Chiang Wan-an wins over voters to become youngest Taipei mayor with his good looks and charisma
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
Whenever Chiang Wan-an did his rounds on the campaign trail, young women clamoured to take selfies with him. His good looks and charisma are why many people have said they voted for him in the Taipei mayoral race on Saturday.
At 43, he is set to become the city’s youngest mayor, in an election that observers say could help restore the popularity of his opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT).
With just 3 per cent of its members under the age of 40, the KMT is deemed to be facing increased political irrelevance.
The once-dominant party, whose charter calls for unification with China, has also seen support wither amid Beijing’s increased military aggression towards the island. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province to be reunited, by force if necessary.
But it is not just his youthful vigour that is behind his popularity. Mr Chiang has been very much in the spotlight also because of his family background.
He is the son of Mr John Chiang (formerly surnamed Chang), a former foreign minister and vice-premier who claims to be the illegitimate son of the late president Chiang Ching-kuo.
This would make the mayor-elect a great-grandson of the late Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the KMT government of the Republic of China who led the retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war on the mainland to the Communist Party of China, and ruled the island until his death in 1975.
Still, the family name was seen as a potential liability during Mr Chiang Wan-an’s election campaign, and he had been careful about brandishing it. Chiang Kai-shek is remembered by many Taiwanese as a dictator.
Instead, the former legislator, who resigned from his position just two weeks before Saturday’s polls, made repeated promises to revitalise Taipei and raise the city’s international profile.
They include pledges to bring innovation to the capital and make it a high-tech place for residents to live in.
Before entering politics, Mr Chiang, who has two children and another one on the way, worked as a corporate lawyer in the United States.
China signals no change to zero-Covid policy as mass protests challenge Xi’s authority
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
China has signalled it will stick with its longstanding zero-Covid policy despite mass protests across the country over harsh containment measures, with some protesters openly calling for President Xi Jinping to resign.
The unprecedented wave of protests has spread to Shanghai as well as universities in large cities, including Beijing and Nanjing.
In a rare show of public protest against the Chinese leadership, a video showed a group shouting: “Down with the Communist Party, down with Xi Jinping!”
In a front-page editorial on Sunday, the Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper said China would “unwaveringly persist” in its Covid-19 policies and that “victory will be attained only by persisting to the end”.
The editorial emphasised the need to correct “wrong attitudes”, including “underestimating the problem, indifference and self-righteousness”.
“Our prevention and control policies can stand the test of history… [and they] are scientific and effective… There is no doubt about this, and we should have full confidence in this,” the editorial read.
But after almost three years of the pandemic, many Chinese are fed up with Covid-19 policies that have battered the economy and left many cooped up at home.
Since late last week, mass demonstrations have sprung up in major cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Urumqi and others.
Sunday’s protests broke out after an apartment fire three days earlier in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang region, killed 10 people and injured nine others.
Urumqi’s local government denied that evacuation of residents was hampered by lockdown measures, despite evidence to the contrary in widely circulated videos.
The case proved to be a rallying point for those angry over the draconian measures employed to keep people at home.
“Lift lockdown for Urumqi, lift lockdown for Xinjiang, lift lockdown for all of China,” chanted a crowd of dozens in Shanghai, seen in a video on social media.
On Sunday night, about 50 protesters gathered in Beijing’s embassy district to sing the Chinese national anthem and The Internationale, following the example of other protests that have erupted across the country.
They also held up blank sheets of paper as a symbol of protest against censorship, as uniformed police patrolled both sides of the Liangma River in the district. The protesters lit candles and offered flowers as a tribute to victims of the Xinjiang fire.
At Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, hundreds gathered to sing the Chinese national anthem while holding up blank sheets of paper. In Nanjing’s Communication University of China, dozens held up similar pieces of white paper, illuminating them against the night sky with torchlights from their mobile phones.
Unhappiness over Covid curbs has been brewing for some time in China. On the eve of the Communist Party congress in October, a man draped banners over the side of the busy Sitong Bridge in Beijing’s Haidian district, calling for an end to Xi’s rule and the strict controls.
Analysts are now watching to see if the demonstrations across China gather momentum.
“The protests in China are like the tiny ant holes in the dam. While none of them is fatal on their own, enough of them, at strategic locations and times, could ultimately lead to the collapse of the mighty structure,” Singapore Management University law professor Henry Gao posted on Twitter.
At the moment, the protests are unlikely to cause Beijing to change course, said Associate Professor Alfred Wu from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
“The government’s policy priority is very clear: regime stability is No 1,” said Prof Wu, pointing to the state media’s latest editorials and signals from the party congress in October. “From the state, from the government’s perspective, the only solution now is to crack down on these protests.”
The Chinese authorities are in a bind as protests are coming at a time when cases are surging because of the highly infectious Omicron variant, meaning harsher lockdown measures would be needed to get a grip on infections.
Nationwide case counts reached 39,791 on Saturday, hitting a record high for the fourth day in a row. There was also another death, bringing total fatalities to 5,233. The figures are thought to be a small fraction of the true Covid infection rate.
Beijing reported 4,245 cases on Saturday. In some housing communities, people have questioned local officials over the legal basis of lockdown measures and defied requests to stay home, city residents told the Straits Times.
To make sure that residents stay at home, some community officials have resorted to bolting building doors shut, as media worker Bernie Lee, 36, found out. He said the main door to his housing tower was chained shut on Sunday morning, and the lock was removed only after residents called the police.
“I was horrified. This is a fire hazard. What happens if there is an emergency? A lock like this is not something you can just pull apart,” he said.
In a regular press briefing on Sunday evening, Beijing officials promised to improve anti-Covid measures, including banning the practice of barricading the gates and entrances of buildings and residential compounds in high-risk areas. In addition, passages must remain clear for medical transport, emergency escapes and rescues.
Clashes erupt in Brussels after Belgium lose to Morocco at World Cup
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
Reuters
Clashes erupted in Brussels on Sunday (November 27) after the Morocco beat Belgium at the World Cup in Qatar.
Supporters lit fires on the street and threw missiles at police. About a 100 officers in riot gear used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the rioters.
“It started at half time. We don’t know who started it, who lit the fire, we don’t know,” said local resident Abdellah Nadi.
“Normally, once the match has been won you have to celebrate it the right way but now… we don’t understand.”
Authorities asked the public to avoid the central Brussels area and several metro stations, bus and tram lines were shut down. It is unclear what caused the violence and authorities have so far not apportioned blame.
General view of a car on fire as a police vehicle approaches during clashes after the World Cup match between Belgium and Morocco
“Xi Jinping step down”- Shanghai hit by Covid protests as anger spreads across China
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Protesters in Shanghai called for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to “step down” amid mounting anger at Covid-19 lockdowns, during a candlelight vigil held for the victims of the Urumqi fire on Saturday.
In footage circulating on Chinese social media, protesters were seen shouting, “Communist party step down! Xi Jinping step down!” and “End lockdown in Xinjiang,” in a rare public protest against the country’s leadership. Police were also seen detaining several people at the protest site and bundling them into police vehicles.
Reuters was able to confirm the location of the videos via the building signs, features or street signs visible, which matched other videos taken in the area and gave the exact location.
The fire on Thursday (November 24) that killed 10 people in a high-rise building in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, has sparked widespread public anger. Many internet users surmised that residents could not escape in time because the building was partially locked down, which city officials denied.
The fire has fueled a wave of civil disobedience unprecedented in mainland China since Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. Beijing is adhering to a zero-Covid policy even while much of the world try to coexist with the coronavirus. While low by global standards, China’s cases have hit record highs for days, with nearly 40,000 new infections reported on Sunday for the previous day.
Food waste causes, effects and solution to a humongous global
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) are of the view that by reversing the trend we can feed 2 billion people worldwide.
Every living being needs food to survive. Although the world produces enough food to feed everyone, the United Nations Environment Programme estimates that 815 million people still go hungry. This is entirely due to the fact that we throw out nearly 1.6 billion tons of food annually. Food waste occurs at farms, in transit, supermarkets and restaurants, and even at homes. Humans eat more than they actually require to live.
A large quantity of food ends up in the garbage as food waste, whether it is leftovers stashed in the back of the fridge or extra groceries that have expired in your kitchen. Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) are of the view that by reversing the trend we can feed 2 billion people worldwide. As we all know wasting food is in effect wastage of the natural resources used for producing it. Therefore, reducing food waste will also benefit the environment.
Following are some of the concerns arising from the food waste:
Environmental concerns
A major part of the food waste is disposed of in landfills, where it decomposes and contributes to climate change by emitting methane and carbon dioxide. Nearly a quarter of all methane emissions worldwide is caused by the food waste in landfills. The food that is decomposed and kept out of landfills helps protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Economic Concerns
While damaging the environment, food waste costs consumers, businesses, and taxpayers dearly. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimated that between 125 and 160 billion tonnes of food, about one-third of all food produced for human consumption, is wasted globally each year. This food waste results in even greater financial costs than are necessary to feed the world’s hungry.
Social Concerns
The quantity of safe edible food wasted globally is rising even as millions of families worry about how they will feed their children. Just 15 % reduction in food waste would be sufficient to feed 25 million people. It will be advisable to donate unfinished food to food banks to help the hungry instead of throwing it away.
How to cut down on food waste:
Switch to a more sustainable and healthy diet
We should eat good, wholesome meals, but they don’t have to be complicated. The internet has quick, healthy recipes that can be made with fewer ingredients and shared with our family and friends. So altogether less food would be wasted as a result.
Buy only what you need
Plan your meals. Create a shopping list and stick to it to avoid making impulse purchases. You won’t just waste less food, but you’ll also save money as a result.
Select undesirable produce and fruits
Don’t judge foods based on how they appear. Fruits and vegetables that are irregularly shaped or damaged are frequently discarded because they don’t match consumer expectations, yet consuming them can help reduce food waste. Also, use mature fruits in sweets, drinks, and smoothies.
Use proper food storage
Place the more important items in the front of your refrigerator or cabinet and the newer items in the back. Open food must be stored in airtight containers to stay fresh in the refrigerator, and assortments must be sealed to keep bugs out.
Understand food labels
The difference between “use-by” and “best before” dates is substantial. The “use-by” date indicates when food is no longer safe to consume, but sometimes food is still okay to eat after the “best before” date. Avoid foods with added sugar or salt and read food labels carefully for potentially dangerous ingredients like trans fats and preservatives.
Take your container to restaurant
If you can’t finish your meal in a restaurant, don’t hesitate to fill your container. It will prevent both financial loss and food waste.
Connect with an NGO while you host a party
Even though food waste is fairly typical at weddings and celebrations, proper planning for food waste is always suggested. Instruct your caterers to prepare the food under the guest list, but if there are any leftovers, contact an NGO that may distribute the meals to the underprivileged
Line Man Wongnai riding high on Thailand’s surging e-commerce wave
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Line-backed food delivery platform is first Thai start-up to get funding from Singapore’s GIC
As Covid-19 recedes, South Korea’s food delivery platforms are losing growth momentum – but Thailand is rising fast as a market filled with opportunities for e-commerce start-ups.
One of the leading players in Thailand is Line Man Wongnai, the popular food delivery platform operated under Line Corp.
“The fact that it took only five years for Thailand to form a food e-commerce market is notable considering it took 10 years for South Korea,” said Chung In-young, chief financial officer of Line Man Wongnai, in a recent interview with the Korea Herald.
Chung attributed the speedy transition to platform-based business to a “mobile-first” strategy within Thailand that leapfrogged web and PC internet channels.
Yet to be fully infiltrated by global franchises, the country also has a wide range of mom-and-pop food stores offering various meal options for consumers. Another plus for Thailand is the absence of delivery-rider shortages because the vast majority of the population uses scooters for personal transportation.
Chung said Line Man Wongnai has been more successful in localising its services in Thailand than Uber Eats and other global behemoths.
“Having respect for the mom-and-pop food stores and supermarkets here, we are cooperating with the government to ensure fair treatment for riders and shop owners. The company has also improved user convenience by offering grocery deliveries and taxi-hailing services that are showing burgeoning demand.”
Line Man’s merger with Wongnai, a local restaurant review app operator in Thailand, in 2020 was one of the company’s hyper-localisation strategies to ease its way into the Thai market. Line Man started as a delivery platform there in 2016.
“Our goal is to become the number one ‘local champion’ in the e-commerce market in Thailand, creating values for our local users and business partners – similar to [South Korean platform] Naver,” Chung said. “But Naver only provides an online restaurant review service, not food delivery.”
Chung stressed that unlike Naver or other e-commerce platforms, Line Man Wongnai is also pushing offline business in a move to create a complete ecosystem for stakeholders.
For instance, the company runs a retail Point of Sale machine business, offering restaurants a way to keep track of their sales.
The company is also planning to launch a low-interest loan service for small and medium-sized stores.
With its business expansion, Line Man Wongnai is gearing up for its stock market debut in Thailand.
“IPO markets worldwide remain mostly frozen, but situation is different for Thailand,” said Chung. “The country is one of the emerging markets in Southeast Asia with high economic growth rates that are far from geopolitical risks [like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine].”
Backed by the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), a wealth fund that manages the city-state’s foreign assets, the company raised a total of $375 million (about 13.4 billion baht) in investment including the latest series B funding. Chung said it was the first time GIC had invested in a start-up in Thailand.
The company has 10 million monthly active users and aims to expand its consumer base with Line, the largest shareholder of Line Man Wongnai, whose mobile messaging service is used by most of the country’s 50 million smartphone users.
After joining Line Corp in 2018, Chung has served as CFO at Line Man Wongnai since 2020. Chung spearheaded the merger between Line Man and Wongnai as the Thailand lead of Global Investment at Line Corp.
Intl passengers at Kansai Airport surge to 300,000 after border controls eased
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
The number of international passengers at Kansai International Airport in October jumped to about 300,000, about 14 times that of the same month last year, the airport operator said Friday.
While the number of foreign passengers on international flights at Kansai International Airport jumped to about 206,000 from about 71,000 in September after the government significantly eased entry restrictions on Oct. 11, the number of Japanese passengers also increased from about 74,000 to 95,000.
However, the number of Chinese visitors to Japan, which had been booming before the coronavirus crisis, has been sluggish due to the impact of the “zero-Covid” strategy in China.
Both the total number of international passengers and the number of foreign tourists have recovered to only 15% of the pre-pandemic level of October 2019.
On the other hand, a recovery trend for domestic flights has become clear, mainly due to an increase in the number of domestic travellers as a result of nationwide travel support measures that began in October.
Domestic passenger volume at the Kansai, Osaka International (Itami), and Kobe airports totalled 2.1 million, up 70% from the same month last year, the highest level since February 2020 and more than 90% compared to October 2019.
The number of passengers at all three airports was up sharply year on year, with Kansai Airport up 77% to 580,000, Itami Airport up 69% to 1.22 million, and Kobe Airport up 82% to 290,000.
Former Pakistani PM Khan calls off protest march to avoid creating ‘havoc’
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his first public appearance since being wounded in an assassination attempt earlier this month, said on Saturday that he was calling off his protest march to Islamabad because he feared it would cause havoc in the country.
Khan has been holding country-wide protests to push the government for early elections ever since being ousted from power in April. The protests were to culminate in a march to Islamabad, which threatened to worsen political turmoil in the nuclear-armed country which is battling an economic crisis.
“I have decided not to go to Islamabad because I know there will be destruction and the loss will be to the country,” Khan said while speaking at a gathering of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad.
Tight security was in place for Khan’s appearance. A police official told local television channel Geo TV that a total of 10,000 personnel had been deployed for the event, with snipers positioned at various points for his security.
Khan was earlier this month shot in the shin when his anti-government protest convoy, bound for Islamabad, came under attack in the east of the country in what his aides said was a clear assassination attempt by his rivals.
On Saturday, Khan arrived on stage using a walking frame and was seated behind bulletproof glass, instead of the rostrum, as he addressed the crowd. He said he had been told by various security sources that there was still a threat to his life.
Khan said he was now consulting his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on the possibility of resigning from all provincial assemblies in a fresh bid to push for early elections.
PTI has already resigned from federal parliament, but remains in power in two provinces and two administrative units.
Taiwan president quits as party head after local election stance backfires
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2022
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday after her strategy to frame local elections as showing defiance of China’s rising bellicosity failed to pay off and win public support.
The elections for mayors, county chiefs and local councillors are ostensibly about domestic issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic and crime, and those elected will not have a direct say on China policy. But Tsai had recast the election as being more than a local vote, saying the world is watching how Taiwan defends its democracy amid military tensions with China, which claims the island as its territory.
The main opposition party the Kuomintang, or KMT, was leading or claimed victory in 13 of the 21 city mayor and county chief seats up for grabs, including the capital Taipei, compared to the DPP’s five, broadly in line with expectations and similar to the results of the last local elections in 2018.
“I also have to take on all responsibilities, from this moment on I am stepping down as chair of the Democratic Progressive Party. Although the central government has been very diligent but facing this kind of (election) result, we have many things we have to think about deeply.” Tsai told reporters at party headquarters as she quit as party head, which she also did after 2018’s poor results.
Tsai said she had rejected a resignation offer from Premier Su Tseng-chang, also a senior DPP member, adding she had asked him to stay in office to ensure her policies would be properly implemented.
Both the DPP and KMT, which traditionally favours close ties with China though strongly deny being pro-Beijing, had concentrated their campaign efforts in wealthy and populous northern Taiwan, especially Taipei, whose mayor from the small Taiwan People’s Party could not run again due to term limits.
The KMT has accused Tsai and the DPP of being overly confrontational with China, and of trying to besmirch the party for being “red” – a reference to the colours of the Chinese Communist Party.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the result showed that mainstream Taiwanese public opinion was for peace, stability and “a good life,” and that Beijing would keep working with Taiwan’s people to promote peaceful relations and to oppose Taiwan’s independence and foreign interference.
The focus will now turn to the 2024 presidential and parliament election, which Tsai and the DPP won by a landslide in 2020 on a pledge to stand up to China and defend Taiwan’s freedoms. Tsai is serving her second term in office and cannot stand again as president because of term limits.
World Cup fans shun Qatar over pricey hotels and LGBTQ, alcohol bans
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022
Expensive accommodation and bans on alcohol and supporting LGBTQ rights are causing World Cup tourists to stay in the United Arab Emirates instead of Qatar.
Host nation Qatar has been heavily criticised over several issues, which is thought to have put many fans and tourists off visiting the country.
Qatar had been hoping to welcome huge numbers of visitors from around the world due to several favourable factors.
These include a better location for international flights than the previous three hosts, South Africa, Brazil, and Russia, and the fact that eight World Cup stadiums are close to its capital, Doha. Also, as a smaller country, Qatar can facilitate tourists more easily.
However, the country has reportedly failed to meet its visitor targets for the World Cup, with stadiums showing large patches of empty seats during games.
Three reasons have been given for the disappointing turnout:
Expensive accommodation
Strict laws and restrictions including an alcohol ban
The banning of gestures in support of LGBTQ rights, including the “OneLove” armband that team captains had planned to wear. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by up to three years in prison, and even the death penalty for Muslims.
Controversy has also arisen over mistreatment of foreign labourers brought in to build stadiums and other World Cup infrastructure.
These factors have caused many fans to fly to Dubai, where accommodation is cheaper and alcohol is legal and freely available.
They can also take advantage of the 10 low-cost flights per day from Dubai to Doha.
UAE’s Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh are also popular destinations for football fans who did not want to stay in Qatar.
According to the Associated Press, most fans chose other cities over Doha after accommodation prices in the Qatari capital surged a few months before the tournament.
AP said a last-minute alcohol ban in stadiums had also caused tourists to divert to other countries where they can drink in nightclubs, bars, and resorts while watching World Cup matches.
General view of a car on fire as a police vehicle approaches during clashes after the World Cup match between Belgium and Morocco
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