Virus Outbreak: Chunghwa Post takes charge of 75% alcohol deliveries
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterStarting this week, Chunghwa Post is to be in charge of delivering 75 percent alcohol used as a disinfectant to protect against COVID-19, the postal company said yesterday. The state-run firm undertook the task after it was last week ordered to deliver masks to be sold at National Health Insurance (NHI) partner pharmacies. Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTLC) produces the 75 percent alcohol, Department of Mail Business and Operations head Chen Ching-hsiang (陳敬祥) said. TTLC would first deliver the alcohol to 23 postal service hubs, from which couriers would deliver it to the NHI’s 5,660 partner pharmacies nationwide, he said. Delivering masks and alcohol would increase couriers’ workloads, but many of them feel honored to be part of national disease-prevention efforts, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 16:01 UTC
BOOK REVIEW: The Flock Of Ba-Hui And Other Stories
This first title is The Flock of Ba-Hui, and it couldn’t be more Lovecraftian or more readable. In the first tale, from which the collection takes its title, a dissident anthropologist escapes from a psychiatric hospital where he has been incarcerated. As they go down into it they discover horrifying murals depicting human and other sacrifices on a vast scale, followed by cannibalism. After a long voyage in which he sees all the beauties of the world, the artist decides to ascend the tower. It’s unusual for this book in beginning with a relatively recent event, a death in 2013, though much of its action takes place a hundred years earlier.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Tech event to fight disinformation opens
Staff writer, with CNAThe “US-Taiwan Tech Challenge: Countering Disinformation and Propaganda,” opened yesterday in Taipei as part of efforts by the two nations to develop innovative technologies to curtail the spread of disinformation. “We are confident that the assembled technologists, experts and others at this tech challenge will be able to develop cutting-edge solutions to the challenges posed by disinformation,” Greene said. Taiwan is on the front line in the fight against disinformation, in which China has invested heavily to develop sophisticated ways to anonymously disseminate disinformation through various channels, including social media, he added. Disinformation about an outbreak of COVID-19 has also spread on Taiwan’s social media. Four interactive panel sessions on the development and implementation of technology to counter disinformation are to be held today.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Costs from 5G to weigh down FET
“We will launch 5G services in the third quarter as planned,” FET president Chee Ching (井琪) said. Operating expenses are forecast to jump 10.5 percent to NT$16.39 billion, compared with NT$14.83 billion last year, the telecom said. FET spent a total of NT$41 billion on 5G spectrum, including 80 megahertz (MHz) of bandwidth in the 3.5-gigahertz (GHz) band, the best suited for 5G services in terms of coverage and capacity, for NT$40.6 billion in the spectrum auction last month. Ching declined to comment on price increases for 5G services, but said that the company would issue pricing once Chunghwa reveals its fee structure. In countries that have already rolled out 5G services, it is more expensive than 4G by between 60 percent and 100 percent, FET said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
US open despite trade disputes: Trump
Trump appeared to be directing his tweets at hardliners in his administration, referring to a proposal to block General Electric Co (GE) from selling jet engines to China. “I want China to buy our jet engines, the best in the World,” he wrote. China is using the engines to develop its own airliner, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd’s (COMAC, 中國商飛) C919, to compete with Boeing Co and Airbus SE. The Journal said that US officials worry that Beijing could reverse-engineer the engine and enter the engine market. Another goal of the US proposal reportedly is to slow development of the COMAC airliner.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Legislative watchdog calls for increased transparency
By Chen Yu-fu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerCitizen Congress Watch (CCW) yesterday met with Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) to push for increased transparency and professionalism in the Legislative Yuan, the legislative watchdog said. You said that the legislature could consider developing an improved version of the Parliament Broadcast IVOD service, which provides live broadcasts of legislative sessions, as well as archived recordings of past sessions. The most important issue discussed at the meeting was the need for legislative professionalism, and the legislature’s right of consent to the appointment of personnel, You said. You said he had asked Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) to look into improving the parliamentary broadcast service. “Without a good legislature, there is no good nation,” Wu said, adding that he hoped the legislature would continue working toward national reform.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
CAA head to double as airport company chairman: minister
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterCivil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) would also temporarily serve as Taoyuan International Airport Corp’s (TIAC) chairman after the incumbent chairman, Wang Ming-de (王明德), retires next month, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. As the company is owned by the ministry, the board is expected to unanimously approve the nomination. Despite its impressive design, the project has yet to attract any tenders due to the high cost of construction. “However, the challenges with the Terminal 3 project would still be there after I leave. The airport company would still be troubled by problems with the project, which entails many complicated interfacing issues,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Czech firms warned over official’s planned Taiwan visit
ReutersBeijing threatened to retaliate against Czech companies with operations in China if a senior Czech lawmaker went ahead with a planned visit to Taiwan, according to a diplomatic letter seen by reporters. “Czech companies whose representatives visit Taiwan with Chairman Kubera will not be welcome in China or with the Chinese people,” the letter said. The Czech president’s spokesman confirmed the office had received the letter, but did not comment on its content. Zeman and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis had expressed concern that Kubera’s planned visit would lead China to retaliate against the nation’s business community. Czech senators yesterday elected Czech Senator Milos Vystrcil to succeed Kubera as speaker.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Highwealth acquires Taichung plot
The Taipei-based developer was seeking to build land stock and outbid the only other bidder in the auction. “The outbreak is bound to have negative impact on the property market in the short run, but the company cannot sit idle until after the virus is contained,” Highwealth spokesman Liao Chao-hsiung (廖昭雄) said. Highwealth has had several construction projects in Taichung and knows the plot’s value, he said. Cushman & Wakefield Taiwan manager Eagle Lai (賴一毅) said that the auction result should inject badly needed confidence into the local property market, as the outbreak chills business activity. The plot might have a floor area ratio of 650 percent, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Firm shares how it turned masks into a fashion statement
By William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNAAs COVID-19 continues to spread, some medical supplies manufacturers have begun seeing success in marketing “fashionable” masks. Watsons Hong Kong then contacted him through Facebook to ask about selling the masks in their stores, Chang said. Within three days the masks appeared on store shelves in Hong Kong, Chang said. Hsieh wore one of the company’s masks on stage during a televised Lunar New Year event that year, and the company handed out 1,000 masks to audience members, he said. “Five years ago who had ever heard of ‘fashionable face masks,’ but now we have defined it,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Indonesia to tax drinks, polluters
Reuters, JAKARTAIndonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati yesterday proposed new duties on sweetened drinks, vehicles that emit carbon dioxide and plastic bags, to control consumption of the products in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The proposal comes amid weak tax collection after the economy grew at its slowest pace in three years last year. Indrawati also brought up again her 2017 proposal to impose an excise tax of 200 rupiah per bag on plastic bags, which parliament has not yet approved. The levy, though small, could halve Indonesia’s consumption of plastic bags to 53,533 tonnes a year, she said. The total additional revenue expected from all three measures per fiscal year is 23.56 trillion rupiah — 1.61 trillion rupiah from plastic bags, 6.25 trillion rupiah from drinks and 15.7 trillion rupiah from vehicles, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
People come together to overcome mask crisis
By Hsu Jen-hui 徐仁輝The COVID-19 outbreak has triggered panic buying of masks in Taiwan. Starting on Feb. 6, the government centralized the distribution of masks and imposed a limit of two per person per week. Despite the restrictions, Taiwan does not have the capacity to domestically produce sufficient masks to meet demand. Contrast this with distressing reports from China of hostility and discrimination toward people from Wuhan — the epicenter of the outbreak — by their fellow citizens. Some people who are worried that the virus would cause a full-scale epidemic in Taiwan have selfishly chosen to stockpile masks.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Manufacturing sector contracts, takes heavy hits
By Natasha Li / Staff reporterGross output from the domestic manufacturing sector took another heavy hit last quarter as it contracted 6.6 percent year-on-year to NT$3.37 trillion (US$111.77 billion), data released yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Traditional manufacturing industries were the primary drivers of the sector’s decline, as they continue to face dwindling market demand due to flailing raw material prices, the ministry said. The base metal industry last quarter declined 15.76 percent in gross output to NT$320.5 billion, but the sector perform better this quarter, as the government plans to launch large construction projects this year, she said. In the tech sector, gross output from the electronics components industry declined 4.14 percent to NT$953.6 billion, dragged down by shrinking market demand for LCD panels and ICs. Those sector’s gross output surged 17.95 percent to NT$214 billion, thanks to production expansion by returning companies.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
Disappointing holiday hits Walmart
AFP, NEW YORKUS retail giant Walmart Inc did not have a merry Christmas as disappointing toy and clothing sales hit the chain’s bottom line, the company said on Tuesday. However, the retailer, which is a staple for low-income households, saw sales slow in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31. Global revenue increased 2.1 percent to US$141.7 billion in the quarter, falling below expectations of US$142.5 billion. “The fourth quarter was not our best,” McMillon told analysts on a conference call. Even with the disappointing results, Walmart posted a 12.3 percent gain in net income to US$4.1 billion in the quarter, with a 123 percent surge for the full year to just shy of US$15 billion.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC
The new wave of media repression in the Middle East
By Lydia KhalilSince 2018, large anti-government protests — what some term the Arab Spring 2.0 — have reverberated across the Middle East. As a result, the authorities in these countries have turned to the example of the region’s more authoritarian governments, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. For these countries’ leaders, the permissive media and information environment was responsible for the protests that rocked the Arab world in 2011. Security officials arrested three journalists, claiming that Mada Masr had spread false information and had links to the Muslim Brotherhood (which the government considers a terrorist organization). In truth, the government conducted the raid to discredit Mada Masr after it published an unflattering article about al-Sisi’s son, Mahmoud.
Source:Taipei Times
February 19, 2020 15:56 UTC