leading-edge technology的八卦，Yahoo名人娛樂都在討論

#台灣是全球最重要的1萬4000平方英哩島嶼
台灣的面積僅略大於美國馬里蘭州，但在全球尖端晶片（10奈米以下）製造中，有92％的產能集中在台灣，且台灣也是筆記型電腦、桌上型電腦主機板等其他科技產品的重要生產中心，包括高通、輝達、蘋果等晶片設計大廠，均依賴台積電等台灣廠商負責生產。

美國智庫「資訊科技與創新基金會」（ITIF）的全球創新政策副總裁Stephen Ezell直言：「台灣是全球最重要的1萬4000平方英哩島嶼。」

“This is the most important 14,000-square-mile island in the world,” says Stephen Ezell, VP of global innovation policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

美國新聞網站Axios在9日以「為何台灣遭受威脅，對科技產業是一場惡夢」Why threats to Taiwan are a nightmare for tech為題報導，台灣的半導體製造能力在全球舉足輕重，美國總統拜登應在美方的太平洋及亞洲安全和經濟策略中，將台灣置於核心。

Why it matters: Taiwan is home to 92% of the world's leading-edge chip manufacturing operations and a vital center for producing other tech components, including laptops and PC motherboards.— AXIOS

科技始終在美台經濟關係中扮演核心的角色。在未來的20年裡，全球大約有超過30億的人口將搬到都市。幸運的是，美國及台灣在發展新興AI智慧城市科技上位居領先地位。今天我們在智慧城市論壇，與經濟部政務次長曾文生、台北市長柯文哲及Uber首席運營長 Barney Harford，一同探索了未來交通的趨勢及機會。美國在台協會處長酈英傑致詞講稿，請參考：https://goo.gl/pNU5Bw

Technology has always been at the heart of the U.S.-Taiwan economic relationship. More than 3 billion people are expected to move into the world’s cities over the next 20 years. Fortunately, the United States and Taiwan are at the leading edge for developing new AI-enabled smart city technologies. Today, participants in AIT’s Smart Cities symposium explored trends and opportunities related the future of transportation with Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, and Uber Chief Operating Officer Barney Harford. Director Christensen gave introductory remarks: https://goo.gl/9Pbk3Q

[時事英文] A Potential Trade War with China

當我們的媒體還忙著討論某某小孩涉嫌恐嚇，我相信同學可以把注意力放在比較重要的國際新聞，例如最近大幅度報導的「潛在中美貿易戰」，來學習一下英文和更了解世界大事。

錄音檔: https://wp.me/p44l9b-1qK

★★★★★★★★★★★★

1. potential trade war 潛在的貿易戰
2. put into effect 落實
3. steel and aluminum tariffs 鋼鐵和鋁關稅
4. trade sanctions 貿易制裁
5. retaliate against 報復
6. likely targets 可能的目標
7. political constituencies 政治支持者
8. double down 雙倍下注
9. slap tariff on 加徵關稅
10. escalate a dispute 升級爭端
11. unfair retaliation 不公正的報復
12. hit by tariffs 受關稅影響
13. direct reaction to 直接反應
14. remedy its misconduct 糾正其不當行為
15. impose tariff 徵收
16. protect technology and intellectual property 保護技術和知識產權
17. high-stakes gamble 高風險的賭博
18. coercive tactics 強製手段
19. spook financial markets 嚇壞金融市場
20. bring about 引起, 造成
21. initial round of 首輪
22. artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous vehicles 人工智能，機器人和自動駕駛汽車
23. place levies on 徵稅
24. depend on agriculture 取決於農業
25. derail global economic expansion 阻撓全球經濟擴張
26. tit-for-tat 以牙還牙
27. will not back down 永不退縮
28. follow suit 跟隨
29. send financial markets spinning 導致金融市場翻天覆地
30. trade protectionism 貿易保護主義

★★★★★★★★★★★★

President Trump said Thursday that the United States would consider slapping tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods, escalating a potentially damaging trade dispute with Beijing. Mr. Trump said in a statement that he was responding to “unfair retaliation” by China, which published a list of $50 billion in American products that would be hit by tariffs. That move was a direct reaction to the tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods that the White House announced on Tuesday.

The move is a high-stakes gamble aimed at forcing China to make the kinds of changes that the United States is seeking — namely reducing the coercive tactics to dominate leading-edge industries like artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous vehicles. But the move could ultimately bring about the kind of retaliation from Beijing that has spooked financial markets.

It also means that the United States would be somewhat more likely to place levies on Chinese products that American households routinely purchase, like furniture, clothing or shoes — an outcome the Trump administration said it sought to avoid with its initial round of tariffs.

On Friday, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce accused the United States of starting the conflict, and said that if the United States followed through with its threats, “The Chinese side will follow suit to the end and will not hesitate to pay any price and will definitely fight back."

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/05/business/trump-trade-war-china.html

https://cn.nytimes.com/business/20180302/trump-tariff-steel-aluminum-explain/zh-hant/

https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20161123/a-trade-war-against-china-might-be-a-fight-trump-couldnt-win/zh-hant/dual/

https://cn.wsj.com/articles/CT-BIZ-20180404150736