Virus Outbreak: CECC boss responds to China’s concerns about virus casesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterAfter China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Monday said it was worried about Taiwan’s COVID-19 disease prevention measures, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said that China does not have good credit either. The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission reported three cases in which travelers from Taiwan tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 19, Aug. 24 and on Sunday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei TimesMa asked: “How many big flaws are still in Taiwan’s COVID-19 prevention, how many actual infected patients are there and how much risk are the compatriots on the island [Taiwan] facing?”He said that these issues could not be neglected. Ma also urged the Democratic Progressive Party to be responsible for preventing and controlling the disease professionally, and to stop the chain of infection. Asked if Ma’s remarks would harm Taiwan’s international status, Chen said: “I don’t think so.

KMT protests decision on pork importsUS MEAT FUROR: The premier said NT$10bn has been set aside for pig farmers, but pork exports should increase, as Taiwan has been declared free of foot-and-mouth diseaseBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday protested outside the legislative chamber against the government’s decision to lift a ban on US pork containing ractopamine while a Czech delegation led by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil was visiting. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday stage a protest at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei against the government’s decision to lift a ban on imports of pork containing ractopamine. Separately yesterday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) was asked at an event in Taipei about several local governments saying that they would ban the sale of pork containing ractopamine. The fund would partially be used to upgrade facilities used by pig farmers and improve the industry as a whole, he said. Su said that Taiwanese still prefer locally produced pork, which accounts for 91 percent of total pork sales, and people’s eating habits would not change with the lifting of the ban.

Powerchip to build new fab in Miaoli next yearBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterPowerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) yesterday said that it plans to build a 12-inch fab in Miaoli County next year as strong demand for display drivers used in laptops and image sensors has boosted factory utilization to 100 percent. Powerchip makes CMOS image sensors, DRAM chips and driver ICs used in flat panels for mobile phones, and operates three 12-inch fabs and two 8-inch fabs in Taiwan, as well as a 12-inch fab in China. “The company hopes to start building the new Tongluo fab in the second quarter next year,” spokesman Eric Tang (譚仲民) told the Taipei Times by telephone. “Customers are showing strong demand for driver ICs, CMOS sensors and power management chips. Some customers already want to book capacity at the yet-to-be-built fab, which would have an initial capacity of 15,000 wafers per month, Huang said.

The Executive Yuan said that the policy would take effect on Jan. 1 and is aimed at expanding international trade. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung speaks during an interview at Hit FM radio station in Taipei yesterday. Regarding concerns over the health effects of eating pork containing ractopamine, he said that, unlike the COVID-19 pandemic, which has many uncertainties, the health risk from consuming US pork or beef can be controlled using scientific calculations. US pork containing ractopamine would be labeled, and those who label pork incorrectly would face a fine of between NT$40,000 and NT$4 million (US$1,355 and US$135,474), he said. The amounts used for risk assessments usually exceed normal daily pork or beef consumption levels, so most people would not consume enough pork for ractopamine to affect their health, Chen said.

Czech Senate head calls for increased cooperationECONOMIC FOUNDATION: Milos Vystrcil touted freedom and democracy as the basis for prosperity, as Taiwanese and Czech business entities signed MOUs to boost tiesBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterCalling for “action over arguments,” Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil said it was time to take bilateral business cooperation between the Czech Republic and Taiwan to the next level, despite threats of retaliation from China. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua delivers a speech at the 2020 Taiwan-Czech Republic Economic, Trade and Investment Forum in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times“Without the freedom for our businesses to work together, the Czech Republic and Taiwan cannot be free. The Czech Republic is Taiwan’s fourth-largest investment destination in Europe, the ministry said. In addition to the business advantages, Krcmar said he finds that Taiwanese and Czech people tend to get along.

US Meat Imports: DPP accuses KMT of ‘playing politics’ over US meat issueBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayors and lawmakers yesterday accused the Chinese Nationalist Paty (KMT) of “playing politics” by launching protests against imports of US pork containing the controversial leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday announced that Taiwan would ease restrictions on US beef and pork imports, while setting standards for pork containing ractopamine. Most Taiwanese buy fresh meat at traditional markets, and frozen imported pork products are rare at such markets, Pan said. The KMT should discipline those responsible for circulating “malicious rumors to vilify one of the US president’s Cabinet members,” DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. “Before Azar took the health secretary job, Eli Lilly had already sold off the division that made pharmaceutical products for animals...

Bats returning to Taoyuan’s Sanmin cave after decadesBy Lee Jung-ping and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe bat population at Taoyuan’s Sanmin Bat Cave (三民蝙蝠洞) has shown signs of recovery after dropping to nearly zero over the past two decades, the Taoyuan Department of Tourism said on Sunday. The department urged visitors to the cave to follow the rules when observing the bats to preserve their habitat. Bats hang from the ceiling of Sanmin Bat Cave in Taoyuan’s Fusing District on Sunday. Visitors explore Sanmin Bat Cave in Taoyuan’s Fusing District on Sunday. Following the restoration, some bats have returned, with about 70 to 80 animals beings spotted on the cave ceiling, Kung said.

US Meat Imports: KMT to attempt to block ractopamine at local levelBy Huang Ming-tang, Lin Liang-sheng and Chou Min-hung / Staff reportersThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it is planning to push for cities and counties nationwide to implement ordinances that would effectively ban pork containing ractopamine. Members of the Hsinchu City Council’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus hold a news conference on US meat imports in the city yesterday. Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei TimesThe KMT said that it would supervise the central government’s decision through its caucuses in county and city councils or set local ordinances to block it. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang points to a poster titled: “Risk assessment black box!” during a news conference on US meat imports in Taipei yesterday. Some cities and counties have already formulated ordinances banning ractopamine, he said, adding that KMT city and county caucuses would demand that local governments enforce those ordinances.

No need to worry about US pork, former VP saysBy Lee I-chia and Wang Chun-chung / Staff reportersThe level of ractopamine residue in meat products is regulated by international food safety standards, so people should not worry about imports of US pork containing the additive, former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday. Self-government ordinances in Changhua and Hsinchu counties, as well as a few other cities and counties, ban pork containing ractopamine residue. Chen Shui-bian said he only allowed imports of US beef that was deboned and came from cattle under 30 months old. However, Ma was unwilling, Chen Shui-bian said, adding that after Ma assumed office, he was still “forced” to make the decision to allow imports. The easing of restrictions on US beef and pork imports might, as Tsai said on Friday, be an “important starting point” for comprehensive Taiwan-US economic cooperation and promote Taiwan-US relations, Chen Shui-bian said.

Hsinchu-based Vanguard is a specialty IC foundry service provider, specializing in LCD driver ICs and logic ICs, as well as power management ICs and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors. In the first eight months, Vanguard’s accumulated revenue rose 15.09 percent year-on-year to NT$18.78 billion (US$636.16 million), company data showed. The Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp logo is pictured in an undated photograph at the company’s headquarters in Hsinchu County. In the short term, the 8-inch wafers for power management ICs and driver ICs will remain in short supply,” Fang said. Vanguard operates three 8-inch fabs in Taiwan and acquired an 8-inch fab in Singapore from US-based GlobalFoundries Inc early this year to resolve capacity constraints.

Tsai welcomes Czech delegation in Facebook postLANDMARK VISIT: The president expressed the hope that the two nations would deepen cooperation on epidemic control, trade, tourism and investmentStaff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday welcomed a delegation from the Czech Republic headed by Czech Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil with an online message, saying that she looked forward to deepening cooperation with the European country. Tsai’s welcome to the 89-member delegation followed its arrival earlier in the day on a direct charter flight from Prague. The delegation, which includes eight Czech senators and Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib, is to visit Taipei until Friday. Vystrcil, the second-highest-ranking official of the Czech Republic after the country’s president, is his nation’s highest-level official ever to visit Taiwan. However, Vystrcil said the Czech Republic would not bow to China’s objections, Reuters reported on Saturday.

NPP elects a new leader amid crisisREINVENTION NEEDED: After the departures of high-ranking members in the wake of a bribery scandal, a new party chairwoman promised to lead reform effortsBy Wu Su-wei and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe New Power Party’s (NPP) decisionmaking committee yesterday elected former NPP secretary-general Kao Yu-ting (高鈺婷) as chairwoman. Former committee members earlier this month jointly stepped down after former NPP chairman Hsu Yung-ming’s (徐永明) alleged involvement in a bribery scandal related to an ownership dispute over the Pacific Sogo Department Store chain was made public. New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chiu Hsieh-chih, left, and new NPP Chairwoman Kao Yu-ting talk to reporters in Taipei yesterday. The new 15-member committee yesterday elected Kao chairwoman, the NPP said, adding that the next party chairperson and committee elections are to be held on Feb. 28 next year. An NPP member, commenting on condition of anonymity, said that the recent departures underscored the party’s problems, adding that the NPP lacks direction.

EDITORIAL: Stopping China investment influenceThe Investment Commission on Monday ruled that Taobao Taiwan is Chinese-controlled, despite it listing UK-based Claddagh Venture Investment as its parent company. China’s Alibaba Group Holding is a major shareholder in the British company and must be represented at shareholder meetings, the commission said. Foreign investment should be more carefully scrutinized rather than dealing with such issues only after concerns are raised. The commission should seek to understand how companies such Taobao and content providers like iQiyi acquired registration in Taiwan without raising red flags. Perhaps it is time for an independent body to be tasked with aggressive investigations of foreign investment.

Completed in 1891, Taipei ‘Railway Wharf’ is considered the first-generation Taipei Train Station. The building is considered the fourth-generation Taipei Railway Station (there was a temporary one that most historians don’t count), and is still in use today. The modernist third-generation Taipei Train Station was adorned with portraits, flags, slogans and billboards during Chinese Nationalist Party rule. On Oct. 20, the first-generation Taipei “railway wharf” was inaugurated. The fourth-generation Taipei Train Station was inaugurated on Sept. 2, 1989, and remains in use today.

Virus Outbreak: Tough measures taken for Czech visitSPECIALISTS: Members of the 90-strong delegation would use separate elevators and restrooms, and would have Taiwanese officials escorting them at all timesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterHigh-standard disease prevention measures have been prepared for a Czech delegation that is to arrive in Taiwan today, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The 90-member delegation, headed by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, is to visit Taiwan until Friday to bolster bilateral economic, scientific and cultural ties. The Czech delegation would arrive and leave on a chartered plane, and delegation members would use designated vehicles for transportation during their stay in Taiwan, he said. An entourage from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would accompany delegation members during their visit, he added. He reported his condition to airport quarantine officers upon his arrival in Taiwan, Chuang added.