EDITORIAL: Plan needed to live with COVID-19The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced that borders would reopen on Thursday next week, but Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) on Tuesday warned that reopening does not mean the COVID-19 pandemic has ended. “We have finally reached the last mile before the COVID-19 pandemic ends,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said last month. Some urged that the mask mandate be lifted and called for home isolation rules to be eased, while others called for continued vigilance, maintaining the mask mandate, as they expect COVID-19 cases and other respiratory diseases to increase in the winter. In this transition as the COVID-19 pandemic becomes endemic, there could be some confusion over rapidly changing policies. Preparations such as knowing the COVID-19 regulations and how to use emergency services in their destination, as well as having travel insurance, should be encouraged.

Decades-old murder conviction raises stakes in KMT election feud in MiaoliBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterTwo county commissioner candidates affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Miaoli County have each demanded that the other withdraw from the race, after a decades-old murder conviction came to light, and a poll indicated that the two are creating an opening for their Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang, center, campaigns for independent commissioner candidate Chung Tung-chin, third left, in the county on Sunday. Chung is backed by incumbent KMT Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌), who made several appearances at campaign events to rally support. Meanwhile, Hsieh is backed by two former KMT county commissioners, Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) and Fu Hsueh-peng (傅學鵬). New Power Party (NPP) candidate Sung Kuo-ting (宋國鼎) trailed in a distant fourth spot.

Production starts at new Foxsemicon fab in MiaoliBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterFoxsemicon Integrated Technology Inc (京鼎) yesterday said its new factory had entered operation and would generate NT$3 billion (US$95.15 million) in production value at full utilization. The semiconductor equipment component manufacturing arm of Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) in January invested NT$2.4 billion to build the fab in Miaoli County’s Jhunan Township (竹南) amid a thriving semiconductor industry worldwide. Foxsemicon Integrated Technology Inc president Chiu Yao-chan, center, raises a torch during a ceremony to mark the start of operations at the company’s new factory in Miaoli County yesterday. “The semiconductor equipment supply chain has not felt the chill of winter yet,” Chen said. SEMI also forecast that global spending on semiconductor equipment next year would remain in high gear at about US$97 billion.

Registering for scooter license exam difficultBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterLawmakers on the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday asked the Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) to address issues that prevent people from securing a spot to take a scooter license exam. However, it is very difficult to secure a spot to take the scooter license exam these days, the legislator from Tainan said. Lin added that the DGH’s requirement that people take an online cognitive test before registering for a scooter license exam “was completely lost on him.”“I am sure that the requirement was made with good intentions, but even if test-takers score zero on the online cognitive test, they can still register for a license exam,” he said. The cognitive test only slows them down and prevents them from quickly obtaining a spot for a license exam, he said. “There should be either a passing grade for the online cognitive test, or the cognitive test should be made part of the scooter license exam,” he said.

What visitors should know about updated entry rulesTaiwan from Thursday is to reinstate visa exemptions for passport holders from 65 countries. The following is a list of answers to common questions regarding how the new regulations are to affect inbound international visitors Which passports will have visa-free entry privileges? Eleven more countries on Thursday are to join 54 countries that were given visa-free privileges on Sept. 12. Passport holders from Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines are to be allowed to stay in Taiwan for 14 days visa-free. Taiwan on Sept. 12 resumed 90-day visa-free entry for passport holders from the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New

TSMC remains world’s largest contract chipmakerSAMSUNG DISTANT SECOND: Top local chip fims served nearly two-thirds of the global market in Q2, while Samsung kept South Korea competitive with its 16.5 percent share Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) remained the world’s largest contract chipmaker in the second quarter of the year with a 53.4 percent share of the global pure-play foundry market, the Taipei-based market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a research report on Tuesday. Despite TSMC’s market share dipping slightly from 53.6 percent in the first quarter, it was still far ahead of its rivals, TrendForce said. TSMC continued to benefit from emerging technologies, such as high-performance computing devices, the Internet of Things and automotive electronics, as it posted US$18.15 billion in sales in the second quarter, up 3.5 percent

Official calls for global efforts to contain ChinaDEFENSE BUILDUP: Taipei aims to bolster information sharing with allies, build up its war reserves and protect key infrastructure, a vice defense minister saidStaff writer, with CNA in RICHMOND, VirginiaDeputy Minister of National Defense Wang Shin-lung (王信龍) on Monday called for global efforts to contain Chinese security threats, including through joint military exercises, a strategic communication platform and the sharing of drone signals. However, China has continued its expansion and is bound to seriously affect regional and global security, Wang said. Deputy Minister of National Defense Wang Shin-lung attends the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday. “How we make the best use of our limited defense budget in a timely fashion to boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities in the coming years will be the most critical task we face,” he said. Aside from the official Taiwan delegation led by Wang, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also sent a delegation led by its head of international affairs, Alexander Huang (黃介正).

Border reopening to go ahead despite caseloadNO LETUP: Yesterday’s number of cases was 8.6 percent higher than that reported on Tuesday last week and the second-highest count of the Omicron BA.5 outbreakBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe border reopening plan remains unchanged, even though 49,509 new domestic COVID-19 infections were reported, the second-highest since the wave of cases involving the Omicron BA.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 began in August, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said that 49,509 new local cases, 65 imported cases and 31 deaths were confirmed yesterday. He said the local daily caseload was 8.6 percent higher than that reported on Tuesday last week and the second-highest daily count of the Omicron BA.5 outbreak, only slightly lower than the peak of 49,540 cases reported on Sept. 14. He said the fluctuations in daily caseloads has not affected plans for the nation’s border to be reopened on Thursday next week. He said that the COVID-19 prevention and response budget allocated this year was NT$94.3 billion — NT$75.6 billion from the special budget and NT$18.7 billion from the CDC’s annual operating budget — so the proposed budget of NT$84.5 billion is actually NT$9.8 billion less than this year.

TPP axes Jhubei mayoral candidateBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday expelled its mayoral candidate for Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) after he was allegedly involved in a drunk-driving incident. Lin Guan-nian, who was then the Taiwan People’s Party candidate for mayor of Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City, holds a spraypaint can after graffitiing the headquarters of his opponent, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Lin Wei-chou, on Sept. 8. Photo from Lin Guan-nian’s Facebook pageThe central committee subsequently passed a resolution to expel Lin from the party, it said. The TPP has a “zero tolerance” policy on drunk driving, and strives to hold its candidates and officials to the highest moral standard, it said. Shen on Monday wrote on Facebook that it was Ko who asked her to work for him, not the other way around.

The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with values of above 50 suggesting expansion and points below the threshold indicating contraction. At the same time, tight COVID-19 controls in China continue to cloud order visibility and weigh on business for local firms, Chen said. Taiwan might follow in the steps of South Korea, a major trade rival, which has reported trade deficits for six months straight, Wang said. The government can help avoid such a scenario by helping industrial sectors to take bolder steps to encourage private consumption. Still, the six-month business measure dropped 2.8 points to 41.1, as most service providers are preparing for a business downturn amid poor consumer confidence.

India’s Reliance Jio to introduce US$183 laptop: sourcesReuters, NEW DELHIReliance Jio Infocomm Ltd will soon launch a laptop priced at just 15,000 rupees (US$183) — one of the cheapest on offer in India, aiming to replicate the success of its low-cost phone, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd is known for disrupting businesses with cut-throat price offerings. Jio, its telecoms unit, has been credited with upending the world’s No. A woman in Mumbai, India, waits at a bus stop displaying an advertisement for Reliance Industries’ Jio telecoms unit on July 11, 2017. Jio is India’s biggest telecom carrier, with more than 420 million customers.

Only ‘economic accident’ would cause central bank rate pivot: Allianz adviserBloombergMohamed El-Erian has a cautionary word for anyone anticipating an end to interest-rate increases from the US Federal Reserve and other central banks. “All of you who are looking for a pivot, be careful what you wish for,” the Allianz SE chief economic adviser and Gramercy Funds chairman said on Friday. “This pivot only happens if you have an economic accident or a financial accident, and the journey to an economic accident or a financial accident is a very painful journey,” he said. Allianz SE chief economic advisor Mohamed El-Erian speaks at an event in Cambridge, England, on Nov. 25 last year. “That tension is playing out not just at the domestic level but the international level.”The Bank of England was not the only central bank that has intervened in markets recently, as the Bank of Japan moved to shore up its currency against a soaring US dollar.

South Korea posts longest run of trade deficits since 1997BloombergSouth Korea recorded its longest string of trade deficits since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, as elevated energy and commodity prices resulted in imports continuing to outpace exports. The deficit was US$3.77 billion last month, the sixth straight monthly shortfall, according to data released on Saturday by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea’s deficit hit a record in August, and its weakening currency further increases troubles for manufacturers. Resilient export growth has been a major factor bolstering the confidence of Bank of Korea board members to keep raising rates. The latest trade data showed that exports to China fell 6.5 percent, and those to the EU were down 0.7 percent last month.

Aluminum falls after record spikeBloombergAluminum on Friday gave up its gains after Thursday’s record surge, with the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) plan to discuss a potential ban on Russian metal exacerbating supply concerns while stimulus measures in China bolstered the demand outlook. Most other metals pared early gains on Friday, with zinc gaining as China stepped up measures to support its embattled property sector. The biggest impact would be on aluminum, as about half of Europe’s smelting capacity already has been curtailed due to record electricity costs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, speaking to the demand outlook for industrial metals including copper, China’s factory activity continued to struggle last month, as the country’s economic recovery was challenged by lockdowns in major cities and a property market downturn. Aluminum was 1.6 percent lower to settle at US$2,162 per tonne on the LME.

What visitors should know about updated entry rulesTaiwan from Thursday is to reinstate visa exemptions for passport holders from 65 countries. The following is a list of answers to common questions regarding how the new regulations are to affect inbound international visitors Which passports will have visa-free entry privileges? Passport holders from Japan, South Korea, Chile, Israel and Nicaragua can stay in Taiwan for up to 90 days without a visa. Passport holders from Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines are to be allowed to stay in Taiwan for 14 days visa-free. Taiwan on Sept. 12 resumed 90-day visa-free entry for passport holders from the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New