To sweep or not to sweep
To sweep or not to sweepIn the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are being urged to either conduct this weekend’s tomb sweeping activities earlier in smaller groups or online. Nearly 10,000 descendants attended the Yeh family tomb sweeping ceremony at the ancestral shrine in Taoyuan last year. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) set an example on Tuesday by saying that he had already completed his tomb sweeping rituals. After it was launched in January last year, Taichung City’s tomb sweeping Web site only saw 117 worships over the entire year. “Online tomb-sweeping is well-intentioned and does prevent the pandemic from spreading, but it doesn’t meet traditional customs.
Source:Taipei Times
April 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
CTBC to cut rates to offer respite
The lender also plans to offer higher rate cuts for clients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, CTBC said yesterday. In addition, CTBC would reduce rates on mortgages less than NT$10 million (US$329,946) by 50 basis points and revolving credit rates by 75 basis points, Chiu said. Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) on Tuesday said it would cut rates on loans by 27 basis points and trim its revolving credit rates by a full percentage point. For clients affected by COVID-19, the lender would offer a reduction of 50 basis points on mortgage loans less than NT$10 million and a cut of 75 basis points on personal loans, it said. After the reductions, its minimums of mortgage interest rates and the rates on personal loans would be lowered to 1.06 percent and 1.20 percent respectively, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
April 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Su must apologize: KMT caucus
Su must apologize: KMT caucusSTRENGTH IN UNITY: The Executive Yuan respects KMT legislators’ viewpoints, but has no comment on calls for the premier to step down, spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka saidBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) of treating the Legislative Yuan with disdain and demanded that he apologize or step down for saying that KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) is unfit for her job. Prior to a question-and-answer session at the legislature on Tuesday, Su was asked by reporters to comment on Chen’s remark on Monday that Taiwan is not a country. The KMT caucus said in a statement that Su should apologize to all legislators or resign, as he has treated the legislature and the Constitution with disdain. Su should be condemned for exploiting the issue of the nation’s title, touching a raw nerve as the nation strives to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the caucus added. The national identification cards of Kinmen County residents show their place of birth as “Fujian Province,” said Chen Yu-jen, who represents the county, adding that Su continually talks about “Taiwan” as if Kinmen residents were orphans.
Source:Taipei Times
April 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Guatemala removes duties on bicycles, motorcycles
Guatemala removes duties on bicycles, motorcyclesBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterGuatemala has eliminated duties on Taiwanese exports of bicycles and motorcycles, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said yesterday after a newly amended free-trade agreement between the two nations took effect. Taiwan is Guatemala’s third-largest source of bicycles and 14th-largest source of motorcycles, a bureau official surnamed Chen (陳) told the Taipei Times by telephone, adding that Guatemala previously levied duties of 15 percent and 10 percent on each product respectively. Coffee beans from Guatemala, Taiwan’s biggest source of the product, were already exempt from duties. In the revised agreement, the bureau also lifted duties on roasted chicory and other coffee substitutes. Other Guatemalan imports now also exempt from customs duties include mascarene grass, fruit or nut-bearing trees, shrubs, and bushes, the bureau said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 01, 2020 15:56 UTC
Judicial Yuan orders adultery interpretation
Judicial Yuan orders adultery interpretationBy Chen Wei-tzu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerSenior judges yesterday met to discuss the constitutionality of a law that makes adultery a criminal offense, before being ordered by Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) to set a date for a constitutional interpretation within the next month. The judges met to discuss Article 239 of the Criminal Code on offenses against marriage and family, after 18 judges had called for a constitutional interpretation of the issue. The Council of Grand Justices hears arguments on whether the nation’s law on adultery is unconstitutional in Taipei yesterday. “Decriminalizing adultery does not mean encouraging people to have affairs, but you cannot deal with the pain and suffering caused by adultery by using the criminal justice system,” he said. There are already sufficient laws to protect the interests of married couples and adultery should be decriminalized, Pong said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 16:00 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Taipei to cover the cost of quarantine stays in hotels
Virus Outbreak: Taipei to cover the cost of quarantine stays in hotelsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaipei residents who stay at hotels in the city during their 14-day mandatory quarantine period are eligible to apply for the city’s NT$7,000 subsidy, with online applications to be launched next week. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) on Monday said Taipei residents who have COVID-19 Health Declaration and Home Quarantine Notice dated after March 19 and a quarantine hotel receipt for the dates covered by the quarantine period, would be eligible for the subsidy. The Taipei City Government on Sunday told the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) that so many city residents are under home quarantine that about 90 percent of the city’s quarantine hotels are full, she said. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang, center, speaks at a news conference yesterday. Returning Taiwanese should also be asked to return home in groups every 14 days to avoid putting a strain on the city’s quarantine capacity, Huang said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 16:00 UTC
Chiang targeting young reformers
Chiang targeting young reformersBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterInstead of hating the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), help change it, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said, as he urged young people to join efforts to reform the party. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang is dressed as strategist Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms Period in a screen grab from a video posted on Facebook on Sunday. Photo: Shih Hsiao-kuang, Taipei Times“Even if [the KMT] is a 100-year-old party, it must maintain a young mentality, and understand what young people want and what they want the KMT to do,” Chiang wrote. Chiang said that he would follow through on a proposal he made during his campaign for the party chair earlier this year — to create an advisory group comprised of young KMT members. Chiang plans to preside over the committee, which would meet regularly and serve as the party’s “catalyst for communication with society,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 16:00 UTC
Virus Outbreak: New Taipei City man fined, taken to quarantine center
Virus Outbreak: New Taipei City man fined, taken to quarantine centerREPEAT OFFENDER: The man went outside for exercise on Wednesday and then left his home on Saturday with his girlfriend, officials saidBy Hsu Sheng-lun, Tsai Chang-sheng and Dennis Xie / Staff reporters, with staff writerA New Taipei City man has been fined NT$400,000 (US$13,221) and ordered into government quarantine after breaking home quarantine for a second time on Saturday. The 25-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳) returned to Taiwan on Sunday last week and was ordered to home quarantine until Sunday. A worker from a New Taipei City district office, second left, yesterday delivers a 25-year-old man, surnamed Chen, right, to the city’s quarantine center after he was ordered confined for contravening home quarantine since returning to Taiwan on March 22. Photo: Hsu Sheng-lun, Taipei TimesChen has now been placed in a quarantine center arranged by the district office and health center of the district where he lives, police said. Police warned the public that breaking home quarantine could help spread COVID-19, and offenders would face heavy fines.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 16:00 UTC
Virus Outbreak: ‘Wuhan pneumonia’ accurate term: Su
Virus Outbreak: ‘Wuhan pneumonia’ accurate term: SuDISTRUST WARRANTED? These included China’s efforts to “bleach” its image, including having WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus publicly praise its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, and thanking it for buying time for the global community, Tsai said. Premier Su Tseng-chang speaks during a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan yesterday. China has gone to great lengths to demand acclaim for having contained the new virus, but such manipulations always backfire when overdone, Su said. Given its history with China, Taiwan knew how important it was to be cautious when it comes to viral outbreaks and it successfully deployed early preventive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, Su said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 16:00 UTC
Fees, interest give SCSB best profit
Fees, interest give SCSB best profitBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterShanghai Commercial and Savings Bank Ltd (SCSB, 上海商業儲蓄銀行) on Monday reported record-high profit for last year on the back of higher income from fees and interest. Net profit increased 6.9 percent year-on-year to NT$14.66 billion (US$484.6 billion), or earnings per share of NT$3.5, with net fee income rising 19 percent to NT$6.52 billion and net interest income increasing 10 percent to NT$29.94 billion, the bank said. The bank’s Hong Kong operations reported increased lending despite pro-democracy protests, Lin said. SCSB this year expects growth of 10 percent on its loan book, given it has few borrowers in the aviation, hotel and tourism sectors, Lin said. However, low interest rates remain a major concern for profit growth this year, as net interest margin would continue to contract following interest rate cuts by central banks worldwide, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Taiwan does not need China for WHO, ministry says
Virus Outbreak: Taiwan does not need China for WHO, ministry saysBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan will negotiate with the WHO about its participation without Beijing’s help and intervention as more countries, including Australia and Japan, are partnering with Taiwan to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei TimesAsked about Kong’s remarks, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that Taiwan would negotiate for its participation by itself. In related news, Australia is to exchange medical supplies with Taiwan, after Taiwan and the US earlier this month jointly announced that they would enhance cooperation to contain the disease. The foreign ministry helped negotiate the matter and is glad to see Taiwan and Australia boost their bilateral friendship through reciprocal collaboration, Ou said. Japan Airlines said it could help Taiwanese in Tokyo book flights to Taipei, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Tourism official demoted over subordinates
Virus Outbreak: Tourism official demoted over subordinatesBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterA Tourism Bureau official who ordered two subordinates stationed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to meet his son was yesterday demoted and given a major demerit, and one of the subordinates was also given a major demerit. The bureau’s Performance Evaluation Committee decided on the punishments after reviewing the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ investigation into the actions of the official, surnamed Lin (林). “It was heartbreaking to know that a five-year-old child contracted the virus because of a Tourism Bureau official’s negligence,” the minister wrote. “We have tracked the whereabouts last week of the bureau official and disinfected the places that he had visited. All Tourism Bureau employees have now been asked to wear masks to work and been moved to work in different offices to avoid cluster infections,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Masks required for train passengers
It has the support of the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan, but would not be finalized until a detailed report is made by the Directorate-General of Highways and approved by the Executive Yuan, the ministry said. Lin has been communicating with the Presidential Office and Executive Yuan to secure the funding, the ministry said. There are an estimated 16,000 tour bus drivers and 100,000 taxi drivers nationwide who would be eligible for the subsidies, it said. Bus drivers can also apply for up to NT$110,000 to cover driver training courses under that package. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has asked the Executive Yuan to discuss the issue, and it was expected to make an announcement soon, he wrote.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Wowprime share price up due to vouchers
Wowprime share price up due to vouchersWIN-WIN SITUATION: As shareholders would likely spend extra money when using the voucher, it would help the firm pay personnel costs and rent, an analyst saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterRestaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp (王品) yesterday saw its share price increase 9.98 percent to NT$63.9, after the company announced that it would provide gift vouchers to those who bought its shares. In the previous two years, the company provided shareholders with a NT$500 voucher and a 25 percent discount coupon. Wowprime shares were also popular in the regular market, with 1.802 million shares traded, compared with the daily average transaction of 368,000 shares this month, the data showed. “It seems that Wowprime successfully protected its share price with the food voucher. Given that the company has about 22,000 shareholders, it is expected to issue food vouchers worth NT$48.4 million.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2020 15:56 UTC
Trial tunnel run for big bikes planned
9) — as part of a six-month trial, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Facebook on Saturday night. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications already allows big bikes to use Highway No. An entrance and exit for the Tsaopu Senyung Tunnel on the South Link Highway is pictured on March 3. Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei TimesMotorcycles with an engine displacement of more than 50 cubic centimeters (cc) are classified as heavy motorcycles, and those with engine displacement of more than 250cc are categorized as large heavy motorcycles, Lin said. Lrge heavy motorcycles should have yellow license plates if their engine displacement is between 250cc and 550cc, while those with 550cc or larger engines use red plates, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2020 15:56 UTC