Athletic defeat Betis in shoot-out to make semis
Athletic defeat Betis in shoot-out to make semisAP, MADRIDRaul Garcia on Thursday scored a last-gasp equalizer to force extra-time and goalkeeper Unai Simon saved two penalties as Athletic Bilbao defeated Real Betis Balompie 4-1 in a shoot-out to reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Garcia also scored one of the penalties after a 1-1 draw to help keep Athletic in contention for consecutive Copa titles. “When it gets to a penalty shoot-out it’s a lottery,” Betis midfielder Joaquin Sanchez said. We played a complete match.”Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis went into the match unbeaten in eight consecutive matches in all competitions. “It was a tough night, but in the end things went our way in the shoot-out,” Toral said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Housing rights group pushes for legal reforms
The housing advocacy group has joined forces with like-minded lawmakers to push property tax reforms and legal protections for tenants and home buyers ahead of next year’s local elections and the 2024 presidential and legislative elections, it told a news conference. Proposed property tax reforms are to include provisions for a tax on unoccupied residential properties, incentives for their sale or rent, and raising rental income tax, the group said. A man at a news conference in Taipei yesterday holds a sign with the Chinese and English name of pop-up exhibition space “Celestial Dragons House” organized by advocacy group Housing Movement 2.0. “Rent is a huge economic burden on young people,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌) said. “Saying that the problem is inherited does not excuse the government’s inaction.”DPP Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) said “the moment is right” to push for deeper housing reforms, adding that legislative efforts should focus on implementing affordable housing and taxing rent-derived income.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
FPG revenue hits NT$117bn
On a monthly basis, the group’s revenue increased 2.3 percent, the companies’ filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed. “We had thought that an intensification of the COVID-19 pandemic plus a shortage of shipping containers would depress first-quarter revenue,” FPC president and chairman Jason Lin (林健男) said. “Now, we expect first-quarter revenue to equal or slightly surpass fourth-quarter revenue.”Lin attributed the improved outlook to higher products prices and China’s “no travel” policy. Nanya president Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭) attributed the figures — its eighth consecutive month of revenue growth — to demand for copper-clad laminate and other electronic components. Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) reported a contraction in year-on-year revenue to NT$42.24 billion — up 4.1 percent from December, but down 27.3 percent year-on-year.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
KMT urges more, better support for healthcare workers
KMT urges more, better support for healthcare workersRECOGNIZING VALUE: The government should show they appreciate healthcare workers, and help them with finding and paying for quarantine, the KMT saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged the government to give greater support to healthcare workers on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. One of the measures it proposed at a news conference in Taipei was giving healthcare workers priority access to quarantine hotels. Healthcare workers, who are worried about infecting their families, have had difficulty finding accommodation at quarantine hotels, it said. “We hope that [the Central Epidemic Command Center] and the Ministry of Health and Welfare can truly see the hard work of healthcare workers,” she added. The government should consider providing a dedicated facility for healthcare workers who might otherwise need to pay for a quarantine hotel, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Highways & Byways: Memories of a deadly earthquake
Highways & Byways: Memories of a deadly earthquakeA 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Tainan in the early hours of Feb. 6, 2016. Tomorrow will be the fifth anniversary of the disaster, which killed 117 people, all but two of them in a single apartment complex. The replacement for Weiguan Jinlong Apartment Complex is nearing completion. The death toll at Weiguan Jinlong Apartment Complex was 115. After the ruins of Weiguan Jinlong Apartment Complex were cleared, the city government decided to build a new residential block.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
US aid sought after the death of Huang Fang-yen
US aid sought after the death of Huang Fang-yenSUICIDE SUSPECTED: Prosecutors in Taipei said that once the death of the physician has been officially confirmed, the charges he faced dating to 2009 would be droppedBy Tsai Shu-yuan and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe Ministry of Justice yesterday said that it would ask the US for mutual legal assistance following the death of fugitive doctor Huang Fang-yen (黃芳彥) in California. Huang Chung-yen shows a photo of his brother, former Shin Kong Memorial Wu Ho-Su Hospital deputy superintendent Huang Fang-yen, in Taichung on Thursday. Huang’s younger brother, Huang Chung-yen (黃重彥), a doctor in Taichung, confirmed the news of the death to reporters on Thursday. “We spoke by telephone a few times recently and discussed the COVID-19 pandemic situation and its handling in Taiwan,” Huang Chung-yen said. Huang Chung-yen said that he could not fathom why his brother would commit suicide.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
DPP’s Su Chen-ching, aide to post bail of more than NT$11.5m in SOGO case
DPP’s Su Chen-ching, aide to post bail of more than NT$11.5m in SOGO caseBy Chang Wen-chuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taipei District Court yesterday allowed Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) and his office director, Yu Hsueh-yang (余學洋), to post bail of NT$10 million (US$351,964) and NT$1.5 million respectively, for their alleged involvement in a dispute over the ownership of Pacific SOGO Department Store. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chen-ching yesterday leaves the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office in Shilin District following a bail hearing. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesThe payments were allegedly to help Lee in a legal dispute with Far Eastern Group over the Pacific SOGO ownership. Su’s office yesterday said in a statement that recent media reports about him misrepresented his role in the dispute, adding that the court would find him not guilty and restore his honor. Su never accepted a “red envelope” related to the matter, the office said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taichung coal power resolution passed
Taichung coal power resolution passedTARGETING 2035: Clean Air Taichung urged the mayor of the city not to delay the plan, which promises gas turbines for the Taichung Power Plant at an earlier dateBy Shih Hsiao-kuang, Chen Yun and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a resolution proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to decommission Taichung Power Plant’s coal-fired generators by 2035, and to preserve the generators as a national security emergency reserve. Taichung Power Plant is pictured in an undated photograph. The national emblem, left, and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) emblem are pictured together in an undated photograph. The emblem resolution, which was proposed by the NPP, cleared the legislative floor 63 to 37. “The similarity of the national emblem to the party emblem suggests a lack of separation between state and party.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Control Yuan to investigate six judges
Control Yuan to investigate six judgesMARATHON SESSION: After deliberating for more than seven hours, a judicial committee also rescinded the judiciary medals conferred on two accused judgesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Judicial Yuan on Thursday forwarded the cases of six high-ranking judges to the Control Yuan for further investigation of alleged involvement in a corruption scandal centering on former Supreme Court judge Shih Mu-chin (石木欽) and Chia Her Industrial Co (佳和集團) president Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾). Control Yuan President Chen Chu, third right, yesterday in Taipei cuts a cake at the opening of an exhibition marking the institution’s 90th anniversary. After confirming the results of previous investigations that had concluded that the judges had breached judicial ethics rules, the committee recommended that the Control Yuan render disciplinary measures. Responding to questions on the case, Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said: “Each Control Yuan member has independent authority. Chen made the remarks on the sidelines of an exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Control Yuan.
Source:Taipei Times
January 29, 2021 15:56 UTC
Landis Group eyeing food and beverage sales growth
Landis Group eyeing food and beverage sales growthBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterLandis Taipei Hotel, the flagship property of Landis Hospitality Group (麗緻餐旅集團), is seeking to boost its food and beverage sales this year, in the hope that international travel restrictions might be lifted in the second half of the year, the company said yesterday. “Our food and beverage business has proven to be resilient and recovered quickly from a COVID-19 slump last year, thanks to a strong, loyal clientele and fast adjustments in our operations,” Landis Group business development division assistant general manager Gary Lo (羅明威) said. Last year’s food and beverage revenue remained at 2019 level, and might grow this year, as Taiwanese travel regularly and travel restrictions might be lifted in the fall, Lo said. Landis Hospitality Group managing director Michelle Hsu, left, and Michelin-starred chef Hideki Takayama pose for photographs in Taipei yesterday. The hotel forecasts a 30 percent increase in packaged food sales this year, after a 50 percent rise last year, helped by the low-contact economy, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Four indicted over allegations of labor exploitation
Four indicted over allegations of labor exploitationBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterAuthorities have indicted four people for allegedly docking Vietnamese workers half of their monthly wage, including a Vietnamese woman naturalized in Taiwan, Diao Yu-hong (刁予弘), who headed up labor placement companies. Vietnamese workers involved in a labor exploitation case sit in a police station in Taichung in an undated photograph. The Vietnamese workers told prosecutors that they believed they were working legally in Taiwan and did not know Diao’s actions were illegal, Chang said. When they complained about receiving only half of the promised wage, Diao threatened to have them deported, as her company had confiscated their passports and personal papers, Chang said. Prosecutors have requested a severe punishment for Diao over her egregious offenses and human exploitation, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Delivery worker protection at hospitals urged
As a result, hospitals are largely writing their own rules about delivery locations, which has increased risks to delivery workers and of community spread, he said. “It is not my sense that delivery workers are afraid of doing their jobs. What they are afraid of is becoming that gap” in pandemic prevention, NPP Hsinchu City Councilor Liao Tzu-chi (廖子齊) said. OSHA official Yeh Pei-chieh (葉沛杰) said that the guidelines are to give delivery workers and clients flexibility to appoint a location that best suits the hospital. The convenor of the Hsinchu Union for Online Platforms-Employed Delivery Workers, surnamed Wen (文), said that while on the job, an average delivery worker is in contact with about 50 people per day.
Source:Taipei Times
January 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Banks limit in-person operations
Virus Outbreak: Banks limit in-person operationsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterE.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) has asked employees at its Taoyuan branches to stop visiting clients due to the COVID-19 situation, it said on Wednesday. Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei TimesOther banks also allow their staff to work from home or in remote offices. Thus far, about 500 employees at Fubon Financial work remotely or at back-up offices, the company said. Fubon Financial has about 44,465 employees. CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) said it is considering additional precautionary measures.
Source:Taipei Times
January 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Cluster infection has same virus strain: CECC
Cluster infection has same virus strain: CECCBy Lin Hui-chin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced that a COVID-19 cluster infection at Taoyuan General Hospital shared the same virus strain, allaying concerns over the unidentified source of infection of case No. The cluster infection had affected 15 people, and it has been about two weeks since case No. Taoyuan General Hospital deputy director Wang Wei-chieh thanks the public for their support as the hospital deals wiith a cluster infection. 889’s virus strain could not be fully sequenced, it largely has the same genetic makeup and mutations as other strains tested. While the nation has had four days without local infections, it is still too early to tell whether it has weathered the worst of the cluster infection, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
US has not halted arms sales: MOFA
US has not halted arms sales: MOFANO PAUSE: The US has suspended pending arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but Taiwan has not received any such notification, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saidBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer and bloombergThere has been no indication that the US is to pause or alter arms sales to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, after Washington placed a hold on weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Ou said that communication between Taiwan and the US has been smooth, adding that Taipei has not received notice from Washington about a change in arms sales. All Washington’s arms sales to Taipei are under way per relevant procedure, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said. Concern over weapons sales to Taiwan arose following reports that Washington had put a temporary hold on some of its largest pending arms sales, including a Trump administration effort to sell F-35 jets to the UAE and smart bombs to Saudi Arabia. Raytheon officials previewed the sales pause to analysts on Tuesday during the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call, though they did not name the country or munitions involved.
Source:Taipei Times
January 28, 2021 15:56 UTC