De Chinese Wouden, woensdag 8 mei: Xi praat met Macron en Von der Leyen
De staatsbezoeken van Xi Jinping aan Europa worden groots uitgemeten in de Chinese staatspers. Het vertraagdeVolksdagblad van gisteren was overladen met foto’s van Xi in Frankrijk. De websites van staatspersbureau Xinhua en nationalistisch tabloid The Global Times hebben hun header aangepast op een manier die je normaal vooral ziet bij belangrijke gebeurtenissen op de Chinese politieke kalender.
Dat laat zien hoe belangrijk deze reis is voor Peking. Europa doet er toe! Alleen, zoals het Japanese Nikkei Asia en de Britse Financial Times schrijven, lijken we er toe te doen als middel voor China om de uitdagingen op het gebied van geopolitiek en internationale handel te bestrijden.
Dat zou Europa invloed moeten geven. Frankrijk heeft in ieder geval zijn gedaan. President Macron gebruikt een mix van zakelijk en persoonlijk, stevig op de inhoud en persoonlijk gezellig. In Parijs bracht hij commissievoorzitter Von der Leyen aan tafel voor de harde boodschap over de volgens Europa onhoudbare Chinese overproductie. In de Alpen was er het hartelijke ontvangst met het respect dat men in Peking waardeert.
Franse diplomaten zeggen dat Xi ontvankelijk was voor de klachten – hij heeft ze in ieder geval direct gehoord zonder dat verslagen van ondergeschikten verdraaid werden door zijn poortwachters. Ook konden Frankrijk en China elkaar vinden in oppositie tegen de vermeende Israëlische plannen om Rafah in Gaza binnen te vallen.
De vraag blijft wat het verder concreet heeft opgeleverd. Xi Jinping kwam niet met veel toezeggingen. Hij vond het nog altijd onmogelijk om de realiteit zoals Europeanen die zien woordelijk te erkennen. Klachten over Chinese steun voor Rusland in de oorlog tegen Oekraïne waren laster die een nieuwe Koude Oorlog riskeerden. Het verhaal van Chinese overcapaciteit is onzin. De structurele problemen die Europa en China steeds verder uit elkaar drijven blijven dus bestaan.
Tegelijkertijd heeft Macron zijn land wel geloofwaardig gepresenteerd als een serieuze speler die helpt Europa enigszins los te maken/houden van de Verenigde Staten. Nu gaat Xi naar twee landen, Servië en Hongarije, die zijn eigen Chinese realiteit maar al te graag zullen bevestigen. Als daar een lichtpuntje aan zit, is het dat we ons in Europa nog wat langer kunnen wentelen in de ruimte die we krijgen omdat China ons nog als mogelijke medestander ziet in de strijd tegen de Amerikaanse hegemonie.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
Chinees Ballet in Abe Lenstra Stadion gaat niet door: te weinig kaarten verkocht – Omrop Fryslân: „De voorstelling in het Abe Lenstra Stadion in Heerenveen zou de kick-off worden van hun nieuwe internationale tournee.” „‘De voorbereidingstijd is te kort gebleken’, zegt de organisatie in een persbericht.” 🇳🇱
Antwoord op de vragen van de leden Piri en Kathmann over nieuwssites die al jaren pro-Chinese desinformatie verspreiden – Staatssecretaris Van Huffelen, Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 🇳🇱
Schriftelijke vragen: Het verzoek door China voor een internationaal door de Verenigde Naties geleid onderzoek naar de aanslag op de Nord Stream pijpleidingen – Pepijn van Houwelingen (FvD), Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal 🇳🇱
‘Today, Ambassador @AndreHaspels had an open and frank discussion with Justin Yifu Lin, Dean at @PKU1898’s Institute of New Structural Economics (INSE). Topics included EU-China trade, issues regarding overcapacity, and China’s development.’ – Embassy of the Netherlands in Beijing, Twitter
Voormalig Wereldbankeconoom Justin Lin is tijdens de Koude Oorlog overgelopen van Taiwan/Republiek China naar China. Omdat hij dit deed als officier in het leger, wordt hij nog altijd gezocht in Taiwan voor overlopen en verraad.
Belgian and German police raid far-right German MEP Maximilian Krah (AfD)’s European Parliament offices in China espionage probe – POLITICO Europe 🇩🇪🇧🇪🇪🇺
Le Yuan Wang 5, bateau scientifique ou « navire espion » chinois, est à quai à Papeete – Radio 1 Tahiti 🇫🇷
Germany’s Scholz calls on China to play bigger role in poor nations’ debt – Reuters: ‘said that he raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his recent trip to Beijing.’ 🇩🇪
Germany sends two warships to Indo-Pacific amid China and Taiwan tensions – Reuters 🇩🇪
Taiwanese sceptical after Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda suggests changing representation name – BNS: ‘“We understand it is the campaign season for major elections in Lithuania,” the [Taiwanese] office told BNS on Wednesday’ 🇱🇹
Ruslands oorlog 🇷🇺
Behind the Scenes: China’s increasing role in Russia’s defence industry – Nathaniel Sher for Carnegie: ‘Publicly available customs data indicate that every month, China is exporting over $300 million worth of dual-use products identified by the United States, the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom as “high priority” items necessary for Russia’s weapons production’ 🇷🇺
Ukraine peace talks should include Russia, Chinese ambassador to Moscow says – Reuters 🇷🇺
“俄罗斯民族主义学者杜金开微博了。” – Michael Anti, Twitter 🇷🇺
Aleksandr Doegin zit nu op Weibo. Hij is niet echt hartelijk ontvangen.
Taiwanese foreign ministry to pursue legal action against KMT legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin 徐巧芯 – Taipei Times: ‘for making false allegations about donations to Ukraine and disclosing confidential documents’ 🇺🇦🇨🇿
Taiwanese foreign ministry defends deal to provide Ukraine aid via Czech NGO – Focus Taiwan: ‘Hsu revealed details of the [confidential] MOU in a Facebook post early Sunday’ 🇺🇦🇨🇿
KMT takes aim at Ukraine-related issues – New Bloom: ‘the question lurking in the background for the KMT largely stems from America’s support of Ukraine and China’s backing of Russia.’ ‘the KMT has leaned into political narratives that allege that Russia only attacked Ukraine because the Ukrainian government became too close to NATO.’ 🇹🇼
Xi in Europa 🇪🇺🇨🇳
Xi’s Europe tour aims to drive wedge in region’s hardening China stance – Nikkei Asia: ‘China sees ties with Europe as key to countering U.S. pressures on trade and national security.’
Xi is probing for cracks in the EU and Nato – Gideon Rachman in FT: ‘the Chinese are at risk of over-interpreting the radicalism of Macron’s ideas when it comes to Nato.’
‘telling Europeans that they are vassals of America and that Nato is a dangerous organisation is a message that most Europeans will find insulting at best — and threatening at worst.’
Servië 🇷🇸
Serbian capital prepares warm welcome for ‘steel friend’ Chinese President Xi Jinping – SCMP
Urgent: Serbian fighter jets escorted Xi’s plane after it entered Serbia’s airspace – Xinhua
President Xi Jinping vows to ‘never forget’ NATO’s deadly bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, hours before arriving in Serbia on a swing through Europe aimed at dividing Brussels’ support for the US – Bloomberg 🇷🇸🇺🇸
May the Light of Our Ironclad Friendship Shine on the Path of China-Serbia Cooperation – Xi Jinping in Politika: ‘The China-Serbia friendship, forged with the blood of our compatriots, will stay in the shared memory of the Chinese and Serbian peoples, and will inspire us to march forward with big strides.’ 🇷🇸
Dinsdag was het precies 25 jaar geleden, maar Xi wordt pas woensdag verwacht bij de voormalige Chinese ambassade.
Europa 🇪🇺
Von der Leyen zet handelsrelatie EU en China verder op scherp – FD
EU restates readiness to launch trade war with China over cheap imports – The Guardian: ‘A bottle of exclusive Louis XIII cognac was among the gifts Macron gave Xi, a nod to Beijing opening an anti-dumping investigation into French cognac.’
Europe is ready to use all the tools available to defend its economies if China fails to offer fair access to its markets, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warns – Bloomberg: ‘“Europe cannot accept market-distorting practices that could lead to deindustrialization,” von der Leyen added.’
Macron and von der Leyen press China’s Xi on trade in Paris talks – Reuters: ‘French diplomatic sources said Xi seemed receptive to concerns about trade imbalances, adding that the objective of the visit was to get messages across.’
Press statement by President von der Leyen following the trilateral meeting with French President Macron and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping – European Commission:
[…] We count on China to use all its influence on Russia to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. President Xi has played an important role in de-escalating Russia’s irresponsible nuclear threats, and I am confident that President Xi will continue to do so against the backdrop of the ongoing nuclear threats by Russia. We have also discussed China’s commitment not to provide any lethal equipment to Russia. More effort is needed to curtail delivery of dual-use goods to Russia that find their way to the battlefield. And given the existential nature of the threats stemming from this war for both Ukraine and Europe, this does affect the EU-China relations.
[…]
[…] As we have shown, we will defend our companies; we will defend our economies. We will never hesitate to do so if this is required. Let me focus on three topics.
The first topic: Chinese subsidised products. […] China continues to massively support its manufacturing sector. Combined with a domestic demand that is not increasing, the world cannot absorb China’s surplus production. […]
My second topic: For trade to be fair, access to each other's market also needs to be reciprocal. […]
My third point: We need to improve the resilience of our supply chains. […]
Entretien tripartite avec Ursula von der Leyen, Présidente de la Commission européenne et XI Jinping, Président de la République populaire de Chine – Élysée : « je l'ai encore exprimé récemment en parlant de notre Europe, nous sommes à un tournant de notre histoire qui impose de faire face et de surmonter les difficultés structurelles, qu'il s'agisse des échanges économiques avec une logique de découplage qui serait néfaste ou de notre responsabilité à assurer des règles équitables pour tous. »
President Xi Jinping Holds China-France-EU Trilateral Leaders’ Meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
Xi says there is no such thing as ‘China’s overcapacity’ – Xinhua: ‘China-EU relations enjoy strong endogenous driving force and bright prospects of development, and this relationship does not target any third party, nor should it be dependent on or dictated by any third party, Xi said.’ 🇺🇸
Xi’s key message to Europe: cooperation – Xinhua: ‘His remarks came as Washington is maneuvering to rally its allies in the West to "de-risk" from China’ 🇺🇸
‘Communication and coordination between #China and #Europe as two major forces of the world mean a lot.’ – 王鲁彤 Wang Lutong, Twitter
Macron praat gelukkig niet met meel in zijn mond – Heleen Mees in de Volkskrant
Frankrijk 🇫🇷
Chinese president op zeldzaam bezoek in Frankrijk: „Lastig, maar belangrijk” – RTL Nieuws
Macron’s cognac — the only thing that went down smoothly with Xi – POLITICO Europe: ‘either denied there were any problems, offered modest concessions that required very little sacrifice on China’s part, or outright misrepresented China’s involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine.’
China and France should uphold independence and jointly fend off ‘new Cold War’ or bloc confrontation, Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 says – Xinhua: ‘China is willing to import more quality products from France, push for more practical results from the “French farm to Chinese dining table” mechanism, and hope that France will export more high-tech and high value-added products to China, Xi said.’ 🇫🇷
Meer Franse luxe- en landbouwproducten naar China in ruil voor verlagen handelsbarrières voor high-tech?
Emmanuel Macron thanks Xi Jinping for ‘commitment’ not to sell arms to Russia – SCMP: ‘Xi, in comments quoted by Xinhua, warned against “smearing” China over Ukraine, saying such behaviour would “inflame a new cold war”.’ 🇷🇺🇺🇦
Macron and Xi call for worldwide ‘Olympic truce’ during Paris Games – POLITICO Europe
Visite d'État de Xi Jinping, Président de la République populaire de Chine : première journée à Paris – Élysée : « Une conférence sera organisée par la Suisse le mois prochain, nous en avons parlé, et suite à vos concertations, nous pourrons revenir sur ce sujet, […] » 🇺🇦
Xi Jinping elaborates on China’s position on Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Ukraine crisis [sic] – Xinhua: ‘China supports a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe, he said.’ 🇷🇺🇺🇦
‘The prolonged tragedy of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a test for human conscience, and the international community must act, Xi said.’ 🇮🇱🇵🇸
Déclaration entre la France et la Chine sur la situation au Proche-Orient – Élysée : « Les deux chefs d’Etat ont marqué leur opposition à une offensive israélienne sur Rafah, qui conduirait à une catastrophe humanitaire d’une nouvelle ampleur, ainsi qu’à tout déplacement forcé de civils palestiniens. » 🇮🇱🇵🇸
China signs MOU with Airbus to deepen aviation cooperation, state media says – Reuters 🇪🇺🇫🇷
Chinese EV maker BYD 比亚迪 welcome to open factory in France, French finance minister says – Reuters 🇫🇷
China and France to enhance global governance cooperation on artificial intelligence – Xinhua 🇫🇷
Déclaration conjointe entre la République française et la République populaire de Chine sur l’intelligence artificielle et la gouvernance des enjeux globaux – Élysée 🇫🇷
Emmanuel Macron convie Xi Jinping dans les Pyrénées pour la fin de sa visite d’Etat – Le Monde : « Comme en écho à la cérémonie du thé qu’ils avaient partagée l’an dernier à Canton, dans la résidence officielle où vécut le père du président chinois quand il était gouverneur de la province du Guangdong. » 🇫🇷
French lawmakers targeted by Chinese cyberattack demand sanctions, amid Xi visit – POLITICO Europe 🇫🇷
China’s mouthpieces go quiet – China Media Project: ‘by late afternoon Beijing time, [the People’s Daily,] fully online by the crack of dawn is mysteriously gone without a trace. […], the Guangming Daily and the PLA Daily, are also missing in action.’
Zelfs de gedrukte versie van het Volksdagblad werd niet bezorgd op dinsdag 7 mei, hoor ik van meerdere mensen. De versies van de Guangming Daily en PLA Daily die uiteindelijk online verschenen, droop van China en Frankrijk. Dat werpt te vraag op: waren er complicerende factoren bij de onderhandelingen?
Hack Verenigd Koninkrijk 🇬🇧🇨🇳
China hacked Ministry of Defence, Sky News learns – Sky News: ‘MPs will be told today of a massive data breach involving the MoD, targeting service personnel.’ 🇬🇧
UK armed forces personnel had personal data accessed in a recent cyberattack that was likely carried out by China, British officials familiar with the matter say – Bloomberg 🇬🇧
MoD data breach: UK armed forces’ personal details accessed in hack – BBC News: ‘The hack targeted a payroll system used by the Ministry of Defence, which includes names and bank details of both current and some past armed forces members. In a very small number of cases, the data may include personal addresses.’ 🇬🇧
UK ‘cannot rule out’ foreign state in military payroll hack, says defence chief – Nikkei Asia 🇬🇧
Tech War 💽💥
De stilte rond de Chinese eigenaar van chipmaker Ampleon – FD 🇳🇱
US revokes licences allowing Intel and Qualcomm to supply chips to China’s Huawei 华为 – FT: ‘The move by the US Department of Commerce affects the supply of chips for Huawei’s laptop computers and mobile phones, according to people familiar with the situation.’ 🇺🇸
Despite international hires, TikTok is Chinese at its core – Rest of World: ‘ByteDance executives, and not [TikTok CEO Shou Zi] Chew, manage key departments made up of thousands of U.S.-based TikTok employees.’
Dit bevestigt eerdere berichten dat ByteDance/TikTok liegt om te verbergen dat het in feite één bedrijf is, beschreven in Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, en nog een keer Fortune. Het helpt ook niet als je als bedrijf kritische journalisten vanuit China surveilleert.
TikTok and ByteDance 字节跳动 sue to block US law seeking sale or ban of app – Reuters: ‘: ‘arguing that the law violates the U.S. Constitution on a number of grounds, including running afoul of First Amendment free speech protections.’’
‘The suit also said the Chinese government “has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is a key to the success of TikTok in the United States.”’
Court Filing on TikTok Ban – TikTok: ‘the Chinese government clearly signaled that it would assert its export control powers with respect to any attempt to sever TikTok’s operations from ByteDance’
Hoogwaardige Chinese producten die het Westen zullen ‘overspoelen’? Dat gebeurt al – Trouw
💡 Europe faces up to China’s EV dominance as carbon-zero targets loom – Nikkei Asia: ‘the real inroads in Europe will be made once China invests in local plants and local partners.’ 🇪🇺
Chinese EV makers’ plans to make cars in Europe – Reuters 🇪🇺
‘Bloodbath looms’ in China’s overcrowded EV industry – The Straits Times: ‘Only a fraction of the country’s nearly 200 NEV makers will survive after the industry matures, analysts say.’
‘“Apart from Tesla, everyone is losing money,” said Xiaomi’s chairman Lei Jun on April 28, describing to state broadcaster CCTV how makers of pure battery-electric sedans like himself were selling cars at a loss.’
Tesla’s China-made EV sales fall 18% y/y in April – Reuters
China’s Nio 蔚来 turns to rival BYD 比亚迪 to power new EV brand Onvo 乐道 – Reuters
Chinese EV makers bring price war to Thailand even as sales sag – Nikkei Asia: ‘heated competition in a soft market has raised alarms, prompting at least one player to turn to hybrids.’ 🇹🇭
Nissan 日産 locked in ‘survival game’ in China, warns chief executive – FT 🇯🇵
BYD 比亚迪 Americas CEO says EV maker is not TikTok or Huawei 华为 – Nikkei Asia 🇺🇸
China investeert spectaculair in groene energie. Maar vervangt de molen echt de kolen? – NRC: „Het ziet ernaar uit dat Xi’s deadline van 2030 twéé investeringsgolven heeft teweeggebracht: een in zon en wind, en een in steenkool, nu het nog kan, een laatste-ronde-effect.”
Is China the target of new US global cyberspace and digital technology strategy? – SCMP
Taiwan launches chip-based innovation office, eyes increased dominance – Focus Taiwan
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
China’s Belt and Road, once a hotspot for European investment, is getting the cold shoulder – SCMP 🇪🇺
Xinhua Commentary: China’s modernisation contributes to building better future for humanity – Xinhua: ‘the latest report released Saturday at a China-France forum on developing people-to-people and cultural exchanges in Paris.’
‘shattering the delusion that modernization equals Westernization.’
Taiwan finance group SinoPac 永豐 enters race in Cambodian banking – Nikkei Asia: ‘its subsidiary Bank SinoPac will acquire 100% of Amret, Cambodia’s largest microfinance deposit-taking institution by total assets, from existing [,mainly Western] shareholders.’ 🇰🇭
China’s cheating threatens to wreck Paris Olympics, US anti-drugs chief says – POLITICO Europe: ‘Clean athletes and top figures fighting for drug-free sport are incensed at the revelations about the Chinese athletes at the Tokyo Games.’
Pekings inpalmen van internationale organisaties ondergraaft nu zelfs de Olympische Spelen. WADA helpt niet door keihard te roepen dat het laster is.
Is Bougainville the next battleground between China and the US? – The Washington Post 🇺🇸🇵🇬
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Australian helicopter forced to take evasive action after Chinese fighter detonates flares – ABC News: ‘it was taking part in a UN mission to enforce sanctions against North Korea.’ 🇦🇺
Australian PM Albanese says China military air incident unacceptable – Reuters 🇦🇺
China slams Australian military for ‘disrupting’ drill after Yellow Sea helicopter confrontation – SCMP 🇦🇺
De Chinese strijdkrachten vielen in 2022 al Canadese vliegtuigen lastig die ook deelnamen aan deze VN-missie.
Chinese foreign ministry urges Israel to ‘stop attacking Rafah’ – AFP 🇮🇱🇵🇸
Remarks by China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Fu Cong at the UN General Assembly Meeting on the Use of Veto – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China: ‘On the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the United States has used its veto dozens of times.’ 🇺🇸🇮🇱🇵🇸
China angles for Gaza mediation role to expand influence in Middle East – The Guardian 🇵🇸
Zuid-Chinese Zee
China may soon release audio of a purported phone call with a Philippine military official that Beijing claims is evidence of an agreement over disputed territory in the South China Sea, according to Chinese officials – Bloomberg: ‘The transcript may be released to the public within days’ 🇵🇭
China urges the Philippines to respect facts on Ren'ai Jiao issue, says foreign minister spokesperson – Xinhua 🇵🇭
Philippines’ NSC: Dead coral dumped in Sandy Cay to reverse 2016 arbitral ruling – GMA News: ‘Experts said this was a common procedure done by China before it starts reclamation activities.’ 🇵🇭
India set to deploy 3 Naval ships to South China Sea, vessels reach Singapore – PTI 🇮🇳
overige
Chinese envoy urges international community to firmly maintain peaceful nature of outer space – Xinhua: ‘Fu criticized a major superpower, without naming any country specifically, for defining outer space as a “war-fighting domain” and for accelerating its militarization.’ 🇺🇸
Japan, China, and South Korea eye first joint summit in 4 years – Nikkei Asia: ‘Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol are to attend.’ 🇯🇵🇰🇷
Banned Chinese cotton from Xinjiang found in 19% of US and global retailers’ merchandise, study shows – Reuters 🇺🇸
Australian officials ‘pulled out all the stops’ to halt China-PNG policing deal – The Sydney Morning Herald 🇦🇺🇵🇬
China’s police chief Wáng Xiǎohóng 王小洪 meets New Zealand police commissioner – Xinhua 🇳🇿
Peru port conflict escalates as Chinese firm insists on original terms – Reuters 🇵🇪
China economie
China sees Labour Day tourism surge, paving way for sector’s full-spectrum recovery – SCMP: ‘However, tourists spent an average of 565 yuan (US$78) this year – up 4 per cent year-on-year, but below the 603 yuan average reported for 2019.’
Er wordt behoorlijk gespind in de kop en opening van dit SCMP-artikel, in lijn met de instructies tijdens de recente Centrale Conferentie voor Economisch Werk om de economische vooruitzichten van China positief te bezingen.
China’s CICC 中金公司 may cut investment banking headcount by at least 10% this year, sources say – Reuters
China binnenland
Steekpartij in Chinees ziekenhuis: twee doden en ruim twintig gewonden – Trouw
China probes ex-CNOOC executive over disciplinary violations – Reuters
Hong Kong
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwan says four Chinese ships entered ‘prohibited’ waters off Kinmen – AFP 🇨🇳
China urges US to stop stepping on red line on Taiwan question, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua: ‘in response to relevant statement by Mark Lambert, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and China Coordinator, regarding Resolution 2758 and the Taiwan question.’ 🇨🇳🇺🇸
De uitspraak van de Amerikaanse functionaris kwam met de lancering van een rapport van GMFUS over de manier waarom China juist liegt over de resolutie.
Taiwan and the Philippines sign MOU on landslide research cooperation – Focus Taiwan 🇵🇭
Taiwan and South Korea set tourism goals at conference – Taipei Times 🇰🇷
Taiwan joins international personal data protection framework – MOFA Taiwan Today: ‘the Global Cooperation Arrangement for Privacy Enforcement’
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Indigenous activist to end 7-year protest camp on inauguration day – Focus Taiwan: ‘Panai Kusui, who is of Indigenous Puyuma and Amis decent, has camped inside Taipei’s 228 Peace Memorial Park for the last seven years to increase awareness of Indigenous land rights by protesting Taiwan’s Regulations for Demarcation of the Traditional Territory of Indigenous Peoples and Villages.’
KMT proposes Lai Ching-te 賴清德 (DPP) address legislature – Taipei Times: ‘The TPP yesterday said that the legislature should hear a state of the nation address.’
KMT lawmakers reject bill to select new NCC members – Taipei Times
President mum on possible Chen Shui-bian 陳水扁 pardon before end of term – Taipei Times
Post-earthquake Circular Line repairs to cost NT$400m [€11.5m], New Taipei City says – Taipei Times: ‘it would take at least a year to repair.’
Why do some clamour for removing the DPP party charter’s independence clause ahead of the inauguration? – New Bloom: ‘the DPP already de facto froze the charter in 1999’
Editorial: The massive wealth gap in Taiwan – Taipei Times
徐巧芯遭爆京華城旁買屋「精準投資」 溫朗東再揭登載不實 – 自由時報