TĐH: Terry Gou, Chairman of Taiwanese firm Foxconn, with lots of investments in mainland China, has just announced his running for the presidency of Taiwan, against incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen. So now, stories about Foxconn and Tery Gou begin to take the front pages.
This story is somewhat personal to me. The little village Mount Pleasant in this story is right outside the border of City of Racine, where I worked as an accountant in Racine City Hall in my previous life before going to law school to become a lawyer. Last year, in our summer road trip to the US west coast, my wife and I stopped by Racine to take a look and took some pictures and was surprised by so much infrastructure construction going on. Now I understand the reason – the investment promise (still to be fulfilled) by Foxconn.
Valerie Bauerlein, The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday April 30, 2019
MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis.—Six miles west of Lake Michigan lies a cleared building site half again as big as Central Park, ready for Foxconn Technology Group’s $10 billion liquid-crystal-display factory.
Contractors have bulldozed about 75 homes in Mount Pleasant and cleared hundreds of farmland acres. Crews are widening Interstate 94 from Milwaukee to the Illinois state line to accommodate driverless trucks and thousands of employees. Village and county taxpayers have borrowed around $350 million so far to buy land and make infrastructure improvements, from burying sewer pipes to laying storm drains.
One thing largely missing: Foxconn. Tiếp tục đọc “Foxconn tore up a small town to build a big factory, then retreated”→
Territorial and maritime disputes among Taiwan, China and several Southeast Asian countries are roiling the South China Sea region, with little prospect of resolution anytime soon. However, the current uneasy status quo may be tenable, so long as the parties embrace serious confidence-building measures through multilateral forums while maintaining effective deterrence vis-a-vis China and a commitment not to use offensive force.
OSAKA – Territorial and maritime disputes among China, Taiwan, and several Southeast Asian countries are roiling the South China Sea region, with little prospect of resolution anytime soon. But the current uneasy status quo may be tenable, so long as the parties embrace serious confidence-building measures through multilateral forums while maintaining effective deterrence vis-à-vis China and a commitment not to use offensive force. Tiếp tục đọc “Treaty with Japan resolves claims – Hiệp ước San Francisco và tranh chấp Biển Đông”→
NN 27/10/2017, 14:16 (GMT+7) Lượng kiều hối của trên dưới 1.000 cô gái lấy chồng ngoại hàng năm gửi về nhiều như nước sông He mùa lụt. Nhưng đằng sau vẻ hào nhoáng lấp lánh như bề ngoài của một tấm huy chương ấy là góc khuất ít người biết đến…
Dạt trôi những phận người
Chưa ở đâu tôi thấy nhiều biệt thự như xã Đại Hợp (huyện Kiến Thụy, Hải Phòng). Những công trình hoành tráng mọc lên san sát như bát úp. Đó là nhà của những người có con gái lấy chồng ngoại. Nhà nào có 1 cô thì to vừa, có 2 cô thì to bự, có 3 hay 4 cô thì như biệt phủ, biệt điện. Bởi thế mà câu hỏi quen thuộc của nhiều bà ở đây là: “Nhà chị có mấy đứa con lấy chồng ngoại?”.
According to rights groups, exploitation of migrant workers is frequently reported in Taiwan, where around 600,000 foreigners are hired as caregivers, fishermen, construction and factory workers. (Photo: AFP/Sam Yeh)
TAIPEI: A group of foreign fishermen in Taiwan were locked in tiny windowless rooms around the clock to stop them escaping while not at sea, prosecutors said in the island’s latest abuse case involving migrant workers. Tiếp tục đọc “Fishermen ‘kept like slaves’ in Taiwan”→
TTCT– Thứ sáu 21-7 vừa rồi, Jared Dummitt và Eliot Kim, hai nghiên cứu sinh của Trường Luật Harvard, đã đăng một bài trên website luật học lawfareblog.com có tựa đề “khác lạ”: “Chiến tranh vì biển: Hãy quen dần với điều đó trên Biển Đông”.
Tàu sân bay tự đóng đầu tiên của Trung Quốc (chưa đặt tên) được hạ thủy ngoài khơi thành phố cảng Đại Liên tháng 4-2017.-Ảnh: The New York Times
Hai tác giả bắt đầu bằng câu chuyện: “Tuần này, hải quân và không quân Trung Quốc đã thực hiện các hoạt động mở rộng – trong số đó có một số vụ là chưa từng có trước đó ở trong và xung quanh lãnh hải của Nhật Bản, Đài Loan và Mỹ. Bắc Kinh đã tỏ rõ giọng điệu thách thức khi dấy lên những dấu hỏi về tính thích đáng của các hoạt động này”. Tiếp tục đọc “Tự do hàng hải của nước lớn”→
Lawmakers in Taiwan launched a new group to help promote democracy in Hong Kong on Monday, a move likely to rile Beijing ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the city from Britain back to China. AFP/SAM YEH
12 Jun 2017 03:45PM
TAIPEI: Lawmakers in Taiwan launched a new group to help promote democracy in Hong Kong on Monday (Jun 12), a move likely to rile Beijing ahead of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the city from Britain back to China.
Taiwan and Hong Kong are thorns in Beijing’s side — both saw huge anti-China protests in 2014, known respectively as the Sunflower Movement and Umbrella Movement.
Supporters of same-sex marriage have held huge protests to campaign for a change in the law in Taiwan. (Photo: AFP)
24 May 2017 04:18PM (Updated: 24 May 2017 09:23PM)
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s top court ruled in favour of gay marriage Wednesday (May 24), a landmark decision that paves the way for the island to become one of the first places in Asia to legalise same-sex unions.
Crowds of supporters cheered, hugged and wept as the court said current laws preventing the practice “violated” the constitution’s guarantees of freedom of marriage and equality. It gave the government two years to implement the ruling.
Momentum has been growing behind the push for equal marriage rights, with Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen openly supporting the campaign.
But there has also been anger among conservative groups, who have staged mass rallies against any change in the law.
The constitutional court said if parliament does not make the change within two years, same-sex couples could register to marry regardless, based on its interpretation.
Currently Taiwan’s Civil Code stipulates an agreement to marry can only be made between a man and a woman.
“The current provisions of the marriage chapter do not allow two persons of the same sex to create a permanent union of an intimate and exclusive nature for the committed purpose of managing a life together. This is obviously a gross legislative flaw,” the court said in a statement. Tiếp tục đọc “Taiwan top court rules in favour of gay marriage”→
Sunday 21 May 2017 22.23 EDT Last modified on Monday 22 May 2017 09.01 EDT
Chi Chia-wei will find out on Wednesday if his decades long fight to make Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage has been a success.
Chi, 59, a pioneering Taiwanese gay rights activist, is the celebrated face behind one of the most controversial legal cases the island democracy has seen in recent years, where 14 judges must rule if the civil code, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. Tiếp tục đọc “Taiwan’s same-sex marriage ruling could cement its place as Asia’s liberal beacon”→
Tuesday 11 April 2017 23.15 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 11 April 2017 23.17 EDT
Taiwan is set to become the first country in Asia to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat, as increasing pet ownership across the continent has seen attitudes shift.
The revised Animal Protection Act imposes a fine of up to 250,000 Taiwan dollars (£6,500) for eating dog or cat meat, while the penalties for animal cruelty or slaughter were raised to up to two years in prison and fines of up to 2m Taiwan dollars (£52,000). Tiếp tục đọc “Taiwan bans dog and cat meat from table as attitudes change”→
FILE PHOTO: A member of the Taiwanese Coast Guard stands guard next to a Taiwanese flag on Itu Aba, which the Taiwanese call Taiping, at the South China Sea, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/J.R Wu
HANOI: Vietnam on Thursday denounced Taiwan’s military drills on and around a disputed South China Sea island, labelling them a serious violation of its sovereignty and a threat to maritime security.
China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
TTO – Từ năm học 2018, Đài Loan sẽ đưa tiếng Việt vào dạy trong các trường phổ thông ở vùng lãnh thổ này, như là một ngoại ngữ thứ hai cho học sinh lựa chọn.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law speaks during a rally in Hong Kong. (File photo: AFP)
HONG KONG:- Hong Kong pro-democracy legislator Nathan Law hit out Monday (Jan 9) at “violent attacks” by pro-China protesters at the city’s airport on his return from a political forum in Taiwan.
Beijing’s only aircraft carrier cruises past Taiwan’s Pratas Islands in an exercise state media said showed the country’s improving combat capabilities
China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning has navigated a passage through the South China Sea amid tensions with Taiwan. Photograph: Li Tang/AP
Reuters
Monday 26 December 2016 20.03 EST
A group of Chinese warships led by the country’s sole aircraft carrier entered the South China Sea on Monday after passing south of Taiwan, the self-ruled island’s defence ministry said.
The ministry said the carrier, accompanied by five vessels, passed south-east of the Pratas Islands, which are controlled by Taiwan, heading south-west. The carrier group earlier passed 90 nautical miles (167km) south of Taiwan’s southernmost point via the Bashi channel, between Taiwan and the Philippines.
China live-fires aircraft carrier group amid Taiwan tensions with US
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Ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi declining to say whether fighter jets were scrambled or if submarines had been deployed but added: “Staying vigilant and flexible has always been the normal method of maintaining airspace security.”
Chen said the ministry was continuing to “monitor and grasp the situation”.
The move, which China called a routine exercise, comes amid renewed tension over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, following US President-elect Donald Trump’s telephone call with the island’s president.
China’s Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier has taken part in previous exercises, including some in the South China Sea, but China is years away from perfecting carrier operations similar to those the United States has practised for decades.
Johnny Chiang , a senior Taiwan opposition Nationalist lawmaker, said the Liaoning exercise was China’s signal to the US that it had broken through the “first island chain”, an area that includes Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan.
The US state department on Monday said its position had not changed since July, when it said it was continuing to monitor China’s military modernisation and that it expected nations conducting defence exercises to comply with the law. Representatives for the Pentagon declined to comment.
Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, said the incoming team had no comment on China’s move. Trump takes office on 20 January and has already made headlines over a series of statements on China and Taiwan.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said people should not read too much into what the carrier was up to, because its movements were within the law.
“Our Liaoning should enjoy in accordance with the law freedom of navigation and overflight as set by international law, and we hope all sides can respect this right of China’s,” she told a daily news briefing.
Influential state-run Chinese tabloid the Global Times said the exercise showed how the carrier was improving its combat capabilities and that it should now sail even further afield. “The Chinese fleet will cruise to the eastern Pacific sooner or later. When China’s aircraft carrier fleet appears in offshore areas of the US one day, it will trigger intense thinking about maritime rules,” the newspaper’s editorial said.
China has been angered recently by US naval patrols near islands that China claims in the South China Sea. This month, a Chinese navy ship seized a US underwater drone in the South China Sea. China later returned it.
Japan said late on Sunday it had spotted six Chinese naval vessels including the Liaoning travelling through the passage between Miyako and Okinawa and into the Pacific. A Japanese government spokesman said on Monday the voyage showed China’s expanding military capability and Japan was closely monitoring it.
China’s air force conducted long-range drills this month above the East and South China Seas that rattled Japan and Taiwan. China said those exercises were also routine.
In December last year, the defence ministry confirmed China was building a second aircraft carrier but its launch date is unclear. The aircraft carrier programme is a state secret.
Beijing could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years, the Pentagon said in a report last year.
China claims most of the South China Sea through which about $5tn in ship-borne trade passes every year. Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
