Protesters urge stiffer school penalty
As of Monday, the university owed teachers salaries for three months, he said. Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei TimesThe union estimates that it owes about 30 teachers NT$10 million (US$345,244), he said. Despite “oppression” by the university, the teachers have continued to hold classes, conduct research and serve the university, he said. Yesterday marked the third time the union and teachers have demonstrated outside the ministry’s offices, he said. The Private School Law (私立學校法) gives the government the authority to “replace illegal [university] presidents” and to “petition for the removal of illegal [university] board members,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Defense spending won’t deter PRC: US official
Defense spending won’t deter PRC: US officialBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan’s planned increase to next year’s defense budget, although a step in the right direction, is insufficient to deter China’s threat, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs (IPSA) David Helvey said on Tuesday. Helvey, who is performing the duties of US assistant secretary of defense for IPSA, made the remarks during the closing keynote speech of a two-day US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference, a transcript released by the US-Taiwan Business Council showed. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news briefing at the ministry in Taipei in an undated photograph. Highlighting Taiwan’s leading position in the global semiconductor industry, he said nearly 47 percent of US-designed chips are made by Taiwanese companies. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) plan to build a wafer plant in Arizona is a “game changer” for the US semiconductor industry and national security, Helvey said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Jko Fintech members to leave Jko Asset’s board
Jko Fintech members to leave Jko Asset’s boardBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterJko Fintech Co (街口金融科技) on Tuesday said that it would withdraw from the boardroom of Jko Asset Management Co (街口投信) and would not exercise control over that company’s operations, although it has a 25 percent stake in it. Jko Fintech, which has two seats on Jko Asset’s board, would have its representatives resign at a board meeting on Thursday next week and would not appoint new board members, it said in a statement. Jko Fintech chose to leave Jko Asset’s boardroom completely as it wants to address its disagreement with the commission, Hu told the Taipei Times. As the commission is worried that Jko Asset’s corporate governance would be affected by Jko Fintech’s involvement, “we hope to ease its concerns by staying away from Jko Asset’s operations and leaving the boardroom,” Hu said. However, he would not return to the Jko Asset boardroom even if he wins, Hu said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Minister eyes higher-quality reservists
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in June had said that the nation’s reservists would play a more important role in national defense. Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) told lawmakers that there had been 1,710 and 1,029 incidences of Chinese planes and ships respectively having crossed into the nation’s air defense identification zone so far this year. Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee in Taipei yesterday. Administratively, all reservists would fall under a defense mobilization agency that would be established in January 2022 and is expected to cost NT$8.9 billion (US$307.3 million), he said. The ministry would need to construct additional facilities due to the increased number of reservists who would be recalled for training, Yen said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
CSBC confirms cracks in wind farm project
CSBC confirms cracks in wind farm projectBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterCSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday confirmed that cracks have appeared in the welding joints of transition pieces it supplied to Orsted Taiwan Ltd’s (沃旭能源) offshore wind farm projects, but dismissed speculation that it could lead to Orsted switching to foreign suppliers. The report said multiple sources confirmed that transition pieces made by CSBC, which were delivered in June, started developing cracks in the welding joints three to four months after delivery. CSC executive vice president and spokesman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) described the faults as “a part of the learning process” for Taiwanese companies making wind farm components for the first time. Under the government’s offshore wind farm localization policy, developers are required to use certain made-in-Taiwan components, even if imported components might have a price and quality advantage. “The hope is as companies meet with technical challenges [in localizing offshore wind] they will overcome them,” Tseng said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Kau and Scientech invest in reclaimed wafer services firm
Kau and Scientech invest in reclaimed wafer services firmBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterFormer Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) president Charles Kau (高啟全) has teamed up with Taiwanese semiconductor equipment maker Scientech Corp (辛耘) to invest in LVG Semiconductor (Huangshi) Co Ltd (祿億半導體) in China to provide wafer reclamation services there. Former Nanya Technology Corp president Charles Kau is pictured in Taipei yesterday. “Market demand is very strong in China, but there is a lack of reclaimed wafer suppliers there,” Kau said. It is more cost-effective to provide reclaimed wafers from Chinese factories rather than importing them from Taiwan, as the logistics would add US$6 to the overall cost of every reclaimed wafer, he said. Scientech is a supplier of reclaimed wafers and semiconductor equipment with annual revenue of NT$3.95 billion (US$136.4 million) last year.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Teachers urge ministry to reconsider proposal to conduct bullying survey
Teachers urge ministry to reconsider proposal to conduct bullying surveyBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe National Federation of Teachers’ Unions yesterday urged the Ministry of Education to reconsider plans to have schools conduct a survey of students on bullying that the federation says contains ambiguous language. The Ministry of Education on July 21 revised its guidelines on the prevention of bullying on school campuses to change the definition of the term “campus bullying” from bullying between students to bullying by principals, teachers, staff members or students toward students, the federation said. Representatives of the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday to criticize a proposed Ministry of Education survey on school bullying. Hou also questioned why the proposed survey only includes questions about bullying by other students or teachers. “According to the Ministry of Education’s logic, they [principals and staff members] do not have this problem” of bullying students, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Bigger emphasis on climate change needed, CET says
Bigger emphasis on climate change needed, CET saysBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterEnvironmental group Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan (CET) at a news conference in Taipei yesterday urged the government to place more emphasis on tackling climate change in its Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program. The news conference was held to coincide with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) delivering a report to the Legislative Yuan on the proposed NT$230 billion (US$7.94 billion) budget for the third phase of the program. Representatives of Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Face climate change.”The budget proposal is next to proceed to a review by the Legislative Yuan, Hung said. “We hope that there is still room to make this forward-looking program even more forward-looking,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Military sorties up 20 percent: report
Military sorties up 20 percent: reportStaff writer, with CNAThe nation’s armed forces have deployed more than 4,000 sorties of military aircraft so far this year, a 20 percent increase from the same period last year, a Ministry of National Defense report said on Monday. Amid increasing military coercion by China, the armed forces have carried out 4,132 sorties by aircraft and 7,531 sorties by navy vessels in surveillance, combat readiness and fishery patrol missions and exercises this year, the report said. Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa is pictured in an undated photograph. The military has allocated a budget to improve its radar surveillance abilities in response to the increasing military threat posed by Chinese stealth aircraft and uncrewed aerial combat vehicles, the report said. Yen is scheduled to answer lawmakers’ questions at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in Taipei today.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus prompts concerns over real-estate bubble
Virus prompts concerns over real-estate bubbleBloombergAuthorities might need to take action to prevent cash flows generated by global COVID-19 pandemic support measures causing a local property-market bubble, central bank Deputy Governor Chen Nan-kuang (陳南光) said. Central bank Deputy Governor Chen Nan-kuang is pictured in this undated photograph. The only restriction currently enforced by the central bank is limiting loans on high-end residences to 60 percent of the property’s value. Banks are not particularly optimistic about the residential property market, but are more positive than they were previously, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told reporters last month. “I hope the central bank can be more proactive in considering how to establish the information we need to take preventative measures as early as possible,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT proposals on Taiwan-US ties pass
KMT proposals on Taiwan-US ties passWU INSPIRED: The KMT caucus submitted the proposals, which passed unanimously, after the foreign minister said that Taipei was not seeking diplomatic ties with the USStaff writer, with CNATaiwan-US relations are based on pragmatic partnerships in defense, trade, politics and other areas, while “step-by-step” developments are key to bilateral ties, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said yesterday, after the Legislative Yuan unanimously passed two resolutions proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus related to Taiwan-US ties. Photo: Lin Hsin-han, Taipei TimesThe other resolution states that the focus of the government’s diplomatic efforts with the US should be to work toward the resumption of formal diplomatic ties with Washington. In a news release issued after the vote, the KMT caucus said that it was curious the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus had supported the two proposals, given Wu’s comments. However, she sidestepped reporters’ questions on whether the ministry would work toward the resumption of diplomatic relations. Hopefully, the KMT would continue to think for the nation based on the best interests of the nation, Su said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
NT dollar extends gains as central bank steps back
NT dollar extends gains as central bank steps backBloombergThe New Taiwan dollar yesterday extended its winning streak, a day after it closed at the strongest level since 2011 amid speculation that the central bank would continue to loosen its grip on the rallying currency. While for months the central bank stepped in daily to limit appreciation, its relatively hands-off approach recently is a sign that officials might allow further strengthening. The central bank allowing appreciation “is justified based on fundamentals and the currency is not overvalued,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd head of Asia research Khoon Goh (吳昆) said. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said on Sept. 17 that the NT dollar was “not strong” versus trade-weighted valuation metrics. Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (台灣機械公會) chairman Alex Ko (柯拔希) yesterday urged the central bank to take action to keep the NT dollar weak, warning that Taiwanese machinery exporters would lose their global competitiveness if it did not act.
Source:Taipei Times
October 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Pharmally plans to hold extraordinary meeting
Pharmally plans to hold extraordinary meetingBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterTroubled Pharmally International Holding Co (康友製藥) yesterday said that it plans to hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting later this month to appoint new board members and replace chairman Tony Huang (黃文烈), who is suspected of embezzlement. Huang disappeared on Aug. 6, the same day that three senior executives, including then-president and board member Zhang Yongjian (章永鑒), resigned. Pharmally International Holding Co spokesman Jason Chen speaks at a media briefing in Taipei yesterday. Pharmally plans to sue Deloitte & Touche Taiwan’s chairman, chief operating officer and chief risk officer over their two accountants’ alleged malpractice, Chen said. The company also believes that the Taiwan Stock Exchange made mistakes when examining the firm’s financial reports in 2018, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Yunlin farmers battle to beat destructive macaques
Yunlin farmers battle to beat destructive macaquesBy Huang Shu-li and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerFarmers in Yunlin County “fed up” with damage wrought by Formosan rock macaques have so far this year applied for seven times more subsidies than last year to install electric fences, the county’s Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The macaques have affected agriculture around the county, but nowhere more so than in Gukeng Township (古坑), where not one fruit orchard or vegetable patch has been able to escape damage, local farmers said. As there is no compensation available for losses caused by macaques, the issue has left the nation’s farmers struggling to find a solution. Formosan rock macaques sit on the roof of a farm building in Yunlin County on Sunday. Another farmer in a mountainous region said that their entire taro field was dug up by the animals, while others said that their harvests only consist of the macaques’ leftovers.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Pro-independence groups send Trump get-well messages
Pro-independence groups send Trump get-well messagesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterTaiwanese independence campaigners yesterday launched a drive to send letters and get-well cards to wish US President Donald Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19. The event began with the mailing of a typed letter, along with an image of Trump and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), to the White House. Members of the Taiwan Republic Office and other proponents of Taiwanese independence yesterday at a post office near the Executive Yuan in Taipei urge Taiwanese to write letters wishing US President Donald Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19. “These developments are proof of improving ties, of the US and Taiwan moving toward closer relations,” Chen said. “We urge people to write letters, or just write a few words in a get-well card.
Source:Taipei Times
October 05, 2020 15:56 UTC