MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad is to buy 130,000 tonnes of raw sugar from India worth 200 million ringgit (US$49.20 million) in the first quarter, the company told Reuters. It bought around 88,000 tonnes of raw sugar from India last year. The company did not cite the palm oil dispute as a reason for the increase in purchases. Malaysia imported a total of 1.95 million tonnes of raw sugar last year, according to data from the International Sugar Organization on Refinitiv Eikon. Its exports are expected to rise to a record 5 million tonnes for the 2019/2020 season.

The iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models were well received on their debut last autumn, while their sales in China have been particularly strong, outselling 2018’s releases in a market that has otherwise been shrinking. Even without 5G wireless networking, iPhone demand has outperformed the market and Apple’s expectations, and the company asked assembly partners to increase their production of the latest generation. The most affordable iPhone 11 model, equipped with an LCD screen, was a particular driver for the increased demand, one person said. It would be built around the same processor as the iPhone 11 generation. TSMC spokeswoman Nina Kao (高孟華) said that the company does not comment on its business with any specific customer.

The indictment from earlier this month showed that NSI defaulted on loans from Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), DBS Bank (星展銀行), O-Bank Co (王道商業銀行), Yuanta Commercial Bank (元大商銀), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) and Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行). The court ordered Yang to be held without outside communication to prevent him from colluding with accomplices and witnesses, or destroying evidence. Wang is not to return to Taiwan until after an immigration hearing today, the bureau said. Local investigators directly collaborated with US counterparts, who allowed them to locate and track the couple, it added. From January 2011 to May last year, Yang and Wang allegedly asked NSI staff to create fraudulent transaction records, fund transfers and investment schemes to deceive the banks, prosecutors said.

The Guardian, GUANTANAMO BAY, CubaA CIA contract psychologist who helped draft the US program of “enhanced interrogation” of suspected terrorists has told a military tribunal that he was unable to stop cases of “abusive drift” by an unnamed senior agency official. Giving evidence at a military commission on Guantanamo Bay, James Mitchell gave a detailed account of the 2002 decision to interrogate suspected al-Qaeda leaders using waterboarding and other techniques, which the US later admitted constituted torture. “The CIA was never interested in prosecution,” he told the court. In court on Tuesday he described these excesses as “abusive drift.”“When people are left to make up coercive measures, it tends to escalate over time,” Mitchell said. They think they are justified in using a higher level of pressure.

Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) returned to work after his defeat in the presidential election to face the music in the city he abandoned for three months to concentrate on his campaign. One possible objection to holding a recall vote at this point is that it is unfair to condemn the administration of a maverick newbie so early in his first term. He has said that he has no interest in standing, but he said the same for the KMT presidential primary last year. He could wait to see if the polls are kinder to him closer to the recall vote and pre-emptively resign if it looks like he will lose. He has a few months’ lead before a potential recall vote occurs.

By Ann Maxon / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee yesterday passed a decision to establish a committee tasked with drafting reform proposals for the party. The new committee would consist of Central Standing Committee members, KMT mayors, county commissioners, legislators and local councilors, as well as party members who can represent younger generations, party chairperson by-election candidates, experts and academics, the party said. The reform committee would have four sections devoted to reforming in the party’s personnel structure, cross-strait policy, youth participation and finances, it said. A preparatory committee headed by KMT Acting Chairman Lin Rong-te (林榮德) would handle the work to establish the reform committee, the party said, adding that Lin would also serve as the convener of the new committee until a new chairperson is elected. The Central Standing Committee also passed a decision to ban all members who have worked in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference or the Chinese National People’s Congress from running for a seat on the Central Standing Committee or Central Committee.

AFP, MILAN, ItalyLorenzo Insigne on Tuesday shot SSC Napoli into the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia with the only goal in an eventful 1-0 win over in-form SS Lazio. Italy international Insigne needed just 99 seconds to score the winning goal in a match that saw both teams have a player sent off and Ciro Immobile miss a penalty in the first 25 minutes. Insigne displayed some of the sparkling form that he has been lacking this season when he opened the scoring, weaving past Luiz Felipe before slotting a neat finish into the goal. Visitors Lazio quickly shook off the cobwebs and had a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic shot pushed away before Elseid Hysaj kicked Felipe Caicedo in the box as the Ecuadorian dived for a 10th-minute header. However, Immobile let Napoli off the hook by slipping as he was about to kick the resulting penalty, which finished in the running track behind the goal.

By Wu Cheng-feng / Staff reporterThe Taipei District Court yesterday ordered the Taipei City Government pay NT$420,000 in compensation to protesters injured during a rally in the city against nuclear power plants in 2014. The court also ordered the Taipei City Police Department to pay NT$34,000 in compensation to companies for damaging their audio equipment. Early the next morning, acting on instructions from then-Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to vacate the area, police used water cannon and batons to disperse the protesters. One protester lost their vision after being hit by water cannon and several others sustained bruises, while a woman lost her pants. The police action sparked controversy over the use of water cannon on protesters and prompted the government to establish guidelines for their use to prevent injuries.

“I advise everyone not to go to the mainland for this coming new year holiday,” he added. Since the outbreak, Foxconn workers in Wuhan have been wearing facemasks and getting their temperature checked, the company said. Management has to decide whether those Taiwanese who work in Wuhan need to return there to work after the holiday, Gou said. Management needs to come up with solutions such as video conference systems for employees if they are to work remotely from Taiwan, Gou said. Hon Hai is expected to get through this situation, as it had been trained and survived SARS, he added.

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Institute for Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for the nation’s economic growth to 2.67 percent this year, 0.21 percentage points higher than its estimate three months earlier, as progress in a US-China trade dispute allows global trade and manufacturing to regain momentum, it said. Improving corporate confidence and sustained monetary easing by global central banks should offset risks linked to a slowdown in major industries, it said. The per capita figures leave Taiwan lagging behind Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, despite its stronger economic performance last year, the economist said. Taiwanese firms in China would continue relocation plans no matter how the US-China trade dispute pans out, as China’s manufacturing terms have grown increasingly unfavorable, he said. The local currency might trade at a stable average of NT$30.28 against the US dollar, it added.

By Ko Yu-hao / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成) on Tuesday “congratulated” Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Facebook after reports that the city government would receive an additional NT$940 million (US$31.3 million) from the central government. “How does the mayor plan on using it?”“Please quickly come report to the [Kaohsiung City] Council,” she added. The Kaohsiung City Government said if it receives the funds, the entire sum would go toward infrastructure. DPP Kaohsiung City Councilor Chiu Chun-hsien (邱俊憲) said that the expected funds from the central government would be enough to cover a recall. Han should return to the city council and explain his administration’s plans for the funds, he added.

Staff writer, with CNAPeople should wear surgical masks and frequently wash their hands to protect against a new type of coronavirus, doctors said on Tuesday after Taiwan confirmed its first case of the virus earlier in the day. People in Taiwan should reduce their visits to crowded places and should wear a surgical mask during such visits, he said. Wearing surgical masks during long journeys, such as on an airplane or train, also offers better protection, he added. Chuang also said that there is no need for regular people to wear N95 masks, which are more suitable for medical workers. The CDC said that it has 44 million surgical masks and 1.9 million N95 masks — more than enough to meet demand.

By Steven Crook / Contributing reporterTaiwan’s tourism industry, it’s fair to say, has pretty much conquered the Japanese market. If Taiwan is to attract more visitors from nearby countries, Southeast Asia is thus an obvious region to focus on. Official efforts to tap into the huge Muslim market — almost a quarter of the world’s population — began in 2008, when the Tourism Bureau and the Taiwan Visitors Association (法人臺灣觀光協會) invited international Islamic tourism experts to visit Taiwan. In places like Houtong (猴硐) and Shifen (十分), there wasn’t any halal food, and we had to plan our meals around this fact. “We definitely saw the effort they’ve made to educate homestays and restaurants to cater for the Muslim segment,” Tee says.

The undertaking is for an injection of NT$3 billion (US$99.9 million), said Tsai Hui-ling (蔡慧玲), a lawyer who represents the investment team led by Taiwanese investor Tsai Meng-che (蔡孟哲). However, the bailout depends on the government allowing FAT to resume flights and listing follow-up requirements, Tsai Hui-ling said. Chang and Tsai Hui-ling made the remarks as the Ministry of Transportation and Communications moved toward canceling FAT’s permits, based on recommendations from the Civil Aeronautics Administration. He has falsely promised five times that funding for the company would soon arrive and still owes his employees last month’s salary. The airline must also pass a five-stage review before it can be allowed to resume flight services, it added.

Lam said during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) was committed to Hong Kong’s special status. On Tuesday, Lam sought to convince global business and political leaders at Davos that the Asian financial hub is open for business. Lam and “Team HK,” including Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau (邱騰華), top officials from the stock exchange, the Airport Authority of Hong Kong, MTR Corp and the head of Swire Group, are at the Swiss mountain resort after Moody’s Investors Service this week downgraded Hong Kong. HKEX chairman Laura Cha (史美倫) on Tuesday said that Hong Kong has held up remarkably well despite the protests. “The rule of law is sound in Hong Kong.”Speaking in an interview with CNBC in Davos, Lam said that she was “very disappointed” by the Moody’s decision.