Virus Outbreak: Virus casts haze over outlook: Lite-On
Although Lite-On has good order visibility for the third quarter, Chen expressed doubts about its future performance. “Nevertheless, the second half would be better than the first half, as we would have more working days,” he said. However, Lite-On saw sales plummet again by 7.3 percent year-on-year last month, as demand from the US shrank. Lite-On has resumed operations at its plants in Mexico and Brazil, while its Indian plant remains partially closed, Chen said. The company’s shareholders yesterday approved a cash dividend distribution plan of NT$3.2 per common share, representing a payout ratio of 79 percent based on earnings per share of NT$4.03 last year.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Kenting counting on summer crowd to boost business
Kenting counting on summer crowd to boost businessBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter, in Pingtung CountyRestaurants, shops and hotels in Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁) have seen tourists returning and are looking at stronger business prospects as the summer vacation draws nearer. People check out street vendors on Kenting Main Street in Pingtung County on May 23. Business is likely to gain more traction next month, when schools close for the summer vacation — a high season for Kenting, Ho said. A 32-year-old proprietor of a shop selling beach clothing and sandals on Kenting Street said the area has almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels on weekends — judging by the size of the crowds. However, business has yet to pick up for transportation service providers, which rely more on international tourists.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Tsai lauds police, praises drug bust
Tsai lauds police, praises drug bustBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday commended law enforcement personnel for the seizure of 3.5 tonnes of material used in the production of “narcotic coffee powder,” as she promised to improve benefits received by police officers and upgrade their equipment. A raid on the warehouse in Changhua County turned up more mephedrone, as well as paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA) and packages of finished narcotic coffee powder, they said. The use of mephedrone has been increasing over the past few years, making up about 72 percent of the content of narcotic coffee powder, Chen said, citing results of lab analysis. “Police officers are the main pillars of our society and citizens, and police have the full support of our government,” Tsai said. The president also presented awards to 28 officers chosen as this year’s national model officers.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Forecast draws criticism
Forecast draws criticismBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterFormer Central Weather Bureau (CWB) forecast center director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) yesterday criticized CWB acting director-general Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典), saying that Cheng inaccurately predicted that the nation would see an early end to the plum rain season and that Cheng’s comments compromised the bureau’s credibility. In his online column yesterday, Wu said that Cheng’s prediction of a second plum rain season contradicted his assertion of an early end to the season. The water level has risen this month due to the plum rain. “The report offers a rather accurate long-term weather forecast, but I am afraid its credibility has been greatly weakened by the acting director-general’s remarks on Facebook,” Wu said. The fourth front of the plum rain season, a stationary front, is expected to move close to Taiwan on Sunday along with a southeasterly airstream, based on simulations conducted by meteorologists in the EU and the US, Wu said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: ‘Passports’ for foreign students urged
“If the more than 60,000 foreign students are all allowed to return to Taiwan, an estimated 222 cases of COVID-19 could be brought in,” he said. Taipei Department of Education Commissioner Tseng Tsan-chin speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. However, students from countries with lower COVID-19 risk should still undergo 14-day home quarantine or be tested if they show symptoms upon arrival, he said. Risk evaluations and an immunity passport mechanism based on testing results could significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, he said. Meanwhile, 643 drinking fountains around the city, including 135 in Mass Rapid Transit stations, were restored to service yesterday, the Taipei Water Department said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
DIPLOMACY: DPP lawmakers worry Tsai’s ‘Taiwan’ agenda unheeded
The notification gave a format protocol for name cards that included symbols of the Republic of China (ROC), such as the plum blossom emblem and the ROC flag. The logo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pictured at the ministry in Taipei in an undated photograph. The notification stated that the standardized formats and designs applied to ministry officials as well as officials from other agencies, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Education, who also have personnel stationed overseas, the sources said. As the notification did not offer symbols or wording using “Taiwan,” some officials stationed overseas concluded that MOFA was sending a message to those who have been using name cards using the nation’s name, the sources said. DPP legislators said that MOFA should not regress back to the old ways, which would run counter to wishes of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to enhance Taiwan’s visibility on the world stage.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Pork industry awaiting OIE decision
Removal from the OIE’s list means that Taiwan would be able to export fresh pork products once again. Taiwan had been free of foot-and-mouth disease for more than 68 years before an outbreak of the disease in March 1997, forcing the culling of millions of pigs and crippling the nation’s pork industry. A sentinel animal is one that is deliberately placed in an environment to detect the presence of an infectious agent. In comparison, the sentinel pigs in 2009 were only isolated for four hours, and were tested only once, Huang said. Finally, he maintained good communication with pig farmers to ensure that they cooperated with the council’s measures, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Poya reports 11.77% increase in revenue
In the first five months of the year, cumulative revenue totaled NT$6.77 billion, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier, Poya said. People walk past a Poya cosmetics store on Xinyi Road in Taipei on April 16. On Saturday, the company launched its 235th Poya cosmetics store in Taipei’s East District area. The Zhongxiao-Fuxing store is part of seven new store openings the company has planned for this month, including six Poya cosmetics stores and one Poya Home store in Taichung. “In addition, Poya Home targets the male and family segments, complementing Poya’s targeted female customers, while Poya Home’s gross margin would be higher than Poya cosmetics chain in the long term.”
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Museums offer free admission to visitors under 19
Museums offer free admission to visitors under 19By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Education is offering free admission to science museums nationwide for visitors under the age of 19 from next month to August, to encourage domestic tourism. National Museum of Marine Science and Technology deputy director Chen Yi-hsiung, left, introduces exhibits to visitors at the museum in Keelung on Saturday. Photo: Wang Chu-hsiu, Taipei TimesUnder 19 visitors to the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology would have access to its main exhibits, some special exhibits, the IMAX 3D theater and the nearby Chaojing Ocean Center, it said. Free entrance to the National Taiwan Science Education Center and the National Science and Technology Museum would include access to permanent and some special exhibits, while visitors to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium would have access to all exhibits, it said. The ministry said it expects the program to attract 300,000 visitors and generate NT$100 million (US$3.36 million).
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Temple finally receives address
Temple finally receives addressStaff writer, with CNAA temple built in 1909 in Pingtung County was given its own address on Friday after a year-long campaign, and help from the township office and council, Chaojhou Township (潮州) Office Chief Secretary Wang Chien-yuan (王建元) said. After using the neighbor’s address for more than four decades, the temple sought the office’s help last year, worried that the lack of a formal address might lead to disputes over property rights, Wang said. The front entrance of the Chaolin Temple in Pingtung County’s Chaojhou Township is pictured on Friday. The temple on Friday unveiled its own address plaque with a ceremony that included lion and dragon dances. At the ceremony, Chaojhou Mayor Chou Pin-chuan (周品全) said that having a registered address would help the temple apply for and proceed with projects to develop its potential as a tourist attraction.
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Exhibition looks at South Korea’s path to democracy
Exhibition looks at South Korea’s path to democracyBy Lee I-chia / Staff Reporter Staff ReporterA photography exhibition on South Korea’s democratization opened yesterday at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei. Chu said the road to democracy in Taiwan and South Korea occurred at about the same time, starting with the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident that led to demonstrations and the lifting of Martial Law in July 1987, and in South Korea with the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. The two nation achieved democracy from the bottom up, with the people’s demonstrations forcing the authoritarian regimes to give in, Chu said. “Without the sacrifice and dedication of previous activists, there would be no democracy, freedom and human rights today,” he said. Quoting South Korean independence activist Sin Chae-ho, Chu said: “A nation that forgets its history does not have a future.”Chu added that Taiwanese should be conscious of history.
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Groups call for action on Hong Kong
“Hong Kongers are facing China’s passage of new national security legislation for Hong Kong, which will target protesters, human right lawyers, social workers and civic groups,” she said. “We ask that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Taiwanese government support us by implementing policies to help Hong Kongers seeking to immigrate to Taiwan,” she said, adding that she thanked her Taiwanese friends for standing up for Hong Kong in this dire situation. Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) urged lawmakers to amend the Enforcement Rules of the Act Governing Relations With Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例施行細則) to provide humanitarian assistance and political asylum for Hong Kongers to settle in Taiwan. “This would minimize the risks involved in transborder movement.”“The amendments would delineate legal parameters and get rid of gray areas regarding people from Hong Kong and Macau entering and exiting Taiwan,” he said. Separately yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council said that the government is finalizing a Hong Kong assistance action plan.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taoyuan leads on education, survey shows
Taoyuan leads on education, survey showsFALLING BEHIND: Huang Kun-huei said that Taiwan’s education system has focused too heavily on testing, and was not evolving with technology and a changing economyBy Rachel Lin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaoyuan leads in public approval of its education policies and its emphasis on education, while Taipei and Kaohsiung came in last respectively, a survey released yesterday by the Professor Huang Kun-Huei Education Foundation showed. Professor Huang Kun-Huei Education Foundation chairman Huang Kun-huei speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The foundation released public approval ratings of education policies in cities and counties nationwide. Regarding approval of a city or county’s education policies and their effectiveness, the survey ranked Taoyuan the highest of the six special municipalities, followed by New Taipei City, Tainan, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taipei. Outside of the special municipalities, Taitung, Pingtung and Hualien counties received the highest ratings, and Miaoli, Hsinchu and Yunlin counties received the lowest, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Groups hold BLM rally in Taipei
Groups hold BLM rally in TaipeiAN OPPORTUNITY: A professor attending the rally with his family said that it was a chance for Taiwanese to reflect on their own prejudicesBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterAfrican Americans in Taiwan yesterday held a rally in Taipei to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and were joined by Aboriginal rights advocates who spoke out about all racist violence. The rally, which started at 2pm in front of the National Taiwan Museum, attracted nearly 300 people, according to police estimates. People stand in front of a sign with the names of victims of police violence during a Black Lives Matter rally in Taipei’s 228 Peace Memorial Park yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesStefanie Davis, of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative, said that it was important to show solidarity with people in the US, where there have been numerous protests and rallies. People hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter rally in Taipei’s 228 Peace Memorial Park yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ketagalan rally vows to recall Tsai, DPP officials
Ketagalan rally vows to recall Tsai, DPP officials‘FULL-ON CLASH’: ‘KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang asked us not to initiate revenge recalls, but that is exactly what we are going to do,’ retired teacher Chou Ming-tai saidBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterAbout 500 protesters demonstrated on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday, vowing to recall President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and lawmakers in the pan-green camp. Democracy Watch Alliance convener Huang Cheng-chung (黃正忠) said that if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) does not take action on the death of KMT Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源), he would quit the party. Demonstrators attending a Democracy Watch Alliance rally along Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday call on President Tsai Ing-wen to step down. Huang said that Hsu died a wrongful death, and that yesterday’s rally sought in part to redress the injustice perpetrated against him. New Power Party Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (黃捷) and Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) are DPP members in all but name, Chou added.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC