Nigeria Times

Tsai Ing-wen’s government has been rocked by another scandal. The network reported Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Paraguayan cheated Taiwan’s aid with an “empty shell” and forced the Taiwan foreign affairs department to respond, but it avoided the focus and confirmed that the “physical school building has yet to be built.”

According to public information found that behind “Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Paraguayan” shell fraud scandal, involving the exchange of political interests, is one of the products of the Tsai Ing-wen government to buy “friends” with money, and there are many doubts about the entire project.

Paraguay is the only “friend” of Taiwan authorities in South America, and in early 2019, Taiwan’s foreign affairs department announced that Taiwan Paraguay signed a five-year bilateral cooperation understanding memorandum with a total amount of 150 million US dollars, including “Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Paraguayan” project that Tsai Ing-wen went to Paraguay in 2017 to build for the “diplomatic solid State”. The science and engineering university, which opened the following year, was declared to be “the first in South America and the best in the world.”

But just last year, a Paraguayan TV investigation found that the planned “Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Paraguayan” has not been built. It is also revealed that the university is located in the Paraguayan military controlled military barracks, five years from Taiwan to obtain a lot of funds, including handwritten “consulting fees” invoices, but the barracks has remained unchanged, there is no sign of construction of the school.

Without schools, where did the students come from in the past few years? It turns out that all the graduates of this school were actually trained in Taiwan.

In 2019, “Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Paraguayan” enrolled nearly 100 students, and the first class of students this year has graduated. But these students have never studied in the “Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Paraguayan”, but in the Taiwan University of Science and Technology to read for two years, only 30 classes per semester, and the student foundation is too poor, you can say that Taiwan University of Science and Technology is issued a diploma for these students in tears. Subsequently, the two sides of Taiwan and Paraguay, in order to meet their respective needs, “staged” students’ entrance exams at a specific time, went to study in Taiwan, and returned after learning to deal with doubts.

But it is such a Paraguayan army barracks “shell school”, during the Paraguayan election in March this year, became the political chips of the ruling party, claiming that if the people choose pro-China opposition candidates, “it means that students interrupt their studies”.

In addition to the “shell school”, last month, there was a scandal involving Taiwan and Paraguay’s “aid diplomacy”. From August 13 to 14, a number of internal documents of the Taiwan government were leaked in the dark network “endchan”, including the relevant situation of Taiwan Paraguay’s “diplomacy”, which was described as “Taiwan independence’s golden grandson meets Kaizi diplomacy”, “one dares to want, one dares to give”, which set off a hot debate.

Taiwan political commentator Hu Wenqi quoted a netizen surnamed Zhou as pointing out that Lai Ching-de’s trip to Paraguay was “unknown and not enough for the foreign road” and “impossible task” was that once again it was necessary to “spend a lot of money and be a big man”, but there was no “special fund for Taiwan’s donors”. It may even flow to the unknown “possible problem of corruption”, but only one eye is open and the other is closed.

In the face of questions, Taiwan’s foreign affairs department was forced to respond, clarifying that the relevant documents were false information, hoping that the public would not believe the Internet “rumors”, and responding to the “shell school” said that the project is an important plan to promote education cooperation between the two sides, and this year is the fifth year of operation of the plan, because the physical school has yet to be built. Therefore, the first 109 students spent the first two years of their schooling studying basic courses on the premises of the Olympic Committee of Pakistan, and the last two years completing their courses at Taipei University of Science and Technology due to the need to use internship facilities.

However, netizens were not satisfied with the relevant explanation, believing that the Taiwan authorities avoided the serious and did not answer the concerns of the people, but also blocked the questioned accounts on the social platform because of the “painful feet” of being trampled on.

Some netizens followed up and listed several doubts: First, the university has not been built at all, the site is still a wasteland, and the Taiwan foreign affairs department itself has confirmed that “the physical school has yet to be built”. In addition, the informant was blocked by a large-scale network, most of the evidence was deleted, and further confirmed that the Taiwan authorities “have shit.” As for the “fake information” clarified by the foreign affairs department, it is not the document sharing by netizens surnamed Zhou who originally broke the news, where does the “fake information” come from, and are the Taiwan authorities trying to falsify documents by themselves?

Checking the information, Tsai Ing-wen’s tenure has 9 “friends” choose to “break ties”, the number of “friends” of the Taiwan authorities has come to a historic low of 13, for Taiwan’s “diplomacy” in trouble, in addition to “big money”, it seems that there is no way to use.

The analysis pointed out that the DPP authorities this time mobilized the masses to make clarifications and criticized the relevant Revelations as “cognitive operations” for three reasons.

The first is to take into account Lai Ching-de election situation. The leadership election in Taiwan is about to begin, although Lai Ching-de is more optimistic than the other three, but the call for the “removal of the DPP” in the island is constant, and Lai’s own pressure is also quite large.

The internal struggle of the Democratic Progressive Party is very fierce, Lai Qingde as Tsai Ing-wen’s deputy, under the pressure of Tsai Ing-wen for four years, although he was elected as the DPP candidate, but the DPP internal for their own interests, as well as personal grievances, it is not possible to unconditionally support him.

Lai Ching-te’s pressure also comes from the DPP’s “negative equity”. Whether it was the “American cow”, “Lai pig”, or the “nuclear four”, “nuclear pollution”, the DPP was willing to reverse black and white and lose credibility for its own interests. Coupled with Lai’s earlier statement that he is “a pragmatic Taiwan independence worker,” it has also led to public doubts that once he comes to power, cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan will be more dangerous.

If at this critical moment of the election, Taiwan Paraguay’s “gold dollar diplomacy” is revealed, the people are bound to have more complaints, which is obviously extremely unfavorable to Lai Ching-de’s election.

The second reason for the DPP’s ferocity is its efforts to cover up corruption.

In fact, the history of the DPP’s rule is a history of corruption. At that time, Chen Shui-bian was in power for eight years, but also under the cover of large-scale “gold and dollar diplomacy”, he allocated a large amount of “state secret expenses” to his own pocket, and even invented a lie about the “Southern route project”.

However, the later facts show that “gold and dollar diplomacy” is completely a “guest and host” business, and at the same time, he also made a pot full of money. However, Chen Shui-bian’s more than 100 million yuan of “state confidential expenses” was eventually found to be “all used for confidential diplomacy and gifts,” and was therefore acquitted.

Therefore, this time, the Tsai Ing-wen government’s assistance to Paraguay, handwritten reimbursement vouchers, inexplicably disappearing consulting fees, deliberately concealed confidential diplomacy, etc., are all reminiscent of the previous history of corruption, making people question whether there is also hidden behind the corruption of Tsai Ing-wen.

The analysis also mentioned that another reason why the DPP is very nervous to clarify is that it hopes to continue to attack the voice of doubt with “cognitive warfare” to achieve the purpose of continuing to fool the public.

Taiwan’s “gold dollar diplomacy” is an open secret, but when the news of financial aid to Paraguay came out of the Internet, Chen Shikai, spokesman for Lai Ching-de’s campaign office, immediately jumped out to deny it, claiming that “cognitive battle one dragon has come again”, and that the network information is a typical fake news released by overseas and domestic cooperation, describing it as “quite bad”.

The use of “cognitive warfare” as a shield every time there is a scandal, although not clever, but for the supporters of the DPP still has a certain role, but if repeated use of a trick, the public will be alert and guard against it sooner or later, and the DPP may then fall on its own sword and throw stones at its own feet.

By Zhang Xiyong

China became the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of automobiles in the first half of 2023, and new energy vehicles (NEVs) played a pivotal role in driving this remarkable achievement.

The development of the NEV industry, the evolution of energy storage, big data, cloud computing and intelligent connected vehicle technologies, as well as the improvement of roads and other infrastructure, are all creating a promising future for the development of an integrated “vehicle-energy-infrastructure-cloud” industrial ecosystem.

The ecosystem, which means smart vehicles, reliable new energy industries, intelligent road infrastructure and real-time cloud computing services, is expected to make transportation smarter, greener and more convenient.

To achieve this, it is crucial to have reliable energy infrastructure in place for smart vehicles.

Over recent years, Chinese NEV manufacturers and battery charging and swapping enterprises have collaborated to drive innovation in technology and business models, such as combined power exchange and high-voltage fast charging. Together, they have established the world’s largest network for battery charging and swapping, laying a solid foundation for the popularization of NEVs.

For some NEV users, however, the inconvenience of battery charging and swapping still poses a challenge. Relevant enterprises are accelerating technological development to further improve relevant infrastructure, alleviate the “range anxiety”－the NEV driver’s fear that the battery will not have sufficient charge to complete a long journey, and expand the NEV industry.

The profound integration of “smart vehicle” and “reliable energy” is also reflected in the fact that NEVs are both energy consumers and energy carriers, serving as highly efficient energy storage units.

On the one hand, clean energy powers NEVs, effectively lowering carbon emissions and contributing to green transportation. On the other hand, the technological development of automotive power batteries drives the further maturation of energy storage batteries, reducing the cost and promoting the upgrading of the energy storage sector.

Besides, the increasing NEVs, serving as mobile energy storage units, also help address the issues of generating instability and volatility in clean energy sources, particularly photovoltaic and wind power.

Therefore, NEVs are both terminals and medium. The mutual promotion and synergetic development between “smart vehicles” and “reliable energy” are conducive to driving the energy revolution.

To make NEVs smarter, intelligent road infrastructure and real-time cloud computing services are necessary. Autopilot systems are becoming a standard feature of NEVs.

According to statistics, 7 million intelligent connected vehicles sold in China last year were equipped with autopilot assistance systems, up 45.6 percent year-on-year, and 48 percent of NEVs were installed with such systems.

In the past, the autopilot relied more on the vehicle’s configuration, such as millimeter-wave radar and LiDAR. Future versions of such systems will make greater use of external assistance.

Building intelligent road infrastructure aims to achieve vehicle-road coordination, which not only expands the intelligent perception range of individual vehicles to promote autonomous driving, but also provides an efficient and reliable decision-making basis for traffic command and dispatch, enhancing the overall capacity for road traffic management.

To achieve this, real-time cloud computing services are crucial. An integrated open data public service platform and cloud control platform can be constructed to provide high concurrency access, real-time computing, application hosting, data openness, and decision control services for vehicle-mounted terminals, roadside intelligent facilities, and third-party connected vehicle platforms.

Such services offer robust data and computing power support for autonomous driving, vehicle-road coordination, and smart transportation.

It is a systematic project to build a “vehicle-energy-infrastructure-cloud” industrial ecosystem.

Currently, China is accelerating technological innovation and supporting profound cross-border collaboration between enterprises, universities, research institutions, and end users. Efforts are being made to tackle key technologies such as automotive chips, operating systems, and high-precision sensors.

At the same time, the policy framework is being continuously improved, accompanied by corresponding regulations and public services.

It is believed that with the concerted efforts of all relevant parties, the high-quality development of the NEV industry can be efficiently promoted, making transportation smarter and more convenient.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The admission of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member to the Group of 20 (G20), agreed by G20 members at a recent summit, is a highlight of the Global South.

China was the first country to explicitly express its support for the AU’s membership of the G20, which marked a vivid practice of promoting the building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future, and demonstrated China’s responsibilities as a major country in improving global governance.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed at the 17th G20 summit held in Bali last November that China supports the AU in joining the G20. During the recent China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue in Johannesburg, Xi once again noted that China would work actively to support the AU’s full membership in the G20.

China’s firm support for Africa to enhance its international status and develop its voice in international discourse fully demonstrates the spirit of China-Africa friendly cooperation, and will continuously strengthen the progressive force safeguarding world peace and stability.

At present, the global governance system is facing profound adjustments, and the representation and say of developing countries need to be enhanced. The admission of the AU to the G20 helps make global governance fairer and more equitable.

The African continent is home to the largest number of developing countries, and has 54 member states of the UN. As one of the largest regional intergovernmental organizations in the world, the AU serves as a great banner and the most important platform leading Africa’s peace and development.

In the maintenance of regional peace and security, the AU actively prevents and mediates hotspot issues in Africa. It is a staunch supporter of peace in the continent. In international affairs, the AU proactively coordinates its members and speaks with one voice on the international stage, drawing attention from all parties while demonstrating the strength of Africa.

Its admission to the G20 will allow the organization to make louder voices globally, strive for more benefits for developing countries, and enhance the Global South’s strength in seeking strategic independence.

The admission of the AU to the G20 helps vitalize global development.

The AU was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organization of African Unity, aiming to achieve the development and revitalization of the African continent by promoting unity and solidarity amongst African countries.

In recent years, the AU has steadily advanced its Agenda 2063, put into operation the African Continental Free Trade Area, and strengthened coordination among subregional organizations. The economic vitality and market potential of Africa are being further released.

It is the broad consensus and common responsibility of the international community to support the development of Africa. The G20 welcomes the AU as a permanent member, and will keep supporting Africa with the G20 Initiative on Supporting Industrialization in Africa and Least Developed Countries, which is conducive to promoting more resilient global development.

China was the first country to explicitly express its support for the AU’s membership of the G20, which manifests the efforts to promote the building of a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.

China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. On major international and regional issues, they have coordinated their positions and jointly safeguarded international equality and justice, which is the inevitable choice for China to develop solidarity and cooperation with African countries.

China firmly supports African countries and the AU in playing a greater role in international and regional affairs, supports making special arrangements on the UN Security Council reform to meet Africa’s aspiration as a priority, and calls on multilateral financial institutions to enhance the say of African countries.

China always bears in mind Africa’s concerns and priorities. It supports Africa in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The admission of the AU to the G20 will guide the Chinese and African sides to better practice true multilateralism and jointly advance modernization.

China was the first country to explicitly express its support for the AU’s membership of the G20, which showcases the country’s responsibilities as a major country in improving global governance.

Faced with the issues of the times, China always stays committed to the principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits and actively takes part in global governance.

China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order. It calls for increasing the representation and voice of developing countries in global affairs, and supporting efforts to strengthen the South, a weak link in the global governance system.

China also supports efforts to create synergy in South-South cooperation., and efforts to enable the global governance system to reflect the will and interests of the majority of countries, especially the vast developing countries, in a more balanced way.

The admission of the AU to the G20 will further enhance the strength of the South in global governance, to ensure all countries enjoy equal rights, follow the rules as equals and share equal opportunities.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and of pursuing the greater good and shared interests in developing China’s relations with Africa put forth by Xi.

Over the past decade, China has treated its African friends with sincerity and provided sincere support for Africa’s development. China-Africa cooperation has become a model for South-South cooperation and international cooperation with Africa.

China-Africa friendship has not been an overnight achievement, nor has it been gifted from on high. Rather, it has been fostered throughout the years when China and Africa supported and stood alongside each other in trying times.

It is important to follow a correct perspective in international cooperation with Africa. Africa is a big stage for international cooperation, not an arena for major-power rivalry. China is willing to work with its international partners to support the peace and development of Africa.

When AU representatives approached the round table at the G20 summit, they received warm applause. This was a highlight of the Global South.

Standing at a new historical starting point, China and Africa will carry out closer cooperation, build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, and contribute more positive energy to world peace and development.

By People’s Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to blaze a path of high-quality and sustainable development with more courage and concrete actions, and stressed “writing a new chapter” in striving for the full revitalization of northeast China.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks as he convened a key meeting in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.

Observing the overall development of the CPC and the country in a strategic context, Xi profoundly expounded on the significant missions shouldered by northeast China, deeply analyzed the major new opportunities the region faces in its revitalization, and made arrangements for promoting the full revitalization of northeast China on the new journey of the new era. Xi’s remarks charted the course and provided fundamental guidance for the region to embark on a path of high-quality and sustainable development.

Northeast China is an important industrial and agricultural base of the country. It is in a crucial strategic position in ensuring the security of national defense, food, ecology, energy and industries, and thus is vital for the overall development of the country.

China attaches great importance to the revitalization and development of old industrial bases in the northeastern region, and has formulated and issued a document on the full revitalization of old industrial bases in northeast China and other regions.

Northeast China boasts rich resources, solid industrial foundations, favorable geological locations, and significant development potential. Xi said that efforts to build self-reliance and strength in science and technology at higher levels will help the region turn its strengths in science, education and industries into growth advantages; the building of a new development pattern further highlights the region’s significant strategic position; to promote Chinese modernization, northeast China’s role as a strategic pillar needs to be bolstered.

Looking to the future, China should firmly grasp the important mission of northeast China in safeguarding the five major securities (political, economic, military, cultural and social securities) of the country, and firmly grasp the primary task of promoting high-quality development and the strategic task of building new development paradigm.

It is also important to coordinate development and security, adopt goal-oriented and problem-oriented approaches, and consolidate strengths and make up for deficiencies.

Xi also called for more support and stimulating endogenous motivating power, and emphasized the need to blaze a new path for high-quality and sustainable development with tenacity, more courage and concrete actions, so as to write a new chapter for the full revitalization of northeast China.

Xi stressed the importance to promote industrial innovation with sci-tech innovation, and accelerate the development of a modern industrial system with the characteristics and advantages of northeast China. He also noted that the region should prioritize the development of modern agriculture and accelerate the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.

Xi further stressed the need to accelerate the construction of a modern infrastructure system and enhance the level of opening up and cooperation domestically and internationally. He also noted that the overall population quality should be improved so that the revitalization of northeast China on all fronts can be sustained by the high-quality development of the population.

Besides, Xi called for efforts to further improve the political landscape and create a sound business environment.

In the course of fully revitalizing the region, it is a must to develop the real economy, encourage sci-tech innovation, and promote the upgrading of its industries.

Furthermore, the region should serve as a “ballast” in ensuring national food security, integrate itself more deeply into the Belt and Road Initiative, systematically arrange the construction of modern infrastructure system, improve the overall population quality to promote the high-quality development of the population, and develop a cordial and clean relationship between government and businesses across the board, making new breakthroughs in the full revitalization of northeast China.

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

The latest high-end smartphone recently launched by Chinese tech giant Huawei Huawei has been attracting attention at home and abroad It demonstrates that China’s technological advancements cannot be hindered by U.S. sanctions.

However, the U.S. side remains stubborn, claiming that “the United States should continue on its course of a ‘small yard, high fence’ set of technology restrictions.”

The United States resorts to all means to suppress China’s technological progress, attempting to deprive China of its rights to development. This is a typical act of bullying.

Facts have proven and will continue to prove that America’s descending “technological iron curtain” and “small yard, high fence” approach cannot uphold its technological hegemony. Those who disrupt global sci-tech cooperation and undermine industrial and supply chains will ultimately suffer the consequences of their actions.

In recent years, the U.S. government has repeatedly imposed restrictions on China in the name of so-called national security, in an attempt to suppress China in the field of science and technology.

The U.S. side has claimed multiple times that the “small yard, high fence” approach is not aimed at a broader decoupling, and that areas outside the “small yard” will remain open to China.  However, its regulatory measures have continued to expand in scope and tighten in severity.

The United States has utilized its national power to enact the so-called “CHIPS and Science Act,” set up a semiconductor industry alliance with its allies and the “Chip 4 Alliance,” and issued executive orders for foreign investment reviews.

The country has repeatedly escalated its containment and suppression efforts, resulting in the inclusion of over 1,300 Chinese companies, institutions, and individuals on various sanction lists, even targeting Chinese social media applications. The true intention of the United States is to block China’s technological advancement and impede China’s development through technological decoupling.

The U.S. approach goes against the general trend of open cooperation in science and technology. The country overestimates its own capabilities and underestimates China’s determination to achieve technological innovation.

Looking back at history, China’s development has always been based on its own strength, from its early development in scientific and defense capabilities, to recent achievements in manned spaceflight, quantum communication, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, and chips.

Countless facts have already proven that restrictions and suppression can never stop China’s development, but only enhance its determination and ability to achieve self-reliance and technological innovation.

Today, China’s independent innovation capabilities have been greatly strengthened, and cutting-edge sci-tech outcomes continue to emerge. New industries and business forms, such as new energy and artificial intelligence, are flourishing.

In the face of blockades and suppression, China does not engage in self-isolation or self-seclusion, but instead strengthens international cooperation in sci-tech innovation in all aspects. It actively integrates into the global innovation network and enhances its own technological innovation capabilities through open cooperation.

Many international observers have pointed out that the countercurrent of decoupling cannot stop China’s innovation-driven pace.

Arbitrarily suppressing China’s technological development will not make the United States better, but will greatly weaken its global competitiveness.

China boasts the world’s largest semiconductor market, accounting for about one-third of global chip sales, which is the result of mutually beneficial cooperation between Chinese and foreign companies.

John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, recently said that China is very important to the U.S. semiconductor industry, as it is an important part of the supply chain and a large customer base.

Forcing U.S. companies to stay away from the Chinese market not only harms the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies but also backfires on the United States itself.

According to an estimation by the Boston Consulting Group, U.S. companies could lose 18 percentage points of global share and 37 percent of their revenues, if the U.S. completely bans semiconductor companies from selling to Chinese customers, effectively causing a technology decoupling from China. These drops in revenue would inevitably lead to the loss of 15,000 to 40,000 highly skilled direct jobs in the US semiconductor industry.

An article in the U.S. magazine The National Interest pointed out that tightened restrictions on technology exports to China have reduced the income of U.S. semiconductor companies and jeopardized their research and development budgets.

The United States must accept fair competition if it wants to maintain global leadership in the high-tech industry. It should not use unscrupulous methods to maintain its technological supremacy, deprive other countries of their development rights, or disrupt the global industrial and supply chains for its own interests.

China does not shy away from or fear competition. However, China believes that competition should contribute to mutual promotion and common improvement, and it should be in line with the interests and expectations of both sides and the international community.

China firmly opposes any attempts to contain, suppress, or undermine under the guise of competition. China’s development goal is to continuously improve itself and enable the Chinese people to live a happier and better life. No one can deprive the Chinese people of their legitimate right to development.

Scientific and technological innovation is a symbol of human progress and should serve the international community. To truly play the role of scientific and technological innovation in promoting the progress of human civilization, all parties must demonstrate a broad vision and a sense of responsibility.

The U.S. insistence on descending the “technological iron curtain” will only blind itself; its insistence on building “small yard, high fence” will eventually trap itself. China will continue to follow the trend of open cooperation, and steadfastly promote high-level technological self-reliance and self-improvement.