That the food might be contaminated with African swine fever and spread the disease to the US. China has lost millions of pigs in outbreaks of the disease, pushing its pork prices to record highs, forcing purchases of costly imports and roiling global meat markets. Governments worldwide are scrambling to shore up their defenses as the disease spills over China’s borders. African swine fever has spread to Southeast Asia and eastern Europe, with cases found in Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, North and South Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Poland and Vietnam. African swine fever does not threaten humans, but there is no vaccine or cure for infected pigs.

By Lo Chi / Staff reporterThe kindness of Taiwanese is a “model for Asia,” Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday at a banquet for underprivileged groups in Taipei to mark the end of the lunar year. Each year, the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation, the Huashan Social Welfare Foundation and the Zenan Homeless Social Welfare Foundation host year-end banquets nationwide for low-income people; those who are homeless or long-term unemployed; elderly people living alone; and single mothers in need of assistance, organizers said. The meaningful event started 30 years ago, when volunteers delivered boxed meals to homeless people, Chen said, before thanking the volunteers at the Taipei event. It was the first time that more than 40,000 people have eaten a “reunion meal” before the Lunar New Year, he said. The number of small donors who contributed to the event increased this year, showing that an increasing number of people want to help disadvantaged groups, the Zenan Homeless Social Welfare Foundation said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited leaders from 12 countries as well as the UN, the EU, the African Union and the Arab League to the summit at the chancellery in Berlin. Germany’s months-long diplomatic drive seeks to bolster efforts to stop the fighting in Libya by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame. Among those taking part were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Libya’s rival leaders: Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj and General Khalifa Haftar. A truce brokered earlier this month by Russia and Turkey marked the first break in fighting in months, but the ceasefire has seen repeated violations. “The conference is important, but it is a beginning, the start of a process,” spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said.

By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterA predicted sharp rise in Chinese imports of US goods as part of a “phase one” trade deal signed by the nations last week would squeeze other trade partners, but should have a limited impact on Taiwan, DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) said on Friday. Taiwan has been a major beneficiary of the US-China trade dispute and reaped the rewards of order transfers since the tit-for-tat tariffs began in July 2018. However, China’s pledge to purchase US$200 billion of US goods and services over the next two years has raised concerns that demand for Taiwanese goods could fall. “Taiwanese financial institutions operating in the Chinese market currently focus on providing corporate banking services for the Taiwanese firms based there,” Ma said. It would also adversely impact Taiwanese firms in the supply chains of networking, handset, semiconductor and printed circuit board (PCB) sectors, Yuanta analysts said in a report.

AP, HONG KONGClashes yesterday broke out between protesters and police in Hong Kong, cutting short a rally after thousands had gathered at a park on Hong Kong Island to call for electoral reforms and a boycott of the Chinese Communist Party. Police fired tear gas near Chater Garden, not far from the Legislative Council, after some protesters attacked plainclothes officers. Sporting their movement’s trademark black clothing and masks, rally participants packed into Chater Garden, holding up signs that read “Free Hong Kong” and waved US and British flags. In response to the rally, Hong Kong’s government released a statement outlining the “universal suffrage of ‘one person, one vote’ as an ultimate aim” enshrined in the territory’s Basic Law. “The government understands the aspiration of the community for universal suffrage,” it added.

BloombergPalladium on Friday surged the most intraday since 2008 as scant supply and robust demand extended a record-breaking rally. Spot palladium jumped as much as 9.7 percent to an all-time high of US$2,539.14 per ounce. Still, a “price setback is possible for palladium following its impressive rally this year,” they added. Palladium’s surge has been a boon for platinum group miners in South Africa, which accounts for about 38 percent of global palladium supply. The FTSE/JSE Africa Platinum Mining Index is at the highest since 2011 and the shares of top producer Sibanye Gold Ltd have risen nearly fourfold in the past 12 months.

Staff writer, with CNAThis year’s One Art Taipei event yesterday opened to the public at the Sherwood Taipei with a display of more than 3,000 contemporary works of art from across Asia. The art fair, spread over three floors of the hotel, features works by artists from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, and from 67 galleries across Asia. A series of 12 contemporary pieces by 24-year-old Austrian artist Alessandro Painsi, which were on loan from the Be Fine Art Gallery in Taipei, attracted attention in an empty room of the hotel. This year is the second year of the hotel art fair, which started last year, when it sold about 800 pieces, One Art Taipei director Rick Wang (王瑞棋) said. One Art Taipei, which opened on Friday for art collectors and special guests, runs until today.

Stepping off the crammed train — dubbed the “Internet Express” by Indian Kashmiris — in the nearby town of Banihal, the passengers make a beeline for cafes where they pay up to 300 rupees (US$4.22) for an hour of broadband access. Indian-administered Kashmir has been without broadband and mobile data services since Aug. 5 last year, when India’s government revoked the special status of its only Muslim-majority state, splitting Jammu & Kashmir in two. In addition to introducing the democratic world’s longest Internet clampdown in Kashmir, Access Now said that India also accounted for two-thirds of global shutdowns in 2018. “Punishing an entire population on the basis of saying potential violence or terrorism might occur is extraordinary,” Chima said. New Delhi said that the scrapping of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status was necessary to integrate it into the rest of India and spur development.

Michael Tsai also suggested that the president write a personal letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Taiwan’s desire to join the UN. He also called on the Legislative Yuan to pass a resolution that would give competent authorities the legal basis to make appeals to the international community to support Taiwan’s joining of the WHO. Since 2003, the alliance has sent annual delegations to the US to advocate for Taiwan’s membership in the UN. The main difficulty Taiwan faces in joining the UN stems from its uncertain status internationally, which leaves other nations with their hands tied, even if they want to support Taiwan, Kau said. The government should speak with its allies and call for a debate in the UN regarding Taiwan’s status, he added.

Reuters, MELBOURNEParts of Australia’s east coast were yesterday hit by severe storms, dousing some of the bushfires that have devastated the region for months, but causing road closures and flash flooding. Fears of smoke from the fires disrupting the Australian Open tennis receded in Melbourne, where the main tournament is due to start tomorrow. Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, three of the states most hit by drought and bushfires, are now dealing with rain bucketing down in several areas. Major highways were closed in Queensland, with the state receiving some of the heaviest rain Australia has seen for months, while power was cut in parts of New South Wales after a stormy night. More benign storms were forecast for Victoria over the weekend, which has already been hit this week by severe storms and unhealthy smoke from the bushfires.

Millions of pieces of junk mail fill mailboxes nationwide every year, and most of it is never even read. While exact figures for Taiwan are difficult to come by, US statistics show that the average person receives 18.6kg of junk mail per year, which on a national scale is the equivalent of 100 million trees. Paper production — especially for junk mail — is particularly harmful to the environment because it is such a short-lived product, unlike furniture or hardwood flooring, the report says. Increased use of recycled paper is also a positive change, but if trees are cut down elsewhere to make this paper, the impact on the planet remains. There are also environmental consequences in printing and distributing junk mail.

By Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reporterAs the bids for the nation’s first 5G auction have far exceeded expectations, the Executive Yuan would use the surplus profits to fund projects that would serve the public interest, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said on Friday. The bids have totaled more than NT$138 billion (US$4.60 billion), more than tripling the National Communications Commission’s expectation of NT$44 billion, Kolas said. The Executive Yuan plans to use the money to finance 5G infrastructure, narrow the digital development gap between urban and rural areas, and promote online events that advance the public interest, she added. Academics have suggested setting up a dedicated fund to develop 5G infrastructure and boost the technical capabilities of related industries. Tsai has tasked the Executive Yuan with preparing the first version of the plan by May, the sources said.

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) biggest challenge is itself and it should not drag the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) into its internal affairs, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Friday. Ko, chairman of the TPP, made the remarks to the media during a visit to Estonia. KMT Taipei City Councilor Lee Ming-hsien (李明賢) on Friday said in Taipei that the KMT’s short-term challenge would not be the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but rather the TPP, which would compete with the KMT to be the second-largest party in the Legislative Yuan. If the TPP’s five new legislators perform better than the KMT’s 38 lawmakers, the KMT would face greater competition, Lee said, expressing concern that young people would choose to join the TPP over the KMT. Ko on Friday visited the e-Estonia Briefing Centre in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and listened to reports about e-governance by the Estonian Information System Authority and the e-Governance Academy.

The Chinese health authority yesterday confirmed four cases — all men who began experiencing symptoms from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8 — CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said. Since Dec. 31, CDC personnel have conducted onboard inspections for respiratory diseases on 31 flights from Wuhan, covering 3,541 passengers and crew, Chuang said. Two others were infected with the influenza A (H1N1) virus and two with the influenza B virus, Chuang said, adding that they have all tested negative for 2019-nCoV infection. “The CDC never ruled out the possibility of human-to-human transmission, so we have used the highest standards for onboard inspections, disease screening and preventive measures,” he said. Blood donors who show symptoms of fever, respiratory infection or pneumonia after donating blood should notify the center, it added.

However, even with growing sales, automakers plan more than 40,000 jobs cuts in the coming years, with Opel Automobile GmbH the latest to announce 2,100 voluntary departures on Tuesday. HIGH-END SUPREMACY“German manufacturers are well-positioned with their premium brands,” said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, industry expert at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Both premium manufacturers’ figures were massively boosted by China, with Mercedes sales there growing 6.2 percent and BMW 13.1 percent year-on-year. SUV DOMINANCEFor all the German automakers, last year brought new strides for the dominance of SUVs in sales figures. “It’s perfectly clear that SUVs drive sales and profits for the carmakers,” Stefan Bratzel of the Center of Automotive Management said.