CNA Correspondent Podcast: What's at stake in the Taiwan presidential election? - CNA

The race to Taiwan’s highest office is on. Three contenders are vying for ballots with different approaches to Beijing.

The youth vote and growing dissatisfaction over the rising cost of living makes this election one to watch. Deborah Wong and Tan Si Hui give us the state of play.   

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2024-01-09 23:16:00Z
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Taiwan does not consider China satellite launch election interference - CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan's presidential office said it did not consider the launch of a Chinese satellite whose rocket flew over southern Taiwan an attempt at election interference ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday (Jan 13).

On Tuesday, the government issued a mistaken air raid alert after the Chinese rocket carrying a science satellite flew over southern Taiwan at an altitude of more than 500km. The defence ministry later apologised for the wrong wording in English which used the word "missile".

Taiwan's presidential office, responding to questions on whether it considered the satellite launch election interference, said it did not think there was a political motive.

"After the national security team has analysed the overall relevant information and taken into account the evaluation of the information of various international allies, political attempts can be ruled out," it said in a statement issued shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

While the rocket launch sparked a false alarm, Taiwan, which China views as its territory over the strong objections of the government in Taipei, has repeatedly accused Beijing of trying to interfere in the vote, whether via military, political, economic or other means. China has labelled those allegations "dirty tricks".

Taiwan's foreign minister was speaking to foreign reporters when the shrill alert sounded on phones in the room using the words "satellite launch by China" in Chinese and "missile" in English.

He had described the launch as part of a pattern of Chinese harassment like the recent cases of Chinese balloons spotted over the island.

Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), slammed the government on Tuesday, saying the alert issued over the satellite launch "should not become an election tool".

"The KMT supports the use of national-level warnings to inform people, but the standard should be whether it causes harm to Taiwan," it said in a statement.

"Otherwise, if warnings are sent arbitrarily, it will be hard for people not to think it is election manipulation."

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2024-01-09 23:58:00Z
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Malaysia's jailed ex-PM Najib's bid for royal pardon could see decision soon from King. What's at stake? - CNA

1MDB, which was a Najib brainchild shortly after he became premier, turned into one of the biggest scandals to rock Malaysia and the international financial community. US and Malaysian investigators estimate that more than US$4.5 billion was stolen from the fund and another US$1 billion flowed into accounts held by Najib. 

There was also the view then among analysts and politicians from both sides of the divide that any hurried granting of a royal pardon for Najib, who is still facing other corruption charges in separate cases involving 1MDB, could potentially trigger concerns over the country’s judicial system and adversely impact on investor confidence in the country.

In early December, Najib’s lead defence counsel, Mr Shafee filed a fresh application for the Pardons Board to revisit his client’s clemency application, which led to the change of heart among certain members of the Pardons Board, government officials close to the situation noted without elaborating.

“The government is aware of the public sentiment about the issue of a pardon for Najib, but this is a matter that is entirely up to the King,” said a senior official in Anwar’s administration who asked not to be named. 

HOW THE PARDON BOARD WORKS

Public knowledge of the Pardons Board is very limited and its inner workings are shrouded in secrecy. It is therefore unknown whether the Pardons Board had ever discussed Najib's petition for a royal pardon at its meetings prior to the December session.

PM Anwar had reportedly said earlier that the board's meeting on Apr 28 last year did not discuss whether Najib should be freed or not.

Each of Malaysia’s 13 states has its own Pardons Board that is headed by either the Sultan or governor, for states such as Penang, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak.

The exception applies to the three Federal Territories, namely Kuala Lumpur, the administrative capital of Putrajaya and Labuan island on Borneo.

In the Federal Territories, the Pardons Board is headed by the King and consists of five other members. Apart from three members appointed by the King and whose identities are kept confidential, the other two are the Attorney General and the Federal Territories Minister.

The Pardons Board does not function on a scheduled basis and only meets if and when there are cases for consideration. 

According to senior government sources, Mr Anwar had attended the Pardons Board meeting in December that decided to defer considering the Najib petition because the Federal Territories portfolio, which was vacant at the time, was operating directly under the Prime Minister’s Office.

At this month’s meeting, the Anwar administration will be represented by Dr Zaliha Mustapha, the country’s former health minister, who was appointed to the Federal Territories portfolio in last month’s Cabinet reshuffle.

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2024-01-09 22:00:00Z
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Taiwan issues alert over China satellite launch as poll ramps up security fears - CNA

"NO ILLUSIONS"

Earlier Lai warned voters to have no illusions about China maintaining peace, but said that he would keep the door open for exchanges with Beijing if he takes power.

Saturday's election will be closely watched from Beijing to Washington as voters choose a new leader to steer the island in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, rejecting the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's stance that the island is "already independent".

Beijing has maintained a near-daily military presence around Taiwan - with four Chinese balloons moving across the sensitive median line on Monday, the latest in a series of incursions that Taiwan and conflict experts say is a form of "grey zone" harassment.

Lai said that while China interferes in "every election in Taiwan", the latest efforts are the "most serious".

"In addition to political and military intimidation, (it is using) economic means, cognitive warfare, disinformation, threats and incentives," he told reporters.

"It has resorted to all means to interfere with this election."

President Tsai Ing-wen, who is leaving office after reaching the two-term limit, won a landslide in the last election in 2020.

Under her administration, Beijing has refused all high-level communications with Tsai and ramped up political and military pressures against Taiwan.

Lai said on Tuesday that "as long as there is parity and dignity, Taiwan's door will always be open" for exchanges and cooperation with China under his leadership.

"But we cannot have illusions about peace. Accepting China's 'one-China' principle is not true peace," he said, referring to a Beijing doctrine that Taiwan is a part of China.

"Peace without sovereignty is just like Hong Kong. It is a false peace."

Touting deterrence as a main defence policy, Lai said the DPP's "pursuit of peace relies on strength, not on the goodwill of the aggressor".

"The goodwill of invaders cannot be relied on - if you look at Tibet and Xinjiang in the past, or Hong Kong today, these are all good examples," Lai said.

His opponents on Saturday include Hou Yu-ih, a former police officer and mayor with the Kuomintang (KMT), a party which has long encouraged closer cooperation and compromise with China.

Hou has said that Lai - who has previously dubbed himself a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan's independence" - represents a danger to cross-strait relations.

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2024-01-09 08:39:00Z
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Red Sea tensions to have 'limited' immediate impact on Singapore's critical supplies: Ng Eng Hen - CNA

SINGAPORE: Ongoing attacks on ships plying the Red Sea will likely affect global supply chains, but the immediate impact on Singapore is expected to be limited, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday (Jan 9).

“Based on the current situation, the immediate impact on Singapore is expected to be limited as the majority of our critical supplies, such as food and pharmaceuticals, are delivered via air freight or do not pass through the Red Sea,” he told parliament. 

Local manufacturers appear to have sufficient spare inventory to hedge against supply disruptions, although they are worried about the increases in business costs, the minister added.

The Red Sea, which is bookended by the Suez Canal to the north and the Bab al-Mandab Strait to the south, is a busy waterway offering access to the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

Around 12 per cent of global trade passes through the Red Sea, including as much as 30 per cent of container traffic and over US$1 trillion worth of goods a year.

Dr Ng said as of Jan 7, there have been 20 attacks – ranging from the firing of missiles and drones, as well as hijack attempts – by Yemen’s Houthi militants on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, including one on Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou.

The Houthis have said they are targeting vessels with links to Israel to protest against its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, although ships with no direct connection to Israel have also been affected.

The escalating situation has prompted some of the world’s largest container-shipping firms, namely Mediterranean Shipping Company, Maersk, CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping and Hapag-Lloyd, to stop sailing through the area and take a lengthy and costlier detour instead.

Prior to the attacks, around 60 ships pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea daily, but the number has dropped by about a third in recent weeks. Singapore-registered ships have also been affected, with the number of daily transits through the Red Sea now approximately halved, Dr Ng said.

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2024-01-09 07:03:56Z
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Xi Vows to Deepen China's Sweeping Anti-Corruption Crackdown - Bloomberg

China’s President Xi Jinping pledged to deepen the country’s anti-corruption crackdown, particularly in capital-intensive sectors, and will increase punishment for people who offer bribes.

He urged tighter monitoring to prevent the spread of graft to new sectors, and for officials to handle what he called ‘hidden corruption’ quickly, according to a report from state broadcaster CCTV on a meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Monday. He highlighted finance, energy, infrastructure, pharmaceutical and state-owned firms as main focuses.

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2024-01-08 13:11:28Z
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North Korea's Kim Jong Un turns 40. Maybe - CNA

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to have turned 40 on Monday (Jan 8), but state media continued its decades of silence on his birthday.

Kim's birthday is believed to be Jan 8, though his secretive regime has never confirmed the date. The US government lists Kim's birth year as 1984, making him 40 years old this year.

The birth dates of Kim's father and grandfather, who preceded him as rulers, are national holidays in the authoritarian state.

Kim Jong Un's presumed birth date, meanwhile, has always passed quietly without mention in media or on the country's calendars.

The closest North Korea has come to confirming the date came in January 2020 after authorities acknowledged Kim had received birthday greetings from then-US President Donald Trump, though they did not mention the exact date.

This year, state news agency KCNA on Monday showed Kim visiting a chicken farm with his daughter and senior officials.

South Korea's intelligence agency said this month it believes the daughter, known as Ju-ae, may be a likely successor.

Kim's government is heavily sanctioned over the country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, as well as human rights abuses.

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2024-01-08 09:20:52Z
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