South Korean farmers protested against free-trade talks with the US yesterday, a day before the start of a new round of negotiations that have so far achieved few breakthroughs.
About 50 protesters, mostly farmers and their supporters, chanted peacefully against the proposed accord in the lobby of the airport on South Korea's southern island Jeju , as more than 100 riot police in tight formation stood nearby.
The protesters wore red and white headbands printed with slogans in Korean against the agreement. One protester wore a T-shirt printed with ``No! FTA'' in English.
PHOTO: AFP
The US and South Korea began talks in Washington in June, aiming to forge a trade liberalization accord that would be the biggest for the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.
A second round of talks in Seoul in July was met by large street protests. The third round was held in the US West coast city of Seattle last month, and the fourth is to be held on Jeju from today through Friday.
Tight security
Security at the resort island was tight, with Jeju's police force of 2,000 officers beefed up with 10,000 police from the mainland, according to Kim Chul-soo, a Jeju police official.
Police expect up to 20,000 protesters, including 5,000 from Seoul, to hold rallies, Kim said.
Protesters and police signed an agreement on Wednesday, Kim added, in which demonstrators had agreed not to hold violent protests.
In return, police agreed to allow the rallies to come as close as 500m to the venue for the talks, a hotel at the southern end of the island.
The US wants more access for its pharmaceuticals, automobiles, farm products and other goods, while Seoul wants South Korean products manufactured in North Korea to be subject to the agreement. The US has said it can't accept that.
South Korean rice and beef farmers, in particular, have vehemently opposed a deal, saying cheaper US products would jeopardize their livelihoods.
Mutual benefits
Both governments say that an accord would benefit both sides and boost economic growth between the allies, which have cooperated for decades in security and defense. They hope to have an agreement in place by the end of the year.
The clock is ticking because US President George W. Bush's legal authority to ``fast track'' a deal expires in the middle of next year.
Fast-tracking allows US envoys to negotiate an agreement that can be submitted to Congress for a straight yes-or-no vote without amendments.
Assistant US Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, the chief US negotiator, said at the previous round of talks that Washington remains committed to trying to reach an accord by the end of this year.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
RSS