Read News 2021.02.04 — Global Focus and Trending Topics

A daily roundup of trending global news topics for February 4, 2021 (ROC year 110), covering technology, life, travel, transportation, industry and finance, business, companies, stocks, foreign exchange, investment, real estate, automobiles, breaking news, art, design, politics, society, Taiwan, mainland China, cross-strait affairs, weather, natural disasters, and current events.

The “Read News” section collects the headline events and brief summaries of the most important key news from around the world that deserve your attention in recent days, letting you see the threads of social trends through the flow of quickly listed news events.

Global Focus Topics for February 4, 2021

• International & Society
• Science & Technology
• Business & Investment
• Nature & Medicine
• Travel & Leisure

Trending keywords: Cheng Chia-chun, Huang Jie, democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, Democracy Index, first day of school, FBI, travel, The Economist, schools

International & Society

Start of school postponed to February 22; the Advanced Subjects Test postponed to July 3–5: According to an announcement today by the Central Epidemic Command Center, in consideration of the continued severity of the international pandemic and to ensure campus environmental health and safety, complete epidemic prevention operations, and environmental cleaning and disinfection before the start of school after the Lunar New Year holiday, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung stated that the start of the second semester of the 109th academic year for senior high schools and below will be postponed by four days to February 22. The schedule for the university Advanced Subjects Test has been adjusted, with the original July 1–3 postponed to July 3–5, while the exam scope remains unchanged.

Aung San Suu Kyi formally charged; the offense: possession of a walkie-talkie: After Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won an overwhelming victory in last year’s election, Myanmar’s military launched a coup on the 1st, seizing power on the grounds of election fraud. The 75-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi has been formally charged with violating Myanmar’s Import and Export Law because she was found in possession of illegally imported radio communication equipment. President Win Myint was charged with violating the 2019 COVID-19 prevention measures and the Disaster Management Law for meeting many visitors during last year’s election period.

The Economist releases the 2020 Democracy Index; Taiwan (Republic of China) ranks first in East Asia: The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), affiliated with the British publication The Economist, released the 2020 Democracy Index, in which Taiwan (Republic of China) ranked 11th among 167 countries and regions evaluated, the highest in East Asia, while North Korea came in last.

Tatung University’s relocation sparks “new address revealed”; the future of 40,000 ping in Taipei’s prime zone uncovered: After control of Tatung changed hands, in addition to entering the electric vehicle industry, its land asset development has also drawn attention. A person familiar with the matter revealed: “The two major shareholders Wang Kuang-hsiang and Cheng Wen-yi have reached a consensus and are brewing a plan to relocate Tatung University to the current site of the Tatung Group’s Shangzhi Container Yard in Keelung, because planning had already been done back in the era of Tatung founder Lin Ting-sheng.”

The battle over channel 52 — why did China Network Systems drop Global News and propose CTS? Chao Shao-kang: NT$1 billion over 4 years, who dares offend the NCC: Cable channel 52 has remained vacant since CTi News was shut down by the government. Because cable TV rates require NCC approval, if a cable operator gains 2–3 million subscribers and collects NT$10 per subscriber, it earns NT$20 million a month, or NT$1 billion over four years. Thus no one dares offend the NCC, and China Network Systems had to concede channel 52 to CTS.

South Korea’s defense white paper’s change to calling Japan a “neighboring country” draws dissatisfaction; U.S.: hopes the two countries will work together: The situation on the Korean Peninsula has once again drawn attention! South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense published its “Defense White Paper” on the 2nd, changing its description of Japan from the previous “partner” to “neighboring country,” reflecting a clear decline in closeness; Japan expressed regret over this, while the U.S. Department of Defense also emphasized on the 2nd that both South Korea and Japan are the most important allies of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region, and it hopes to work together with both countries to address threats and maintain regional peace.

Science & Technology

macOS 11.3 developer beta released: The biggest update ever to the Safari browser, letting users further customize the “Start Page” and rearrange sections using various custom controls including favorite websites, the “Reading List,” and “Siri Suggestions.” New preference panels have been added to iPad and iPhone apps, letting users further replace touch with keyboard commands.

Sony has sold a total of 4.5 million PS5 units: The PlayStation 5 appears to have been out of stock ever since launch, nearly impossible to find, but in fact it really is that no matter how hard Sony tries, it cannot fill the hole in demand — Sony sold a total of 4.5 million PS5 units last year (in fact, just two months after launch), and with the PS4 also selling another 1.4 million units, Sony’s gaming division recorded its best-ever quarterly revenue of 883.2 billion yen (about NT$235 billion), a surge of 40% compared with 2019.

Li Ziqi’s YouTube subscriptions reach 14.1 million, setting a world record: Guinness World Records’ official Weibo posted on the 2nd that the mainland internet celebrity Li Ziqi, hailed as “the first person of ancient-style cuisine,” refreshed on January 25 this year, with 14.1 million YouTube subscribers, the title of “most-subscribed Chinese-language YouTube channel” that she had also set last July.

**Suspected copyright infringement and piracy; the team behind the Chinese video site “Renren Yingshi” has been…