Groups urge Beijing to offer details on Panchen Lama
Groups urge Beijing to offer details on Panchen LamaBy Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan on Monday called on Beijing to provide details on the 11th Panchen Lama, who was kidnapped by the Chinese government 26 years ago. The 11th Panchen Lama, born Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was abducted along with his family by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1995 when he was six years old. In the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism that is practiced in Tibet, the Panchen Lama is responsible for seeking out the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and his authority is second only to the Dalai Lama. “In the past, human rights groups and Buddhists called for the unconditional release of the 11th Panchen Lama, but the Chinese government always lied. China should release Gedhun at once and provide a comprehensive report to the UN’s human rights bodies,” Shih said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 18, 2021 15:56 UTC
TAIEX surges the most in 14 months
Investors were buoyed by hopes that Taiwan might soon receive more COVID-19 vaccines and also by strong buying among foreign institutional investors on Monday, dealers said. A smartphone app tracks the TAIEX session at a brokerage company in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesTurnover totaled NT$410.207 billion (US$14.68 billion), as foreign institutional investors continued to pour money into the market, registering a net buy of NT$22.13 billion, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said. Before yesterday’s rebound, the TAIEX had plunged 11.78 percent since the beginning of last week as Taiwan saw an escalation of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. Stock traders are preparing for more volatility ahead, loading up on options tracking the TAIEX.
Source:Taipei Times
May 18, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: TRA ridership on Sunday plummets amid case surge
COVID-19: TRA ridership on Sunday plummets amid case surgePUBLIC TRANSPORT: The number of TRA and Taipei MRT passengers dropped 50% and 40% respectively during the peak morning travel hours yesterdayBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterRidership on the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) system on Sunday fell about 60 percent following a surge in locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 in Taipei and New Taipei City, the agency said yesterday. TRA estimated a 50 percent decline in ridership during the peak morning hours yesterday, the first work day under stricter disease prevention measures. A Taiwan Railways Administration employee holds a disease prevention information sign on the platform of a train station in Taipei yesterday, while a train waits at the platform. “In addition to on the trains, eating and drinking is banned on platforms and in waiting areas,” he said. In Taipei and New Taipei City, ridership on the cities’ MRT railway or public bus systems has dramatically declined since the CECC raised the COVID-19 alert for the two municipalities to level 3 on Saturday last week.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Virus-related childcare leave must be approved
COVID-19: Virus-related childcare leave must be approvedBy Lai Hsiao-tung / Staff reporterGovernment agencies and companies must approve “disease prevention childcare leave” requests by employees who need to take care of a child under the age of 12 or with a disability, although employers would not be required to pay them while they are on leave, labor authorities said yesterday. If an employee’s family member cannot take care of themselves and is under home isolation or quarantine, or centralized isolation or quarantine, and needs to be taken care of, the employee may also take “epidemic prevention isolation leave,” it said. Employers would not be required to pay employees’ salaries while they are on leave, it said, adding that employers and employees may negotiate the terms. The New Power Party’s (NPP) caucus said last year it had asked that employees taking “disease prevention childcare leave” be paid. Salary subsidies for “disease prevention childcare leave” should be included in discussions of the Executive Yuan’s proposals to amend the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), and the COVID-19 relief budget should be increased to NT$630 billion, the NPP caucus said, urging other causes and lawmakers to support it.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Five hikers suspected as Yushan fire still blazes
Five hikers suspected as Yushan fire still blazesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterFive hikers are the main suspects in a forest fire that, as of press time last night, continued to burn in Yushan National Park. The fire started on Sunday morning at Dujyuan Campground, near Dashueikushan (大水窟山), the Yushan National Park Administration said, citing reports from forest rangers and hikers in the area. Smoke billows from a large forest fire at Yushan National Park on Sunday. Photo: Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei TimesBased on the reports, officials identified a group of five hikers as the most likely suspects. Situated within the high mountains, Yushan National Park covers the administrative districts of Nantou, Chiayi and Hualien counties, and parts of Kaohsiung.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Siaoliouciou, Green Island businesses suspend service
COVID-19: Siaoliouciou, Green Island businesses suspend serviceBy Tsai Ming-hsien and Chen Hsien-yi / Staff reportersHoteliers, restaurateurs and tour operators on Pingtung County’s Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) and Taitung County’s Green Island (綠島) have voluntarily halted their services until end of this month after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) raised the COVID-19 alert in Taipei and New Taipei City to level 3 on Saturday. Since Saturday, hoteliers, restaurateurs and tour operators on Siaoliuciou began appealing to their peers online to collectively suspend services until Friday next week to avoid further spread of the disease. Meanwhile, 80 percent of bed and breakfast operators, hoteliers and restaurateurs on Green Island have voluntarily suspended business. They have signed a petition demanding that the Lyudao Township (綠島) Office to impose a lockdown on the island. “The township office does not have the authority to impose a lockdown, but we will submit the proposal to the CECC and Taitung County Government and let them make the final decision,” Lyudao Township Office chief Hsieh Hsien-yu (謝賢裕) said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Yuan holdings at Taiwanese banks fall 1.04 percent
Yuan holdings at Taiwanese banks fall 1.04 percentUNPOPULAR: The decline was mostly due to falling interest rates, as people constantly moved capital in search of better returns, the central bank saidBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterChinese yuan deposits held by Taiwanese banks last month fell 1.04 percent to 239.11 billion yuan (US$37.1 billion), as local investors lost some interest in the currency and favored other financial assets to pursue better yields, the central bank said yesterday. “The retreat in yuan deposits had much to do with a drop in interest rates for yuan deposits,” the central bank said, as investors continually moved capital around to pursue better yields. Yuan deposits held by domestic banking units weakened by 1.14 percent to 207.58 billion yuan, compared with 209.97 billion yuan in March, the bank said. Meanwhile, yuan deposits at offshore banking units shrank 0.43 percent from 31.67 billion yuan to 31.53 billion yuan, it added. Globally, Taiwan’s yuan deposits ranked the second-largest, next only to Hong Kong’s 772.5 billion, and ahead of Singapore’s 152 billion yuan and South Korea’s 11.6 billion yuan, the bank said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Reinforcements
MediaTek steps up engineer recruitmentCOMPETITIVE: The chip designer is offering an annual compensation of NT$1.5 million to NT$2 million, in addition to cash and stock bonuses to attract workers MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest designer of 5G handset chips, is stepping up its recruitment drive this year, with plans to hire more than 2,000 engineers specializing in core technologies, including 5G, wireless communication and artificial intelligence (AI). That would be double from the more than 1,000 people it hired on average in the past few years, as the Hsinchu-based company looks to boost growth this year and beyond. It also comes as the company plans to launch a new 5G chip, Dimensity 2000 series, which supports mmWave technology and sub-6-gigahertz technology, at the end of this year. That would beBy Lisa Wang
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 18:33 UTC
Notes from central Taiwan: Our brother to the south
She speculated that it moved up along the trade routes from Manila, an old trading town. The Austronesians eventually moved out of Taiwan down to the Philippines, and were mixed with the Negrito populations already present. Just a few score kilometers separate Taiwan from the Philippines, yet today the distance between them seems somehow vast. Taiwan should be pursuing policies to draw the Philippines closer to Taiwan and counteract Chinese influence there. Notes from Central Taiwan is a column written by long-term resident Michael Turton, who provides incisive commentary informed by three decades of living in and writing about his adoptive country.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Name, number on MRT cards helps tracing: CECC
COVID-19: Name, number on MRT cards helps tracing: CECCPITCHING IN: Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said that only 30 percent of electronic ticket cards have the user’s name and contact informationBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterCommuters should ensure that their EasyCard, iPass and other electronic ticket cards have their name and telephone number on them for better contact tracing for COVID-19, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Few people wait on the platform of the Taipei City Hall MRT Station in Taipei yesterday. If there are confirmed COVID-19 cases, we would have records of their travel routes, which would enhance contact tracing,” Chen said. On May 8, 1.59 million people accessed the Taipei MRT system, while the number fell to about 590,000 people on Saturday, TRTC data showed. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesPeak hours on weekdays on the Taipei MRT are generally from 7am to 9am, the metro operator said, advising people to take the MRT before 7:30am or after 8:30am to avoid crowded trains.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 15:56 UTC
Agency cautions against heatstroke, dehydration
Agency cautions against heatstroke, dehydrationSUMMER HEAT: People should not try to hydrate by drinking alcoholic or sweetened beverages, as these would dehydrate the body, the HPA deputy head saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterWith the onset of summer and sweltering weather, health officials have offered basic tips for people to avoid dehydration and heatstroke. They should also eat more fruits and vegetables, which have high water content, plenty of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber to help maintain a healthy body,” Wu said. If they must go out, they should walk in the shade, wear suitable clothing and apply sunscreen, the agency added. People must watch out for warning signs of heatstroke, such as a high body temperature, dry and red skin, and an increased heartbeat, the HPA said. They can drink cold water mixed with a pinch of salt, or electrolyte drinks, and seek medical treatment, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 15:56 UTC
Financial services to stay open amid level 3 alert
Financial services to stay open amid level 3 alertNO IN-PERSON FILING: Tax offices in the north would only offer other services, and scheduled shareholders’ meetings would implement virus curbs, authorities saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterBanks, insurers and brokerages in Taipei and New Taipei City are to open as normal tomorrow, the Financial Supervisory Commission said on Saturday. All financial service providers have been instructed to ensure uninterrupted customer services while following the cities’ tightened disease prevention measures, the commission said. Taipei National Taxation Bureau employees, left, check tax documents from behind plastic partitions on Wednesday. The requirement for in-person shareholders’ meetings is stipulated in the Company Act (公司法) to safeguard the participation rights of minority shareholders, it said. Of those companies, 28 had more than 50 shareholders attending their meetings in person last year, the commission said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 15:56 UTC
Next two weeks critical, experts say
Next two weeks critical, experts saySURPRISE: The 10% positivity rate at screening centers in Wanhua District was the same as during the peak of New York’s outbreak, a hospital deputy superintendent saidBy Yang Yuan-ting, Wu Liang-yi and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe next two weeks are critical for containing the COVID-19 outbreak, which hinges on the cooperation of confirmed cases and the public, infectious-disease experts said on Saturday. While serious, Taiwan would make it through if the outbreak is contained over the next two weeks, said Chen Yee-chun (陳宜君), director of National Taiwan University Hospital’s (NTUH) Division of Infectious Diseases. Soldiers disinfect Taipei’s Wanhua District yesterday. Residents wait to be screened for COVID-19 yesterday at the Bopiliao Historical Block in Taipei’s Wanhua District, where there has been a significant community outbreak. Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital deputy superintendent Chiu Cheng-hsun (邱政洵) said that he was “extremely surprised” at the 10 percent positivity rate at screening centers in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華).
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 15:56 UTC
Public urged not to eat unknown fish
Public urged not to eat unknown fishBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writerThe Food and Drug Administration urged the public not to eat kinds of fish that they do not recognize after a man from northern Taiwan was hospitalized with pufferfish poisoning. The man sought treatment at a public hospital after eating the fish and showed some of the symptoms, so the hospital sent fecal samples to the agency for testing to identify the fish, it said. A lab has identified the fish as Lagocephalus inermis, a type of pufferfish, the agency said, adding that there is no known antidote for the toxin. However, many pufferfish species that live in the waters surrounding Taiwan are difficult to identify by untrained eyes, the agency said. If someone suspects they had been poisoned by something they ate, the agency could identify the species by chemical analysis of a stool sample, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 15:56 UTC
Sports leagues cope with level 3 alert
Sports leagues cope with level 3 alertBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterTaiwan’s sports leagues are adjusting to disease prevention measures after authorities on Saturday raised the COVID-19 alert for Taipei and New Taipei City to level 3 due to a surge in domestic cases. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei TimesTwo games to be hosted by the Weichuan Dragons at Taipei’s Tianmu Stadium were suspended after the Central Epidemic Command Center raised the COVID-19 alert level. The lefty, who also had a stint in South Korea, found a new nemesis in the Monkeys’ Chen Chun-hsiu, who tagged Doubront with two runs. The Braves were leading 3-1 in the best-of-seven series before the virus alert level was raised, with disease prevention measures implemented nationwide. The leagues depend on sold-out crowds at championship series, when tickets are sold at a premium, generating much-needed revenue.
Source:Taipei Times
May 16, 2021 15:56 UTC