Turtle Island visit offer creates waves
The Tourism Bureau agency has invited those who used to live and work on Turtle Island to return for a visit on Aug. 1, including those who attended elementary school on the island, teachers, military personnel, police, doctors and nurses. Turtle Island is visible off the coast of Yilan County yesterday. Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei TimesIt also invited people whose names include the word “turtle” to visit the same day and take a free tour of the island. People are welcome to call her “a turtle island owner,” she wrote. Turtle Island is open to the public from March to November, with the number of visitors capped at 1,800 per day, to protect its ecosystem.
Source:Taipei Times
June 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
CTBC and SinoPac report annual drop in net profit
CTBC and SinoPac report annual drop in net profitBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterCTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) and SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) yesterday reported that net profit for last month fell year-on-year, due to less income from interest and fees. CTBC Financial’s profit declined 4.5 percent to NT$3.35 billion (US$112.37 million), as profit at its banking unit, CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行), plunged 29.6 percent to NT$1.83 billion. There was “less interest income due to the central bank’s rate cut of 25 basis points in March,” CTBC Financial head of financial management Chiu Ya-ling (邱雅玲) told the Taipei Times by telephone. SinoPac Financial’s profit plummeted 9.8 percent annually to NT$963 million, as its banking unit, Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行), saw its profit tumble 21 percent due to higher loan-loss provisions and lower interest income. For the first five months, SinoPac Financial’s profit totaled NT$4.51 billion, down 20 percent from a year earlier, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Johnny Chiang calls on Tsai to restrain DPP
Chiang led attendees at a meeting at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei in a minute of silence for Hsu before the meeting started. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesHan’s recall and Hsu’s death were two hard pills to swallow for KMT members during a time filled with sorrows, worries and anger, Chiang said. However, while Hsu’s death saddened his supporters and people close to him, a DPP councilor ridiculed his death with inappropriate remarks, Chiang said, referring to comments made by DPP Taipei City Councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) on Sunday on Facebook. Describing Hsu’s death as “horrifying,” Liang added: “Were the bets that high?” — an apparent reference to rumors that Hsu had engaged in underground gambling on the results of the recall election. Tsai should launch an investigation into who had made groundless comments through fake accounts, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Travel subsidies to begin next month
Travel subsidies to begin next monthStaff writer, with CNAThe government would offer subsidies to domestic travelers from July 1 as part of a stimulus package to boost the economy as the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak eases, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesIndependent travelers would be offered a subsidy of NT$1,000 per room per night at a hotel, he said. People who travel to outlying counties, as well as Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球), Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), would be able to register for the subsidies for two hotel stays, Lin said. Foreign residents of Taiwan are not eligible for the subsidies, but foreign nationals who have Taiwanese ID cards are, the ministry said in a statement. The promotions would cost an estimated NT$3.9 billion and are expected to stimulate 6.38 million hotel and park visits, and tour bus trips, Lin said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taipei offering the elderly NT$1,000 as stimulus effort
Taipei offering the elderly NT$1,000 as stimulus effortBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taipei City Government is to give elderly residents NT$1,000 (US$33) if they link their Triple Stimulus Vouchers with their Taipei Elderly Card, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said yesterday. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang, right, talks to reporters during a visit to Neihu Flower Market yesterday. Photo: Kuo An-chia, Taipei TimesThe central government is to offer senior citizens who link their elderly card to the voucher program a NT$2,000 return after they spend NT$3,000, but the Taipei City Government would offer another NT$1,000, adding up to NT$3,000 in return, she said. The city government hopes that the more than 400,000 Taipei Elderly Cards would be used in ways that would help stimulate the city’s economy, she said. Huang also encouraged other city residents to use their EasyCards with the voucher program.
Source:Taipei Times
June 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Lin unveils plans for third tourism bailout package
Virus Outbreak: Lin unveils plans for third tourism bailout packageBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe government is preparing to roll out a third bailout package for the travel and hotel industries, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect business, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. The package would be used to help service providers that are expected to experience financial difficulties between next month and September, despite switching their focus to the domestic tourism market, he added. The nation has about 3,100 travel agencies, including 260 that provide domestic tours, Tourism Bureau data showed. “They can use this time to change their business models and enhance the competitiveness of domestic tour services in the international travel market,” he added. “Through government subsidies, we want to encourage large travel agencies that used to mainly serve outbound tourists to start promoting high-end domestic tours,” Lin said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Call for laws barring PRC investment
If the government hopes to reduce the nation’s economic reliance on China it must re-examine the laws, it said. The changing situation in Hong Kong means the government should also no longer differentiate between investment from China and that from Hong Kong, it said. The oversight mechanism for Chinese investment is ineffective, and Chinese investors have used overseas Chinese, Hong Kongers and Taiwanese to hide the sources of their investment, the report said. A more comprehensive investor registration system and stricter penalties for contravening investment regulations are needed to overcome this, it said. That pact was signed on June 21, 2013, but it has never been ratified by the legislature.
Source:Taipei Times
June 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Lawmaker urges sugar labeling on tea beverages
Lawmaker urges sugar labeling on tea beveragesRISK: Many teenagers on average drink one sweetened beverage per day without knowing that it exceeds their daily recommended added sugar intake, Kao Chia-yu saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterBeverages sold at tea shops should be labeled to display their sugar and calorie content, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu, center, calls for compulsory labeling of sugar content on shaken drinks at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesOne 700ml cup of pearl milk tea with a full serving of sugar has a sugar content of 62g, which is equivalent to 248 calories, she said. The lowest consumption rate was among people aged 65 or over, who on average consumed 2.1 servings of sweetened beverages per week, Kao said. Some people have the habit of drinking cold beverages, such as milk tea or smoothies, in summer, but it would be better to drink water or eat fresh fruits, Hsieh said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 08, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ian Easton On Taiwan: In 2030
Ian Easton On Taiwan: In 2030At no other time in the ancient story of international relations has Taiwan mattered as much as it does today and will in the next ten years. Part of the answer will hinge on whether or not the United States and other like-mind countries stand together with Taiwan. Such an event would drive the United States and Taiwan closer together, much like the last three crises did. In 2030, there could be an American embassy in Taipei where the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) currently stands. Ian Easton is senior director at the Project 2049 Institute and author of The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia (中共攻台大解密).
Source:Taipei Times
June 07, 2020 16:04 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Taiwanese return home from Poland
Virus Outbreak: Taiwanese return home from PolandStaff writer, with CNAA total of 116 Taiwanese yesterday morning arrived home from Warsaw on board a charter flight operated by LOT Polish Airlines, after being stranded in the European country for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taiwanese returning home from Warsaw on a charter flight operated by LOT Polish Airlines follow security staff upon their arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei TimesThe airplane landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:24am after a 13-hour flight. It took the parties involved three to four weeks to arrange the charter flight, Lin’s International said. There would be three more such flights to evacuate Taiwanese from Poland in the near term, the company said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
In exam, most students choose to run coffee shop
In exam, most students choose to run coffee shopJUNIOR-HIGH ESSAY: Others were more original, with one student saying that he would open an eatery, as cooking noodles brought him and his grandfather closerBy Rachel Lin / Staff reporterMost junior-high school students would open a coffee shop if they were to run their own business, the writing test in this year’s Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students showed. The subject of this year’s writing test was if they were to open a shop, what kind would it be? Students answer questions at a school in Taipei on May 17, the second day of the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students. A student from New Taipei Municipal Zhong-Zheng Junior High School wrote that he would like to inherit his father’s laser etching store, Lee said. A student at Taipei’s Chinghsin Academy Affiliated Junior High School said that they would like to set up a shop selling memories, Lee said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: TRA resumes food sales on trains as virus curbs relaxed
Virus Outbreak: TRA resumes food sales on trains as virus curbs relaxedBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday prepared 18,000 boxed meals to be sold on trains and railway stations nationwide after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) lifted a ban on eating and drinking on trains as the local COVID-19 outbreak eases. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesPassengers on TRA and THSRC trains still need to have their temperatures measured before entering stations. Wearing masks remains mandatory when social distancing guidelines requiring 1.5m between passengers cannot be observed on trains. The TRA may sell no more than 120 standing tickets for each express train service, while THSRC can again sell tickets for non-reserved seats. Wearing masks is not mandatory inside post offices if social distancing guidelines can be observed, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
June 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Quanta Storage vows to fight HP award
Quanta Storage Inc president Ho Shih-chih addresses a news conference at the Taipei Exchange yesterday. Quanta Storage was the only defendant not to settle out of court with HP. In April, Quanta Storage tried repeatedly to delay HP’s push to collect on the judgement. HP said its economic expert excluded purchases by the foreign units, and the appeals court agreed, upholding the money judgement. HP also said Quanta Storage was using the pandemic as a ploy to dissipate its assets that could be used to satisfy the judgement.
Source:Taipei Times
June 07, 2020 15:56 UTC
Kaohsiung voters recall Han Kuo-yu
Kaohsiung voters recall Han Kuo-yu‘NEW LIFE HAS COME’: A total of 939,090 people voted to remove Han Kuo-yu from office, more than the 892,545 votes he won to become mayor in 2018By Huang Hsin-po, Hung Chen-hung, Hsu Li-chuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerKaohsiung residents in a recall vote yesterday overwhelmingly voted to remove Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) from office. Supporters of a campaign to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu cheer outside the campaign headquarters after the recall vote passed in Kaohsiung yesterday. Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu, front row center, bows at Kaohsiung City Hall after being recalled in a vote yesterday. A supporter of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu reacts outside Kaohsiung City Hall after Han was recalled in a vote yesterday. The four leaders of the campaign to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu talk to reporters at an international news conference in Kaohsiung yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
June 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Chen thanks CECC advisory panel
Chen thanks CECC advisory panelBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterMinister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) yesterday expressed gratitude to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) advisory specialist panel for serving as its “brain” in the fight against the novel coronavirus. Taiwan yesterday reported no new COVID-19 cases and 429 patients have been released from isolation after recovering, said Chen, who heads the CECC. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung drinks a cup of Alishan tea during a visit to Chiayi County yesterday. Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Taipei TimesThe CECC extends its special thanks to the panel, led by Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳), for keeping its policies on the right track, he added. “Unless a competent authority has set its own regulations for better management, the CECC would no longer limit the number of participants or flow of people at certain activities,” Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 06, 2020 15:56 UTC