Coming out at work still a concern for LGBT+ people: poll
While there are legal protections against discriminatory practices in the workplace in Taiwan, their enforcement could be improved, she said. Work is an important part of people’s lives, with some people spending more time with their colleagues than their family members, she said. A majority of people who participated in the survey (84.3 percent) work full-time and more than half (58.7 percent) were aged 26 to 35. Among the respondents, 74.5 percent identified as homosexual and 22.4 percent identified as bisexual, the groups said. They said that 42.4 percent of respondents identified as cisgender male, 48.6 percent identified as cisgender female and 7.7 percent identified as transgender men or women.
Source:Taipei Times
May 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: University team invents mask-identifying system
A team from National Chiao Tung University that developed the system on Monday said that preliminary tests carried out at campus cafeteria and classrooms showed 95 percent accuracy. The team was led by Cheng Wen-huang (鄭文皇) and Shuai Hong-han (帥宏翰), a professor and assistant professor in the electrical engineering department. Cheng Wen-huang, center, a National Chiao Tung University professor, and assistant professor Shuai Hong-han, right, take part in a news conference in Hsinchu County on Monday on their facial detection system. In such circumstances, individuals would have to stand in front of a camera for a system to be able to recognize them, Shuai said. Meanwhile, National Cheng Kung University Hospital on Monday unveiled a lightweight protective tent designed to prevent the risk of infection when medical personnel are treating a COVID-19 patient.
Source:Taipei Times
May 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: ‘Stimulus coupons’ to be in paper, digital forms
Virus Outbreak: ‘Stimulus coupons’ to be in paper, digital formsBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterThe government’s planned “stimulus coupons” would come in paper form as well as the originally proposed electronic version, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said yesterday. The ministry in March proposed to issue coupons in a bid to boost consumer spending amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “This means that the coupons would be distributed in paper and digital forms,” he said, adding that the coupons would also come in the form of discounts offered through mobile payment methods. Wu also proposed setting an early expiration date on the coupons in a bid to maximize their effect on the economy. Wang on Sunday told the state-run Central News Agency that the coupons should be distributed based on levels of income.
Source:Taipei Times
May 05, 2020 15:56 UTC
Allocating blame for Kaohsiung explosions
Allocating blame for Kaohsiung explosionsBy Chang Yen-ming 張炎銘In an admirable opinion piece in the Taipei Times, Aletheia University associate law professor Wu Ching-chin (吳景欽) addressed the ruling in the 2014 Kaohsiung gas explosion case by the court of second instance from the perspective of the ability of juristic persons to have criminal responsibility (“Culpability for 2014 gas explosions,” May 2, page 8). The responsibility of the top management can therefore be determined by whether their subordinates have reported maintenance needs. In the Kaohsiung gas explosion case, front-line workers and managers were responsible for maintaining the pipelines. There are detailed general maintenance manuals stipulating when operations should be halted due to low pressure and how often parts should be replaced. This raises a question: The pipeline that exploded in Kaohsiung had been in operation for more than 20 years — did the companies ever consider replacing it?
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: CECC reports two more COVID-19 cases
Photo: CNAA fourth test taken on Saturday came back positive yesterday, he said. He added that she has not developed any COVID-19 symptoms, but is being isolated in the hospital. Thirty-one people aboard the Panshih tested positive between April 18 and 25, and another four tested positive in a second testing on Sunday. Three crew members, who had earlier tested positive, were among those tested yesterday. The 344 Panshih crew members who tested negative left the quarantine facilities last night, but would continue to perform self-health management at home for seven days, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taipei mayor points to Cashbox misconduct in fire
Taipei mayor points to Cashbox misconduct in fireBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporter, with CNATaipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that a fire at a Cashbox Partyworld KTV on Taipei’s Linsen N Road on April 26 that resulted in six deaths was mainly due to the company’s misconduct. Ko again apologized for not fully protecting residents through the city’s fire safety inspections, before he and city officials gave a special report on the incident at the Taipei City Council yesterday morning. Taipei Fire Department Commissioner Wu Jun-hung, left, demonstrates how to wear a smoke protection mask next to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je during a report on the April 26 Cashbox Partyworld KTV fire at the Taipei City Council yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesFirst, it turned off the five major fire safety features: indoor fire hydrants, alarm systems, sprinklers, emergency broadcasting systems and smoke exhaust systems, he said. After the incident, the city conducted unscheduled fire safety inspections at many enclosed recreational facilities, and ordered those that failed to suspend operations, Ko said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Government to pay NT$10,000 to uninsured workers
Premier Su Tseng-chang speaks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesUnder a previous version of the program, those with a household income of less than 1.5 times the average minimum living cost in their city or county were eligible for a one-time payment of NT$30,000. About 150,000 fishers who have labor insurance and have a monthly salary of less than NT$24,000 and an annual income of less than NT$400,000 are eligible for a one-time payment of NT$30,000, Chen said. However, none of Taiwan’s more than 1 million farmers qualify for that payment, he added. Farmers and about 200,000 fishers who have farmers’ insurance or no insurance may apply for the NT$10,000 payment instead, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
FSC warns banks on charging high processing fees
FSC warns banks on charging high processing feesRELIEF LOANS: Some banks are trying to get around the interest rate cap for loans to help firms affected by the pandemic by hiking other fees, a DPP legislator saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) would investigate banks that charge “unreasonably high handling fees” when approving loans to companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, FSC Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday. “We will ask why the bank charged very high fees. Taipei Fubon’s high handling fee is a higher interest rate in disguise, she added. Taipei Fubon said in a statement later yesterday that it had clearly informed the borrower, one of its regular clients, about how it would charge handling fees and that the firm fully understood the terms. “The handling fee of NT$80,000 is too high, given an average handling fee of NT$5,000 for mortgages at most banks,” a bank executive told the Taipei Times on condition of anonymity.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
New details revealed in activist’s death
The Taiwan Garrison Command, a secret police body, had reportedly questioned him for more than 12 hours the day before. From left, Transitional Justice Commission member Yeh Hung-ling, commission Acting Chairwoman Yang Tsui and defense attorney Greg Yo attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday. It added that the government had obstructed Chen’s family in their search for the truth. Citing friends of Chen, Yo said that someone attempted to push Chen out of the bus in front of the vehicle. At the time of Chen’s death, police had said that he was taken for questioning from 9pm to 9:30pm on the evening before his death and then driven home, Yo said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Lawmakers call for tougher laws
Lawmakers call for tougher lawsINADEQUATE FINES: DPP Legislator Low Mei-ling said that fines are ‘very, very low,’ and some businesses can earn back the amount they paid in fines in ‘one night’By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterSeveral lawmakers yesterday called for tougher fire safety regulations after deadly blazes in Taipei and Kaohsiung raised concerns about fire safety. Lawmakers attending a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee questioned public officials over fire safety standards, with many calling for a review of regulations. From January to March, about 6,600 fires were reported nationwide, killing 48 people, Low said, citing National Fire Agency statistics. “I feel like every time we [wait until] something happens to review” the situation, DPP Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) said. Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), who attended the meeting to answer lawmakers’ questions, urged businesses not to use fire safety equipment past their expiration dates.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Taiwan produces high-quality medical gear to help world fight virus: ministry
Virus Outbreak: Taiwan produces high-quality medical gear to help world fight virus: ministryBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTaiwan is manufacturing certified and high-quality products to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, adding that many of the products have also secured certification in other countries. “The nation provides certified and effective disease-prevention products to the world. The bureau announced the launch of a virtual healthcare pavilion on the Taiwan External Trade Development Council’s (TAITRA) Web site (http://anti-epidemic.taiwantrade.com). Taiwan can export disease-prevention products, because the products and the facilities they are manufactured in meet health certification standards at home and in destination countries, Chen said. “As the world combats the spread of COVID-19, we want to contribute to the world by engaging in free trade.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2020 15:56 UTC
Famed cardiologist loses five family members in blaze
Famed cardiologist loses five family members in blazeBy Chen Wen-chan and Fang Wen-hsien / Staff reportersFamed cardiologist Lai Wen-de (賴文德), the former director of Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital, and his wife survived a fire yesterday in their five-story home in Kaohsiung, but their daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren died in the blaze. Firefighters heard Lai and his wife crying for help from the third floor and were able to rescue them, it said. A Kaohsiung firefighter in a cherrypicker basket tries to reach an upper story of the residence of cardiologist Lai Wen-de and his family yesterday morning. Lai Wei-an was a doctor at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, while her husband was a physician in Jiann Ren Hospital’s family medicine department. Lai Wen-de, had served as Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu’s (陳菊) attending physician after she suffered a mild stroke in 2007 while she was Kaohsiung mayor.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Masks greatly limit spread: CECC
Virus Outbreak: Masks greatly limit spread: CECCPLAYING THE ODDS: A CECC official said that if healthy and infected people are wearing masks, their risk of viral transmission is reduced to about 1 to 2 percentBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterWearing masks greatly reduces the risk of spreading COVID-19, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said. “Many people have asked why several confirmed cases in Taiwan did not spread the virus to other people,” Chang said, pointing to an illustration depicting a healthy person and an infected person interacting in possible scenarios. Taiwan reported zero cases for six consecutive days ending on Friday, with three cases reported on Saturday. The numbers of daily confirmed cases indicate a similar trend, showing that the peak of reported cases was in mid-March, he said. Doctors’ clinical diagnoses of the first 100 confirmed cases show that the two most common symptoms were fever and coughing, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Overseas companies keen to bid for airport project
Overseas companies keen to bid for airport projectBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterTwo construction firms from Indonesia and Malaysia have expressed an interest in building Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said yesterday. It would be the fourth time that the airport operator has put the project up for tender. The arrival hall at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 1 is pictured on April 15. Because of the scale of the project, construction firms would have to work with other contractors, the company said, adding that it is possible that a domestic construction firm might work with an overseas contractor. The firm revised the project for a second time by raising the total budget to about NT$95 billion.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2020 15:56 UTC
Railway Officer’s Murder: Groups back doctor in stabbing case
Railway Police Bureau officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰) was stabbed to death by a man surnamed Cheng (鄭) on July 3 last year. The front entrance of the Chiayi District Court in Chiayi County is pictured on Oct. 11 last year. Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Taipei TimesThe Chiayi District Court on April 30 found Cheng not guilty in the case’s first ruling, as he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It ruled that he could be released on NT$500,000 bail and was ordered go undergo mental health treatment for five years. The judiciary made the utmost effort to consider evidence from both sides equally and to seek the truth, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2020 15:56 UTC