Taiwan gets itself lumped with China
By Chang Kuo-tsai 張國財Italy on Friday last week banned all flights from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and China, stranding 768 Taiwanese passengers in Italy. With the topic of the outbreak on everyone’s lips, people around the world — especially in the US and Europe — only see and hear names such as the Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and China Airlines. Can they really be faulted for confusing the distinctions between the Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China? Is it so far-fetched for someone to assume that China Airlines might be a Chinese airline? Is it not entirely forgivable if people confuse China Airlines with the Chinese airline Air China?
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:18 UTC
Privacy activists don ‘dazzle’ makeup to beat Met surveillance
By James Tapper / The ObserverWearing makeup has long been seen as an act of defiance, from teenagers to New Romantics. That defiance has taken on a harder edge, as growing numbers of people use it to try to trick facial recognition systems. Members of the Dazzle Club have been conducting silent walks through London while wearing asymmetric makeup in patterns intended to prevent their faces from being matched on any database. Facial recognition works by mapping facial features — mainly the eyes, nose and chin — by identifying light and dark areas, then calculating the distance between them. “But the speed that facial recognition algorithms learn means that you can’t find one design and use it for the rest of your life.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:18 UTC
Car-ramming hurts 12 Israeli soldiers; Hamas celebrates
AFP, JERUSALEMA car-ramming targeting Israeli troops in Jerusalem hurt 12 soldiers yesterday in an attack that Palestinian group Hamas hailed as a response to Washington’s Middle East peace plan. “During the incident, a terrorist sped his car towards [Israeli] soldiers,” the army said. Israeli troops “are currently pursuing the terrorist, who escaped the scene,” it said. There have been sporadic clashes between Palestinians and Israeli troops since the release of Trump’s proposals. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft struck Hamas positions early yesterday after Palestinians fired rockets or mortar rounds at Israel and launched incendiary balloons.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:18 UTC
After two Supreme Court wins, man gets US$875,000 from Florida city
AP, FORT LAUDERDALE, FloridaFew people have fought any city hall all the way to the US Supreme Court and won, but Fane Lozman did it twice. Now the Florida city that he has battled since 2006 is going to pay him thousands of dollars in legal fees. In both cases, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lozman, 58, who said that he has spent more than a decade on these cases. Meanwhile, Lozman was arrested while attempting to speak to the city council during a 2006 meeting. The Supreme Court in 2018 agreed with Lozman, leading to the settlement over his legal fees in that matter.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:18 UTC
Woman spared prison for taking dog into mosque
AFP, JAKARTAA Christian woman charged with blasphemy has escaped jail for taking a dog into a mosque, the latest religious case to draw headlines in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation. The case of Suzethe Margareth, 52, sparked outrage last summer, when a video emerged showing her in a mosque in Bogor, near the capital, Jakarta, wearing shoes and letting her dog run loose. Dogs are considered impure in Islam and wearing shoes is forbidden in a mosque. A Bogor court on Wednesday ruled that Margareth was guilty, but decided not to impose a prison term because she has paranoid schizophrenia. Margareth testified that she went into the mosque because she was being chased and heard voices in her head saying that her husband was getting married there.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:18 UTC
Virus Outbreak: International cruise ships barred
Kyodo News yesterday reported that 10 more passengers onboard the Princess Diamond, aged between 50 and 70, had been confirmed to have 2019 n-CoV, including a Taiwanese woman. Furthermore, if there is a carrier of the virus on board, it would cause serious cross-infections, he said. The nation’s factories are producing about 3.2 million masks daily, he said. Asked if the government has maintained its target to produce 10 million masks by the middle of next month, Chen said that it has. As of 9:30pm yesterday, Taiwan has confirmed 16 infection cases, the center said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:07 UTC
US President Trump acquitted of impeachment charges
AP, WASHINGTONUS President Donald Trump on Wednesday was acquitted of impeachment charges in the US Senate. Trump shall “be, and is hereby, acquitted of the charges,” Roberts said. “The president’s basic lack of character, his willingness to cheat in the election — he’s not going to stop,” Schiff said. On the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, the vote was 52-48 favoring acquittal. All Democrats found the president guilty on the two charges.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:07 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Mask sales plan mostly smooth: center
The government system was working, as she had not been able to buy a mask until yesterday. Some pharmacies said that they had only one computer each and could not cope with the number of customers. To prevent such situations, pharmacies and drugstores were ordered to report when mask sales would start, with local governments to publish the information online, the bureau said. Visually challenged people have no way to verify themselves, as there is no audio or text-based verification system, the league said. News conferences on disease prevention should include sign language interpreters for people who cannot hear, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 16:07 UTC
Virgin Australia axes HK flights as demand slumps
AFP, SYDNEYVirgin Australia Group yesterday said that it is canceling its flights between Sydney and Hong Kong, just 18 months after launching the route, due to reduced demand caused by the pro-democracy protests and the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. “While the decision to withdraw from the Hong Kong market has been a difficult one, it demonstrates our strong focus on driving greater financial discipline through our network,” MacLeod said in a statement. “Current circumstances demonstrate that Hong Kong is no longer a commercially viable route for Virgin Australia to continue operating, however international tourism remains an important part of our strategy through our other international routes and partner airlines.”The route is to cease operating on March 2. Australian Department of Transport data showed that Virgin Australia’s outbound Sydney to Hong Kong flights were operating at just 64 percent capacity in November last year, compared with 80 percent for Qantas Airways Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (國泰航空). Virgin Australia in November last year announced that it would suspend services between Melbourne and Hong Kong from Tuesday next week.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
CPI rises to 21-month high of 1.85%
By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe consumer price index (CPI) last month climbed to a 21-month peak of 1.85 percent, as recreation, food and miscellaneous item costs increased over the Lunar New Year holiday, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The inflation gauge after seasonal adjustments increased a fractional 0.11 percent, suggesting stable consumer prices, the agency said. Education and recreation expenses increased 2.99 percent as travel agencies and hotels raised group tour charges and room rates, the monthly report showed. Transportation and communication costs rose 0.31 percent, as oil prices grew 6.68 percent, muting a 6.55 percent decline in telecommunications charges, it said. Core CPI, a more reliable inflation tracker as it excludes volatile items, increased 1.33 percent, lending support to the outlook for stable prices, Chiou said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ancient brick structure found at Tainan school
Staff writer, with CNAA brick structure believed to date to the Qing Dynasty has been discovered inside the campus of an elementary school in Tainan’s Anping District (安平). Researchers carried out test excavations at Shihmen Elementary School and Anping Sword Lion Square (安平劍獅埕), an unnamed Tainan Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage official said. At Tainan Municipal Simen Experimental Elementary School, researchers searched for strata and unearthed items, the official said. The square is also inside what was once the ancient town, they said. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) on Wednesday visited the excavation site inside Shihmen Elementary School.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Evacuation flights to be set by Taipei and Beijing
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Committee member Vincent Hsu (徐正文), who represents a self-help group of Taiwanese in Wuhan, helped arrange the flight. The premier gave four instructions for evacuation flights, Kolas said. First, disadvantaged people — including those on short-term business trips, on long-term medication, and the elderly and young — must be given priority for the charter flights, Su said. Fourth, charter flights must be arranged on a government-to-government basis, he said, adding that no more intermediaries would be allowed. Hsu was not part of a seven-member group that helped negotiate the charter flight to evacuate Taiwanese, it said in a statement.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus outbreak taking its toll on tourism industry
By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak in China is taking a heavy toll on local travel agencies and hotels as customers cancel bookings due to health concerns. The firm said it would wait to see how the outbreak progresses before deciding whether to cancel tours booked for April. Cola Travel Service Co (可樂旅遊) said that it had incurred losses of about NT$250 million due to canceled plane, hotel and tour bookings, affecting more than 10,000 customers. The losses were inevitable after the government raised travel warnings on China to red, indicating that all non-essential travel should be avoided. That led to Cola Travel unconditionally paying full refunds, apart from visa fees, for tours to China until March 31, the company said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Pharmacy, supplier investigated
After receiving reports from local residents, health officials, together with bureau agents, on Monday conducted a search of the pharmacy in Sinjhuang District (新莊). On Wednesday, they raided the offices and warehouses of HC Safety in Shulin District (樹林), and summoned the company owners for questioning. Chiang said they might face charges of hoarding goods, and breaching the Pharmacy Affairs Act (藥事法) and the Criminal Code. 318 Ear-Loop Face masks, Chiang said, adding that the owners said they were imported from China. Chiang said some residents reported the pharmacy to local office, after seeing the drug store doing brisk business selling the masks for NT$50 each.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 15:56 UTC
Hot springs in Pingtung draw tourists back to area
By Tsai Tsung-hsien and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerUpgrades to the hot spring park along Pingtung County’s Sihchong River (四重溪) are drawing tourists back to the region, as the number of visitors has risen over the past two years, the county government said on Monday. The Pingtung Transportation and Tourism Department said that investment in the area — once a popular hot spring destination, due to the county’s ocean vistas and other scenery — has started to bring bathers back. The county last month announced that it would provide assistance to investors at the hot springs near the river, saying it hoped investor interest and creativity could speed up development in the area. However, in recent decades, as domestic tourism patterns changed and Sihchong’s facilities aged, the number of visitors decreased, the department said. The hot springs are often visited together with other nature sites in the region, including the Dongyuan wetlands (東源濕地), the Syuhai hot springs (旭海溫泉) and the Alangyi Ancient Trail (阿塱壹古道), it said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 06, 2020 15:56 UTC