Powerchip shares soar in trading debut
Powerchip shares skyrocketed to touch NT$84 soon after the market opened in the morning, from the subscription price of NT$26 per share. The logo of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp is pictured outside the company’s headquarters at the Hsinchu Science Park on Feb. 25 last year. Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei TimesAbout 1.3 billion Powerchip shares changed hands, making it the most heavily traded stock on the board. In the first 10 months of this year, revenue surged about 84 percent year-on-year to NT$37.79 billion from NT$20.56 billion. Yesterday’s debut marked a comeback for Powerchip, which was delisted from the Taipei Exchange in 2012 due to deep debts.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ministry braces for A-mei rush on New Year’s Eve
Ministry braces for A-mei rush on New Year’s EveBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday unveiled plans to facilitate transportation to the east coast on New Year’s Eve, as people are expected to flock to Taitung County to attend Taiwanese pop diva A-mei’s (阿妹) New Year’s Eve concert. “Compared with the counties on the west coast, Taitung has a less developed public transport system. Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei TimesVisitors are encouraged to access the concert through the public transport system and wear masks throughout the concert to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it added. Meanwhile, Taitung city bus services would be offered every 30 minutes during peak hours, the ministry said, adding that more bus services would be provided between the Taitung Bus Station and the Taitung Railway Station, Taitung Airport and Jhihben National Forest Recreation Area. A temporary shuttle bus service between Kaohsiung and Taitung would be offered during the New Year holiday as well, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Standard Chartered projects slow Taiwan GDP growth
Standard Chartered projects slow Taiwan GDP growthBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterStandard Chartered Bank Taiwan Ltd (渣打台灣銀行) yesterday forecast that the economy would grow 3.3 percent next year, following an expansion of 1.8 percent this year. Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan Ltd economist Tony Phoo is pictured in his office in Taipei on Dec. 15, 2016. Only when people feel safe and resume their consumption, the global economy will return to the pre-pandemic level,” he said. The prediction came in contrast to the DGBAS’ forecast that private investment would increase by a healthy 3.19 percent next year. The US-China trade tensions would be another potential risk for Taiwan’s economy, Phoo said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Breathing new life into an extinct beast
Breathing new life into an extinct beastAward-winning comic artist discusses his fantastical new work about the Formosan clouded leopard for the National Taiwan MuseumBy Han Cheung / Staff reporterComic artist Hambuck (漢寶包) worried that the outline for his new work was too whimsical. After all, the client was the National Taiwan Museum (國立台灣博物館), one of the nation’s oldest and respected institutes dedicated to Taiwan’s flora, fauna, history and culture. Museum director Hung Shih-yu (洪世佑) did give Hambuck flack after reading the plot featuring cloud leopards — but for being too conservative. We just wanted to draw what was cool and exciting.”This specimen of a cloud leopard is on display on the third floor of the National Taiwan Museum and is featured in The Beast of the Clouds. “They say that it’s extinct, but there’s people who dispute that ... There’s a lot of room for imagination,” he says.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Experts call for schools of information security
Experts call for schools of information securityBy Chen Yu-fu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerExperts on Monday recommended the drafting of a digital development act or basic information act, and urged the Ministry of Education to have universities establish information security departments or schools. Lawmakers and experts discuss prospects for a digital development act or basic information act at a public hearing at the Legislative Yuan on Monday. Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei TimesThe Ministry of Education should encourage universities to set up departments of cybersecurity, Huang said, adding that the information security sector should not be concentrated in northern Taiwan. A digital development agency needs to communicate across departments, and be capable of integrating existing information systems or innovating new ones, Chen said. Chunghwa Telecom cybersecurity director Ma Hung-tsan (馬宏燦) said that the government should encourage entrepreneurship in cybersecurity by setting up a fund.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
CTi News closure ‘detrimental’: KMT
CTi News closure ‘detrimental’: KMTSILENCING DISSENT? Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang said the Democratic Progressive Party cut out the news channel most opposed to its viewsBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe shutdown of CTi News (中天新聞), after its license expires tomorrow, would have a detrimental effect on people’s trust in the government, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said in Taipei yesterday. “As the ruling party during the nation’s authoritarian period, the Chinese Nationalist Party is still often criticized and blamed,” he said, adding that criticism of the party has come with “misunderstandings and distortions.”Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang speaks at a symposium in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesHowever, the course of Taiwan’s democracy “although slow and arduous, has never regressed,” he said. Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chiang are scheduled to appear at a KMT news conference in Taipei tomorrow, titled “Safeguard Press Freedom, Hold Government Accountable,” on the issue of the National Communications Commission’s denial of CTi News’ license renewal, the KMT said yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Shinzo Abe might visit Taiwan 2021: deputy minister
Shinzo Abe might visit Taiwan 2021: deputy ministerBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterFormer Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe might visit Taiwan next year, which the private sector highly anticipates and the government welcomes, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. Tien made the remarks in answering questions from legislators at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang answers lawmakers’ questions at the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesIn September, Abe — Japan’s longest-serving prime minister — stepped down due to health issues and was replaced by Yoshihide Suga. Asked by other lawmakers to confirm Abe’s visit, Tien said that the government is positive about the plan and welcomes it, even though it has not received formal notice from Abe.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Full Wang confident for next year
Full Wang confident for next yearBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaichung-based Full Wang International Development Co (富旺國際開發) yesterday said that its business outlook remains upbeat for next year, as low interest rates and ample liquidity would continue to support the property market despite the central bank tightening credit controls. Property development would require twice as much capital after the central bank set the loan-to-value ratios at 50 to 60 percent, from 80 percent previously, Full Wang chairman Lin Cheng-hsiung (林正雄) said. Full Wang International Development Co chairman Lin Cheng-hsiung poses for a photograph in Taipei on July 19, 2017. Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei TimesSales of residential properties and industrial plots have contributed to 74 and 25 percent of the company’s revenue respectively, Full Wang data showed. The company has acquired enough land lots to build new properties for the next four years in Taiwan, Lin said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Trade not issue in pork debate: KMT
Trade not issue in pork debate: KMTNEW US LEADERSHIP: Alicia Wang said Joe Biden has indicated that until the US solves domestic problems, it would not sign new trade deals with other countriesBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged the government to rescind its decision to allow imports of US pork containing traces of ractopamine, saying that the policy might not lead to a trade agreement. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang speaks at a news conference at KMT headquarters in Taipei yesterday. Biden’s remarks mean that Taiwan might not be able to get a bilateral trade agreement or free-trade agreement in return for the meat imports regulatory changes, Wang said. “If this is the case, we have to ask the Tsai administration ... will it still allow imports of ractopamine pork on Jan. 1 as scheduled?” Wang said, adding that the KMT wants Tsai to withdraw the decision. The Republican and Democratic parties disagree on issues including trade, environmental protection, food safety and labor, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan enjoys bipartisan support in US: ex-official
Taiwan enjoys bipartisan support in US: ex-officialBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterMaintaining a strong relationship with Taiwan has bipartisan support in the US, former US assistant secretary of state Kurt Campbell told a forum yesterday via videoconferencing, while encouraging Taipei and Beijing to resume dialogue. The Taiwan-US-Japan Trilateral Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue took place in Taipei, just hours after the US announced another potential arms sale package to Taiwan. “Taiwan has been at the receiving end of such military threats on a daily basis. Also joining the videoconference was Randall Schriver, Project 2049 Institute chairman and former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, who talked of Taiwan’s geostrategic importance. The Taiwan-US-Japan Trilateral Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue was cohosted by the Prospect Foundation, the Project 2049 Institute, the Japan Institute of International Affairs and the Prospect Foundation.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
MediaTek eyeing 5G chip launch
MediaTek eyeing 5G chip launchNEW FRONTIER: The 5G penetration rate is expected to climb to about 49 percent in 2022 and 60 percent in 2023, MediaTek chief executive Rick Tsai said in TaipeiBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterMediaTek Inc (聯發科), the nation’s biggest supplier of chips used in smartphones, plans to launch its new flagship 5G chip by February in a bid to capture a bigger share of the rapidly growing market, a company executive said yesterday. The announcement indicates that the Hsinchu-based chipmaker is gaining confidence about the rollout of its new 5G chip designed for premium smartphones. The chipmaker two months ago gave a more vague schedule, saying that new phones powered by its new Dimensity 5G chip would enter mass production early next year. The remarks came after the company’s bigger rival Qualcomm Inc last week unveiled its new flagship 5G chip, the Snapdragon 888, for premium smartphones. The 5G smartphone penetration rate is expected to reach 18 percent this year, beating MediaTek’s expectations, Tsai said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Citibank updates three cards ahead of likely credit rally
Citibank updates three cards ahead of likely credit rallyBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterCitibank Taiwan Ltd (台灣花旗) has revamped its three credit cards, adding higher reward rates and an improved digital banking app in a bid to attract customers before an expected rebound in credit card spending next year. Citibank Taiwan Ltd country business manager Muge Yuzuak poses for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Holders of the Citi Prestige Card can also transfer airport delivery services to domestic travel programs due to the pandemic, it said. Citibank Taiwan, with a total of 2.14 million activated cards, ranks sixth among all of the banks in Taiwan and first among foreign banks, Financial Supervisory Commission data showed. Asked whether the bank was seeking to improve its ranking, Yuzuak said that the bank concentrates on quality instead of quantity.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Environmental Impact Assessment: The dark side of light
Perhaps the most egregious example of light pollution is the 2,400m2 LED display wall. Sleep scientists say light pollution can disrupt our nighttime rest. “Compared to other environmental issues, the public isn’t especially concerned about the problem of light pollution. “Advocacy and lobbying are needed to get people to pay more attention to this issue.”In terms of a legal framework to deal with light pollution, Taiwan lags behind comparable countries. Efforts to reduce light pollution are often opposed by those who think criminality thrives in darkness.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Team develops new breed of poinsettia
Team develops new breed of poinsettiaBy Su Meng-chuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA National Chung Hsing University research team on Monday said it has developed a new breed of pink poinsettia, which won the award for best new breed in this year’s poinsettia competition held by the Taiwan Potted Plants Association. The research team, led by department of horticulture assistant professor Chen Yan-ming (陳彥銘), said it developed the breed over seven years. National Chung Hsing University department of horticulture assistant professor Chen Yan-ming on Monday in Taichung poses with pink poinsettias developed by his research team. A pink variety of poinsettia was first grown in Europe in 2000, but Taiwanese growers have not had success growing it locally, he said. The aishen variety on Nov. 18 won the best new breed award at the poinsettia competition, as well as the top prize in the 3-inch and 5-inch non-red poinsettia categories.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
The Pratas Islands situation looks bad
Due to the PLA’s intensification of sea and air drills in the southwestern corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙島) are under severe threat from China’s military. The Ministry of National Defense has responded by garrisoning the Marine Corps on the Pratas Islands, ostensibly to conduct off-shore training, but in reality to bolster its defenses. The Pratas Islands are only about 400km from Kaohsiung. Freedom of navigation by the navies of the US and European nations would also be muzzled, as the waters around the Pratas Islands form a key choke point. Whether from the perspective of defense, diplomacy or territorial sovereignty, the Pratas Islands are vital to Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
December 08, 2020 15:56 UTC