UK economy’s rebound halts in JulyLOSS OF MOMENTUM: As staff shortages and supply chain problems interfere with production, growth slowed to a rate much lower than expected by economistsBloombergThe UK economy barely grew in July, suggesting that the recovery from the COVID-19 recession is rapidly leveling off as consumer spending weakens and supply disruptions hamper production. GDP expanded just 0.1 percent — one-tenth of the pace posted in June, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday. The ONS cited staff shortages and supply chain problems as an impediment to production. Output in consumer-facing services fell by 0.3 percent in July, largely due a 2.5 percent fall in retail sales. “What’s concerning is that these numbers may not yet be showing the full effect of sustained supply chain bottlenecks.”

Fubon posts 21.8 percent growthBIG PLAYER: With earnings per share of NT$11.69 for the first eight months of the year, Fubon Financial was the most profitable financial holding company in TaiwanBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterFubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the nation’s second-largest financial conglomerate by assets, yesterday reported annual growth of 21.8 percent for last month with a net profit of NT$16.16 billion (US$583.6 million). Earnings per share were NT$11.69 for the first eight months of the year, making Fubon the most profitable financial holding company in Taiwan. The Cathay Financial Holding Co headquarters in Taipei are pictured in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holding CoIt attributed the growth to contributions from Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), the profit of which expanded 18 percent year-on-year to NT$11.72 billion. Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) and Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) also reported an improvement in net profit, it said.

Kuo, who heads the legislature’s friendship association for East Asia, made the remark at the launch ceremony of the Taiwan Japan Academy at National Chengchi University in Taipei, attended by experts and academics urging stronger Taiwan-Japan ties. Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi speaks at the launch of the Taiwan Japan Academy in Taipei yesterday. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesThe friendship between Taiwan and Japan is strong, and the two peoples have come to each other’s aid in the wake of natural disasters, he said. Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi said Japan hopes that the academy would help bolster rapport and understanding between the two sides, adding that knowledge of Japan would become an asset in Taiwan. Taiwan and Japan have technology advantages that could complement each other in ways that could contribute to world peace and prosperity, he added.

COVID-19: The Executive Yuan approves proposal for more relief fundsStaff writer, with CNAThe Executive Yuan on Thursday approved a government proposal to allocate an additional NT$160 billion (US$5.78 billion) for COVID-19 relief and prevention. Most of the new funds would go toward the Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers program, which is to begin on Oct. 8, to spur economic recovery, the Executive Yuan said. The program is to receive NT$120.69 billion, with each eligible person receiving NT$5,000 of vouchers, a supplementary budget from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Having cleared the Cabinet, the NT$160 billion supplementary budget proposal is to be submitted to the legislature for review. An amendment to the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia With Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例規定) caps the special budget for COVID-19 response at NT$840 billion.

Local manufacturers boosted fixed asset investments by 24.5 percent last quarterBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterLocal manufacturers invested NT$429.1 billion (US$15.5 billion) in fixed assets last quarter, 24.5 percent more than a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Most of the fixed assets were on manufacturing equipment to cope with surging worldwide demand, it said. The figure represented a quarterly increase of 4.7 percent and marked a record for the second quarter, ministry data showed. The chemical materials sector increased fixed assets investments by 34.3 percent annually to NT$26 billion, marking the highest since the second quarter of 2014, it said. Computer and optoelectronics companies grew investments by 8.6 percent year-on-year to NT$13.7 billion to expand facilities and capacity, it added.

Councilors in HK swear new oath after hundreds quitAFP, HONG KONGDozens of local community politicians in Hong Kong yesterday swore a newly required loyalty oath to China, after hundreds of their colleagues quit in protest as authorities try to purge the territory of “unpatriotic” elements. Yesterday, the first 24 councillors took the oath in a closed-door ceremony, the Hong Kong government said. About 180 district councilors are expected to take oaths in the coming weeks, and those who refuse to attend would lose their seats. However, a majority of the elected councilors have quit rather than adhere to the vetting process. The three leaders were hit with a subversion charge after they refused to cooperate with a national security investigation.

Messi snatches Pele’s record in Argentina victoryAFP, BUENOS AIRESLionel Messi scored a hat-trick on Thursday to overtake Pele as the top international goalscorer in South American history as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Bolivia in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Messi pounced for his 77th, 78th and 79th international goals to keep Argentina firmly on course for a place at next year’s finals in Qatar against a Bolivia team languishing near the foot of the qualifying table. Argentina’s Lionel Messi, center, controls the ball against Bolivia in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Thursday. I am very happy.”Brazil’s Neymar, left, scores against Peru in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, on Thursday. Brazil have now won all eight of their World Cup qualifying games and have 24 points.

Biden calls Xi as faltering talks draw ire in the USAP, WASHINGTONUS President Joe Biden on Thursday spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) amid growing frustration in Washington that high-level engagement between the leaders’ top advisers has been largely unfruitful in the early months of the Biden presidency. US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on Thursday. He told Biden that the two sides should cooperate on climate change, epidemic prevention, economic recovery and other issues, Xinhua reported. Ahead of the call, a senior US official said that the White House has been unsatisfied with early engagements with Beijing. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that White House officials were hopeful that Xi hearing directly from Biden could prove beneficial.

Cabinet to boost budget for missile productionDEFENSE: The Cabinet is expected next week to pass a special bill that would add NT$40 billion to the budget and push for its legislative ratification, sources saidBy Lee Hsin-fang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Executive Yuan is next week expected to approve a special bill drafted by the Ministry of National Defense for missile production, with a projected budget cap of NT$240 billion (US$8.67 billion), a Cabinet source said yesterday. The bill is offering NT$40 billion more than expected for missile manufacturing, the source added. Photo provided by the Presidential OfficeAnother political party source said that the special act and its budget would be given top priority in the new legislative session. A hypersonic missile program that has not yet been named, and a mid-range air-launched cruise missile program under the name Yun Feng, are also being developed, the source added. Tsai urged the brigade’s second squadron, which was established last month, to give their all in the Han Kuang exercises next week.

Air force’s operational costs surge as China steps up warplane incursionsBy Aaron Tu and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerPeople’s Liberation Army (PLA) incursions into Taiwan’s airspace have led to a surge in the operational costs of the Republic of China Air Force, the Ministry of National Defense said. The air force’s equipment and facility costs are projected to reach a record NT$29.2 billion (US$1.05 billion) next fiscal year, the ministry said in a budget report dated Tuesday. They include NT$17.2 billion for maintenance and NT$11.9 billion for purchasing new materiel, up 56 percent from fiscal 2016, the ministry said. These costs conform to the trend of rising year-on-year maintenance costs, which stem from missions to intercept PLA aircraft, it said. In 2018, it shifted its focus from aerial circumnavigation of Taiwan’s airspace to incursions of the southwestern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), it said.

Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei TimesThe show will open on Sept. 18 to mark the launch of the Taipei Music Center’s Cultural Cube, which will be the nation’s first exhibition hall dedicated to Taiwan’s pop music. Many people hear the words “pop music” in Taiwan and immediately think of Mandopop crooners wailing about their lost love, or teenybopper idol groups dancing frenetically to upbeat electronic grooves. As time moves ever forward, pop music has truthfully documented society’s sweeping transformation.”The exhibition is thoughtfully designed, with many specially-themed rooms designed to provide an immersive experience. With towels from various music festivals hanging from the ceiling, this room reflects the importance that independent acts have had on the nation’s music scene. A view of the Taipei Music Center complex and its surroundings from the stairwell.

Premier Su Tseng-chang provides details about the Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Tainan City Councilor Tsai Yu-hui holds a sign that reads: “I don’t want Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers, I want vaccines,” at his office in Tainan yesterday. Photo: Wang Shu-hsiu, Taipei TimesIn exchange for being allowed to participate, online businesses would reduce transaction and advertisement fees charged to small businesses and farmers, Su said. The vouchers could not be used for transactions connected with stock trades, investment products, taxes, credit card fees, fines, foreign-based online retailers, tobacco products or buying other types of vouchers, Su said. The 13,000 foreigners who were eligible for the Triple Stimulus Voucher program would also be eligible for the Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers, the official added.

COVID-19: CECC adds four cases linked to clusterBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterA cluster of COVID-19 infections involving a preschool and a housing complex in New Taipei City has grown to 27 cases, after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported four locally transmitted infections and two imported cases. The Taipei cases were an employee of a remodeling firm who was working at the New Taipei City housing complex and his wife, Chen said. A member of the New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau sanitizes an apartment building in the city yesterday, after several COVID-19 cases were reported at the building. The other two local cases were people living in the same household in New Taipei City, Chen said, adding that a connection with the cluster is unlikely. As of yesterday, the center had reported 16,062 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1,447 imported and 14,561 domestic infections, as well as 838 deaths.

Squeezed into a cluttered corner of Singan Temple’s courtyard, this depiction of Chu Yi-kuei is easy to overlook. The more obvious of the two Chu Yi-kuei statues in Yamuliao Chu Yi-kuei Culture Park in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District. Chu Yi-kuei has been deified as the Second City God in Tainan’s Siaonan Chenghuang. To celebrate the exploits of Chu Yi-kuei, in 1998 the government unveiled the Yamuliao Chu Yi-kuei Culture Park (鴨母寮朱一貴文化園區) in a rural part of Neimen. I’ve not been able to visit or even confirm a formal address for what’s known simply as the Duck King Temple (鴨母王廟).

EDITORIAL: Change hall to help nation healAfter the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War in 1949, it retreated to Taiwan to establish the Republic of China’s government-in-exile. Led by self-styled “Generalissimo” Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), the government lacked money to rebuild Taipei, which had been heavily bombed during World War II. The Executive Yuan established a funeral committee to construct a lavish memorial to Chiang, selecting architect Yang Cho-cheng (楊卓成) as lead designer. The hall, which sits at the eastern side of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park, is flanked by the National Theater and National Concert Hall. On Wednesday, the Transitional Justice Commission announced its plan to transform the hall, which includes removing a large bronze statue of Chiang.