Virus Outbreak: Cabinet shares stimulus coupon details
Aimed at boosting domestic spending, the coupons worth NT$3,000 (US$100.04) are to cost NT$1,000. Premier Su Tseng-chang, left, and Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang point out elements of the Cabinet’s stimulus coupon program at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Premier Su Tseng-chang introduces the Cabinet’s stimulus coupon program at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. At NT$1,000 per unit, the coupons are to contain four coupons worth NT$500 each and five coupons worth NT$200 each. For businesses and shops that would accept the coupons, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said that those equipped with government Uniform Invoice numbers could cash in the coupons at post offices and banks nationwide.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2020 16:00 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Immigration agency lists visa extension conditions
Virus Outbreak: Immigration agency lists visa extension conditionsBy Huang Hsin-po and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe National Immigration Agency yesterday announced conditions that foreign nationals in Taiwan must meet to apply for a special visa extension after reaching the maximum stay of 180 days on various visas. As part of tightened border controls to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 21 granted an automatic 30-day visa extension for foreigners who entered Taiwan on or before that date with a visa waiver, visitor’s visa or landing visa. The logo of the National Immigration Agency is pictured in an undated photograph. Foreign nationals in situations where it is necessary for them to stay could qualify after a review by authorities, it added. Foreign nationals who wish to apply should prepare the relevant paperwork and file their application at the agency’s service stations nationwide, the agency said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 02, 2020 16:00 UTC
Taiwan, Japan, US seek to step up cooperation
Taiwan, Japan, US seek to step up cooperationBy Lu Yi-hsuan / Staff reporterTaiwan, the US and Japan yesterday issued a joint statement announcing that they would seek greater cooperation under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) as they marked its fifth anniversary. Izumi said that Japan, Taiwan and the US share the values of freedom, democracy and human rights. Japan joined the GCTF as a partner last year. Taiwan has received international praise for its fight against the novel coronavirus and made a greater contribution to international society, he said. Japan would not, and cannot, leave Taiwan, he said, adding that Japan and Taiwan must act together.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Professor calls for Taiwan to start antibody testing
Virus Outbreak: Professor calls for Taiwan to start antibody testingBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTony Chen (陳秀熙), a professor and vice dean of National Taiwan University’s (NTU) College of Public Health, yesterday said that Taiwan should start conducting antibody testing to discover the prevalence of COVID-19 in the nation. A scientist conducts antibody testing at a laboratory in Taiwan in an undated photograph. Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei TimesCountries with the lowest index scores include Iceland at 0.01, New Zealand at 0.03 and Taiwan at 0.06, Chen said. Changhua County Public Health Bureau Director Yeh Yen-po (葉彥伯) said that the county plans to cooperate with the NTU College of Public Health and conduct antibody testing on confirmed cases, their close contacts, healthcare practitioners and people who are at higher risk of contracting the virus. The NHRI said that it has transferred the test technology to five domestic manufacturers, which would develop the test so that they can mass produce it.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Special meeting reinstates former D-Link chairman
Special meeting reinstates former D-Link chairmanBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterFormer D-Link Corp (友訊科技) chairman John Lee (李中旺) is to resume his post at the company, replacing Lori Hu (胡雪), after a special shareholders’ meeting in Taipei yesterday voted to reinstate him. New D-Link chairman John Lee, second left, and independent directors Chung Shyang-fong and Fong Chung-peng, fourth and fifth left, talk with former chairman Lori Hu’s son, Howard Kao, third left, at the company’s headquarters in Taipei yesterday. The developments followed reports of a management crisis at D-Link, with company executives and board members forming two opposing camps. Lee was last month dismissed from his chairman position at Alpha Networks and his vice chairman position at D-Link. Taiwan Steel has obtained a power of attorney by shareholders in its bid for control of D-Link with the support of Lee and other company executives.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ex-teacher hopes to save language with new book
Ex-teacher hopes to save language with new bookBy Lo Hsin-chen / Staff reporterA retired teacher in Pingtung County has published teaching material for the Rukai Aboriginal language, hoping to save her community’s language, which is spoken by only about 500 people. Tu Fu-chu (杜富菊), a former elementary-school teacher based in Wutai Township’s (霧台) Dawu Community (大武部落), said the book is aimed at preschoolers, regular students and adult beginners. Seeing the language spoken by ever fewer people as many community elders pass away, Tu on Saturday said that she hoped to preserve the language by turning her decade-long research on the language into teaching material. The book is a rich compilation of language and cultural knowledge, Aboriginal Language Research and Development Foundation executive director Lowking Nowbucyang said. Tu Fu-chu also expressed the hope that her book would encourage more community members to create similar language teaching materials.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwanese do not consume enough dairy, HPA says
Taiwanese do not consume enough dairy, HPA saysBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterMore than 80 percent of Taiwanese consume less than half of the recommended daily intake of dairy products, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. To mark World Milk Day yesterday, the HPA and the Council of Agriculture invited baseball star Lin Chih-sheng (林智勝) to promote the health benefits of milk and dairy products, and together they demonstrated how to make a nut and papaya milk smoothie. HPA Director-General Wang Ying-wei (王英偉) said that milk is one of the best sources of calcium, as it also contains many other nutrients, and the administration recommends that people drink a cup (240ml) of milk every morning and evening, or consume other dairy products to ensure they consume enough calcium. Citing a national HPA health and nutrition survey from 2013 to 2016, HPA Community Health Division head Lo Su-ying (羅素英) said that more than 80 percent of Taiwanese consume less than one serving of dairy foods per day, while the recommended daily intake is at least two servings. Lo said that people who are lactose sensitive can choose dairy products low in lactose, such as yogurt or cheese, and vegans or people who are lactose intolerant should consume more nuts, leafy green vegetables or tofu.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT makes last push for cash handouts
KMT makes last push for cash handoutsBy Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNAThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday made a last-ditch effort to persuade the Executive Yuan to distribute NT$6,000 in cash per person instead of stimulus coupons as part of a government plan to revive the virus-hit economy. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Wei-chou, second left, holds a news conference with other KMT lawmakers at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. If the Executive Yuan accepts the proposal, the KMT would fully support relevant budget plans in the legislature, he added. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who was then the DPP chairperson, opposed the policy, saying that cash was better, Lin Yi-hua said. The government should be open-minded and listen more to the public, who want cash, Yang added.
Source:Taipei Times
June 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Yellow Line saves a gloomy day
Opened on Jan. 31, the Taipei MRT’s Circular Line, or Yellow Line, made life in the nation’s capital even more convenient. The Jingmei White Terror Memorial Park was once a detention center for political prisoners during the Martial Law era. The area leading up to Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park, with its MRT depot, car repair shops and recycling centers, is quite desolate. However, while these places are among the top attractions of their cities, the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park doesn’t see many visitors even when there isn’t a pandemic. >> Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park is located at 131 Fusing Rd, Sindian District, New Taipei City (新北市新店區復興路131號).
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2020 16:07 UTC
Anger, rage over police killings shatters the US
Anger, rage over police killings shatters the USAP, MINNEAPOLIS, MinnesotaAmericans awoke yesterday to charred and glass-strewn streets in dozens of cities after another night of unrest fueled by rage over the mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of police, who responded to the violence with tear gas and rubber bullets. Police knock back protesters as they detain one at a rally on Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday last week. Los Angeles Police Department Commander Cory Palka stands among several destroyed police cars during a protest on Saturday over the death of George Floyd. People take part in a protest in London’s Trafalgar Square yesterday over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday last week. Photo: ReutersFormer US vice president Joe Biden condemned the violence as he continued to express common cause with those demonstrating.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2020 16:00 UTC
Leaks, zero parking for tour buses haunt teddy bear museum
Leaks, zero parking for tour buses haunt teddy bear museumBy Huang Mei-chu / Staff reporterThe One Bear Museum in Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), a teddy bear museum once touted by the county government as a “luminous pearl” along Provincial Highway No. The museum’s building, which was provided by the county government, has a serious water leakage problem and lacks a parking lot for buses to bring in tour groups, Hsinchu County Councilor Lo Shih-shi (羅仕琦) said on Saturday. The entrance to One Bear Museum in Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township is pictured on Saturday. It is said to be the largest teddy bear museum in Asia, he added. The reasons for low visitor numbers include water leakage, facility malfunction and nearby parking lots always being occupied, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Some chains to begin selling masks
Convenience store chain operator Hi-Life International Co Ltd (萊爾富) said that it would also start selling masks from tomorrow. Hypermarket chain operator Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福) said that it would start selling packs of five and seven masks from today, with customers limited to one pack each. Since then, daily production capacity has been increased from 1.88 million masks to about 20 million. From today, the government is to requisition 8 million masks per day, while lifting sale and export restrictions on the remaining 60 percent of capacity. If people struggle to buy masks on the open market, they would still be able to purchase nine adult masks or 10 children’s masks every two weeks using their NHI cards.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Association unveils first domestic Liu Dui lexicon
Association unveils first domestic Liu Dui lexiconA DECADE’S WORK: The two-volume, 1,400-page lexicon has collected more than 20,000 words and phrases, and is expected to help people learning the Liu Dui dialectBy Lo Hsin-chen and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Liu Dui Culture Research Association on Saturday unveiled the nation’s first domestically compiled lexicon of Hakka-language words in the Liu Dui dialect, an effort that took a decade of work and cost about NT$7 million (US$233,085 at the current exchange rate). The two-volume, 1,400-page lexicon collected more than 20,000 phrases and words, and is estimated to be of great value in helping people learn the Liu Dui dialect and culture, the association said. Five sets of Taiwan’s first domestically compiled lexicon on Hakka-language words in the Liu Dui dialect are displayed in Pingtung County on Saturday. This is evidence of the richness of the Liu Dui subdialect and one of the unique characteristics of the Sisian dialect, Tseng said. The sets are priced at NT$2,000 each and come with a CD to help the learning process, the association said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Tsai’s, Su’s ratings fall, poll shows
The poll showed that 68 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Tsai’s performance, down 8.9 percentage points from last month, while 21 percent said they disapproved of her performance. Her approval among respondents aged 20 to 29 fell 14.7 percentage points, the largest decrease when compared with other age groups. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesSu’s approval rating slid 7.9 percentage points to 65 percent, and 25 percent said they were dissatisfied with his performance. Similarly, his approval rate fell the most among respondents aged 20 to 29, dropping 22 percentage points, the poll showed. It collected 811 valid samples, and has a margin of error of 3.44 percentage points.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ex-NIA director leaves KMT for position at TPP
Ex-NIA director leaves KMT for position at TPPBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterFormer National Immigration Agency (NIA) director-general Hsieh Li-kung (謝立功) yesterday announced that he is to leave the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to join the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) as secretary-general. In a statement on Facebook, Hsieh said he has accepted an invitation from TPP Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to serve in the position. In the statement, Hsieh, who represented the KMT in the 2014 and 2018 Keelung mayoral elections, thanked the KMT for nurturing him. He said that he had hesitated to join the TPP, “but for the normal development of Taiwan’s democracy, I have no choice. Tsai Chih-ying (蔡智潁), head of the KMT’s Keelung chapter, said that although he regrets Hsieh’s departure to join the TPP, he respects the decision.
Source:Taipei Times
May 31, 2020 15:56 UTC