Ministry addresses issues with academic portfolios
Ministry addresses issues with academic portfoliosBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Education is to improve communication with senior-high schools and students in the wake of a backlash over its electronic academic portfolio initiative, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said yesterday. With the implementation last year of the 12-Year Basic Education Curriculum Guidelines, the ministry has been promoting the creation of electronic academic portfolios for senior-high school students to use as part of the university application process. The system allows students to upload materials regularly, to prevent them from preparing and submitting everything all at once in the final semester, it said. Students are not required to upload files to the academic portfolios, as they can still upload application materials in PDF format, it said. However, the ministry advises students against doing so, as such material would lack teacher certification, as well as systemization.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Probe urged for alleged use of excessive force by police
Probe urged for alleged use of excessive force by policeBy Hsieh Chun-lin and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerNew Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) yesterday called for an independent investigation into allegations that police used excessive force during a protest in Taipei on Friday. The Railway Bureau on Tuesday last week began tearing down the three remaining homes that stood in the way of a planned railway relocation project. Students clash with police in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei on Friday. The National Human Rights Committee had on Aug. 1 discussed whether to investigate the railway relocation project, Chiu added. “Is that not a clear violation of human rights and the principle of proportionality?” she asked.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Minister rejects code for ractopamine
Minister rejects code for ractopamineLEANNESS-ENHANCING DRUG: Assigning a commodity classification to meat containing ractopamine could come under scrutiny by the WTO, the economic affairs minister saidBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterMinister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) yesterday rejected opposition lawmakers’ calls to assign a product code for US pork and beef containing ractopamine. “Ractopamine is not a [meat] product, it is an additive,” said Wang, when questioned by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠). Wang said that a product code for meat containing ractopamine would be “inconsistent with WTO regulations.”“The average Taiwanese does not about WTO rules,” Chiu said. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that Taiwan would lift the bans on US pork containing ractopamine and beef from cattle more than 30 months old, which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1. Wang said there must be a “scientific basis” for singling out meat containing ractopamine.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
MOFA condemns PRC over Fiji fracas
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Larry Tseng, at podium, answers questions from member of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs Committee in Taipei yesterday, as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng looks on. Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei TimesThe Chinese embassy denied the accusations and said that one of its staffers was injured. The Chinese embassy should not be able to claim diplomatic immunity, as it only applies to civil cases, and the incident was a criminal case, the lawmaker added. MOFA has asked the Fijian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and police to collect evidence to clarify the facts, and also delivered a stern protest to the Fijian ministry against the Chinese embassy, Ou said in a statement. Meanwhile, in Beijing yesterday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said that Taiwan was playing the victim, as he criticized the flags and cake displayed at the event.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Team finds possible marker for post-stroke dementia
Team finds possible marker for post-stroke dementiaBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA team of National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) researchers yesterday said that it has discovered a biomarker that could one day help predict the risk of post-stroke dementia (PSD). The lack of a biomarker has made it difficult to accurately predict the risk of PSD in stroke patients, she said. Liu’s research team collaborated with Chen Yi-chun (陳怡君), a physician in Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Department of Dementia, in a study to analyze the cognitive function conditions and associated physiological changes in ischaemic stroke patients. The team found that the D-amino acid oxidase (DAO) levels in the blood plasma of PSD patients were significantly higher than in stroke patients without PSD or healthy people, indicating that DAO could be a biomarker for predicting PSD in stroke patients, Liu said. With further studies and cross analysis, it might be possible to predict the risk of PSD in stroke patients from the DAO level in their blood samples, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Mandarin Hotel to again offer room operations
Mandarin Hotel to again offer room operationsBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterLuxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Taipei (文華東方酒店) plans to reopen its guestrooms in December to take advantage of a boom in domestic travel. “We are delighted to share that Mandarin Oriental Taipei will resume room operations on December 1,” the hotel said in a statement yesterday. The Mandarin Oriental Taipei in Songshan District is pictured on March 14, 2018. Mandarin Oriental, which operates 33 high-end hotels and seven residences in 23 countries and territories, has reopened its properties in Tokyo, Milan, London, Paris and Munich. Mandarin Oriental Taipei is reopening at the urging of affluent local guests who are longing for luxurious staycation experiences, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Report details cause of 2018 derailment
Report details cause of 2018 derailmentDEADLY ERRORS: The safety board’s investigation found that the driver did not report malfunctions to dispatch, and lacked adequate training to address issuesBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Transportation Safety Board yesterday identified 50 factors that led to the derailment of a Puyuma Express train in Yilan County in 2018, and gave the railway operator three months to report on how it plans to follow the board’s safety recommendations. The board yesterday published online its final report following a one-year investigation into the Oct. 21, 2018, derailment of Puyuma Express train No. Taiwan Transportation Safety Board Chief Investigator Lin Pei-ta yesterday at a news conference in Taipei presents the results of an investigation into the derailment of Puyuma Express No. As such, he failed to heed the 75kph speed limit sign at 4:49.20pm, seven seconds before the derailment, Lin said. As such, air compressors on cars No.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
TWSE urges caution ahead of launch of odd-lot intraday trading on Oct. 26
TWSE urges caution ahead of launch of odd-lot intraday trading on Oct. 26By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterWith odd-lot intraday trading scheduled to start on Monday next week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) urged investors to be cautious and not to confuse it with regular trading. The TWSE has asked securities brokerages to provide new online trading platforms that are exclusively for odd-lot intraday trading to differentiate it from current platforms for regular stock trading, TWSE trading division director Ben Chen (陳正斌) told the Taipei Times by telephone. “Investors need to be careful about which platform they are using when placing orders,” Chen said. While the TWSE has adopted a continuous trading mechanism for its regular stock trading, it would adopt a call auction mechanism for the odd-lot intraday trading, in a bid to help investors differentiate the two platforms, it said. The existing after-hours odd-lot trading will remain unchanged, with trading from 1:40pm to 2:30pm and matching orders taking place only once at 2:30pm, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
HSBC Taiwan commits to further carbon reduction
The bank aims to reduce its carbon emissions as its parent company, HSBC Holdings PLC, earlier this month said it targets to reduce emissions in its daily operations and supply chains to net zero by 2030, as well as net zero emissions of its portfolio of customers by 2050, it said. HSBC Taiwan has adopted measures to make its branches and offices eco-friendly and cut their power consumption, such as installing automatic sensors that turn off lights when there is enough daylight and after business hours, HSBC Taiwan corporate sustainability head Ruth Lee (李清如) said. HSBC Taiwan is considering to use more renewable energy sources to further improve its carbon footprint, although it still needs to talk to the landlords of its offices and persuade them to purchase green energy, Lee said. HSBC Taiwan would continue granting loans to local renewable energy developers such as wind or solar power developers, as well as providing financing to companies in other sectors to help them reduce carbon emissions, the bank’s chief risk officer Angus Tsang (曾德誼) said. HSBC Holdings said it aims to provide US$750 billion to US$1 trillion by 2030 to customers to help them become more sustainable.
Source:Taipei Times
October 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
Insurance holdings’ earnings up mildly
Insurance holdings’ earnings up mildlyMIXED PERFORMANCE: While insurance-focused companies resisted a downturn, their banking-oriented peers showed losses, due to lower interest rate spreadsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterInsurance-focused financial holding companies last month saw milder earnings growth compared with a year earlier, while their banking-focused peers reported steep declines in earnings, several companies’ earnings results released last week showed. A sign displaying the logo of Fubon Life Insurance Co is pictured outside the company’s headquarters in Taipei on Nov. 22 last year. Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) reported net profit of NT$4.68 billion for last month, the highest among its peers. Last month, the insurance unit set aside an additional NT$2 billion in foreign-exchange volatility reserve that slightly pared its profit. In the first nine months, CTBC Financial’s cumulative net profit was NT$36.13 billion, with earnings per share of NT$1.8, ranking third among its local peers.
Source:Taipei Times
October 18, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ma calls on US to ‘keep an eye on’ CtiTV hearing
The TV station’s license is to expire in December, and the National Communications Commission (NCC) is on Monday next week to hold a public hearing on its license renewal application. However, since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, the nation has embarked on a road further away from democracy and freedom, he wrote. Ma also urged the US and other foreign friends to closely follow CtiTV News’ license renewal process. DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that Ma, while he was president, was suspected of intervening in the NCC’s review proceedings. Six years ago, more than half of the NCC’s external consultants did not agree with CtiTV News’ license renewal, but the station still got its license, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Fine for feeding conservation area fish starts in 2021
Fine for feeding conservation area fish starts in 2021By Huang Ming-tang and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerFeeding fish has become a finable offense at the Fushan Fisheries Resources Conservation Area (富山漁業資源保育區) in Taitung County’s Beinan Township (卑南), a conservationist said on Monday. Fish swim in a lake at the Fushan Fisheries Resources Conservation Area in Taitung County’s Beinan Township on Oct. 11. Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei TimesIn August, the conservation area management decided that it needed to monitor visitors, enforce the ban and fine offenders, he said. As many nearby stores sell fish food, the conservation area has advised them to sell food that the visitors can eat, so their revenue is not affected, he said. Aside from being disrespectful, the waste affects the ecosystem of the area surrounding the waterfall, a village official said, adding that villagers would begin patrolling the conservation area.
Source:Taipei Times
October 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Both parties must apologize for pork import issue: Ko
Both parties must apologize for pork import issue: KoBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe controversy over lifting the ban on US pork containing ractopamine is not only a food safety issue, but also a communication and management problem, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. Ko, who is chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), was addressing a party forum in Taipei. Ko said he recently saw a video clip on the Internet of a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker asking Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to apologize for his past opposition to imports of US pork and beef, seeing that he had now reversed course. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je speaks at a Taiwan People’s Party forum in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei TimesKo cited Su as asking the lawmaker if he would also apologize, as the KMT had supported such a policy in 2012.
Source:Taipei Times
October 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Academy signs agreement to open branch in Taipei
Academy signs agreement to open branch in TaipeiBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe National Academy of Marine Research yesterday announced a deal to open an ocean research branch in Taipei, as well as plans to construct three research vessels. The branch at National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) would be the academy’s first research unit outside of Kaohsiung. A group of people attend an unveiling of a sign at the National Academy of Marine Research’s new research branch at National Taiwan Ocean University in Taipei yesterday. A plan to obtain research vessels from the TORI or other research institutions fell through, but the academy hopes to build its own fleet of vessels, Lin said. “The plan is to construct three research vessels — 4,000 tonnes, 300 tonnes and 100 tonnes — for about NT$2 billion [US$69.02 million],” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 17, 2020 15:56 UTC
Tournament showcases Taiwan-Latin America ties
Tournament showcases Taiwan-Latin America tiesStaff writer, with CNAAn annual soccer tournament featuring Latin American and Taiwanese teams yesterday started in New Taipei City, highlighting the bonds among Taiwanese and the people of the region. Players compete in a soccer match in the Copa America Taiwan in New Taipei City yesterday. “We hope to bring together people who are interested in strengthening Taiwan-Latin America relations, paving the way for future cooperation,” TDDA chairwoman Kuo Chia-yo (郭家佑) said. The tournament also highlights that Taiwan can host events with live spectators, because of its success in handling COVID-19, the association said. One of the players, Dale Neal of Belize, said that he has competed in the Copa America Taiwan for the past five years and is happy to see people from Latin America, Taiwan and other countries having fun this year.
Source:Taipei Times
October 17, 2020 15:56 UTC