Tsai touts achievements in human rights, justice
Tsai touts achievements in human rights, justiceBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterTaiwan has made considerable progress in improving its human rights situation, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday at an event marking World Human Rights Day on Thursday, with victims of political persecution among the audience. President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at an International Human Rights Day event at the National Human Rights Museum in New Taipei City yesterday. Tsai pointed to the establishment of the National Human Rights Museum two years ago to promote human rights education and document Taiwan’s progress from authoritarianism to a democratic society. “People can see the positive results of human rights education, and also exhibits and research work at the museum. Tsai also lauded the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission on Aug. 1, an independent agency of the Control Yuan that is tasked with probing rights violations, reviewing the implementation of human rights policies and presenting national reports on human rights.
Source:Taipei Times
December 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Constitutionality of bill queried
The commission was established following passage of the Organic Act of the Control Yuan National Human Rights Commission (監察院國家人權委員會組織法) on Dec. 10 last year. The Control Yuan in September tendered the bill for review by the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee. The entrance to the Control Yuan’s National Human Rights Commission is pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph. Commission members late last month met with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus members to explain the bill. DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told the meeting that he believes clauses of the bill risk breaching human rights and being unconstitutional, sources said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Uzbekistan eyes Taiwan chicken
Uzbekistan eyes Taiwan chickenIN A NAME: A chicken breed developed by the COA and Kai Shing Food Corp was named after the founder of the nation’s first fast food chain, Kai Shing’s chairman saidBy Yang Yuan-ting / Staff reporterA domestic chicken breed, named for the founder of TKK Fried Chicken, has piqued the interest of Uzbek officials, who might make their country the first overseas destination for the bird, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday. Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei TimesNonetheless, Aripov still plans to visit Taiwan in person to discuss introducing the breed to Uzbekistan after the pandemic subsides, he said. Taiwan hopes to start exporting breeding eggs to the Central Asian country in the near future, he said. Chickens bred from the eggs would not be able to produce offspring, which means that foreign importers must continue purchasing eggs from Taiwan, he added. Although the black chicken breed originated in China, after years of crossbreeding there, it is no longer similar to the version in Taiwan, he said, adding that some Southeast Asian countries have expressed interest in importing it.
Source:Taipei Times
December 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT lawmaker files charges with police against Su
KMT lawmaker files charges with police against SuBy Liu Ching-hou, Huang Hsin-po and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislative Yuan Convener Lin Wei-chou (林為州) yesterday filed charges against Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) for allegedly spreading false information related to statements on US pork imports, police said. Premier Su Tseng-chang gestures while speaking at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Su does not have legislative immunity and his comments constitute spreading false information, Lin said. The Executive Yuan yesterday issued a statement calling for the KMT not to twist Su’s words and mislead the public. “They never mentioned ‘pork importers support the importation of pork with ractopamine,’” Li said, adding that Legislative Yuan recordings would be opened for review.
Source:Taipei Times
December 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan-Singapore association launched
Taiwan-Singapore association launchedBy Wu Su-wei and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerLawmakers yesterday celebrated the launch of a Taiwan-Singapore association at an event at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The event commemorating the formation of the Republic of China (Taiwan)-Singapore Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association, which is to be chaired by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), was attended by Taiwan’s Representative to Singapore Yeh Wei-chieh (葉偉傑). Yeh said that Singaporean members of parliament have maintained close relations with their Taiwanese counterparts, forming a strong basis for Taiwan-Singapore friendship. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang, Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Jih-jia, front row, from left, and other officials attend an inauguration ceremony for the Republic of China (Taiwan)-Singapore Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association at the Legislative Yuan yesterday. KMT Legislator Hsieh Yi-feng (謝衣鳳) and Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) are to serve as the association’s deputy chairpersons.
Source:Taipei Times
December 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Researchers say plastic issue may be generational
Researchers say plastic issue may be generationalBy Yang Yuan-ting and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerExposure to microplastics might drastically reduce the survivability of marine organisms through harm done to subsequent generations, Taipei-based researchers said yesterday. The paper, titled “Intergenerational microplastics impact the intertidal barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite during the planktonic larval and benthic adult stages,” said that barnacles exposed to microplastics had prominent intergenerational effects, although the researchers found no within-generation effects. Academia Sinica researcher Benny Chan, left, poses for a photograph with other researchers in Taipei yesterday. “Adverse intergenerational effects of microplastics might drastically reduce larval recruitment and threaten long-term zooplankton sustainability,” the researchers wrote. An additional 28 percent stems from tire wear and 24 percent is contributed by plastic waste floating at sea, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Octogenarian knits 1,500 sweaters for children in need
Children’s sweaters knitted by Hsueh Lo-sha are pictured in Yunlin County on Saturday last week. After the 921 Earthquake hit, Hsueh reached out to Caoling Village (草嶺) in Yunlin County to ask if any children needed sweaters, former village warden Su Chun-hao (蘇俊豪) said. Hsueh Lo-sha knits a sweater for a child in Yunlin County on Saturday last week. Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei TimesSu said he was deeply moved by her story, as she at that point had already been knitting sweaters for children in need for more than 30 years. Su said that if anyone knows a child in need of a sweater, they can contact him.
Source:Taipei Times
December 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Study traces ancient Taiwanese sailors
Study traces ancient Taiwanese sailorsTAIWAN TO RYUKYU: Paleolithic seafarers might have deliberately set sail, as drifting in the ocean would not have led them to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, a new study foundBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterAbout 30,000 years ago, ancient inhabitants of Taiwan might have intentionally crossed the Kuroshio, one of the world’s strongest currents, researchers found. Then, I ... came across the idea of using the tracking buoys,” Kaifu wrote in an e-mail to the Taipei Times. Of the 16 buoys that drifted past the Philippine main island of Luzon, only one drifted toward the Ryukyu Islands, they found. The ancient sailors could not have reached the Ryukyu Islands through random drifting, whereas bad weather conditions, although occasionally bringing some buoys closer to the islands, are unlikely to have been used by the ancient seafarers, Jan said. Yonaguni Island, the westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, is in good weather conditions visible from some mountains in eastern Taiwan, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
December 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Fate uncertain as SBL tips off
Fate uncertain as SBL tips offBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterA hoops war begins this weekend as the SBL tips off at New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang Gymnasium, ahead of the rival P.League+, which begins at the Changhua County Stadium on Dec. 19. The SBL openers today see Taiwan Bank take on Pauian Archiland at 3pm, followed by the marquee matchup at 5:30pm between defending champions Taiwan Beer and last season’s losing finalists the Yulon Luxgen Dinos. Jeoutai Technology, the fifth SBL team, formerly known as Kinmen Kaoliang, play their first game tomorrow against Taiwan Bank, also in Sinjhuang. Players line up for photographers at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday to promote the 18th SBL season, which begins today. Miller of Taiwan Beer, Branden Dawson of Jeoutai, Jordan Tolbert of Archiland and Zak Irvin of Taiwan Bank.
Source:Taipei Times
December 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Continental seals deal with Daiwa House
The joint venture consists of a hotel with 260 guestrooms under the Nikko Hotel brand and a residential building with 227 apartments, company officials said. “It is the first time Continental Development will have a presence in Kaohsiung and it will not be the last time, as the southern city has gained rapid headway in attracting business,” Continental Development chairman Christopher Chang (張良吉) told a signing ceremony in Kaohsiung. Continental Development Corp chairman Christopher Chang, third right, Hiyes International Co chairman Huang Hsi-wen, second right, and Hiyes president Wang Chun-chieh, right, pose at a news conference in Kaohsiung yesterday. Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co, which manages properties under the Okura Hotels & Resorts, Hotel JAL City and Nikko Hotels International brands, has agreed to launch the Nikko Hotel Kaohsiung, which might start operations in 2023. The Nikko Hotel Kaohsiung and top-grade but affordable apartments would become the port city’s next spotlight, Chang said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Executive Yuan looks to rein in real-estate market
Executive Yuan looks to rein in real-estate marketBy Lee Hsin-fang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Executive Yuan yesterday proposed measures to help rein in real-estate prices, which have spiked due to “hot money” pouring into the local market. Su said that housing is for residential purposes and should not become a commodity, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Li Meng-yen (李孟諺) told a news conference after the meeting. The ministry has also been tasked with amending the registration system of actual real-estate transaction prices to include individual units, instead of just general transactions, it said. Measures to evade real-estate sales or purchasing taxes should also be investigated, it added. If necessary, the central bank should intervene, while the Financial Supervisory Commission should also step up its reviews of real-estate loans to prevent speculation, the Executive Yuan said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
President praises Facebook for help amid the pandemic
President praises Facebook for help amid the pandemicStaff writer, with CNAFacebook Inc has played an “important” role in Taiwan’s epidemic prevention efforts, which has contributed to a stable domestic economy, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday. Speaking at the virtual launch of the Facebook Made by Taiwan 2020 program, Tsai said that it has been five years since the US company established its Taiwan headquarters. During that time, Facebook has become an “important partner” of the government and an “indispensable part” of many people’s lives, Tsai said. The company’s social media platforms have helped promote Taiwan’s epidemic prevention model abroad and “let people all over the world know that ‘Taiwan can help,’” she said. The launch of Facebook Made by Taiwan 2020 follows a talent cultivation initiative — Made by Taiwan, Loved by the World — which the company launched in 2016.
Source:Taipei Times
December 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Pork importers say no to ractopamine
Pork importers say no to ractopamineWINNING SOLUTION? Hua Han Frozen Food Co Ltd (華漢冷凍食品) manager Lee Chun-lai (李春來) told the news conference that the companies would only import ractopamine-free pork and pork products, so consumers could rest easy. Representatives of nearly 80 pork importers hold placards at a news conference in Taipei yesterday pledging not to import any US pork products containing traces of ractopamine. The importers’ statement was a “win-win-win scenario” for consumers, hog farmers and pork importers, Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) told reporters when asked for comment. Most of Taiwan’s imports of pork and pork products come from Canada, followed by Spain, the US (without ractopamine residue) and Denmark, government data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
December 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Health firms showcase innovations
Health firms showcase innovationsTECH FOCUS: AU Optronics unveiled a high-resolution surgery display and Taipei Medical University Hospital presented a contactless COVID-19 treatment platformBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterMore than 500 exhibitors are showcasing their latest innovations at the Taiwan HealthCare Expo, which began at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei yesterday. Tech companies developing smart medicine products are represented alongside medical supply and pharmaceutical companies, and hospitals. A Hiwin Technologies Co representative, left, introduces the company’s robotic gait training system to visitors at the Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall 1 on the opening day of the Taiwan Healthcare Expo yesterday. President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at the Taiwan Healthcare Expo at the Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall 1 in Taipei yesterday. “The supply chain realignments we have seen this year present a chance for Taiwan to become better positioned,” she said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Skipped quarantine sees EVA crew axed
Skipped quarantine sees EVA crew axedRULES IGNORED: CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said that crew members who break the rules would be required to complete the full 14-day quarantineBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThree EVA Airways flight attendants were fired last month and this month after they failed to follow the government’s quarantine requirements. While on flight duty, crew members must wear nitrile medical gloves, protective gear, masks and goggles, it said, adding that they are prohibited from interacting with locals at their destination, but must stay in their hotel and dine with other crew members. Airline supervisors at overseas destinations randomly check on the crew at their hotel and remind them to compy with the government’s disease prevention measures, EVA Air said, adding that crew must undergo a five-day home quarantine upon their return to Taiwan. As a result, cabin crew members do not need to quarantine for 14 days whenever they re-enter Taiwan, it added. Due to the special nature of their jobs, prevention measures for crew members on Taiwanese carriers are managed by the airline, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 03, 2020 15:56 UTC