Tim Wu (吳修銘), a second-generation Taiwanese American, was on Friday named by US President Joe Biden as his special assistant for technology and competition policy, which is expected to impose more pressure on big tech firms.
The White House announced six additional staffers to its National Economic Council, including Wu, who reportedly coined the term “net neutrality” and has warned against an economy dominated by a few giant firms.
Wu, 49, was most recently a professor at Columbia University’s law school. He previously served as senior enforcement counsel to the New York Attorney General and as a senior adviser at the US Federal Trade Commission.
Photo: AP
“The president has been clear ... that he stands up to the abuse of power, and that includes the abuse of power from big technology companies and their executives,” White House spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said.
“Tim will help advance the president’s agenda, which includes addressing the economic and social challenges posed by the growing power of tech platforms, promoting competition and addressing monopoly and market power issues,” Psaki said.
In 2014, Wu joined the US Democratic Party’s primary for deputy governor of New York State, but did not win the election, although he received about 40 percent of the votes.
Wu was born in Washington, while his father, Alan Wu (吳明達), was from Tainan.
Many of their relatives in Taiwan represented the Democratic Progressive Party in local elections.
Alan Wu, who died of a brain tumor at age 42 in 1980, was an immunologist with a doctorate from the University of Toronto.
While doing research in Washington, Alan Wu distributed an underground journal named after a popular Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) song, Longing for Spring Breeze (望春風), Tim Wu said.
After his father passed away, Tim Wu and his younger brother were raised by their British-Canadian mother, Gillian Wu, Tim Wu said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS