Jobless rate drops to 3.66%: DGBAS
The jobless rate after seasonal adjustments held steady at 3.75 percent, suggesting a stable market, Chen said. The number of jobless people shrank by 0.52 percent, or 2,000, to 438,000 last month, the agency’s monthly report showed. People with a junior-college education had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.5 percent, followed by those with a junior-high school education at 2.67 percent, it showed. People aged 45 to 64 had the lowest unemployment rate of 2.16 percent, it showed. The nation’s unemployment rate is lower than South Korea’s 5.7 percent, Hong Kong’s 6.5 percent and Germany’s 4.4 percent, but higher than Japan’s 2.8 percent, government data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2021 15:56 UTC
Tsai speaks on Aboriginal inclusion
Tsai speaks on Aboriginal inclusionBy Yang Chun-hui, Cheng Ming-hsiang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that academics are working to include Aboriginal perspectives into the discourse on the 228 Incident, now that discussion of the massacre is no longer taboo. Tsai made the remarks in a speech at a forum on the 228 Incident and Taiwanese Aborigines at the Academia Historica in Taipei. Academia Historica President Chen Yi-shen, right, presents President Tsai Ing-wen with a compilation of files on the 228 Incident at a forum at the academy in Taipei yesterday. Evidence of Aboriginal collaboration and resistance can be seen in historical records of the 228 Incident, he said. In other news, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) will not attend a 228 Incident event planned by the Taipei City Government, Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) confirmed on Wednesday.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2021 15:56 UTC
Assurance given on algal reefs
Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政) last year initiated a referendum proposal to protect the reefs. Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng holds a chart showing the number of signatures the alliance’s referendum proposal had obtained as of Wednesday. Traffic moves in outside the Taipei Railway Station yesterday, while the air quality is poor. The administration has cut 90 percent of the station’s original size and has done its best to avoid the reef area, Lo said. The next elections are not until next year and critics should not link everything a party does to preparation for them, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2021 15:56 UTC
Cross-strait ties at a stalemate: forum
Cross-strait ties at a stalemate: forumDEADLOCK: While a war between Taiwan and China is not inevitable, cross-strait relations are bad and continue to deteriorate, former KMT legislator Lin Yu-fang saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterAs relations between Taiwan and China continue to deteriorate, there is no immediate solution to the cross-strait stalemate in sight, National Policy Foundation member Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said yesterday. National Policy Foundation member Lin Yu-fang, left, listens to experts discuss deteriorating relations between Taiwan and China at a forum at the foundation in Taipei yesterday. “Cross-strait relations are now entering a winter and freezing over,” Lin said. It will be a long time before cross-strait relations “blossom,” he said. “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Source:Taipei Times
February 25, 2021 15:56 UTC
StarLux considering a delay to flights to the US
StarLux considering a delay to flights to the USBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterStarLux Airlines Co (星宇航空) is considering delaying plans to fly from Taiwan to North America and Guam until the end of next year due to uncertainty over border restrictions, the company said yesterday. A StarLux Airlines Co plane is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of StarLux Airlines Co“The outlook remains clouded,” Nieh said. If it defers launching the flights to the end of next year, it would not need to reapply to the CAA, Nieh said. The airline might pick three or four destinations to begin flights next year, and another five to six destinations in 2023, Nieh said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
High Court finds man guilty in death of rail police officer
High Court finds man guilty in death of rail police officerOVERTURNED: A lower court’s ruling in April last year acquitting the man because of his mental health issues sparked a public outcry at the timeBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe High Court yesterday found a man guilty of stabbing and killing a railway police officer last year, overturning an earlier acquittal. The court sentenced the man, surnamed Cheng (鄭), to 17 years in prison, after which he must undergo five years of custodial protection to monitor and treat his mental health issues. Cheng, 55, was found guilty of homicide and of using violence against a public official on duty. On April 30 last year, when the Chiayi District Court acquitted Cheng of murder based on the psychiatric evaluation, there was a public outcry. The judges have lost their senses and reason.”The father died one month after the first ruling from a stomach hemorrhage.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
NCC nixes military news channel bid
NCC nixes military news channel bidUNANIMOUS DECISION: Golden TV’s application to take over Channel 52 was rejected because it was deemed unfit to fulfill its business plan, the commision saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday rejected Golden TV’s (靖洋傳媒) application to establish a military news channel, saying that its news department would be significantly understaffed. It was the first time that the commission received an application to establish a news channel dedicated to the coverage of military news. The network said in its business plan that it plans to hire only four full-time employees for the channel, which NCC commissioners said would be inadequate to carry out its business plan, NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Pot-tsung (翁柏宗) said. Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei TimesThe commission said in a statement that the planned channel would cover global military developments and military issues, adding that it planned to produce and broadcast military news programs. “That should be determined through negotiations between cable operators and channels.”
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
Silicon Motion to invest NT$4bn to build new facility
Silicon Motion to invest NT$4bn to build new facilityBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterSilicon Motion Technology Corp (慧榮科技), the world’s biggest supplier of controllers used in NAND flash memory chips, yesterday said it plans to invest NT$4 billion (US$141.31 million) to build a new headquarters in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City as chip demand continues to grow. Revenue this year is forecast to increase by 20 to 30 percent to US$650 million to US$700 million, from US$539.52 million last year, which was up 17 percent from 2019, Silicon Motion Technology said in a statement. Silicon Motion Technology Corp president Wallace Kou, left, and company chairman James Chow attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s new headquarters in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City yesterday. Silicon Motion Technology has a global workforce of 1,350, it said. PC makers are driving strong demand for SSD controllers, while smartphone and IoT device producers are boosting demand for UFS and eMMC mobile storage controllers, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
Board approves UMC dividend
Board approves UMC dividendBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterUnited Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. Based on the plan, UMC would pay NT$19.88 billion (US$702.32 million) in cash dividends to shareholders this year. The payout plan is subject to shareholders’ approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 8, UMC said. The board approved a plan to raise funds via an issuance of 1.38 billion new common shares. Delta, the nation’s leading power and thermal solutions provider, last year distributed a cash dividend of NT$5 per share to shareholders.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Researchers identify four antiviral drug candidates
COVID-19: Researchers identify four antiviral drug candidatesStaff writer, with CNANational Yang Ming Chiao Tung University researchers have identified four antiviral drug candidates that can inhibit SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, the team leader said on Tuesday. One of the drug candidates — JMY206 — is more than 10 times stronger than remdesivir, the first antiviral drug fully certified for the treatment of COVID-19, said Yang Jinn-moon (楊進木), dean of the university’s College of Biological Science and Technology. It then gathered SARS-related data and screened US Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs and natural products for possible COVID-19 treatment, he said. The most potent of the drugs, JMY206, can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 from entering cells, the team said. The therapeutic benefits of JMY206 have also been proven in animal experiments and it can be a potential oral drug against COVID-19, Yang said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
CTBC Bank best brand in Taiwan for seventh time
CTBC Bank best brand in Taiwan for seventh timeStaff writerWith a brand value of US$1.382 billion, CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行) was named the most valuable banking brand in Taiwan for the seventh time last year, and the world’s 153rd-most valuable brand, according to a report on the world’s 500 biggest banking brands released by Brand Finance and The Banker magazine. The authors of the report named CTBC Bank the Taiwanese market’s leader. A CTBC Bank branch is pictured in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District on Aug. 21, 2017. Despite this, CTBC Bank moved up 21 positions in the ranking, and its brand value continues to increase. With an “A+” credit ranking, CTBC Bank is now Taiwan’s highest-valued banking brand.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
New MAC minister eyes end to impasse
Chiu was sworn in to succeed Chen Ming-tong (陳明通), who was named National Security Bureau director-general. Chiu Tai-san, right, accompanied by Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng, center, takes over as Mainland Affairs Council minister from his predecessor Chen Ming-tong, left, at the council in Taipei yesterday. 2 post at the MAC from 2004 to 2005 in a previous Democratic Progressive Party administration. Separately yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense held a closed ceremony for the inauguration of new Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正), who was formerly National Security Bureau director-general. Chiu Kuo-cheng succeeds Yen De-fa (嚴德發), who was handed an advisory role with the National Security Council.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
Four-year plan aims to cultivate digital talent
Four-year plan aims to cultivate digital talentStaff writer, with CNAThe National Development Council (NDC) on Monday unveiled a four-year plan focusing on several goals, including nurturing a digital talent pool. Other goals would involve improving the nation’s bilingual education and expanding the efforts to hire international talent, the council said. “It is really not enough to meet the future need for digital talent,” she said. Lin said that it was an indication that the government needs to improve its efforts to cultivate digital talent. She was referring to a plan discussed at a meeting between Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) and representatives from the semiconductor industry to have the government, academia and industry set up a semiconductor academy.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ambiguity has TPP in a spin: source
Ambiguity has TPP in a spin: sourceBy Chen Yun and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerAmbiguity over party values has emerged within the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), a source said on Monday, adding that Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is the TPP chairman, would need to reflect on how to strengthen party values for it to stand a chance of success in next year’s local elections. From left, Taipei City Government deputy spokeswoman Huang Ching-ying, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Tsai Pi-ru and TPP Nangang-Neihu Office head Chen You-cheng display Spring Festival couplets outside the office in Taipei on Jan. 17. “Ko’s political discourse has not changed since 2014 and he does not like to take a stance on hotly debated political topics. Ko should leverage his positive track record as Taipei mayor in his potential campaign for president in the 2024 election, Hsieh added. Hsieh denied that there were any internal problems in the TPP, saying that having a diversity of opinions was normal for a political party.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
King’s Town crosses dividend hurdle
King’s Town crosses dividend hurdleTHRESHOLD PASSED: The Tainan-based lender expects to distribute cash dividends of at least NT$1.8 for the next five to 10 years, King’s Town chairman Terence Tai saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterKing’s Town Bank (京城銀行) yesterday proposed to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1.8 per share based on last year’s earnings, becoming the nation’s third bank to surpass the regulatory limit of NT$1.5 per share for cash dividends. King’s Town Bank chairman Terence Tai attends an investors’ conference in Taipei yesterday. As the bank’s earnings per share hit a record NT$4.9 last year, the proposed cash dividend of NT$1.8 per share represents a payout ratio of 36.73 percent. “We hope our distribution remains stable and consistent for years,” King’s Town chairman Terence Tai (戴誠志) said. “We expect our cash dividend to stand at at least NT$1.8 for the next five to 10 years.
Source:Taipei Times
February 23, 2021 15:56 UTC