Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Lack of accountability powers Ko

Chang Yueh-han 張約翰

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Tuesday last week made a controversial remark, saying that he does not waste food at meals. His remark caused a stir on social media.

This is classic Ko, making a gaffe and not owning up to the mistake.

Pundits have commented on the definition of food waste, given deep analyses of people with a propensity for misspeaking and delved into food waste policy.

However, what is remarkable and disturbing is that Ko seems to be able to keep on making off-the-cuff remarks while not losing any support.

Taiwan, UK sign trade partnership deal

Taipei Times

Taiwan yesterday inked an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) deal with the UK, marking the nation’s first trade framework agreement with a European country, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said.

The agreement was signed in a teleconference by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), who heads the office, Representative to the UK Kelly Hsieh (謝武樵) and British officials, Deng and Hsieh said in a joint statement.

The ETP showed the growth of Taiwan-UK economic ties and provided a guideline for Taipei and London to conduct trade talks, they said.

Chinese spouses working with CCP to be monitored

Taipei Times

The government would closely monitor Chinese spouses who have been coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to engage in “united front” work against Taiwan, or have been receiving funding from the CCP to establish pro-unification organizations, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday.

“The bureau’s position is very clear. We respect Chinese spouses as long as they engage in legal activities in Taiwan, but we will closely monitor those who have been coordinating with the Chinese government on united front work against Taiwan, hosting cross-strait exchanges for political purposes and receiving sponsorships from Beijing to establish pro-unification groups,” Tsai told reporters before attending a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.

Social media addiction a concern

Taipei Times Editorial

Last month, 41 US states sued Meta Platforms Inc, accusing the parent company of Facebook and Instagram of knowingly and deliberately designing addictive features that harm children and contribute to young people’s mental health problems. The attorneys general of the states said in a joint lawsuit that Meta uses misleading marketing to foster addictive behavior in kids and teens and profit off them.

Meta is no stranger to lawsuits and controversy. From the US to Europe and Asia, the tech giant has been accused of multiple consumer protection, data privacy and antitrust contraventions over the years. However, the latest lawsuit is one of the largest of its kind and could have a greater-than-expected effect on social media companies as a whole if Meta is held accountable.

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