On May 23, Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party claimed a thunderous sweep of India’s general elections. The party won well over the 303 seats in the lower house of Parliament required to form a government.
Due to India’s size and population, with up to 900 million people registered to vote, the election was carried out over seven phases of polling staggered over six weeks. The election, known as the world’s largest democratic exercise, was for 543 seats in India’s lower house of Parliament.
The election has been seen as a referendum on Modi. Although his economic reforms haven’t really succeeded, his popularity as a social underdog in India’s highly stratified society has endured.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
Modi’s vision of India is threefold, political analysts say: getting India into the exclusive US$5 trillion economy club that includes the EU, the US, China and Japan; asserting itself as a nuclear power and a force in the world; and placing its Hindu heritage at the center of politics.
In his first term, Modi was widely credited for trying to change a culture of crony capitalism throughout government. He also introduced numerous reforms, including a nationwide goods and services tax (GST).
These were credited with helping India soar up the World Bank’s ease-of-doing-business ranking by 23 places to 77th between 2017 and 2018.
However, experts say Modi needs to do more. In particular, he needs to reduce red tape and protectionism. In December, the government announced surprise restrictions on e-commerce. These would limit how foreign companies like Walmart and Amazon could operate.
Modi’s government failed to create jobs for over a million Indians entering the labor market every month, experts say.
A newspaper recently published a leaked government report, allegedly buried by the government, showing India’s unemployment at 6.1 percent, the highest since the 1970s.
India’s trade relationship with major partners, including the US and China, remains on a shaky footing.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has called out India on its high tariffs, price caps on imported US medical devices and rules around e-commerce trade.
Indian government officials say they fear Trump’s administration will soon end preferential trade treatment for India, which allows duty-free entry for up to US$5.6 billion worth of its exports to the US.
Adding to India’s troubles is the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China, which is likely to benefit countries such Japan and South Korea. India remains vulnerable to dumping of cheap Chinese imports.
(staff writer and Agencies)
印度民族主義總理納倫德拉‧莫迪及其所屬的印度人民黨,五月二十三日星期四在印度大選中獲得了壓倒性的勝利,贏得國會下議院三百零三個席位,得以完全執政。
印度幅員廣大、人口眾多,投票人數高達九億,因此投票分七階段進行、為期六週,被稱為世界上最大規模的民主實踐,以選出印度國會下議院共五百四十三席。
這次選舉被看做是對莫迪的公投。莫迪的經濟改革總體而言並未取得成功,但在印度階級分明的社會中,出身低種姓的莫迪仍大受歡迎。
政治分析家表示,莫迪對印度有三個願景:讓印度躋身五兆美元經濟俱樂部,和歐盟、美國、中國及日本平起平坐;鞏固印度的核子軍事強權地位;以及將其印度教傳統置於政治中心。
莫迪在第一個任期的表現廣受讚譽,因為他嘗試改變整個政府的裙帶資本主義文化,並進行許多改革,包括全國性的商品及服務稅。
世界銀行的經商便利度排名中,二○一七年至二○一八年間印度的排名提升了二十三位,來到第七十七位,即歸功於此。
但專家表示,莫迪還需要做得更多,特別是減少繁文縟節和保護主義。去年十二月,印度政府無預警宣布管制電子商務,限制沃爾瑪和亞馬遜等外國公司的營運方式。
對於每個月進入勞動市場的一百萬多萬印度人,專家表示莫迪政府迄今仍無法為其創造就業機會。
一家報紙最近披露了一份據稱是被當局壓下來、後又流出的政府報告,報告中顯示印度的失業率為百分之六點一,是自一九七○年代以來最高的。
印度和包括美國及中國在內的主要合作夥伴的貿易關係仍處於不穩定的狀態。
美國川普總統政府指責印度對由美國進口的醫療器材實施高關稅及價格上限,也批評印度對電子商務貿易的規範。
印度政府官員表示,他們擔心川普政府將很快就會取消印度的優惠貿易待遇,此優惠待遇讓印度可對美國免稅出口高達五十六億美元價值的貨品。
除了印度本身的問題,還有美國和中國間風波不斷的貿易爭端。美中貿易爭端可能會讓日本和南韓等國家受益,但印度仍對中國廉價商品的傾銷束手無策。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too