Taiwan, Poland ties face challenges
Taiwan, Poland ties face challengesBy Marcin Jerzewski 葉皓勤Relations between Taiwan and Poland are on an upward trajectory. Close cooperation between Taiwan and Poland, facilitated through the parliamentary associations, has brought about concrete results. Additionally, in December, career diplomat Cyryl Kozaczewski became the de facto ambassador of Poland to Taiwan. The developmental interests of Taiwan and Poland align in several key areas, including smart cities and autonomous vehicles. More balanced and regular interactions between parliamentarians from Taiwan and Poland have the potential to alleviate any possible effects of the information deficit that continues to blur Warsaw’s Taiwan policy.
Source:Taipei Times
April 17, 2022 04:11 UTC
Commodity margin calls pose likely macroeconomic risk, Dallas Fed says
Commodity margin calls pose likely macroeconomic risk, Dallas Fed saysBloombergCommodity markets should be tracked for potential macroeconomic risks, Dallas Federal Reserve analysts said in the latest sign that liquidity concerns in the sector have caught the eye of central banks and regulators. “Ongoing developments in commodities should be monitored for potential impacts on financial conditions broadly,” said the note from Dallas Fed economists, including Jill Cetina, who leads surveillance and supervisory risk analysis. “The threshold for central bank intervention in unregulated markets is high,” the economists said. “While so far, commodity trading firms appear to have obtained the credit necessary to continue their intermediation activities, the recent situation highlights some vulnerabilities,” the economists said. UKRAINIAN CROPSThe outlook for spring planting in much of Ukraine has improved as Russian troops narrow their offensive to focus on eastern areas.
Source:Taipei Times
April 16, 2022 20:45 UTC
Taipei exhibition highlights work of local Indian artist
Taipei exhibition highlights work of local Indian artistStaff writer, with CNAAn exhibition of more than a dozen artworks by a Taiwanese-based Indian artist and inspired by ancient cave sculptures opened on Friday at India’s representative office in Taipei. The “Into the Caves of India” exhibition, which ends on Friday next week, features 15 mixed media artworks by Taipei-based Vandana Mengane at the India-Taipei Association. Among the artworks is a 77cm-by-63cm mixed media piece titled Trimurthi, which depicts the deities Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. “These were all carved in India’s caves thousands of years back,” Mengane said. Mengane said she has lived in Taiwan since 2017 and “Into the Caves of India” is her fifth exhibition in the nation.
Source:Taipei Times
April 16, 2022 20:45 UTC
Toothbrush swallower struggled to be believed: doctor
Toothbrush swallower struggled to be believed: doctorBy Lo Hsin-chun and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerA hospital worker had difficulty believing a woman who said that she had accidentally swallowed a toothbrush, the doctor who removed the item said on Wednesday. Tsai Yuan-jung (蔡元榮), a gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Pingtung Christian Hospital, said that the attending nurse asked the woman to repeat her problem several times, thinking that she had misheard her. A toothbrush is pictured in an undated photograph after a doctor at Pingtung Christian Hospital removed it from a woman who swallowed it on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Pingtung Christian HospitalThe woman told medical staff that she accidentally swallowed the object while brushing her teeth in a daze having woken up early that morning. An 18cm toothbrush was removed from the 44-year-old’s esophagus, Tsai said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 16, 2022 02:35 UTC
Companies consider reinstating work from home amid spike in COVID-19
Companies consider reinstating work from home amid spike in COVID-19Staff writer, with CNAA spike in local COVID-19 cases is driving companies in Taiwan to reintroduce policies for employees to work from home, the results of a survey released on Thursday by online job bank yes123 (yes123人力銀行) showed. The poll showed that 63.3 percent of surveyed companies plan to reinstate remote working. Since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic more than two years ago, 58.1 percent of enterprises implemented work-from-home protocols, the survey showed. The survey was conducted from March 30 to Thursday last week among the job bank’s users with full-time employment and companies. It also collected 976 samples from enterprises, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3.14 percentage points.
Source:Taipei Times
April 15, 2022 19:04 UTC
Regulations for wholesale markets relaxed
Regulations for wholesale markets relaxedBy Yang Yuan-ting and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writerStalls in wholesale markets no longer have to suspend business for three days if a nearby seller tests positive for COVID-19, which would help ensure stable supply of agricultural products, the Council of Agriculture said on Thursday. People walk through Taipei First Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market on Feb.4 last year. The council recently revised its disease prevention guidelines for wholesale markets, sources said. The guidelines apply to wholesale markets for fruit and vegetables, aquatic products and meat products. About 60 percent of people who work at markets in Taipei have received at least one booster dose, sources said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 15, 2022 16:36 UTC
MOL responds to criticism in US human rights report
MOL responds to criticism in US human rights reportStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Wednesday responded to criticism in a US Department of State human rights report about poor working conditions for migrant workers in Taiwan, saying that laws protect the rights of foreign workers and improvement efforts are ongoing. The US’ 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices said that migrant workers in Taiwan generally face exploitation and incur debt burdens in the recruitment process, due to excessive fees, guaranteed deposits, and high airfare and accommodation costs. Fees for worker training, document processing and travel arrangements are regulated by the workers’ home country, the ministry said. The report cited other discriminatory measures against migrant workers, such as instances during the COVID-19 pandemic when they were prohibited from leaving their dormitories other than for work. Migrant workers could report contraventions of the guidelines to the “1955” hotline that it oversees, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 15, 2022 04:09 UTC
Expert sees high levels of infection until September
A person is tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection yesterday at a special drive-through rapid testing station at the Kaohsiung Lide Baseball Stadium. Lee estimated that Taiwan would go through “a painful period” over the next four to five months, before large-scale community transmission rates give way to lower levels of infection. On Wednesday, Lee explained at the CECC news briefing how he assessed risks posed by pediatric COVID-19 cases, as well as the issue of vaccination. Based on the US data, Taiwan could see the number of pediatric COVID-19 deaths rise to double digits as the overall number of cases continues to climb, he said. At the time, the number of COVID-19 cases in Taiwan was relatively low, and the government had yet to authorize any COVID-19 vaccines for children in that age group, Lee said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 15, 2022 04:09 UTC
Sri Lankan leaders’ time is up: political soothsayer
Sri Lankan leaders’ time is up: political soothsayerMYSTIC POLITICS: Former Sri Lankan president Premadasa used a magical ritual to ward off his impeachment in 1991, but it did not protect him from assassination two years laterAFP, COLOMBOGenerations of Sri Lankan leaders have sought guidance from seers and astrologers, and now one has dared tell the ruling Rajapaksa family that their time in office is up. Images of soothsayers standing alongside top administration figures have been shared on social media by protesters calling on them to urge Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stand down. A family carrying placards and a Sri Lankan flag walk along a road to a protest outside the entrance of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office in Colombo yesterday. Astrologer Dayasena Athukorale holds up an ola leaf horoscope of an unidentified customer at his home in Makola, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday. The Rajapaksa brothers are only the latest in a long tradition of Sri Lankan leaders balancing otherworldly advice with that of technocrats and civil servants.
Source:Taipei Times
April 14, 2022 17:03 UTC
COVID-19: Rapid test kit requisitioning has started
COVID-19: Rapid test kit requisitioning has startedDOMESTIC CASE RECORD: The government is to introduce a rationing system that would allow people to buy kits at a cheaper rate by registering with their health cardBy Lee Hsin-fang and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAThe government has begun to requisition COVID-19 rapid test kits, with an aim to distribute 40 million kits each month to meet public demand, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. Rapid test kits for COVID-19 are pictured in an undated photograph. Rapid test kits are available at stores, and those for people in isolation or quarantine, or in high-risk communities would be provided by the government, Chen said. Taiwan yesterday reported 874 new domestic COVID-19 cases, breaking its daily record for the second consecutive day, CECC data showed. Pingtung County reported five cases, Taitung County had four, and Nantou, Changhua and Miaoli counties each recorded three.
Source:Taipei Times
April 14, 2022 16:50 UTC
Ten cable operators retract Channel 52 petitions for TTV
Ten cable operators retract Channel 52 petitions for TTVIMAGE COUNTS: A source said TTV management had been tipped off that the applications would not be passed and wanted to avoid embarrassmentBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTen cable service operators have withdrawn their applications to have Taiwan Television (TTV) broadcast on Channel 52, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday. Channel 52 became a much-coveted spot on the nation’s cable system after the commission in 2020 rejected CTi News’ license renewal application. Taiwan Fixed Network Media Co originally applied to have TTV broadcast on Channel 52, but changed its application. The 10 cable service operators that withdrew their applications are all affiliated with Taiwanese media tycoon Lien Tai-sheng (練台生). “We have noticed, however, that some cable service operators have placed some of the news channels after channel 80,” it said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 14, 2022 04:08 UTC
Taiwan will not follow US’ rate policy: governor
US inflation last month hit 8.5 percent, while Taiwan’s rose 3.27 percent, rendering drastic rate hikes unwarranted, he said. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in Taipei yesterday. In addition, the central bank will seek to support the nation’s economy to meet its duty, he said. Consumer prices in Taiwan are likely to ease next quarter, although the landscape is teeming with uncertainties, Yang said. The central bank would favor selective credit controls to prevent funds from overflowing to the property market, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 14, 2022 04:08 UTC
Veteran Hong Kong journalist arrested for ‘sedition’
Veteran Hong Kong journalist arrested for ‘sedition’AFP, HONG KONGA veteran Hong Kong journalist was yesterday arrested by national security police for allegedly conspiring to publish “seditious materials,” police said. The arrest is the latest blow to the media in Hong Kong, which has seen its freedom rating plummet as Beijing cracks down on dissent. Allan Au (區家麟), a 54-year-old reporter and journalism lecturer, was arrested in a dawn raid by the Hong Kong National Security Police unit, multiple local media outlets reported. One of the territory’s most experienced local columnists, he was a Knight fellow at Stanford University in 2005 and earned a doctorate from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Au in 2017 published a book about censorship in Hong Kong titled Freedom Under 20 Shades of Shadow.
Source:Taipei Times
April 11, 2022 22:21 UTC
Computer and IT services sales soar to NT$453.4bn
Sales in the computer and information technology (IT) services industry reached a record high of NT$453.4 billion (US$15.7 billion) last year amid a boom in people working from home and remote education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said last week. Industry revenue last year rose 12.4 percent from a year earlier, Department of Statistics data showed. The growth was its highest since 2008, the data showed. Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times With growing demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, high-performance computing and Internet of Things devices, and cloud technology-based data processing services, many...
Source:Taipei Times
April 11, 2022 04:37 UTC
Notes from Central Taiwan: Should Taiwan greenlight red light districts?
Notes from Central Taiwan: Should Taiwan greenlight red light districts? RED LIGHT DISTRICTS OF THE PASTIt is regrettable that this opportunity to test the idea has been ignored. Yet, red light districts have a long history in Taiwan, which may offer illumination. An interesting paper by Sammonji Masaya observes that after Taiwan became Japanese, numerous Japanese sex workers made the journey to Taiwan. Males could solicit sex workers without fear of the law, because only the sex workers were breaking the law.
Source:Taipei Times
April 11, 2022 03:28 UTC