Researcher says delegations will increase as countries unite in opposing China

Researcher says delegations will increase as countries unite in opposing China

2023-01-10

Taiwan has received a high number of foreign delegations in recent days. The latest was a delegation of Spanish parliamentarians on Tuesday, which followed two delegations of parliamentarians from Lithuania and Germany on Monday. An expert says the momentum is likely to continue as countries rally against an increasingly aggressive Beijing. China’s Eastern Theater Command has protested the visits on Chinese social media, saying that it would not allow, quote, “foreign forces” to interfere in Taiwan.

Johannes Vogel
German lawmaker
Any attempt to change the status quo by force, or threatening to do it by force, is unacceptable.

A delegation of German parliamentarians met with President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday. During the meeting both sides spoke about shared democratic values. The group arrived on Monday, the same day a delegation arrived from Lithuania. That’s just two of many foreign delegations that have visited Taiwan in the past two weeks. Last week Tsai met with a former head of NATO who also expressed solidarity with Taiwan.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Former NATO secretary general
Today, Taiwan is a solid democracy that belongs to the families of the world’s democracies.

Prior to the visit by the former NATO head, a Japanese delegation arrived on Dec. 26, led by parliamentarian Seko Hiroshige, who was a close confidant of the late Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. That was followed by a delegation from South Korea’s Taiwan-Korean parliamentary friendship group on Dec. 28. That delegation was joined by the deputy speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea. Besides the visit by the former NATO head on the Jan. 3 and the German and Lithuanian delegations on Monday, a delegation from Spain arrived on Tuesday. And more visits could soon come from the U.S., as newly elected U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has expressed a desire to visit Taiwan. The situation has left China furious.

China’s Eastern Theater Command began holding exercises in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, and has released a video of the drills. On Chinese social media, the command also posted that it was resolutely opposed to provocative “external forces colluding with Taiwan independence advocates.”

Arthur Ding
NCCU Graduate Institute of Asian Studies
Beijing is growing increasingly worried, so it’s ramping up pressure in various ways. This is backfiring on China in the international community, as other countries condemn it for its actions. This is creating a vicious cycle for China.

The expert says that China’s handling of domestic human-rights issues has resulted in international criticism, and that as countries unite in this criticism, the frequency of delegations to Taiwan is likely to increase.

中國又軍演施壓! 學者:威脅造成國際反效果

2023-01-10

近來各國政要訪台頻率大增，從12月底開始，包含北約前秘書長、日本、韓國及德國立陶宛多國國會議員訪問台灣，甚至連剛上任的美國眾院議長麥卡錫，也曾說過打算訪台。中國又不開心了，東部戰區8號在台海周邊實施軍演嗆聲，但學者認為，威脅只會造成反效果。

[[德國自民黨副主席佛格]]
“任何嘗試以武力或威脅，改變現狀都是不可接受的。”

德國國會議員率團訪問台，並和總統蔡英文會晤，共同強調民主的價值，他們9號搭機抵台，同一天還有立陶宛國會議員也剛落地，最近兩星期，國際社會友人密集來訪，前幾天還有北約前秘書長表達挺台立場。

[[北約前秘書長拉斯穆森(1.4)]]
“今天台灣是一個強勁的民主國家，屬於全球民主陣營的大家庭的一份子。”

早在拉斯穆森來訪之前，上個月26號，包含日本安倍派參議員世耕弘成率領11位議員訪台，28號南韓國會"韓台議員親善協會"訪台，副議長鄭宇澤也是訪團成員之一；加上本月3號的拉斯穆森、9號德、立兩國議員、10號抵台的西班牙國會議員，連剛上任美國眾院議長麥卡錫也表達訪台意願，讓中國氣得跳腳。

中國東部戰區8號開始，針對台海周邊海域進行軍演、貼出多段演習影片，放話堅決反對外部勢力勾結台獨的挑釁行徑，學者認為，此舉只會有反效果。

[[政大名譽教授丁樹範]]
“(北京)他們會越來越擔心，所以會越來越施加各種壓力，在國際上會產生反效果，會譴責中國的做法，對北京來講這會形成惡性循環。”

丁樹範認為，中方處理境內人權問題，引發西方國家不滿，國際社會反中聯盟成形，可預料各國政要訪台頻率，只會越來越高。

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US-based think tank conducts Taiwan-attack simulations, showing Chinese defeat

In a set of 24 simulated scenarios conducted by Washington-based think tank CSIS, Chinese attempts at invading of Taiwan nearly always end in China’s defeat. In most cases the scenarios finished with the survival of Taiwan’s autonomy, but with heavy losses endured by the U.S. and Japan. The think tank said that to ensure a better outcome, the U.S. must better equip Taiwan, allowing it to defend itself. Let’s hear from a senior CSIS advisor.

Voice of Mark Cancian
CSIS senior advisor
Chinese forces were unable to conquer the island, and Taiwan endured as an autonomous democracy.

Concerned about the possible outbreak of a war in the Taiwan Strait, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies designed a war game to model a Chinese amphibious invasion of Taiwan in 2026, which it ran 24 times in a variety of scenarios. China failed to take over Taiwan in nearly every scenario, and its forces sustained heavy losses.

Voice of Mark Cancian
CSIS senior advisor
China also took terrible losses, often including more than a hundred warships, and tens of thousands of soldiers killed, wounded or captured. Such a failure might endanger the communist party’s grip on power.

CSIS said that a failed attempt at invading Taiwan may cause the collapse of the CCP, but the U.S. and Japan would also sustain heavy losses during the battle.

Voice of Mark Cancian
CSIS senior advisor
In four weeks of fighting the United States typically lost hundreds of aircraft, two aircraft carriers and up to 2,000 other ships. Bases on Guam were devastated. The Taiwanese economy suffered extensive damage. Japan was often dragged into the war, and its bases attacked.

Taiwan’s military would also see the loss of roughly 3,500 soldiers, four destroyers and 22 coast guard vessels, but it would not suffer defeat. CSIS says that the first priority is to ensure that Taiwan is well armed. Unlike Ukraine, Taiwan is surrounded by the sea, meaning that overland logistical support is not possible. Once fighting begins, it will difficult for allies to provide Taiwan with assistance, it said.

Mark Cancian
CSIS senior advisor
It runs out typically within the first couple of days, and then when that runs out the United States has to use shorter-range munitions. Those can be effective, but it increases losses, and increases risk.

Mark Milley
Joint Chiefs of Staff chair
As long as we remain number one, then we will deter the war that people worry about. A great-power war, between China and the United States.

Su Tzu-yun
Institute for National Defense and Security Research
The U.S. and Japan will help defend Taiwan, but the U.S. should immediately strengthen Taiwan’s defensive capabilities, and should put a stop to China’s military expansion. In the future, Taiwan may have around 2,000 anti-ship missiles, which will effectively prevent Chinese vessels from landing on Taiwan, and limiting the threat from its convoy.

CSIS suggests that the U.S. provide Taiwan with inexpensive weapons systems, better enabling it to protect itself.

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Tech company announces year-end bonus of 30 months’ salary

The Lunar New Year is approaching, which for many employees means it’s time to get their year-end bonuses. One tech company has announced a year-end bonus of 30 months’ pay. Another is giving out bonuses of more than NT$1 million to all employees who’ve been with the company for at least a year.

Captain America shows up on the second floor. He’s joined by Spiderman, Optimus Prime from “The Transformers” and Superman. It’s a year-end banquet like before the pandemic. While feasts like these can be fun, what employees really want to know is how big a bonus they’ll be getting for the Lunar New Year.

Yang Tsung-pin
Job bank spokesperson
Don’t forget that year-end bonuses reflect the company’s performance over the previous year. So it’s a lagging indicator. So for the tech sector there could be some worries about inventories and weak demand in the first half of the year. That could also affect the willingness of tech firms to increase wages.

According to a job bank survey, tech firms on average are set to issue a 1.89 months’ of salary as a bonus before the Lunar New Year. That’s in contrast with 2.56 months in the finance sector. With poor export performance in the fourth quarter of 2022, and a slowing economy, salary hikes are not a given. There are some exceptions. Semiconductor IC testing interface firm WinWay says it will be handing out a bonus worth 30 months’ of salary, together with a wage hike of 40%. Meanwhile, semiconductor manufacturer Realtek, which already issued bonuses in October, will reportedly be giving out more than NT$1 million to employees who’ve been in the company for at least one year. Over in the telecommunications industry, a company is raising salaries by 12% to retain talent.

Chang Ting-wei
Telecommunications company
The hike is bigger this year, because of the reasons I just mentioned. The pandemic was a hard time for our employees. And now with inflation, and a shrinking workforce, it’s getting harder and harder to find workers. So that’s why we decided to raise salaries, to attract more talented workers.

With high demand for 5G products and consolidation among Taiwan’s top three telecoms, the industry is raising salaries to bring in some New Year cheer, and make inflation a little less painful for workers.

2023-01-10

A YouTuber tests the odds of winning on scratch tickets

It’s common for people in Taiwan to buy scratch tickets and lotto tickets ahead of the Lunar New Year, but many may be unaware of the odds. One YouTuber decided to test the odds for himself, buying a booklet of NT$2,000 tickets with friends and sharing the results with viewers. YouTuber Waiting Liu and his friends lost half of what they spent on the tickets, but it turns out their luck was actually better than the average odds. Let’s take a look at just how much you can expect to win from a scratch ticket.

YouTuber Waiting Liu and his friends put together NT$36,000 to buy a book of 18 scratch tickets. Six of the tickets were duds, but there were two winning tickets worth NT$5,000 each, three worth NT$2,000 each and seven worth NT$1,000 each. That means the group of friends paid out NT$13,000 in losses.

Member of the public
I once spent roughly NT$20,000 on tickets and got less than half of that back, but it was just for fun.

Member of the public
I don’t look at the odds of winning when I buy scratch tickets, I just grab whatever catches my eye. If you’re an unlucky person, buy a few tickets and you’ll lose money.

If you hope to win from scratch tickets, don’t just look at the odds of winning. For example, the overall odds for winning a prize on the “NT$20 Million Super Red Envelope,” which costs NT$2,000, are 69.33%. But with prizes as low as $1,000 or NT$500, winning a prize could still result in losses for the buyer. To break even, you’d need a NT$2,000 prize, but the odds of winning that amount are only 29.33%. If you want to walk away with even modest winnings – for example, a winning ticket worth NT$5,000 – the odds go down to only 10.29%. In truth 70.67% of the time buyers will end up losing money on the tickets.

Huang Wei-chi
Lotto ticket seller
There are lots of people who buy an entire book. We’ve already gotten about 100 people who each want to buy a book, so they reserve that with us. They’re afraid that if they don’t get the book and the NT$20 million winning ticket is inside, they’ll lose out.

So what ticket should you buy if you’re hoping for the big win? Buyers have several choices of tickets ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The “NT$20 Million Super Red Envelope,” which costs NT$2,000 has an expected value of negative 25, which means that for every NT$100 spent, there will be an expected loss of NT$25. There is also the NT$500 “Golden Rabbit Awards” with an expected value of negative 32, and two types of NT$100 ticket: the “Best Wishes for the Year of the Rabbit” and the “God of Wealth Welcomes Spring,” each with an expected value of negative 38.02.

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Airlines revamp in-flight menus in a bid to attract passengers

Taiwan’s state-owned airline, China Airlines is revamping its in-flight menus in routes to Japan in an attempt to attract fliers. The airline has teamed up with a renowned restaurant in Tokyo to produce a delicately-curated multi-course meal. And it’s not the only airline expanding its offerings. Tigerair Taiwan is now serving up more vegetarian options than before, while Starlux gets flight attendants to make you a sweet cup of bubble tea high in the sky.

Slices of Japanese black beef sizzle on the pan, while a chef meticulously portions a piece of crispy duck breast. Appetizing is the word.

Magatama tofu is made following a highly complex process. Kaiseki, a kind of Japanese haute cuisine, is coming to China Airlines’ in-flight menu.

Jenny Tsao
China Airlines
With the post-pandemic recovery, we want to offer our passengers a different kind of experience when travelling to Japan. The dishes change with the four seasons. These are all part of the “Early Spring Imperial Feast” menu.

Business class passengers on flights to Japan can enjoy this completely new in-flight dining experience. To make it possible, the foods are cooled rapidly to preserve the best texture, which is a big challenge.

Arthur Wang
Dining group head
The development of these dishes took about half a year from the moment we got into contact to a completed product. Each dish could easily take more than two weeks, and four or five failed attempts.
Lee Ming-che
China Pacific Catering Services
The meat isn’t overcooked. Just grilled a little bit.

After COVID, airlines are opening up new flight routes and attracting fliers with tasty meals.

Last year, EVA Air added flights to Milan in Italy, and Munich in Germany, with specially designed meals featuring beef cheek stew and coral grouper.

If you’re vegetarian, Tigerair Taiwan has added more veggie-only options to its food offerings.

And if you have a sweet tooth, Starlux flight attendants can make you a bubble tea high up in the sky. With the launch of its new A350 planes, the company is offering a taste of Taiwan above the clouds. It seems that after the pandemic travelers are not just hungry for new experiences but also good cuisine.

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Average age 64: older gamers form League of Legends team

Computer games are not just for the young! A Taichung university has formed a League of Legends team just for those in their twilight years. The average age of the team members is 64. The young coach says she wants older people who are interested in games to have chances to enjoy them. We meet team stalwart Chiang Yi-shu, 66 years old, and hear how she went from being anti-computers to a dedicated gamer.

A League of Legends battle is underway. But look closer at the teams, and you see the contestants are all old enough to be grandparents. This team was formed at Hungkuang University and the average member age is 64.

When team member Chiang Yi-shu first saw the recruitment advert, she was attracted by the thought of learning new skills. She practices five hours a week, traveling from Taipei to Taichung just for training.

Chiang Yi-shu
Esports team member
I was both scared and happy when I first came across League of Legends. I thought, “Well, at least this is new knowledge for me.” I don’t give up. I’ve lived this long, how could I let a tiny obstacle like this defeat me?

Now 66, Chiang had once upon a time rejected computers. But after deciding to give them a try, she found computer games can bring older people lots of benefits.

Chiang Yi-shu
Esports team member
At first, oh, I really didn’t want to learn computers. Because I like interacting with real people. But after I checked it out a bit, I thought, “Hmm, this seems pretty good for our brains.” And using my hands like this, they stay quite flexible.

Ego
Esports team coach
She works harder than anybody. Because she spends more time training than any contestant I’ve seen. It’s already very unusual and precious that these older people are willing to play this game. So, seeing as they are willing, I think I should help them taste the joy of it.

The team recently sparred against a VTuber, a virtual reality streamer. Although they didn’t emerge victorious, they were inspired to work even harder and play better next time.

2023-01-10