Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech on the day of her seventh year anniversary since she held office in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2023. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Saturday to maintain the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait amid high tensions with China, which has stepped up military pressure on the democratically governed island.
Taiwan will not provoke and will not bow to Chinese pressure, Tsai said in a speech in the presidential office in Taipei marking the seventh anniversary of her governance.
China, which considers Taiwan as its own and threatens to bring the island under its control if necessary, has stepped up military and diplomatic pressure to force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty since Tsai took office in 2016.
Beijing has rebuffed calls for talks from Tsai, regarding her to be a separatist. Tsai has repeatedly vowed to defend Taiwan's freedom and democracy.
"War is not an option. Neither side can unilaterally change the status quo with non-peaceful means," Tsai said. "Maintaining the status quo of peace and stability is the consensus for both the world and Taiwan."
"Although Taiwan is surrounded by risks, it is by no means a risk maker. We are a responsible risk manager and Taiwan will stand together with democratic countries and communities around the world to jointly defuse the risks," she said.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations agreed they were seeking a peaceful resolution to issues on Taiwan, the host of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, said on Friday.
Tsai said Taiwan officials are in discussions with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on sending $500 million worth of weapons aid to Taiwan, adding that the aid was meant to address deliveries of weapons delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She stressed the global importance of Taiwan's supply chain, which produces most of the world's advanced semiconductor chips, and vowed to keep the most advanced chip technologies and research and development centres in Taiwan.
Taiwan is gearing up for a key presidential election in mid-January, with China tensions set to top the campaign agenda.
Representing Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party for the key vote in mid-January, New Taipei City mayor Hou Yu-ih said on Saturday that Taiwan faces a choice between "peace and war" under Tsai's rule and he vowed to keep regional stability through unspecified "dialogue and exchanges".
"The fears for war will never drive away the hope for peace," Hou said at an event in Taipei to kick off his election campaign, vowing to defend the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name.
Hou is running against Taiwan Vice President William Lai from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
The KMT, which favours close ties with China, has framed the 2024 vote as a choice between war and peace.
In the presidential office when asked about the opposition's stance on the elections, Tsai said maintaining peace should be the consensus for all political parties in Taiwan, and that one should not "sell the fears of war for elections gains."
Taiwan gearing up for hot presidential race
Ahead of a key presidential election scheduled for January 2024, Taiwan is bracing itself for further aggression actions from China, with cross-strait relations at the top of the campaign agenda. Due to term limits, Tsai will not be standing for reelection.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih, representing Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party in the election, stated on Saturday that the choice facing Taiwan under Tsai's leadership is between "peace and war." He pledged to preserve regional stability through "dialogue and exchanges."
In response, Tsai emphasized that all political parties in Taiwan should reach a consensus on maintaining peace and cautioned against exploiting the fear of war for electoral gains. Taiwan Vice President William Lai, from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, will be running in the presidential election against Hou.
Uang rupiah tahun emisi (TE) 2022. (Foto: ANTARA/HO Peruri)
Uang rupiah tahun emisi (TE) 2022 dinobatkan sebagai the best new banknote series (seri uang kertas baru terbaik) pada Currency Award ke-17 yang diselenggarakan oleh International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) tahun 2023, di Meksiko, pada hari Selasa, 16/05/2023.
Keberhasilan uang rupiah dalam ajang ini bersaing dengan empat finalis lainnya, yaitu Bank Sentral Costa Rica, Bank Sentral Meksiko, Bank Sentral Filipina, dan Bank Sentral Bahamas, kata Direktur Utama Peruri Dwina Septiani Wijaya, dalam keterangan di Jakarta, Jumat.
Unsur penilaian pemenang pada penghargaan ini ditentukan melalui kriteria yang mencakup inovasi dan keunikan fitur keamanan, integrasi unsur sejarah dengan konten lokal yang berkaitan dengan negara penerbit, efektivitas dari integrasi fitur keamanan dan estetika tampilan serta desain uang kertas.
Dwina Septiani Wijaya mengatakan melalui ajang tersebut, kompetensi Peruri sebagai perusahaan percetakan uang telah dibuktikan melalui torehan penghargaan tingkat dunia.
“Pembaruan unsur fitur-fitur sekuriti yang melekat dalam uang rupiah merupakan bukti nyata bahwa Peruri terus meningkatkan kapabilitasnya sebagai banknotes printer kelas dunia, sehingga berhasil membawa uang rupiah mendapat afirmasi dari dunia internasional sebagai uang kertas yang berkualitas,” katanya pula.
Uang rupiah TE 2022 dilengkapi dengan berbagai penguatan dan inovasi pada aspek desain, unsur pengaman, dan bahan uang agar uang rupiah semakin indah, lebih aman, dan lebih tahan lama.
Inovasi dan penguatan tersebut menjadikan uang rupiah semakin mudah dikenali, sulit untuk dipalsukan, serta memiliki masa edar lebih lama, sehingga uang rupiah semakin berkualitas dan terpercaya serta menjadi kebanggaan sebagai alat pembayaran yang sah dan simbol kedaulatan Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia (NKRI).
Kesuksesan ini juga merupakan lanjutan dari pencapaian sebelumnya yang diraih oleh Uang Peringatan Kemerdekaan (UPK) 75 Tahun Republik Indonesia pecahan Rp75.000 sebagai finalis best commemorative pada IACA 2022.
“Di tengah pengembangan bisnis digital yang sedang dilakukan Peruri, perusahaan tetap fokus dalam menjalankan bisnis di bidang security printing. Peruri selaku mitra strategis Bank Indonesia memiliki komitmen yang kuat untuk mendukung tugas Bank Indonesia, dalam hal ini melakukan pencetakan uang rupiah yang handal dan memiliki kualitas berkelas dunia,” kata Dwina.
Dalam hal pencetakan uang, Peruri selalu mengedepankan upaya yang terbaik, di antaranya meningkatkan kualitas fitur-fitur sekuriti, melakukan riset terhadap teknologi pencetakan uang kertas terkini, serta memutakhirkan teknologi permesinan.
Kini, sejalan dengan perkembangan teknologi digital, Peruri telah merambah ke bisnis security digital melalui produk utamanya, yaitu Peruri Sign, Peruri Code, dan Peruri Trust untuk menjaminkan keaslian dokumen elektronik dan pihak-pihak yang bertransaksi di dunia digital.
Usaha Kecil Menengah (UKM) binaan PLN Unit Induk Wilayah Nusa Tenggara Barat (UIW NTB) di Lombok, Unique Rajut & Fashion sebulan mampu menghasilkan 30 potong pakaian dan pernak-pernik. Satu bulan mereka bisa mendapatkan penghasilan Rp 5 juta. Yang menarik pangsa pasarnya, tidak hanya dipasarkan di daerah pulau Jawa, Nusa Tenggara Timur, tetapi hingga ke Eropah.
Usaha yang dimulai sejak 2014 dan setelah berjalan enam tahun, 2020 menjadi mitra binaan PLN UIW NTB. Ternyata banyak yang tertarik. Menurut pemiliknya, Yuni, dimulai dari produk rajutan terlebih dahulu. Ternyata banyak yang tertarik dengan produk yang dibuat akhirnya mencoba menjadikannya sebagai usaha.
"Awalnya dari hobi, saya membuat produk tas itu untuk pemakaian sendiri," katanya.
Yuni mengemukakan bahwa usaha yang ditekuninya kini mulai menunjukkan hasil setelah bergabung menjadi mitra binaan Rumah BUMN PLN. Yuni bercerita awal mula menjalani bisnisnya hingga berhasil berkembang di bawah pendampingan Rumah BUMN Lombok Barat.
Unique Rajut mulai berkolaborasi dengan Rumah BUMN PLN di tahun 2020. Setelah masuk di Rumah BUMN Lombok Barat, mendapatkan banyak pendampingan, pelatihan, tips cara mempromosikan produk di era digital, cara membuat laporan keuangan. "Kesemuanya saya coba terapkan di usaha yang saya tekuni," ujar Yuni.
Produk Mitra Binaan PLN NTB
“Setelah masuk di Rumah BUMN Lombok Barat, kita mendapatkan banyak pendampingan, pelatihan, tips cara mempromosikan produk di era digital, cara membuat laporan keuangan, dan kesemuanya saya coba terapkan di usaha yang saya tekuni,” tambah Yuni.
Yuni mengaku produknya yang berbahan dasar benang kapas Lombok karena teksturnya unik berbeda, sangat bagus dan berfungsi untuk daerah dingin. Ia pun berharap ke depannya bisa lebih maju lagi, lebih memahami cara untuk mengelola usaha dan bisa memiliki daya saing dengan UKM dari daerah lainnya.
PLN UIW NTB sebagai BUMN menunjukkan komitmen dalam mendukung dan membina UKM di NTB yang dalam beberapa tahun terakhir ini menjadi tulang punggung ekonomi. Dengan tantangan yang dihadapi oleh UKM masih cukup besar, terutama dalam hal akses terhadap infrastruktur dan sumber daya yang dibutuhkan, PLN meluncurkan sejumlah program yang bertujuan untuk membantu UKM mengatasi hambatan tersebut.
Melalui berbagai program dan inisiatif, salah satunya Rumah BUMN Lombok Barat, PLN telah menjadi mitra strategis bagi sejumlah UKM dalam mendorong pertumbuhan dan kemandirian ekonomi di tingkat lokal.
Senior Manager KKU PLN UIW NTB, Harfry Jack menjelaskan bahwa Rumah BUMN Lombok Barat binaan PLN Unit Induk Wilayah NTB ini adalah suatu program yang menjadi komitmen untuk membantu UMKM maupun usaha-usaha lain untuk kita kembangkan potensi dan pemberdayaannya.
Komitmen dari PLN UIW NTB di antaranya melakukan pembinaan baik berupa pelatihan maupun pendampingan terhadap UMKM nya. "Seperti desain produk, pengembangan produk hingga pemasarannya," ucap Jack.
Tidak hanya itu, PLN juga secara aktif memfasilitasi UKM dalam mengembangkan jaringan bisnis mereka. Melalui forum, pameran, dan pertemuan bisnis, UKM dapat berinteraksi dan menjalin kerjasama dengan pemangku kepentingan atau stakeholder lainnya. Hal ini membantu UKM untuk memperluas pangsa pasar mereka dan meningkatkan visibilitas merek mereka.
Keberhasilan program-program PLN dalam membina UKM terbukti melalui sejumlah cerita sukses. Banyak UKM yang telah mengalami peningkatan pendapatan, ekspansi bisnis, dan peningkatan kualitas hidup berkat dukungan dari PLN.
Harapannya, di era yang semakin fokus pada keberlanjutan dan tentunya sebagai upaya yang lebih holistik, PLN mendorong UKM dapat terus mengembangkan produk dan usahanya, sehingga bisa memberikan dampak ke masyarakat, menyerap tenaga kerja, dan membangun perekonomian di NTB.
PLN Unit Induk Wilayah NTB terus menunjukkan komitmen dalam mendukung dan membina Usaha Kecil Menengah (UKM) di NTB yang dalam beberapa tahun terakhir ini menjadi tulang punggung ekonomi.
Dengan tantangan yang dihadapi oleh UKM masih cukup besar, terutama dalam hal akses terhadap infrastruktur dan sumber daya yang dibutuhkan, PLN meluncurkan sejumlah program yang bertujuan untuk membantu UKM mengatasi hambatan tersebut.
Melalui berbagai program dan inisiatif, salah satunya Rumah BUMN Lombok Barat, PLN telah menjadi mitra strategis bagi sejumlah UKM dalam mendorong pertumbuhan dan kemandirian ekonomi di tingkat.
“Komitmen dari PLN UIW NTB di antaranya melakukan pembinaan baik berupa pelatihan maupun pendampingan terhadap UMKM nya, seperti desain produk, pengembangan produk hingga pemasarannya,” kata Jack.
Tidak hanya itu, PLN juga secara aktif memfasilitasi UKM dalam mengembangkan jaringan bisnis mereka. Melalui forum, pameran, dan pertemuan bisnis, UKM dapat berinteraksi dan menjalin kerjasama dengan pemangku kepentingan atau stakeholder lainnya. Hal ini membantu UKM untuk memperluas pangsa pasar mereka dan meningkatkan visibilitas merek mereka.
Keberhasilan program-program PLN dalam membina UKM terbukti melalui sejumlah cerita sukses. Banyak UKM yang telah mengalami peningkatan pendapatan, ekspansi bisnis, dan peningkatan kualitas hidup berkat dukungan dari PLN.
“Harapan kami di era yang semakin fokus pada keberlanjutan dan tentunya sebagai upaya yang lebih holistik, PLN mendorong UKM dapat terus mengembangkan produk dan usahanya, sehingga bisa memberikan dampak ke masyarakat, menyerap tenaga kerja, dan membangun perekonomian di NTB,” tutup Jack.
According to the Russian MoD’s calculations, since the beginning of the special operation to protect Donbass, Russia has destroyed 428 Ukrainian airplanes, 234 helicopters, and 9,218 tanks.
The Russian Armed Forces delivered high-precision strikes with cruise missiles on Ukrainian depots containing foreign equipment and ammunition, the MoD says. As a result, a significant part of Ukraine's stockpile was destroyed.
“Last night, the Russian Armed Forces launched group strikes by high-precision long-range sea- and air-based weapons against the enemy's reserves and full-sized depots storing foreign armament and hardware. The purpose of the strike has been achieved,” the MoD said in a statement.
The movement of reserves into combat areas was also thwarted.
The Russian Armed Forces successfully operated in the Kupyansk, Krasny Liman, and Kherson directions, as well as in the Donbass and Zaporozhye regions, crushing Kiev militants and their equipment, including a cutting-edge US-made artillery system and a Soviet-designed Su-24 aircraft.
When Russia launched its special military operation to protect the people of Donbass, Western countries ramped up military support for the Kiev regime, providing it with state-of-the-art equipment. Moscow officials have consistently warned that such moves have a detrimental effect on the crisis and that NATO weaponry, no matter how sophisticated, will eventually be destroyed.
This week, a Russian Kinzhal missile hit a US Patriot missile battery in Kiev – an air defense system once considered a symbol of US military supremacy.
Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
▪️In the Lvov region, a fuel storage facility for Ukrainian military equipment was destroyed;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed up to 130 Ukrainian soldiers in the DPR;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces delivered a strike with long-range precision weapons at the points of deployment and training centers of units, as well as warehouses of the Ukrainian Army;
▪️ During the day, Russian troops destroyed more than 85 Ukrainian military and Gvozdika self-propelled guns near Krasny Liman;
▪️Assault detachments are fighting in the western part of Artemovsk;
▪️The units of the Russian Army hold back the Ukrainian Armed Forces, covering the flanks of the assault detachments in the battles for Artemovsk;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed a warehouse of missile and artillery weapons of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the DPR;
▪️Russian Armed Forces destroyed up to 120 military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the south of the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region;
▪️Russian troops destroyed up to 65 Ukrainian soldiers near Kupyansk in a day;
▪️As a result of the strike with high-precision weapons, the supply, training and formation of reserves of the Ukraine Army were disrupted;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed an ammunition depot of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the DPR;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed more than 70 Ukrainian military and mercenaries in the Artemosvk area in a day.
While Kiev is declaring big plans for a so-called "counteroffensive", the real state of the Ukrainian military and the gruesome death toll remain concealed from the public in order to give the regime an opportunity to force more people into service as cannon fodder.
Russian Armed Forces "bombarded" Ukrainian militants with leaflets looking like hryvnias - the local currency - in the special operation zone.
The idea behind the design is simple – when they see such leaflets they feel an irresistible urge to pick them up, since money always attracts attention.
While these leaflets won't enrich Ukrainian troops, they could provide something much more precious – a chance to survive. The tiny pieces of paper contain instructions for a safe surrender and act as a safe pass.
Another type of leaflet depicts Volodimir Zelensky calling to go on offensive against the Russian Army - and on the other side of the paper, the Ukrainian sees the most probable result of such an offensive - a fresh grave.
These leaflets are a part of psychological warfare – a relatively new dimension of military conflicts that became popular during WWI and played a tremendous role in WWII – the Soviet Union started actively using "safe surrender passes" after the Battle of Stalingrad, in which Nazis were crushed and began to realize that they will never win.
📃 How to make the enemy surrender with a piece of paper?
In order to have a demoralizing effect on the enemy, the Russian military "bombarded" Ukrainian soldiers with leaflets, some with the image of Zelensky and even in the form of hryvnias (Ukrainian currency) with special inscriptions on them.
They are being delivered via projectiles for the Grad MLRS. After a shell burst, leaflets are scattered over an area of more than a square kilometer. For the Ukrainian military, the leaflet serves as a "pass" for a safe surrender.
The destruction of depleted uranium ammunition supplied by the West to Ukraine has led to the appearance of a radioactive cloud that is heading toward Western Europe, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Friday.
"They (the US) also 'helped' Ukraine, put pressure on their satellites and supplied ammunition with depleted uranium. Its destruction led to the fact that a radioactive cloud headed towards Western Europe. And an increase in radiation has already been recorded in Poland," Patrushev said.
In addition, the United States is developing and already using chemical and biological weapons, including on the territory of Ukraine, the official added.
‘Conflict is coming,’ UK defense secretary warns
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned that the UK could enter a direct conflict with Russia and China in the next seven years and has called for an increase in military spending to counter the potential threat.
Speaking to the Financial Times on Friday, the official claimed that the world will be “a more dangerous, unstable place” by the end of the decade and that “defense will be more critical in our lives.” He explained that the world is seeing “the end of the abnormal period [of peace] post-cold war” and that “a conflict is coming with a range of adversaries around the world.”
Wallace has pleaded to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt to establish a firm timetable for increasing the UK’s military spending from 2.1% to 2.5% of gross domestic product. That’s after Hunt had previously expressed his support for the proposal and promised in March to supply the Defense Ministry with an extra £11 billion ($13.6bn) over the next five years.
The defense secretary also applauded Germany’s recently announced plans to set up a €100-billion ($107bn) fund to modernize its armed forces, and called it “an important message for [people] across Britain that we’re going back to the days where you need to invest in defense.”
However, while Wallace has been pushing for more military spending and more military support for Ukraine, he has also been calling for a significant reduction in the size of Britain’s own army. Last week, the Times reported that the Defence Secretary intends to proceed with plans to cut down the number of infantry personnel from 82,000 to just over 70,000 and the number of tanks from 227 to 148.
“We have too much infantry – a legacy of the counter-insurgency wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We need more artillery. The jury is out on whether you need main battle tanks,” a government source told the outlet.
Meanwhile, military experts have warned that the UK at present may not be up to task if it were to have a military engagement with a near-peer adversary. Wallace himself had previously stated that Britain’s army is “hollowed out and underfunded” while retired General Richard Barrons claimed that the UK would run out of ammo within just hours in case of a major conflict.
UK, Norway Launch 'Strategic Partnership' in Undersea Domain
Despite the nations ostensibly teaming up to protect undersea infrastructure following Nord Stream blasts, the extent of their own alleged culpability in the attacks, which robbed Central and Western Europe of a major source of natural gas, remains unclear.
The UK and Norway have signed a security partnership in undersea domain, which includes the prevention of attacks on infrastructure, including gas pipeline and cables.
Under the agreement, announced by the defense ministers of both countries, Ben Wallace and Bjorn Arild Gram, Britain and Norway have also pledged to exchange intelligence, counter mine threats and improve the detection of submarines from hostile nations.
"The growing use of the seabed for energy and communications purposes has resulted in increased opportunities for adversaries to threaten Western subsea critical national infrastructure, as seen through the damaging of the Nord Stream pipeline, where the UK and Norway have jointly increased security patrols in the region," a statement by the UK Defence Ministry said, citing "shared interests in the North Sea" and promising to simplify the process for allies and partners to "join or complement" the UK-Norwegian cooperation.
Gram also cited last year's sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines as a "concrete reminder of what is at stake."
This announcement builds on ongoing defense cooperation between the two countries, as well as shared capabilities such as P-8A maritime patrol aircraft and F-35s. On a more concrete level, the UK will send its first patrolling ship, the RFA Proteus, to the North Sea in July, with the goal of protecting wind farms, cables and gas pipelines in Norwegian and British waters, Wallace said, claiming Russia's alleged "intent and capability" to sabotage critical Western infrastructure.
The references to the Nord Stream blast sounded rather uncanny as a series of revelation pieces published by US veteran journalist Seymour Hersh earlier this year specifically uncovered Norway's alleged role in it. According to Hersh, explosives under the Russian pipelines were planted by US Navy divers, assisted by Norwegian specialists, under the guise of the Baltops exercise.
Hersh furthermore wrote that "much of the secret planning and training" for the sabotage attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines "took place in Norway," citing the Norwegian Navy's "long and murky history of cooperation with American intelligence," starting from the Vietnam War, where at least two Norwegian seamen had confessed to complicity in covert operations organized by the CIA.
The role of the UK in the Nord Stream blasts isn't clear as well, as last November Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sought answers regarding the mysterious "It's done" iPhone message allegedly sent by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss to the US secretary of state Antony Blinken moments after the sabotage attacks against the Nord Stream network in late September.
Following the blasts, Western officials and media immediately launched a chorus claiming that Russia blew up its own $20 billion pipeline infrastructure for whatever reasons. The Kremlin accused the West of an "unprecedented act of state terrorism" involving Nord Stream, but did not name any specific states, with President Vladimir Putin only hinting involvement by the "Anglo-Saxons" (which in Russia is seen as a typical reference to the Anglosphere).
US Explains What Happened When Patriot Tried to Intercept Russia's Kinzhal
Earlier, US officials said they were "still assessing" damage dealt to the Patriot air defense system by a hypersonic Kinzhal missile.
US-made air defense system Patriot lost all of its 32 missiles trying to intercept a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger), an international portal, dedicated to military analytics, has reported. This attempt reportedly costed roughly $96 million.
The military experts cited by the outlet stress that Kinzhal missiles were specially designed to avoid and destroy air defense systems, which is why the US-made Patriot had no chance. They add that Patriots are rather easy prey since their radars give out powerful electromagnetic waves and Russian Armed Forces have no problem locating them. The American air defense system is static and it takes a great effort to relocate it.
Previously Russian MoD stated that Kinzhals destroyed a multifunctional radar station in Kiev as well as five launchers of Patriot surface-to-air missiles interceptors.
Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Received Parcel With Traces of Explosives
Editor-in-Chief of the RT broadcaster and the Rossiya Segodnya media group Margarita Simonyan said on Friday that a parcel that was sent to her from Hong Kong did not contain any explosive device.
Earlier in the day, Simonyan said that a parcel with traces of explosives addressed to her had arrived at work.
