Cabinet approves TRA’s transition to corporationBy Lee Hsin-fang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Executive Yuan yesterday passed a draft regulation that would, if ratified by the Legislative Yuan, transform the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) into the state-owned Taiwan Railways Corp. The railway agency has an outstanding debt of NT$420.8 billion (US$15 billion) divided into four categories, which would each be handled differently. Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday about Taiwan Railways Administration’s corporatization. Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who chaired yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, has asked Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai(王國材) to address TRA employees’ concerns about the agency’s debt and employees’ benefits. Su said that Wang would facilitate the reforms, adding that other department heads have been asked to offer the TRA assistance in the transition.

Star of the early 2000s, the flip-phone is making a comeback, with the big names of the industry hoping the high-tech new version — the foldable smartphone — is on the verge of going mainstream. Samsung has been the pioneer in the sector, presenting the first foldable smartphone at the Barcelona conference three years ago. The South Korean firm accounted for 87 percent of foldable phone sales last year, analysts at Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) said. “Apple is a hugely influential company,” said Bendre, estimating that foldable sales would surpass 60 million when it gets involved. “This will add further credibility and help open up the foldable market to iPhone customers,” DSCC cofounder and chief executive officer Ross Young said.

The number of transactions totaled 15,646 in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. All municipalities, with the exception of Taipei, saw a retreat of more than 30 percent, local government data showed. Taipei posted a decline of 29.6 percent with 1,915 deals. It might introduce more tightening measures to induce a soft landing for housing prices as public complaints over unaffordability mount. Housing transactions would gain momentum this month, the analyst said, adding that developers and builders are about to launch spring promotion campaigns.

Stakhovsky hopes not to use gun to defend UkraineAFP, LONDONUkrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky hopes he does not have to use a gun after joining the fight to protect his country from the Russian invasion. Stakhovsky, who famously beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013, is the latest Ukrainian sports star to defend his country. Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky returns to Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in their Davis Cup men’s singles match in Budapest on Sept. 15, 2019. I pretty much hope that I won’t have to use the gun,” Stakhovsky told BBC Radio 4’s Today program. They don’t understand war.

US delegation arrives for peace and security talksROCK-SOLID COMMITMENT: A senior official in the Biden administration said that the two-day visit is intended to ‘demonstrate our continued robust support for Taiwan’Staff writer, with CNAA delegation led by former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen arrived in Taipei yesterday afternoon for discussions with top-level officials on regional peace and security, among other topics. The delegation, which includes four other former US defense and security officials and their staffers, departed for Taiwan on a US government aircraft on Monday and arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 4:13pm yesterday. Led by Mullen, the delegation also includes Meghan O’Sullivan, a former deputy national security adviser under former US president George W. Bush, and Michele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of defense in former US president Barack Obama’s administration. The delegation is scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) today to discuss regional peace and stability, Taiwan-US relations and various areas of bilateral cooperation, the government said. Meanwhile, a Taiwanese national security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, on Monday told the Central News Agency that Biden’s selection of former senior defense and security officials was meant to offer “reassurance” of the US’ commitment to peace and security in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region.

Toshiba CEO steps down amid restructuring effortsAP, TOKYOToshiba Corp chief executive officer Satoshi Tsunakawa is stepping down as the embattled Japanese technology giant seeks to restructure and restore its reputation. “I have been at Toshiba for only three years, but I love Toshiba,” he said. An extraordinary shareholders’ meeting is set for March 24, when the plan is to be put to a vote. Approval for yesterday’s personnel changes, including a resignation of another board member, and the nomination of two others, is to be sought in a shareholders’ meeting in June, Toshiba said. This might be Toshiba’s “last chance” to fix its reputation and brand power as a technology company and win back trust, he said.

China not coming to Russia’s aid, US official saysReuters, WASHINGTON and BERLINChina so far does not appear to be helping Russia evade Western financial sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, but doing so would “do profound damage” to China’s reputation, a senior official from the administration of US President Joe Biden said on Saturday. “The latest signs suggest that China’s not coming to the rescue,” the official told reporters after announcing that the US and its allies agreed to impose sanctions against Russia’s central bank and disconnect key Russian banks from the SWIFT international financial transaction network. Reports that some Chinese banks have stopped issuing letters of credit for purchases of physical commodities from Russia were a positive sign, the official said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk during their meeting in Beijing on Feb. 4. Photo: APThis “suggests that, much like has been the pattern for years and years, China has tended to respect the force of US sanctions,” the official added.

The TSEC Corp logo is pictured during the annual PV Taiwan show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center on Oct. 16, 2018. Rooftop solar panels at the new Mitsui Outlet Park in Tainan’s Gueiren District are pictured on Saturday. New Green Power acted as the engineering, procurement and construction company for the Tainan project, providing end-to-end solar energy services, including designing the solar systems, giving procurement details and installing the panels. The Tainan project includes PV panels installed on the main roof of the shopping mall, as well as in the mall’s parking lots, the company said. New Green Power first cooperated with the Japanese developer to built rooftop and parking lot PV panels in the Mitsui Outlet Park at the Port of Taichung, which opened in March 2019.

Facebook’s parent talks up plans to build ‘metaverse’AFP, SAN FRANCISCOMeta Platforms Inc chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday talked up his company’s efforts to build the “metaverse,” an immersive virtual world he has billed as the Facebook parent’s future. A man poses for a photograph in front of a sign at Meta Platforms Inc’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Feb. 2. Photo: AFPThe metaverse is a 3D virtual world where people would be able to interact using sensors, head gear and other gadgets. Meta’s early metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds, already allows people to socialize virtually while represented by avatars. Hit global video games such as Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox, which run on traditional gaming platforms, are seen as precursors to the metaverse.

Unemployment falls to 3.61%, for 7th month of declinesBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe unemployment rate last month fell to 3.61 percent, declining for the seventh consecutive month, as fewer people quit or lost their jobs to downsizing and closures ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The latest data represented a downturn of 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier and a 0.05 percentage point retreat from a year earlier. The job market has recovered to the level prior to a nationwide level-3 COVID-19 alert in May last year, judging by the unemployment rate and the number of jobless people, Chen said. The jobless reading could rise 0.04 to 0.08 percentage points this month, Chen said. People aged 45 or older had the lowest unemployment rate of 2.17 percent, it said.

COVID-19: Japan order first from overseas for ITRI test kitStaff writer, with CNAThe developer of the iPMx molecular rapid COVID-19 test system has received the first overseas order for the new product, from Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. A person displays the iPMx molecular rapid COVID-19 test system at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The iPMx system’s compact canister is 57 times lighter than traditional testing devices, weighing only 600g, ITRI said. Chiou said the system is like a “mobile laboratory” and is highly sought after in the Japanese testing market. ITRI is developing a second-generation iPMx system, which would also be able to detect flu, Chiou said.

Book review: Dispatches from a troubled regionThis thoroughly researched book examines the marine degradation in the South China Sea and the major players who can do something about itBy Bradley Winterton / Contributing reporterTaiwan is one of seven nations laying claims of one kind or another to islands in the South China Sea. MARINE DEGRADATIONDISPATCHES FROM THE SOUTH CHINA SEA, by James Borton. Almost 55 percent of the world’s fishing vessels, many of them small, operate in the South China Sea. “The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” declared former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Taiwan, Borton argues, is a highly responsible player in the South China Sea game.

Survey says 75% prefer single-use plastics endedReuters, LONDONThree in four people worldwide want single-use plastics to be banned as soon as possible, a poll released yesterday showed as UN members prepare to begin talks on a global plastic pollution treaty. Environmentalists say that the results send a clear message to governments meeting in Nairobi next week to press ahead with a treaty to tackle plastic waste. A woman picks up plastic items along the Pasig River in Manila on June 10 last year. Whatever is agreed at the Nairobi conference from Monday to Wednesday next week would determine key elements of any deal. The biggest support for single-use plastic bans in the poll came from the likes of Colombia, Mexico and India, developing countries at the sharp end of a waste crisis.

A scooter helmet too nice to wear? Local artists are designing scooter helmets that have become works of art in and of themselvesBy John Evans / Contributing ReporterWhen is a scooter helmet not really a helmet? Photo courtesy of Lee An of Dupin Custom Painting StudioEnter Lee An (安李) of Dupin Custom Painting Studio in Taichung. Skulls scream out from a helmet designed by Lee An of Dupin Custom Painting Studio. One of the most expensive helmets Lee painted — a snarling Harley Quinn from the movie Suicide Squad — went for NT$30,000.

Alcaraz becomes youngest man to lift ATP 500 titleReutersTwo years after winning his first ATP Tour match in Rio de Janeiro, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain on Sunday became the youngest player to clinch an ATP 500 title at the same event when he defeated Diego Schwartzman in the final of the Rio Open. It was a second ATP Tour title for Alcaraz after his victory in Umag, Croatia, last year and his 6-4, 6-2 victory against world No. 6 Matteo Berrettini and another Italian Fabio Fognini, a former top-10 player, and climbed to a career-best 20th in the ATP Tour rankings. Opelka blasted 25 aces past Norrie, but it was not enough for him to claim back-to-back titles after taking his third ATP Tour title the previous weekend at the Dallas Open. 13 Norrie, a semi-final loser last year, improved to 3-5 in career ATP Tour finals.