harder than the Indians. They have stopped complaining about New Delhi’s continuing engagement with Moscow, learned to look the other way while Russian oil is refined and resold, and even put up with photographs of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) embracing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a summit in China.

India needs to reciprocate. Nobody expects the military to end its long-standing relationship with Russia in the foreseeable future — that cannot happen, if only because they need to maintain supply chains and repair networks for almost all their weapons platforms. However, own-goals such as the Zapad exercises are quite unnecessary. At a time when drones are testing the eastern borders of NATO, it is unclear what utility the Indian military would get out of training with its counterparts from Iran, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali.

The official defense — that the army deputed only a few soldiers to the exercise, while simultaneously sending far more to US-led war games in Alaska, and had participated in previous iterations of Zapad — did not cut any ice in Europe. India is looking for Europe to invest in its future, and anyone seeking investment knows that your primary job is to figure out what your investors’ red lines are and try not to cross them before anything is signed.

It is only a matter of a few months before an agreement is due to be reached. Earlier this year, Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen surprised their officials by saying that a free trade deal would be closed by the end of the year. However, the two sides still have to overcome a series of sticking points on agriculture, cars and car parts, as well as wine and spirits — plus the contentious issue of India’s quality control regime that unpredictably and irrationally interferes with trade. New Delhi’s bureaucracy might be distracted putting out fires lit by the White House, but from a longer-term perspective, the EU deal is even more important.

If the leaders’ deadline is missed, it might never happen. US President Donald Trump certainly does not want Europe to extend a lifeline to New Delhi. He has demanded that, instead of freer trade, the EU put 100 percent tariffs on India and China to punish them for buying Russian oil. While his European counterparts politely ignored the pictures of Modi, Xi and Putin, Trump said that it meant the South Asian nation was “lost” to “deepest, darkest China.”

New Delhi should recognize that there is a limited amount of time available to lock the Europeans in before pressure from the US would begin to tell. Even within the EU, political consensus might fracture, as more populists are elected that are friendlier to China and Russia, and suspicious of any new deals with countries such as India.

India needs a bit more empathy for European concerns about its own security. It has always surrounded its collaboration with the US, including through the Quad, with messaging that it is not working against China. At the very least, any further engagement with Russia should be accompanied by similar signals. Europe’s leaders would not give special treatment to a country that they also fear would line up with Moscow against the continent. Meanwhile, the Europeans need to be more flexible on their trade requirements. India has signed multiple agreements in the past few years, but they contained far fewer demands than what Brussels expects. The European Commission’s bureaucrats would need to give up some of their precious regulatory barriers if they want to get an agreement over the line this year.

The Indians should merely ensure they look like a reliable, long-term partner. A country struggling with a China that expects complete submission and a US that has imposed 50 percent tariffs on its goods is running out of partners and options. There is political will in Europe right now for a deal with India that includes trade, investment and defense. Modi should seize the moment — before Trump and Xi ensure that it is no longer on offer.

Mihir Sharma is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, he is author of Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy.


title: China builds oil reserves amid stockpiling drive

content_text:
China is building oil reserve sites at a rapid clip as part of a campaign to boost crude stockpiles that increased in urgency after Russia’s Ukraine invasion upended global energy flows and has accelerated this year, according to public data, traders and industry experts.

State oil companies, including Sinopec and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), would add at least 169 million barrels of storage across 11 sites this year and next year, public sources including domestic news reports, government reports and company Web sites showed. Of that, 37 million barrels of capacity has been built, the sources showed.

Once completed, the new sites would be able to store two weeks of China’s net crude imports, which Reuters’ calculations based on Chinese trade data showed is a significant volume, as China is by far the world’s biggest oil importer.

Beijing’s reserve building — S&P Global Commodity Insight last month estimated that China had stockpiled an average of 530,000 barrels per day thus far this year — is soaking up surplus global supply and supporting prices under pressure, as the OPEC+ producers group winds down production cuts.

Traders and consultancies said that they expect the stockpiling, fueled by prices recently below US$70 per barrel, to continue at least through the first quarter of next year.

China’s heavy dependence on foreign oil, carried mainly by tankers, is a strategic vulnerability that Beijing is seeking to mitigate through storage, diversification of import sources and maintaining domestic production. China is also rapidly developing renewable energy and electrifying its vehicle fleet, with gasoline and diesel demand declining and overall oil consumption likely to peak in 2027.

Its reserve site construction is accelerating.

The new additions planned for this year and the next nearly match the 180 to 190 million barrels of capacity that analytics firms Vortexa and Kpler respectively estimate were added over the past five years, Reuters said.

China’s secrecy about its reserves means the list might not be comprehensive and the status of projects could change.

Beijing built its first strategic reserve site in 2006, but its recent push stems from the aftermath of Russia 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a wave of disruptive sanctions on Moscow and highlighted the vulnerability of Beijing’s oil imports, traders and analysts said.

Since late 2023, Beijing has quietly issued mandates to state-owned companies to stockpile oil, traders and analysts said. Energy Aspects in July cited a mandate calling for 140 million barrels to be purchased for strategic reserves, with deliveries through March next year.

“China’s stockbuilding strategy has always been to have sufficient energy security for the nation that is highly dependent on crude imports,” Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said.

“The agenda has become more urgent this year with heightened geopolitical risks surrounding Russia and Iran,” she said, citing potential conflict-related disruptions.

China is the top crude customer for the two countries.

China’s government stockpiles comprise dedicated strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) sites built before 2019 and more recent storage known as “commercial reserves.”

Both serve as emergency reserves, with the latter operated with more flexibility under the oversight of the national reserve bureau, which allows state refiners to rotate stockpiles to meet commercial needs, experts said.

A law passed in January codified the integration by including government and commercial stocks in a single definition of national reserves, saying companies should maintain government-supervised “social responsibility” reserves. All the reserves are managed by dedicated divisions under state oil firms that are supervised by the Chinese National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, which holds title to the stockpiles, said two industry sources who declined to be named, given the sensitivity of the matter.

In Shaanxi Province, two sites under construction with combined capacity of 11 million barrels were described online by the provincial government as part of state reserves, state news reported.

Another site, a 20-million-barrel Sinopec facility under construction on Hainan Island, was described in February by a local state news outlet as a commercial storage and a contribution to national reserve capacity. The agency, Sinopec and CNOOC did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Beijing’s last public update on its stockpiling capacity was in 2017, when the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said that the country had built nine storage bases, with capacity totaling 238 million barrels.

In August, the China Petroleum and Petrochemical Industry Federation was cited by Chinese news as saying that state reserve storage capacity should grow to more than 1 billion barrels, equivalent to three months of net imports, without giving a timeline. That would be in line with the International Energy Agency’s requirement that members hold stocks of at least 90 days of net imports, although China is not a member.

Two trade sources said that Beijing aims to grow its stockpile to cover six months of imports, or about 2 billion barrels.

By comparison, the US held 404 million barrels of crude in its strategic petroleum reserve at the end of August, although the country is the world’s biggest oil producer and since 2019 has been a net exporter.

Kpler pegged China’s total onshore national reserves and commercial stocks, including holdings by state and private firms, at 799 million barrels by early last month, 109 million barrels above levels at the start of 2023.

Vortexa estimated state-company controlled stockpiles, including refinery stocks, at 735 million barrels — a 73 million barrel build over the same period.

Not included in those private estimates is oil stored at four underground SPR sites, which Reuters in 2021 reported have capacity to hold 110 million barrels.


title: Youth-led unrest exposes cracks in Morocco’s economic model

content_text:
Youth-led unrest that spread across Morocco last week revealed deep-seated anger over poverty and public services behind a storyline of ambitious infrastructure projects and modern stadiums opening ahead of the 2030 World Cup.

The protests in major cities — inspired by similar revolts in Nepal, Madagascar and Peru — devolved into riots in rural towns and remote cities. Three people were shot dead as they tried to storm a security headquarters, and more than 400 were arrested, before the violence eased.

The unrest was the most widespread since the 2011 Arab Spring protests, which prompted King Mohammed VI to devolve some powers to parliament. It was also the most violent since the 2016 protests in the Rif region.

The protests expose a challenge for authorities, as they try to maintain order and the pace of economic development while burnishing Morocco’s international image ahead of the World Cup, to be cohosted with Spain and Portugal.

Morocco has set itself apart from other non-oil Arab economies by pouring billions into roads, rail, ports, renewable energy and manufacturing.

Poverty has been cut almost in half, the country’s statistics agency said, and living standards in parts of the northwest coast rival Europe.

Central bank data projects GDP growth of 4.6 percent this year from 3.8 percent last year. Last month, S&P credit rating agency gave Morocco, one of Africa’s most diversified economies, a coveted “investment-grade” label.

However, protesters said that the prosperity has not been evenly distributed. Their main demands have been better healthcare and education, often drawing an explicit comparison to the rapid pace of tournament preparations.

One refrain — “We do not want the World Cup. Health first” — was deployed at a hospital in the southern coastal town of Agadir last month, after eight women died there in childbirth.

Naji Achoui, a 24-year-old medical student who joined a demonstration outside Morocco’s parliament in Rabat, said that he was motivated by working in an emergency room that lacked basic equipment such as a CT scanner.

“I see poor people suffering every day, because of the dire conditions in public hospitals,” he said.

Research from CESE, the country’s economic and social council, last year found a quarter of Moroccans between 15 and 24 years old are not in education, employment or training.

Jihane Ratma, 19, who studies management in Sale, pointed to the school system’s failures.

“We reject violence, but both the youth that protest peacefully and those engaging in riots are all victims of public policies,” she said.

Reactions to the protests suggest officials were initially wrongfooted. At first, rallies were banned and police thwarted attempts to gather.

By the time authorities pivoted to engagement, hundreds of cars and dozens of buildings, including banks and a police station, had been ransacked or torched.

“The government and members of parliament buried their heads in the sand, leaving the security forces to deal with the fallout of failed policies,” retired police official Mohamed Agdid said.

The confusion was likely compounded by the anonymous character of the group calling itself “GenZ 212” — a reference to Morocco’s dialing code — which mobilized protesters online using Discord, TikTok and Instagram.

Membership in its Discord server surged from 3,000 to 188,000 in just a week.

The protests took a particularly violent turn in rural areas such as Ait Amira, an agricultural town in Morocco’s southern breadbasket region.

Over three decades, the population there has more than quadrupled, from 25,000 to about 113,000, as seasonal workers poured in to work on nearby farms.

Services have not kept up. Joblessness is rife and illegal construction is booming. Even the language has changed, with Amazigh supplanted by Moroccan Arabic.

“Ait Amira was a tinderbox waiting to explode,” sociologist and activist Khalid Alayoud said.

Such problems are accompanied by a deepening loss of faith in conventional politics.

Trust in political parties dropped to 33 percent in 2023 from 50 percent a year earlier, a Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis survey showed.

Since the violence calmed, officials have struck a conciliatory tone. Moroccan Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills Younes Sekkouri acknowledged the “sincerity” of the protesters’ demands, and Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch — whose resignation many protesters demanded — said that dialogue was the only path forward.

Many are waiting to see what the king would say when he addresses parliament’s opening this month.

Protesters have steered clear of red lines, including the monarchy.

GenZ 212 in one statement quoted a 2017 speech by the king, in which he admonished officials to “either discharge your obligations fully or withdraw from public life.”