Taiwan in ‘informal’ talks with CPTPP members
Taiwan in ‘informal’ talks with CPTPP membersBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan is working on “informal consultations” with member states of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) before it formally applies to join the trade bloc, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at the ministry’s regular news conference in Taipei on Thursday last week. Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei TimesTaiwan is in the middle of conducting informal consultations with the pact’s 11 member states, which are aware of the nation’s determination and the steps it is to take for participation, she said. Joining the CPTPP is crucial for the nation’s economic growth, and Taiwan looks forward to establishing reciprocal trade relations with member states, Ou said. The 11 members represent about 13 percent of global GDP, according to information from the Executive Yuan.
Source:Taipei Times
December 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
RTI Radio Taiwan International
Kinmen has been free of landmines since 2013. But recently, unexploded bombs and landmines have been washing up on shore. Ecologists say that's due to changes in the coastline. (Source: Kinmen Coast Guard)This episode of Hear in Taiwan has an explosive beginning with a look at how landmines are washing up on the shores of Kinmen. The Council of Agriculture will launch Uber, but with tractors and other big farm stuff:https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/12/13/2003748641
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 19:07 UTC
FSC says to lower gold card application thresholds
FSC says to lower gold card application thresholdsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday said it would lower the application thresholds for employment gold cards, in a bid to attract foreign professionals with top financial certifications, senior-level executives at financial companies or those who have worked in financial technology or e-commerce. The FSC, which is responsible for setting the qualifications for foreign professionals with financial expertise, said it would relax the Requirements and Determination Principles for Foreign Special Professionals with Financial Expertise (外國特定專業人才具有金融領域特殊專長之資格條件及認定原則) to attract more financial experts. The Financial Supervisory Commission sign is pictured at its headquarters in New Taipei City’s Banciao District in an undated photograph. While the commission opened the channel in 2018, not many foreigners have applied for gold cards through it, he said. However, with local financial firms focusing on fintech or collaboration with other industries, more experts in fintech, technology or e-commerce are expected to apply for gold cards, Huang said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
VIRUS OUTBREAK: CECC reports four imported cases
VIRUS OUTBREAK: CECC reports four imported casesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday confirmed four imported cases of COVID-19 in people who had all provided negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results within three days before boarding a plane to Taiwan, but tested positive after completing 14 days of quarantine. Passengers wait to go through border quarantine measures carried out by Centers for Disease Control staff at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Nov. 29. The man practiced seven days of self-health management and took another paid test on Saturday, which came back positive yesterday, he said. She tested negative twice in an extended testing project on Nov. 28 and before ending quarantine on Dec. 2. “All four cases tested positive after completing quarantine and had no symptoms.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
PCB sector’s output value expected to hit record high
PCB sector’s output value expected to hit record highBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterThe output value of Taiwan’s printed circuit board (PCB) industry is expected to reach a record high this year, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) said yesterday. The PCB industry had “no reason to be optimistic about 2020 at the beginning of the year,” the association said in a report. “The overall performance of Taiwanese companies [with domestic operations] has been better than that of Taiwanese companies in China,” the association said. China operations accounted for 62.5 percent of Taiwanese PCB makers’ total output in the third quarter, down 1 percent from the previous quarter, it said. Due to capacity constraints and supply shortages, IC substrates would still be the main growth engine for Taiwan’s PCB industry,” the association said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Red Lions survive Inter playoff
Red Lions survive Inter playoffBy Jason Pan / Staff reporter, in TAOYUANThe Red Lions on Sunday avoided slipping into the second division when they won Taiwan’s first relegation playoff match against Inter Taoyuan on penalties. Lau had to be sharp with the Red Lions threatening from corners and set-pieces, although Inter also created several good chances, only to be denied by Red Lions goalkeeper Lee Kuan-pei. Red Lions and Inter Taoyuan players vie for the ball in their relegation playoff match at National Taiwan Sport University in Taoyuan on Sunday. Lee was the hero for the Red Lions after he saved one penalty and another was blazed over the bar, while his teammates put all four of their penalties past Burak for a 4-2 victory. This playoff for promotion and relegation is a first for Taiwan,” CTFA secretary-general Fang Ching-jen told reporters.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Biden softer on China: academic
Biden softer on China: academic‘COMPETITOR’: US president-elect Joe Biden might center his foreign policy on cooperation with Indo-Pacific allies to stem the expansion of Chinese influenceBy Su Yung-yao and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerUS president-elect Joe Biden is likely to pursue a softer policy on China, focusing on cybersecurity and information technology challenges, as opposed to the “hard containment” direction favored by US President Donald Trump, an academic said yesterday. Biden would likely maintain the current administration’s definition of China as a “strategic competitor,” Lin said. Biden is to face internal pressure from the Democratic Party to reduce defense spending, coupled with lowering the frequency of troop deployments to the South China Sea, Lin said. China is making its neighbors anxious with its expansions into the South China Sea and South Pacific, and across the first and second island chains, he added. As the confrontation between the US and China takes shape, Taiwan would be deluged with increasingly underhanded threats and harassment, Yen said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Partial operations resume on landslide-hit rail track
Partial operations resume on landslide-hit rail trackBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTwo-way operations on a single Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) track between Rueifang (瑞芳) and Houtong (猴硐) stations in New Taipei City partially resumed yesterday for the first time since a massive landslide on Nov. 4. The agency managed to clear the debris on the east mainline of the track by 9pm on Sunday. A Taiwan Railways Administration train yesterday passes along a section of track between Rueifang and Houtong stations in New Taipei City. Trains operating through the damaged section of the line must observe a 40kph speed limit, and the TRA has installed monitoring instruments along the line to ensure the safety of train operations, Lin said. The TRA yesterday canceled five train services that had been scheduled to travel through the section, but all services are expected to resume today, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan, US bond to empower women
Created by the Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), the Women’s Livelihood Bond Series is a series of debt securities to empower women in Southeast Asia by creating sustainable livelihoods, officials said at the event. From left, International Cooperation and Development Fund Secretary-General Timothy Hsiang, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu and American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen attend a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday announcing the Women’s Livelihood Bond initiative. “We often describe our relationship with Taiwan with the phrase: ‘Real friends, real progress — zhen pengyou, zhen jinzhan (真朋友，真進展). “We are proud to stand with Taiwan and other like-minded partners to promote, support and foster women’s economic empowerment around the world,” he said. WLB1 raised US$8.5 million, while WLB2 raised US$12 million, they said, adding that the US International Development Finance Corp were among the investors, while Australia provided technical support.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT’s Shen starts sit-in, hunger strike
KMT’s Shen starts sit-in, hunger strikeOVER PORK IMPORTS: The former lawmaker said she would hold out in front of the Legislative Yuan ‘until I faint,’ while Premier Su urged her to take care of her healthBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterFormer Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧) yesterday announced that she is to begin a sit-in and hunger strike in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to protest the government’s decision to allow imports of US pork containing ractopamine residue. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesThe policy is to take effect from Jan. 1. Shen at a news conference in Taipei urged members of the public to join her protest against the government’s decision. Su also urged Shen to take care of her health. Separately, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) reiterated his call for a televised debate on the issue between him and Tsai.
Source:Taipei Times
December 12, 2020 15:56 UTC
Asset managers detained in labor fund bribery case
Asset managers detained in labor fund bribery caseEXPANDED INVESTIGATION: The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office has conducted raids on the residences of two suspects; five suspects have been detained in the caseStaff writer, with CNAThe Taipei District Court on Friday ordered that PJ Asset Management CEO Daniel Tarng (唐楚烈) and three others be detained with restricted communication as part of a growing investigation into the alleged bribery of a Ministry of Labor funds manager in a stock manipulation scheme. Fuh Hwa Securities Investment Trust Co financial analyst Marco Liu covers his face as police escort him to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday for questioning regarding a stock speculation case involving the government’s labor funds. In a July meeting with PJ Asset Management and Fuh Hwa executives at a restaurant in Taipei, Yu agreed to purchase the stocks at artificially high prices using money from the labor fund, the prosecutors said. Yu, who was allegedly paid bribes to purchase more than 400,000 shares through the scheme, came under suspicion during a routine audit of the fund, they said. Prosecutors have expanded the scope of the investigation, raiding the residences of Tarng and John Chiu, and summoning all four suspects for questioning on Thursday.
Source:Taipei Times
December 12, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virtual expo shows schools’ duty to act
Virtual expo shows schools’ duty to actTRANSFORMATION: Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung said that when universities connect with communities, people see what they add to the environment and cultureBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Education yesterday launched a two-week online exhibition showcasing local universities’ efforts to practice social responsibility. The “USR Online Expo,” which runs until Dec. 27, presents the work of university students and academics in promoting social responsibility and humanitarian projects across the nation, the ministry said. A total of 217 university social responsibility (USR) projects completed by 97 universities and colleges are featured in this year’s event, the minitry added. To realize university social responsibility is to transform higher education, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) said. People can visit 2020usrexpo.org to see the online exhibition.
Source:Taipei Times
December 12, 2020 15:56 UTC
Homegrown boat, missile corvette join coast guard
Homegrown boat, missile corvette join coast guardNO LENIENCY: The coast guard’s new vessels show the nation’s determination in defending its territorial waters, including from sand dredging, President Tsai saidStaff Writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday lauded the nation’s indigenous shipbuilding program as the Coast Guard Administration took delivery of a new missile corvette and a new patrol vessel at a ceremony in Kaohsiung. President Tsai Ing-wen, fifth left, waving, inspects the coast guard’s Anping corvette at a ceremony in Kaohsiung yesterday. President Tsai Ing-wen, front row, center, and other officials gather in front of the coast guard’s Anping corvette at a ceremony in Kaohsiung yesterday. The coast guard is coordinating with the navy on a plan to train personnel on the two missile systems, Hsieh said. The armaments could be used in times of conflict, the coast guard said, adding that they would not be deployed during regular maritime patrols.
Source:Taipei Times
December 11, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taipei to implement label rules for pork in its stores
Taipei to implement label rules for pork in its storesBy Yang Hsin-hui / Staff reporterRactopamine-free pork promotion sections are to be set up at convenience stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets in Taipei next month, the Taipei City Government said yesterday as it unveiled a series of measures ahead of a policy change on US pork imports. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday in front of a poster describing the Taipei City Government’s regulations for pork imported from the US with traces of ractopamine and beef from cattle 30 months or older. Sellers and catering businesses should label pork products that contain residues of ractopamine, she said. Meanwhile, the New Taipei City Council on Wednesday approved amendments to its food safety regulations, which include clauses and penalties requiring local pork products to be ractopamine-free and labeled accordingly. With food safety its priority, the government would watch how local governments respond and announce consistent rules later, Su said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 11, 2020 15:56 UTC
FSC warns digital banks on price wars
FSC warns digital banks on price warsFAIR COMPETITION: Web-only banks should strive to offer innovative products and services instead of resorting to pricing competitions to attract clients, the FSC chair saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) would not tolerate a protracted price war by the three Web-only banks to undercut the competition, as it would disrupt the market, FSC Chairman Thomas Huang (黃天牧) said yesterday. Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Thomas Huang speaks at the Insurance and Economic Development Forum in Taipei yesterday. The commission hopes that the digital banks would offer innovative services or products instead of setting unreasonably low prices to attract customers to ensure solid and sustainable development, Huang said. As virtual banks are barred from installing automatic teller machines (ATM), Rakuten plans to cooperate with traditional banks so its clients can use their ATMs for withdrawals, the commission said. After obtaining an operating license, the bank still needs to connect its information-flow and fund-flow systems with the central bank, the Central Deposit Insurance Corp (中央存保) and other agencies, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 11, 2020 15:56 UTC