Sex workers fear the proposed crackdown will not end prostitution and could instead increase the dangers for people selling sex. At demonstrations, some held placards reading: “Sex work is work” and “Feminist whores,” while sex workers’ association Astras has threatened to name and shame politician clients in a bid to shoot down the new rules. In Greece and the Netherlands, sex work is legal and sex workers must apply for a license and follow rules on where and how they work. Earlier this year, Belgium decriminalized sex work, with a labor law that supporters said would let sex workers set their own terms, and could reduce exploitation and violence. For now, Spanish sex workers’ efforts are focused on securing amendments to the Socialists’ bill, including reversing the criminalization of buying sex and narrowing the definition of pimping to avoid landlords becoming liable.

EDITORIAL: Adjusting to post-pandemic lifeThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Monday removed the table dividers between its officials at its daily news conference — a symbolic gesture to encourage society to return to “normal” in the post-COVID-19 era — as it announced the easing next month of more COVID-19 restrictions. Although reporting daily caseloads could serve as a public reminder to take necessary precautions, many people have grown tired of the rigid format of the center’s data presentation. The center could address people’s concerns about the border reopening and easing of restrictions, as some might become anxious and be hesitant to stop preventive measures. The CECC should try new forms of public health messaging to make people feel safe returning to pre-pandemic activities, without questioning whether they are contravening rules or exposing themselves to increased risk of infection. The CECC, in collaboration with other ministries, can help people readjust to post-pandemic life with tips and advice on situations that are relatable to the public.

Constitutional Court paves way for Siraya recognitionBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Siraya and other Pingpu groups have the right to be recognized as “indigenous,” the Constitutional Court ruled yesterday as it gave the government a three-year deadline to implement a law to facilitate their recognition. Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei TimesThe ruling came after the Council of Indigenous Peoples has for three decades opposed the recognition of about 10 Pingpu groups, including the Siraya. “They must have the collective identity as an ethnic group,” as well as the required documents to file for recognition, Hsu added. The Council of Indigenous Peoples and indigenous lawmakers might try to impose restrictions that would leave the Siraya without a path to full recognition, she said. However, Uma Talavan said the ruling is also meaningful for other Pingpu groups, such as the Babuza, Hoanya, Kaxabu, Ketagalan, Lloa, Makatao, Pazeh, Papora, Taokas and Tavalong.

A MediaTek chip is pictured in an undated photograph. We expect the largest impact from customer adjustments to be in the fourth quarter,” MediaTek chief executive officer Risk Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investors’ conference yesterday. I would call it a severe downturn,” Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday posted the weakest quarterly net profits in about three quarters last quarter. MediaTek yesterday said it would stick to its goal of distributing an 80 to 85 percent payout ratio.

TPP’s Kao has turned into Han 2.0By Lin Han 林志翰At the beginning of 2019, then-Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) was caught on camera playing mahjong while on a holiday in Bali: Han claimed that the “state apparatus” has been monitoring him and his family. In August of the same year, Han claimed that a tracking device had been installed on his car, again pointing his finger at the “state apparatus,” yet failing to put forward any evidence of a tracking device. Kao accused the Democratic Progressive Party of deploying the “state apparatus” to consolidate its political power. Kao’s brazen reply has turned her into Han Kuo-yu 2.0. During weekends, she traveled around the US, with the additional perk of being able to receive reimbursements for her travel expenses.

Government plans meeting over online news revenueBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe government plans to arrange a meeting between international digital platforms and local news media outlets within a month to discuss the reasonable distribution of revenue for news content published on digital platforms, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said yesterday. “Broadcast news media and print news media have different ways of calculating revenue generated through online news content. “When we meet, we will focus on how much digital platforms should pay to compensate for the revenue losses. Negotiations between news media and digital platforms, and drafting a bill should proceed simultaneously, she added. Dominant software operators such as Line should be asked to establish data centers in Taiwan, Lin said.

Jaw offers sugar-coated poisonBy Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) has said that “voting for the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] means pushing the youth to the war front.”His remarks are questionable at best and deeply problematic. China is the only country in the world that is constantly barking at and threatening Taiwan. It is guaranteed that the only reason for Taiwanese to take up arms would be to stop China from invading Taiwan. One way of looking at this is that the DPP’s approach would lead to war, while the KMT’s would promote peace. They must realize that Jaw’s remark is sugar-coated poison.

2022 Elections: KMT commissioner accused of vote-buyingBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Nantou County councilor candidate Tseng Tsung-kai (曾琮愷) on Tuesday filed a judicial complaint against Nantou County Commissioner Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly trying to buy votes for a KMT candidate in the Nov. 26 local elections. He has been campaigning for KMT county commissioner candidate Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華). Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Nantou County commissioner candidate Hsu Shu-hua speaks at a campaign event in the county on Tuesday last week. The incident constitutes an abuse of government funds, as Lin has allegedly contravened election laws by promoting KMT candidates and handed out gifts to buy votes for the KMT, Tseng said. DPP Nantou County commissioner candidate Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧) said Lin Ming-chen has organized more than 100 such KMT campaign rallies disguised as his “farewell tour,” which began last month.

Institute sues TPP lawmaker over dissertationCOUNTERACCUSATION: The TPP’s Kao Hung-an said the Institute for Information Industry was aware that she was pursuing a degree at a university in the USStaff writer, with CNAThe government-funded Institute for Information Industry yesterday said that it has filed a criminal lawsuit against Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Kao Hung-an (高虹安) for allegedly improperly using copyrighted institute material in her doctoral dissertation. Institute for Information Industry president Cho Cheng-hung attends a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. The institute has accused Kao of using passages from copyrighted research reports that she coauthored when working at the institute in her doctoral dissertation at the University of Cincinnati without crediting the institute. The institute said its lawyer on Oct. 13 sent Kao a letter demanding that she explain her actions and offer solutions. Members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have accused Kao of plagiarism, copyright infringement and improper citation, but critics have dismissed their claims as politically motivated.

HSBC profits fall on impairment of US$2.4 billionAFP, HONG KONGHSBC Holdings PLC yesterday said pretax profit slipped more than 40 percent in the third quarter, citing an impairment on the planned disposal of its retail banking operations in France. The Asia-focused giant said pretax profit fell by US$2.3 billion to US$3.1 billion year-on-year, while net profit dropped 46 percent to US$1.91 billion. People walk past an HSBC Holdings PLC branch in Hong Kong on Feb. 22. While reclassifying the French division, the bank “recognized an impairment of US$2.4 billion,” which affected the third-quarter figures, but adjusted pretax profit rose 18 percent to US$6.5 billion, beating analysts’ estimates. HSBC is headquartered in London, but makes the vast majority of its profits in Asia, especially in China and Hong Kong.

Virus claims might drop as quarantine rule relaxesBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterClaims for COVID-19 insurance policies could drop next month as the government plans to relax one of its quarantine rules, but property insurers might still proceed with their capital injection plans, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday. As many COVID-19 insurance policies have been designed to pay policyholders for being quarantined, property insurers would have fewer compensation claims following the rule change, the commission said. Photo: CNAEach property insurer could pay NT$1 billion or NT$2 billion (US$30.94 million or US$61.88 million) less in compensation based on the eased rule, Chinese-language news reports said. “COVID-19 insurance is unlike accident insurance or fire insurance, the premiums of which can be adjusted based on a fixed mechanism. Whether and how property insurers should compensate policyholders of COVID-19 insurance hinges on the nation’s anti-virus regulations,” Insurance Bureau Deputy Director-General Thomas Chang (張玉煇) said.

More than 70% of firms plan Lunar New Year bonusStaff writer, with CNAMore than 70 percent of companies in Taiwan have said they would pay their employees a cash bonus at the end of the lunar year in January next year, with most of them planning to give 1.17 months’ wage on average, a yes123 job bank survey released yesterday found. The other 73.3 percent are planning to pay a bonus similar to this year’s, which averaged 1.17 months’ salary, it said. Photo: Tyrone Siu, ReutersMeanwhile, 8.9 percent of the companies polled by the job bank said they had decided not to give their employees a bonus in January, and 19.7 percent were still considering the issue. Regarding employees’ expectations, the poll found that 72.1 percent were anticipating a year-end bonus of 1.06 months’ salary on average, while 27.9 percent did not think they would receive a bonus. A similar survey carried out by yes123 last year found that 66.9 percent of companies in Taiwan had planned to give bonuses, while 4.8 percent did not intend to.

Philips to cut 4,000 jobs on losses from faulty respiratorsAFP, THE HAGUEDutch medical device manufacturer Royal Philips NV yesterday said that it would cut 4,000 jobs as another massive penalty for faulty sleep respirators pushed it into loss. Philips has been bedeviled by faulty devices that put users with sleep apnea at risk of inhaling toxic foam. The logo of Royal Philips NV hangs on the company’s headquarters building in Amsterdam on Jan. 29, 2019. Photo: ReutersPhilips had already set aside 900 million euros over the faulty respirators and had warned two weeks ago that it would take the 1.3 billion euro charge this quarter. “This includes the difficult but necessary decision to immediately reduce our workforce by around 4,000 roles globally,” Jakobs said.

LOCAL INITIATIVES VITALWhile the impact of hate speech online has already been documented in several Asian countries in recent years, analysts say that tech firms have not ramped up resources to improve content moderation, particularly in local languages. In Indonesia, “significant hate speech” online targets religious and racial minority groups, as well as LGBTQ+ people, with bots and paid trolls spreading disinformation aimed at deepening divisions, a report from Article 19 found in June. It is accessed via WhatsApp and has about 37,000 users -- a sliver of the nation’s more than 80 million WhatsApp users. Tattle’s team crowdsourced a list of offensive words and phrases that are used commonly online, that the tool then blurs on users’ timelines. “We’ve seen the harm that hate speech can cause.

Indian economy faces external risksBloombergThe Indian economy faces risks from the external sector, as foreign capital inflows could be hurt by US Federal Reserve monetary tightening while concerns about elevated global energy prices cloud the near-term outlook, the Indian Ministry of Finance said in a monthly report released on Saturday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres scatter rose petals on a statue portraying Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first deputy prime minister after the country gained independence in 1947, in Kevadia, India, on Thursday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at an event in Gandhinagar, India, on Wednesday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is heading into elections in his home state of Gujarat and in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh later this year amid continuing discontent over unemployment and high inflation. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy show that the unemployment rate has stayed above 6.5 percent since October last year.