A senior official at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that South Korea’s top financial watchdog would ask prosecutors to probe Lime’s investment in funds run by International Investment Group LLC (IIG). The FSS official said the regulator has temporarily suspended its probe of Lee, who has been fired by Lime. The FSS official said some Lime funds were invested in assets managed by IIG. That marked a reversal of the record 700 billion won withdrawal over two months in the wake of Lime’s difficulties. Still, the industry is likely to continue struggling amid strengthened regulations on local brokerage sales of hedge funds to retail investors and a hike in minimum investments by hedge funds in the aftermath of the incident, NH said.

By Ann Maxon / Staff reporterNearly 60 percent of young Taiwanese support independence as national identity is becoming increasingly divided along generational lines, a survey released yesterday by the Chinese-language CommonWealth Magazine (天下雜誌) showed. Taiwanese are the most divided they have ever been over the issue of independence and national identity, the survey said. Among respondents aged 30 or younger, nearly 60 percent said they choose independence, while more than 60 percent of those aged 40 or older said they preferred maintaining the “status quo,” the survey said. Among those in their 20s, 58.5 percent said they support Taiwanese independence, the survey said. The results were similar in the other age brackets, except for respondents in their 20s, among whom 82.4 percent self-identified as Taiwanese, the survey showed.

By Natasha Li / Staff reporterApple Inc yesterday launched its long-anticipated AirPods Pro in Taiwan, two months after their initial release in the US and other countries. Despite the long wait, the Taiwanese market seemed to have retained its enthusiasm for Apple’s third-generation “true wireless stereo” (TWS) earphones, as the estimated shipping time is set at more than a month. With a price tag of NT$7,990 (US$265.14), the AirPods Pro are significantly more expensive than their predecessors, which were priced at about NT$5,290. While they might look similar, the AirPods Pro have an updated design, including a customizable fit, active noise cancelation and adaptive equalizer, Apple’s official Web site said. The rising sales of the AirPods Pro have benefited Taiwanese molding component suppliers, such as Shin Zu Shing Co (新日興) and Concraft Holdings Co (康控).

AFP, TOKYOTokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 finished more than 18 percent higher over the year, bolstered recently by hopes for progress in US and China trade talks. The broader TOPIX gained more than 15 percent over the year, as the Tokyo markets close until Monday next week. Over the past few weeks, Japanese shares have enjoyed sizable gains, following US stocks to new highs and reflecting investor relief over a recent thaw in US-China trade ties. “This will also affect prospects for the US-China trade negotiations.”The Nikkei yesterday lost 0.76 percent and the TOPIX fell 0.68 percent as investors cashed in ahead of the New Year holidays, with thin trading. Elsewhere in Asia, markets were mixed with activity thinning as investors wind down for the end of the year, with lingering optimism over easing US-China trade tensions driving some gains.

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taipei Police Department is to deploy a counterterrorism unit of 800 officers and five police dogs to enhance public security at New Year’s Eve celebrations in the capital tonight. With the Taipei New Year’s Eve Party at Taipei City Hall Plaza and the Taipei 101 fireworks to take place in Xinyi District (信義) between 6:30pm tonight and 1am tomorrow, and an expected crowd of more than 100,000 people, Xinyi Precinct yesterday released its plans to enhance public safety. “The department is to deploy 800 police officers and will implement three stages of traffic controls,” Xinyi Precinct Deputy Chief Chen Yung-hua (陳勇華) said. The counterterrorism unit is to patrol the party venue and its surrounding areas, including Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Plaza and Taipei 101, making sure that prohibited items, such as illegal drugs, guns, knives and explosives, are not brought into the area, Chen said. More traffic information, including recommended public transportation methods, can be found on the Taipei New Year’s Eve Party’s Web site at www.newyear2020.taipei/en/traffic.html.

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterLed by the technology sector, the nation’s initial public offering (IPO) market could stage a rebound next year, after hitting rock bottom this year because of US-China trade tensions, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Taiwan said yesterday. Sentiment has also turned more positive in the local property market, with an uptick in prices and rents, he said. PwC Taiwan is seeking to take advantage of the trend by setting up a real-estate brokerage division, PwC Taiwan chairman Joseph Chou (周建宏) said. “PwC Taiwan is to turn 50 next year and it has to reposition itself by taking up new challenges,” Chou said. The global economy is expected to slow next year, with monetary easing by central banks and household consumption expected to be the main growth drivers, PwC Taiwan said, adding that diversified manufacturing bases would gain importance as trade disputes linger.

Judging from the development of the financial and telecommunications industries overseas, it would also change the service model in the financial industry. By doing so, it could help reduce cost and deployment time, while expanding bank coverage. For risk monitoring, high-speed 5G transmissions in combination with artificial intelligence and big data would help banks enhance their ability to detect fraud. In the long run, 5G would not only open a new era of Internet connectivity, it would also open up opportunities for innovative services in the financial industry. The development and application of such technology is critical to making financial services ubiquitous, and business operators would be wise to seize this opportunity.

By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterLotus Pharmaceutical Co (美時製藥) yesterday said it has signed an exclusive marketing agreement with Finland-based Orion Oyj for the distribution of its drugs to treat Parkinson’s disease in select Asian markets. The company is also to sell Orion’s Comtan, another drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease, in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and South Korea, it added. According to the agreement signed by Orion and Lotus, Orion would be responsible for manufacturing the products and the agreement would be in effect for five years following the first commercial sales. Lotus expects sales of Stalevo to boost its revenue in the next few years, given the huge market for Parkinson’s treatment, Chen said. Lotus sees Roche’s Madopar as Stalevo’s biggest rival in those Asian markets, but is not concerned about competition from generic drugs as many doctors and patients prefer branded drugs, she said.

Reuters, WASHINGTON and BAGHDADThe US military carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against the Kataib Hezbollah (KH) militia group in response to the killing of a US civilian contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base, US officials said on Sunday. Iraqi security and militia sources said that at least 25 militia fighters were killed and at least 55 wounded following three US airstrikes in Iraq on Sunday. At least four local Kataib Hezbollah commanders were among the dead, the sources said, adding that one of the strikes had targeted the militia group’s headquarters near the western Qaim district on the border with Syria. The Pentagon said it had targeted three locations of the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militia group in Iraq and two in Syria. The locations included weapons storage facilities, and command and control locations the group had used to plan and execute attacks on coalition forces, it said.

“I always will.”The practice of reconciling former terrorists and victims is rare and, to some, abhorrent. While Islam in Indonesia is largely moderate, the country has battled Islamic militants since the Bali attacks. Last year, Indonesia’s government brought together dozens of former Islamic militants and victims for what was billed as a reconciliation conference. Since 2013, 49 victims and six former extremists have reconciled through the Alliance for a Peaceful Indonesia, or AIDA. The hope is that if former terrorists and victims can learn to see each other as human, they can stop the cycle of vengeance.

Staff writer, with CNAThe Academia Historica is to publish a compilation of historical materials related to late democracy activist Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), including documents that link Chen’s case to the Kaohsiung Incident, the academy’s curator said. The records, for which historians previously had to apply for access to view, became available in book form, as well as digitally, starting yesterday, curator Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深) said. Although Chen Wen-chen was spared the events of 1979 because he was working as a mathematics professor in the US, he had come to the authorities’ attention as one of Formosa Magazine’s main financial backers, Chen Yi-shen said. Chen Wen-chen returned to Taipei on May 20, 1981, to visit his family. While the government said that Chen Wen-chen was released after questioning, his body was discovered the next day on the campus of National Taiwan University.

The association has been providing flight subsidies for years, and it has long been understood that Chinese authorities influence Taiwan’s elections through such associations, Taiwan Democracy Watch chairman Sung Cheng-en (宋承恩) said on Saturday. Members of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) often attend meetings hosted by these associations prior to elections, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. The addition of cross-strait flights for the elections would need approval from Chinese aviation authorities, with the TAO acting as an intermediary, it said. The China-based Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland in September requested discounted flights, and Chinese airlines responded immediately, the source said. At the time, Shenzhen Airlines suggested that return flights be priced at a 50 percent discount of 1,500 yuan for Taiwanese businesspeople flying home for the elections, the source said.

By Lin Liang-sheng, Chen Yun and Yang Chun-hui / Staff reportersThe three presidential candidates for the elections on Jan. 11 yesterday faced off in the only televised presidential debate, which was hosted by the Public Television Service. Han said that he would not forget his roots and pledged to spend three days of the week in Kaohsiung if elected president. He called the DPP the “biggest Taiwan-selling corporation,” accusing Tsai of deceiving supporters of Taiwanese independence, the Chinese Communist Party, Hong Kongers and Taiwanese. Many DPP legislators have socialized with Beijing officials in China, but criticized them upon their return to Taiwan, Han said. Han said that Tsai has pledged to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty and that she would not trade it for economic benefits from China.

In separate statements, CPC and Formosa said that they would increase gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter, effective today, following price increases of NT$0.3 per liter for gasoline and NT$0.4 per liter for diesel last week. Based on state-run CPC’s floating oil price formula, prices last week increased by US$0.8 per barrel to US$67.53, the company’s Web site showed. Normally, the price of gasoline would have risen by NT$0.2 per liter, CPC said. However, to adhere to the government’s policy of keeping fuel prices the lowest among Asian nations, CPC absorbed 50 percent of the increase, the company said. Prices at privately owned Formosa’s pumps are to rise to NT$27.7, NT$29.1 and NT$31.2 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded respectively, while premium diesel is to rise to NT$25.5 per liter.

Officials estimate about 200,000 domestic and international tourists canceled or postponed their trip to the Taj Mahal in the past two weeks, one of the world’s most popular tourist attractions. “There has been a 60 percent decline in visitor footfalls in December this year,” said Dinesh Kumar, a police inspector overseeing a special tourist police station near the Taj Mahal who has access to visitor data. A group of European tourists traveling in a group across India said they now planned to cut short their 20-day trip. The Taj Mahal, located in the town of Agra, attracts more than 6.5 million tourists every year, generating nearly US$14 million annually from entrance fees. “Blocking the Internet has affected travel and tourism in Agra by about 50-60 percent,” said Sandeep Arora, president of the Agra Tourism Development Foundation, which groups more than 250 tour operators, hotels and guides.