Virus Outbreak: Medigen to begin phase 2 vaccine candidate trials
Virus Outbreak: Medigen to begin phase 2 vaccine candidate trialsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterMedigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) on Wednesday said it plans to begin phase 2 clinical trials next week for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate and expects to apply by the end of June for emergency use authorization for the drug. The company received NT$1.7 million in government subsidies for its phase 1 trials and would receive another NT$300 million for its phase 2 trials. Hsieh said that he is confident about the phase 2 clinical trials, as Medigen’s vaccine candidate showed good immunogenicity in the phase 1 trials and no participants showed any serious adverse reactions or fever. Medigen is thus far the only company in Taiwan to proceed to phase 2 clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine. It would be given access to a government Web site that has recruited more than 200,000 volunteers for domestic COVID-19 vaccine trials.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
DPP legislator calls for TutorABC probe
DPP legislator calls for TutorABC probeBy Huang Hsin-po and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) yesterday called for an official investigation into the online English-language education platform TutorABC, amid concerns that it is skirting restrictions on Chinese investment in the education industry by labeling itself as a technology company. TutorABC is the largest online English-language education platform in Taiwan, constituting a significant proportion of the market, Lin told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesChina’s Ping An Insurance Group in 2019 purchased a controlling stake in iTutorGroup, which reportedly operates the TutorABC brand, Lin said. Many Chinese media reports have also called TutorABC a subsidiary of Ping An Insurance, Lin added. With its 200,000 members in Taiwan, TutorABC holds a considerable amount of personal data valuable to China, Lin said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
FSC to boost whistle-blower rewards
FSC to boost whistle-blower rewardsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe maximum reward for people who report financial crimes would be raised to NT$4 million (US$140,701) next week, a 10-fold increase to encourage whistle-blowers, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) told a news conference in New Taipei City yesterday. For lower-level crimes drawing fine of between NT$200,000 and NT$1 million, whistle-blowers would receive NT$50,000, also five times higher than the current amount, he said. It has paid NT$2.32 million in rewards since the program began, the FSC said. The commission would investigate information provided by anonymous whistle-blowers, but would not issue rewards in such cases, he said. “A few anonymous whistle-blowers claimed rewards after reporting companies that were fined or sentenced.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
EDITORIAL: Xi’s worrisome new powers
EDITORIAL: Xi’s worrisome new powersTwo recent developments relating to the reform of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could have far-reaching implications, not just for Taiwan, but the entire world. First, on Friday last week, revisions to China’s National Defense Law came into effect that increase the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) hold over the military. China’s unique political structure is characterized by multiple layers of competing and overlapping governance. Powerful provincial-level administrations are subordinate to a vast bureaucracy of the central government, which is itself subordinate to the CCP. Positioned at the apex of China’s political pyramid, the party operates a plethora of “leading groups,” “steering groups” and commissions that exert influence over central government departments.
Source:Taipei Times
January 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taipei’s kings of fish paste
Taipei’s kings of fish pasteThirty shops offering various seafood paste products across Taiwan were honored in a national competition last monthBy Han Cheung / Staff reporterChiu Chia-hao (邱家豪) once desperately chased down a butcher truck to obtain caul fat to recreate his late grandma’s signature dragon-phoenix leg (龍鳳腿), a fish paste snack made to resemble chicken wings. Shih Mo-chou has run the Xie Cheng fish ball brand for 52 years. Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei TimesChiu’s Dragon-Phoenix Leg (邱記龍鳳腿), Cheng’s Da Fong Fish Ball (大豐魚丸) and Shih’s Xie Cheng Fish Ball (協成魚丸) were among 30 nationwide winners in the government-sponsored Fish Paste King competition (魚漿王爭霸戰), the results of which were announced late last month. Her late husband was having difficulty finding work, so a fish vendor at Taipei’s Dalong Market (大龍市場) suggested that they start a fish ball operation, which was lucrative at that time. At one point Shih had created 48 different offerings (not all of them included fish paste).
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Food sampling banned at annual Dihua Street market
Virus Outbreak: Food sampling banned at annual Dihua Street marketNEW MEASURES: Existing stores would not be affected, but temporary stalls offering food and beverages would be banned in the area before the Lunar New Year holidayBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterStalls offering ready-to-eat food or beverages and free food samples would be banned at this year’s Lunar New Year market on Dihua Street (迪化街) in Taipei’s Datong District (大同) as part of the city’s COVID-19 prevention efforts, the Taipei City Government said yesterday. It would be the first time that the stalls would be banned at the annual market. The market usually opens two weeks before the Lunar New Year, offering customers foodstuffs and snacks for the holiday. People walk along Dihua Street in Taipei’s Dadaocheng area yesterday. The office would also help print posters to inform visitors that food samples would not be offered, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
KMT plans major weekend pork referendum drive
KMT plans major weekend pork referendum driveBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) plans to collect signatures on Saturday and Sunday at 159 locations nationwide in support of a referendum to overturn the government’s decision to allow imports of pork containing ractopamine residue, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang(江啟臣) said in Taipei yesterday. The lifting of the ban on imports of pork containing traces of the animal feed additive took effect on Friday last week. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang speaks to reporters in front of a portrait of Sun Yat-sen at the party’s headquarters in Taipei yesterday. To be able to hold the referendum in August, the KMT must submit the petition forms to the Central Election Commission for review by March 21, he said. Under the act, Aug. 28 is the next possible date for a referendum in Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Farmers’ association paid in yuan: DPP
Farmers’ association paid in yuan: DPPNOT LEGAL TENDER: The Ministry of Labor said that local firms should pay workers in NT dollars, and the association could face a fine, even if there are no complaintsBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNANantou County’s Lugu Township (鹿谷) Farmers’ Association paid its members in Chinese currency twice in 2017, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday. Association members were allegedly paid in Chinese yuan equivalent to NT$6,000 (US$211 at the current exchange rate) for working overtime in June 2017, and December 2017 or January 2018, Chen said. Shueili Borough Warden Chen Kuei-you, third left, and Democratic Progressive Party Nantou County chapter member Tseng Tsung-kai, center, take part in a news conference in Nantou County yesterday calling attention to a local farmers’ association paying its members in Chinese yuan. The Ministry of Labor yesterday said wages should be paid in legal tender, citing Article 22 of the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法). The Nantou County Farmers’ Association in early March 2017 held elections for new chairpersons, supervisors and directors-general.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Groups call for trained animal protection police unit
Groups call for trained animal protection police unitBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterAcademics and animal rights advocates yesterday called on the government to create an animal protection police unit, due to an increase in reports of cruelty and violence against pets and wild animals in the past few years. Taiwan Animal Protection Monitor Network secretary-general Ho Tsung-hsun lead a media briefing at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei organized by a coalition of animal welfare organizations and civic groups. Ho said that lawmakers in 2017 passed amendments to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), which imposed more severe penalties for cruelty to, or mistreatment or killing of animals. Academics and animal rights advocates from a coalition of animal welfare organizations and civic groups yesterday pump their fists at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. When arriving on the scene, local police most often record such incidents as a case of “animal welfare and protection,” Ho said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Four imported cases with UK strain found: CECC
Virus Outbreak: Four imported cases with UK strain found: CECCGENOME SEQUENCING: The likely more transmissable virus strain was found in previously confirmed cases who did not pose a risk to local communities, the center saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterFour COVID-19 cases in Taiwan were confirmed to be infected with the new virus strain discovered last month in the UK, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it also reported two new imported cases. As the new COVID-19 variant is believed to be much more transmissible than other strains, the CECC in the past few weeks began genome sequencing of samples from confirmed cases with high viral loads. Samples of 33 confirmed cases were subject to genome sequencing, Chen said. Moreover, Chen said that two imported cases were confirmed yesterday, bringing the total number of cases in Taiwan to 819. Chang said that analysis of confirmed cases shows that the virus is more likely to be cultivated if the person’s CT value is lower than 27 and symptoms appear within 10 days of infection.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Bureau officer one of six suspects in lighthouse case
Bureau officer one of six suspects in lighthouse caseCORRUPTION CASE: Investigators said Sheng received bribes from a contracting firm owner, and colluded with a law firm to forge paperworkBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterA Maritime and Port Bureau technical officer surnamed Sheng (盛) was among six people yesterday listed as suspects in a probe into allegations of bid rigging, bribery and collusion involving work on the nation’s lighthouses, after raids conducted this week. A contracting company owner surnamed Pu, front right, is escorted into court in Taipei for a bail hearing yesterday. Investigators said that Sheng attended banquets and received regular gifts from the owner of the contracting firm, surnamed Pu (卜), and one of his staff surnamed Chen (陳). The law firm allegedly produced forged documents to fake progress at the lighthouse projects, which Sheng allegedly signed and approved, despite the work falling behind schedule and not being inspected. Prosecutors accused Sheng of colluding with the law firm.
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ample looks to surpass 10% growth
A 5G phone uses 25 to 40 percent more passive components than a 4G model, the company said. Ample Electronic Technology Co chairman and president T.Y. Washington is considering extending its semiconductor ban to passive components, the firm said. Asked about trends in component prices, Ample said that it matches the moves taken by its customers. Ample’s existing customers are mostly from Taiwan and China, including Yageo, Chilisin Electronics Corp (奇力新) and Walsin Technology Corp (華新科).
Source:Taipei Times
January 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Museum of Taiwanese history to reopen Friday
Museum of Taiwanese history to reopen FridayBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe National Museum of Taiwan History in Tainan is on Friday to reopen following a year-long renovation with four special exhibitions. The National Museum of Taiwan History is pictured in Tainan on Monday as it prepares to reopen to the public on Friday. The museum commissioned contemporary artist Ruby Swana, an Amis, to complete an installation of an Aboriginal legend at the entrance of the permanent exhibition, Yang said. The museum seeks to present contemporary trends in the society and local communities of Taiwan, she added. The renovation project included creating a space where visitors could use virtual reality to take in stories about history, the museum said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Central library unveils upgraded performance hall
Central library unveils upgraded performance hallBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe National Central Library (NCL) yesterday unveiled its newly upgraded multipurpose performance hall, while announcing that writers Pai Hsien-yung (白先勇) and Chiang Hsun (蔣勳) are scheduled to hold talks there later this year. A lion dance group performs at the opening of the National Central Library’s multipurpose performance hall in Taipei yesterday. Sound-absorbing panels were installed, as well as a reinforced steel grid above the stage, foundation CEO Jenny Chen (陳怡蓁) said. The work on the performance hall was done from Nov. 2 last year to Thursday last week, she said. Pai, who has given seven lectures over the past two years, is to lecture at the multipurpose performance hall on May 8 and May 22, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ractopamine in pork safe within limits: Lee Yuan-tseh
Ractopamine in pork safe within limits: Lee Yuan-tsehBy Hsieh Chun-lin / Staff reporterPork containing ractopamine residues within safe levels would not endanger human health, former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) said yesterday. From Friday last week, US pork containing ractopamine — 0.01 parts per million (ppm) for meat, skin and other edible parts; 0.04 ppm for pig liver and kidney — are allowed to be imported, although there is still a ban on use of the leanness-enhancing feed additive on local pigs. Former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh speaks at a seminar in Taipei yesterday. Asked if people can eat pork products containing ractopamine within safe levels, Lee said: “Yes.”When asked whether his view might be opposed by mainstream public opinion, Lee said in that case, it is likely that people do not always get the correct information. The term “nuke food” sounds like it contains nuclear waste or something, which is not correct, Lee said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 05, 2021 15:56 UTC