Race to save undersea Stone Age cave art masterpieces
Race to save undersea Stone Age cave art masterpiecesAFP, MARSEILLETo reach the only place in the world where cave paintings of prehistoric marine life have been found, archaeologists have to dive to the bottom of the Mediterranean off southern France. Archaeologist Luc Vanrell’s life changed the second he surfaced inside the Cosquer cavern and saw its staggering images. Climate change and water and plastic pollution are threatening to wash away the art prehistoric men and women created over 15 millennia. An almost life-sized recreation of the Cosquer cavern will open this week a few kilometers away in Marseille. “And because the cave walls that are today underwater were probably also once decorated, nothing else in Europe compares to its size,” he added.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2022 05:16 UTC
TAIEX rises more than 2% after strong US showing
TAIEX rises more than 2% after strong US showingStaff writer, with CNAThe TAIEX yesterday moved sharply higher by more than 2 percent to close above 16,600 points, with investors encouraged by strong gains on US markets at the end of last week, dealers said. People sit in front of an electronic stock board at a securities brokerage in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei TimesTurnover totaled NT$256.035 billion (US$8.79 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$27.58 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The electronics sector rose 2.55 percent and the semiconductor sub-index soared 3.08 percent, while the financial sector rose 2.05 percent, the textile sector advanced 1.75 percent and the food sector moved up 1.36 percent. The NT dollar yesterday rose NT$0.206 to close at NT$29.144 against the US dollar in Taipei trading.
Source:Taipei Times
May 30, 2022 21:58 UTC
COVID-19: Border reopening hinges on healthcare capacity
COVID-19: Border reopening hinges on healthcare capacityBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterWhether Taiwan has adequate medical capacity to handle an increase in COVID-19 cases remains key to deciding when to reopen the nation’s borders to tourists, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday. However, Wang said that the world is moving toward reopening borders and returning to normal life. In other news, the Railway Bureau is considering changing the criteria for recruiting railway inspectors, Wang said. Although the Railway Bureau has set a goal of recruiting 42 railway inspectors, it has so far recruited only four. “We have requested the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration to raise the wages of railway inspectors, but the request was denied,” Wang said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 30, 2022 16:32 UTC
Shin Kong cash payout approved by shareholders
Shin Kong cash payout approved by shareholdersBRIGHTER FUTURE: Shin Kong Financial Holding Co said higher payouts would be possible after Shin Kong Life Insurance adopts new accounting rules in 2026By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterShin Kong Financial Holding Co’s (新光金控) shareholders on Friday approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.4 per share, but some shareholders suggested that the company offer a higher payout to boost its share price, which has been about NT$8 in recent trading sessions. Shin Kong Financial Holding Co executives attend the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei on Friday. Photo courtesy of Shin Kong Financial Holding CoShin Kong Life Insurance would also contribute more revenue after 2026, he added. The insurer has received interest income in US dollars three times and expects to receive another payment in US dollars next month, Shin Kong Financial said. The board of directors has agreed to conduct feasibility studies on potential mergers with other financial holding companies, Shiu said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2022 22:08 UTC
Wu warns of China; US slams UN visit
Her visit had already been criticized for failing to secure guarantees of unfettered access to Xinjiang. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at a news conference at the US Department of State in Washington on Friday. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet speaks at an event at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov. 3 last year. Her comments were quickly criticized by human rights advocates on social media. “It is absolutely stunning,” Adrian Zenz, senior fellow in China studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, told Bloomberg News of the remarks.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2022 22:08 UTC
Gasoline, diesel prices dip despite climbing oil costs
Gasoline, diesel prices dip despite climbing oil costsBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices are to drop by NT$0.1 per liter this week, despite climbing international crude oil prices, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Affected by factors such as Germany’s call for an EU embargo on Russian oil and the arrival of the peak holiday driving period in the northern hemisphere, international crude oil prices last week increased from the previous week, CPC said. Another factor weighing on the global oil market was a continued decrease in US crude oil and gasoline inventories last week, Formosa said in a separate statement. Based on CPC’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil last week rose 0.8 percent from a week earlier, and the refiner said that it should have raised gasoline prices this week by NT$5.3 per liter and diesel prices by NT$6.8 per liter. Formosa Petrochemical said that its prices for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline are to drop to NT$30.1, NT$31.6 and NT$33.6 per liter respectively, while the price of premium diesel is to drop to NT$27.7 per liter.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2022 20:34 UTC
Military’s new rifle to complete testing in August
Military’s new rifle to complete testing in AugustStaff writer, with CNAA new assault rifle being developed by the military is expected to finish combat readiness testing in August, the last phase before entering mass production, the Ministry of National Defense said on May 24. The new assault rifle, called the XT112, is set to complete combat readiness testing this August, Sun told a news conference. Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang speaks at a news conference at the ministry in Taipei on Tuesday last week. Combat units are currently using T91 rifles produced by the 205th Armory of the Ministry of National Defense that have been in service for nearly 20 years. The rifles are based on the T86 assault rifle, incorporating features from M16 and AR-18 rifles, but with modern features.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2022 17:12 UTC
Taiwan and Lithuania team up to help start-ups
Taiwan and Lithuania team up to help start-upsStaff writer, with CNATaiwan’s Startup Terrace on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with a start-up incubator in Lithuania to share resources and build closer links, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi, right, meets Lithuanian Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation Jovita Neliupsiene in Vilnius, Lithuania on Wednesday. On Thursday the six start-ups attracted a lot of attention at the Startup Fair in Vilnius, the ministry said. In November last year, Taiwan opened a representative office in Lithuania to facilitate bilateral trade and economic exchanges. Taiwan’ typically names its overseas representative offices “Taipei Economic and Cultural Office” or “Taipei Representative Office,” in keeping with the host countries’ preference to avoid provoking a response from Beijing.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2022 11:10 UTC
UN envoy defends China trip; Berlin’s concerns affect VW
UN envoy defends China trip; Berlin’s concerns affect VWAFP and REUTERS, BEIJING and BERLINUN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet yesterday said her contentious visit to China was “not an investigation,” and insisted she had unsupervised access during meetings in Xinjiang, where Beijing is accused of widespread human rights abuses. A still image taken from a handout video made available by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) shows UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet speaking to journalists during a virtual press conference in Guangzhou, China, yesterday. It is the first trip to China by the UN’s top rights envoy in 17 years and comes after painstaking negotiations over the conditions of her visit. The ministry said it had turned down four applications from a company over human rights concerns in Xinjiang, but declined to name the company. “The human rights situation in Xinjiang has become worse in recent years and involves forced labor and mass internment of Uighurs,” the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2022 11:02 UTC
European shares end best week since end of March
European shares end best week since end of MarchReutersEuropean shares marked their best week since the middle of March, ending Friday on a strong note as upbeat US data and easing bets about aggressive interest rate hikes lifted sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose for a third straight session, closing up 1.5 percent, taking weekly gains to 3 percent. Banks shone this week, up 6 percent as major central banks stayed on course to hike interest rates. Investors are watching for any updates from the European Central Bank (ECB), which is expected to begin its hiking cycle in July. The STOXX 600 is on track to end this month lower, leaving March as the only month it rose this year.
Source:Taipei Times
May 29, 2022 02:34 UTC
Free COVID-19 test kits to go to elderly, homeless
Free COVID-19 test kits to go to elderly, homelessAT-RISK PRIORITY: The government said it would offer five free rapid test kits to each person in lower-income households, and three per person to care facilitiesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterFree COVID-19 rapid test kits are to be provided to care facility staff and residents, in addition to homeless people and older people living alone, the Central Epidemic Command Center said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the Executive Yuan on Friday decided to offer five free rapid test kits to each person in lower-income households, and three per person to care facilities. The kits provided to care facilities are to be delivered to management to decide when and how the tests should be used, he said. Pingtung County’s Chunrih Township Office staff prepare COVID-19 rapid test kits for collection yesterday. The ministry is gathering lists of names from the facilities and the test kits would be delivered as soon as possible, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 28, 2022 16:41 UTC
Now even chicken is getting too expensive
The most expensive chicken we have seen in years. That has caused a degree of alarm in land-poor Singapore, which considers Hainanese chicken rice its national dish and depends on its neighbor for a supply of fresh birds. A man holds a chicken bought from a vendor in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Photo: ReutersIn the US, servings of chicken wings are going for twice what they cost a few years ago, while British supermarket chain Co-operative Group Ltd has warned that the meat could soon become as expensive as beef. Chicken is a particularly popular meat for fast food and restaurants, with about half of poultry in the US cooked outside the home.
Source:Taipei Times
May 28, 2022 16:41 UTC
‘Strategic confusion’ hurts Taiwan
‘Strategic confusion’ hurts TaiwanBy Huynh Tam Sang and Chen Kuan-tingFive thousand miles from Ukraine, an island nation with a population of 23.9 million is closely watching Russia’s devastating war in Ukraine. Russia’s colossal missteps in Ukraine are unlikely to reduce Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) determination to annex Taiwan. If Beijing launches a war against Taiwan, economic sanctions, reputational costs, military support and diplomatic boycotts would likely have a seismic effect on China’s reputation and economic strength. At the very least, Biden should not brew “strategic confusion” with confusing remarks when addressing the issue of defending or supporting Taiwan. Altogether, strategic clarity instead of strategic ambiguity should become essential, an approach the US could embrace as leverage to spearhead its Taiwan policy.
Source:Taipei Times
May 28, 2022 07:03 UTC
Labor groups, TSP slam Hung over Xinjiang
Labor groups, TSP slam Hung over Xinjiang‘LIES BY THE WEST’: The former KMT chairperson accused Western nations of fabricating lies about Chinese repression of Uighurs in XinjiangBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterWorkers’ groups and the Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) yesterday condemned remarks by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) praising China’s Xinjiang policy. It condemned Hung’s remarks that the US and other countries had fabricated lies about Chinese repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang. Photo: AFP / The Victims of Communism Memorial FoundationHung made the remarks while on a Chinese government-sponsored visit to Xinjiang this week. Hung has visited several places in Xinjiang during her China trip, including visiting a “Xinjiang Antiterrorism and Deradicalization Struggle Exhibition” in Urumqi on Tuesday. “Xinjiang is a harmonious, joyful, diverse and inclusive society,” Hung was quoted as saying by the Chinese state news outlet China Daily.
Source:Taipei Times
May 27, 2022 23:43 UTC
EDITORIAL: Hate crime law likely not needed
EDITORIAL: Hate crime law likely not neededThe Ministry of Justice on Monday said that it might propose a law that targets hate crimes and hate speech, in response to a shooting targeting a Taiwanese congregation in California. It might be understandable if there had been concern about a rise in hate crimes within Taiwan’s borders, but hate crimes are unlikely in Taiwan. If the ministry is to propose new legislation to target hate crimes, it should define the crimes it is concerned about. Taiwan already criminalizes defamation and it could introduce a hate speech law as an extension of that, to protect identifiable groups of people, but it is debatable whether such a law is needed. Whether hate crime laws are needed in Taiwan depends on how hate crime is defined, and whether that definition should be applied to Taiwanese society.
Source:Taipei Times
May 27, 2022 22:08 UTC