Business Blog

SCMP: On a year-on-year basis, rare earth magnet shipments to the US were also down by 29.5 per cent in September, after falling 11.9 per cent in August, according to the data released on Monday 南華早報：週一公佈的數據顯示，9月中國對美國的稀土磁鐵出貨量年減29.5%，8月則下降11.9%
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3329693/chinas-rare-earth-magnet-exports-us-plunge-29-tensions-simmer?

SCMP: China imported no soybeans from the United States in September, but total imports remained at high levels amid a recent escalation in the US-China trade war, the latest Chinese customs data showed. 南華早報：中國海關最新數據顯示，9月中國並未從美國進口大豆，但在近期中美貿易戰升級的背景下，進口總量仍維持在高位
https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3329690/chinas-soybean-imports-surge-orders-us-hit-zero-and-south-america-cashing?

Video: Old friend in Hawaii, David Yang from Taiwan, an actor and singer recent performance in Taipei 夏威夷老朋友，來自台灣的歌星/演員，杨大为最近在台北表演
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8AtHj3J/
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8AtPMc5/

Video: Hilarious! The largest protest in US history! 7 million people took to the streets! Trump retaliates with a video! Wearing a crown and throwing feces! 笑死人！美国史上最大规模抗议！700万人涌上街头！川普发视频还击！戴皇冠扔大便!
https://rumble.com/v70jvqq-the-largest-protest-in-us-history-7-million-people-took-to-the-streets.html
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8AtPUYT/

US Chip Ban Backfires: China’s Cambricon Sales 14x as American Giant Micron Retreat 美國晶片禁令適得其反：中國寒武紀銷售額成長14倍，美國巨擘美光公司卻節期敗退, 美國跟中國鬥，未夠班，自取其辱!

Complete report https://globalimpulsemedia.com/us-chip-ban-backfires-chinas-cambricon-sales-14x-as-american-giant-micron-retreat/

Washington’s long-running campaign to cripple China’s technological ambitions through sanctions has not only failed, it has spectacularly backfired. The latest evidence comes from two ends of the semiconductor world: a stunning 14-fold revenue surge for Chinese AI chipmaker Cambricon Technologies, and a quiet retreat from China’s booming server market by American memory giant Micron. It’s a tale of two fortunes that perfectly illustrates the unintended consequences of mixing politics with market logic.

華盛頓長期以來試圖透過制裁來遏制中國科技雄心的行動不僅失敗了，而且適得其反。最新證據來自半導體產業的兩端：中國人工智慧晶片製造商寒武紀科技的營收驚人地成長了14倍，而美國記憶體巨頭美光公司則悄悄退出了中國蓬勃發展的伺服器市場。這是一個兩敗俱傷的故事，完美地展現了政治與市場邏輯相悖所帶來的意想不到的後果.

You’ve gotten old! 你老了! By Ronny TONG Ka Wah 湯家驊

“You’ve gotten old!” This isn’t a phrase you hear often in social settings; but for young people, it’s definitely what they most often want to say from the bottom of their hearts to certain elders they disapprove of, especially politicians or officials. “You’ve gotten old!” means you’re useless now! It’s time to step down.

Legislative Council President Andrew Leung, having served two terms and now 74 years old, announced he would not seek re-election. His words were barely out when a group of legislators aged 70 or even approaching 70 successively declared they would step down to make way for capable successors. For a time, legislators and officials nearing 70 all felt a sense of impending doom – had their time limit arrived?

Does being old mean one is incompetent? The situation in American politics seems to be the exact opposite. Ronald Reagan became US President just a month shy of his 70th birthday; but this record was soon broken by the 70-year-old Donald Trump. Four years later, Trump’s record was broken by Joe Biden, who assumed the presidency at 78; when Trump was elected again, he became the oldest successor to the US presidency. Some joke, asking if this is the reason for America’s decline? I wouldn’t dare say; but many are asking, in such a large, vast country, is it really impossible to find a young and promising person to enter politics?

To be fair, what qualities should a good political figure have? The answer, presumably, is a clear mind, broad vision capable of distinguishing right from wrong, and the determination to hold fast to ideals. Are these qualities more easily found in young people or in those with more experience? We all know the answer in our hearts.

But seeking talent cannot rely solely on data. There are high-quality young political novices, and there are also overbearing older politicians. Perhaps the deciding factor should be who rather than age. A good system should be one that widely incorporates capable individuals, not a rigid one. A system that changes personnel just for the sake of changing them is merely a rigid set of shackles that fails to achieve the desired outcome.

Nevertheless, from an institutional perspective, it is important to give young people more opportunities to realize their potential. On one hand, we must put an end to the culture of officials clinging to power, and on the other hand, we must have a mechanism that allows the capable to fully utilize their talents. Distinguishing between the two is a crucial skill.

你老了！這是一句社交場合不多聽到的話；但對年輕人來說，肯定是對一些他們不以為然的長者，特別是政客或官員最常想說的心底話。你老了！意思是說你沒用了！是退下的時候了。

立法會兩屆主席梁君彥以年屆74 歲為由，宣布不尋求連任。言猶在耳，一班年滿70 歲，甚至接近70的議員紛紛先後宣稱退位讓賢；一時年近70 歲的議員和官員人人自危，是否自己時限已到？

是否年老便不濟？美國政壇的情况卻似乎剛剛相反。列根以不足一個月便年屆70 之高齡就任美國總統；但這紀錄不久便被70 歲的特朗普打破。4年後，特朗普的紀錄又被拜登以年屆78 就任總統打破；到特朗普再當選時已是美國最年長的繼任總統。有人笑語這是否美國衰退的原因？不敢說；但很多人都在問，這麽大，這麼廣的國家，難道找一位年青有為的從政者也找不到？

平心而論，好的政治人物需要有什麼素質？答案相信是清晰的思路、能分辨對錯的廣闊視野及有堅持理想的決心。這些素質是年輕人還是閱歷較多的人比較容易擁有？大家心裏有數。

但是求人才不能只依賴數據。有好素質的年輕素人，也有專橫跋扈的年長從政者。也許決定關鍵應該是誰而不是年齡。好的制度應該是一個能廣納賢才而非硬梆梆的制度。一套為換人而換人的制度，只是一套刻板和不符合理想效果的制度枷鎖罷了。

儘管如此，從制度上而言，讓年輕人更有機會發揮他們的潛在力量是重要的。我們一方面要杜絕官員戀棧權位的文化，另一方面我們也要有能者盡用其才的機制。如何分別二者是一門重要學問。

SCMP: Chinese firm thanks ‘sales consultant’ Trump as tariff threat spurs orders 南華早報：中國公司感謝「銷售顧問」川普，因關稅威脅刺激訂單!

Dumb Trump has threatened additional tariffs of 100% on all Chinese imports starting November 1. MyActuator, a Suzhou-based manufacturer of intelligent drive modules for humanoid robots, has received more than 1,000 new orders in the past week alone to beat Nov 1st deadline. 愚蠢的川普威脅從 11 月 1 日起對所有中國進口產品徵收 100% 的額外關稅。蘇州人形機器人智慧驅動模組製造商 MyActuator 僅在過去一周就收到了 1,000 多份新訂單，以便在 11 月 1 日的最後期限前完成任務.
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3329465/chinese-robotics-firm-thanks-sales-consultant-trump-tariff-threat-spurs-orders?

SCMP: Nexperia China, the local unit of the Dutch chipmaker, has told its employees to follow orders from local management and ignore instructions from the Dutch head office, according to a letter issued to employees over the weekend. 南華早報：根據週末發給員工的一封信顯示，荷蘭晶片製造商安世半導體中國 (Nexperia China) 已告知員工要聽從當地管理層的命令，不要理會荷蘭總部的指示.
https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3329565/nexperia-china-tells-employees-ignore-orders-dutch-head-office?

Video: Dr. Alex Tsai Cheng-yuan, Esq, a Taiwan business executive is right: America keeps talking nonsense, and there’s only more nonsense to come! 台灣蔡正元法學博士說得對，美國天天癈話，祇有更多癈話! 言無倫次!
https://rumble.com/v70htyk-dr.-alex-tsai-cheng-yuan-esq-a-taiwan-business-executive-is-right-america-k.html
https://youtube.com/shorts/GjDppyA5kHM?si=oAVBllHB5QvxgI6B
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ApsBAn/

SCMP: Microsoft and Adobe discontinued usage in public and private sectors in China, formal decoupling with US. 南華早報：微軟和Adobe不再在中國被公和私營機構使用，中國正式和以上美國軟件脫鉤

China’s expansion of its rare earth export controls appeared to mark another escalation in the US-China trade war last week. But the announcements were also significant in another way: unusually, the documents could not be opened using American word processing software, only through WPS Office – China’s answer to Microsoft Office – as Beijing continues its tech self-reliance drive. Sending a message: Beijing issues documents without Word format amid US tensions 上週，中國擴大稀土出口管制，似乎標誌著中美貿易戰再次升級。但這些聲明在另一個方面也意義非凡：不同尋常的是，這些文件無法使用美國文字處理軟體打開，只能透過WPS Office（中國版微軟Office）打開，因為北京方面仍在繼續推動技術自主化。傳遞的訊息：在美中關係緊張之際，北京發布非Word格式的文件
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3328782/sending-message-beijing-issues-documents-without-word-format-amid-us-tensions?