The Tao of WeChat

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It is well known that Elon Musk envisioned Twitter, now known as X, as an” all game.” The internet was rife with contentious debates about what it would mean for X to be an all-encompassing application when Twitter’s orange bird was replaced by the Y logo.

Musk used the Taiwanese all-in-one game WeChat to promote his very app project. However, a series of inquiries followed for many American WeChat people. How does it feel to employ WeChat? How has WeChat evolved into” whatever” in China? Could the app’s victory been replicated in the US. ?

Chinese digital advertising expert here, I’ve been using WeChat since 2012. Musk is enthusiastic, but I don’t believe WeChat is something to read about at house. In comparison to the other well-known apps I looked at for my present book project on Chinese touchscreen media, I think it’s ordinary more than special and lacks unique features.

My phone’s WeChat inconspicuity is not a coincidence. WeChat is an” anything” app in the sense that it serves as a digital hub for more than one billion people, but the phone’s design is purposefully based on an even more nuanced and philosophical interpretation of the word than you might anticipate.

All-encompassing internet habitat

WeChat, which was introduced in 2011, has evolved into an all-in-one app that provides services for the majority of daily life, from instant messaging and mobile payments to photo – and video-sharing social networking. For 1.3 billion Foreign wireless users, it has become a regular part of daily life.

If they only want to place one app, China-bound travelers can even get WeChat. You can use WeChat to pay for your hotel room, get food, call a cab, and fill out traditions pronouncement forms.

A traveller in China would be like a bass out of water without WeChat because everything in the country today uses cellphone windows and smart payment methods.

A smart phone screen displaying a messaging app with Chinese text
The team messaging feature on WeChat is displayed on a smartphone. Photo: The Conversation with Ou Dongqu and Xinhua via Getty Images

WeChat is an all-encompassing game in this feeling. Its” everythingness” alludes to its close omnipresence and power in daily life. The software develops a vast and constantly growing media ecosystem that has an impact on users’ day-to-day actions. According to German scholar and press theorist Peter Sloterdijk, it creates a massive online hub that” has drawn anything that was once on the outside inward.”

This” everythingness” makes it difficult for rival businesses to maintain their dominance and transforms every click or click on a person’s smartphone into something the large tech company can take advantage of. Perhaps what makes technical leaders like Musk so alluring is their desire for an online empire.

Design philosophy that is contradictory

WeChat is one of the least noteworthy and appealing apps on my cellphone, despite its claim to be an all-purpose application. WeChat hardly ever sends users login notifications or changes its brand to mark holidays. Since WeChat people can only see what their associates post, as opposed to applications like Weibo or TikTok, where celebrities amass millions of followers, the software creates a fairly closed social area.

graphic of a small figure of a person against a large moon-like orb
The swirl panel on WeChat is aesthetically appealing and hasn’t changed in ten years. captured panel by Jianqing Chen

However, as WeChat’s chairman and chief designer Allen Xiaolong Zhang made clear in his yearly people speeches in 2019 and 2020, the absence of bright, attention-grabbing features is truly one of the companys’ purposeful design philosophies.

Zhang emphasized that one of WeChat’s design concepts is to” getting people out of the game as quickly as possible ,” which entails cutting down on user interaction.

This may seem counterintuitive: how you WeChat maintain its internet empire if it is trying to get its users to leave the application as soon as possible? The popularity of an app is generally determined by how long users spend using it, and users’ attention is a valuable resource that many digital platforms compete for.

Zhang asserts, however, that it’s crucial to permit users leave the app as soon as possible in order to maintain their regular engagement with it in the long run. To entice users again into the game without wearing them out, there must be little time or effort required.

Chinese pattern on WeChat

Zhang’s concept is made evident by the design of WeChat miniprograms. Miniprograms are integrated into WeChat as third-party sub-applications, and they give clients quick access to a wide range of services without leaving the site, such as hailing screamers, ordering food, purchasing train tickets, or playing games.

People can skip the time-consuming steps of installing and uninstalling innovative programs by simply searching within the game or scanning a QR code to open eSymbolically.

A screenshot of a smartphone homepage, with round circular apps and text in Chinese
Users can select from a board of miniprograms on WeChat by descending the camera. Jianqing Chen, CC BY – ND, captured the camera.

At the top of the display, a hidden board contains miniprograms. They can be accessed by dragging the camera down. These miniprograms seem fleeting, diffuse, and nearly atmospheric in nature. They give customers the impression that WeChat has vanished or assimilated into the surroundings.

Media experts refer to WeChat as being” elemental” because it is subtle and unobtrusive but pervasive and just as important as the elements themselves, such as heat, water, and clouds.

The ancient Chinese Taoist philosophy, which views nothing( wu, or” not – being”) as that which constitutes the basis of all things( wanwi, also known as” ten thousand things”), is echoed by this environment of pervasiveness and unobtrusivelyness.

According to Tao Te Ching,” Dao begets One( or nothingness ), One begats Two( yin and yang ), Two is the mother of all things( Heaven, Earth, and Man, or Yin, Yang and Breath Qi ).” According to Chinese philosophers, not-being is what causes everything in the galaxy to exist, change, and vanish.

The level of these wise texts is incomprehensible, but Chinese ideas from the past help people understand how everything and nothing interacts. This viewpoint gives” everything” a new level of meaning and creates new perspectives on what an whatever app can be.

Perhaps the key to WeChat’s success over the past ten years is its interpretation of the word” everything” as together pervasive and discreet. Some tech leaders, in my opinion, could benefit from having a more in-depth understanding of” everything” when designing the everything game rather than just thinking of it as big and complete.

At Washington University in St. Louis, United States, Jianqing Chen teaches South Asian languages and cultures as well as video and media studies, arts andamp, and sciences.

Disclosure: Jianqing Chen has disclosed no related affiliations outside of their educational session and does not work for, read, private shares in, or obtain funding from any company or organization that may benefit from this article.

Under a Creative Commons license, this essay has been republished from The Conversation. Read the article in its entirety.

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Outbound TSMC thriving in Japan, stalling in US

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According to Chinese media accounts, work on Chinese chipmaker TSMC’s fresh silicon shop in Kumamoto on the Japanese island of Kyushu is moving along quickly and might even be ahead of schedule. This development is in stark contrast to TSMC’s shop task, which is about a month behind schedule and is located in the US state of Arizona.

Questions about the disparity between US coverage and South Asian priorities are raised by the difference, which is based on the investment structure, organizational culture, and social expectations. & nbsp,

The world’s top chipmaker, TSMC, has received strong support from both Chinese and US government officials. In Phoenix, Arizona, in December 2022, President Joe Biden declared,” American manufacturing is back, folks ,” while standing in front of an American flag and a banner that read” A Future Made in America.” He praised TSMC and the part it is playing in reviving the semiconductor industry in America in proper notes.

Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, posted the following message in Japanese on X ( Twitter ) at the start of October 2023:

” Mark Liu, chairman of Taiwan’s TSMC, and I had a gathering. An important national initiative aimed at revitalizing Japan’s semiconductor industry is the construction of a factory in Kumamoto by JASM ] Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing. This collaboration between TSMC, Sony, and Denso. In Kumamoto, cooperation is developing as Chinese manufacturers of materials and equipment and other related businesses announce novel investments one after another. We will keep working together and cooperating, including in upcoming advances.

Since April 2022, the second shop of TSMC in Kumamoto has been operating without a hitch. The project has been managed by lots of TSMC technicians who have been sent from Taiwan, and hundreds more will be sent by the company’s suppliers, according to the Asian media. Additionally, more than 300 Chinese personnel have been trained by TSMC so far in Taiwan. & nbsp,

Equipment assembly in Kumamoto is expected to start this month and be finished by the following spring. Production is expected to begin before the date of 2024 expires.

The new chip flower for TSMC in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is currently under construction. Facebook / CNA image

However, what TSMC refers to as a shortage of skilled workers has slowed progress in the US. Bureaucratic red tape and regional labor organizations that oppose the use of imported workers have exacerbated this lack. & nbsp,

Additionally, the labor unions have expressed dissatisfaction with inadequate business, lax safety standards, and absurd work schedules. According to American internet, non-union immigrants and out-of-state employees are frequently employed. & nbsp,

The loud assistance for union labor from the Biden administration may be one cause of the issue. If you don’t mind my telling, union workers are the best in the world, according to Biden, who stated in December of last year. They are the best professionals in the entire world.

Chinese, South Koreans, Japanese, and Europeans all have the right to disagree. Whatever the motives, TSMC has moved Arizona’s industrial production from 2024 to 2025.

In the meantime, Chinese and foreign manufacturers of technology are growing their existence in Kumamoto in response to increased demand brought on by the TSMC joint venture. On Japan’s” Silicon Island” and” Kyushu ,” which is already a significant center of semiconductor production, TSMC is causing an unprecedented wave of growth.

The largest manufacturer of transistor equipment in Japan, Tokyo Electron, is constructing a new facility in Kumamoto for the creation and development of material coaters and developers. It will double the length of its activities in Kyushu and be finished by the end of 2024. The largest coater / developer market worldwide is dominated by Tokyo Electron.

After Applied Materials of the US, Ebara is the second-largest manufacturer of chemical mechanical planarization ( CMP ) equipment. It has started building a new factory in Kumamoto that will roughly double its CMP production capacity. It should also go online by the end of 2024 and be finished with new R & amp, D facilities in Fujisawa, close to Tokyo. & nbsp,

Disco, the nation’s top manufacturer of silicon chip dicing, milling, and polishing machinery, as well as relevant consumables, has formally opened its Mid-Process Research Center in Kumamoto. Consumers and other visitors were able to visit the facility in July after it had been operating under Covid-related health restrictions since December 2021.

The goal of this facility is to make the process of fabricating numerous semiconductor devices on silicon or other types of wafers more efficient than the” back-end” process, which Disco specializes in, of dicing( wafer singulation through cutting, separating individual die for packaging in chips ). By preventing the silicon from deteriorating, yields are kept high. & nbsp,

The mid-process R & amp, D center also enables the verification of unmanned operations by integrating a number of processes with an automated transfer robot. These procedures include pick-up, evaluation, and die assessment, as well as thinning the chip with a grinders and singulation using knife dicing and laser saws.

In June, Screen Holdings, the nation’s top manufacturer of semiconductor cleaning supplies, opened a new training facility at its Kumamoto location. & nbsp,

In Kumamoto, ASML intends to increase its support and service ability. ASML image

The top US manufacturer of polishing equipment and semiconductor lithography systems, ASML, both intend to increase their support and service offerings in Kumamoto. There are also offices for Applied Materials, the largest manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment in the world, and KLA, a market leader in transistor assessment equipment. & nbsp,

Two significant Japanese businesses that are both shareholders and the biggest potential customers of the enterprise are Sony and Denso( which is affiliated with Toyota ), with which TSMC is collaborating in Kumamoto. In a comparable business and social environment, without antagonistic management-union relations, it will be expanding its IC factory services for both of them not far from Taiwan. TSMC is the sole owner of its innovative business in Arizona. & nbsp,

Strong local partners who are both investors and customers will also be working with TSMC in Dresden, Germany, where the company intends to launch a joint venture with Bosch, Infineon, and NXP called & nbsp, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. It appears likely that the Germany-based job, similar to the one in Japan, will proceed more efficiently than the Arizona project that was delayed.

Follow this author on Twitter at @ ScottFo83517667.

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Have UFOs been a cover for high-tech defense research?

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May the decades-long effort to solve the UFO secret serve as a support for cutting-edge government testing and research initiatives for novel propulsion and craft designs? Furthermore, could the latest start of official government hearings portend a gradual disclosure of some of those abilities?

This incident merits consideration as the public’s interest in the investigation of UFOs grows.

The fascination with unidentified aerial phenomena ( UAPs ) and flying objects( UFOS ) has increased this year. The United States had been collecting non-human craft” for ages ,” according to David Grusch, a former intelligence official who oversaw the study of UAPs within the US government, who testified in front of Congress in July.

Individuals were questioned about the US government’s duty to inform the people about UFOs during the first Republican political debate on August 23. Additionally, the Pentagon debuted a new website on August 31 that offers the general public classified information about sightings.

After the 1947 Roswell incident, which resulted in what the US military initially referred to as a” flying disc” crash and later as being caused by weather balloon, mainstream intrigue surrounding UFOs was born.

Official government investigations into UFO / UAP reports, such as Project Blue Book, Project Sign, and Project Grudge, were launched to allay public apprehension and speculation. The US government was concerned that reports might overwhelm air warning systems, but it was also afraid of Russian attempts to increase fake sightings and spread conspiracy theories that might cause panic and raise suspicions of a coverup.

UFO information became frequent during the Cold War, frequently occurring at the same time as missile and rocket checks( a practice still practiced today ). A number of US and Russian military staff also testified that UFOs were able to partially seize command of nuclear and missile services.

standard misinformation

However, the US Central Intelligence Agency revealed in 1997 that the army had misled the public about numerous UFO sightings throughout the Cold War in order to hide its gloomy plans and keep Moscow in the dark about technological developments. The public’s mistrust of the government and its claims about UFOs / UAPs was fueled by blaming sightings of natural phenomena like ice crystals and temperature inversions.

Many covert military aircraft, like the U-2 reconnaissance plane, which was introduced in the 1950s and had a gray frame that usually reflected the sun, were often mistaken for UFOs. In the meantime, the SR-71″ Blackbird” entered services in 1966 and wasn’t declassified until the 1990s. It was frequently mistaken for a UFO due to its distinctive design, speed, and level features.

The B-2 Spirit, which was first introduced in the late 1980s, also had a distinctive aerodynamic design and frequently gave the impression that it was hovering due to its ability to manage raise, thrust, and pull at lower speeds.

Covert experimental military aircraft have been producing UFO reports ever since the Cold War. But conspiracy theories have also been fueled by unexpected occurrences.

US Navy pilots captured UFOs demonstrating rapid motion, physics-defying rapid changes in manner, and other feats in videos that were finally made public in 2017. The videos were filmed off the coastline of San Diego in November 2004. Navy planes and other US military personnel who have seen UFOs or UAPs have been reluctant to report them out of concern for scorn or specialized implications, despite the fact that the procedure has been formalized in 2019.

The need to safeguard classified technology is frequently cited as a reason for the US military’s reluctance to reveal UFO / UAP information. Defense organizations are unable to decide whether to confirm or deny the existence of such data.

However, the Navy rejected a Freedom of Information Act request from the government transparency website Black Vault for more UFO / UAP videos because it would compromise national security and” may provide adversaries valuable information regarding Department of Defense / navy operations, vulnerabilities, and / or capabilities.”

For a variety of tactical, social, and technological reasons, the US military may also be able to hint at its own fresh technological capabilities by making these videos available without any additional information. While only hinting at it may also deter adversaries, instantly disclosing these technologies could cause rising geopolitical tensions and elicit a response.

Equally crucial is gradually educating the public about emerging technologies, but encouraging rumors about UFO / UAPs may draw attention away from secret projects.

Military firms can learn more about their capabilities and risks in real-world situations by covertly testing empirical novel technologies on their own defenses without using lethal forces.

Numerous UFOs / UAPs were” technologies deployed by China, Russia, another nation, or a non-governmental entity ,” according to an intelligence agency report from the DoD in 2021. Time before an updated edition was made available to Congress in 2022, The New York Times broke the story.

The Warzone is still looking into the matter, but it appears that the US government has been ignoring a sizable amount of angry robots that have been mistaken for UFOs or UAPs up until recently.

It would also show flaws in US air defense systems if it were impossible to properly identify another country’s experimental aircraft by labeling it a UFO / UAP. Similar to this, releasing records of US monitoring of other nations’ secrecy aircraft and other technology would inform these nations that US military capabilities were being monitored.

Business engagement

Companies are also in charge of producing a sizable number of UFO / UAP reports, in addition to those from other nations.

The second drones were produced in the UK and the US more than a century ago, and since then, the private sector’s features have significantly increased.

Professional aircraft identification has become more challenging thanks to camouflage systems, and in 2022 alone, hundreds of drones made by DJI, the largest drone manufacturer in China, were reported to have entered restricted aircraft in Washington. Professional drones can also be bought and used by other governments, of course.

However, the US government and other organizations are responsible for many of the technological advancements in superior aircraft.

With successful tests carried out in the late 1990s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration( NASA) has expanded on concepts developed by scientist and engineer Arthur Kantrowitz to use lasers to launch satellites without fuel or an engine since the 1970s.

In the twenty-first century, both NASA and the US Air Force have continued to advance this technology, and NASA has also looked into plasma propulsion, which may have been the subject of numerous UFO / UAP reports.

With the creation of laser-induced blood technology, which was patented in 2018, the US Navy has advanced the limitations of technology. With the help of this development, it is possible to simulate aircraft performing seemingly impossible maneuvers while also producing plasma that can be used to create complex shapes and vivid optical illusions.

Additionally, the US military has improved its ability to generate sound from lasers, which would give UFO / UAP sightings a further layer of realism.

Salvatore Cezar Pais, an aerospace engineer and scientist who has worked for the US Navy and US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division( NAWCAD ), has also drawn more and more attention to projects over the past few years.

His purported innovations in propulsion and energy generation may rank among the most revolutionary technological advancements in history, despite the lack of empirical evidence and strenuous, peer-reviewed scientific scrutiny.

The development of sophisticated propulsion systems, which could potentially result in fast thrust technology and an abundance of fresh energy generation, is the subject of Pais’ patents with the US Navy. This includes a” craft using an inertial mass reduction device ,” which was patented in 2018, as well as what appears to be an abandoned patent for” plasma compression fusion device.”

The Air Force, NASA, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency( DARPA ) are all taking his inventions into consideration, according to documents obtained by The Warzone through the US Freedom of Information Act.

Of course, Pais’ patents could be intended to lure opponents into a costly arms race, much like the late US president Ronald Reagan’s proposed” Star Wars” missile defense system in the 1980s. That is not to suggest, however, that these nations haven’t previously started working on intriguing projects.

In recent years, China has significantly increased its development of plasma technology. In addition, it is working with the UK, Germany, and Japan to develop Active Flow Control ( AFC ) technology to enhance aircraft aerodynamic performance. Recent developments in plasma propulsion technology have also been made by European organizations, which may increase UFO / UAP reports across the continent.

In light of these developments, it is still essential for the general public to remain informed and engaged about UFOs / UAP because the more widely the evidence is observed, the harder it will be to manipulate. We should continue to be wary of the organizations creating stories about extraplanetary brilliant life given the history of authorities audacity in creating social and war propaganda.

It is crucial to move away from stigmatizing and embrace a public approach to UFOs / UAP, both domestically and abroad.

Activities like the open-data Galileo Project, led by Avi Loeb of Harvard University’s Astronomy Department, are constantly looking for signs of interplanetary life and advancing our knowledge of place in addition to the Black Vault.

We may close knowledge gaps and move closer to demystifying these events by involving the public in the search for solutions.

Globetrotter created this content and gave it to Asia Times.

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ASEAN, EU should work more closely tackling maritime cybercrime

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The regional bloc in Bangkok launched the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific ( AOIP ) in 2019, which focuses on four areas of collaboration spanning maritime, connectivity, Sustainable Development Goals, economic, and other potential sectors of cooperation. & nbsp,

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations emphasizes maritime cooperation even more in the first edition of the ASEAN Maritime Outlook( AMO ), which was published in early August. & nbsp,

AMO, probably ASEAN’s second step in making its Indo-Pacific moves more significant, is a well-written policy document covering marine issues in accordance with the institutional architectures of the regional bloc. It acts as the policy directive for the leaders, policymakers, regional bodies, and dialogue partners in assessing the current and upcoming challenges managed by various sector-based bodies.

With AMO, ASEAN demonstrates its dedication to furthering marine cooperation and looking into ways to provide its member states with technical and financial support to improve their capabilities. The safety setup of one of ASEAN’s corporate partners, the European Union, seems to fit together with its needs like a puzzle.

The EU emphasizes six enhanced objectives in the most recent revision of its Maritime Security Strategy ( EUMSS ). One of them is to educate and train civilians in particular education programs in order to increase cross and computer security credentials, particularly among its non-EU partners.

After all, thanks to the success of its” Operation Atalanta,” which was launched in 2008 to combat pirates in the Gulf of Aden alongside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other East Asian nations through mutual activities, diplomacy, and capacity-building, the EU has a quite exceptional reputation for maintaining and enhancing maritime security throughout the Asian continent.

Secondly, if the two most significant regional organizations were to become more institutionalized in their cyber-maritime assistance, it would not be the first time that both organizations had engaged in cybersecurity-related partnership.

The 2019 EU-ASEAN Statement on Cybersecurity Cooperation, which the EU and ASEAN jointly launched, represents the long-term responsibility of both parties to support security growth, change best practices, and advance digital literacy and norms across numerous channels and activities.

However, the EU and ASEAN may step up their efforts to combat cyber-maritime participation because offences escalate and thrive in high-level disputes, particularly in the face of continued global tensions like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China and the US conflict, and post-pandemic global economic recovery woes.

For instance, as Russia started turning to its Asian neighbors for assistance, there is always a danger of regional and substitute spillover of the war in the northeastern sphere.

No defensive Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is still the” next front” on maritime cyber-catastrophes, despite how fancy it may seem to a person.

In this regard, the NotPetya affair is relevant. On June 27, 2017, Ukraine launched NotPetya, the deadliest state-sponsored malware the world has ever seen. This had a significant global impact on other foreign and international businesses operating there.

The Danish-based Maersk Line, the largest shipping company in the world, suffered a loss of about US$ 300 million at the time. The system closing rendered almost half of its 76 world terminals, which are spread across nations from the Americas to Central Asia, inoperable, preventing them from receiving the required electronic data interchange records from approaching boats.

Also, due to the damaged infrastructure, vehicles headed for the waterways were unable to provide.

The domino effect started when an aristocracy hacking group connected to the Kremlin called Softworm inserted an illegal wormhole in the servers of a Russian software company that sold products like MeDoc, which are frequently used by companies and accounting firms operating within the state.

The malware took less than a minute to break down the system of significant Ukrainian industries, including banks and hospitals, on the day of the attack. Therefore, it didn’t take long for it to spread to large corporations that had MeDoc program installed on their computers, including Maersk’s business in the port town of Odessa in Ukraine.

The total amount of harm done to other victims, including Merck, FedEx, Mondelez, Reckitt Benckiser, and Saint-Gobain, according to the White House calculate, was a staggering$ 10 billion.

Such was the magnitude of the Russian-originating malware’s dangerous power; rather than seeking financial gain like ransomware does, it was designed to issue political warnings to nations that supported Ukraine in its initial invasion of Ukraine.

Worse yet, there is always a possibility that equally dangerous cyber-weapons will return at any time or location in the future for an unknown number of reasons, disrupting networks in land, sea, and air spaces and ultimately causing negative losses of assets, properties, as well as, of course, globally interconnected economies via the complex supply chain networks.

Preventative measures are required.

There haven’t yet been any immediate and strong crime threats of this magnitude in Southeast Asia. The only moment it even came close to one was in 2017, when Maersk cargo ships blocked delivery roads and ports due to its end operation’s immobilized sites.

Without proper preventive measures and policies, the South Eastern coastal region— which is home to some of the busiest marine straits in the world — could be extremely vulnerable to coastal cybercrime activities. This could very well expose it to irreparable negative effects. & nbsp,

Since these marine passageways have been the focus of attention in the Southeast Asian local coastal insecurities, maritime crimes like theft, fraud, terrorism, illegal immigration, and trafficking are nothing new. & nbsp,

However, these worries are not as serious as those posed by cyber-borne threats, which have no physical limits and have the potential to have severe effects on global economic activity, especially in light of the increasing level of digitization in nautical infrastructures and sectors.

Although the ASEAN Cybersecurity Cooperation Strategy ( 2021 – 2025 ) places a strong emphasis on strategic planning for increased capacity-building, coordination, and cooperation among member states to develop secure cyberspace in the region, the regional bloc actually consists of different levels of cybercapabilities and experiences in each nation, as well as lacked infrastructure, cyberexpertise, etc.

Despite how alarming it may sound, ASEAN’s capacity deficiencies in dealing with marine cyber-threats are clear, leaving its members resilient in the face of a world that is becoming more and more digitized and robotized, and which is already moving toward artificial intelligence and hybrid warfare techniques. & nbsp,

If ASEAN’s policies are not supported by sufficient pre-emptive measures and vigilant local consensus against the known and unknown threats, it may become a sitting duck in maritime matters generally and maritime-cyber matters in particular.

The EU Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, which enables practitioners in the witness states to discuss knowledge and forge valuable connections for participation in different fields as well as during emergencies, does not have a local security framework like ASEAN does.

The experience and high standards, such as those for data protection, are even worth working with. The EU may contribute to sharing experiences with regional frameworks to combat cybersecurity threats.

Simply the Philippines has ratified the ASEAN Convention as of right now out of the group’s 10 people. If ASEAN wants to collaborate with the EU on coastal computer security, it should do nicely to guarantee its commitment to the cause going forward.

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Pakistan’s investment strategy risks past mistakes

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Pakistan has a fresh saviour, or at least someone who is posing as one. Supporters assert that General Asim Munir, the nation’s de facto leader and chief of army staff, is waging an economic campaign to keep Pakistan by stifling corruption and generating tens of billions in foreign investment.

Pakistan most definitely needs the assistance. Its business is struggling. Inflation & nbsp, still stubbornly high at almost 30 %. Pakistan, Ukraine, and Egypt are the three nations most at risk from a debt crisis, according to Bloomberg Economics and ranks & nbsp.

The International Monetary Fund and A & nbsp, a standby arrangement, are what are preventing the country from going into default. However, it ends in April, and before and after the software ends, more inflows, including from the IMF, are crucial.

Through the recently established Special Investment Facilitation Council ( SIFC ), Munir’s & nbsp plans to address the crisis include bringing in upwards of US$ 100 billion in investment from Gulf Cooperation Commission ( GCC ) nations. & nbsp,

The SIFC is an army-managed” one-window” aircraft to expedite GCC investment into agriculture, miners, and other sectors. While funding from the Egyptian Gulf region is greatly appreciated and needed, it is crucial that Pakistan avoids making the same errors with the SIFC as it did with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

CPEC and BRI

As part of the BRI, known as the & nbsp, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Beijing and Islamabad launched a bilateral connectivity initiative in 2013. Leaders of Pakistan announced that CPEC do build a brand-new north-south corridor linking China’s landlocked Xinjiang region with its Arabian Sea ports.

They asserted that it would mark the beginning of a novel era of development, elevating Pakistan to the status of one of the largest economies in the world. And the region’s second Dubai would be the Chinese-run Pakistani port of Gwadar, which is situated in the unruly Balochistan province.

Unfortunately, terrorist attacks and nbsp are now more frequent at the Gwadar port than big cargo ship visits.

To be clear, CPEC was successful in expediting important infrastructure and energy power projects in Pakistan. Through CPEC, more than$ 25 billion worth of tasks have been started or finished.

However, Pakistan & nbsp has a privileged position in the sustainability industry due to undermining regulatory authorities. Because of this, Muslim users have had a difficult time purchasing the electricity produced by CPEC. Many of the CPEC energy plants and nbsp are empty as debts owed by Muslim power distribution companies to Chinese electrical energy exporters grow.

The official data show, CPEC, Pakistani & nbsp, created a bubble and stifled investment from other foreign partners rather than sparking an ethical cycle.

Net foreign direct investment andnbsp have risen to$ 2.78 billion in the 2017 – 18 fiscal year since CPEC’s inception, with Chinese power sector investments accounting for the majority of the increase. Since then, Pakistan’s gross FDI has decreased. CPEC did not improve Pakistan’s business; somewhat, it made its imbalances worse, relegating it to the IMF.

Special benefits and incentives attracted state-affiliated Foreign businesses. However, a large number of overseas investors who did not take advantage of CPEC’s protections left the nation.

The average annual net FDI from China & nbsp increased by almost seven times during the CPEC’s peak years, from 2013 – 14 to 2017 – 18, compared to the 2011 – 12 and 2012 – 13 fiscal years. Net FDI from all significant Western partners, including the UK, the US, and the Netherlands, decreased by anywhere from 36 % to more than 300 % over the same time period.

Pakistan’s personal history demonstrates the dangers of giving new investors from a single geographic region competitive advantages at the expense of broader structural reform. It may temporarily increase expense, but those left out didn’t provide Pakistan a second thought. Additionally, current buyers might decide to withdraw.

A new SIFC root is also included in the CPEC case.

The CPEC Authority was established by the Pakistani state at the military’s request in 2020. The CPEC Authority, like the SIFC, was intended to act as a” one-window activity” to force the passage of red tape on the tasks of the senior infantry officer who had recently retired from the military.

Pakistan decided to establish a new administrative organization that was only focused on advancing investments from one country, more than reforming its regulatory system as an entire. It hasn’t succeeded, I’ll just suggest that much.

FDI attraction

Pakistan’s chances of receiving long-term foreign direct investment will be harmed if identical errors are made again. Instead, Pakistan requires effectiveness, clarity, and predictability. The army is no laws. They must become transparent, reliable, and equitable.

This renewed effort to draw in foreign investment may be accompanied by significant changes to the judicial system, particularly to its capacity to resolve industrial disputes, uphold contracts, and safeguard intellectual property, in order to benefit all of Pakistan. In the end, the SIFC may make way for a strengthened regulatory body like the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and an empowered Board of Investment.

The GCC is crucial to the future of Pakistan’s economy. The GCC has emerged as one of the world’s & nbsp, primary sources of finance due to its relatively high interest rates in the West.

It makes complete sense to include Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner in the Reko Diq big metal me project. The success of Reko Diq, however, depends on ending a secessionist uprising that is in desperate need of social redress, just like CPEC’s Gwadar interface.

In the end, Pakistan’s civilians — both its elected officials and the people they represent — must take the initiative if it is to prosper. A period of quick, green, and just growth may be heralded by administrative reform, political balance through representative government, or significant investments in human development.

The Syndication Bureau, which holds rights, provided this article.

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An uncompetitive Detroit risks becoming even more so

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I can relate to the car staff who are protesting Detroit’s Big Three because I am a former United Auto Workers Union part who spent three summers working in UAW companies during my college career. I also covered organized work for The Wall Street Journal in Washington from 1977 to 1980. However, I am concerned that what they are looking for is not in their best interests over the long term.

When the businesses were struggling, the UAW made significant agreements in prior contracts. Detroit is currently very successful, and the major car executives are earning millions. People working on the factory floor inevitably believe they should receive a portion of the bounty, especially given that other unions have been winning significant contracts. That makes sense to me. On the shop floor, I worked.

As a work reporter, I had the opportunity to interact with many union presidents. For some of the same factors that it has been enjoyable to cover farmers in more recent times, covering them was enjoyable. Farmers, union leaders, and corporate executives are all not afraid to divulge data. They enjoy conversation, and reporters enjoy conversing with them.

Leaders of the Union are officials. In contrast to business managers, they are elected to office. People on the factory floor you choose someone else if they are dissatisfied. Provide the voters what they want, bright union frontrunners— and these men aren’t dummies.

They have a lot of demands from the manufacturers this season, and UAW leader Shawn Fain appears decided to fulfill them. Their initial demand called for a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, an increase in wages of 40 % over the course of four years, and numerous expensive benefit increases.

According to one estimate, accepting this first requirement would raise the Big Three’s typical hourly labour costs from$ 66 to$ 136. Since then, the union has reduced its demand for wage increases to 35 %. The organizations have been offering top 20 % discounts.

A hit was unavoidable with a space like that. It may take a while because it began on September 15. The union initially had an$ 825 million strike fund to maintain the viability of its picketing members. The UAW is rotating its focus on a few companies rather than all of them at once in order to extend the fund’s life.

The businesses may lose billions of dollars during a protracted strike, money they would otherwise have to invest in making electric vehicles. However, giving in would be detrimental to the Big Three.

For starters, they aren’t as large as they once were; Tesla and foreign-owned businesses produce the majority of the cars made in the US. That is a piece of Detroit’s issue.

Worse, because these rivals are non-union, they have a significant labor-cost benefit. The average hourly labour costs for Tesla are calculated to be$ 45, which is 20 dollars less than Detroit’s. A four-day workweek and double-digit monthly raises would make the Big Three yet less competitive.

For decades, GM, Ford, and Chrysler have all experienced decline. A contract that was incredibly weak had force them to contract even more. The people working on the shop floor may be making a significant action toward pricing themselves out of their employment if they get what they want.

The billions in improved pay and benefits the striking United Auto Workers are demanding are billions Detroit's Big Three need to invest in making electric cars. (Photo by Cindy Shebley)
Detroit’s Big Three must spend billions to produce electrical vehicles in order to meet the demands of the striking United Auto Workers for better pay and benefits. Cindy Shebley in the image

Electrical vehicles are a part of the issue for the coalition. According to standard wisdom, since they have fewer parts, building them didn’t require as many auto workers. Even those who disagree with regular knowledge believe that switching to electric cars will result in job losses.

However, in the long run, car staff can only compete with their employers in terms of performance. However, it’s difficult for them to understand that, and coalition officials don’t win re-election by discussing the future. The history of our nation’s labor-management relationships with us against them has conditioned work to fight for better pay and problems right now while administration worries about competitiveness.

Different nations have made an effort to foster a more unified feeling of we’re all in this together. Labor officials in Germany hold positions on the boards of directors of businesses. There are business organizations in Japan. Even though labor-management relationships are also frequently uncomfortable, they are typically less hostile than in the US. Attacks are uncommon in Japan.

The US won’t be imitating Japan or Germany. That makes sense. Giving employees financial incentives to advance their employers’ fight is one of the more British ways to align labor and management interests. Employees of Tesla receive share in the business.

Some employees have benefited from the Big Three’s profit-sharing agreements with the UAW, which have brought in up to$ 12, 000 annually. As much as I feel sorry for the employees, a better deal for them and managing may be lower pay raises and more scrumptious profit-sharing plans.

Urban Lehner, a longtime editor and correspondent for the Wall Street Journal Asia, is now the editor emeritus of DTN / The Progressive Farmer. & nbsp,

Copyright 2023 DTN / The Progressive Farmer is the title of this article, which was first published on October 2 by the latter news organization and is now being republished with authority by Asia Times. All right are reserved. Urban Lehner follows @ urbanize on Twitter.

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Booth, CelcomDigi unveil Malaysia’s first global prepaid card with paylater in collaboration with MasterCard

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First card to issue Mastercard Travel Rewards in M’sia & amp, SEAUsers can use a pre-approved credit line and obtain money from their Boost wallet.The Beyond Card, a two-in-one foreign passport in Malaysia powered by the Mastercard system, has been unveiled by Boost and CelcomDigi. & nbsp,This revolutionary card, according to…Continue Reading

Relentless COE prices? Observers say car sharing is the future

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According to Mr. Toh, the vehicle sharing industry has a lot of room for expansion. Now, eight blocks of flats are served by an average of two to three car-sharing vehicles.

The requirement, however, is significantly higher. & nbsp,

According to him,” We looked at the business and the flexibility needs of the country- we need at least 10, 000 to 20, 000 car sharing vehicles in Singapore, which will convert to just five to ten cars for discussing per HDB carpark.”

Technology must play a significant role in the option for car revealing to grow, according to Mr. Toh.

We are attempting to make discussing as good as owning, as durable as formulaic, and much more affordable ,” he said,” through the use of technology.”

” Car sharing must be sufficient so that when we do require a more secure, time-saving mode of transportation, we can do that simply for that we no longer need to own cars.”

He predicts that technological advancements will generate car sharing more accessible, affordable, and reliable within the next ten years, relieving the suffering of families who occasionally need a car but are unable to buy one.

” I believe we ( car sharing services ) can get pretty close to what people expect out of owning a car if you give us five to ten years.” Although it will never be exactly the same, he said,” I think we can get much closer.”

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The extreme robot arm that can chop up a ship

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Leviathan at workLeviathan
Chris Baraniuk
Writer in Business Technology

A massive mechanical arm swings into activity while brandishing a waterjet that can pierce material.

It is dissecting a sizable ship’s ship. The building quickly gives way to the cutting plane despite having withstood the sea’s power for decades. The machine will soon have cut out a sizable square of material.

The system softly advances to the following section after completing its task.

According to Bryce Lawrence, operations manager at Leviathan,” you can have computers starting at the arrow and the harsh, and two points in the middle, working towards each other.” The German-based company intends to disassemble large ships using a group of robots so that the material can be recycled.

One of the world’s dirtiest and most manipulative industries is shipbreaking today.

Mammoth ships frequently end up on a heavily polluted beach anywhere in South Asia when they retire from decades of transporting goods such as consumer products or fuel between continents. Workers it skillfully disassemble the ships using torches powered by fossil fuel. Safe attire is hard to come by. Death is no.

Labourers work on breaking down a decommissioned ship on September 20, 2021 in Gadani, Pakistan

shabby pictures

These beaches frequently release substances into the sea, including heavy metals. Staff and nearby communities are often exposed to hazardous substances like asbestos. According to estimates from Bimco, the Baltic and International Maritime Council, 15, 000 ships did need recycling over the next ten years, which is more than twice as much as it was in the previous tense.

Leviathan and other businesses are looking for ways to complete this job in a much cleaner and safer manner. However, there are no assurances that they will be able to compete with South Asia’s dirt-cheap miles.

We’re very, very small carbon when it comes to ship recycling, according to Mr. Lawrence, who also explains how collected steel may be transported to mills all over Europe on electrified trains at Leviathan’s Stralsund facility on the Atlantic coast of Germany. He continues,” Business functions are anticipated to begin in the upcoming times.”

The company’s prototype system is a combination of well-established technology. The waterjet is produced by ANT AG, another European company, and the machine wings are the kind that toil in auto factories, for instance.

Bomb disposal specialists use this exact technology to cut the fuses out of bombs because it blasts a mixture of water and sand at large pressures.

The general manager of ANT AG, Till Weber, advises that someone view the weapon, activate the controlling system, and then move as far away as they can. Thankfully, in these circumstances, the flight may be operated from a half-kilometer away. According to Mr. Weber, it is already in use in Ukraine.

Fuse being cut from bomb

ANT

Mr. Lawrence contends that such a program may one day finish the job much more quickly because it employs significantly fewer workers than conventional shipbreaking does. Leviathan is developing computer software that will automatically program how to hack up a vessel as effectively as possible.

On the other hand, all of this comes at a cost, and the machine arms must be mounted correctly on specialized machines that are attached to clean docks. They cannot simply be dumped on a shore.

Workers’ exposure to toxic substances at shipbreaking facilities in the UK and Spain has been studied by Sefer Gunbeyaz at the University of Strathclyde. He and colleagues discovered that exposure, especially to lead and copper debris, was” worrying” even in these nations.

He describes the waterjet-based system in Germany as having a” encouraging stop.” He does, however, point out that it is also important to manage substances in the water used to cut up ships.

According to Mr. Lawrence, a isolation area may be located at the Stralsund facility to catch harmful materials and jet water that have been blown off the ships. This liquid can be reused for more cutting after being thoroughly decontaminated.

The Dutch-based Elegant Exit Company also claims to be able to properly disassemble ships. It started recycling the 160m-long box vehicle Wan Hai 165 earlier this year.

At its Bahrain service, the company uses gas-fueled cutters, but it claims to remove hazardous materials before turning boats into large pieces of metal, up to 25 tons, for vehicles.

A spokeswoman says,” We de-Loke a ship ,” explaining that the plan is to safely disassemble each vessel separately. In the future, the company will assess mechanical, plasma, and waterjet mechanical cutters.

The Wan Hai

Elegant Exit Company

According to Ingvild Jenssen, the founder and director of the non-governmental firm Shipbreaking Platform, reuse ships has been a filthy business for far too long.

The fact that the entire freight industry is aware of the issues is even more surprising, she continues.

Despite the fact that for export are prohibited, some ship owners try to send ships from Europe to South Asian shipbreaking feet. Three oil rigs detained by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency ( Sepa ) in 2018 had been designated for dismantling on an Indian beach, according to a BBC investigation conducted in 2020.

Since then, two of the buildings have been dismantled at an EU-approved gardens in Turkey. According to Colin Morrow of Sepa,” The second equipment, Ocean Princess,” has not yet been disassembled and recovered because it was only exported to Turkey in May 2023.

According to Ms. Jenssen, better records of the toxic materials contained in a vessel was aid recyclers in properly processing it.

The University of Maryland’s Kuishuang Feng concurs and adds that shipowners may also be subject to a tax when purchasing an item that is redeemable if it is eventually recycled properly.

Presentational grey line

more firm technology

Presentational grey line

The late ratified Hong Kong Convention, according to Mr. Feng and Ms. Jenssen, does not go far enough to ensure the sustainability of shipbreaking. The International Maritime Organization’s representative, but, contends that the agreement will lessen the negative effects of ship recycling on the environment.

High-tech alternatives might have an impact. Mr. Lawrence asserts that Leviathan would only permit this in secure, controlled environments with the same capacity for capturing toxic substances as he claims is present at Stralsund, but that the company hopes to permit its system to different shipbreaking yards.

According to Jenssen, the condition in some South Asian miles is still one of” regular exploitation.” ” You have employees who commute to work but don’t return back.”

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