“So we’ll stay focused on those things, and I won’t engage in any hypotheticals with respect to Taiwan,” he told reporters. At a CNN town hall meeting, Biden was asked whether the US would come to Taiwan’s defense if China invaded. However, that does not prevent the US from providing aid to Taiwan, including potent military hardware. Asked if Biden’s comments raised the specter of NATO being dragged into a US conflict with China, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg sought to avoid exacerbating the conflict. Last month, North Korea threatened unspecified countermeasures following the Biden administration’s decision to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.

Taiwan partners with Slovakia on space tech projectBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterA Taiwanese delegation to Slovakia signed seven memorandums of understanding (MOU) with public and private entities, including a space technology pact that would bring to Taiwan a project related to a blockchain application used by the European Space Agency, officials said on Friday. The 66-person delegation led by National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) yesterday concluded their three-day visit to Slovakia. Wu on Friday witnessed the signing of an MOU by the Taiwan Space Industry Development Association, the Slovak space company 3IPK and its partner company Decent, laying the foundation for a trilateral cooperation framework, it said. With the office’s support, 3IPK and Decent would provide a proof of concept project in Taiwan based on a blockchain application used by the European Space Agency, the ministry said. A Slovak delegation planned to visit Taiwan in May, but the trip has been postponed several times.

Asia’s tech shares climb, following US peers higherReuters, TOKYOTech stocks climbed in Asia on Friday, following US peers higher, while Chinese property stocks rallied following a surprise interest payment by debt-ridden property developer China Evergrande Group (恆大集團). The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to 200.17, up 0.9 percent weekly. The TAIEX on Friday edged down less than 0.1 percent to close at 16,888.74 points, paring its weekly gain to 0.6 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 on Friday advanced 0.3 percent to 28,804.85 points, led by technology shares, while energy and basic materials shares were the biggest drags. India’s SENSEX fell 0.2 percent on Friday, taking its weekly loss to 0.8 percent.

Evergrande, earnings lift European stocksReutersEuropean stocks rose on Friday on a surge in technology stocks, strong earnings from France’s L’Oreal SA and a broad boost to sentiment provided by a surprise interest payment from debt-ridden China Evergrande Group (恆大集團). News that the Chinese property developer had made a bond payment to avert a default lifted the mood globally. France’s blue-chip CAC 40 rose 0.7 percent and outperformed its European peers, riding on a 5.1 percent surge in L’Oreal shares following the cosmetics company’s strong results. “That’s hopeful for the markets.”A bunch of upbeat earnings lifted Wall Street’s S&P 500 to a record high, while its European counterpart is less than 1 percent shy of its August peak. Eurozone inflation expectations hit their highest levels in years, putting additional pressure on the European Central Bank over its insistence on maintaining crisis-era stimulus.

Global supply chains are overloaded, not disruptedBy Karl Smith / Bloomberg OpinionThe first step toward understanding “the great supply chain disruption of 2021” is to recognize that the phrase itself is not quite accurate. Supply chains are not disrupted so much as overloaded, and the effects are more national than global. US retail sales soared in March and today stand roughly 20 percent higher than they were in December 2019. By contrast, retail sales in Europe are up just 4 percent. While the spike in energy prices is a global phenomenon, the rise in core prices is unique to the US and driven by the sharp rise in US retail sales.

US bill aims to reduce risk of China conflictDIRECT COMMUNICATION: The bipartisan legislation would, if passed, build ties with Taiwan and prioritize a hotline with China to resolve misunderstandings in a crisisStaff writer, with CNA, WashingtonTwo US senators on Wednesday introduced bipartisan legislation that they said is aimed at lowering tensions and reducing the risk of conflict in the Taiwan Strait. US Senator Edward Markey stands outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 20. “Bilateral confidence-building measures and crisis stability dialogues between the United States and the PRC [People’s Republic of China] are important mechanisms for maintaining deterrence and stability across the Taiwan Strait and should be prioritized,” the statement said. The US and China should prioritize the use of a military crisis hotline so leaders of the two countries can communicate directly in order to quickly resolve misunderstanding that could lead to military escalation, the bill says. Markey said the US must continue to support Taiwan’s participation in the international community and “help the country withstand cross-strait coercion, while taking clear action to avoid conflict in the region.”

Beijing misinterpreting Resolution 2758: US officialMUTUAL LOSS: By excluding Taiwan from the UN, ‘Beijing is denying the international community the ability to gain valuable contributions that Taiwan offers,’ an official saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter, with CNABeijing has inaccurately interpreted a UN resolution adopted in 1971 to exclude Taiwan from the international organization and its affiliates, a US Department of State official said on Thursday. “The People’s Republic of China [PRC] has misused Resolution 2758 to prevent Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” said Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of state in the department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, during a virtual talk hosted by the Washington-based German Marshall Fund. Only an elected government in Taiwan can represent its 23.5 million people on international occasions, including the UN, the ministry said. The PRC has been intentionally abusing the resolution to pressure the UN into excluding Taiwanese from its system, it added. The ministry denounced Beijing prioritizing its political maneuvers over the interests of global cooperation, while calling on international society to face China’s “overt plot” against Taiwan.

Mourinho’s Roma suffer a six-goal humiliationAFP, PARISJose Mourinho’s AS Roma on Thursday were humiliated 6-1 in the UEFA Europa Conference League at Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian champions whose fans are famed for carrying giant yellow toothbrushes to games. “It’s my responsibility, I chose to use these players,” Mourinho was quoted as saying by Italian media. Their fans have become great curiosities in the sport for their habit of waving giant, yellow toothbrushes in the stands. Carlos Perez scored a consolation goal for a much-changed Roma side, who had won their first two games in Group C, scoring eight goals and conceding just one. “Sometimes you need a slap to learn and we got a slap in the face today, one we fully deserved.

Nine indicted in controversial cat smuggling caseStaff writer, with CNAKaohsiung prosecutors yesterday indicted nine men who in the middle of August allegedly smuggled 154 cats from China, saying that they face prison sentences of up to seven years. The case sparked a debate over pet smuggling and the handling of seized animals, as authorities euthanized the cats over fears of rabies. The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office indicted four main suspects, as well as five others who allegedly worked on the fishing boat used to transport the animals, with breaching the Smuggling Penalty Act (懲治走私條例). Prosecutors recommended heavy penalties for the four, saying that they attempted to bring the purebred cats to Taiwan on the boat to evade quarantine requirements. The others indicted were the 55-year-old skipper of the fishing vessel, surnamed Lin (林); the 51-year-old chief engineer of the boat, surnamed Kao (高); and three Indonesian crew members, they said.

EU lawmakers pass report backing closer Taiwan tiesDIPLOMATIC ALLY: The European Parliament report — passed 580 to 26 — said the bloc must do more to address tensions with Beijing and protect Taiwanese democracyBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe European Parliament yesterday passed a report calling for closer cooperation between Taiwan and the eurozone on political, economic and cultural affairs. The report urged European states to bolster official ties with Taiwan, while pursuing closer relations, such as economic, scientific, cultural and personal interactions, including high-level exchanges. The conduct of interactions is to be guided by the EU’s “one China” policy, the European Parliament said. The European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan should be renamed the European Office in Taiwan, it added, while voicing support for the proposed establishment of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a news release saying that it thanked the European Parliament for its support of Taiwan.

SynCore drug trial shows ‘no statistical significance’SILVER LINING: Even though no application for the cancer drug’s approval can be filed, the firm would continue its development based on the results, it saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe unblinding of phase 3 trial data of SynCore Biotechnology Co Ltd’s (杏國新藥) newly developed pancreatic cancer drug SB05PC showed no statistical significance when compared with the control group, the drugmaker said yesterday. The trials tested whether people taking the drug would on average live significantly longer than those in the control group, it added. The disease control rate averaged 59.38 percent in the treatment group, compared with 48.86 percent in the control group; the objective response rate was 11.46 percent in the treatment group, compared with 6.82 percent in the control group; and response to the drug averaged 4.1 months in the treatment group, compared with 5.6 months in the control group, it said. SB05PC was developed as a second-line treatment to be combined with chemotherapy drug gemcitabine for patients who do not respond well to first-line drug Folfirinox, SynCore said. Trail participants either received SB05PC in combination with gemcitabine, or only gemcitabine in the control group, it said.

National Day: Mayor Ko criticizes DPP in Double Ten Day messageBy Cheng Ming-hsiang and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday in his Double Ten National Day message accused the Democratic Progressive Party government of inciting fear and anti-China sentiment, while making an appeal to Beijing to accept Taiwan’s existence. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and other officials clap during the Taipei City Government’s National Day flag-raising ceremony yesterday. He also took the opportunity to criticize the DPP leadership for refusing to work with their opponents. Ko also criticized President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) call for peaceful dialogue with China in her national day address yesterday, saying that mutual interaction is what makes change, not unending talk. Meanwhile, the TPP, in its own National Day address, echoed Ko’s call for inclusivity while condemning the “domination of one voice” in government.

Tesla’s Musk eyeing Germany production debut in NovemberBloombergTesla Inc CEO Elon Musk plans for the electric automaker’s plant near Berlin to start producing vehicles as early as next month, even as the US company still awaits final approval for the project, which has been delayed by legal challenges. The plant would probably source batteries from Tesla’s facilities in China until a cell factory in Germany is completed, he said. Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrives on stage to greet visitors to an Oktoberfest-style event hosted by the automaker in Gruenheide, Germany, on Saturday. Environmental authorities have vowed to make a decision on final approval only after that process ends. Tesla has said that while the system is designed to someday handle trips without driver intervention, it is not yet capable of rendering Tesla vehicles autonomous.

Officials from US, China talk trade in virtual meetingAP, BEIJINGChina and the US on Saturday held a virtual meeting regarding the two countries’ fraught trade relationship, after a lengthy break in negotiations. Beijing’s top trade negotiator, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴), called US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) to discuss a phase 1 trade deal, negotiated under former US president Donald Trump’s administration, along with other major economic concerns, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He listens as then-US president Donald Trump speaks before signing a trade agreement at the White House in Washington on Jan. 15 last year. Photo: APTai last week said that she planned frank conversations with officials in Beijing about an interim trade deal aimed at resolving a tariff war. The phase 1 trade deal put on pause a trade dispute enacted by Trump, who raised tariffs on Chinese imports over complaints about Beijing’s industrial policy and trade surplus.

Polish envoy talks vaccines, cooperationBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterPoland’s donation of COVID-19 vaccines was sent to help Taiwan gradually reopen to the world, Polish Office in Taipei Acting Head Bartosz Rys said. The Polish government on Sept. 4 announced a donation of 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Taiwan, which arrived the following day. Photo: EPAWhile Poland’s announcement came after donation announcements by Lithuania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Poland is the third-largest donor of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan after the US and Japan. “I very much hope our donation will help Taiwan speed up the vaccination rollout. I also believe this will help Taiwan gradually relax COVID-19 curbs and open up to the world again, as more people will be protected,” he said.