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Apple reportedly tells suppliers to avoid 'Made in Taiwan' labels on shipments to China
Apple has reportedly warned Taiwanese suppliers to ensure shipments to China comply with a longstanding labeling regulation following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taipei.
Taiwan's presidential website hit by cyberattack ahead of Nancy Pelosi's visit
Taiwanese presidential spokesperson Chang Tun-Han said a distributed denial-of-service attack took down the website early Tuesday evening.
Taiwanese horror game ‘Devotion’ returns after China controversy
After it was pulled from Steam and GOG, the Taiwanese horror game 'Devotion' is back on sale.
HTC's first 5G smartphone is the mid-range U20
HTC stuck to its promise and unveiled its first 5G phone, the U20, at its Taipei event. On top of that, HTC also pushed out its slightly more affordable Desire 20 Pro with 4G connectivity.
White House said to be in talks with Intel, TSMC for US chip factories
The White House reportedly hopes to reduce its dependence on Asia for processors by having Intel and TSMC set up US factories.
The surveillance profiteers of COVID-19 are here
Our worlds are so upside-down and backwards right now that Wired claims Surveillance Could Save Lives Amid a Public Health Crisis, and privacy activist Maciej Cegłowski flat-out stated We Need A Massive Surveillance Program.
Apple removes Taiwan flag emoji from iOS in Hong Kong
Apple appears to have removed the Taiwan flag from the emoji keyboard of users that have their iOS region set to Hong Kong or Macau, according to a number of local websites, including Hiraku. The change, implemented via a software update, comes not long after the company released its iOS 13 operating system, and highlights the complicated relationship that Apple -- and indeed many American companies -- have with China.
Blizzard bans 'Hearthstone' pro for Hong Kong protest support
The esports world is finding itself embroiled in a political dispute. Blizzard has banned pro Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung (aka Blitzchung) for a year after he voiced support for Hong Kong protesters in a post-match interview. The statement allegedly violated rules forbidding players from saying something that "offends a portion or group of the public" or "otherwise damages" Blizzard's image. The developer is also kicking Chung out of the Grandmasters, eliminating his winnings from the tournament and halting work with the casters who conducted the interview despite their attempts to distance themselves from the statement.
Gogoro brings its on-demand electric scooter rentals to Taiwan
Gogoro is expanding its on-demand scooter rental service. In August, the two-wheeled, electric Smartscooters will be available as part of a ridesharing program in Taiwan called GoShare. The scooters will use Gogoro's swappable batteries, so instead of stopping to charge the vehicles, riders can pick up a new battery at a GoStation and be back on the road in a matter of minutes.
Tariffs are forcing Big Tech to move production out of China
In response to the Trump administration's trade war with China, major tech companies are preparing to relocate key manufacturing operations. According to Bloomberg, Google is moving production of its US-bound Nest thermostats and motherboards to Taiwan. The Wall Street Journal reports that Nintendo is shifting at least some production of its Switch console to Southeast Asia. At the same time, China has allegedly warned companies that they will face permanent consequences if they cooperate with Trump administration trade restrictions.
We’re live from Computex 2019 in Taipei!
Every summer, the PC industry descends on the capital of Taiwan to show off the latest in components, laptops and gaming gear. It's an opportunity for us to see the shape of things to come, and get excited about how much more powerful our machines are about to get. After a series of very long flights, we have congregated in Taipei to bring you the best of this year's show. So, stay tuned through the next week for all of the most exciting technology to come out of Computex 2019.
What to expect at Computex 2019
Computex offers us a chance to check in on the health of the PC market in an era when it was expected to wither on the vine. At last year's show, the PC industry, either through desperation or a newfound confidence, started to innovate once more. We saw designs with multiple screens, attempts to kill off the keyboard and better ideas around portability. It may have taken far longer than expected, but PC makers have realized they can't simply expect people to buy their products just because. So this what we're expecting, and in some cases hoping, to see this year at Computex when we hit the ground in Taiwan next week.
Foxconn boss Terry Gou is running for president of Taiwan
Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of electronics giant Foxconn, is stepping down from his role as chairman to run for president of Taiwan. He will stand in the primaries of the Kuomintang opposition party, promoting a more China-friendly policy during what is currently a period of heightened tension with Beijing.
Google's new Taiwan campus will focus on hardware
Google is expanding its Taiwan operations, which is already its largest R&D base in Asia after acquiring HTC's Pixel team. The tech giant has announced that it's establishing a new and bigger campus in New Taipei City, so it can double the size of its team. It will serve as Google's new engineering HQ in the country and as home to its hardware projects once the company starts moving employees to the new location by the end of 2020. The company will also hire hundreds more employees -- it says it's putting special emphasis on encouraging women to apply for technology roles -- to work in the campus throughout this year.
Grindr president defends controversial LGBTQ marriage remarks
The president of Grindr is trying to walk back controversial same-sex marriage comments reported by the app's in-house magazine and elsewhere. "Some people think that marriage is a holy union between a man and a woman, I think so too, but that's your own business," Scott Chen wrote on Facebook yesterday. The post, originally reported by Grindr's Into magazine, had users of the app and LGBTQ+ publications like Out wondering whether he supported gay rights.
US charges Chinese, Taiwan firms for stealing secrets from Micron
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice has filed charges against a Taiwanese company, a Chinese PRC-backed company, and three Taiwanese nationals of economic espionage against Idaho-based semiconductor manufacturer Micron over the production of F32nm DRAM. Sessions also announced the creation of the China Initiative, led by Assistant Attorney General John Demers, to identify Chinese trade theft and allocate the necessary resources to go after these cases.
3D gun distributor Cody Wilson deported to the US
Authorities aren't wasting any time bringing Cody Wilson, the owner of 3D-printed gun maker Defense Distributed, back to the US. Taiwan officials deported Wilson to the US on September 22nd following his arrest a day earlier over his annulled legal status in the area. It wasn't clear where in the US Wilson was headed, although a Texas city is a possibility given the US arrest warrant issued for him in state over allegations he paid for sex with an underage girl.
Qualcomm settles antitrust dispute with Taiwan regulators
Qualcomm and Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission have made peace and agreed to settle the chipmaker's antitrust dispute in the country. Taiwan's FTC accused Qualcomm of abusing its dominance in providing cellular chipsets for phones, ultimately slapping it with a $774 million fine in 2017. Now, after the San Diego-based tech giant denied those accusations and appealed the decision, the regulatory body has agreed to take and keep the $93 million initial fine Qualcomm paid in July. According to the company's statement, "no other amounts will be due."
Apple bug crashed iPhones when you wrote 'Taiwan'
Many tech companies have to write code to adapt to China's strict rules, including its denial of Taiwan's independent status. However, Apple's approach to it may have been... slightly buggy. Security researcher Patrick Wardle has reported that iOS 11.3 and earlier included a bug that would crash some users' devices whenever they wrote "Taiwan" or used the Taiwanese flag emoji, regardless of the app. While some aspects of the flaw remained mysterious to Wardle, he determined that certain language/region settings would return a "null" code, prompting the crash when referencing the island.
HTC will lay off 1,500 employees in search of profit
HTC has announced that it will lay off another 1,500 employees from its Taiwanese manufacturing division in a bid to restore its profitability. In a statement, the company says that it will reorganize itself (again) to better take advantage of efficiency savings as well as help cushion its non-existent bottom line. Officials have, however, pledged to work with the Bureau of Labor and help all of those affected.
