Economic rebound continues as restrictions ease
“The retail industry has gradually stabilized and the consumer traffic at physical store channels has returned, leading retail sales to return to positive annual growth last month,” the ministry said in a statement. Retail sales grew 1.3 percent year-on-year to NT$325.4 billion (US$11.7 billion) in September, following three consecutive months of annual contraction, the ministry’s data showed on Monday last week. Food and beverage sales fell 11.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$57.3 billion, a fifth consecutive month of annual contraction despite a steady improvement since May, the ministry said. “The food and beverage sector registered an annual sales decrease in September as business and banquet activities had not fully recovered,” the ministry said. Sales in the wholesale sector increased 11.5 percent year-on-year to NT$1.07 trillion last month, a record high, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 31, 2021 22:00 UTC
The godfather, US$700 billion and a crazy game of chicken
An extremely expensive game of one-upmanship is being played out in the semiconductor industry, where the winners will look like heroes and the rest might not even survive. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co founder Morris Chang speaks at a forum in Taipei on April 21. This sudden hunger for capacity is being pinned on the recent component shortage that has crimped automobile output and driven up prices. Known as the godfather of the Taiwanese chip industry, Chang has repeatedly noted that high costs, a dearth of local suppliers and comparative lack of talent put the US behind Taiwan and other nations. However, cheered on and funded by eager politicians, global semiconductor companies are accelerating toward a capacity expansion cliff.
Source:Taipei Times
October 31, 2021 04:01 UTC
Taipei’s Ko Wen-je touts vaccine passport plan
Taipei’s Ko Wen-je touts vaccine passport planNEW RESTAURANT RULES: Unvaccinated people would have to sit separately at tables with dividers, Ko said, as he expanded on his post-pandemic plans for TaipeiBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaipei is likely to set up a COVID-19 vaccination passport system that would result in people being seated in different areas in restaurants depending on vaccination status, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, center, takes part in an activity at a temple in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday. “People who have not been vaccinated should go get their shots as soon as possible, because we will introduce a vaccination passport soon,” Ko said. Fully vaccinated people would be able to choose seats in restaurants freely, while unvaccinated people would be seated in separate areas with table dividers, Ko said. More than 60 percent of Taipei residents have received at least one vaccine dose, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 31, 2021 03:59 UTC
Defense ministry missile procurement program plagued by problems: report
Defense ministry missile procurement program plagued by problems: reportBy Wu Su-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerA Ministry of National Defense initiative to obtain US-made Harpoon missiles is plagued by cost overruns, poor coordination with contractors and procedural irregularities, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said. A Harpoon Block II anti-ship missile is launched from the USS Stewart in an undated photograph. Instead, the ministry gave the program to the Cabinet days before it was to submit the overall budget report, the report said. Since 2016, 2,588 troops were discharged from military service for failing to meet standards, which is 18.36 percent of all men and women who volunteer, it said. The number of understaffed combat units and the high number of volunteers who left military service after being found to be unfit for service are concerning, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 31, 2021 03:59 UTC
EDITORIAL: Trade trips need concrete results
EDITORIAL: Trade trips need concrete resultsA Taiwanese trade delegation visiting Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania has touted its dazzling achievements, but sustaining the momentum of mutual interest requires solid plans. Following their trip, the members of the trade delegation should assess whether they understand the needs of the countries they visited and how to foster future cooperation. If that is true, TSMC might bring new suppliers to the region, as Saxony is close to Germany’s borders with the Czech Republic and Poland. However, the issue seems to have been shelved, and the airline played no role in the Taiwanese trade delegation’s trip. Following the Czech delegation’s visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also listed 22 achievements of bilateral interactions, including several MOUs that were signed.
Source:Taipei Times
October 30, 2021 22:01 UTC
Meta: Facebook’s high-stakes bet to save itself
Meta: Facebook’s high-stakes bet to save itselfBy Joshua Melvin and Julie Jammot / AFP, WASHINGTONFacebook Inc’s name change offers a convenient diversion as scandal plagues the platform, but the new handle is also key to the firm’s costly effort to save itself from real threats, experts said. The metaverse Zuckerberg strolled through in Thursday’s promotional pitch was a friendly place of connection and did not evoke the angry political fights or anti-vaccine misinformation that discolors social media. Apple’s iPhone privacy changes, which allow users to block tracking, have significantly affected Facebook’s advertising revenues because less data could be collected. Manfredi Ricca, global chief strategy officer at Interbrand consultancy, said the aspirations were clear, but action is also required. “Where it will fail or succeed is going to be about what they are tangibly going to change,” he added.
Source:Taipei Times
October 30, 2021 22:00 UTC
COVID-19 measures helping to reduce other diseases
COVID-19 measures helping to reduce other diseasesBy Wu Liang-yi and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerCOVID-19 pandemic response measures, including border restrictions and mandatory mask usage, have contributed to a decrease in the number of infectious diseases over the past year, Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics showed. Aside from keeping COVID-19 and influenza cases low, the measures also resulted in no measles and rubella infections, as well as a large drop in cases of pertussis (commonly known as whooping cough), the data showed. Statistics showed only five cases of pertussis last year, compared with 32 the year before. The drop in measles and rubella cases was likely due to a sharp decline in border traffic, he said. Tuberculosis cases have also been declining annually, dropping from more than 13,000 cases in 2010 to nearly half that, with 7,823 cases last year, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 30, 2021 21:59 UTC
Transport ministry expands road safety outreach initiative to senior citizens
Transport ministry expands road safety outreach initiative to senior citizensBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has expanded its road safety outreach initiative to senior citizens after data showed that 40 percent of people killed by road accidents were aged 65 or older. To address this problem, the ministry has expanded the national safety traffic month program to urge the public to be vigilant when traveling through crossroads, he said. Drivers should stop their vehicles and check the road for pedestrians before turning slowly around corners, while pedestrians should stop, listen and watch for vehicles, he said. As senior citizens are less likely to attend road safety classes or use the Internet, the ministry’s outreach program is to focus on face-to-face interactions, he said. The ministry has run the volunteer road safety instructor program in partnership with the Ministry of Education and local governments since 2011, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
October 29, 2021 23:25 UTC
Environmentalists call for marine survey database
Environmentalists call for marine survey databaseStaff writerEnvironmentalists on Wednesday called on the government to integrate marine survey data to establish a government database to reduce the environmental impact of offshore development projects. The Ministry of Science and Technology has an Ocean Data Bank, which holds data contributed by researchers from different universities, but the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) has yet to establish its own database. The OAC last year proposed a long-term project on surveying marine environment and ecology, but the project was rejected by the National Development Council (NDC), Kuo said. A comprehensive ecological survey is needed before any offshore development starts, he said, calling on the government to establish a marine database soon. The government should continue to support science-based surveys of the nation’s marine environment to have a better understanding of the number and distribution of marine animals, and adjust its policy accordingly, Pei said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 29, 2021 21:56 UTC
NBA’s Enes Kanter on Twitter urges support for Taiwan
NBA’s Enes Kanter on Twitter urges support for TaiwanBloombergEnes Kanter of the Boston Celtics yesterday sent his latest in a string Twitter posts criticizing China over human rights and other matters, including a call to support Taiwan. “Change is coming and no one can stop it. !” wrote the NBA player, along with the hashtags #StandWithTaiwan, #FreeTibet, #FreeUyghurs and #FreeHongKong. Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter rebounds the ball during warmups before their NBA game against the Toronto Raptors at the TD Garden in Boston on Friday last week. Stop the GENOCIDE, now!”Additional reporting by staff writer
Source:Taipei Times
October 29, 2021 18:59 UTC
EU slams China’s moves in Taiwan office dispute
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel vowed to “push back” against “threats, political pressure and coercive measures” aimed at any of the bloc’s member states. Beijing had objected to Lithuania allowing the office to use the name “Taiwanese Representative Office,” rather than a name using “Taipei,” as is common for Taiwan’s representative offices abroad. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, looks on as European Council President Charles Michel speaks during a news conference in Brussels on Friday last week. Von der Leyen and Michel’s letter came in response to a letter from the Formosa Club, a group of cross-party EU and Canadian legislators seeking to promote closer ties with Taiwan. The group’s letter, sent two months ago, called for “a far stronger response” from the EU to the Lithuania-China rift.
Source:Taipei Times
October 29, 2021 18:59 UTC
Snakes, spiders and storms
STAGE TWOA green tree viper on a log at Miantianping. From there on to Miantianping (面天坪) where it climbs up to Datun Mountain West Peak (大屯山西峰). Then on to Datun Mountain Main Peak (大屯山) and back down the north side of the mountain. A big-eyed rat snake on Datun Mountain. A baby japalura on Datun Mountain.
Source:Taipei Times
October 29, 2021 17:40 UTC
Presales, new houses rise 38%: poll
Developers and builders launched NT$339.2 billion (US$12.19 billion) of presale and newly completed houses on the market in the July-to-September quarter, the survey found. The recovery in confidence was particularly evident in Kaohsiung, where presale projects and new houses grew 90.6 percent, followed by 83.5 percent in Taichung, 69.5 percent in New Taipei City and 57.2 percent in Taipei, it said. Potential closing home prices averaged NT$319,600 per ping (3.3m2) across the nation, climbing 4.05 percent from three months earlier, the survey showed. The figures in Taipei rose 3.16 percent to NT$938,000 per ping, and edged up 1.1 percent in New Taipei City to NT$409,400 per ping. The market could receive continued support from ample liquidity and low borrowing costs, but the central bank could weigh in to prevent overheating, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 29, 2021 03:55 UTC
‘Taiwan unites us all’: Pavilionis
‘Taiwan unites us all’: PavilionisDEMOCRACIES: Taiwan’s status is an issue that unites freedom-loving nations to fight for a common cause, Lithuanian parliamentarian Zygimantas Pavilionis saidStaff writer, with CNA, WashingtonTaiwan’s lack of recognition as a country unites nations that support freedom and could serve as an inspiration to democracies around the world, Lithuanian Member of Parliament Zygimantas Pavilionis said on Wednesday. Pavilionis said that it was difficult to find another issue that united Europeans, Americans and people of “all other freedom-loving nations all around the world.”“Taiwan unites us all,” he added. Asked about China’s threats of economic retaliation against Lithuania because of warming ties with Taiwan, Pavilionis said that China does not understand the economy of Lithuania, nor the psyche of its people. While dependency on autocratic countries limits one’s freedom of speech and freedom of choice, bolstering relations with democracies empowers them, Pavilionis said. A third way is to have democratic societies use transparency on products’ origins to support countries that are being pressured by autocratic nations, Hsiao said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 28, 2021 22:00 UTC
Minister Wu touts links with Prague
Minister Wu touts links with Prague‘UNITED WE STAND’: The foreign minister urged Taiwan and the Czech Republic ‘to work with and support each other’ in the face of worldwide threats to democracyBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan and the Czech Republic share the determination to defend democracy and freedom, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a forum in Prague yesterday, calling on democratic countries to unite against authoritarianism. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, right, receives a silver medal for international guests from Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil at the senate in Prague yesterday. Wu is part of a delegation to Europe that has since Sunday been visiting Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Moreover, a 66-person trade and investment delegation is visiting Lithuania, after leaving the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Taiwan and Lithuania have agreed to establish representative offices in each other’s capitals, despite pressure from the Chinese government.
Source:Taipei Times
October 28, 2021 04:11 UTC