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Associated Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Taiwanese rally for and against the recall of opposition lawmakers seen as close to China
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Threats from China and anger over legislative deadlock are dominating Taiwan's political discourse as residents rally for and against a campaign to recall two dozen opposition Nationalist Party lawmakers in polling to be held on Saturday. Thousands of supporters of the independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party turned out in the heart of the capital Taipei on Thursday to hear from civil society activists, writers, musicians and others who support the recalls, which could potentially give the party, also known as the DPP, a majority in the legislature. The DPP won last year's presidential election, but came up short in the legislature. Since then, the China-friendly Nationalists, also known as the KMT, and their allies have sought to hobble the power of the executive and blocked key legislation, especially the defense budget. That has been seen as undermining both Taiwan's hard-won democracy and its ability to deter China's threat to invade the island it considers its own territory. Those concerns prompted activists to campaign for recall votes in the districts where Nationalists were seen as most vulnerable, and they succeeded in 24 districts where votes are scheduled this weekend. A recall measures must win 40% of the constituents in a district to succeed, after which a special election will be held to fill the seat, in which all parties can compete. The KMT and the smaller Taiwan People's Party together hold a majority in the parliament with 62 seats, while the ruling DPP holds 51 seats. The KMT on Thursday sent some of its best known politicians, including the mayor of Taipei, the speaker of the legislature and the party chairman, out to urge voters to oppose the recall. It also planned a rally in Taipei on Friday. The KMT calls the measure a power grab by the DPP and a threat to multi-party democracy. Perhaps more than any issue, China has loomed over the campaign, with both its officials and state media dismissing the recall effort as a further futile attempt to preclude what they call the inevitability of Beijing's annexation of Taiwan, either by military or peaceful means. On Taiwan, it has brought out differences between Taiwanese who favor pursuing the current path and those who seek accommodation with Beijing. China-friendly politicians have been accused of selling out Taiwan for accepting trips to the mainland and meetings with Chinese politicians, while they defend themselves as keeping open lines of communication in light of Beijing's refusal to interact with the DPP. The recall campaign — Taiwan's first — was prompted by anti-KMT groups alarmed by the party's closeness with China, corruption and the KMT's refusal to work with President Lai Ching-te's administration. They first needed to gather signatures from 10% of voters in each district, targeting legislators seen as particularly vulnerable or controversial and under China's influence. Each campaign seeking to unseat a single legislator required a huge organizational effort, limiting the number of KMT lawmakers targeted. The KMT is primed to contest any special elections that must be called within six months, raising the possibility that they could win back the seats, and the DPP, although enlivened by the campaign, could still remain in the minority.
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Taiwan industrial output rises for 16th straight month in June
Taipei: Taiwan's industrial production rose 18.65 per cent year-on-year in June, marking the 16th straight month of growth on the back of strong global demand for artificial intelligence applications, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Wednesday, reported Focus Taiwan. The industrial production index rose to 111.48 in June and the manufacturing sub-index to 112.11, both record highs for the month, with the latter, which accounts for over 90 per cent of total output, jumping 20.03 per cent year-on-year, MOEA data showed. In the first half of 2025, Taiwan's industrial production index rose 16.69 per cent year-on-year to 105.66. The manufacturing sub-index climbed 17.77 per cent from a year earlier to 106.32, the Focus Taiwan report said. Speaking to reporters, Huang Wei-jie, head of the MOEA's Department of Statistics, stated that Taiwan continues to benefit from strong demand for AI development, despite uncertainties surrounding U.S. tariff policies. Boosted by AI-related demand, production in the electronic components industry rose 22.38 per cent year-on-year, with its index hitting a record 117.31 for June, the MOEA said. The integrated circuit segment also posted a June high of 129.28, up 22.80 per cent, driven by increased 12-inch wafer output, according to the Focus Taiwan report. Driven by demand for AI and cloud services, the computer and optoelectronics industry saw production surge 81.95 per cent, with its index reaching 251.56, the MOEA said. The increase was fueled by strong shipments of servers, mobile camera lenses, semiconductor equipment and industrial computers, the MOEA added. However, Huang said growth in traditional industries remained uneven, with only the machinery sector posting a year-on-year increase in June, up 6.30 per cent, as semiconductor makers continued expanding production capacity. The base metal, chemical and fertilizer, and auto parts industries all underperformed the broader manufacturing sector in June, with year-on-year declines of 6.15 percent, 1.94 percent and 3.38 percent, respectively, according to the MOEA. While many manufacturers remained cautious about a possible reciprocal tariff from the United States as talks with Taipei continued, Huang said the sector is expected to receive an additional boost from booming AI demand in the second half of the year. Huang forecast that the manufacturing sub-index will grow by 19.5 to 23.7 per cent year-on-year in July, reaching between 114.18 and 118.18, the report added.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Total recall? Campaigners employ quirk of Taiwan's political system to turn on ‘pro-China' candidates
On a steamy night deep in one of Taipei's most conservative suburbs, a group of elderly neighbours are yelling at each other next to a garbage truck. They have just been handed a leaflet by a university student calling on them to recall – expel – their sitting legislator. There are hundreds of these campaigners across Taiwan, targeting members of the Kuomintang (KMT) opposition who they accuse of being too pro-China. But this neighbourhood is deeply loyal to the party, and the campaigners are not welcome. A woman shouts angrily: 'Throw that leaflet away! … We are against the recall!' The group of activists are pushing to overturn the balance of power in Taiwan's government, just 18 months after the national election. They are using an extraordinary mechanism that allows civilians to vacate individual seats midterm, in a way it has never been used before. The campaign's success has taken everyone by surprise. More than 30 of Taiwan's 113 legislators are facing recall – the highest number in Taiwan's history. All of them come from the opposition KMT party. The campaign has set off a political storm across Taiwan, with arrests, assaults, and accusations of authoritarianism and collaboration, fuelling the island's already deep political divisions. The first 24 recall votes will take place on Saturday, and another seven in August, at a cost equivalent to about £40m. If just six are expelled the party will lose its majority in parliament to the ruling Democratic Progressive party (DPP). Both sides say they are fighting for Taiwan's democracy. In the 2024 election Lai Ching-te and the DPP won the presidency but not the legislature, where the KMT and smaller Taiwan People's party hold the majority. The two have spent much of the past year blocking bills and stalling constitutional court appointments, sparking brawls indside the legislature and mass protests outside, from where the recall movement was born. The campaigners calling for the KMT recall are a collection of civic groups who have won the backing of the ruling DPP. What started as a protest against opposition obstructionism has become about the existential threat of China, where the ruling Communist party (CCP) plans to annex Taiwan. Campaigners claim the targeted legislators are too close to China and are undermining Taiwan's national security, pointing to those who have visited Beijing and met with senior officials, and a raft of proposed China-related bills that they say will weaken Taiwan's defences. 'Certainly a good number of these legislators have stated on the record their support for pro-Beijing policy, or at the least strong anti-DPP policy,' says Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. 'There's a difference between anti-DPP and pro-Beijing, but from the recallers' perspective these have become synonymous.' The KMT denies the accusations against its MPs. The party officially opposes annexation by the CCP but argues the way to preserve peace is through friendlier ties with Beijing. Fu Kun-chi, a controversial senior KMT legislator up for recall, told Nikkei Asia it was in the spirit of 'fostering mutual understanding' that he went to Beijing and met with Wang Huning, Xi Jinping's chief adviser overseeing Taiwan relations. Critics said Fu was 'selling out Taiwan'. The KMT and its supporters see the recalls as a grab for power by people who can't accept the legitimate election results. They are misusing Taiwan's democratic processes to 'suppress opposition voices', a senior KMT official told a recent background briefing. The recall mechanism is a drawn-out process that first requires two rounds of signature collections in an electorate: 1% of voting residents and then a separate 10%. Once approved by electoral officials a date is set for the recall vote. At least 25% of voters must turn out, and a majority must agree to vacate the seat. If successful, a byelection with new candidates is held within three months, and the recalled legislator is banned from running again for seven years. Thousands of campaigners have swarmed street corners, transit stations, and the designated garbage collection points where residents bring their trash to trucks each night – first chasing signatures and now lobbying for votes. The campaign battle between the two sides has been hostile, scandal-filled, and very public. Retaliatory petitions against DPP seats by the KMT failed spectacularly. None were approved, and dozens of officials were arrested on accusations of faking signatures and using the names of dead residents to fill petitions. In April the KMT party chief, Eric Chu, called Lai a 'dictator' who is 'more communist than the communists, more fascist than the fascists'. A KMT spokesman told the Guardian Chu's comments were 'a sharp critique of what he sees as the DPP's growing authoritarian tendencies'. In June Lai drew criticism of his own after he appeared to refer to opposition forces as 'impurities' that needed to be 'driven out', in one of a planned 10 speeches designed to 'unify the nation'. The Presidential office said the comments were taken out of context and his speech was 'about using democracy to temper the power of national unity'. That same month Robert Tsao, a tech tycoon supporting the recall campaign, told Nikkei Asia that he wanted to 'burn' down the entire KMT party, which he called a 'Trojan horse' for Beijing. On the ground, campaign workers have been doxed and assaulted in the streets – those working in Dazhi wore body cameras and were accompanied by a well-built volunteer as their security guard. The cities and towns are plastered with billboards, while trucks loaded with LCD screens drive laps of the streets blaring accusations of treason and collaboration. Tens of thousands of people have protested for and against the recall around Taiwan. 'These people were elected, and you're wasting resources to try and turn them out,' said Patrick at a pro-opposition rally. 'We need to keep the country running smoothly instead of constantly wasting money.' In Dazhi, resident Sarah Li says pro-China legislators have to go. She says they are blinded by favourable treatment from Beijing and supporters – like most of her neighbours – are ignoring the current climate to stay loyal to their party. 'They don't care about people's lives,' she says of the legislators. 'They just want power, political power.' It's illegal to discuss polling this close to the vote, but observers, like Taiwan-based political commentator Courtney Donovan Smith, say that people in support of the recall are far more likely to actually go and vote. 'There's more people against these recalls, but they're not all that motivated,' he says. Beijing is likely watching the chaos with some glee. Fomenting social division is a key part of its strategy, and right now local politics is doing the CCP's job. Much of the saga has made its way into CCP propaganda seeking to undermine Taiwan's government with state media reporting the campaign as 'extremist' activity to 'remove opposition voices'. At a press briefing on Friday, Taiwan's vice-president, Hsiao Bi-Khim, said the recalls were a constitutional civic right just like elections, and a sign of Taiwan's 'robust' democracy. 'I think it's pretty obvious that China has been very proactive in trying to utilise hybrid means of disrupting our social cohesion: disinformation, infiltration, United Front tactics, et cetera. And that is why we also feel strongly that we need to step up to better defend and protect our society, and at the same time build greater unity,' she said. Asked about international concerns over the fighting, she said it was a challenge, but: 'Is there any democracy that doesn't have deep political divisions?' No analyst or politician the Guardian spoke to for this story dared to predict an outcome. Nachman says he has never seen Taiwan more divided. 'That wound needs to be addressed, regardless of who wins in the end.' Additional research by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu and Lillian Yang
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
GIGABYTE Announces its AI PCs - GIGABYTE AERO X16 and GIGABYTE GAMING A16 Now Officially Available
TAIPEI, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the successful debut of the AORUS MASTER 18 and 16, GIGABYTE, the world's leading computer brand, now announces the availability of the GIGABYTE AERO X16 and GAMING A16, expanding its 2025 AI PC lineup. Built to meet the needs of gamers, hybrid users, and creators, both models combine next-gen NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 50 Series Laptop GPUs with GIGABYTE's exclusive GiMATE AI Agent for intelligent system control, AI-enhanced workflows, and immersive experiences. Both laptops feature up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5070 Laptop GPUs, powered by the Blackwell architecture and NVIDIA DLSS 4 for AI-accelerated performance. The AERO X16 supports up to 85W Max Graphics Power, while the GAMING A16 reaches up to 80W. Integrated GiMATE AI Agent enables intuitive "Press & Speak" voice control, smart tuning, and privacy features. Built on an AI-ready platform with NVIDIA NIM, users can create personal AI agents and streamline workflows. With up to 14 hours of battery life, PD 3.0 fast charging, and Dolby Atmos® audio, both laptops support modern AI-driven lifestyles. The GIGABYTE AERO X16, a Copilot+ PC, is tailored for multi-scenario users who focus on digital creating and AI designing on the go. Weighing just 1.9kg and measuring 16.75mm thin, it comes in Space Gray or Lunar White, featuring an iridescent NIL design with a refined sandblasted finish that reflects modern craftsmanship and minimalist aesthetics. The 16" WQXGA display boasts a 92% screen-to-body ratio with a 4-sided slim bezel design and is both Pantone® Validated and TÜV Rheinland® certified. AI tools like Cocreator and Generative Fill enhance productivity, while WINDFORCE Infinity cooling with 12V dual fans, 3D VortX, and 0dB ambient mode ensures performance in silence. The GIGABYTE GAMING A16 suits casual gamers and students. Its 2.2kg weight and 180° lay-flat hinge make it ideal for collaboration and on-the-go use. The 16" WQXGA panel supports a 165Hz refresh rate for fluid visuals. With MUX Switch support, smart WINDFORCE cooling featuring surround vents and an Icy Touch zone. The Golden Curvature keyboard on both models with enlarged keycaps and 1.7mm travel distance, the AERO X16 & GAMING A16 balance comfort with sustained performance. With AERO X16 and GAMING A16 joining the previously launched AORUS MASTER 18 and 16, GIGABYTE completes its 2025 AI PC portfolio. All models are now available through retailers. Shop now: AERO X16, GAMING A16 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE GIGABYTE Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
France 24
4 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Bangladesh plane crash kills at least 27, including 25 children
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