Fubon to buy remaining shares of Jih Sun in Q3
Having acquired majority control of Jih Sun Financial, Fubon Financial on Tuesday started to recognize its peer’s profits, but operations integration would take more time, Harn said. Fubon Financial Holding Co’s headquarters is pictured in Taipei on Dec. 20, 2011. Jih Sun Financial would cease to exist at the end of this year, but Jih Sun International Bank (日盛銀行), Jih Sun Securities Co (日盛證券) and Jih Sun Futures Co (日盛期貨) would continue operating until they become part of Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行), Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) and Fubon Futures Co (富邦期貨) respectively next year, he said. Although some of Jih Sun Bank’s and Taipei Fubon Bank’s branches overlap in some areas, they would not necessarily be closed, Harn said. “Fubon Financial has conducted many small and big mergers and acquisitions over the past 20 years, and we have never had major labor disputes.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2021 15:56 UTC
Chang Hwa Bank looks to recover profit momentum
Chang Hwa Bank looks to recover profit momentumBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterBacked by an improving global operating environment, state-run Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) yesterday said that it expects its growth momentum to recover this year, after net income tumbled by double-percentage points last year and remained weak in the first two months of this year. Chang Hwa Commercial Bank’s headquarters in Taipei’s Zhongshan District is pictured in an undated photograph. Chou, who served in different positions in another state-run lender, First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), aims to strengthen Chang Hwa Bank’s overseas operations and risk controls. Chang Hwa Bank is seeking to expand its loanbook by 5 to 6 percent this year, led by loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, and mortgage for people with real demand, the bank said. Chang Hwa Bank would be engaged in loans to first-time home buyers, as the central bank’s two recent waves of credit controls are directed at multiple home owners and property investors, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 31, 2021 15:56 UTC
Chiang ‘looking forward’ to better US ties
Chiang, KMT Secretary-General Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍) and other members of the party were visiting the Cihu Mausoleum in Taoyuan to pay their respects ahead of the 46th anniversary of Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) death on Monday next week. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang speaks at a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Chu, who was KMT chairman from January 2015 to January 2016, has not said he plans to run, but is seen as a likely contender. Johnny Chiang on Feb. 20 announced that he would seek re-election. Asked about the poll yesterday, Johnny Chiang said that many polls are being conducted and would likely continue to be until the end of the election.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
A contribution remembered
Tunnel built for Chiang Kai-shek opens to publicTHE GREAT ESCAPE: Equipped with explosion-proof lighting, sound-dampened walls and an 84-step spiral staircase, the 67m-long passage opens to a garden An underground tunnel in the east wing of the Grand Hotel in Taipei that once served as an emergency exit for former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was yesterday opened to the public for the first time since it was built 50 years ago. A passage in the west wing of the hotel has been open since September 2019, drawing more than 50,000 visitors within three months of its opening. Last year, about 170,000 visited the west tunnel, the hotel said. As tours of the west tunnel were warmly received, the hotel began renovating the east passage more than a year ago toBy Shelley Shan
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
First flu death reported
First flu death reportedTYPE A INFLUENZA: A man in his 80s who had a history of diabetes and hypertension, and had not received the influenza vaccine, became the first fatality this flu seasonBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the nation’s first case of death from influenza this flu season and one new imported case of COVID-19. Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei reports at a news conference in Taipei yesterday the first death this flu season — a Taiwanese man in his 80s who died of serious flu complications on Saturday. It was the first flu death and the second serious flu complication this season, he added. While the number of serious flu complications and flu deaths have been significantly lower than in previous years, it does not mean that local communities are safe from circulating flu viruses, so people, especially those with underlying health conditions, should still take preventive measures against the disease, he added. Eligibility for government-funded flu vaccines has since Jan. 30 been expanded to include everyone older than six months, so people with a higher risk of serious complications from flu infection are advised to get vaccinated, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
Sharing strings
A visitor to the Chi Mei Museum in February last year admires its collection of outstanding violins. The Infinite String Quartet play instruments from the Chi Mei collection during a performance at Chi Mei Museum in October last year. Violins are displayed at the Chi Mei Museum in Tainan during its Beethoven Festival in July last year. The approximately 400 loan applications that Chi Mei receives each year are reviewed by a special committee, Chung says. Visitors to Tainan’s Chi Mei Museum walk last April along its central plaza.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
Fuji apples seized for high fungicide levels
Fuji apples seized for high fungicide levelsStaff writer, with CNAAuthorities have seized more than 20 tonnes of Fuji apples imported from the US by Costco Taiwan because they were found to contain excessive levels of fungicide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. The popular apple variety was one of 14 products included in the FDA’s weekly report on import shipments confiscated for food safety breaches. The shipment of 20,580kg of Fuji apples was seized after testing showed that it contained residues of the fungicide pyrimethanil at a concentration of 8.7 parts per million (ppm), slightly above the maximum permitted limit of 7.0ppm. An undated photograph released by the Food and Drug Administration shows a Fuji apple. The seized products were either returned to their country of origin or destroyed, the FDA said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
Many children, teens believe obesity myths: group
Many children, teens believe obesity myths: groupBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterAlthough obesity has been declining among children and adolescents, many of them hold misconceptions about eating, such as a 15-year-old girl who swallowed cotton to suppress her appetite, the Taiwan Pediatric Association said. However, clinical observation has shown that many children and adolescents hold misconceptions about obesity and have adopted unhealthy ways of losing weight, he said. Members of the Taiwan Pediatric Association hold placards at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, calling on parents to pay greater attention to overweight and underweight children ahead of Children’s Day on Sunday. The teenager was diagnosed with hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, as well as fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis, Yeung added. The Health Promotion Administration has published Evidence-Based Guidelines on Children Obesity Prevention and Management (兒童肥胖防治實證指引), and offers a BMI assessment calculator for children and adolescents on its Web site so that parents and children can better understand what a healthy body weight is, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
Group touts Chinese program for Indians
Group touts Chinese program for IndiansBy Wu Po-hsuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerA group of universities has announced a plan to enroll 3,000 Indians in Chinese-language courses over the next three years, pending approval by the Ministry of Education. The Taiwan University of Education network of schools, which Wu now leads, is taking charge of the program, which is to be joined by a number of private schools, Wu said on Sunday. Former minister of education Wu Ching-ji speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Dec. 4, 2019. This year, the centers plan to publish a textbook that would incorporate Chinese-language education with cultural information, Wang said. The program was created to offer an alternative to China’s Confucius Institutes to schools wishing to offer Chinese-language courses.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
Commercial property transactions hit record
Commercial property transactions hit recordBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterCommercial property transactions in the nation in the first quarter totaled NT$41.4 billion (US$1.45 billion), the highest ever for the period, supported by healthy demand and excessive liquidity, Colliers International Taiwan (高力國際) said yesterday. The volume suggested a twofold increase from a year earlier, with life insurance companies contributing 36.59 percent, or NT$15.15 billion, Colliers Taiwan managing director Andrew Liu (劉學龍) said. Colliers International Taiwan managing director Andrew Liu poses at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Taipei ranked No. Hsinchu County and Taoyuan, popular destinations for reshoring companies to carry out supply chain realignment, ranked second and third, Collier Taiwan said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
Top Indian envoy vows to enhance ties, speaks of ‘close friendship’ with Taiwan
Top Indian envoy vows to enhance ties, speaks of ‘close friendship’ with TaiwanStaff writer, with CNAIndia’s top envoy in Taiwan on Monday pledged to bolster Taiwan-India ties by enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of education, investment and healthcare. “Today’s event signifies the close friendship between the people of India and Taiwan, and their growing connections in various spheres,” India-Taipei Association Director-General Gourangalal Das said at a belated Republic Day celebration. The event, which was supposed to be held in January, was postponed due to a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in Taoyuan. India-Taipei Association Director-General Gourangalal Das speaks at a party held in Taipei on Monday to celebrate India’s Jan. 26 Republic Day. “Despite the difficulties and trials last year, the connections between India and Taiwan in education, investment, healthcare and technical cooperation were further enhanced,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
All military aircraft, except F-5 jets, to resume operations
All military aircraft, except F-5 jets, to resume operationsStaff writer, with CNAAll military aircraft, except F-5 jets, would resume operations before Thursday, after being grounded in the wake of a fatal crash last week, air force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei (黃志偉) said yesterday. Yesterday and today, the air force’s combat, surveillance and transport aircraft would be resuming flights, including F-16s, Mirage 2000-5s, Indigenous Defense Fighter jets, C-130H Hercules aircraft and P-3C Orions, Huang said at a press event in Taipei. Air force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei speaks at a news conference held by the Ministry of National Defense yesterday. Photo: Tu Chu-min, Taipei TimesF-5 jets would remain grounded until Tuesday or Wednesday next week, pending safety checks, and pilot training and psychological counseling, Huang said. A search and rescue team of 300 people has found some personal gear and aircraft debris, Huang added.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
Quanta laptop shipments reach record 59.8m units
Quanta laptop shipments reach record 59.8m unitsBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterQuanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) yesterday said it shipped 59.8 million laptops last year, a 70.37 percent increase year-on-year and the highest in the company’s history, thanks to work-from-home and distance learning demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Net profit in the fourth quarter of last year surged 91.11 percent year-on-year to NT$8.63 billion (US$302.6 million), or earnings per share of NT$2.24. The Quanta Computer Inc logo is pictured outside the company’ headquarters in New Taipei City’s Linkou District on March 30 last year. Quanta said its board of directors has proposed paying a cash dividend of NT$5.2 per share. That translates into a dividend yield of 5.25 percent, based on Quanta’s closing price of NT$99 yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
March 30, 2021 15:56 UTC
The Liberty Times Editorial: Recognizing Taiwan to stop China
An onlooker, the US, anticipates that the boulder — China — knows that it is not in its best interest to come rolling down the hill. Kishi has also said that China is continuing to strengthen its military capabilities, changing the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait in its favor. During a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on March 2, former White House national security adviser H.R. Biden’s new national security team “needs to put Taiwan first among all its priorities,” Goldstein added. However, in 1999, Lee proposed a “special state-to-state relationship” between Taiwan and China.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 16:07 UTC
AIT director and minister acclaim bilingual policy
AIT director and minister acclaim bilingual policyBy Fang Chih-hsien and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerExchanges between Taiwan and the US on bilingual education support Washington’s policy of limiting Chinese influence in the US, as well as Taiwan’s goal of becoming a bilingual nation by 2030, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said at a Bilingual Education Symposium at Kaohsiung’s National Sun Yat-sen University yesterday. From left, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai, American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung and National Sun Yat-sen University president Cheng Ying-yao clench their fists at the Bilingual Education Symposium at the university in Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: Fang Chih-hsien, Taipei TimesNearly 300 educators from across Taiwan attended the symposium, which was also attended by Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠). Speaking at the symposium, Pan announced that a bilingual training center would be established at the university as part of the initiative. Over the past few months, Taiwanese and US representatives have held several meetings and workshops to discuss educational topics, with bilingual education a major focus, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
March 29, 2021 15:56 UTC