Ho Ming-teh charity heads indicted over cash issueBy Lin Yi-chang and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerProsecutors in Chiayi yesterday charged two leaders of the Ho Ming-teh Charitable Group for allegedly misappropriating nearly NT$700 million (US$25.01 million) from donations over 18 years. The organization was founded in memory of engineer Ho Ming-teh (何明德), who from 1965 led a volunteer movement to build bridges and pave roads in remote areas of Chiayi, Yunlin and Tainan counties. A composite photograph of the late Ho Ming-teh and his bridge-building work is pictured on a wall of the Ho Ming-teh Charitable Group’s office in Chiayi City yesterday. Under the premise of continuing her father’s legacy, Chen and Hsiao solicited donations online, including through Facebook, for the unregistered organization, they said. The remaining NT$695.71 million was allegedly used to purchase financial investments, high-value insurance and real estate, they said.

COVID-19: Data support easing of pandemic alert: expertBy Wu Po-hsuan / Staff reporterScientific data suggest that a gradual lifting of a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert can be considered, National Taiwan University College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday. The nation has been under the level 3 alert since May 19. The college in late May introduced an index for evaluating whether the level 3 alert should be eased, he said. The government can consider lowering the alert level when the index falls below 0.5, he said, adding that the index is now at 0.32. If the government continues to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates while promoting high-precision virus tests, the alert level can be downgraded, he said.

Yageo bullish about Q3BROADER VIEW: Yageo chairman Pierre Chen said the firm is benefiting from growing demand for high-end passive components from Europe, Japan and the USBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterYageo Corp (國巨), the world’s No. Yageo Corp chairman Pierre Chen poses for a photograph at the company’s annual general meeting in New Taipei City’s Xindian District yesterday. Orders and customer demand are keeping good momentum,” Chen said. To cope with robust customer demand, Yageo expects capital spending to make up 33 percent of the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year, and 28 percent next year, before slipping below 20 percent in 2023. Yageo shareholders yesterday approved a planned distribution of NT$10 per common share, including NT$2 per share from its capital surplus.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news conference in Taipei on May 11. In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Washington for supporting Taiwan’s participation in international affairs and having donated it 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccines. Ou also asserted the nation’s sovereignty. The government has been cautiously handling cross-strait relations based on a steady and practical attitude, while defending its liberal democracy and striving for more opportunities to participate in international affairs, Ou said. The ministry would continue to work closely with the US and deepen bilateral partnerships based on firm foundations, she said.

EDITORIAL: Surge in pet adoptions worrisomeAs domestic COVID-19 infections decrease and vaccinations increase, people across the nation are hoping that life can soon return to normal. Last month, the nation’s shelters reported a surge in adoptions, with the Taoyuan Animal Protection Office reporting 10 percent more adoptions than last year. The Taipei City Animal Protection Office reported being flooded with adoption requests immediately following the announcement of a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert on May 15. While this is common sense, the prevalence of pet abandonment requires it to be emphasized every time the issue is brought up. Adoption should be encouraged and many of these animals end up in loving, committed homes, but pet adoption should by no means be touted as a solution for weathering the seclusion of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Vaccination booking system trial begins1922.GOV.TW: People in the ninth and 10th priority groups are encouraged to start registering their willingness to be vaccinated from Tuesday next weekBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday unveiled the national online COVID-19 vaccination booking system and announced that a trial program was launched on three outlying islands yesterday morning. The ninth priority group is people aged 18 to 64, who have a high-risk disease, a rare disease or catastrophic illness; while the 10th priority group is people aged 50 to 64. Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang explains how to use the online vaccination booking system at the Central Epidemic Command Center’s daily news conference in Taipei yesterday. People who receive a text message informing them that they are eligible for vaccination in the next week can use 1922.gov.tw or the NHI app between Thursday and Sunday to book a vaccination appointment for the following week, she added. They can also make an appointment with their NHI card at convenience stores, pharmacies or public health centers that worked with the government’s mask rationing system, Tang said.

Commission tightens ESG rules to stop ‘greenwashing’SELLING POINT: Asset management firms must set at least one sustainability goal and explain how their investment would help achieve that goal, the FSC saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday enhanced disclosure requirements for environmental, social and governance (ESG)-themed funds to prevent “greenwashing” in the asset management sector. The logos of the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Securities and Futures Bureau are pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph. The firms should set at least one sustainability goal, and each goal should tackle environmental, social and governance issues at the same time, she said. The commission would not intervene in or regulate the sustainability goals that can be set by asset management firms, she said. If a recipient of an ESG fund were to be embroiled in a corporate scandal, the asset management firm supplying the fund would not be asked to withdraw its investment, she said.

Next quarter, it would continue to operate its factories at a high utilization rate to meet end-market demand, Yageo said. Yageo’s revenue last month was its best ever for June and brought revenue in the second quarter to NT$27.73 billion, up 105.9 percent from NT$13.47 billion in the same period last year. The company’s growth could be linked to the financial performance of its conductive paste supplier, Ample Electronic Technology Co (勤凱科技). Ample yesterday posted record revenue of NT$162.52 million for last month, up 60.56 percent from NT$101.22 million a year earlier. During the quarter ended Wednesday last week, Ample saw aggregated revenue soar 53.87 percent year-on-year to NT$472.81 million from NT$307.28 million.

NPP backs KMT call for absentee voteOPPOSITION: The KMT is using absentee voting as an excuse to promote mail-in ballots, which contravene the Constitution, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday threw its support behind a proposal by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to allow absentee voting. “We will submit our version of the amendment to allow people to vote through absentee ballots in referendums,” Chen said. The KMT is using absentee voting as an excuse to promote mail-in ballots, which are against the Constitution, he said. DPP caucus secretary general Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the DPP’s position has always been to stipulate special regulations for absentee voting. Furthermore, the commission will need at least six months to train poll workers on the mechanics of an absentee voting system, he added.

Travel agency says Guam travelers mostly under 50By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterNearly 73 percent of travelers participating in a pilot vaccine program in Guam are aged 49 or younger, with most choosing to be inoculated with Moderna’s or Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, Lion Travel said yesterday. Lion Travel’s first vaccine tour group departed for Guam at 9am yesterday, as did groups with other travel agencies. Messenger RNA vaccines reportedly offer stronger protection against variants of COVID-19, the travel agency said when asked why most travelers preferred to get inoculated with a regime requiring two shots. All 439 spots in its five-day Guam packages have been booked, it said. As of yesterday, 300 people had signed up for seven-day packages, Lion Travel said.

Daily new virus cases lowest since MayBACK TO WORK: Six requirements were laid out for Huannan Market, which is resuming operations today, including negative PCR tests and real-name registrationBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday reported 28 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the lowest number since the outbreak started in May. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesThirteen of the cases tested positive during quarantine or upon ending quarantine, he said. Taipei reported 15 cases, followed by New Taipei City with five, Taoyuan with three and Miaoli County with two. The sources of 16 cases have been identified, while 11 cases are under investigation and the source for one was unclear, Chen said. Of the 13,696 local cases reported from May 11 to Sunday, 2,712 people, or 19.8 percent, were considered severe cases, while 675 people died as a result, specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said.

COVID-19: Job openings in tech, e-commerce sectors rise 25%By Wu Po-hsuan / Staff reporterThere has been a 25 percent increase in job openings in the technology and e-commerce industries over the past two years, while travel-related industries have seen a decline in vacancies of about 30 percent, a representative from job bank yes123 said yesterday. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there appears to have been a shift in the jobs available for recent graduates, the job bank said. Accordingly, there have been fewer job opportunities, he added. Estimates show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities in the e-commerce and technology industries have grown by 25 percent, while the number of openings in businesses such as airlines and hotels have fallen by 30 percent, he said. Yang said he believes that recent graduates with STEM degrees still possess an advantage over those with liberal arts degrees.

Nine firms join government’s investment planKEEP IT LOCAL: The firms applied to invest NT$3.3 billion as part of a program that has attracted hundreds of applications to invest up to NT$1.26 trillion in TaiwanBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs approved nine more Taiwanese companies’ applications to join the government’s three-year action plan for domestic investment, it said on Friday. Another 55 firms are waiting for their applications to be reviewed, it added. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei TimesThe newly approved applicants aim to invest a combined NT$3.3 billion (US$118 million) in Taiwan, it said. The ministry has approved more than NT$1.26 trillion in investments, which are expected to create 106,490 jobs, it said. The government’s action plan on domestic investment provides companies with assistance on taxes, financing, land, utilities and labor.

The show, titled “Yang San-lang: A Taiwanese Treasure,” features several of Yang’s scenic oil paintings and some pastels. The extensive showing of Yang’s work illustrates the progress of modern art that occurred simultaneously in Taiwan and Japan, the Japanese Gekkan Bijutsu newspaper said. Yang San-lang Museum CEO Noriko Morakoshi poses for a photograph next to paintings by her father-in law, Yang San-lang, at Taimei Gallery in Toyko on Friday. New Taipei City’s Yang San-lang Museum, of which Morakoshi is the CEO, loaned pieces from its collection to the exhibition, but several oil paintings were too large to be transported to Japan, she said. Yang San-lang’s son, Yang Shin-lang (楊星朗), in a statement said that his father had been a life-long friend of Japan.

COVID-19: Market group boss slams politicization of outbreakBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writerHuannan Market Autonomous Association president Lin Sheng-tung (林勝東) on Friday urged politicians to concentrate on eradicating the COVID-19 outbreak, after he earlier in the day accused independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) of politicizing an outbreak at the market while ignoring his electorate. Huannan Market Autonomous Association president Lin Sheng-tung, right, points to independent Legislator Freddy Lim, left, at a news conference at Huannan Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District on Friday. From second left are Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang. He also criticized Ko for what Lim called his “contradictory testing policy,” first saying that the market outbreak was too complex for PCR testing, only to later implement comprehensive PCR testing. Lim also apologized for his “emotional” remarks on Facebook, while reiterating the responsibility of politicians to control the outbreak.