De Chinese Wouden, vrijdag 21 maart: defensie, stekkerauto’s, intellectueel eigendom
De Europese Unie is hard aan het schrijven aan plannen voor Europese ‘herbewapening’. In het rapport komt China ook langs, na Rusland, als een strategische uitdaging. De reguliere rapportage van de Europese Dienst voor Extern Optreden over desinformatie noemt het land ook weer. RSF klaagt over een Chinese haatcampagne tegen twee Franse journalisten die een rapportage produceerden over dwangarbeid in de keten van Decathlon.
Er zijn binnenkort twee Europese leiders in China in het kader van de wereldhandelsoorlog. De handelschef van de EU, Šefčovič, gaat langs en sprak hierover met het Europese Parlement. De Spaanse premier Sánchez gaat ook. Niet alleen had hij bezwaar tegen de focus op wapens van het wat erg ‘militair’ gedoopte ReArm, zijn Spanje staat ook miljardeninvesteringen te wachten van Chinese bedrijven. De Chinese ambassadeur wijst naar de ‘pragmatische’ opstelling van Madrid als voorbeeld.
Iets wat nog tot reactie uit Peking en Boedapest zou kunnen leiden, is de aankondiging dat de Commissie de Hongaarse fabriek van de Chinese autobouwer BYD gaat onderzoeken op oneigenlijke staatssteun. Daarbij komt de klacht dat de toegevoegde waarde tegenvalt – in de met Chinese arbeiders gebouwde fabriek zou het vooral om assemblage draaien.
Een recent bericht illustreert dat dit staand Chinees beleid is: een nieuwe BYD-fabriek in Mexico loopt vertraging op, niet vanwege Trump, maar vanwege uitblijvende Chinese goedkeuring uit angst dat technologie weglekt.
Onder Techoorlog een belangrijk bericht over nieuwe Chinese regelgeving op het gebied van de bescherming van intellectueel eigendom. De Europese Unie is niet de enige in de wereld die meer bescherming eist tegen diefstal door Chinese bedrijven. Deze nieuwe regelgeving moet echter vooral Chinese bedrijven beschermen.
Relevant voor de geopolitieke strijd en wereldhandelsoorlog is ook de expliciete vermelding van de klachten in Peking over buitenlandse krachten die China willen kleinhouden en onderdrukken. De Staatsraad voorziet in tegenmaatregelen bij zulk ‘misbruik’ of discriminatie tegen Chinese bedrijven.
Eerder zagen we al dat Chinese bedrijven die in Amerikaanse rechtbanken werden aangeklaagd voor diefstal reageerden door Chinese rechtbanken Amerikaanse slachtoffers te raken op hun fabricage en verkoop in China. Dat kon vervolgens gebruikt worden bij uitruil om ze te dwingen hun zaak in een Westers rechtssysteem op te geven.
Dit nieuwe gereedschap zou zo passen in het uitstekende overzicht van Rhodium onder Achtergrond van de manieren waarop Chinese staatssteun diepgaander en ongrijpbaarder is dan die van andere landen. Juist omdat het zo lastig is de steun in bedragen te vatten, hebben toezichthouders en commentaren niet altijd door hoe groot het concurrentievoordeel is voor Chinese bedrijven. Juridische middelen zijn slechts een klein onderdeel van dit gedecentraliseerde spel.
Nederland en Europa 🇳🇱🇪🇺
EU defence white paper says China’s military action risks ‘major disruption’ for Europe – SCMP: ‘Paper warns geopolitical shifts are something “we have been warned about many times but is now happening faster than many had anticipated”’ 🇪🇺
Commission unveils the White Paper for European Defence and the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 – European Commission: ‘Meanwhile, the security implications of the rise of China are similarly strategic in nature. The challenge posed by China is systematic in that it is based on an entirely different – authoritarian and non-democratic – system of government to that of the EU. It is also systemic in that it is tied up with China’s approach to trade, investment and technology by which it seeks to achieve primacy and in some cases supremacy.’ 🇪🇺
Baromètre de l’opinion publique européenne : « quelle défense pour l’Europe ? » – Le Grand Continent : « Pour faire face à la Russie et aux États-Unis, l’Union européenne devrait se rapprocher de la Chine : 38% Oui, 62% Non » 🇪🇺
Huawei 华为 suspended from key tech lobby group DigitalEurope over corruption scandal – POLITICO Europe 🇪🇺
Pressure mounts on European Parliament president Metsola to sideline lawmakers linked to Huawei 华为 bribery probe – POLITICO Europe 🇪🇺
EPP lawmaker’s assistant arrested in Italy on Belgian warrant – Euractiv: ‘It remains unclear whether the arrest is linked to the two cases allegedly involving Martusciello – one tied to the Huawei investigation and the other to expenses fraud.’ 🇪🇺
China: RSF condemns cyber-harassment campaign fuelled by state-backed smear campaign against two French journalists – RSF: ‘Since 1 March, thousands of posts containing violent insults and death threats have flooded the social media accounts of the two French journalists and Cash Investigation’ ‘investigated one of Decathlon’s Chinese suppliers.’ 🇫🇷
China offers opportunities for EU’s digital development, says cyber diplomat – Xinhua: ‘made the remarks at the ninth meeting of the China-EU Cyber Taskforce in Brussels’ 🇪🇺
3rd EEAS Report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Threats – EU EEAS 🇪🇺
China’s finance ministry to issue sovereign green yuan bonds in UK for first time – Reuters: ‘marking China’s first issuance of such bonds overseas.’ 🇬🇧
Delegation of British mayors seek business collaboration opportunities in southwest China’s Chongqing – Xinhua 🇬🇧
Switzerland rebukes China over military drills near Taiwan and Australia – Taipei Times 🇨🇭
Oekraïne 🇺🇦
China’s foreign ministry responds to Putin-Trump call – Xinhua: ‘China has advocated resolving the Ukraine crisis [sic] through dialogue and negotiation from the very beginning, and is pleased to see all efforts towards a ceasefire as a necessary step towards peace’ 🇺🇦
China and Brazil back US-led push for ceasefire in Ukraine war – SCMP 🇺🇦🇧🇷🇺🇸
China’s foreign ministry Wáng Yì 王毅 tells France ‘all stakeholders’ should play role in Ukraine peace deal – SCMP: ‘During the call with Bonne, Wang also slammed “unipolar hegemony” in an apparent reference to the US.’ 🇺🇦🇫🇷
Russian oil cargo transferred from sanctioned tankers discharged into China, data shows – Reuters 🇷🇺
Taiwan’s foreign ministry hosts 35 Ukrainian municipal officials – Focus Taiwan: ‘a show of Taiwan’s support for Ukraine as the latter seeks to rebuild and reconstruct its war-torn cities’ ‘The 35 officials were invited to Taiwan for the smart city expo that runs from Tuesday to Friday in Taipei, MOFA said’ 🇺🇦
Stekkerauto’s 🚗🇪🇺
Uitvoering van de motie van het lid Boswijk c.s. over een analyse van de risico’s van elektrische auto's voor de nationale veiligheid (Kamerstuk 21501-20-2068) – minister Madlener, Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal: „[…] de betreffende onderzoeken, in de vorm van een integrale risicoanalyse en dreigingsanalyses, inzicht geven in nationale veiligheidsrisico’s en daarom voor een groot deel niet geschikt zijn voor openbaarmaking. Deze analyses kunnen in een vertrouwelijke technische briefing nader worden toegelicht.” 🇳🇱
EU probes BYD 比亚迪 plant in Hungary over unfair Chinese subsidies – FT: ‘EU officials say the factory was built with Chinese labour and uses mainly imported parts including its batteries, creating little economic value for the bloc.’ 🇪🇺
China delays approval of BYD 比亚迪’s Mexico plant – FT: ‘amid concerns that the smart car technology developed by China’s biggest electric-vehicle maker could leak across the border to the US.’
‘Beijing is also giving preference to projects in countries that are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure development programme, according to the people.’ 🇲🇽
Een tijd terug waren er ook al berichten over Chinese beperkingen op de uitvoer van expertise en apparatuur naar India en Zuidoost-Azië. Waar eerst het Westen bang was dat technologie zou lekken naar China, is het inmiddels al omgekeerd. Zie ook de zorgen in Brussel dat Chinese fabrieken voor elektrische auto’s en batterijen in Europa slechts assemblagehallen worden, omdat Peking instructies heeft gegeven aan fabrikanten om de kennis in eigen land te houden.
Map: Central Europe-East Asia EV Nexus Tracker – CEIAS 🇪🇺
Chinese auto’s rukken op: ook de export naar Europa neemt toe – Trouw 🇪🇺
Xiaomi 小米 is expanding the size of a planned second electric car factory in Beijing, according to a person familiar with the matter – Bloomberg
Geely Automobile 吉利汽车’s full-year profit beat analyst estimates after the carmaker increased sales volumes and reduced costs to better compete in the cut-throat Chinese market – Bloomberg
Taiwan’s Foxconn (Hon Hai 鴻海) closing in on EV collaboration with Japan’s Mitsubishi, sources say – Nikkei Asia 🇯🇵
Wereldhandelsoorlog 📉💥
Tech transfer a must for Chinese EV investors in Europe, EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič suggests – SCMP: ‘Addressing a European Parliament hearing in Brussels on Thursday, Maros Sefcovic said he planned to use his trip to China next week to discuss ways Chinese direct investment in the EU could advance the bloc’s value chains and technology.’ 🇪🇺
EU to delay retaliation on US tariffs to buy time for talks, Šefčovič tells Parliament – Euractiv 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez to meet Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 in China next month – SCMP 🇪🇸
Chinese companies are negotiating an additional €3 billion of investments in Spain as the country adopts a ‘pragmatic approach’ to relations with Beijing, according to the Asian country’s ambassador in Madrid – Bloomberg: ‘add to roughly €7 billion that Chinese companies had already announced since September’
Brussel zoekt naar manieren om Europese staalsector tegen China te beschermen – NRC: „Goedkoop staal uit China – dat kampt met overcapaciteit – drukt de prijzen, terwijl de vraag uit de auto-industrie juist afneemt. Ondertussen voerden de Verenigde Staten recent importheffingen in op Europees staal.” 🇪🇺
EU moves to curb steel imports to protect military industrial base from China overcapacity – SCMP 🇪🇺
French foreign minister plans visit to China, says tariff-hit cognac lobby – Reuters: ‘A French diplomatic source confirmed that Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will travel to Asia next week, stopping in Indonesia and Singapore before visiting China.’ 🇫🇷🇪🇺
China-US trust issues threaten hope of successful diplomatic backchannel, Joerg Wuttke says – SCMP: ‘In Germany, chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz was interested in engaging with China but there was unease over “lopsided trade relationships, the declining German exports to China”, Wuttke said.’ 🇺🇸🇪🇺
Brussels hold’em: European cards against Trumpian coercion – Tobias Gehrke for ECFR 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Staying united is the best way for the EU to reduce its trade vulnerabilities on China – François Chimits for MERICS: ‘data from the MERICS Trade Dependency Database (MTDD) shows that EU countries typically have a hundred times more leverage over China when acting through the EU than when acting bilaterally.’ 🇪🇺
President Xi’s government is set to welcome a US senator close to Donald Trump, Steve Daines, as the world’s largest economies try to move forward trade talks that have stalled at lower levels – Bloomberg: ‘Daines announced his trip on social media last week shortly after a meeting with Trump at the Oval Office’ 🇺🇸
Trump has hinted at a Xi visit. China is still wondering what he wants. – The New York Times: ‘To try to answer these questions, China sent scholars to the United States to take part in unofficial diplomatic talks last month with Trump administration officials and American foreign policy experts.’ 🇺🇸
Proposed US port fees on China-built ships begin choking coal and agriculture exports – Reuters: ‘as exporters struggle to find ships to send goods abroad.’ 🇺🇸
Taiwan agricultural product buying mission to visit US in September, foreign minister says – Focus Taiwan: ‘as part of the government’s efforts to reduce its trade surplus with the country’ 🇹🇼🇺🇸
Taiwanese companies, like TSMC 台積電 and its smaller peers, are accelerating a shift to manufacture more in the US as Trump threatens more tariffs and trade barriers – Bloomberg: ‘Taiwan companies, master craftsmen of the world’s electronics, have sprung to the vanguard of shifting manufacturing to the US.’ 🇹🇼🇺🇸
Ze komen niet naar Europa.
Techoorlog 💽💥
China export controls freeze antimony shipments to EU from October – Reuters: ‘China has not shipped any antimony to European Union countries since October, customs data showed on Thursday’ 🇪🇺
European bismuth prices rocket to record highs on China export curbs – Reuters 🇪🇺
China raises state funding for strategic minerals amid US trade war – FT: ‘Over the past year, at least half of China’s 34 provincial-level governments, including those of top resource-producing regions such as Xinjiang, have announced increased subsidies or expanded access for mineral exploration’
China’s rare earth dominance could crumble in 10 years, Chinese Academy of Sciences study forecasts – SCMP
China’s State Council unveils rule to counter ‘discriminatory’ measures in international IP disputes – SCMP: ‘as part of Beijing’s efforts to strengthen its toolbox to counter external “containment and suppression”.’
‘it appears to target the US and European Union, which have accused China of intellectual property rights infringement and forced technology transfer’ 🇪🇺🇺🇸
China’s State Council issues regulations on resolving foreign-related IP disputes – Xinhua: ‘When foreign countries use IP disputes as a pretext to constrain or suppress China, or impose discriminatory and restrictive measures on Chinese citizens and organizations, the relevant departments of the State Council can take appropriate countermeasures and restrictive measures in response, the regulations noted.’
Why China is suddenly flooding the market with powerful AI models – June Yoon for FT: ‘By open sourcing AI models, Chinese tech groups create an ecosystem where global developers continuously improve their models — without shouldering all the development costs.’
He Pengyu on Why China Is Winning the Chip War Against the US –
Greater secrecy in science and tech makes China’s progress harder to decipher – MERICS
Nvidia not in talks with TSMC 台積電 to take over Intel foundry, Jensen Huang 黃仁勳 says – Nikkei Asia 🇺🇸
Assembler Hon Hai 鴻海 (Foxconn 富士康) expects AI server revenue to surpass iPhone within 2 years – Focus Taiwan
Kantelpunt 🌏⏱️
Interview Casper Wits: (Links) Nederland mist een geopolitiek kompas terwijl de wereldorde wankelt – Red Pers 🇳🇱
Chagrijn in Tweede Kamer over ‘warrig optreden’ van Nederland op het internationale toneel – NRC 🇳🇱
Oorlogsangst brengt links en rechts Nederland samen – Trouw: „De hele top vijf bestaat uit oorlogsdreigingen. Vorig jaar hielden drie van de vijf topnoteringen nog verband met migratie en islamitische terreuraanslagen.” 🇳🇱
Nederlanders één in vrees voor hybride dreigingen en oorlog te midden van voortdurende grote verdeeldheid – Instituut Clingendael 🇳🇱
European military powers work on 5-10 year plan to replace US in Nato – FT 🇪🇺
Pentagon weighs canceling US Forces Japan upgrade, according to reports – Nikkei Asia 🇯🇵
Au Sahel, la Chine affiche ses ambitions militaires – Le Monde : « Dans cette entreprise de séduction militaire des pays de l’AES, et plus largement de ceux d’Afrique de l’Ouest, la Chine mise sur Norinco. »
President Donald Trump expressed caution over closer ties between China and Russia – Bloomberg: ‘The Republican leader cast doubt over the foundation of Moscow and Beijing’s bilateral relationship, saying it wasn’t “natural.”’ 🇺🇸
Project 2025’s Heritage Foundation and allies discuss dismantling the European Union – DeSmog: ‘DeSmog can also reveal that the Heritage Foundation has been holding private meetings with European politicians in recent months’ 🇪🇺🇺🇸
Japan offers up to JP¥ 13.7bn [€85mn] loans for Bhutan’s hydropower plants – Kyodo News 🇯🇵🇧🇹
Weekend 🏖️📚
Longreads en achtergrond
Far From Normal: An augmented assessment of China’s state support – Rhodium Group: ‘Compared to other countries, China’s approach to industrial policy has been characterized by broader and more entrenched market distortions, deeply systemic rather than targeted, and with a far greater distortive effect on global trade.’
Dit rapport is het beste overzicht dat ik gevonden heb, waarin men uitlegt hoe en waar de Chinese staatssteun werkt en waarom het zo moeilijk is daarmee te concurreren. Zoals al mijn lessen op Clingendael begint en eindigt het met de partijstaat – en het belang van lokale overheden.
He escaped China. Harassment followed him to a New York courtroom – RFA
The 2015 BRI plan illuminates current Chinese Global Initiatives –
: ‘This month marks the tenth anniversary of the National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) publication of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)’Former Chinese enemies increasingly aligned on Taiwan: Taiwan’s KMT is closer than ever to its old nemesis, the Chinese Communist Party – Chris Horton for ChinaFile: ‘Since February last year, the KMT-led coalition [in the legislature] has been pushing an agenda that has clear benefits for Beijing’s goal of absorbing Taiwan.’
‘In aggregate, the KMT’s actions over the last year have offered plenty of fodder for concerns that Beijing has become the de facto opposition party in Taiwan.’
Chen Shui-bian redux? The struggle for dominance of the Taiwanese government system – Brian Hioe for Taiwan Insight: ‘the KMT has carried out a series of moves aimed at arrogating powers that normally belong to the executive and judicial branches of government. The KMT can no longer bank on the presidency’
How Picasso became the ultimate prize for China’s new collectors – FT
How the AI boom created the most valuable monopolies in history – Bloomberg: ‘In technology, it’s long been accepted that important innovations can lead to companies dominating their markets and then staying on top for years by exploiting the laws of scale.’
Excerpt: The Thief Who Became a Celebrity – Emily Feng via China Books Review
Let Only Red Flowers Bloom — Emily Feng on what it is to be Chinese – FT
Podcasts
China’s quest for military supremacy: A conversation with Dr Joel Wuthnow and Dr Phil Saunders – CSIS ChinaPower Podcast 🍎
Nuclear weaponry and China’s approach of strategic substitution – GMFUS China Global 🍎
Overige
China buitenland en defensie
Queens businessman sentenced to prison for acting as agent of China – The New York Times: ‘for trying to harass a U.S. resident into leaving for China to face charges for purported crimes.’ 🇺🇸
US House chair asks American universities to reveal info on their Chinese nationals – SCMP 🇺🇸
US slaps Iran-related sanctions on oil tankers, China ‘teapot’ refinery – Reuters 🇺🇸🇮🇷
Vier Canadezen geëxecuteerd in China, Canada vroeg tevergeefs om gratie – NOS: „De Chinese ambassade in de Canadese hoofdstad Ottawa laat weten dat er in China altijd zware straffen worden opgelegd voor drugscriminaliteit. Ook liet de ambassade weten dat dubbele nationaliteiten niet erkend worden in China.” 🇨🇦
Canada should stop interfering in China’s judiciary sovereignty, foreign ministry spokesperson says – Xinhua 🇨🇦
Philippine authorities arrested six foreign nationals and two Filipinos for espionage – Bloomberg: ‘apprehended on March 19 on Grande Island in Subic Bay, a strategic vantage point with a clear view of key sea lanes in the South China Sea’ 🇵🇭
Senior Chinese [top propaganda] official Lǐ Shūlěi 李书磊 meets Japanese delegation – Xinhua: ‘Li called on China and Japan to implement the consensus reached between their leaders during a meeting on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.’ 🇯🇵
Typisch Peking om een consensus te bedenken uit een ontmoeting waaraan de andere partij zich dan moet houden. Denk aan de zogenaamde ‘Consensus van San Francisco’ tussen Biden en Xi. (Of de Consensus van 1992!)
Japan’s ambassador to China sees a lot of potential for economic cooperation – Caixin Global 🇯🇵
South Korea to offer visa-free entry to Chinese visitors to boost tourism – Reuters 🇰🇷
Why China is likely to roll out the red carpet for interim Bangladeshi leader Yunus – SCMP: ‘Yunus will deliver a speech at the opening session of the Boao Forum for Asia in China’s southern island province of Hainan on March 27.’
‘at a time of deteriorating ties between Bangladesh and India’ 🇧🇩
India snubs Bangladesh on medical visas, opening way for China – Reuters 🇧🇩
China offers aid to Pakistan for treating injured after train attack in Balochistan – Xinhua 🇵🇰
China's CCECC to invest US$1.4 billion in Tanzania-Zambia railway – Reuters 🇹🇿🇿🇲
Chinese Communist Party ILD delegation visits Peru – Xinhua 🇵🇪
Beijing sends first freight train to Central Asia – Xinhua
Chinese satellites seen ‘dogfighting’, US Space Force official says – SCMP: ‘This is the first time multiple Chinese satellites have been observed carrying out synchronised movements’
China’s military in frugal mode as it seeks best bang for its yuan – SCMP: ‘as the PLA presses on with a massive modernisation campaign.’
China economie
China’s Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 calls for economic transition on Guizhou visit – SCMP: ‘Support for low-income groups was a major policy plank at the recently concluded “two sessions”’
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 inspects southwest China’s Yunnan Province – Xinhua
Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 emphasises sustainable and healthy growth of cultural and tourism industry – Xinhua: ‘Walking along a stone-paved road, Xi occasionally paused to chat with the crowd. “The town’s culture, scenery and folk traditions are truly captivating,” Xi said […]. “I wish you all happiness and good health,” he said.’
Xi Story: A chat on the village bench – Xinhua
Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 stresses need for stable foreign trade, high-level opening-up – Xinhua: ‘during his inspection tour of southeast China's Fujian Province’
Chinese premier Lǐ Qiáng 李强 emphasises need to safeguard farm produce supply – Xinhua
Chinese vice premier Zhāng Guóqīng 张国清 stresses leading role of enterprises in driving innovation – Xinhua: ‘during an inspection tour of Xi'an and Weinan, cities in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province’
Tijdens de Twee Zittingen probeer je beleidsprioriteiten te ontwaren door te kijken welke delegaties de Chinese leiders bezoeken en wat ze daar zeggen. Na afloop gaan ze altijd het land in op inspectietours. Dat biedt weer een kans om focuspunten te bepalen.
Ben ik de enige die een plusje merkt in de hoeveelheid Xi-hagiografie na deze Twee Zittingen?
Consumer sentiment in China has improved sharply from last year, a survey by Deutsche Bank has revealed – Bloomberg
Beijing woos global executives as FDI slides and trade tensions build – Reuters: ‘The frequency of the meetings picked up towards the end of February after official data showed foreign direct investment (FDI) plummeted’
Ping An Insurance 中国平安 missed analyst estimates as China’s slowdown weighed on business – Bloomberg
China job worries deepen as Trump hikes tariffs and automation spreads – Nikkei Asia
China’s US$150 billion of property debt restructurings stumble – Bloomberg: ‘heading back to square one, after fresh liquidity problems amid a prolonged property crisis made it harder for them to honor their promises.’
China’s PBOC holds benchmark lending rates steady as expected – Reuters
China binnenland
Chinese engineer gets death penalty for selling state secrets to foreign spy agencies – SCMP: ‘In a social media post on Wednesday, the Ministry of State Security said the former assistant engineer at an unspecified research institute, surnamed Liu, had illegally copied and sold a large amount of classified information to an overseas espionage agency.’
Increase in detention period until sentencing for rights defenders in China – Safeguard Defenders
China’s central government unveils new food safety regulatory framework across full supply chain – Xinhua
Hong Kong
CK Hutchison 長江和記實業 tilts more to Europe than China, results show, amid Panama row – Nikkei Asia 🇪🇺🇵🇦
Hong Kong man jailed for 3 years and 9 months for rioting in 2019 after returning to city from Japan – HKFP: ‘The defendant, who was not charged following his initial arrest in 2019, was re-arrested in 2023 when he returned to the city from Japan to visit his family.’
Hong Kong passes cybersecurity law covering ‘critical infrastructure’ – HKFP: ‘He added, “Government departments will also fall outside the scope of the law.”’
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate rises slightly to 3.2% – HKFP
China’s central government introduces new measures to facilitate travel, residency for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents on Chinese mainland – Xinhua: ‘Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents who lose, damage, or forget to carry their travel permits can apply for a temporary electronic permit’
Taiwan buitenland en defensie
Taiwan’s defence ministry identified 2027 as the potential year for a Chinese invasion for the first time in its annual military summer drills – Bloomberg: ‘It’s unclear how the 2027 setting will change the program of the drills, or whether the date is actually more of a political signal.’ 🇨🇳
Taiwan’s military practices to mobilise troops fast if China drills turn into attack – Reuters: ‘A five-day “rapid response exercise” began on Monday’ 🇨🇳
中国国台办主任宋涛：对台任务艰巨 需全党全社会理解支持 – 联合早报：“新版干部读本最重要的内容，就是首次以专章形式、系统性阐释新时代中共解决台湾问题的总体方略，包括方略的形成和发展，丰富内涵以及实践要求等。” 🇨🇳
Prosecutors question National Defence University professor Ke Ming-te 葛明德 over alleged fraud and China links – Focus Taiwan: ‘The case involves Ke's alleged secret collaboration with China through his company, Dexnano Chemicals Technology Co., which prosecutors believe he set up with his son, Ke Yi-fan’
Over 40 Taiwanese under investigation over Chinese ID documents – Focus Taiwan: ‘14 individuals have already been notified that their Taiwanese household registrations and other documents will be revoked’ 🇨🇳
Taiwanese government may halt South Africa cooperation and and imposing stricter visa controls over forced office relocation, according to source – Focus Taiwan 🇿🇦
Trump against any change of Taiwan’s status quo by force, Rubio claims – Focus Taiwan: ‘Rubio’s comments followed a statement Tuesday by a State Department spokesperson, who described China’s latest drills near Taiwan the previous day as “brazen and irresponsible threats”’
Arizona to be ‘model’ of Taiwan-US high-tech cooperation, President Lai tells visiting Governor Hobbs – Focus Taiwan: ‘is in Taiwan for the second time in her official capacity’ 🇺🇸
Arizona governor’s visit fuels fear and anger concerning industrial hollowing-out of Taiwan – Xinhua: ‘An editorial published by United Daily News slammed Lai for deceiving the public regarding the TSMC case.’
Alaska Governor Dunleavy on first visit to Taiwan – Focus Taiwan 🇺🇸
Taiwan to receive remaining 18 HIMARS ahead of schedule, defence ministry says – Focus Taiwan: ‘The two delayed procurement packages include upgrades to Taiwan’s F-16 A/B planes to meet F-16V block 20 specifications, and the 66 F-16V jets that Taiwan has purchased’ 🇺🇸
Japanese government blocked ex-Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen 蔡英文’s 2024 visit for Abe Shinzo memorial over China concerns – Kyodo News: ‘Tsai's visit was arranged by a cross-party group of Japanese parliamentarians dedicated to strengthening Tokyo-Taipei relations, for which Abe served as an adviser.’ 🇯🇵
Eerder schreef The Guardian al dat FCDO tegen de komst van Tsai naar het Verenigd Koninkrijk was om dezelfde reden.
Taiwan binnenland en economie
Government watchdog fines TPP’s Ko Wen-je 柯文哲 for election fund violations – Focus Taiwan: ‘slapping him with a fine of NT$3.74 million (US$118,000). The top government watchdog body also ordered the confiscation of NT$55.79 million in campaign funds, it said in a statement.’
Taiwanese labour ministry to open up more jobs for foreign students – Taipei Times
DPP politicians say China’s ‘united front’ tactics infiltrate police and schools – Taipei Times
Keeling LNG terminal contention recalls longstanding dynamics – New Bloom
Hsinchu City councillor Chen Chih-hsiung 陳治雄 (KMT) gets suspended sentence for corruption – Focus Taiwan: ‘citing his admission of guilt and return of his illicit gains.’
Central bank cuts forecast for Taiwan GDP growth in 2025 to from 3.13 to 3.05 per cent – Focus Taiwan
總統提名 蔡秋明、蘇素娥任司法院正副院長 – 自由時報：「有趣的是他們過去都曾參與『拉法葉艦軍購弊案』偵審工作，一位是當時的檢察官、一位是承審法官，替國家追討鉅額不法所得，堪稱『除弊雙俠』。」