taiwan-subdivisions: 苗栗 西湖 北區 三灣 成功 臺中 苗栗縣

title: 苗栗在地品牌金椿茶油工坊五十週年 攜手政府與社區深耕農村永續新典範

content_text:
記者 李文煥／苗栗報導

苗栗縣積極推動「農村再生」政策，鼓勵在地企業與社區共榮發展。創立於1982年的金椿茶油工坊，今（9）日盛大舉辦「金椿五十・永續傳承」系列慶典，慶祝品牌邁入五十年，並結合茶油料理推廣與公益園遊市集，寫下傳承半世紀、走出山林邁向國際的故事。

本次慶典獲得農業部農村發展及水土保持署臺中分署、農糧署北區分署及經濟部中小及新創企業署等中央單位大力協助，同時結合縣府傾力打造的官方農村產業聯合品牌「豐味苗栗」，展現了在地產業深耕永續、攜手社區共榮的新動能，為臺灣農村產業品牌樹立標竿。

「豐味苗栗」是苗栗縣政府推動的官方品牌，涵蓋農產品、加工品、生活好物、農遊與文創五大類別。金椿茶油作為其中代表性品牌之一，近年在縣府的協助下，產品已成功進駐竹科園區、國道西湖服務區及7-11、全家、家樂福等「五路並進」的多元通路，持續拓展市場能見度與消費者認同，將優質的苦茶油產品推廣至全國。

苗栗縣政府農業處指出，金椿茶油工坊近年積極投入農村再生，攜手農村水保署臺中分署與三灣鄉農村社區，推動契作收購、友善田間管理、茶籽自主檢驗及食農教育等具體行動。金椿茶油工坊不僅是生產基地，更成為「友善環境農村」的實踐場域，透過農村再生輔導及農社企機制，創造地方就業機會，吸引青年返鄉。這轉變凸顯了臺灣農村產業正由傳統的「生產導向」邁向「永續導向」，為在地社區創造了更多價值。

金椿茶油總經理陳有倫表示，五十年來不只是製油，更是在守護土地與文化，未來將持續以茶油為核心，推動健康飲食與永續農村。苗栗縣長鍾東錦亦到場祝賀，肯定業者經營半世紀有成，好油搭配好料理風味獨樹一格，享譽國際市場。農業處長陳樹義表示，縣府將持續結合中央與地方能量，推動契作、友善耕作與品牌行銷，帶動青年返鄉與地方就業，讓農村在永續發展中持續展現新活力。


people: 賴清德 邱臣遠

taiwan-subdivisions: 新竹縣 永安 苗栗 峨眉 桃園 新竹市 苗栗縣

title: 桃竹竹苗區域治理平台通過15項合作案 攜手行銷「湖海觀光」

content_text:
記者 李文煥／苗栗報導

桃竹竹苗區域治理平台首長會議昨（9）日在苗栗縣召開，桃園市長張善政、新竹縣長楊文科、新竹市代理市長邱臣遠及苗栗縣長鍾東錦齊聚，會中不僅通過15項跨域合作提案，更聯合行銷「湖海觀光」，宣布啟動跨縣市集章活動，展現四縣市區域共榮的行動力與開拓觀光決心。

自2016年成立的桃竹竹苗區域治理平台，持續透過各項合作議題促進四縣市攜手解決問題。本次會議共追蹤列管案件並新增15項合作議題，其中，苗栗縣提出的5案引發關注，包含「山豬危害防治」、「客家歌舞鬧連連」、「陶瓷彩繪創意大賽」，以及兩項與地方治理和觀光發展息息相關的提案。

其中，苗栗縣長鍾東錦特別提出「建請內政部修正地方行政機關組織準則」，建議縣（市）政府得增置副縣（市）長及副秘書長各1名。鍾東錦強調，因應時代變遷，地方政府跨局處業務及專案複雜度日增，增設副手有助於事務協調、強化地方治理彈性，並呼籲中央制定可長可久的制度，以利地方發展更加均衡。

會中，桃園市長張善政提及四縣市在大矽谷推動方案中擔任與中央聯繫的窗口，但近九個月來中央卻未召開任何一場會議，僅要求各縣市直接與部會協調，進度牛步。苗栗縣長鍾東錦亦呼應此憂慮，強調大矽谷方案是總統賴清德的重要政策，若讓各縣市「各自為政」將有失公平，呼籲中央部會應盡快給予回應，說明用地、產業發展等各面向需求，地方政府才能做好準備，共同推動這項重大國策。

會後，四位首長共同出席「桃竹竹苗湖海觀光行銷宣傳記者會」，以實際行動推動觀光合作。本次聯合行銷以「湖海之間-漫遊桃竹竹苗」為主題，串聯四縣市最具特色的湖泊與海岸觀光資源。

活動亮點之一，便是苗栗縣明德水庫首度曝光的海棠島定目劇精華演出。苗栗縣府文化觀光局長林彥甫指出，明德水庫正以「一湖、雙島、三環、四創生、五大主題」藍圖發展，打造全台唯一結合水、陸、空域遊憩服務的設施，預計11月初將營運環保電動遊湖船、高空滑索、空中腳踏車及自行車租賃站，海棠島也將規劃無動力水域遊憩活動場域，提供獨木舟、SUP立槳等體驗。

四縣市同步推出聯合宣傳摺頁及跨縣市集章活動，即日起至115年2月1日，民眾只需在桃園永安海螺文化體驗園區、新竹峨眉湖、新竹青草湖、苗栗明德水庫集滿四個景點章，即可在最後一站兌換精美禮品，鼓勵民眾規劃一日或二日遊，體驗桃竹竹苗的湖海景致。

苗栗縣長鍾東錦表示，透過區域治理合作推展觀光是四縣市首長的共同目標，未來除了湖海，也期望能串聯更多特色景點，共同行銷推廣，吸引國內外遊客到桃竹竹苗旅遊。


content_text:
【記者 李文煥/苗栗報導】

苗栗市年度音樂品牌「苗栗客家歌手演唱會」於10月11日圓滿落幕。這場以「客家新聲．傳唱金韻」為主題的盛會，今年首度大膽嘗試規劃下午及晚上兩場次，成功地將客家音樂的魅力延伸至一整天，不僅串聯了老中青三代音樂人，更展現了客家文化在現代社會的傳承與創新活力。

這場在苗栗縣文化觀光局中正堂登場的演唱會，演出陣容從新生代的客家新星，到重量級的資深金曲藝人，搭配在地社區與學校團隊的穿插演出，呈現出傳統與現代交織的多元客家音樂風貌。活動受歡迎的程度從索票情況可見一斑，開放索票後短短三日內便全數索罄，可見苗栗在地對於客家音樂的高度支持與期盼。

苗栗市公所規劃的下午場次，於午後1時30分率先展開，重點聚焦於在地力量的展現。節目由優樂合唱團開場，並集結了包括文山國小、苗栗國中、僑育國小布馬陣等在內共17組在地社區與學校團隊，與新生代客家之星共同聯合演出。這種安排不僅提供年輕與在地團隊寶貴的展演舞台，也讓客家文化扎根於基層教育與社區生活。

晚間場則將焦點轉向客家金曲的傳唱。除了苗栗市客家兒童合唱團、兒童舞蹈團，更邀請到林展逸、湯運煥（東東樂團）、黃心慧、陳瑋儒等多位知名資深客家金曲藝人輪番獻唱。老中青三代的同台，精準地呼應了「客家新聲．傳唱金韻」的主題，確保經典的客家旋律得以傳承，並注入新世代的詮釋與活力。

從活動中可見苗栗縣市對於藝文活動的積極投入。苗栗市長余文忠除了肯定市公所舉辦這場充滿「濃濃客家味」的音樂饗宴，更透露為鼓勵民眾參與，市公所煞費苦心安排了摸彩、贈送伴手禮及消費券等方式，顯示其致力於透過藝文活動帶動地方活絡。

此外，苗栗縣政府雖因縣長鍾東錦行程不克出席，但仍由文化觀光局副局長徐建男代表出席並表達重視。徐副局長指出，縣府持續將藝文展演「下鄉」巡演，例如即將在縣立體育場登場的紙風車兒童劇團演出，藉此提升縣內的藝文風氣，並承諾縣府將持續挹注資源協助各鄉鎮市公所辦理高品質的藝文活動，共同為客家與地方文化的傳承扎根。

這場結合文化傳承、地方參與和三代同堂的音樂盛會，不僅是苗栗市的年度指標活動，也為其他客家文化重點區域，提供了兼顧在地化與專業性的藝文活動規劃典範。

title: 苗栗市年度客家音樂盛事落幕 雙場次設計成功拉長客音魅力

taiwan-subdivisions: 苗栗 成功 中正 苗栗縣 文山


content_text:
‘INEPT’:  Beijing’s repeated disinformation campaigns seek to divide the public and weaken morale, but have ‘reached a dead end,’ the Ministry of National Defense said

China’s issuing of a bounty for a so-called “Taiwan psychological warfare unit” was an obvious act of cognitive warfare that “was crude and inept,” the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.

The move reflected the “despotic and pig-headed thinking of an authoritarian regime ... trying to divide our people, belittle our government,” it added.

The remarks came in response to the Chinese police yesterday offering rewards for information about 18 people it said were Taiwanese military psychological operations officers spreading “separatist” messages.

Republic of China flags are pictured at the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters

The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Xiamen said the 18 people were core members of the military’s “psychological warfare unit,” and published their pictures, names and Taiwanese ID numbers.

The unit has six divisions, which handle tasks including information warfare, intelligence gathering, tactical psychological warfare, disseminating propaganda, boosting troop morale and mobilization of wartime units, the Xiamen Municipal Public Security Bureau said in a statement.

“For a long time they plotted to incite separatist activities,” it said, adding that there would be rewards of up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,405) for tips leading to their arrest.

The unit launched Web sites for smear campaigns, created seditious games to incite secession, produced fake video content to mislead people, operated illegal radios for “infiltration” and manipulated public opinion with resources from “external forces,” China’s state-controled Xinhua said in a separate report.

The Xiamen Public Security Bureau also called on “Taiwanese compatriots” to realize the danger of “Taiwanese independence” extremists, and “draw a clear line” with separatist forces and work together with China to oppose “Taiwan independence” activities.

The ministry said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has repeatedly released such reports, “exploiting the free flow of information in our democratic society to fabricate personal data aimed at dividing the public and undermining morale.”

However, these efforts only highlight that Beijing’s cognitive warfare tactics have reached a dead end, it said.

Defending national security, and protecting the safety and well-being of the public is the unshakable duty of every military officer and soldier, the ministry said.

It urged the public to continue supporting the armed forces and national defense efforts, and to strengthen Taiwan’s security through closer military-civilian cooperation.

The wanted notice is largely symbolic, as Taiwanese intelligence officers do not travel openly to China, and Beijing’s legal system holds no jurisdiction over Taiwan.

In June, China issued a similar bounty for the arrest of 20 people it said were Taiwanese military hackers. Taiwan dismissed that threat, saying it would not be intimidated.

Separately, the Chinese Ministry of State Security on Friday issued a bounty for three people it said were lieutenant colonels in the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB), adding that they operated a private company called the “Taiwanese Independence Navy” and conducted propaganda campaigns against China.

The MIB yesterday said that the CCP decision to spread such disinformation on Double Ten National Day was a familiar tactic aimed at discrediting the military and rallying domestic support in China to distract from its own poor governance.

The bureau said the CCP was invoking domestic law to handle external affairs and systematically manipulating public opinion to project an image of “long-arm jurisdiction,” to undermine the morale of Taiwanese and the armed forces.

The MIB said it would continue to provide policy guidance according to intelligence and carefully execute various types of intelligence gathering work to safeguard national security.

Former MIB director-general Liu Te-liang (劉德良) said the CCP’s bounty move suggested that Taiwan’s intelligence and counterintelligence efforts had achieved meaningful results, striking a nerve in Beijing.

The CCP’s bounty tactic is designed to give the impression that China had infiltrated the MIB, while also intimidating Taiwan’s military personnel, disrupting talent recruitment and damaging morale, he said.

By releasing personal information on Taiwan’s military officers, Beijing hopes to stoke concern among Taiwanese society, media, legislators and the Control Yuan over the MIB’s competence, potentially leading to public criticism and budget cuts, Liu said, adding that its purpose is to weaken Taiwan’s intelligence warfare capabilities.

Additional reporting by Lo Tien-bin

title: MND slams China’s ‘psyops’ bounty


people: 卓伯源 鄭麗文 郝龍斌 蔡志弘 羅智強 朱立倫

title: Jaw criticizes China for wave of ‘interference’

content_text:
KMT CHAIR ELECTION: Taiwan and the KMT would be finished if Beijing succeeded in influencing the election, Jaw Shaw-kong said   By Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) heavyweight and media personality Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) yesterday criticized China, saying it should stay out of the party’s chairperson election and urging national security agencies to investigate what he described as a surge of online disinformation that constitute a threat to national security.

The six candidates vying for the chair are former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), former KMT lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), former Changhua County commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) and former National Assembly representative Tsai Chih-hong (蔡志弘).

Jaw told a news conference that the election is an internal party matter, but has been met with “an overwhelming wave of Chinese intervention,” particularly targeting Hau.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Liu Tsai-wei, right, looks on as former Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

A number of YouTube accounts, many of them created in August or last month, have been discussing the election, Jaw said, adding that they often use simplified Chinese and phrasing typical of Chinese online discourse.

“If Beijing succeeds in influencing the KMT chair election, the party is finished, and by extension, so are Taiwan and the Republic of China,” he said.

His remarks came after Hau on Thursday called for an end to the online attacks against him and his supporters, saying that “foreign forces” and “fellow party members” are spreading false content to smear his campaign.

Hau on Facebook wrote that he has become the target of a coordinated disinformation effort involving fake accounts and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated material.

The attacks were “stronger than any organized campaign seen from the Democratic Progressive Party’s [DPP] online teams,” he said, adding that many of the fake accounts appeared to originate from abroad.

Professional firms had been hired to trace the sources, adding that they estimated that the operation had cost nearly NT$100 million (US$3.27 million), he said.

Chang said that throughout the campaign, multiple AI-generated statistics and short videos were produced to attack the candidates, including himself, adding that the “commonality” among the videos and data was that they appeared designed to promote support for a specific candidate.

Chang called on Cheng — a dark horse in the race who has emerged as a favorite among the KMT’s “deep blue” supporters — to “admit it if you did it, and deny it if you did not.”

Jaw said that the scale of the campaign targeting Hau suggested it was orchestrated by a group rather than individuals.

Beijing is attempting to influence the KMT election by supporting a candidate it can control, or at least one who is receptive to its suggestions, Jaw said.

Hau’s recent comment that he would not be a “Chinese Communist Party bootlicker” made him a candidate Beijing would not want to see as KMT chairman, Jaw said.

Cheng said the KMT should avoid infighting and not cast a pall over the election, urging fellow candidates to exercise restraint.

The chair election has garnered more public attention than expected, which is better than being a quiet event of little regard, she said, adding that all candidates should uphold the highest standards of democratic conduct throughout the campaign.

Lo yesterday said that if a fellow candidate were behind the smear campaign, they would be unfit to become chairperson.

However, one should not leap to conclusions, he said, urging his rivals to exercise restraint and decorum during the campaign.

KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday urged party members to exercise restraint, adding that the election is to choose a leader to lead the party against the DPP.

The KMT is scheduled to hold a party-wide vote to elect a new chairperson on Saturday next week, with the winner to take office on Nov. 1 for a four-year term, succeeding Chu.

Additional reporting by Liu Wan-lin


title: MOI to tighten citizenship rules for public office

content_text:
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship.

The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday.

Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin.

A Chinese passport is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Bloomberg

The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were found to be holding People’s Republic of China nationality.

Citing Article 20 of the Nationality Act (國籍法), the ministry said that Taiwanese who also hold foreign nationality cannot serve as elected officials.

Those who do must relinquish their foreign nationality before assuming office and provide proof of renunciation within one year of taking office, they said.

Under Article 9 of 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), “people of the Taiwan Area may not hold household registration in the Mainland Area or possess passports issued by the Mainland Area,” or they would lose their Taiwanese status and civil rights.

Having a Chinese household registration means possessing a Chinese national identification card or a residence permit issued by China, the ministry said.


title: Trump puts extra 100% tariff on Chinese imports

content_text:
US President Donald Trump on Friday announced an additional 100 percent tariff on China and threatened to cancel a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), reigniting his trade war with Beijing in a row over export curbs on rare earth minerals.

Trump said the extra levies, plus US export controls on “any and all critical software,” would come into effect from Nov. 1 in retaliation for what he called Beijing’s “extraordinarily aggressive” moves.

“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is History,” he said on Truth Social.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media following the announcement of a drug pricing deal during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington yesterday.  Photo: EPA

Stock markets fell as the simmering trade war between the US and China reignited, with the NASDAQ down 3.6 percent and the S&P 500 down 2.7 percent.

Chinese goods currently face US tariffs of 30 percent under tariffs that Trump imposed due to Beijing’s alleged aiding the fentanyl trade and unfair trade practices.

China’s retaliatory tariffs are currently at 10 percent.

Trump had threatened the tariffs hours earlier in a lengthy post on Truth Social that said China had sent letters to countries around the world detailing export controls on rare earth minerals.

Rare earth elements are critical to manufacturing everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to military hardware and renewable energy technology. China dominates global production and processing of these materials.

“There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,’” Trump wrote, describing China’s stance as “very hostile.”

The US president called into question his plans to meet Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit later this month.

“I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” he wrote.

Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office that he had not canceled the meeting.

“I haven’t canceled, but I don’t know that we’re going to have it, but I’m going to be there regardless, so I would assume we might have it,” he said.

The US president said he did not understand why China was choosing to act now.

“Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile,” he wrote.

Trump said other countries had contacted the US expressing anger over China’s “great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere.”


title: Gazans stream back home as ceasefire holds

content_text:
Thousands of Palestinians streamed north along the coast of Gaza yesterday, trekking by foot, car and cart back to their abandoned homes as a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas appeared to be holding.

Israeli troops pulled back under the first phase of a US-brokered agreement reached this week to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left much of the enclave in ruins.

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Gaza early yesterday to observe the Israeli military redeployment, Israeli Army Radio reported, citing a security source.

Palestinian girls inspect the rubble following Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza City yesterday.  Photo: Reuters

He was joined by US Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, who said in a statement that his visit was part of the establishment of a task force that would support stabilization efforts in Gaza, although US troops would not be deployed inside the enclave.

Once the Israeli forces had completed their redeployment on Friday, which kept them out of major urban areas, but still in control of about half the enclave, the clock began ticking for Hamas to release its hostages within 72 hours.

“We are very excited, waiting for our son and for all the 48 hostages,” said Hagai Angrest, whose son Matan is among the 20 Israeli hostages believed to still be alive. “We are waiting for the phone call.”

Palestinians walk past rubble as they return to their neighborhood after a ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hamas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, yesterday.  Photo: Reuters

Twenty-six hostages have been declared dead in absentia, and the fate of two more is unknown.

After the hostages are handed over, Israel would free 250 Palestinians serving long sentences in its prisons and 1,700 detainees captured during the war, the agreement said.

Hundreds of trucks per day are expected to surge into Gaza carrying food and medical aid, it said.

However, questions remain about whether the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, the biggest step yet toward ending two years of war, would lead to a lasting peace under Trump’s 20-point plan.

Much could still go wrong. Further steps in Trump’s plan have yet to be agreed upon. These include how the demolished Gaza Strip is to be ruled, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel’s demands that it disarm.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump expressed confidence that the ceasefire would hold.

“They’re all tired of the fighting,” Trump said, adding that he believed there was a “consensus” on the next steps, but some details still have to be worked out.


title: Ministry lays out changes in funding for next year

content_text:
SPLIT:  Some expenses fully shouldered by the central government would be shared with local governments, such as those for childcare and ensuring enough teachers

Despite a NT$7.9 billion (US$258.63 million) cut in the Ministry of Education’s budget due to amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), the ministry said it would prioritize funding for higher education, information technology, and climate change and disaster prevention.

The amendments increased the total centrally funded tax revenues for local governments to NT$416.5 billion.

The ministry’s NT$95.5 billion subsidies for local governments of would be down NT$16 billion from this fiscal year, with the K-12 Administration being the most affected, the ministry’s report to the legislature showed.

The K-12 Administration would have a NT$154.6 billion budget for the next fiscal year, which is NT$13.8 billion, or 8 percent, lower than this year’s budget, it said.

The reduction would also affect the second iteration of the “Nation Raises 0 to 6-year-olds Program,” as the central government had shouldered the entire NT$68.8 billion cost for this fiscal year, but would only pay NT$60 billion for next year, with local governments shouldering the remaining NT$8.85 billion, the ministry said.

Most of the power-electricity expenses for elementary and junior-high schools that were wholly subsidized by the central government, which totaled NT$3.81 billion this year, would be passed on to local governments, it said, adding that those would total NT$3.4 billion.

Of the NT$2.88 billion subsidies previously shouldered by the ministry to ensure that elementary schools could provide 1.65 teachers to every class, NT$1.37 billion would be passed on to local governments, the report said.

The central government’s share in subsidizing hiring of consultants and assistants for student consultation centers would be reduced to NT$2.2 billion, while local governments are to provide the remaining NT$1.29 billion, it said.

The NT$1.88 billion expenses of the program to promote bilingualism in elementary and junior-high schools are to be passed on to the K-12 Administration for the next fiscal year, the report said.

The Department of Higher Education’s funding would increase by NT$2 billion, of which NT$1.5 billion is to be allocated for subsidizing national universities’ dormitory renovations and NT$878 million is to fund the second stage of bilingual education in universities, it said.

Additionally, NT$343 million has been allocated to increase wages for educators and research staff, while subsidies for private universities are to increase by NT$755 million, it added.

The ministry would also increase the budget for academic computers and Internet infrastructure by NT$325 million, while efforts to develop next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) learning models, AI literacy courses and AI-related educational material would receive NT$210 million, the report said.

The National Development Fund is to take over NT$2 billion of the funding for the Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative, while the Youth Development Administration’s share in those expenses would fall by NT$1 billion.


title: Asteroid named ‘Hengchun’ after area in Pingtung

content_text:
National Central University (NCU) yesterday announced that an asteroid it discovered has been officially named “Hengchun” (恆春), coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Pingtung County township.

NCU Vice President Chen Wen-yih (陳文逸) during a news conference at the Pingtung County Library described the asteroid’s naming as “a permanent gift to Hengchun, visible to the world,” highlighting the township’s rich history, culture and community.

The asteroid, previously designated 724875, was discovered on Aug. 29, 2008, and officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union this year after more than a decade of observation, Chen said.

A model of the asteroid Hengchun is displayed at the Pingtung County Library yesterday.

Photo: CNA

Chen said he hoped that when people see the asteroid in the sky, they would remember the stories of the land it represents and Taiwan’s contributions to astronomy.

The asteroid bearing Hengchun’s name would inspire children from the township to “chase their dreams and explore new frontiers,” he added.

Pingtung County’s Transportation and Tourism Development Division thanked NCU for the tribute and pledged to continue promoting astronomical tourism through tour guide training, “dark sky-friendly” business certification and large stargazing events.

“Hengchun” is the third asteroid to be named after a Pingtung location, following “Pingtung” in 2006 and “Kenting” in 2009.


content_text:
CAUTION: A diver and a high-school student in two unrelated cases remain missing, with the CGA urging people to check real-time water conditions before they go out to sea

The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday that a diver who went missing earlier this week off New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳) remains missing, while three female divers in a separate, unrelated incident were safely rescued by a fishing vessel.

A 37-year-old man surnamed Chuang (莊) went free diving with a married couple off Bitou Cape Park on Wednesday morning, the CGA said.

The couple returned to shore at about 11am, but Chuang did not surface, prompting a large-scale sea and air search, they said.

Coast Guard Administration personnel and rescuers look out the sea along a shore off Rueifang District in New Taipei City yesterday.

Photo copied by Lin Chia-tung, Taipei Times

However, after 72 hours of search efforts, Chuang could not be found, the CGA said, adding that it would continue to monitor the area during regular patrols.

In a separate incident yesterday, three female divers who were reported missing in waters off New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) at 10:44am were rescued by a fishing vessel at 11:42am, they said.

The divers, identified by their last names Liu (劉), Yang (楊) and Lai (賴), were led into the water at about 8:40am by an instructor surnamed Sung (宋), who alerted the police when the women did not return to shore, the CGA said.

The trio had drifted to an area near fishing nets, which they held on to, and were later rescued by a fishing vessel, the coast guard said.

The women were unharmed and did not require medical treatment, they said, adding that the boat safely brought them to Shicheng Fishing Harbor (石城漁港) in Yilan County.

In another case yesterday, a 16-year-old female high-school student was reported missing after the bamboo raft she and her acquaintances were on capsized, the CGA’s Eastern Branch said.

The branch said that one of its divisions received a report at 1:33am that a young girl had gone missing at sea.

A search-and-rescue team made up of coast guards and firefighters from Hualien County’s Fengbin Township (豐濱) were sent to the area to locate the girl, they said, adding that helicopters were also deployed.

The girl remained missing as of 11am yesterday, the branch said.

Initial investigations found that the girl was relaxing on Hualien County’s Siuguluan River (秀姑巒溪) at about 1am yesterday with another high-school girl and an 18-year-old man.

The trio spotted a bamboo raft by the estuary and decided to board the vessel, they said.

They made their way out to sea, but soon capsized due to strong waves, the branch said.

The man and the other girl made their way to shore, but the girl in question was nowhere to be seen, so they reported her missing, they said.

The missing girl was dressed in a white top and black shorts when she went missing, the branch said.

People who want to engage in water activities at sea should check real-time water conditions on the “Go Ocean” mobile app, the branch said, adding that the public should call the CGA 118 hotline if they see someone drowning.

taiwan-subdivisions: 瑞芳 貢寮 豐濱

title: Several lost, rescued in multiple sea incidents


content_text:
Forestry institute offers tree pruning education, training

The Taiwan Forestry Research Institute has set up an arboriculture demonstration and teaching area at its Taimalee Research Center in Taitung County to provide education and training on street tree trimming.

The 20 hectare demonstration area is dedicated to displaying tree trimming and care techniques across the life cycle of trees, allowing personnel in training or those interested to learn, the institute said.

The trimming method recommended by the institute avoids damaging tree bark, helping prevent infection to the trees and lowering the risk of trees falling during typhoons, it said.

Institute Director-General Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said that various common tree species, including autumn maple, camphor, lilac and Indian almond trees, were planted in the demonstration teaching area to be used in training and education.

These programs would first be available for personnel from central governmental agencies, such as the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Highway Bureau and the Ministry of Education, before being opened to local governments and the public, Tseng said.

Associate researcher Yeh Ting-hung (葉定宏) said that tree pruning should have minimal harm to the trees, and pruning styles vary by location and purpose.

The traditional pruning method was developed for ornamental trees grown in large open areas, such as parks, and clear space around the tree was rarely considered from a long-term perspective, Yeh said.

Bureau regulations state that there should be 5.1m of clear space above roads, starting at the road’s outer white line.

The traditional method allowed trees to grow without controls, increasing the difficulty and cost of trimming as their branches grew, Yeh said.

New methods demonstrated by the institute include structural pruning of young trees, maintenance pruning of crowns of trees and rehabilitative pruning of trees injured by impact or disaster, he said.

A video from the center showed the structural pruning method, known as the “three-cut method,” which helps remove larger tree branches without excessively damaging the trunk of the tree. That could prevent the bark around the point from being ripped off as the branch is removed, allowing the tree to heal cleanly.

Most saplings produced by plant nurseries are grown in “good” shapes, with only a trunk and well-developed branches, Yeh said.

When these saplings are planted along streets or highways, pruning personnel could efficiently trim them, he said, adding that their low branches do not grow too big nor leave large holes on the trunk if they have to be trimmed.

Additional reporting by Yang Yuan-ting


people: 郝龍斌 吳思瑤

title: DPP urges unity after cyber complaint

content_text:
KMT ACCUSES CHINA: Chinese cognitive warfare has even infiltrated internal party elections, which shows how serious the issue is for society, the DPP’s Rosalia Wu said

Bipartisan cooperation to push forward national security bills is needed, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said that China is meddling in its chairperson election.

Former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), a KMT chairperson candidate, on Thursday said on Facebook that “external cyberwarriors” were interfering with the election, while former Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) yesterday said the “external forces” were from China and called for a national security investigation.

DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday said that the DPP has been the biggest victim of Chinese cognitive warfare, as it usually helps the KMT undermine DPP election campaigns.

The KMT has benefited from cyberwarfare, but now that its interests have been compromised, it has been made more aware of the problem and its severity, Wu said, adding that at least the KMT is willing to face the issue.

Chinese cognitive warfare has infiltrated the internal elections of political parties, which shows that it has become a serious national security issue for society and all political parties, she said, urging the KMT to work with the DPP to amend national security laws.

DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) said warnings about Chinese infiltration have long been criticized as “creating disagreements,” “exaggerating threats” or “manipulations with political ends.”

However, the accusations of Hau and Jaw show that the threat is real, and has become so severe that even the KMT’s internal elections are targeted, Chen said.

“When KMT members are experiencing the issue firsthand and publicly calling it Chinese interference, the threat is no longer ‘theoretical,’ but factual,” he said.

The Chinese threats pose challenges to not only the KMT, but also to the DPP, as both are Taiwanese parties, he said.

The governing and opposition parties do not have to agree on everything, but they must admit that external interference must be addressed through a collaborative effort, Chen said.

Only when the two sides work together for the national interest could they defend the nation against external threats, he said.

“Taiwan’s elections should be autonomously determined by Taiwanese. Any form of external interference constitute infringement upon democracy,” he added.

The incident shows that Taiwan needs a more comprehensive digital democratic safety net, Chen said.

Aside from blocking cognitive warfare via digital technology, the media literacy of the public should be enhanced to help them identify disinformation and malicious manipulations, he said, adding that political parties should build internal mechanisms to protect themselves from being exploited by Chinese forces.

Taiwan National Security Institute deputy secretary-general Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) said that external groups have long infiltrated Taiwan beyond just its elections.

China, Russia and other countries have used disinformation, including fake poll results, social media accounts and push notifications to exert influence on other countries’ political agendas, Ho said.

Chinese influence over the past few years has not only affected Taiwan, but also Japan and South Korea, he said.

It is important to have mechanisms in place to block cognitive warfare, otherwise the democratic system would be infiltrated, he said, adding that fair competitions in Taiwan’s democratic system could only be restored by promoting transparent regulations.

Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li


title: Capabilities of proposed ‘T-Dome’ touted

content_text:
MILITARY BOOST:  Taiwan’s planned missile defense system would shield the nation from missiles, jets and drones at any altitude, a research institute executive said

Taiwan’s planned development of a “T-Dome” missile defense system would enhance its multilayer air defense capabilities, military experts said yesterday, a day after President William Lai (賴清德) in his Double Ten National Day speech pledged to bolster air defense capabilities by building the system to provide a safety net amid growing military threats from China.

Lai did not provide details on plans for the system.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a division director at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the name “T-Dome” was inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome and a similar system being introduced in the US called the “Golden Dome.”

A surface-to-air missile is launched in an undated photograph. Photo: Screen grab from the Web site of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace

In May, US President Donald Trump announced plans for a new space-based missile defense system intended to detect and destroy foreign threats, including ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles.

The Israeli and the US systems integrate multilayer air-defense capabilities, Su said, adding that Taiwan’s system would similarly shield the country from missiles, fighter jets and drones at any altitude.

Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁), director of National Sun Yat-sen University’s Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies, said that the development of the T-Dome follows the playbook of defenses used in the US and in regional allies.

Like the US, South Korea and Japan, Taiwan is seeking an integrated system that can detect and intercept incoming missiles and enemy aircraft, providing a multilayered defense to protect the nation against increasingly sophisticated threats, Kuo said.

China during a military parade on Sept. 3 showcased hypersonic and ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US mainland, highlighting the threat Beijing poses to Taiwan, said Chen Shih-min (陳世民), who teaches political science at National Taiwan University.

At a time like this, Lai’s announcement of plans to build a T-Dome might provide psychological reassurance to the public, signaling that Taiwan is not defenseless against China’s missile threat, Chen said.

Missile defense systems are a crucial part of national defense for nations around the world, as highlighted by the first day of the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war, when hundreds of missiles were launched at Ukrainian targets, Kuo said.

Chou Yu-ping (周宇平), a retired air force colonel, said that Taiwan currently uses an integrated network as its air defense command-and-control platform to consolidate radar data from ground stations along with information detected by Patriot and Tien Kung III (天弓, “Sky Bow”) battery systems deployed across the nation.

The T-Dome would likely adopt a sensor-to-shooter system, a defense technology that rapidly links detection of a target to a weapon system that is to engage it, similar to the US’ Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), Chou said.

The IBCS is designed to link radars and shoot down short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles as they approach, he said.


content_text:
President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day address on Friday softened the tone toward China compared with his major speeches last year, and put defense front and center to signal Taiwan’s resolve to defend itself and to win support from democratic partners, experts said yesterday.

In a speech marking the Republic of China’s (ROC) 114th National Day, Lai devoted less time to directly addressing cross-strait relations than in addresses last year.

Urging China to “take responsibility as a major power,” Lai said Taiwan hopes Beijing would “renounce the use of force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”

President William Lai speaks during Double Ten National Day celebrations outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on Friday. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA

Compared with speeches last year on Oct. 10 and for his inauguration, Lai did not repeat the line that “the ROC and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.”

William Yang (楊?暐), a senior analyst for North East Asia at the International Crisis Group, said that, unlike last year, Lai avoided using “sharp and assertive language to criticize China directly.”

“Instead, Lai used softer and more reconciliatory language to express Taiwan’s hope to see China reduce the level of aggression and threats against Taiwan,” Yang said.

“It is both to amplify his goodwill for peace while proving to the international community that Taiwan remains focused on trying to reduce tension and uphold the status quo through peaceful ways,” he added.

Sung Wen-ti (宋文笛), a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, said that while Lai accused China of expansionism, he also called on Beijing to, in Sung’s words, “listen to the better angels of its nature and behave like the responsible great power that he thinks China can be.”

Tzeng Wei-feng (曾偉?), an associate research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations, said that Lai’s address on Friday toned down language on sovereignty issues to give Beijing less of an opportunity to make an issue of it.

After Lai reiterated the “not subordinate to each other” phrase in last year’s National Day speech, China’s state-run People’s Daily swiftly labeled it a “new two-state theory,” which was followed by the “Joint Sword-2024B” military exercise that encircled Taiwan for one day, Tzeng said.

Wang Hung-jen (王宏仁), a professor in the Department of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University, said that the idea of two countries not being subordinate to each other is a settled fact that does not need constant repetition.

Without ruling out the possibility of another military drill, Sung said that Beijing would be “unhappy no matter what Lai says.”

The decision not to repeat the phrase reflects a broader international context, not concern over a potential meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, but a holistic calculation that, amid US-China rivalry, Taiwan should avoid becoming a “standout focal point,” Wang said.

Yang said that Lai’s “clear adjustment” in tone, focus and delivery this year makes it “more difficult for China to try to justify the launch of another major military exercise around Taiwan.”

Bao Chengke (包承柯), deputy director at the Shanghai Institute for East Asian Studies, said that although Lai did not use the “not subordinate to each other” phrase or label China a “hostile external force,” Friday’s speech still showed that his stance on Taiwanese independence has not changed.

The speech was “unlikely to send cross-strait relations out of control,” but also “unlikely to herald a thaw,” Bao said, adding that further observation is needed to see where policy under the Lai administration goes next.

title: Lai’s address ‘softened tone’: experts

people: 賴清德 習近平


title: Official defends foreign ministry budget requests

people: 馬英九 吳釗燮 林沛祥

content_text:
If Taiwan does not increase its foreign affairs budget, it would have difficulty countering Chinese aggression, which is backed by massive resources, an official familiar with the matter said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remarks in response to lawmakers questioning a proposal to boost the budget for next year for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry’s proposed expenditure for next year is NT$41.503 billion (US$1.36 billion), an increase of NT$10.916 billion from NT$30.587 billion this year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ logo is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said that the ministry’s publicity expenses this year were 150 times what they were last year and asked whether they were used to reward and support “cyber warriors.”

Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張?楷) said that Taiwan lost eight diplomatic allies under former minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).

Four former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) aides, including a former assistant to Wu, have just been sentenced for espionage, which could be why Taiwan lost the allies, Chang said, adding that the legislature would keep scrutinizing the ministry’s use of funds.

DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) said that the increase in the proposed foreign affairs budget is reasonable, because the value of diplomacy is not based solely on the number of allies, but whether Taiwan continues to improve its presence and safety in international society.

The Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report that in the past five years, the number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies fell to 12 from 14, while countries that spoke out on behalf of Taiwan at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the World Health Assembly and the UN increased to 11 from six, rose to 26 from 18 and fell to 11 from 14 respectively.

As economic resources do not guarantee diplomatic gains, relations established on “foreign aid diplomacy” could easily be replaced by large-scale and consistent economic cooperation, the report said.

The ministry had sought funds for international cooperation and foreign aid, as well as international exchanges in the first half of next year, but its budget was slashed, it said, adding that the funding cuts should be reconsidered.

The ministry official said that China’s foreign affairs budget has increased 11-fold in the past 25 years, while the ministry’s proposed annual budget as a proportion of next year’s total government budget is still lower than what it was in 2009, when Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was president.

The NT$10.916 billion proposal includes NT$9.843 billion for the Co-Prosperity Project, which funds international aid and cooperation programs, and NT$873 million to boost international exchanges and host foreign visitors, they said.

The ministry’s annual budget has been about NT$30 billion for the past few years, they said.

China is using its massive economic weight to induce and pressure Taiwan’s allies, and suppress Taiwan, the official said.

If Taiwan does not increase its foreign affairs resources and capacity, it would not be able to counter China’s aggressive attacks and resources, they said.

Foreign affairs are just as important as national defense, they said.

The defense budget has been increased, so foreign affairs funding should follow suit, they said.

The Co-Prosperity Project funding would be used to assist the Executive Yuan’s Economic Diplomacy Task Force, which encourages Taiwan’s industries to invest in allies of the nation and other friendly countries, boosting cooperation with like-minded countries, the official said.

The project includes work on the Luzon Economic Corridor in the Philippines, and promoting the “democratic supply chain” for semiconductors with central and eastern European states, they said.

Taiwan cannot compete with China in checkbook diplomacy, and the foreign affairs budget is strictly monitored by the Legislative Yuan and used according to the people’s expectations, the official said.

Increasing the budget is to keep allies and support diplomatic strategies, ultimately protecting national interests and dignity, they added.


title: FEATURE: Taiwan’s ties with South Africa being shredded

content_text:
Just months after Representative to South Africa Oliver Liao (廖文哲) arrived in Pretoria, South Africa began a campaign to downgrade its relationship with Taiwan — thrusting him into a geopolitical drama.

While South Africa decades ago broke formal ties with Taipei in favor of relations with Beijing, the country wanted to dilute things further.

In April last year, a formal notice arrived to move Liao’s office from the seat of government to the financial hub of Johannesburg, ending five decades of representation in Pretoria.

The Taipei Liaison Office in Pretoria is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Reuters

Taiwan refused. South Africa, which counts China as its largest trading partner, responded with bureaucratic firepower on an official government Web site, where it changed the office’s address, wiped all mention of Liao and listed the names of other Taiwanese staff — at least one of whom was dead.

“They put on some names of our staff who have already passed away,” he said in an interview late last month. “Wow.”

The dispute is a stark example of the precarious situation Taiwan faces. While a global spending boom around artificial intelligence has turbocharged the nation’s position in critical supply chains, even countries that do not recognize Taipei are becoming more inhospitable as they draw closer to China, the world’s second-largest economy.

Over the past decade, nations ranging from Burkina Faso to Kiribati and Honduras have cut diplomatic ties with Taipei.

However, with the exception of Nigeria in 2017, Taiwan has been allowed to keep representation in their capitals, Liao said.

That makes his battle in South Africa all the more significant.

Speaking at his residence in Pretoria’s Waterkloof Ridge, a sleepy diplomatic quarter that houses many ambassadors’ homes — including that of the US nearby and India’s just a block away — the heavy hand of China’s government looms large for Liao.

“Why bother to make such a move? I think it’s very clear,” Liao said of South Africa’s decision. “Common sense tells us who’s behind the scenes.”

The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) did not respond to requests for comment.

South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola said that the decision was in line with international practice.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) did not answer directly when asked at a briefing on Sept. 24 if Beijing had asked South Africa to close or move the liaison office.

Guo said that “we commend the South African government’s abiding commitment to the one China principle.”

The spat began in early 2023, when DIRCO tore up a 1997 agreement forged with Taipei by former South African president Nelson Mandela — a deal which, according to Taiwan, among other things allows it to keep the liaison office name and location in Pretoria.

Instead, the government agency demanded that Liao’s office be downgraded and moved about 56km to Johannesburg.

Taiwan has been refusing to comply, with the deadline for the relocation extended from October last year to March.

On July 21, DIRCO issued an official notice unilaterally changing the name to the Taipei Commercial Office and backdating the decision to March 31.

“Abandoning the existing agreement is literally a denial of Madiba’s wisdom given that the existing agreement was so delicately and wisely crafted,” Liao said, using Mandela’s clan name. “They made so much effort to come up with that agreement with Taiwan in order to preserve the friendship and collaboration.”

Now, that relationship is in tatters. In an unprecedented move, Taiwan on Sept. 23 slapped a ban on its semiconductor chip exports to South Africa, saying that its actions “undermined its national and public security,” before suspending it two days later to allow further talks.

For Africa’s most industrialized economy and many others, staying in China’s good graces invariably comes at Taiwan’s expense.

With the administration of US President Donald Trump imposing a 30 percent tariff on exports from South Africa, it needs to tap demand from China for its goods.

In August, South African Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen said that increased exports to China are a priority, with his country having secured duty-free access for five varieties of fruit. That would add to current shipments of nuts and avocados, as well as platinum, chrome, coal and iron ore.

The ties go well beyond trade and economics, especially after South Africa in 2010 joined the BRICS political bloc that was cofounded by China. In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is expected to attend a G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg, his fifth visit to the country, and China’s navy has conducted exercises with its South African counterpart.

Ahead of Xi’s visit, pressure is mounting on Liao to move.

“The current situation has already created a sense of not only instability, but also frustration,” Liao said. “It’s not healthy, and it’s not encouraging at all because the purpose of our presence here is to promote friendship and collaboration, but everything has come to a total halt.”

At threat are ties originally forged during South Africa’s apartheid era, when the two countries, both isolated, developed a closer bond.

A wave of Taiwanese migration to South Africa began in the late 1970s with the South African government offering incentives to attract investment, mainly in the textile sector.

Taiwanese immigrants were given “honorary white” status, exempting them from South African laws that enforced racial segregation.

Today, according to the Taipei Liaison Office, 450 Taiwanese companies operate in South Africa and have invested about US$2 billion. More than 100 South Africans go to Taiwan on scholarships every year.

Still, the Taiwanese community has shrunk to an estimated 8,000 from 50,000 in 1998. Commerce is also shriveling, with South Africa selling Taiwan goods including coal and corn, while smartphones and chemicals head the other way. From US$2.3 billion in 2022, trade fell by more than one-third last year.

“We are not welcome here,” Liao said.

If Taiwanese “don’t feel that they’re welcome and cherished here,” they leave, he said.


title: Former premier mourned

content_text: From second left, former premiers Frank Hsieh, You Si-kun and Su Tseng-chang, as well as Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai prepare to place a Democratic Progressive Party flag over the casket of former premier Chang Chun-hsiung during a memorial service at the municipal funeral parlor in Kaohsiung yesterday as President William, left, looks on. Chang, who served as premier twice, from October 2000 to February 2002 and from May 2007 to May 2008, under then-president Chen Shui-bian, died on Sept. 27. He was 87.


title: Dream march

content_text: A float carrying a 6m blue statue parades through the streets of New Taipei City’s Sijhih District yesterday during the annual Dream Parade. Now in its 22nd year, the event was established to inspire communities and the public through creativity and art.


content_text: Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York Director Lee Chih-chiang, center, front row, holds a Taiwanese flag during a parade, along with leaders of the Taiwanese expatriate community in New York on Saturday, in celebration of Double Ten National Day.

title: ROC-ing the US


content_text:
Last year, Cameroon was the top source of new permanent residents in Canada, both in French-speaking Quebec with 9,127 people and in the English-speaking rest of the country with 10,395

With more than 40 percent of Cameroonians living below the poverty line, more than half the central African country’s young people dream of emigrating — and businesses helping them leave are thriving.

“We don’t promote immigration, but the demand exists and clients are easily won over,” said Stephane Bofia, the founder of Objectif Canada, an agency offering to “assist with the Canadian immigration process.”

In Cameroonian President Paul Biya’s more than four decades in power, he has failed to provide secure prospects for the country’s young people who have only ever known life under his rule.

Students gather to prepare for a French proficiency test needed to emigrate to Canada, at an Objectif Canada center in Douala, Cameroon, on Monday. Photo: AFP

Half the population of 30 million is under 20, and many of the younger generation are keen on better prospects than those offered under Biya, who is the world’s oldest head of state at 92 — and expected to win an eighth term in office today.

Unemployment in major cities stands at 35 percent, and graduates are looking elsewhere, fueling a lucrative brain drain market. Adverts abound for study visas, work visas and permanent residency papers abroad — although one professional warns that not all those offers are genuine.

A dozen red-and-white banners with maple-leaf borders flag the premises of Bodia’s Objectif Canada in the economic capital, Douala, with the North American nation a favored destination.

On the day Agence France-Presse visited, 38-year-old Michael was at the reception desk, making enquiries on behalf of his partner.

“She has a degree in IT [information technology] security, but hasn’t been able to find work in her field,” he said.

About 51 percent of young Cameroonians have thought about emigrating, according to a survey last year by the Afrobarometer institute.

“The search for work, economic difficulties and poverty are the main reasons” for wanting to emigrate, with North America the “preferred destination,” Afrobarometer said.

“That’s a loss” on several levels, political scientist Stephane Akoa said.

Those emigrating were “highly qualified individuals,” and the public money Cameroon had spent on training them was being lost to their destination countries, he said.

Last year, Cameroon was the top source of new permanent residents in Canada, both in French-speaking Quebec with 9,127 people and in the English-speaking rest of the country with 10,395, official Canadian statistics showed.

Bofia confirmed emigration to Canada was “booming.” The 34-year-old computer scientist runs a Web site that helps Cameroonians prepare for the language exams required by Canadian immigration services. It charges 45,000 CFA francs (US$80) for three months’ work. Bofia also offers a personalized support service that costs “millions of CFA francs.”

Agricultural engineer Martial, 27, paid another agency in Douala about 3 million CFA francs for its services and hopes to leave for Canada within eight months.

“The opportunities here are reserved for a small handful of people,” he said.

Martial said he chose Canada, because he was encouraged by students already there, as well as a “more open and easier” immigration process than elsewhere.

In Martial’s view, today’s presidential election would not improve matters.

“There might be change, but I’d rather leave first,” he said.

Cecile, a 25-year-old studying for a master’s degree in law, said she wanted to leave Cameroon, because procedures for becoming a barrister were “very long — and you have to have connections.”

“I’ll come back,” she said. “But first I’m going to practice law in Canada for a few years, to give myself time to get my plans off the ground.”

While emigration businesses promise much, the sector is “riddled with scams,” said Ghislain Ngongang, a consultant who helps clients obtain visas for Canada and France.

“There are at least 200 agencies in Douala, but very few are reliable,” warned Ngongang, who said he had helped 40 people leave since the end of 2023.

Agencies offer a plethora of options on social media, with some promoting more unusual destinations with the promise of quick results.

A student visa for Belarus, available in three weeks for 2.75 million CFA, sought-after tiling jobs in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and a three-month employment contract in Latvia are just some of the options on the list.

Theophile, a 24-year-old artist, said he would not be voting today, because he has “no hope left for the country” and dreams of living elsewhere.

At the first available opportunity, “I’m leaving,” he said. “Whatever the country.”

title: Brain drain industry booms as Cameroon’s young look abroad


title: The Michelin Guide gets an appetite beyond restaurants

content_text:
France’s famed Michelin Guide, a reference for fine dining for more than a century, is expanding into hotel and wine recommendations as it aims to become a global lifestyle brand.

The offshoot of the French tire-making company has a loyal following among foodies, but faces a battle for attention with other travel guides and review sites such as TripAdvisor, as well as a galaxy of online food influencers.

Staying relevant has led it to look beyond its historic role of sending inspectors anonymously into restaurants and then attributing stars to a handful of high-end eateries. Having gradually increased the number of territories covered by its food guides — 69 at last count — it is now pushing hard into the hotel sector with a new global listing system recommending top-rated resorts and properties.

A guest holds this year’s Michelin Guide for France at the end of an awards ceremony in Metz, France, on March 31. Photo: AFP

“We have always maintained a strong foothold in the hotel industry,” Michelin Guide international director Gwendal Poullennec on Wednesday night told an awards ceremony attended by hoteliers from across the world in Paris.

Instead of stars, hotels are given “keys,” on a scale of one to three, based on criteria such as service, style and character.

Poullennec also announced on Wednesday that the guide would begin doing reviews for wine, by either building on or rebranding its US-based wine magazine Robert Parker Wine Advocate.

“The Michelin Guide can be regarded today as a global media,” he told reporters earlier.

Funding its costly network of inspectors, who pay their own bills at the company’s expense, has always been an issue.

When Poullennec joined more than 20 years ago, it was loss-making and depended on physical sales of its famous red-colored guides, mostly in western Europe. Nowadays, it has about 9 million unique visitors per month to its Web site and free phone apps, with about half coming from the US. Monetizing those eyeballs has led to online reservation services being offered, with a commission of 10 to 15 percent paid for each booking.

However, the group is also taking money from tourism ministries and public bodies in return for publishing guides, raising questions about its impartiality.

It has such partnerships with dozens of countries and local authorities, most recently Saudi Arabia where the culture ministry has funded a guide that would appear for the first time this year.

The guide faces a balancing act with its tie-ups and partnerships, said University College London School of Management academic Yiting Deng, who has studied the impact of Michelin stars.

“If they work too much with governments, travel agencies and other related parties, there will be this question about credibility and how much their decisions are influenced by other parties,” Deng said.

Poullennec said that the guide keeps its inspectors and commercial teams strictly separate, and only reviews destinations once it judges them to be sufficiently developed.

The focus on hotels is a return to the origins of the guide, which was first published in 1900 by Michelin founders Andre and Edouard Michelin, who wanted to encourage drivers to take to the roads — and burn through their tires.

“When the Michelin Guide was born in 1900, there were more hotel listings than restaurants,” Poullennec said.

Nowadays the industry is awash with competing awards and guides, but none have Michelin’s anonymous inspectors.

Conde Nast, Forbes or Travel + Leisure offer gongs, and there are influential lists such as The World’s 50 Best Hotels, while American Express curates a selection of luxury destinations for its users which is influential among American travelers.

The guide is still a crucial tastemaker, said Alvaro Zarzoso, an academic who studied Michelin stars at the University of Seville in Spain.

In the Internet age, its role “has shifted from solitary gatekeeper to anchor signal inside a network where media exposure and online reviews amplify, rather than replace, its certification,” he said, adding that “expanding into hotels makes strategic sense.”


title: Shein’s Paris store causes a storm in France

content_text:
Asian e-commerce giant Shein’s (希音) decision to set up shop in a historic Parisian department store has ruffled feathers in the fashion capital.

Anger has been boiling since Shein announced last week that it would open its first permanent physical store next month at BHV Marais, an iconic building that has stood across from Paris City Hall since 1856.

The move prompted some French brands to announce they would leave BHV Marais, but the department store had already been losing tenants over late payments.

Trade union members and employees protest outside the BHV Marais department store in Paris on Friday. Photo: Bloomberg

Aime cosmetics line cofounder Mathilde Lacombe, whose brand was among those that decided to leave following Shein’s announcement, said she was “deeply shocked” by the deal.

BHV trade unions also led calls on Friday for strike action to protest Shein’s arrival, warning of a “short-term threat to the survival of the department store.”

Critics fear that Shein — whose meteoric rise has been a bane for traditional retail fashion companies — would further hurt stores in France that have had to lay off staff or close.

Founded in China and now based in Singapore, the fast-fashion giant sells a wide variety of products at ultra-competitive prices.

However, it has also been under global scrutiny over its business model’s impact on the environment and labor conditions at its textile factories.

“Opposite the Paris mayor’s office, they will create a new Shein megastore that — after having destroyed dozens of French brands — could flood our market even more massively with disposable products,” said a trade association for French ready-to-wear women’s clothing companies.

The European Commission is investigating Shein over risks linked to illegal products, while EU lawmakers last month approved legislation aimed at curbing fast fashion’s environmental impact.

“Shein’s arrival goes against our convictions,” former French minister for ecological transition and cohesion of the territories Christophe Bechu said.

Shein has spun its entry into physical retail in France as a homage to the country and its central place in fashion.

“By choosing France as the place to trial physical retail, we are honoring its position as a key fashion capital and embracing its spirit of creativity and excellence,” Shein executive chairman Donald Tang said.

“It is fitting that this journey starts in Paris, at BHV — the birthplace of modern retail,” he added.

The company also plans to open shops at Galeries Lafayette department stores in the cities of Dijon, Reims, Grenoble, Angers and Limoges.

BHV Marais and the five Galeries Lafayette locations are operated by retail property group Societe des Grands Magasins (SGM).

SGM is seeking to buy the BHV Marais building from Galeries Lafayette, but the state-owned bank it hoped would help finance the purchase decided to pull out over the Shein partnership.

“The Bank of Territories learned about this partnership through the press, without any prior notification, resulting in a breakdown of trust between the two parties,” it said in a statement.

SGM denounced “political pressure” behind the move, but insisted it could still carry out its purchase of the building.

Galeries Lafayette also voiced its opposition to Shein boutiques opening in the five locations bearing its name, although it no longer operates those locations.

“Galeries Lafayette expresses its profound disagreement with this decision in light of the positioning and practices of this ultra-fast-fashion brand that are in contradiction to its own offering and values,” it said in a statement following the announcement.

SGM already had a number of luxury brands quit BHV Marais over payment delays prior to Shein’s arrival.

SGM said the multimillion-euro payment delays are temporary, blaming the rollout of a new automated accounting system, and denied any cash flow problems, saying that BHV returned to profitability last year.

Still, the effects are visible in empty shelves and sparse aisles at BHV, which directly employs 750 people, particularly in DIY and stationery departments.

French underwear firm Slip Francais said it had to launch legal proceedings against SGM over the delays in transferring revenues from sales made at BHV.

“It’s a partner in which we no longer have confidence,” Slip Francais founder Guillaume Gibault said.

The Shein deal “only confirmed that we had taken the right decision” to leave BHV Marais, he added.


title: EDITORIAL: ‘Gray zone’ tactics chance to train

content_text:
China has been spoofing the automatic identification system signals of its vessels in the Taiwan Strait as a form of cognitive warfare, according to a report released last week by the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War.

Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted false transponder signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. That multiple vessels with similar names broadcast fake signals in the same area and timeframe suggests a coordinated effort — a form of “gray zone” coercion, harassment and surveillance.

China frequently employs such tactics to probe Taiwan’s response capabilities and to wear down its defenses. Its constant rotation of these methods shows that Beijing remains uncertain about what works and still lacks the capability to launch an amphibious assault on Taiwan. Yet in doing so, it also gives Taiwan and the US valuable chances to study potential contingencies and develop countermeasures.

Many of these scenarios have long been considered by defense planners, but China’s provocations have pushed them higher on the policy agenda. One example is a possible blockade of Taiwan — an idea first raised in the 1950s during the Taiwan Strait crises, and which resurfaced in the 1970s in studies by the RAND Corp and the US Naval War College.

After then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August 2022, China launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan, effectively enacting a partial blockade. That incident refocused attention on the blockade scenario, in Taiwan and abroad.

In response, Taiwan developed multi-layered plans for such a contingency, combining military, logistical and civil defense measures. These include nationwide drills, legislative amendments, energy and resource stockpiling, and the creation of the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency to coordinate reserve and civil defense efforts.

Likewise, when Kinmen and Lienchiang counties began facing regular intrusions by Chinese drones, the Ministry of National Defense allocated NT$988 million (US$32.3 million) for an anti-drone network, which includes defensive drones, jammers and other countermeasures.

Another example came after a Chinese cruise ship sailed within 2 nautical miles (3.7km) of Pingtung County’s Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), prompting the creation of a vessel intelligence and tracking database. Taiwan also amended seven laws to protect undersea cables and other critical infrastructure after Chinese ships damaged communications lines connecting Taiwan to global networks.

In July, US senators John Curtis and Jacky Rosen introduced legislation to help protect Taiwan’s undersea cables from Chinese interference, saying that the US “cannot stand idle as China ramps up its tactics to isolate Taiwan.”

Far from isolating Taiwan or sowing panic, China’s “gray zone” operations have instead made Taiwan — and its partners — more vigilant and better prepared. Each new provocation leads to new strategies, technologies and laws that bolster Taiwan’s resilience and deterrence.

A Chinese idiom first recorded in the Book of the Later Han (後漢書) advises to “conceal one’s abilities and await the right moment” (韜光養晦). Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) famously invoked it when he urged China to “hide our capabilities and bide our time.”

That wisdom appears lost on Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who has shown his hand early and often when it comes to Taiwan. His relentless gray zone tactics might aim to intimidate, but in practice, they are doing the opposite: giving Taiwan valuable insights and time to prepare.


title: Honoring dead Guangfu volunteer

people: 賴清德 徐榛蔚

content_text:
“Shovel superhero” Lin Hung-sen (林鴻森), owner of a Taoyuan excavation company who volunteered to help with cleanup efforts in Hualien County’s flood-hit Guangfu Township (光復), died on Monday while assisting disaster victims from an injury sustained during the effort.

President William Lai (賴清德) visited the funeral hall to offer incense and pay his respects, representing all citizens in expressing the deepest admiration for Lin and expressing condolences and well-wishes to his family. However, while Lai paid his respects, Hualien County Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) did not.

The day after disaster struck, Lin and his nephew hauled two skid-steer loaders to Guangfu to assist in rescue efforts. Sweating as he shoveled the heavy mud without expecting anything in return, his actions demonstrated the courage and compassion of Taiwanese. After he passed away from septic shock caused by an infected wound sustained while taking part in the cleanup, Lin’s selfless deeds and willingness to help have moved the entire nation, and will remain in our hearts for years to come.

At Lin’s funeral, Lai reminded all volunteers and others heading to Hualien to assist in disaster relief efforts to be safe, saying the smallest of injuries should not be ignored. Lai instructed health agencies to step up mobile medical services to support volunteers. The question is: Will the Hualien County Government cooperate?

Everyone has already seen Fu and Hsu, playing an act rather than genuinely assisting the Guangfu residents in recovering from the disaster. Hsu even went so far as to instruct Lai on how to properly conduct disaster relief, while Fu demanded state compensation — first filing complaints, and later blaming the central government for the disaster despite its efforts to assist Hualien.

How many KMT members actually went to Hualien to assist with disaster relief? While Hualien saw so many casualties, KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) led a delegation to China’s Fujian Province to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with the enemy. How can a party that behaves this way still claim to care about Taiwan?

Giving his own life, Lin embodied the saying that Taiwan’s most beautiful scenery is its people. May he rest in peace, and may his family receive our deepest respect and gratitude. The nation should formally honor him.

Teng Hon-yuan is an associate professor at Aletheia University.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen


content_text:
In facing the threat of Super Typhoon Ragasa last month, the Kaohsiung City Government activated pre-emptive evacuation warnings 48 hours before the storm, while the Hualien County Government maintained an observational stance — even after a red alert was issued.

As a result, residents in one area were safely evacuated, while on the other side, 19 people who had not been properly evacuated were swept away by muddy floodwater when a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍) burst. The difference was not weather, but governance.

I am an elementary-school teacher who has lived in southern Hualien for more than 24 years. I witnessed Hualien’s Guangfu Township (光復) being engulfed in a sea of black mud that swallowed homes. The destructiveness of natural disasters is heartbreaking, but what pains me the most is repeated human error.

Who is still pretending? Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said that the central government did not assist in evacuating Guangfu’s 8,000 residents, yet he failed to mention that implementing evacuations is the responsibility of local governments. To what extent exactly should the central government have stepped in on Hualien County’s behalf? And why was Kaohsiung successful?

The alert was originally issued at 7am on Sept. 22, 31 hours before the barrier lake burst — one day and seven hours was more than enough time. The county government did not take action. Hualien County Commissioner Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) was on a trip in South Korea at the time. Her first move upon returning was not to hold a disaster prevention meeting, but to issue a statement for the record that evacuation was complete.

When questioned by disaster victims, the county government could only offer “rice cookers and washing machines” as compensation. That is not aid for residents, it is an insult. While the central government, civilian volunteers and the military were shoveling mud in the streets, the Hualien County Government was posing for photos.

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said in a legislative hearing on Tuesday that Fu is not concerned with the lives of disaster victims, but with rescuing his own political career. Cho’s words were vivid, written in blood and tears.

The residents of Hualien must wake up. With mud now cleared, the truth can no longer remain buried. This crisis was more than a natural disaster — it was a failure in local governance.

If we let county government leaders get away with this, then the next disaster’s list of victims would include even more familiar names. Can we really bear to let such a thing happen again?

Hsieh Chia-hao is an elementary-school teacher in Hualien County.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen

title: Hold Hualien County accountable

people: 卓榮泰 徐榛蔚


title: The case for Indian SAM systems

content_text:
Taipei should consider acquiring Indian-made air defense systems, reflecting a growing recognition of the need to diversify the nation’s defense partners, Taiwanese International Affairs Department Director Alexander Huang (黃介正) said during this year’s Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition.

For decades, Taiwan’s air defense posture has been overwhelmingly dependent on US-made equipment, with limited procurement from European suppliers. This dependency has created strategic vulnerability, as supply lines could be affected by political calculations in Washington and by production bottlenecks. With China’s expanding missile arsenal and increasingly sophisticated tactics, which range from “gray zone” airspace incursions to the development of hypersonic delivery systems, Taiwan is in need of a layered, resilient and politically sustainable air defense network.

Turning to India could reduce single-source dependency and signal to Beijing that Taiwan has a widening circle of partners willing to bolster its defensive capabilities. India’s maturing defense manufacturing base offers genuine opportunities for such diversification. Systems such as the Akash and Barak-8 have evolved through years of operational use, including in India’s own high-altitude and contested border regions.

The country’s growing record as an arms exporter, from BrahMos cruise missiles to artillery and radar systems, gives it an abundance of credibility as a reliable supplier of defense equipment. Moreover, Indian equipment is generally cheaper than its Western counterparts, important for Taiwan as it seeks to build defensive depth without overstretching its budget. Perhaps just as significant, procurement from India carries fewer overt political conditions than defense purchases from the US or Europe, making it an attractive option for diplomatically constrained Taipei.

The hurdles remain substantial. Taiwan’s air defense architecture is heavily integrated with US-built sensors, radars and command-and-control systems. Incorporating new suppliers requires integration in the system.

Despite these challenges, a Taiwan-India defense partnership could serve both sides. For Taiwan, limited procurement of Indian systems, especially in areas such as short and medium-range surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), anti-drone defenses and mobile radar, could widen its supplier base and free up resources to continue investing in higher-end platforms from the US and Europe. Coproduction or local assembly agreements could enhance Taiwan’s ability to maintain and replenish these systems during a crisis, an advantage often overlooked in purely financial comparisons. For India, becoming a supplier to Taiwan would underscore its ambition to emerge as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific region and lend weight to its Act East policy. It would also demonstrate that New Delhi’s defense industry was competitive not only in the global south, but also in technologically advanced markets.

However, such cooperation would not be cost-free. The US might welcome the spread loading, but would still need to ensure interoperability and export-control compliance for US components within Indian systems. Domestically, the Indian government would have to weigh the benefits of enhanced defense exports and strategic influence against the risks of its already fragile relationship with China. For Taiwan, meanwhile, procurement decisions that provoke strong Chinese reactions have to be balanced against their actual military payoff, particularly if integration or maintenance challenges limited their effectiveness in combat scenarios.

Ultimately, Taiwan’s best course appeared to be adopting a balanced approach. It could selectively acquire Indian systems to address gaps in its layered defense network while maintaining deep technological and operational ties with its existing suppliers. This hybrid model would allow Taipei to diversify without sacrificing the advanced capabilities it still needs to counter the most acute threats.

Even limited collaboration with Taiwan, whether in procurement, joint research and development or knowledge-sharing on air defense, would signal India’s readiness to play a constructive security role in the Indo-Pacific without abandoning its strategic autonomy. Such a partnership could contribute not only to Taiwan’s defense resilience but also to the emergence of a more interconnected regional security architecture capable of deterring coercion in the Taiwan Strait.

Akansh Khandelwal is an assistant professor at OP Jindal University and works on international relations and economics.


title: Taichung schools ought to implement free lunches

people: 盧秀燕 林祈烽

content_text:
Influenza vaccination campaigns have recently begun on campuses. The Taichung City Government unilaterally decided not to allow the use of vaccines developed by Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp in schools, drawing criticism that it was prioritizing ideology over medical certification. This issue brings to mind Taichung’s NT$5 meal subsidies.

The Executive Yuan last month announced a new birth subsidy policy, which would take effect next year and provide up to NT$100,000 per newborn — an important measure demonstrating care and support for young families to encourage childbirth and ease household financial burdens. Meanwhile, Taichung — a city with high tax revenues — only offers a meager NT$5 subsidy per meal for schoolchildren’s nutritious lunches. Such a stark contrast raises serious questions about whether the Taichung City Government truly prioritizes investing in the health of the next generation.

Many other local adminstrations have already implemented free lunches for schoolchildren. Compared with those places, Taichung has a much more robust financial capacity, yet the city government frequently cites financial constraints as an excuse to shirk its responsibilities.

Taichung City Councilor Lin Chi-feng (林祈烽) said that many parents have reported that their children generally dislike school lunches, raising concerns that unbalanced nutrition might impact their development. Increasing subsidies would give caterers more resources to improve the quality of meals, allowing children to enjoy their meals and grow up healthier.

What is unbelievable is that Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) was willing to use funds from rebates to subsidize lunches for elementary-school children in Taichung’s Longjing District (龍井), to take some responsibility for the impact their nearby industrial facilities have on the local community. However, the city government rejected the proposal on the grounds of “policy fairness,” preferring to let children live in poor conditions rather than provide “benefits” to certain communities.

Fifteen borough wardens from Longjing District boycotted a city council meeting in protest at the decision, extremely disheartened by a city government that places political considerations above residents’ lives.

The central government’s birth subsidy policy of NT$100,000 per newborn has demonstrated the nation’s genuine concern and desire to support young families, and would serve as a strong boost encouraging childbirth. The policy would meaningfully ease the economic pressures of child-rearing and deserves praise.

In an era of declining birthrates, social welfare policies should prioritize the interests of children. The Taichung City Government’s rejection of Taipower’s well-intentioned subsidies reveals its narrow-mindedness.

When some of the city councilors demanded that NT$50,000 cash handouts be distributed to each resident, the city government firmly rejected the proposal, citing concerns about budget constraints. The result is that schoolchildren are left with a meager NT$5 subsidy for their lunches. Where is Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen’s (盧秀燕) — or “Mother Lu’s” — compassion for children?

The Taichung City Government must set its ego aside, re-evaluate its fiscal priorities and include free nutritious lunches as a basic right for all children in the city. The time has come to demonstrate a genuine commitment to students — not just with words, but through concrete actions.

Yang Chih-chiang is an elementary-school teacher.

Translated by Kyra Gustavsen


title: EDITORIAL CARTOON

content_text:
Rupert Hammond-Chambers On Taiwan: New dawn in Taiwan foreign policy

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

An altercation involving a 73-year-old woman and a younger person broke out on a Taipei MRT train last week, with videos of the incident going viral online, sparking wide discussions about the controversial priority seats and social norms. In the video, the elderly woman, surnamed Tseng (曾), approached a passenger in a priority seat and demanded that she get up, and after she refused, she swung her bag, hitting her on the knees and calves several times. In return, the commuter asked a nearby passenger to hold her bag, stood up and kicked Tseng, causing her to fall backward and


content_text:
The long-term impact of AI will be transformational,but that does not mean investors will come out as winners in the long run

What is the most likely outcome of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom? Economic transformation or huge losses for investors?

Yes.

How AI evolves is perhaps the biggest question looming over the future of stock markets and the broader economy. The “magnificent seven” tech companies, all with big bets on AI, account for more than one-third of the S&P 500 Index’s market capitalization, up from about one-fifth at the end of 2022. Investment is ramping up fast: Over the past year, spending on information processing equipment and software has risen by about 20 percent in real terms.

Together with the construction of data centers, the power generation and transmission capacity needed to operate them, and the wealth effect from rising stock prices, this is making a significant contribution to economic growth.

The party can go on for quite some time.

Many of the major investors — including Google, Meta and Microsoft — have ample cash and considerable debt-raising capacity. The race to build the best AI is a winner-take-all game with strong network effects, so they have powerful incentives to achieve scale as fast as possible even if revenue lags.

However, the speed of implementation is constrained by the limited supply of chips, other specialized equipment and electricity, as well as the resources and time needed to construct large data centers.

As a result, AI spending will remain a significant exogenous growth impulse next year. This added investment relative to savings will also have repercussions for monetary policy. By boosting the “neutral” level of short-term interest rates that neither stimulates nor hinders growth, it will push against the rate cuts that US President Donald Trump has been demanding.

In the longer term, the impact of AI will be transformational. It will almost certainly lift productivity as it is applied in areas including coding, call centers, data management, onboarding clients, risk monitoring, report writing, medical care diagnostics and pharmaceutical drug innovation — and more so as it becomes embedded in other processes, such as advanced robotics and self-driving cars, buses and trucks.

However, that does not mean investors will come out as winners in the long run.

Providers of AI services must at some point generate very large revenues to achieve a sufficient return on their substantial investments.

If, for example, one assumes that outlays to build the requisite AI infrastructure will total US$2 trillion to US$3 trillion, then the companies will need annual revenue of US$1 trillion or more to deliver a decent profit — in part because the AI infrastructure will depreciate rapidly, requiring ongoing investment to remain state of the art.

That is at least 3 percent of US GDP, which strikes me as a high bar.

To meet such a target, AI companies will need pricing power. To that end, they will want to lock their customers into their proprietary infrastructure.

However, users will push in the other direction. They will want to maintain the ability to switch between providers, so they can negotiate lower prices. If they succeed, AI revenues and margins will disappoint.

History suggests that the losses could be large. Earlier episodes of rapid technological innovation — the 19th-century proliferation of railroads, the 20th-century advent of the Internet — proved transformational, but also entailed vast overinvestment and large equity-market declines.

On a positive note, an AI bust will not necessarily precipitate anything like the 2008 financial crisis. It is mainly an equity market phenomenon. I do not see the type of leverage and asset fire-sale risk that would lead to the type of catastrophe that occurred after the last big bubble, US housing.

That might not be much comfort for the investors involved.

Bill Dudley is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a nonexecutive director at Swiss Bank UBS and a member of Coinbase Global’s advisory council. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

title: AI and the bubble risk


content_text:
The outcomes of VAT implementation varies depending on whether the nation is developed or resource-rich and developing

The value-added tax (VAT) is one of the most widely implemented tax innovations of the past 70 years. First piloted in the early 1950s in Ivory Coast — then a French colony — and gradually introduced across France from 1954 until its formal adoption in 1966, it has since been embraced by 175 countries, with the notable exception of the US. In many developed and developing economies, it is the leading source of tax revenue, surpassing corporate and personal income taxes.

The VAT’s global appeal lies in its intrinsic features. As a tax on final household consumption, it provides governments with a stable revenue base. Its debit-credit mechanism, applied throughout the value chain, prevents the cumulative tax burden that was once common with turnover and sales taxes. This method not only ensures neutrality, but also strengthens compliance: by cross-checking transactions between suppliers and customers, the VAT generates a more reliable revenue stream even in cases of business failure or fraud.

The spread of the VAT has been closely tied to trade liberalization, as developing countries reduced tariffs and became integrated into the global economy. With tariff revenues shrinking, the VAT — anchored in domestic consumption and collected at the border — offered a powerful substitute capable of offsetting and even surpassing lost customs revenue.

However, after decades of widespread use, the VAT warrants reassessment. As our recent study shows, its results have been mixed. In developed economies, it has been effective at boosting tax revenue, supporting industrialization and promoting diversification. In resource-rich developing countries, by contrast, it has not delivered the expected benefits, failing to make up for lost tariff revenues and leaving governments with significant fiscal shortfalls.

With donor governments slashing foreign-aid budgets, the need to mobilize domestic resources, primarily through taxation, has become increasingly critical. This urgency was reaffirmed at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in 2015 and July’s fourth conference in Seville, Spain. Both gatherings highlighted domestic revenue as crucial for achieving the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

Beyond its impact on tax revenues, the VAT has had unintended structural consequences for resource-rich developing countries. By design, the VAT applies only to domestic consumption; exports are exempt. Under the destination principle, exporters are even entitled to full refunds on VAT paid for equipment and intermediate goods.

Combined with tariff reductions, this framework has lowered the cost of resource extraction and deepened these countries’ reliance on unprocessed raw material exports such as oil and minerals rather than fostering industries that could add value. The result has been the “resource curse”: a self-reinforcing cycle of limited diversification and economic underdevelopment.

Our findings point to a fundamental issue: Tax systems cannot simply be transplanted wholesale from one economy to another. For this reason, the VAT has undergone numerous adaptations since its inception in the early 1950s to reflect different national contexts.

China offers a telling example. When the country introduced a VAT at a rate of 17 percent in 1994, it initially adhered strictly to the destination principle, granting exporters full refunds on VAT paid for inputs and equipment.

However, just two years later, the Chinese government began restricting VAT refunds on some exports in response to significant budgetary pressures.

What began as an emergency measure evolved into an explicit instrument of Chinese industrial policy, used alternately to encourage exports and boost tax revenue, depending on economic circumstances.

For example, in December last year, China halted VAT reimbursements for copper and aluminum exporters. While that raised the cost of shipping the raw materials abroad, it also created powerful incentives to process them domestically, allowing China to capture greater value within its own supply chain.

China’s experience offers a useful model for resource-rich countries seeking to adjust their VAT to meet fiscal and developmental objectives. It demonstrates that, with careful design and implementation, such taxes can be reshaped to promote industrialization, foster diversification and achieve long-term economic stability.

For developing economies — many of which now grapple with severe budget constraints and the need to create productive, well-paying jobs for growing populations — the lesson is clear: To break the cycle of dependence that holds them back, they must reform the VAT.

Rabah Arezki, a former vice president at the African Development Bank, is director of research at the French National Center for Scientific Research and a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. Gregoire Rota-Graziosi is a professor of economics at Clermont-Auvergne University. Rick van der Ploeg is a professor of economics at the University of Oxford and University Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Amsterdam.

Copyright: Project Syndicate

title: Rethinking VAT for developing economies