Day: February 19, 2024

Taiwan: The Future of the ‘Republic of China’

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In January, the vice president of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), William Lai was elected the next president of Taiwan. His inauguration will be held on May 20. Lai’s election victory has put the focus on what the incoming president has said about Taiwan’s relations with China and how to frame the 1992 Consensus, which China repeatedly has asked Taiwan to affirm. In Taiwan, 60 percent of the population wants to maintain the status quo, and less than 10 percent favors reunification with China. The point of contention for the…

China coast guard boards Taiwan tourist boat in escalation of tensions

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China’s coast guard has boarded a Taiwanese tourist vessel, as tensions continue to escalate in the waters between China’s mainland and Taiwan’s Kinmen islands after a capsizing killed two people last week. The Taiwanese sight-seeing ferry King Xia was carrying 11 crew and 23 passengers on a tour around Kinmen’s main island on Monday when it was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard patrol vessels. Six officers boarded the King Xia and asked to inspect the documentation of the crew, before disembarking about 30 minutes later, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Authority…

Chinese companies revive Mao-era militias

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China’s state-owned enterprises have begun setting up in-house reserve military units, a legacy of the Mao Zedong era, in a sign of authorities’ increasing concern about social and political instability amid the country’s economic slowdown, according to analysts. A Financial Times analysis of company announcements and state media reports over 2023 shows that dozens of Chinese SOEs have established new People’s Armed Forces departments in recent months. The departments were historically groups affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army’s recruitment efforts at the county and village level under Mao. Today, they…

Putin Gave Kim Jong Un a Car Because of Their Special Ties, North Korea Says

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SEOUL, South Korea —  Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a Russian-made car for his personal use in a demonstration of their special relationship, North Korea’s state media reported Tuesday. The report didn’t say what kind of vehicle it was or how it was shipped. But observers said it could violate a U.N. resolution that bans supplying luxury items to North Korea in an attempt to pressure the country to abandon its nuclear weapons. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, and another North Korean official…

China makes largest cut to key mortgage rate, first reduction since June aims to prop up economy

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China on Tuesday cut a key reference rate for mortgage loans, as policymakers attempted to stabilise the crisis-hit property market as well as the national economy. The five-year loan prime rate (LPR), which commercial banks use as a benchmark to adjust their mortgage rates, was lowered from 4.2 to 3.95 per cent, said the People’s Bank of China. It marked the largest rollback of the five-year LPR since the system was introduced by China’s central bank in 2019. ‘New productive forces’: empty rhetoric, or engine for China’s future growth? The…

Younger Chinese feeling disconnected from family

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A nostalgic hit song from a 1990s China state TV extravaganza titled “Go back home to visit often” portrays an idealized world where several generations of family get together to eat and talk about their lives, offering each other support and advice in times of difficulty. But the reality these days for many of China’s young people is quite different. Economic woes, a competitive culture and parental pressure to tick off traditional milestones like a partner, a career, marriage, a mortgage and children are making the youth feel disconnected from…

Singapore, Hong Kong Spac failures highlight thwarted ambitions

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Two years after Asia’s two big financial hubs, Singapore and Hong Kong, allowed so-called blank-cheque companies as a novel way to help fast-growing technology start-ups and others go public, the results have fallen short of expectations. These fundraising vehicles, known as special-purpose acquisition companies (Spacs), raise money with a promise to invest in an operating company. They have largely failed to deliver an era of quicker listings of tech upstarts on Asian exchanges. Most Spacs listed in the two financial centres have failed to bring privately held companies on to…

Chinese entrepreneurs express awe and fear of OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video generator, as US sanctions weigh on AI race

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“I’d like to compare this to the Newton moment of AI development,” Yin said. Chinese smartphone vendors from Meizu to Oppo step up AI integration in devices Zhou Hongyi, chairman and CEO of 360 Security Technology, said on the microblogging site Weibo that the gap between China and the US in AI development “may be bigger” if OpenAI is working on other “secret weapons”. Zhou estimated that China’s best large language models (LLMs), the tech that powers AI tools like ChatGPT, “have neared the level of GPT-3.5, but there is…

China’s economic reforms hinge on creative and courageous changes, state media says in warning of a ‘wasted opportunity’

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China must put the economic onus on better implementation and coordination in reforms to address deep-rooted issues and energise growth, according to fresh calls in state media. Effective and targeted reforms are essential to stimulate the vitality of all market participants, the state-run Economic Daily said in a front-page commentary on Monday, signalling Beijing’s amped-up emphasis on reform to bolster the nation’s economy. The calls came amid market expectations for new policies on further reform to be rolled out at the delayed third plenum. This party meeting typically takes place…

Papua New Guinea Ups Military’s Power After Intertribal Fighting

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Papua New Guinea will give the military the power to arrest, Prime Minister James Marape said Monday, following at least 26 deaths in an intertribal ambush that occurred Sunday in remote Wapenamanda. Arrest powers are normally reserved for police. The death toll was initially 53, but security forces revised the number to 26. The deaths were mainly among the Sikin and Kaikin tribes, which have been fighting with the Ambulin tribe, according to NBC News. Reuters reported that although the death toll was lowered, it is likely to be revised…