China looks to reduce its dependence on the US
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NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Three detained in Taiwan for allegedly stealing TSMC chip secrets
Prosecutors in Taiwan say they have detained three former and current employees of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest contract chipmaker, for allegedly illegally obtaining information on sensitive technology. Taiwanese media say they are suspected of leaking trade secrets overseas about TSMC's advanced 2-nanometer chip technology. The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office announced on Tuesday that the three people were detained following a search by prosecutors late last month, which was conducted after TSMC reported the results of its internal investigation. The office added it is investigating possible violations of Taiwan's national security law. Taiwan media say prosecutors also searched the office of a Japanese firm. TSMC told NHK that during routine monitoring it detected unauthorized activities which could lead to trade secret leaks. The firm added it has taken strict disciplinary action and launched legal proceedings.
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Maehara steps down as Nippon Ishin co-leader along with three others
Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara and three senior party leaders announced their resignations Tuesday, a move that shakes up an already-troubled party and leaves its future as an independent opposition force uncertain. In addition to Maehara, Nippon Ishin Secretary-General Ryohei Iwatani, General Affairs Chairman Tsukasa Abe, and Parliamentary Affairs Chief Joji Uruma will also resign, he said. The four are stepping down in order to take responsibility for Nippon Ishin's underwhelming performance in the July 20 Upper House election. 'When considering what Japan and Nippon Ishin must do to strengthen our position, I've concluded it's essential to renew public trust and reestablish a united party stance,' Maehara told party executives Tuesday afternoon. In the Upper House contest, Nippon Ishin won seven seats and is the third-largest opposition party in that chamber with a total of 19 seats. Nippon Ishin received only about 4.37 million proportional votes last month — down by almost 3.5 million from the roughly 7.84 million it received in the 2022 Upper House poll. How Tuesday's resignations might impact the party's relationship with other opposition parties and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is unclear. Nippon Ishin no Kai co-leader Seiji Maehara (third from right) attends the party's plenary meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. | JIJI Maehara and party executives have insisted on not joining the LDP-led ruling coalition, at least not as long as LDP President Shigeru Ishiba remains prime minister. But many Nippon Ishin members, especially those from the party's Kansai base, are more supportive of joining the coalition under certain conditions, such as if the LDP agrees to serious talks about designating Osaka as Japan's back-up capital city if a natural disaster were to strike Tokyo. At an Aug. 1 meeting of Nippon Ishin parliamentarians, no opinions were expressed against joining an LDP coalition, Maehara said. Asked Tuesday about joining a coalition, Maehara said Nippon Ishin will continue to push itself as a national party but did not view joining a ruling coalition as impossible. However, on whether Nippon Ishin would work with the ruling coalition or other opposition parties on policy implementation, Maehara said that was for new party executives to decide. The four Nippon Ishin leaders have conveyed their decision to step down to party chief Hirofumi Yoshimura, who is Osaka governor. In Nippon Ishin's unique leadership structure, a co-leader serves as the party's representative in parliament, while Yoshimura is in charge overall. An election to name a replacement for Maehara is likely to take place on Friday. Nippon Ishin is the second-largest opposition party in the Lower House, with 38 seats. But while it controls all 19 Lower House districts in Osaka Prefecture, it has always had difficulty building support outside the region. Six of the party's Upper House district seats are in the Kansai prefectures of Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto. It has only one non-Kansai Upper House district seat, in Kanagawa. Staff writers Gabriele Ninivaggi and Himari Semans contributed to this report.
Japan Times
5 hours ago
- Japan Times
China struggles to capitalize on record renewables build-out as grid work lags
China's breakneck expansion of renewable power continues to set records — but an increasing amount of that wind and solar energy is being wasted because the grid isn't up to scratch. In the first half, the curtailment rate for solar rose to 5.7%, from 3% in the same period last year, according to the National Energy Administration. For wind, it was 6.6%, versus 3.9% in the first six months of 2024. Curtailments measure how much electricity was generated without finding its way to customers. That happens when supply overwhelms demand, or bottlenecks in the grid interfere with power transmission — particularly over distance. As a result, the worst offenders are the biggest renewables hubs in the sparsely populated interior, which rely on power lines stretching thousands of kilometers to the major cities of the east. "The reason why curtailment has become an issue in China is simply because renewable power installation is too strong, far exceeding the growth rate of the power grid and energy storage,' said Diana Xia, an analyst at Fitch Ratings. "As a result, electricity generated by the additional capacity can't be consumed.' China has raised its tolerance for curtailments to 10% from 5% to account for the lag between developing projects and connecting them to the grid. But the rates for western regions including Tibet, Xinjiang and Qinghai have blown past those limits, which could ultimately threaten the investment case for any further expansion unless the grid can quickly catch up. To be sure, even the worst curtailment rates this year pale in comparison to those faced during China's earlier renewables booms. In 2016, for example, Gansu was forced to ditch nearly half the wind power generated in the province for six months. And grid operators have praised the huge build-out of renewables for helping the country meet a summer surge in demand. But China's scaling up of clean energy is also posing a new set of challenges. In each of the last two years, the country has installed record amounts, including 277 gigawatts of solar last year. In May this year, it added more solar capacity in a single month than any other country did over the whole of 2024, according to BloombergNEF. Upgrading the power network to cope involves enormous sums. The main operator, State Grid of China, said its spending will exceed 650 billion yuan ($90 billion) for the first time this year, with ultrahigh-voltage lines one of its biggest investments. China currently has 43 of those in operation. For provinces such as Qinghai, home to a renewables park that's roughly the size of Singapore, the network can't be built fast enough. Local demand from a population of only 6 million is completely insufficient to mop up all the power generated. Photovoltaic panels at a solar plant in Beijing | Bloomberg The province has one UHV line connecting to Henan province, and another two are planned to Guangxi and Guangdong, Zhu Yuanqing, a director with the local energy bureau, said in an interview in the capital Xining earlier in the summer. But the lead times are daunting. It usually takes about five years to build a UHV line, said Fitch's Xia. Although a number of new lines should be operational in the next couple of years, it means there's unlikely to be a significant decrease in curtailment rates before 2027, she said. The government's other measures to reduce waste include promoting the build-out of transmission lines that directly link companies with renewables projects. Regions like Qinghai are also constructing massive data centers to take advantage of their abundant clean energy supplies and cooler weather. The NEA wants the grid to accommodate annual expansions of over 200 gigawatts of renewable power through 2027. But meeting that target while keeping curtailments below 10% will be challenging. The coming months will test whether regulators can fast-track grid upgrades and accelerate power market reforms to keep renewable energy absorption stable, consultancy Trivium China said last month in a note. "If these efforts fail, deteriorating renewable project returns from rising curtailment and plummeting power prices may lead to a significant investment slowdown,' said Trivium.
