KMT urges more vaccination incentives
KMT urges more vaccination incentivesBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged the government to increase incentives for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) told a news conference in Taipei that China, Israel, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US have higher COVID-19 vaccination rates than Taiwan. Taiwan Society of Preventive Medicine chairman Arthur Chen speaks at a news conference at the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) headquarters in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times“We are far behind” in vaccination efforts, she said. The Ministry of Labor is to announce an unpaid vaccination leave policy, but given the low vaccination rate, the CECC should consider offering additional incentives, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Experts encourage handwashing
To mark World Hand Hygiene Day today, National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital held a news conference to raise awareness about the importance of hand hygiene, saying that it can prevent infectious disease, including COVID-19. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, third left, and other officials hold teddy bears at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. NTU vice president and CECC specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that masks, handwashing and social distancing over the past year have significantly reduced seasonal flu, enterovirus infections and even diarrhea-related illnesses. Confirmed cases so far include airline crew members and hotel employees, and their family members, which can be considered the first degree of local transmission, Huang said. As some of the recent cases had only mild symptoms, they visited many places in Taiwan, so it is difficult to track everyone who was potentially exposed to them, Huang said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Grizzlies owner buys Taipei unit
Grizzlies owner buys Taipei unitStaff writer, with CNARobert Pera, owner of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, has bought a luxury apartment in Taipei, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) said on Monday. The exterior of Continental Development Corp’s upscale 55Timeless Tower, white building on left, is pictured in Taipei’s Xinyi District on Jan. 7. The Liberty Times report said that Pera’s 950m2 luxury unit is on Xinyi Road Sec 5, adjacent to many tall buildings, including landmark skyscraper Taipei 101. Excluding three parking spaces that cost him NT$13.80 million, Pera spent about NT$2.15 million per ping (1 ping equals 3.3m2) for the property, the report said. On its Web site, Continental Development said that the 55Timeless Tower, designed by New York-based architect Richard Meier, has 31 floors above ground and four below ground.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Most working mothers anxious, exhausted: survey
Most working mothers anxious, exhausted: surveyBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterMost Taiwanese working mothers are anxious and exhausted, with 66 percent saying that their workplace is not friendly toward them, a survey by online job bank yes123 found. “The typical Taiwanese working mother is burning the candle at four ends,” yes123 spokesperson Yang Tsung-pin (楊宗斌) said. “They are expected to provide economically for the family, deliver excellent performance at work, bring up the kids and also take care of elderly people in the family.”In addition to family expectations, many working mothers said they faced discrimination at work. Of the respondents, 54.8 percent said that they were paid less for the same amount of work than their colleagues who were not mothers, while 66.8 percent said that they had lost out on promotions because they were mothers. If they could do it over again, 66.2 percent of respondents said that they would still have children, while 33.8 percent said they would not.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Government monitoring housing market: minister
Government monitoring housing market: ministerBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe government is to review housing transaction data this week to determine if further action is necessary to cool the property market, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. “The government is to convene a cross-ministerial meeting later this week and review related data to arrive at a conclusion,” Kung said, adding that it takes time for the market to respond. National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin, left, and Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi attend a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. The economy is lending support after expanding 8.16 percent last quarter, making upward revisions for full-year growth inevitable, Kung said. Kung declined to speculate if growth could reach 5.5 percent this year, but said that it could rise above the 5 percent mark.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ministry pushes LNG project farther offshore
Ministry pushes LNG project farther offshore‘NO LONGER AFFECTED’: With the LNG facility an additional 455m away from shore, the project would no longer require dredging the ocean floor, the ministry saidBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced that it would move a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off Taoyuan farther from shore to “minimize any impact on algal reefs.”In an effort to prevent the project from being blocked by a referendum, the ministry said that it had updated its proposal for the nation’s third LNG receiving terminal to move it another 455m from shore. “By pushing the project farther out into deeper water, we no longer need to dredge the ocean floor,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei. They have successfully petitioned for a referendum to block the terminal, which the ministry says is essential for the government’s plans to transition away from coal. “We can finish the third LNG terminal in two-and-a-half years. If the referendum passed, the ministry would respect the people’s wishes, Tseng said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Nonagenarian is nation’s oldest licensed caregiver
Nonagenarian is nation’s oldest licensed caregiverBy Tsai Shu-yuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerAt 96 years old, Lien Chin-ting (連金廷) has become the nation’s oldest licensed caregiver. “I am old, so I know better how to care for old people,” he said on Friday, as he demonstrated how to care for a bedridden patient. At the encouragement of his daughter, Lien said he often attends activities at an elderly-care center in Taichung. The nation’s oldest licensed caregiver, 96-year-old Lien Chin-ting, left, attends to a patient at an elderly care center in Taichung on Saturday. In January, he began a 97-hour course that includes 52 hours of coursework, eight hours of practical work and 30 hours of clinical practice.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: India’s virus surge could slow global recovery: DBS
COVID-19: India’s virus surge could slow global recovery: DBSBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterA surge in COVID-19 cases in India is expected to slow a global economic recovery, DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) said yesterday, while maintaining its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan at 5 percent this year. Taiwan reported stronger-than-expected 8.16 percent growth in GDP in the first quarter, beating the Singaporean bank’s 6.1 percent prediction from late March. DBS Bank Ltd economist Ma Tieying poses for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei on April 7. However, India’s sharp spike in COVID-19 infections could still take a toll on the global economic rebound, Ma said. Regarding Taiwan’s economy, Ma said the nation’s recovery has been “at full speed,” with GDP expanding quarter-on-quarter for three consecutive quarters.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Tsai owes public an apology: KMT
Tsai owes public an apology: KMT‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: Chao Chieh-yu’s misconduct dates back to 2016 and President Tsai Ing-wen should have reacted to his behavior long ago, Alicia Wang saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), as chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), should apologize to the public for a scandal involving former DPP member Chao Chieh-yu (趙介佑), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Tsai was DPP chairperson at the time and should have been upset by Chao Chieh-yu’s controversies “long ago,” Wang said. As DPP chairperson, Tsai should apologize to the public for the disturbance caused by a member of her party, Wang said. The KMT in a statement accused Tsai of wanting to distance the DPP from the scandal.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Military at peacetime readiness
The military continuously adjusts the number of troops on alert depending on developments in the security situation around Taiwan, Chang told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has conducted at least 270 sorties into airspace and waters near Taiwan, Ministry of National Defense data showed. To prevent the occurrence of an unplanned military encounter, all Taiwanese military personnel receive comprehensive briefings before going on missions, Chang told lawmakers, adding that the nation closely cooperates on intelligence with like-minded countries. “Normal combat readiness status” is one of two general alert levels in the military, and remains active during peacetime and natural disasters when civilian authorities need military support. Responding to criticism that the incident represents a serious breach of national security, National Security Bureau Deputy Director-General Hu Mu-yuan (胡木源) said the authenticity of Zhou’s claims are still under investigation.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Two cases add to virus cluster
She is the daughter of a cargo pilot who tested positive in Australia, as reported by the center on April 20. The pilot’s wife and other child tested positive later in the month. The local health department arranged for her to be tested again on Sunday, because her family members were all diagnosed with COVID-19, he said. As of yesterday, 10 cargo plane pilots, eight of the pilots’ family members, four hotel workers and a hotel contractor, and three family members of a hotel worker have tested positive since April 20. The CECC yesterday reported six imported cases: travelers from the Netherlands, Indonesia and Uzbekistan.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Adata net profit soars 57.18% to a 14-quarter high
Adata net profit soars 57.18% to a 14-quarter highBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterAdata Technology Co (威剛), a supplier of memory modules and solid-state drives (SSDs), yesterday posted its best quarterly net profit in 14 quarters on the back of rising prices. During the three-month quarter to March, net profit surged 57.18 percent to NT$707 million (US$25.27 million), from NT$450 million last year. On a quarterly basis, net profit more than doubled from NT$317 million. Earnings per share rose to NT$2.94, compared with NT$2.12 a year earlier and NT$1.41 in the previous quarter. Adada had accumulated key components worth NT$10 billion as of the end of last quarter, a record high, the statement said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taiwan restricts arrivals from India
A person walks past the entrance of a departure lounge at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Feb. 11. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, last week said that the infection source might be flight crew members of foreign airlines who stayed at the hotel, where many China Airlines crew members have been quarantined upon returning to Taiwan. The airlines would also be asked to evaluate whether they can allow crew members to report for duty online or separately, he added. Flight crew members should also be quarantined for 14 days, or they should be required to get vaccinated to have shorter quarantine periods, he said. Asked for comment, Chen Shih-chung said the quarantine policies can be further discussed with specialists, the CAA and the airlines.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
CECC reports four more local cases
CECC reports four more local casesHIGH-RISK GROUP: After the latest outbreak, family members of workers exposed to infection would from tomorrow be eligible for government-funded vaccinesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported four local COVID-19 cases: three family members of an infected worker at a quarantine hotel and a family member of an infected pilot. Chemical Corps members in hazmat suits yesterday assemble outside China Airlines Ltd’s headquarters in Taoyuan, ready to disinfect the area. She is the daughter of an infected pilot, and although she did not have any symptoms, her brother tested positive, so she was tested on Friday, he said. “The family members of workers exposed to infection — the top three priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination — will also be eligible for government-funded vaccination starting tomorrow,” he said. So far 1,225 pilots have received an antibody test, he said, adding that 1,212 tested negative, 12 tested positive and one person is awaiting their result.
Source:Taipei Times
May 02, 2021 15:56 UTC
Golf venues top taxpayer list in north as claw machines rule central Taiwan
Golf venues top taxpayer list in north as claw machines rule central TaiwanBy Huang Ching-chun and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAMost of the entertainment tax in northern Taiwan came from golf venues, while claw machines dominated central Taiwan, the Ministry of Finance said in a report. Revenue from golf venues made up 33 percent of the total entertainment tax collected in the north, while revenue from claw machine parlors accounted for nearly 30 percent in central Taiwan, the report said. Photo: Chen Feng-li, Taipei TimesThe number of taxable golf venues, KTV parlors, movie theaters, arcades and Internet cafes fell from 2011 to last year, the report said. The amount of entertainment tax collected from KTVs, arcades and Internet cafes fell during the period, while tax collected from people in performance-related careers grew, it showed. While those with subscriptions tended to subscribe to more than one service, a majority of respondents preferred subscription-free music, the survey said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 02, 2021 15:56 UTC