EZ News 04/13/23

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened down 44-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 15,888 on turnover of 3.6-billion N-T. The market closed slightly higher on Wednesday, as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's negative performance eroded gains made by select old economy stocks. U-S inflation concerns also resulted in local investors turning cautious and the trading day proved to be a tug-of-war between T-S-M-C and gaining non-tech stocks. **French Office Insisting Paris' Taiwan Position 'Unchanged' ** The French Office in Taipei is insisting that Paris' position on Taiwan "has not changed." The statement comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe cannot become a "follower" of either the United States or China on the issue of Taiwan. According to the French representative office, the government has been "in favor of peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait and such position "has never changed." And the office says France has advocated (提倡) the rule of law and the freedom of navigation and Paris is "deeply aware"of its "global responsibilities." **VP Lai Picked as DPP's 2024 Presidential Candidate ** The D-P-P has officially selected Vice President Lai Ching-te as its candidate for the 2024 presidential election. The party's Central Executive Committee approved Lai's nomination nearly a month after he registered as the sole (唯一) candidate for the party's primary selection process. Speaking to reporters following his official nomination, Lai said the 2024 election is not a matter of "war and peace" but a choice between "democracy and autocracy." According to Lai, the election will also decide "Taiwan's direction, in terms of the continuity of its democratic system, the happiness of its future generations, and the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific." **Japan Withdraws Alerts After NKorea Missile Launch ** North Korea has fired a ballistic missile, triggering a false-alarm from Japan’s alert system on Thursday. Warnings and evacuation orders were issued throughout the country after the system wrongly predicted (預料，預報) the missile would land near its northern territories. Chris Gilbert reports from Tokyo. **Prince Harry to Attend King Charles Coronation ** Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry will attend the Coronation service of his father, King Charles III, at Westminster Abbey on May 6. This ends months of speculation about whether the prince would be welcome after leveling charges of (控告) racism and media manipulation at the royal family. But Harry's wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with the couple’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The coronation date coincides with their son’s birthday. Harry’s attendance comes despite the rift within the House of Windsor prompted by Harry’s decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling book, “Spare.” That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn