Staff writer, with CNAInformation Technology Month, one of the nation’s largest IT exhibitions which opens at the Taipei World Trade Center’s Exhibition Hall 1 tomorrow and runs until Sunday, is to focus on artificial intelligence (AI), the organizers said yesterday. It is also to feature the evolution of AI technology development, starting from evolution of AI and encompassing possible future applications, the organizers said. A special AI pavilion is to allow visitors to experience AI products in five major areas, they said. As Futex Taipei, another annual high-tech trade fair, is to be held in conjunction with Information Technology Month at the same venue, the organizers are expecting an especially high number of visitors this year. After the Taipei event, Information Technology Month is to move to Taichung from Thursday next week to Dec. 16, Tainan from Dec. 19 to Dec. 23 and Kaohsiung from Dec. 26 to Dec. 30.

By Yu Chao-fu and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerA businesswoman on Saturday told a group of Keelung students how she persevered through poverty to found her own company and encouraged them to pursue their dreams. “Do not be afraid of failure when pursuing your dreams, because success definitely belongs to those who stick to the end,” she told the students. At 28, she used NT$190,000 she had saved to found Simula Technology, she said. The uncertain business environment motivated the company to innovate and discover new customer bases to survive fierce market competition, she said. Yu expressed gratitude to her parents, saying her upbringing provided her with the strength and perseverance required for success.

AP, HONG KONGChina yesterday said it would suspend US Navy visits to Hong Kong and sanction several US-based pro-democracy organizations in retaliation for the signing into law of legislation supporting human rights in the territory. The steps are “in response to the US’ unreasonable behavior,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said, adding that the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act “seriously interfered” in China’s internal affairs. “China urges the United States to correct its mistakes and stop any words and deeds that interfere in Hong Kong and China’s internal affairs,” she said at a daily briefing in Beijing. The law, signed on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump, mandates sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses and requires an annual review of the favorable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong. She did not provide details on how China would sanction the groups, which are already restricted from operating in China.

By Ann Maxon / Staff reporterNew Power Party (NPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday accused Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) father-in-law’s family of occupying more than 1 hectare of public land in Yunlin County for 19 years. During an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee, Huang said that the family of former Yunlin County councilor Lee Jih-kuei (李日貴), Han’s father-in-law, had allegedly occupied the land since 2000 and did not return it to the government until August this year. Between 1998 and 2005, Da-tong Gravel Co (大通砂石行), owned by Lee Jih-kuei, was fined multiple times for illegally occupying public land and storing gravel in the area, Huang said on Friday. To determine if the family had illegally excavated gravel, the NPA has applied for aerial shots of the area, he said, adding that an investigation would take two weeks. Describing the Lee family’s use of the land as “privileged people stealing national resources,” Huang yesterday asked why authorities had not asked them to return the land until this year.

Officials from the DOJ, who have been working closely with Estonian prosecutors for about a year, have also begun cooperating with Frankfurt state prosecutors, the sources said. The Frankfurt prosecutors have been exploring Deutsche’s role in processing payments for the Danish bank. The DOJ’s focus on Germany’s largest bank and its work with Frankfurt prosecutors have not previously been reported. The DOJ and Frankfurt state prosecutors declined to comment on the US investigation, which two sources told reporters is due to be completed next year. Frankfurt prosecutors have also questioned Sylvie Matherat, Deutsche’s former chief regulatory officer, and the highest ranking of 10 Deutsche bankers and executives they have interviewed.

A Taiwanese entrepreneur doing business in China had relayed a message to him from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), he said. “The TAO wanted to invite me to attend an international conference in China and they said I would be received by the leader of the CCP,” he said. “I thought that was very strange because I had stepped down less than eight months ago. The National Security Council in September said that China had been using all possible means to influence the Jan. 11 elections and proposed five countermeasures, so “I hope President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national security team would fully implement those measures,” Tsai added. For example, when Wang’s allegations were first reported, many in the pan-blue camp took the same stance on his claims as the CCP’s, Lai said.

Staff writer, with agenciesBritain’s political leaders are sparring over who is responsible for the early release of a convicted extremist who launched a stabbing attack in central London on Friday that left two people dead and three injured. The argument centers over the early release from prison of Usman Khan, who served about half his sentence before being set free. After a one-day pause out of respect for victims, the Friday attack is dominating the political scene as the election nears. He also announced plans to review Britain’s security, defense and foreign policy in the wake of the terror attack, which came ahead of a NATO summit that begins in London later today. He said he understood that the Parole Board was not involved in Khan’s early release and there was no probation service involvement in monitoring him.

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterAbout 500 Taiwan Postal Workers’ Union members protested outside the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei yesterday, demanding that employees of Chunghwa Post Co doing the same jobs be paid equally. The workers then marched to the Executive Yuan to submit a petition. The workers called for the rates that Chunghwa Post pays employees to be more flexible and that they not be based on its revenue. Hierarchical employees should be treated the same as transferred workers, from starting salaries and bonuses to paid leave, the protesters said, adding that employees should be paid subsidies and bonuses monthly. “The Executive Yuan should ask Chunghwa Post to deliver the best retirement plans for transferred staff,” the protesters said.

AFP, CLARK, PhilippinesThe Philippines has begun evacuating thousands of people, local officials said yesterday, as a powerful typhoon rumbling in from the Pacific Ocean forced Southeast Asian (SEA) Games organizers to cancel or reschedule some events. Forecasters expect Typhoon Kammuri to make landfall this evening or tomorrow morning, packing gusts of 170kph and maximum sustained winds of 140kph. Outdoor events in Subic — on the west coast of the main Philippine island of Luzon in the country’s north — were the first to be affected by Kammuri. The women’s triathlon event was brought forward to yesterday, Agregado said, “so we could take advantage of the good weather.”Duathlon events scheduled for tomorrow would now take place today. Schools and government offices in some towns would be closed today and tomorrow in anticipation of the heavy rains.

By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterAbout 50 telecom operators around the world have launched commercial 5G services and the number is expected to more than triple to 170 next year, indicating that 5G commercialization should proceed faster than expected, Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) said. MIC estimated that global 5G handset shipments would hit 260 million units next year and 540 million units in 2021, the Liberty Times reported on Thursday. While 5G has faster transmission speeds, 5G signals have a shorter transmission distance than 4G signals and do not transmit very well through walls and tend to weaken during transmission, Chung said. “The 5G trend looks set to bring exponential growth opportunities for Taiwanese component makers and networking equipment suppliers. However, challenges for the 5G industry include telecom operators’ attitude toward 5G investment, the realignment of the 5G supply chain and the progress of 5G spectrum license granting, Wang said.

Staff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Health and Welfare is considering installing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at more public places, including temples, to reduce fatalities from sudden cardiac arrest, a senior health official said. The ministry was investigating the feasibility of expanding the current installation of AEDs to more public spaces, such as popular temples, community centers and junior-high and elementary schools, Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said. The review came after the death on Wednesday of Canadian-Taiwanese actor and model Godfrey Gao (高以翔) in China. Sudden cardiac arrest is among the leading causes of death in the US, according to the American Red Cross. In that condition, “the heart can no longer pump blood to vital organs, and eventually the heartbeat stops, leading to death,” Lin said.

Exports dropped 14.3 percent from a year earlier for a sixth straight double-digit decline, South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy data showed yesterday. The government was more upbeat on the outlook for next year, saying that shipments hit bottom in October and would rebound from the first quarter of next year. The trade data showed that chip exports, the largest category in South Korea’s overseas shipments, dropped 30.8 percent, compared with falls of more than 30 percent in the past few months. The export numbers add to signs that the Asian country is on course for its weakest economic growth in a decade. Shipments to China dropped 12.2 percent last month from a year earlier, reflecting slowing growth in the world’s second largest economy and South Korea’s biggest export destination.

By Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNATaipei City University of Science and Technology (TPCU) students won four golds, three silvers, three bronzes and four special prizes at the Seoul International Invention Fair on Saturday. A Bluetooth alcohol detection helmet for scooter riders, from a TPCU team of information engineering students, Tang Yuan-chi (湯元麒) and Gao Li-yu (高立瑜), and advising professor Chang Hsien-Chung (張獻中), earned a gold medal and a special prize at the international invention fair. The helmet uses Bluetooth earphones and a breath alcohol device to measure alcohol levels, which would prevent the scooter from starting if too high, it said. TPCU’s electrical engineering team also won a gold medal and a special prize with a safety device that alerts a scooter rider of dangerous turns. The school’s computer and communication engineering team won a special prize for its smart drying rack that automatically dries and sterilizes clothes.

AFP, MOSUL, IraqIraqis across the country yesterday marched to mourn protesters killed in anti-government rallies, even turning out in Sunni areas where people were previously too afraid to join in. After a spike in deaths this week raised the toll to more than 420 killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi on Friday said he would submit his resignation to parliament. However, after a spike in violence days ago left nearly 70 people dead across three cities, Iraqis in nearly all provinces turned out in solidarity. Eight other Shiite-majority provinces have announced yesterday a mourning day during which government offices would remain shut. The protest hotspot is the birthplace of Abdel Mahdi, who came to power just a year ago based on a shaky alliance between rival parties.

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe nation’s athletes are banned from participating in national events hosted by China, or if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or Chinese government and military are involved, the Sports Administration reiterated over the weekend. The agency issued the statement after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday said that its General Administration of Sports is amending regulations to allow Taiwanese athletes, coaches and referees to work in China with China-issued certificates. The act does not ban Taiwanese athletes from playing for professional teams in China or competing at events held by the private sector there, nor does it ban Taiwanese coaches and referees from securing certificates from sports associations in China, Huang said. The Sports Administration and the council do not have records of Taiwanese athletes who have competed in national sports events in China, Huang said. Asked how the nation plans to keep top athletes from moving to China to chase career opportunities, the sports agency said it has a comprehensive plan to give athletes opportunities and retirement plans.