Taiwan's opposition alliance falters over joint presidential ticket - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan's two leading opposition parties failed to agree on Saturday (Nov 18) on who would lead the ticket in a joint presidential bid for January's crucial elections.

The lead-up to Taiwan's Jan 13 vote is being closely watched because it will shape Taipei's future relations with China, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory.

The current frontrunner is Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is regarded by China as pro-independence.

The Kuomingtang (KMT), Taiwan's biggest pro-Beijing group, and the less established Taiwan People's Party (TPP) have both pledged to promote closer ties with China and struck a deal this week to evaluate recent polls to determine their candidate to oppose Lai and the DPP.

An announcement had been expected Saturday but the KMT and TPP disagreed on how to calculate the margin of error for polls, which led to a deadlock in negotiations.

"We should sit down and resolve this minor dispute - I believe it's a minor dispute - and quickly form a team to work together," KMT chairman Eric Chu said.

He stressed the importance of a close alliance between the two parties to come up with the best combination of candidates.

The KMT's candidate, Hou Yu-ih, is the mayor of New Taipei City and has been performing below expectations against Lai.

Former doctor Ko Wen-je, who positions his TPP as an alternative to break the usual two-party dominance of the KMT and the DPP, has surged ahead in the polls.

Ko said on Saturday his goal was to win the election against Lai.

"We still hope to continue negotiations with the Kuomintang but don't ask me ... to surrender unconditionally," Ko said.

"I can't justify that to my supporters," he said. "We are willing to negotiate, and we don't want it to just fall apart."

All candidates have until next Friday to register officially with the election commission.

A poll released by Taiwan's United Daily News on Friday showed Lai with 31.1 per cent support, Ko with 28.7 per cent and Hou with 22.4 per cent in a three-way race.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS90YWl3YW4tb3Bwb3NpdGlvbi1hbGxpYW5jZS1rbXQtdHBwLWZhbHRlcnMtam9pbnQtcHJlc2lkZW50aWFsLXRpY2tldC0zOTMwNjk20gEA?oc=5

2023-11-18 08:48:00Z
2598715099

Leader of Japanese lay Buddhist group Soka Gakkai dies at 95 - Nikkei Asia

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Daisaku Ikeda, the longtime leader of the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, one of the largest religious groups in Japan, died of old age on Wednesday at his home in Tokyo, the group said. He was 95.

Ikeda became the third president of Soka Gakkai, with a claimed membership of over 8.27 million households, in 1960. The group backs Komeito, the junior coalition partner of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party.

Ikeda established Komeito's predecessor political group in 1961 and formed Komeito in 1964. In the wake of a controversy over the separation of politics and religion, he became focused on the activities of Soka Gakkai, though he remained influential in politics.

Ikeda assumed the post of the group's honorary president in 1979, four years after establishing Soka Gakkai International, which claims 2.8 million members in over 190 countries and territories.

Upholding the "humanistic philosophy" of Nichiren Buddhism, Ikeda engaged in dialogue with world leaders and intellectuals, including the late Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, on measures to build global peace, according to Soka Gakkai's website.

Ikeda was born in Tokyo in 1928 to a family of seaweed manufacturers. His experience of life during World War II, propelled him to work for peace, the website says.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vYXNpYS5uaWtrZWkuY29tL0xpZmUtQXJ0cy9PYml0dWFyaWVzL0xlYWRlci1vZi1KYXBhbmVzZS1sYXktQnVkZGhpc3QtZ3JvdXAtU29rYS1HYWtrYWktZGllcy1hdC05NdIBAA?oc=5

2023-11-18 06:11:00Z
CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vYXNpYS5uaWtrZWkuY29tL0xpZmUtQXJ0cy9PYml0dWFyaWVzL0xlYWRlci1vZi1KYXBhbmVzZS1sYXktQnVkZGhpc3QtZ3JvdXAtU29rYS1HYWtrYWktZGllcy1hdC05NdIBAA

Fuel enters Gaza to restore phone links after two days without aid - CNA

GAZA: A first consignment of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt late Friday (Nov 17) after Israel agreed to a US request to allow limited deliveries to end a communications blackout that has halted aid convoys for two days.

UN agencies have spoken of an increasingly desperate situation for the 2.4 million Palestinians trapped inside the besieged enclave, which Israel has been pounding by land and air for the past six weeks.

The fuel delivery came as troops combed Gaza's largest hospital in a search for the Hamas operations centre that Israel says lies hidden in bunkers beneath.

Israel has vowed to "crush" Hamas in response to the group's Oct 7 attack, when it broke through Gaza's militarised border to kill about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and take about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

The army's air and ground campaign has killed 12,000 people, including 5,000 children, according to Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

In response to a US request, Israel's war cabinet unanimously agreed to "provide two tankers of fuel a day to run the wastewater treatment facilities ... which are facing collapse due to the lack of electricity", national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said.

"We took that decision to prevent the spread of epidemics. We don't need epidemics that will harm civilians or our fighters," he said.

A senior US official said Washington had exerted huge pressure on Israel for weeks to allow fuel in through the Rafah crossing from Egypt, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken making clear Israel needed to act immediately to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel has repeatedly demanded assurances that any fuel delivered to Gaza will not be diverted by Hamas for military purposes.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said 70 per cent of people have no access to clean water in south Gaza, where raw sewage had started to flow on the streets.

Under the deal, 140,000 litres of fuel will be allowed in every 48 hours, of which 20,000 litres will be earmarked for generators to restore the phone network, the US official said.

A first consignment of some 17,000 litres of fuel for telecommunications company Paltel passed through the Rafah crossing from Egypt late Friday, a Palestinian border official said.

It comes after aid trucks were unable to enter Gaza from Egypt for two straight days due to the near-total communications blackout, UNRWA said.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said fuel was "critical for the onward distribution of aid throughout Gaza, and for the functioning of vital services."

He told the UN General Assembly that the fuel currently being provided to UNRWA to distribute aid was "welcome but is a fraction of what is needed to meet the minimum of our humanitarian responsibilities".

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvZnVlbC1lbnRlcnMtZ2F6YS1yZXN0b3JlLXBob25lLWxpbmtzLWFmdGVyLXR3by1kYXlzLXdpdGhvdXQtYWlkLTM5MzAwODbSAQA?oc=5

2023-11-17 21:57:42Z
CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvZnVlbC1lbnRlcnMtZ2F6YS1yZXN0b3JlLXBob25lLWxpbmtzLWFmdGVyLXR3by1kYXlzLXdpdGhvdXQtYWlkLTM5MzAwODbSAQA

Xi denies 2027 Taiwan invasion plans, but analysts say island should remain vigilant - The Straits Times

TAIPEI – A single point from the Biden-Xi meeting has dominated headlines in Taiwan: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s apparent denial of plans to invade the island in the near future.

During the four-hour meeting between Mr Xi and United States President Joe Biden on Nov 15 outside of San Francisco, the two leaders had a substantial discussion on Taiwan – which Mr Xi described as the biggest, most dangerous issue facing the two superpowers.

According to a senior US official, the Chinese leader rejected American reports that Beijing was planning for military action against Taiwan in 2027 or 2035. 

“He basically said there are no such plans, and that no one had informed him about them,” the official told reporters, adding that Mr Xi had displayed a hint of irritation in his remarks. 

Taiwanese TV outlets covered the news extensively, featuring looks of surprise and disbelief from members of the public in street interviews. On Facebook, social media users said it was difficult to trust Mr Xi’s comments given Beijing’s military aggression towards the island.

Analysts agreed it was not time to let one’s guard down, despite China’s ostensible assurances.

Distinguished Professor Kou Chien-wen, who teaches political science at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, said the possibility of China attacking Taiwan still exists.

“We cannot act like there’s no risk any more,” he added. 

National Taiwan University political scientist Chen Shih-min believes Mr Xi made the comments as part of an overall milder tone taken throughout the meeting with his US counterpart.

“China is facing significant economic challenges and really needs to stabilise US-China ties to reassure international investors that it is safe to invest there,” he said.

“Given how Taiwan is the biggest flashpoint in the US-China rivalry, he does not wish to further escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait. But saying that he will not attack Taiwan by 2027 does not mean that he no longer intends to take Taiwan at all.”

Taiwan faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims sovereignty over the territory that it insists must be “reunified” with the mainland one day. 

There had been concern among some observers about the possibility of an attack in the near term, given Beijing’s heightened military aggression towards the island in recent times.

Over the past three years, Chinese warships and warplanes have crossed the Taiwan Strait separating China and Taiwan almost daily. Just a day after the Biden-Xi meeting, Beijing sent 12 aircraft and five vessels around the island. 

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMif2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vYXNpYS9lYXN0LWFzaWEveGktZGVuaWVzLTIwMjctdGFpd2FuLWludmFzaW9uLXBsYW5zLWJ1dC1hbmFseXN0cy1zYXktaXNsYW5kLXNob3VsZC1yZW1haW4tdmlnaWxhbnTSAQA?oc=5

2023-11-17 11:09:00Z
CBMif2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vYXNpYS9lYXN0LWFzaWEveGktZGVuaWVzLTIwMjctdGFpd2FuLWludmFzaW9uLXBsYW5zLWJ1dC1hbmFseXN0cy1zYXktaXNsYW5kLXNob3VsZC1yZW1haW4tdmlnaWxhbnTSAQA

China, Japan reaffirm 'strategic relationship' in rare leader talks - CNA

Most recently, ties have been tested by China's ban on Japanese seafood following Tokyo's decision to release treated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea in August.

In comments to media after the talks, Kishida said he had strongly urged Xi to drop the ban and also sought the swift release of the detained business executive, an issue that has dealt a blow to their trade ties.

Xi said Japan should take its concerns over the Fukushima water discharge seriously and the two sides agreed to try to resolve the issue through consultations, according to summaries of the talks. The Chinese summary did not mention the case of the Astellas Pharma executive formally arrested last month.

Both sides lauded an initiative to hold regular talks on export controls, an effort to avoid tit-for-tat measures as countries around the world look to limit shipments of sensitive material and technologies abroad.

China has recently imposed curbs on the export of chipmaking metals like gallium, and is expected to restrict exports of graphite, used in batteries, in December. Japan has restricted exports of some chipmaking equipment.

The leaders' meeting followed a highly-anticipated summit between US President Joe Biden and Xi in which they agreed to open a presidential hotline and resume military-to-military communications, among other matters.

Kishida also met Biden at the summit where they discussed issues including "common challenges" that they share with China.

China's push to reaffirm relations with Japan could be partly driven by Tokyo's close ties with its arch-rival Washington, said Rumi Aoyama, an expert on Japan-China relations.

"I think there is a desire to drive a wedge between Japan and the United States by establishing a so-called strategic relationship with Japan amid the US-China confrontation," said Aoyama, director of Waseda Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies.

On the sidelines of the APEC summit, Kishida has also met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in their seventh meeting this year. The pair promised to push for deeper cooperation and discussed shared concerns like North Korea's missile tests.

Yoon, Kishida and Biden also held a brief trilateral meeting on Thursday.

Leaders from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum are in San Francisco for the 30th summit from Nov 15 to 17.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZ2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS9jaGluYS1qYXBhbi1yZWFmZmlybS1zdHJhdGVnaWMtcmVsYXRpb25zLXRhbGtzLWFwZWMtc3VtbWl0LTM5MjgyNzbSAQA?oc=5

2023-11-17 07:27:00Z
2605151592

Myanmar military, insurgents battle over port town - CNA

Reuters could not independently verify the report and a junta spokesperson did not respond to request for comment.

Pauktaw is about 500km northwest of Myanmar's main city of Yangon.

The offensive, which the insurgent alliance calls "Operation 1027" after the date it was launched, is the biggest the junta has faced in years.

Three rebel groups, aligned with pro-democracy fighters and a parallel, pro-democracy civilian government, have captured several towns and military posts across the country.

The Irrawaddy news portal, citing a resident of Pauktaw, said members of the Arakan Army (AA) guerrilla group had earlier taken control of the town.

"All the residents are running away. There is no one in the city, all the shops are closed," the resident said.

Fighting has also broken out in Shan State on the border with China where the insurgents have pledged to wrest control of the area from the junta and eradicate online scam centres run illegally there.

In the weeks before the clashes, Chinese officials called on the junta to take stronger action against the scam centres where Chinese and other foreign nationals have been known to be trapped as victims of human trafficking.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to work in scam centres across Southeast Asia in recent years, including at least 120,000 in Myanmar, robbing strangers of their savings online in a fast-growing new kind of crime, the United Nations says.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiXmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS9teWFubWFyLW1pbGl0YXJ5LWluc3VyZ2VudHMtYmF0dGxlLW92ZXItcG9ydC10b3duLTM5Mjc5NTbSAQA?oc=5

2023-11-17 07:04:53Z
2618402172

Trade deals are no cakewalk, says PM Lee as IPEF hits snag on key pillar - The Straits Times

SAN FRANCISCO – Trade is critical but trade policy is tough, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said after United States President Joe Biden’s signature economic initiative in the Asia-Pacific hit a roadblock on trade.

“Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy. And the trade pillar is an integral part of the IPEF agreement and of the US’ economic and strategic engagement in the region,” PM Lee said at a meeting here of 14 nations that are part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

“But developing new and creative approaches to trade policy is not easy, and it takes time in order to carefully work through sensitive areas, and to choose the best moment to commit to the deal,” he added.

Announced by Mr Biden in May 2022, IPEF is the centrepiece of US economic engagement in a region where most nations count China as their top trading partner. It consists of four pillars: trade, supply chain, clean energy, and anti-corruption.

Meeting on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ meeting on Thursday, IPEF leaders announced progress on three of the four pillars.

They signed a landmark agreement to prevent supply chain disruptions, and also announced they had substantially concluded agreements on clean energy and anti-corruption measures.

But the trade pillar – of key importance to the export-driven Asian economies – hit a snag when congressmen from Mr Biden’s own Democratic Party, including influential Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown opposed the deal, fearing the political consequences that could impact on the 2024 election cycle.

In his speech, PM Lee anticipated more progress in meetings to be held in 2024.

“We look forward to further progress in the negotiations as well as in tangible cooperation next year,” he said, adding that Singapore welcomed the innovative agreements on supply chain resilience, clean economy and the fair economy.

“These will enhance the trade and investment environments in our economies for businesses, for workers, and for other stakeholders,” he said, adding that Singapore will host the inaugural IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum in the first half of 2024.

The forum will help match capital to projects to advance decarbonisation and the transition to zero-emission economies.

Mr Lee also said the IPEF should continue to be open, inclusive and flexible, including towards new members. The grouping includes India, a non-Apec member, but excludes China.

Speaking to reporters, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo noted the “tons of enthusiasm” from IPEF partners. It is “solving problems in supply chains, in infrastructure, in climate that are highly relevant to our partners”, she said.

Mr Joseph Liow, the Tan Kah Kee Chair in Comparative and International Politics at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said the lack of agreement on trade was a setback, even if US partners were not particularly shocked.

“It just reinforces the concern again of how the external engagement agenda can be hijacked by domestic politics,” said Mr Liow.

“Having said that, after all that has gone on in the US the last few years, and its decided turn from active leadership in global trade, I don’t think it was particularly shocking for many regional states.”

Veteran US trade negotiator Wendy Cutler said the path ahead remained uncertain.

“November was always an ambitious target for the trade work,” she told The Straits Times, pointing out that such deals take many years to forge.

“It was deeply unfortunate that the IPEF trade pillar did not produce deliverables this week in line with announcements made in the Commerce-led pillars,” said Ms Cutler, who is the vice-president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“While our trading partners were clearly disappointed, and for some, memories of the US TPP exit came to mind, they seemed to bounce back and accept the situation,” she said in a reference to the Trump administration’s decision in 2017 to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, billed as the world’s largest trade deal.

Ms Cutler said it is an “open question” how committed IPEF members will be to work with US negotiators during the 2024 presidential election year.

“That’s a lot to ask, given our domestic politics on trade for both Democrats and Republicans.”

Mr Charles Freeman, senior vice president for Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce, did not mince his words. “The level of nervousness about the domestic constituencies that have aligned against trade has handicapped the administration from achieving any level of effectiveness in what should be a leg of a genuine US Indo-Pacific strategy,” he said.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnN0cmFpdHN0aW1lcy5jb20vd29ybGQvdHJhZGUtZGVhbHMtYXJlLW5vLWNha2V3YWxrLXNheXMtcG0tbGVlLWFzLWlwZWYtc25hZ3Mtb24ta2V5LXBpbGxhctIBAA?oc=5

2023-11-17 06:05:00Z
2555257220