AIT director and minister acclaim bilingual policy
AIT director and minister acclaim bilingual policyBy Fang Chih-hsien and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerExchanges between Taiwan and the US on bilingual education support Washington’s policy of limiting Chinese influence in the US, as well as Taiwan’s goal of becoming a bilingual nation by 2030, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said at a Bilingual Education Symposium at Kaohsiung’s National Sun Yat-sen University yesterday. From left, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai, American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung and National Sun Yat-sen University president Cheng Ying-yao clench their fists at the Bilingual Education Symposium at the university in Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: Fang Chih-hsien, Taipei TimesNearly 300 educators from across Taiwan attended the symposium, which was also attended by Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠). Speaking at the symposium, Pan announced that a bilingual training center would be established at the university as part of the initiative. Over the past few months, Taiwanese and US representatives have held several meetings and workshops to discuss educational topics, with bilingual education a major focus, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
DPP legislators rally in show of support for Uighurs
DPP legislators rally in show of support for UighursBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators in Taipei yesterday showed their support for Uighurs by wearing jackets and shirts of apparel brands facing Chinese boycotts for their statements on rights abuses in Xinjiang. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesAt a news conference outside the legislative chamber, nine DPP lawmakers, many wearing black and white clothing, held signs that read: “support Uighurs,” “uphold human rights” and “refuse blood cotton.”“We are here to call attention to China’s concentration camp treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, to boycott ‘blood cotton’ apparel, and to defend human rights and other universal values for Uighurs,” DPP Legislator Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) said. “Defending justice cannot be done by Uighurs alone, they need international support. Today, what I wear represents our fight to uphold human rights, resist dictatorship and support those firms that stand up for democratic values. As consumers, Taiwanese can choose the clothing they buy and have the right to choose what to wear,” DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Yang Ming upbeat due to high shipping rates
Yang Ming upbeat due to high shipping ratesBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterYang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) yesterday gave a rosy outlook for the first half of this year on expectations that container shipping rates would remain high. Yang Ming is Taiwan’s second-largest container shipper by fleet size. Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp president Patrick Tu speaks at an investors’ conference in Taipei yesterday. Overall, Yang Ming is optimistic about turning a profit, he said. Yang Ming shares rose 3.68 percent to NT$35.25 in Taipei trading yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Carrefour suppliers complain they are being overcharged
Photo courtesy of Carrefour Taiwan“Additional fees are negotiable, but the rate should not be unreasonable or disproportionate,” Chen said. It is not unprecedented for retailers to charge suppliers additional fees, but it is forbidden for them to charge disproportionate fees based on their advantage in the market, he said. If Carrefour charged each of its approximately 3,000 suppliers NT$50,000 per store, it could obtain about NT$29.4 billion to convert the 196 new stores, it reported. Carrefour has rejected the report, responding in a statement yesterday that it is “definitely impossible” for it to charge the suppliers such large fees. Carrefour said that it is still negotiating with suppliers about this year’s contracts.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Consumer confidence highest in a year
Consumer confidence highest in a yearHOPEFUL: People were more assured about household income, while interest in real-estate remained healthy, a survey by the National Central University foundBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe consumer confidence index this month gained 1.88 points to 76.52, its highest since March last year, as the economic situation improved at home and abroad, fueling inflation risks and concern over potential capital flight from equity markets, a National Central University survey released yesterday showed. The consumer confidence index this month gained 1.88 points to 76.52, its highest since March last year, as the economic situation improved at home and abroad, a National Central University survey released yesterday showed. Photo: Tang Tsai-hsin, Taipei TimesOf the consumer confidence index’s sub-indices, the gauge on stock investment rose the most. The sub-index on purchases of durable goods dropped 1.05 points to 111.6, as interest in real-estate properties remains healthy, the survey said. Confidence scores of higher than 100 suggest optimism and values lower than the threshold indicate pessimism.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Legislators ratify property tax bills
Legislators ratify property tax billsWARNING: Firms shifting production bases home have been more responsible for price rises, a developer said, adding that the bills would ‘play havoc’ with the marketBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday approved bills that would raise property taxes, making it more difficult to make a profit from short-term property transactions, including transfers of presale projects and shares. The bills would subject houses sold within two years of purchase to combined property taxes of 45 percent, while the taxes would be 35 percent on houses sold within five years of purchase. The bills need to clear the legislature, with lawmakers divided on when the new tax rates should be implemented pending further cross-party negotiations. The punitive tax rates of 35 and 45 percent also apply to foreign individuals and corporations, as well as share transfers among unlisted firms. Companies shifting their production bases home from overseas have been more responsible for property price rises, Lai said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Chip supply crunch to last two years, Macronix says
Macronix, the world’s biggest supplier of NOR flash memory chips, said its factories have been running at full capacity and are dealing with additional requests for chips. China’s GigaDevice Semiconductor (Beijing) Inc (北京兆易) is a chip designer and is reliant on capacity supply from Chinese foundries, which would be limited given healthy market demand, Wu said. Macronix supplies memory chips to most automakers in Germany, Japan, South Korea and the US, and an automotive chip shortage would help the company gain market share, he said. Macronix is still in talks with several potential buyers to sell a 30-year-old 6-inch fab, Wu said. Macronix has budgeted NT$3 billion (US$105.07 million) on capital expenditure this year, the company said, adding that it would raise the figure if needed.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Vaccine program might be expanded
At present, vaccines are being offered to frontline healthcare workers at hospitals dealing with COVID-19 cases, but as of Sunday only 9,377 jabs had been administered. As the first batch of about 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine has an expiration date of June 15, legislators expressed concern that they would not be used in time. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung answers questions from legislators at a meeting of the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Taiwan would likely have received other vaccines or domestically produced vaccines by that time, so the possibility of signing a contract with BioNTech has receded, he said. Meanwhile, the center yesterday reported one new imported COVID-19 case, a Taiwanese who had returned from the Philippines.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taipower ships 120 rods from nuclear plant
Taipower ships 120 rods from nuclear plantBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterState-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday shipped 120 unused fuel rods from the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant back to their US supplier as part of its plan to shut down the plant, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported on its Web site yesterday. The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is pictured in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District in an undated photograph. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global shipping and delayed the process, leaving a small batch of fuel rods at the plant. Taipower has sent back all 1,744 fuel rods to the US in seven batches since July 2018, the report said. The move came as a national referendum on activating the power plant is to take place on Aug. 28.
Source:Taipei Times
March 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Export zones renamed industrial parks
Export zones renamed industrial parksVIRUS FALLOUT? Officials from the export processing zones in Kaohsiung, Taichung and Pingtung County videoconferenced as they renamed the zones as technology industrial parks, marking the end of export processing zones in Taiwan after 55 years. The zones that were renamed technology industrial parks are to target smart manufacturing, equipment upgrades and advanced material research, with the aim of developing into important high-end manufacturing centers in Taiwan, the administration said. Speaking at the ceremony, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) praised the role that export processing zones played in launching the nation’s economic development. The industrial parks in Taichung host mainly optical, electronics, flat-panel display, software and digital content companies; the industrial parks in Kaohsiung host mainly semiconductor, optoelectronics, logistics, software and digital content companies; and the industrial parks in Pingtung County host mainly water treatment companies and electric motor manufacturers.
Source:Taipei Times
March 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ko weighs in on Xinjiang cotton
Ko weighs in on Xinjiang cottonBy Lee I-chia and Shi Hsiao-guang / Staff reportersChina needs to improve its human rights, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday, adding that global anti-China sentiment would last for the next 15 years. Ko was responding to reporters’ questions about a recent Xinjiang cotton controversy. “The trade war between the US and China will certainly continue, but China still has to improve its human rights” record, Ko said. “Human rights is a universal value, so many countries are very concerned about the forced labor of Uighurs and other Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region and their human rights. People in Taiwan have very limited knowledge about what is happening in Xinjiang, so Chinese authorities and the parties concerned should make information transparent, enabling more people to understand the working and living conditions of cotton farmers in Xinjiang, which would help resolve the debate, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Children need family ‘quality time’: CWLF
The foundation releases an annual survey to remind parents of the needs and concerns of children, foundation chief executive officer Pai Li-fang (白麗芳) said. Asked whether they spend “quality time” with members of their family, 8.5 percent of students said they did not, it found. The survey showed that the children on average spent 13.2 hours per week playing smartphone games. Twelve-year-old children on average spent 16 hours playing smartphone games — nearly twice the average of 10-year-olds (8.6 hours), it showed. Family interactions are closely related to the happiness of children, the foundation said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Stand-in festival
Tunnel built for Chiang Kai-shek opens to publicTHE GREAT ESCAPE: Equipped with explosion-proof lighting, sound-dampened walls and an 84-step spiral staircase, the 67m-long passage opens to a garden An underground tunnel in the east wing of the Grand Hotel in Taipei that once served as an emergency exit for former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was yesterday opened to the public for the first time since it was built 50 years ago. A passage in the west wing of the hotel has been open since September 2019, drawing more than 50,000 visitors within three months of its opening. Last year, about 170,000 visited the west tunnel, the hotel said. As tours of the west tunnel were warmly received, the hotel began renovating the east passage more than a year ago toBy Shelley Shan
Source:Taipei Times
March 27, 2021 18:56 UTC
Veteran donates Taoyuan home to help elderly people
Veteran donates Taoyuan home to help elderly peopleBy Hsu Cho-hsun, Yang Chin-cheng, William Hetherington and Ja / Staff reporters, with staff writersA 95-year-old veteran has donated a property in Taoyuan worth NT$7 million (US$244,738) to build a facility to help elderly people, the Taoyuan City Government said on Monday. Veteran Liu Yung-chung (劉永中), who lives in Pingjhen District (平鎮), said that volunteers in his Sanan (三安) community have for years provided a lot of assistance to him and his wife. Joking about his time in the military, Liu said that he was “not strong and his aim was terrible,” but his handwriting was “not bad.”“I have even dabbled a bit in calligraphy. His donation was in part due to the suggestion of Church of Living Springs priest Ting Ning-en (丁濘恩), but also because he wanted to help others, Yao said. All proceeds would go towards a fund established to help children from disadvantaged families to focus on their education.
Source:Taipei Times
March 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Military’s largest apparel store opens in Kaohsiung
Military’s largest apparel store opens in KaohsiungBy Chang Chung-yi and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe nation’s largest military uniform and apparel commissary opened on Monday, providing service members with uniforms and other services at Kaohsiung’s Zuoying Naval Base. Employees stand behind a counter shaped like a submarine at Carnival Industrial Corp’s newly opened military uniform and apparel store at Kaohsiung’s Zuoying Naval Base on Monday. Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei TimesThe commissary provides uniforms, laundry, tailoring and uniform-exchange services as part of a government initiative to improve service members’ standard of living, Chang said. Although the complex is designed to cater primarily to service members, civilian visitors would also be welcome, she said, adding that Carnival expects to benefit from domestic tourism. Carnival is to prepare a convoy of vehicles with uniforms and tailors to travel to other military locations as a mobile one-stop source for military apparel and related services, the company said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 27, 2021 15:56 UTC