EDITORIAL: Surge in pet adoptions worrisome
EDITORIAL: Surge in pet adoptions worrisomeAs domestic COVID-19 infections decrease and vaccinations increase, people across the nation are hoping that life can soon return to normal. Last month, the nation’s shelters reported a surge in adoptions, with the Taoyuan Animal Protection Office reporting 10 percent more adoptions than last year. The Taipei City Animal Protection Office reported being flooded with adoption requests immediately following the announcement of a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert on May 15. While this is common sense, the prevalence of pet abandonment requires it to be emphasized every time the issue is brought up. Adoption should be encouraged and many of these animals end up in loving, committed homes, but pet adoption should by no means be touted as a solution for weathering the seclusion of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:07 UTC
Vaccination booking system trial begins
Vaccination booking system trial begins1922.GOV.TW: People in the ninth and 10th priority groups are encouraged to start registering their willingness to be vaccinated from Tuesday next weekBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday unveiled the national online COVID-19 vaccination booking system and announced that a trial program was launched on three outlying islands yesterday morning. The ninth priority group is people aged 18 to 64, who have a high-risk disease, a rare disease or catastrophic illness; while the 10th priority group is people aged 50 to 64. Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang explains how to use the online vaccination booking system at the Central Epidemic Command Center’s daily news conference in Taipei yesterday. People who receive a text message informing them that they are eligible for vaccination in the next week can use 1922.gov.tw or the NHI app between Thursday and Sunday to book a vaccination appointment for the following week, she added. They can also make an appointment with their NHI card at convenience stores, pharmacies or public health centers that worked with the government’s mask rationing system, Tang said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:03 UTC
Commission tightens ESG rules to stop ‘greenwashing’
Commission tightens ESG rules to stop ‘greenwashing’SELLING POINT: Asset management firms must set at least one sustainability goal and explain how their investment would help achieve that goal, the FSC saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday enhanced disclosure requirements for environmental, social and governance (ESG)-themed funds to prevent “greenwashing” in the asset management sector. The logos of the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Securities and Futures Bureau are pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph. The firms should set at least one sustainability goal, and each goal should tackle environmental, social and governance issues at the same time, she said. The commission would not intervene in or regulate the sustainability goals that can be set by asset management firms, she said. If a recipient of an ESG fund were to be embroiled in a corporate scandal, the asset management firm supplying the fund would not be asked to withdraw its investment, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:02 UTC
Yageo’s revenue almost doubles year-on-year
Next quarter, it would continue to operate its factories at a high utilization rate to meet end-market demand, Yageo said. Yageo’s revenue last month was its best ever for June and brought revenue in the second quarter to NT$27.73 billion, up 105.9 percent from NT$13.47 billion in the same period last year. The company’s growth could be linked to the financial performance of its conductive paste supplier, Ample Electronic Technology Co (勤凱科技). Ample yesterday posted record revenue of NT$162.52 million for last month, up 60.56 percent from NT$101.22 million a year earlier. During the quarter ended Wednesday last week, Ample saw aggregated revenue soar 53.87 percent year-on-year to NT$472.81 million from NT$307.28 million.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:02 UTC
NPP backs KMT call for absentee vote
NPP backs KMT call for absentee voteOPPOSITION: The KMT is using absentee voting as an excuse to promote mail-in ballots, which contravene the Constitution, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday threw its support behind a proposal by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to allow absentee voting. “We will submit our version of the amendment to allow people to vote through absentee ballots in referendums,” Chen said. The KMT is using absentee voting as an excuse to promote mail-in ballots, which are against the Constitution, he said. DPP caucus secretary general Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the DPP’s position has always been to stipulate special regulations for absentee voting. Furthermore, the commission will need at least six months to train poll workers on the mechanics of an absentee voting system, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:00 UTC
Travel agency says Guam travelers mostly under 50
Travel agency says Guam travelers mostly under 50By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterNearly 73 percent of travelers participating in a pilot vaccine program in Guam are aged 49 or younger, with most choosing to be inoculated with Moderna’s or Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, Lion Travel said yesterday. Lion Travel’s first vaccine tour group departed for Guam at 9am yesterday, as did groups with other travel agencies. Messenger RNA vaccines reportedly offer stronger protection against variants of COVID-19, the travel agency said when asked why most travelers preferred to get inoculated with a regime requiring two shots. All 439 spots in its five-day Guam packages have been booked, it said. As of yesterday, 300 people had signed up for seven-day packages, Lion Travel said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Daily new virus cases lowest since May
Daily new virus cases lowest since MayBACK TO WORK: Six requirements were laid out for Huannan Market, which is resuming operations today, including negative PCR tests and real-name registrationBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday reported 28 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the lowest number since the outbreak started in May. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesThirteen of the cases tested positive during quarantine or upon ending quarantine, he said. Taipei reported 15 cases, followed by New Taipei City with five, Taoyuan with three and Miaoli County with two. The sources of 16 cases have been identified, while 11 cases are under investigation and the source for one was unclear, Chen said. Of the 13,696 local cases reported from May 11 to Sunday, 2,712 people, or 19.8 percent, were considered severe cases, while 675 people died as a result, specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Nine firms join government’s investment plan
Nine firms join government’s investment planKEEP IT LOCAL: The firms applied to invest NT$3.3 billion as part of a program that has attracted hundreds of applications to invest up to NT$1.26 trillion in TaiwanBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs approved nine more Taiwanese companies’ applications to join the government’s three-year action plan for domestic investment, it said on Friday. Another 55 firms are waiting for their applications to be reviewed, it added. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei TimesThe newly approved applicants aim to invest a combined NT$3.3 billion (US$118 million) in Taiwan, it said. The ministry has approved more than NT$1.26 trillion in investments, which are expected to create 106,490 jobs, it said. The government’s action plan on domestic investment provides companies with assistance on taxes, financing, land, utilities and labor.
Source:Taipei Times
July 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Job openings in tech, e-commerce sectors rise 25%
COVID-19: Job openings in tech, e-commerce sectors rise 25%By Wu Po-hsuan / Staff reporterThere has been a 25 percent increase in job openings in the technology and e-commerce industries over the past two years, while travel-related industries have seen a decline in vacancies of about 30 percent, a representative from job bank yes123 said yesterday. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there appears to have been a shift in the jobs available for recent graduates, the job bank said. Accordingly, there have been fewer job opportunities, he added. Estimates show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities in the e-commerce and technology industries have grown by 25 percent, while the number of openings in businesses such as airlines and hotels have fallen by 30 percent, he said. Yang said he believes that recent graduates with STEM degrees still possess an advantage over those with liberal arts degrees.
Source:Taipei Times
July 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Market group boss slams politicization of outbreak
COVID-19: Market group boss slams politicization of outbreakBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writerHuannan Market Autonomous Association president Lin Sheng-tung (林勝東) on Friday urged politicians to concentrate on eradicating the COVID-19 outbreak, after he earlier in the day accused independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) of politicizing an outbreak at the market while ignoring his electorate. Huannan Market Autonomous Association president Lin Sheng-tung, right, points to independent Legislator Freddy Lim, left, at a news conference at Huannan Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District on Friday. From second left are Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang. He also criticized Ko for what Lim called his “contradictory testing policy,” first saying that the market outbreak was too complex for PCR testing, only to later implement comprehensive PCR testing. Lim also apologized for his “emotional” remarks on Facebook, while reiterating the responsibility of politicians to control the outbreak.
Source:Taipei Times
July 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Tokyo show of Yang San-lang marks first in Japan
The show, titled “Yang San-lang: A Taiwanese Treasure,” features several of Yang’s scenic oil paintings and some pastels. The extensive showing of Yang’s work illustrates the progress of modern art that occurred simultaneously in Taiwan and Japan, the Japanese Gekkan Bijutsu newspaper said. Yang San-lang Museum CEO Noriko Morakoshi poses for a photograph next to paintings by her father-in law, Yang San-lang, at Taimei Gallery in Toyko on Friday. New Taipei City’s Yang San-lang Museum, of which Morakoshi is the CEO, loaned pieces from its collection to the exhibition, but several oil paintings were too large to be transported to Japan, she said. Yang San-lang’s son, Yang Shin-lang (楊星朗), in a statement said that his father had been a life-long friend of Japan.
Source:Taipei Times
July 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: New infections fall to 37: CECC
COVID-19: New infections fall to 37: CECCFACING DIFFICULTIES: People who hold a notice of release from isolation must be allowed into offices and other venues without other certification, the CECC saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 37 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and two deaths as it said that people who hold a “Notice for Release From Isolation Treatment” (解除隔離治療通知書) should not be asked to provide a negative COVID-19 test result at certain venues. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the daily COVID-19 case counts have been falling, adding that there were two imported cases yesterday. Of the 37 local cases, 13 tested positive during quarantine or upon ending quarantine, he said. A soldier from the 6th Army Corps’ 33 Chemical Warfare Group sprays disinfectant on empty cages loaded on a truck near Huannan Market in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNAThey tested positive upon arriving at the airport, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: CECC reports 76 new COVID-19 cases, 10 deaths
COVID-19: CECC reports 76 new COVID-19 cases, 10 deathsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 76 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 10 deaths. Taipei reported the most cases at 48, followed by New Taipei City with 24 cases, Taoyuan with three and Hsinchu City with one, he said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, left, and a healthcare worker gestrue at each other at the First Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District yesterday. Medical personnel administer COVID-19 tests to workers at the First Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District yesterday. Of the total 220 confirmed cases, 93 are Taipei residents, 117 are New Taipei City residents and 10 are residents of other cities or counties, CECC data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
July 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
EDITORIAL: Media literacy more vital than ever
EDITORIAL: Media literacy more vital than everChina has ramped up its disinformation campaign against Taiwan, using a COVID-19 outbreak to provoke discontent against the government, an international newspaper said on Tuesday. The government certainly faces a dilemma in holding mainstream media accountable for what is reported, while also ensuring press freedom. After President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) offered condolences on Twitter last week to people affected by a building collapse in Florida, a reply came from what was obviously a fake account. The government should ensure that students take mandatory media literacy courses to help them make informed decisions about what they see and read. It could also require news agencies and social media platforms to flag information determined by an independent body to be questionable.
Source:Taipei Times
July 02, 2021 16:03 UTC
CECC reports 57 cases, 15 deaths
CECC reports 57 cases, 15 deathsLOCATING CONTACTS: An additional 41 cases were linked to an outbreak at a Taipei market, but were ‘not yet’ included in the center’s daily figures, the CECC saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 57 new local cases of COVID-19, and 15 deaths, while outlining its plans to curb infections linked to Taipei’s Huannan Market (環南市場). Among the local cases, Taipei reported 29, followed by New Taipei City with 15, while Hsinchu County reported four cases, Taoyuan and Keelung three each, Taichung two and Hsinchu City one, the center said. The 15 deaths were eight men and seven women in their 40s to 80s, all of whom had a history of chronic illness, except a woman in her 40s, the center said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, left, stands next to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Chen said that no new cases have been reported in Pingtung County, where as of Thursday there had been 15 cases recorded caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.
Source:Taipei Times
July 02, 2021 15:56 UTC