Local firms step up for pineapples
Local firms step up for pineapplesBy Yang Yuan-ting and Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reportersTaiwanese firms responded swiftly to a call to buy the nation’s surplus pineapple crop after China abruptly stopped imports, with 10 local firms placing orders totaling 1,600 tonnes, Council of Agriculture officials said yesterday. Excluding the 13 batches, 99.79 percent of the pineapples sent to China since last year have met Chinese import standards, it added. The council has set up a hotline for companies to place large orders, and it took measures to stabilize pineapple prices. Taiwan last year exported 41,661 tonnes of pineapples to China for NT$1.49 billion (US$52.64 million), accounting for 91 percent of total pineapple exports, the data showed. “We are looking at companies to place orders to present pineapples as gifts to employees and customers.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 16:00 UTC
COVID-19: Home isolation rules to be tightened
“Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesPeople undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they obtain special approval, the CECC said. However, she tested positive upon ending centralized quarantine on Thursday, he said. He tested positive in a paid test on Thursday after having completed quarantine at a hotel, he added. The other case is a Philippine migrant worker who tested positive in a paid test on Friday while practicing self-health management, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Wanhua store declared heritage site
Wanhua store declared heritage siteBy Yang Hsin-hui and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chin Yi Ho (金義合) building opposite the Wanhua Train Station was on Friday unanimously approved by the Taipei City Government’s Cultural Asset Review committee as a cultural heritage site. In the past few years, the family had intended to knock down the building and construct a building for commercial and office use. The Chin Yi Ho building near the Wanhua Train Station in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo copied by Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei TimesHowever, they backed away from the idea, saying that the building had great significance to the family. The consensus was to conserve the building, Lu said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
KMT uses issues, swag to attract youth
KMT uses issues, swag to attract youthBy Shih Hsiao-kuang and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is this year setting its sights on young, moderate voters by focusing on policy issues such as animal protection and housing, and offering trendy merchandise, the party’s youth director said on Saturday last week. To boost waning support for the KMT among young voters after last year’s general election, the party first focused on reaching out to people already within the pan-blue camp, KMT Youth Department director Chen Kuan-an (陳冠安) said. People hold Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) merchandise and books about Taiwanese history at a news conference in Taipei to launch an online shopping portal on Nov. 17 last year. Another task for the department is to design merchandise, Chen said. However, many young pan-blue supporters are not enthusiastic about working in politics due to the party’s opaque promotion system, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Southern sojourn
Tainan City councilor calls for adopting RomanizationCHANGING IT UP: With Bopomofo rarely used outside of Taiwan, the lawmaker said that Romanization would help the government in its internationalization efforts Tainan City Councilor Lee Chi-wei (李啟維) yesterday called for the use of Romanized spellings to make Taiwanese dialects and languages internationally recognizable. Speaking at a news conference in Tainan to mark International Mother Language Day, Lee said the use of zhuyin fuhao (注音符號, Mandarin phonetic symbols commonly known as Bopomofo) made it difficult to promote interest in, or recognition of, the nation’s dialects and languages, as the system is not commonly used outside of Taiwan. “The legislature has already passed the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法), but under the current circumstances that act is like a candle in the wind,” heBy Tsai Wen-chu and William Hetherington
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVAX doses are expected to be available by April
COVAX doses are expected to be available by AprilStaff writer, with CNAA total of 4.76 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that Taiwan has secured through the global COVAX sharing initiative are expected to be available by April, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. The vaccines would be those made by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in collaboration with the University of Oxford, Su said. They would be among 20 million doses that the government has arranged so far — including 5.05 million doses from US pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc and 10 million additional doses from AstraZeneca — he said, adding that they are likely to become available next quarter. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesIn addition, a deal with US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and BioNTech is approaching completion, which might provide an additional 5 million doses, a Cabinet report submitted to lawmakers showed. “The order of vaccinations has been planned, with front-line medical workers given priority for the jabs,” Su said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ko urges no parking for vehicles with unpaid fees
People who owe parking fees for one week or longer should be denied parking public spaces, Ko said at a city government meeting on traffic affairs yesterday. The city in 2015 established a mechanism to enforce parking fee payment, and in 2018 added a mechanism to track and lock vehicles that have unpaid fees, the Taipei Parking Management Development Office said. The office last year collected NT$25 million (US$883,205) in fines from 210,000 vehicle owners who had not paid their parking fees, it said. Ko urged officials to target vehicles instead of owners, saying that vehicles should be denied parking in the city if there are outstanding fees. Vehicles whose owners have not paid their fees in more than a month should be towed immediately, Ko said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Landmarks of the 228 tragedy
I was eating a late dinner after spending all afternoon at the library researching and writing about some of the more obscure victims of the 228 Incident, the infamous anti-Chinese Nationalist Party uprising in 1947 that was brutally suppressed. They proceeded to look it up online and appeared astonished at the new information, especially over the number of alleged victims. The entrance to the special exhibition, Scars on the Land at the National 228 Memorial Museum. An overall view of the special exhibition Scars of the Land at the National 228 Memorial Museum. Scars of the Land shows a before and after photo of the National 228 Memorial Museum, which used to be home to the Taiwan Provincial Assembly.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
PRC bans import of Taiwan pineapples
From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesSince last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. In “normal” international trade practices, this qualification rate is top-notch, while the few pineapples that did not pass were approved after fumigation, Chen said. China accounted for 97 percent of exported pineapples, followed by Japan (2 percent) and Hong Kong (1 percent), the data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Quanta planning NT$910m expansion in Thailand
Quanta planning NT$910m expansion in ThailandBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterQuanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) is to invest NT$910 million (US$32.15 million) to expand capacity in Thailand through its subsidiary QMB Co, the company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. The investment is part of Quanta’s NT$2 billion Thai expansion plans, which it announced in a regulatory filing in November last year. Quanta Computer Inc chairman Barry Lam speaks at a meeting of the AI on Chip Taiwan Alliance in Taipei on Sept. 21 last year. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesIn an investors’ conference call, Quanta chairman Barry Lam (林百里) described the move to Thailand as a “must.”According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange filing, Quanta entered into a contract with Cheer You Construction Thailand (啟宇營造). In addition to investing in Thailand, Quanta has continued to expand its Taiwanese production capacity.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Officials deny HK tycoon residency, citing security
Officials deny HK tycoon residency, citing securityBy Wang Kuang-jen and Chen Yu-fu / Staff reporters, with CNAProtecting national security is the priority, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday after the government rejected residency applications by Hong Kong entertainment tycoon Charles Heung (向華強) and his son. “Government officials handling the case have applied the most rigorous scrutiny, with the top priority to protect national security,” Su said. Hong Kong entertainment tycoon Charles Heung, center, and his wife, Tiffany Chan, left, attend an exhibition in Kaohsiung on July 12, 2019. Sources said that the decision was made after meetings between officials from the NIA, the National Security Bureau and the Mainland Affairs Council. Bureau officials said that the foundation conducts propaganda campaigns for Beijing and organizes programs for the Chinese government’s push for “all-citizen national defense” in public education.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Su Chen-ching bows out of DPP
Su Chen-ching bows out of DPPBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) yesterday announced that he was removing himself from the party until he clears his name in a bribery case. Su, 56, has represented Pingtung County constituencies for four terms as a legislator. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chen-ching is pictured at a news conference in Taipei yesterday at which he announced that he is leaving the party. Although the corruption case has been a setback, observers had said that Su might run as an independent candidate. A run by Su as an independent would likely split the DPP vote, political commentators had said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Looking to Taiwan in chip shortage
Looking to Taiwan in chip shortageBy Thomas ShattuckAs the US marks one month under the leadership of President Joe Biden, the conversations around Taiwan have shifted. From last month to this month, the conversation about Taiwan has shifted again — from Taiwan being a “bargaining chip” to Taiwan bargaining its chips. TSMC is working on alleviating the chip shortage, but executives have said that they are already operating at full capacity. It is beyond the government’s power to interfere with private commercial contracts.”The auto chip shortage is being felt around the world. Between its COVID-19 response and world-class semiconductor industry, Taiwan has much to offer the world.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
DRAM maker boosts capex to NT$15.6 billion
DRAM maker boosts capex to NT$15.6 billionBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterDRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp’s (南亞科技) board of directors yesterday approved a proposal to boost capital expenditure for this year to NT$15.6 billion (US$551.12 million), mainly to fund the initial production of next-generation 10-nanometer (nm) class technology. The capital spending exceeded its original estimate of NT$15 billion and represented a sharp increase from last year’s NT$8.5 billion. Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei TimesThe company mainly relies on 20nm process technology at present. Nanya Technology’s board also approved a proposed cash dividend of NT$1.299 per common share, with total payment estimated to reach NT$4 billion. The cash dividend proposal is subject to shareholders’ approval at its annual general meeting on May 27.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
Nutritionists warn parents over diet for obese children
Nutritionists warn parents over diet for obese childrenBy Chen Feng-li and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerYumin Hospital in Nantou County’s Caotun Township (草屯) on Monday said that 80 percent of obese children consulted by the hospital’s nutritionists had abnormally high levels of uric acid, blood lipids or sugar, or high blood pressure. Two years of medical data from 288 obese children were analyzed, hospital nutritionists Chen I-en (陳苡恩) and Liao Mei-yu (廖美俞) said. Soy milk and yoghurt products are displayed at a news conference in Nantou County in an undated photograph. Unsweetened milk, soy milk and yogurt should be served instead of the sweetened alternative, Liao said. The consumption of vegetables, milk and fruit should be limited to three, two and two servings per day respectively, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2021 15:56 UTC