Top US economic official to visit next week: report
Top US economic official to visit next week: reportBy Sherry Hsiao and Angelica Oung / Staff reportersUS Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach is to visit Taiwan to host an economic dialogue next week, online media outlet ETtoday reported yesterday, although government officials refused to confirm a schedule. The ETtoday report said that Krach is scheduled to visit from Thursday to Saturday next week and host a US-Taiwan Economic and Commercial Dialogue, citing anonymous sources. Asked yesterday about Krach’s visit, the AIT said that it could not confirm the schedule. “The US Trade Representative [USTR] and the Department of State are in charge of different things. The USTR is the body we talk to about the TIFA, while the state department talks to us about strategic cooperation,” she said, adding that the state department is in charge of the economy and energy.
Source:Taipei Times
September 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
Tsai accepts Presidential Office spokesman’s exit
Tsai accepts Presidential Office spokesman’s exitStaff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday approved the resignation of Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) following reports about his private life in local media. Ting in a statement earlier in the day said that he had submitted his resignation and it had been accepted by the president. Ting apologized for the trouble the scandal has caused his superiors and everyone concerned, adding that his actions have betrayed the public’s expectations. Former Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung speaks at a news conference at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei in an undated photograph. The ex-girlfriend said they had sex several times in his Kaohsiung office during work hours, the magazine reported.
Source:Taipei Times
September 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT to begin pork referendum drive
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that Taiwan would ease restrictions on imports of US pork containing ractopamine and beef from cattle aged 30 months or older. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in Taipei yesterday call for food safety laws to be amended due to the proposed import of US pork containing ractopamine. The KMT also criticized the government’s handling of whether or not pork fat would require country of origin labeling. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) late on Monday published draft amendments to food labeling requirements whereby, with the exception of cases where pork fat itself is the product, food products containing pork fat would be exempt from country of origin labeling for the pork fat ingredient. It would also seek to amend Article 23 of the School Health Act to prohibit the use of meat containing ractopamine, or processed meat products containing meat that has traces of ractopamine, in school meals, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Yachting focus of weekend events at Keelung Port
Yachting focus of weekend events at Keelung PortMARINE RECREATION: Events for new yachting license holders and those interested in obtaining one, two-day tours, and a large gathering are slatedBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Maritime and Port Bureau yesterday said that it is to host several yachting-related events in Keelung’s Badouzi Port (八斗子) the weekend next week in accordance with the Executive Yuan’s “Salute to the Sea” policy. This would be the seventh year the bureau has hosted events to promote yachting as a recreational activity, it said. Officials of the Maritime and Port Bureau yesterday greet the audience at an event to promote a series of yachting events in Keelung this weekend. One of the events is to feature 200 new yachting license holders, the bureau said, adding that the bureau hopes to attract more people to the sport. This weekend would see a number of yachting events, bureau section chief Chan Chiang-chuan (詹家銓) said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
LGBT groups defend marriage-equality book
LGBT groups defend marriage-equality bookAGAINST DISCRIMINATION: “King & King,” gifted by the Ministry of Education to first graders, would help children understand unfamiliar matters, the book’s translator saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterSeveral LGBT rights, gender equality and parents’ groups yesterday held a press conference in support of the Ministry of Education’s selection of a book for elementary-school readers about two princes falling in love with each other. However, the selection of the book has been protested by some groups over its LGBT content. Members of LGBT rights, gender equality and parents’ groups yesterday hold placards in support of the book King & King in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Claims that the book is “not age-appropriate” make not “one bit of sense,” Kaohsiung Holistic Education Parents’ Association President Yen Jen-yi (顏任儀) said. 11 in 2018, and others called on the ministry to withdraw the book to comply with the results of the referendum.
Source:Taipei Times
September 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Nation to ensure quality of imported pork, beef
Nation to ensure quality of imported pork, beefREMOVING BARRIERS: The government would establish mechanisms to trace the source of pork and beef, and set up a NT$10 billion fund to support local hog farmersBy Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNAThe government would adhere to scientific evidence and international standards to ensure the quality of US pork containing ractopamine and US beef entering Taiwan, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. The public’s preference for local pork would make it competitive against US pork, despite the latter being cheaper, Su told reporters, citing data showing that Taiwanese consume more local pork than imported pork. The local pork market has a self-sufficiency rate of more than 90 percent, the data showed. An employee at a supermarket in Kaohsiung yesterday holds signs reassuring customers that all pork products sold at the store contain only Taiwanese pork. The government would place the health of Taiwanese foremost, Su said, adding that it would implement measures such as source-tracing and clear labeling of pork and beef products.
Source:Taipei Times
September 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
UMC soars as US eyes SMIC ban
UMC soars as US eyes SMIC banUS-CHINA TENSIONS: Novatek is another likely beneficiary, as a US ban would make it difficult for the Chinese firm to tap into the driver IC marketBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterUnited Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday saw its share price soar to close at a two-week high on reports that Washington is looking to ban Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) amid an escalating US-China trade dispute. US firms would require a license before shipping to SMIC if US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed export restrictions on the Chinese chipmaker. Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei TimesTurnover of UMC shares hit 97.93 million yesterday, the biggest since Monday last week. SMIC shares tumbled 22.88 percent to end at H$18.24 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. UMC, Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) and GlobalFoundries Inc are likely to receive orders transferred from SMIC if the Trump administration further tightened its grip on SMIC and other Chinese semiconductor companies, Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧) said in a research note.
Source:Taipei Times
September 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Idea that museum’s treasures belong to KMT derided
Idea that museum’s treasures belong to KMT deridedBy Chen Yu-fu and Lin Liang-sheng / Staff reportersA suggestion by a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member that the National Palace Museum’s holdings belong to the party, and therefore its ticket revenues should go to the party, has stirred up a hornets’ nest and triggered criticism from government officials and others. She called on party headquarters to demand their return and for the museum’s ticket money to be turned over to the party as well. A visitor looks at the famed Jadeite Cabbage With Insects at the National Palace Museum in Taipei on Aug. 15, 2016. “National treasures are not the same as treasures of a political party,” it said. “Of course the treasures of the National Palace Museum belong to Republic of China,” Chu said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Professor explains cause of Turtle Island’s milky sea
Professor explains cause of Turtle Island’s milky seaBy Chang Yi-chen and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerAn oceanographer has explained the reason for the formation of the “Milk Sea” (牛奶海) — an ocean area off the coast of Yilan County that has become a tourist hotspot because of its milk-colored water. The Milk Sea surrounding Turtle Island (Gueishan Island) in Yilan County is pictured on Sunday. “Soaking in the [Milk Sea] for a prolonged period could have an effect similar to a chemical peel,” she added. Although “sourer,” the Milk Sea has coral, because hot spring water is mixed with seawater as it gradually rises, she said, adding that water below the white-colored surface is actually no different from regular seawater. Rock falls, landslides, as well as changing tides, currents and hydrothermal vents are factors contributing to the changing boundaries of the Milk Sea as observed every year, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Airlines offering a moon feast for Mid-Autumn Festival
Virus Outbreak: Airlines offering a moon feast for Mid-Autumn FestivalBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterEVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) and StarLux Airlines Co (星宇航空) yesterday both launched “flight to nowhere” programs for next month’s Mid-Autumn Festival, hoping to offer passengers a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of the moon from a plane. The latest offering follows their programs last month for Father’s Day and Lovers’ Day (also known as the Qixi Festival), in which tickets sold out quickly. EVA said it would offer one evening flight per day during the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend from Oct. 1 to Oct. 4. The company plans to deploy the plane for four “flight to nowhere” services during the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend from Oct. 1 to Oct. 4. Meanwhile, StarLux Airlines Co (星宇航空) plans to offer six “fly to the moon” flights on Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, using its A321neo planes.
Source:Taipei Times
September 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT congress backs ‘1992 consensus’
KMT congress backs ‘1992 consensus’NATIONAL CONGRESS: Its report on party reform included a suggestion that one in every five KMT nominees for legislator-at-large seats should be younger than 40By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Republic of China (ROC) Constitution is the “rock” for stable cross-strait relations, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) reform committee report presented at the party’s national congress yesterday said, adding that the “1992 consensus” should be applied to maintain cross-strait relations. The KMT yesterday held its national congress at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesKMT Deputy Secretary-General Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) delivered the committee report. Another was to limit the term of KMT Central Standing Committee members to one consecutive term, with a maximum term of eight years. The committee report also proposed that no fewer than 15 percent of KMT Central Committee members be under the age of 40.
Source:Taipei Times
September 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT seeks referendum on US pork
KMT seeks referendum on US porkAUTHORIZATION: The president has evaded legislative oversight by allowing US pork imports, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang said, urging people to ‘take back the power’By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that it would start collecting signatures to initiate a referendum against the government’s decision to allow imports of US pork containing ractopamine. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang, front row center, is joined by party members in Taipei yesterday as he announces a referendum drive against the government’s decision to allow the import of US pork containing ractopamine. The proposed referendum question would read: “Do you agree to a total ban on the importation of pork and related products containing leanness enhancing additives (ractopamine and other beta agonists)?” the KMT said. It is that US pork containing leanness enhancing additives harms bodily health,” she added. To hold a national referendum, a number equal to 1.5 percent of voters in the most recent presidential election must sign a petition supporting the referendum proposal.
Source:Taipei Times
September 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Local financial firms cut China lending
Local financial firms cut China lendingRISK REDUCTION: Although China remains the second-largest market to which local financial holding firms are exposed, last quarter exposure to the country fell 2.3 percentBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe nation’s 16 financial holding companies last quarter cut their combined lending to China to NT$671.34 billion (US$22.73 billion) from NT$698.26 billion in the first quarter, down 9.2 percent from NT$739.71 billion a year earlier, data released on Saturday by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed. The financial holding companies’ combined foreign lending last quarter fell to NT$3.54 trillion, compared with NT$3.56 trillion in the first quarter and NT$3.58 trillion a year earlier, the data showed. Many financial holding companies last quarter shifted their China lending business to focus mainly on syndicated loans to diversify risks, it added. Compared with the second quarter of last year, Taiwanese financial firms’ lending to China had fallen by NT$68.4 billion as of the end of June, the data showed. The financial holding companies’ combined foreign exposure — including foreign investment, and corporate and interbank lending — totaled NT$20.42 trillion in the second quarter, the data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
September 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Pig farmers urge strict enforcement of import rules
Pig farmers urge strict enforcement of import rulesStaff writer, with CNAPig farmers on Saturday called for strict implementation of rules on the amount of ractopamine residue allowed in imported US pork products, as well as inspection and labeling. Tseng Sheng-cheng (曾勝誠), who represents pig farmers in Tainan, said the government could introduce third-party inspections and make them at least as frequent as those applied to domestically produced pork. Wang Chung-li (王忠禮), who represents Kaohsiung pig farmers, said that he hoped the government could adopt even stricter limits on pork organs containing the leanness-enhancing drug, adding that pig farmers’ associations nationwide would hold a meeting on Wednesday next week to come up with more suggestions for the government. The commission’s guideline for pig kidneys is 90ppb of ractopamine. At present, Taiwan only allows imports of US pork and pork products if they are free of any trace of ractopamine.
Source:Taipei Times
September 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Freedom of the press dead in Hong Kong: advocates
Freedom of the press dead in Hong Kong: advocatesBy Chung Li-hua and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerHong Kong’s publishing world and the fate of its democracy advocates were the focus of a Taipei forum on freedom of the press on Friday, where some of the speakers, who included exiled Chinese and Hong Kongers, said that freedom of the press was dead in the territory. Lam Wing-kei, former co-owner of Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong, speaks at a forum in Taipei on Friday. Gui in February was sentenced to 10 years in jail for “illegally providing intelligence overseas.”Chinese poet and editor-in-exile Bei Ling (貝嶺) told the forum that freedom of the press no longer exists in Hong Kong. The Chinese government has blocked sea channels between Hong Kong and Taiwan to prevent people from secretly fleeing to seek asylum, he said. Simon Cheng (鄭文傑), a former employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong who was detained and allegedly tortured in Shenzhen last year, has said that he saw more than 10 Hong Kongers under detention at the same place he was held, and so he is an important eyewitness to how China treats some Hong Kongers, Lam said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 06, 2020 15:56 UTC