Solar convenience
COVID-19: China Airlines to reduce cargo flightsOUTBREAK: About 200 of the airline’s 1,200 pilots are not able to work. Most of them have been quarantined to prevent further infection, but 12 have COVID-19 China Airlines Ltd (CAL,中華航空) yesterday confirmed that it would temporarily reduce its cargo flight services to cope with a pilot shortage, as one-sixth of its pilots have been sidelined by a COVID-19 outbreak. “We are working out a new schedule,” the airline said in a statement after local news media reports on Saturday said that it would be reducing its cargo services from Wednesday, primarily affecting US destinations. CAL declined to give details about its new operating plan, but the reports said that it would be suspending its cargo flights to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport andStaff writer, with CNA
Source:Taipei Times
May 10, 2021 15:56 UTC
Thank-you gift
COVID-19: China Airlines to reduce cargo flightsOUTBREAK: About 200 of the airline’s 1,200 pilots are not able to work. Most of them have been quarantined to prevent further infection, but 12 have COVID-19 China Airlines Ltd (CAL,中華航空) yesterday confirmed that it would temporarily reduce its cargo flight services to cope with a pilot shortage, as one-sixth of its pilots have been sidelined by a COVID-19 outbreak. “We are working out a new schedule,” the airline said in a statement after local news media reports on Saturday said that it would be reducing its cargo services from Wednesday, primarily affecting US destinations. CAL declined to give details about its new operating plan, but the reports said that it would be suspending its cargo flights to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport andStaff writer, with CNA
Source:Taipei Times
May 09, 2021 22:30 UTC
COVID-19: Confirmed case visited cafe in Taoyuan: CECC
COVID-19: Confirmed case visited cafe in Taoyuan: CECCSHOPPING MALL: People who have been to places visited by the confirmed cases at about the same time should pay attention to their health condition and report symptomsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday revealed several locations in Taoyuan and Taipei visited by two people confirmed to have COVID-19 when they were likely contagious. Workers disinfect the food court at the Gloria Outlets shopping mall in Taoyuan yesterday. The woman visited a branch of Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) between 10am and 11am on Tuesday, rather than the previously reported 11am on Wednesday, Chen said. The CECC yesterday reported one imported case of COVID-19 — a traveler from the Philippines. The traveler is a woman in her 20s who arrived in Taiwan on Thursday to visit a critically ill relative, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Banks’ combined pretax profits grow 76%
Banks’ combined pretax profits grow 76%By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterLocal banks’ combined profit grew in March, for the first time since May last year, thanks to an increase in investment gains and interest income, data released by the Financial Supervisory Commission on Thursday showed. The banks’ combined pretax profits grew 76 percent year-on-year to NT$32 billion (US$1.15 billion) in March, ending 10 consecutive months of annual declines, the data showed. The commission reported on Thursday that local banks’ combined pretax profits grew 76 percent year-on-year to NT$32 billion (US$1.15 billion) in March, ending 10 consecutive months of annual declines. Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei TimesIn the first quarter, banks’ pretax profits rose 10.9 percent year-on-year to NT$89.76 billion, it showed. Domestic bank branches saw their combined pretax profits rise 25 percent year-on-year to NT$59.9 billion in the first quarter, accounting for 66.8 percent of all profits, while banks’ offshore banking units, overseas branches and operations in China reported annual declines of 3 percent, 23 percent and 55.5 percent in pretax profits respectively, the data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
May 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taipei schools do not have to remove statues, city says
Taipei schools do not have to remove statues, city saysBy Tsai Ya-hua and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, staff writer, with CNATaipei schools do not have to remove statues of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), the city’s Department of Education said last week, despite criticism from the Transitional Justice Commission. Taipei Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Chen Su-hui (陳素慧) on Tuesday last week said that the city’s policy is to let each school and community decide what to do with the schools’ 64 statues. Independent Taipei City Councilor Lin Ying-meng (林穎孟) on April 12 said the city was “going through the motions” of transitional justice by covering up slogans on the statues instead of removing them altogether. Photo courtesy of Taipei City Councilor Lin Ying-mengTransitional Justice Commission spokeswoman Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) the following day said the city’s “total decontextualization” of the statues is inappropriate under the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), which she said requires the city to “remove ... the permanency” of the statues. However, Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs Deputy Commissioner Tien Wei (田瑋) said that Chiang’s former residence is a national heritage site, which means any plan to store statues there must receive approval from the Ministry of Culture.
Source:Taipei Times
May 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Rexon shares fall on recall
Rexon shares fall on recallBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterRexon Industrial Corp Ltd (力山工業), a maker of fitness equipment and power tools, saw its shares drop 15.63 percent in the past two sessions after a major client, Peloton Interactive Inc, last week announced recalls of its Tread+ and Tread treadmills. Since 2017, Rexon has gradually increased the contribution of fitness equipment to its overall revenue, becoming a major supplier for Peloton’s exercise bikes, and Trade+ and Tread treadmills. Photo: Chan Chao-yang, Taipei TimesRexon also manufactures fitness equipment for other global brands, such as Life, Precor, True and Freemotion. Last year, fitness equipment revenue accounted for 77.6 percent of Rexon’s revenue, with Peloton contributing about 71 percent, Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧) said. Rexon shares on Friday closed 6.34 percent lower at NT$78.3 in Taipei trading, while Jih Sun downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy.”
Source:Taipei Times
May 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Aboriginal arts and culture hub opens in Pingtung
Aboriginal arts and culture hub opens in PingtungBy Lo Hsin-chen and Jason Pan / Staff reportersGovernment officials and Aboriginal community leaders yesterday celebrated the opening of a center in Pingtung City to showcase Aboriginal arts and culture. “The Pingtung Harvest will become a landmark for Aboriginal enterprises, and its themed buildings will enable visitors to learn about Aboriginal cultures,” Pan said. The Pingtung Harvest is housed in six historic buildings in a former military dependents’ village, with each house showcasing an aspect of Aboriginal culture, such as food, music, textiles, children, home and village communities, the officials said. The restoration of the buildings was funded with NT$7 million (US$250,824) from the Ministry of Culture, NT$5 million from the council and NT$1.5 million from the Pingtung County Government, the officials said. Exhibitions would also highlight hand-woven clothing and Aboriginal furniture-making, they said, adding that guided tours would be offered.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Two-day festival celebrating Europe starts in Taipei
Two-day festival celebrating Europe starts in TaipeiStaff writer, with CNAThis year’s Europe Festival opened yesterday in Taipei to celebrate Europe Day and give people a taste of the continent while international travel is hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, third left, European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Filip Grzegorzewski, third right, and Taipei Commissioner for External Affairs Tom Chou, second right, pose with a mascot at yesterday’s opening ceremony of the two-day Europe Festival at Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei TimesThe festival was not held in the previous two years. Europe Day marks the EU’s birthday, according to the office’s Web site. On May 9, 1950, then-French minister of foreign affairs Robert Schuman “proposed a European peace project to end all wars on the European continent.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
KMT campaigns for referendums
KMT campaigns for referendumsBy Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday held events across the nation to “celebrate Mother’s Day” and promote its US pork import and referendum voting initiatives. One proposal, initiated by KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), asks: “Do you agree to a total ban on the importation of pork and related products containing leanness-enhancing additives (ractopamine and other beta agonists)?”From left, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Hau Lung-bin, Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang, former KMT chairman Eric Chu and National Policy Foundation vice chairman Sean Lien hold carnations in Taipei yesterday. Voters should exercise their right to determine their future by overturning government policies that disregard the safety of the people and deprive them of their right to vote in referendums. The KMT is treating the referendums as it would a presidential election and has mobilized party chapters nationwide to promote the initiatives, he added. “We understand that mothers want their children to be safe and to eat healthy,” former KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taipei launches upgraded YouBike system
Taipei launches upgraded YouBike systemBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taipei City Government yesterday officially launched the “YouBike 2.0” system, an upgraded version of the bicycle rental service, saying that it aims to expand the service to more than 1,200 stations throughout the city. The system yesterday activated 160 new stations, in addition to 103 stations in the Gongguan (公館) shopping area near the National Taiwan University campus. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, third left, Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang, second left, and others try out YouBike 2.0 rental bicycles in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesThe Taipei Department of Transportation said that bicycles of the upgraded system feature solar panels and card censors, which allow users to rent them by swiping their EasyCard or scanning a QR code with their smartphone, replacing the smart panels on bicycle stands of the older system. The old system has orange bikes and each stand accommodates two bikes, while bikes of the new system are white and each stand only docks one bike, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ma criticizes government on China ties, ‘consensus’
Ma criticizes government on China ties, ‘consensus’FINDING MEANING: Rebuilding ties requires the ‘1992 consensus,’ Ma said, but the Mainland Affairs Council said that ‘history has already turned the page’ on itBy Chen Yun and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerFormer president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the state of Taiwan-China relations, and urged it to recognize the so-called “1992 consensus.”Speaking at a Taipei symposium on Taiwan-China relations, Ma said that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration had failed to come up with an alternative to the “consensus” and had fostered ill sentiment toward China. Former president Ma Ying-jeou speaks at a symposium on cross-strait relations yesterday in Taipei. Ma called on both sides of the Strait to strive for better relations and demonstrate good will. The Mainland Affairs Council said that Beijing had already defined the “consensus” as meaning the “one China” principle, with no room for any other interpretation. “History has already turned the page on the ‘1992 consensus.’ There is no need to discuss it any longer,” it added.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
CECC reports two more cases of air crew cluster
CECC reports two more cases of air crew clusterDOMESTIC INFECTION LIKELY: A pilot confirmed to have COVID-19 yesterday did likely not contract the virus on the short haul routes he flew, the center saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported two cases of COVID-19, a China Airlines pilot and his wife, bringing the number of cases linked to a quarantine hotel in Taoyuan to 31. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that case No. 1,183 — the pilot, who is in his 50s — flew to Vietnam and back on April 19, and to Thailand on April 22. She tested positive after her husband was diagnosed on Friday, Chen said, adding that contact tracing for the two cases is under way. The CECC also reported three imported cases, a migrant worker and a sailor from the Philippines, and an Indonesian man who came to Taiwan from the Netherlands for work.
Source:Taipei Times
May 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taiwan: the pangolin’s last stand?
Taiwan: the pangolin’s last stand? Kurtis Pei (裴家騏), one of the most prominent wildlife conservationists in Taiwan, says that pangolins can now be seen in many rural areas. Taiwan’s pangolins were also exported to China in the past, though this has apparently been mostly stopped within recent years. The largest ever seizure of pangolin scales happened in China in 2019 with 23 metric tonnes deriving from approximately 50,000 African pangolins. Nonetheless, Taiwan is the global exception in pangolin conservation, and if this mysterious, peculiar, wonderful species is to have a future on Earth, Taiwan will play a major role.
Source:Taipei Times
May 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Cleanup of fishing industry ordered
Cleanup of fishing industry orderedDISTANT-WATER FLEET: The Control Yuan ordered the foreign and labor ministries, as well as the Fisheries Agency, to take corrective measures to protect fishers’ rightsStaff writer, with CNAForced labor in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleet must be addressed, the Control Yuan said on Thursday, when it issued demands of government entities over the issue. The main entrance of the Control Yuan is pictured in Taipei on June 17 last year. Taiwan has 1,106 distant-water fishing vessels and the sector employs about 22,000 migrant fishers, the Control Yuan said. They should also reply to the Control Yuan in writing on improvements or actions. If the Control Yuan receives no reply within two months, it may seek further details.
Source:Taipei Times
May 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Court rejects 90-year-old man’s divorce request
The 90-year-old man, surnamed Chao (趙), filed for divorce from his wife of nearly 50 years, surnamed Tung (董), saying that she had not cooked or done any laundry for 40 years. “Every morning my wife goes to Gaoping Bridge to feed stray dogs and does not come home until late,” Chao said. Chao also complained in court about Tung’s personal hygiene, claiming that she refused to bathe. However, Chao persisted, and the court called in both parties to hear each side of the argument. The court rejected the application for divorce, citing Chao’s failure to provide evidence of Tung’s unsanitary behavior and refusal to provide care.
Source:Taipei Times
May 07, 2021 15:56 UTC