Focus of the week: the United States urges citizens to evacuate Ukraine / Canadian truck driver demonstration / Xuzhou 8-child case / Quartet safety dialogue / Fukushima food ban / Taiwan Democracy Index Asia No. start up
foreign news
★White House warns Russia might invade at any time, urges citizens to evacuate Ukraine within 2 days
The situation between Russia and Ukraine continues to be tense. White House National Security Adviser Sullivan warned on the 11th that Russia might invade Ukraine at any time, even during the Beijing Winter Olympics.3,000 additional U.S. troopsGoing to Poland reassures NATO allies and calls on U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible within 48 hours.PresidentBidenIn an interview on the 10th, he also pointed out that when the United States and Russia start firing at each other, it will be a world war. Biden will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 12th to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
★Canadian truckers’ anti-vaccine mandate hits car production lines
At the end of January, Canadian truck drivers launched the “Freedom Convoy” operation in response to the government’s mandate that cross-border truck drivers must be vaccinated once morest COVID-19, which paralyzed parts of the capital Ottawa for several days. The bridge is an important supply route for automakers, disrupting trade between the two countries. Ontario declared a state of emergency on the 11th.Prime Minister of CanadaTrudeauCriticizing this move is unacceptable and shouting that “blocking the road will not end the epidemic”. New Zealand, France and other places also followed suit.
The foreign ministers of the United States, Australia, Japan, and India launched the Quartet Security Dialogue in Melbourne, Australia on the 11th, and made a statement following the talks.Joint Statement, pledged to support Indo-Pacific countries in promoting various issues such as counter-terrorism, combating disinformation and cybersecurity. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshisaka Lin,Australian Foreign Minister PaineHold bilateral talks to reiterate the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and focus on China’s challenges to the international order.
★Mother of 8 children in Xuzhou, China, chained to neck
The video of a woman surnamed Yang in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, who gave birth to 8 children, was locked up in a dilapidated house with chains around her neck, which caused heated discussions in the Chinese community. Officials avoided the issue of human trafficking. “behavior”, and will investigate whether a crime is involved when he changes his lip.Chinese officials identified on the 10th that the case involved human trafficking, and the father of 8 childrenDong ZhiminInvolved in the crime of illegal detention, the other two were suspected of the crime of abducting and trafficking in women, and three people have been taken criminal compulsory measures.
★15-year-old Russian female athlete tests positive for doping
The 15-year-old Russian girl Kamila Valieva wrote a new page in the history of figure skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics on the 7th, becoming the first person to complete the figure skating at the Olympicsquadruple jumpShe also successfully won the gold medal in the team competition for the Russian Olympic team, but the International Olympic Games temporarily announced that the award ceremony originally scheduled to be held the next day was postponed due to legal reasons. The international testing agency said on the 11th that Valiva tested positive for a banned drug, but the Russian anti-doping organization lifted her temporary suspension and the International Olympic Games will appeal.
The results of the men’s figure skating competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics were released on the 10th. Chen Wei, a Chinese-American player, won the gold with a high score of 332.6 points. The Japanese star Yuzuru Hanyu, who had challenged 3 consecutive championships, challenged 4 consecutive semi-jumps and 2 falls, and only won the fourth place. name. Although Yuzuru Hanyu only finished 4th due to consecutive mistakes, he challenged an unprecedented 4-cycle semi-jump (4A) and was awarded 4A for the first time in an international competition with an insufficient rotation angle. Regarding the first time being judged as a 4-week half-jump, Hanyu said that he actually felt that no matter how hard he worked, he would not be rewarded for this Beijing Winter Olympics, and he was very tired. , he wanted to set records, and he was happy to be able to leave some traces of his performance.
The Omicron variant is ravaging the world. Facing the soaring number of confirmed cases, the United States, Britain, France, Australia and other countries no longer strictly guard once morest it, and instead adopt a model of coexistence with the virus.AustraliaPrime Minister Scott Morrison announced that the borders will be opened to travellers who have been fully vaccinated from the 21st. Sweden began to lift most of the epidemic prevention bans on the 9th. For example, there are no longer restrictions on the number of people and distances in public places, restaurants and other business places do not need to check the vaccine passport certificate, and the people will return to “normal” life.South KoreaThey also abandoned their proud “tracking, screening, treatment” model of zero-epidemic prevention, and the new measures will focus resources on the most vulnerable groups.
★Artificial Sun Breakthrough British Experiment Produces Record-breaking Nuclear Fusion Energy
British scientists said on the 9th that they used a reactor to generate 59 million joules (MJ) of continuous energy for nuclear fusion, breaking the previous energy record of 22 million joules. This achievement is hailed as a milestone in harnessing nuclear fusion to become a new energy source. In addition to high safety, nuclear fusion can release nearly 4 million times more energy than burning coal, oil or natural gas with the same weight of input, and almost no waste is produced. Nuclear fusion is the same process the sun uses to generate energy, and advocates believe it will help humanity fight climate change by providing abundant, safe and green energy.
The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) increased by 7.5% in January, the highest in 40 years, and the annual growth rate of inflation exceeded 6% for the fourth consecutive month. Financial markets expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 50 basis points (2 yards) in March. Archyde.com reported that the general rise in prices may put more pressure on President Biden’s administration, as the people’s anxiety due to the increased living burden has caused Biden’s support to continue to decline.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health signed an official document on the 8th, announcing that marijuana was officially removed from the drug control list. Thai people can grow marijuana by themselves and use it for medical or commercial purposes, but must register with the government. Thailand amended its law in 2019 to become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical marijuana. At the end of 2020, certain parts of marijuana were removed from the drug control list, and all parts were no longer listed this year. The Thai government said it will formulate rules to ensure that cannabis is used in medical, research and legal products to avoid misuse by the public.
The Myanmar military launched a coup once morest the democratically elected government in February 2021. The de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been detained since then, and there have been frequent arrests of dissidents. The military announced in November that the property of opponents would be taken over and those harboring protesters would be arrested. For the past three months, an average of six or seven families a day in Myanmar have reported to state-run newspapers that they have severed ties with their children, grandchildren or relatives who have spoken out once morest the junta. Archyde.com reported that following seeing 570 severance notices in the newspapers, family members were afraid of being implicated.
Domestic News
★2022 Huhushengfeng National Development Conference: Economic growth is expected to exceed 4%
Golden Tiger Annual Report, looking forward to the new year, the National Development and Development Council announced good news on the 7th. Under the support of the three pillars of continued strong exports, stable private consumption, and continued investment momentum, the economic growth rate in 2022 is expected to exceed 4%. , Continue to “Tigers and Winds”.
The Ministry of Labor announced on the 7th that the second phase of the introduction of the migrant worker project will be launched on February 15. Employers can introduce migrant workers from four source countries, namely Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, and the points system will be cancelled, but the migrant workers must be completed first. Get vaccinated and stay in a quarantine hotel.
The Executive Yuan announced on the 8th that the five prefectures of Fukushima have conditionally lifted the ban on food. President Tsai Ing-wen emphasized to everyone that “Taiwan will not import nuclear food”, and under the premise of strictly controlling food safety, we must be confident and further participate in high-standard international economic and trade systems such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Let Taiwan go to the world and stand in the world.
The command center recently announced that the quarantine days will be shortened to 10 days, which will be implemented at the end of February at the earliest. Commander Chen Shizhong said on the 10th that changes in the epidemic situation and the coverage rate of the third dose of the vaccine are all observation indicators, and safety and security must be taken into account before loosening the regulations.
Three schools including Qingda, Zhongshan, and Zhongxing are striving for the establishment of a “post-baccalaureate medical department.” After a review by the Ministry of Education last September, Qingda was the first to approve the establishment. The Ministry of Education said on the 9th that Zhongshan and ZTE have also been approved, and will wait for the Ministry of Health and Welfare to allocate public student places.
★MSCI quarterly adjusts Taiwan’s equity weight by 2 and 1
The index compilation company MSCI (Mingcheng) announced the quarterly adjustment results on the 10th. The weight of Taiwan stocks in the global emerging market index was reduced to 16.37%, the weight of the Asia ex-Japan index was reduced to 18.56%, and the weight of the global market index was raised to 1.91% , the latest weights will take effect at the close of trading on February 25.
★3300 school classes have air-conditioning in January and enter the testing phase ahead of schedule
Classes have air-conditioning policies that meet the standards. The Ministry of Education pointed out on the 10th that more than 3,300 schools in Taiwan, a total of 181,953 air-conditioning units, have all been installed in January and have entered the follow-up testing stage; Executive Dean Su Zhenchang said that in the past, it seemed that Possible tasks have been completed ahead of schedule.
President Tsai Ing-wen said on the 11th that in the 2021 Democracy Index report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Taiwan ranks 8th in the world, and it is the only “comprehensive democracy” country in Asia to squeeze into the top 10, showing that Taiwan is recognized by the world.
★Academia Sinica leads the world in publishing Omicron next-generation vaccine
In the fight once morest COVID-19 mutant strains, the Academia Sinica has recently taken the lead in the world. With the Omicron mutant strain as the target, four mRNA next-generation vaccines have been published. Among them, the Omicron vaccine can effectively fight once morest the Omicron mutant strain. It is expected to be submitted to the journal for review in February.
★The price of egg jelly in the origin has increased from the 12th to 36.5 yuan per catty
Chen Jizhong, chairman of the Agriculture Committee, pointed out that from the 12th, the price of eggs in production areas has risen from NT$34.5 per kilogram to NT$34.5 per pound, increasing by NT$2 to NT$36.5, increasing the income of egg farmers.
