KETANJI BROWN JACKSON SWORN IN AS FIRST BLACK WOMAN ON US SUPREME COURT — Reuters, Thursday 30 June 2022
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in on Thursday as a US Supreme Court justice, making history as the first Black woman on the nation’s top judicial body. Jackson, 51, joins the liberal bloc of a court with a 6-3 conservative majority. Her swearing in as President Joe Biden’s replacement for retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer came six days after the court overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade landmark that legalised abortion nationwide. “With a full heart, I accept the solemn responsibility of supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States and administering justice without fear or favor,” Jackson said in a statement. Jackson is the 116th justice, sixth woman, and third Black person to serve on the Supreme Court since its 1789 founding. “It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of The United States. But we’ve made it,” Jackson said. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans — 57% — now holds a negative view of the court following the abortion ruling. With Jackson’s addition, the Supreme Court for the first time has four women on the bench.
TAIWAN FOREIGN MINISTER URGES FREE WORLD TO UNITE IN FACE OF AUTHORITARIANISM — Taiwan MOFA, 30 June 2022
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu called on the free world to unite in the face of authoritarian expansionism, speaking at the Brussels Forum organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States on Tuesday 28 June 2022. Wu said Taiwan draws three lessons from Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine: the threat of authoritarianism, the importance of asymmetric combat capabilities and civil defence, and the need for democracies to stand with Ukraine. He also warned that Taiwan’s democracy is facing unprecedented challenges from China’s cognitive warfare, and that the government is mounting a coordinated response with local media and nongovernmental organisations to track and respond to disinformation. Regarding China’s economic coercion, Wu noted that bans on Taiwan’s pineapples and groupers are in line with those affecting products from Australia, The Czech Republic and Lithuania.