Mon, Mar 01, 2021
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced a five-year, NT$11 billion (US$388.6 million) investment plan for the development of a 5G artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) innovation hub in Kaohsiung’s Asia New Bay Area (亞洲新灣區). The project, which is to begin this year, would involve the Kaohsiung City Government, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the National Development Council, the National Communications Commission and the Ministry of Culture. It aims to build Taiwan’s most comprehensive 5G and AIoT testing and demonstration facilities in the port city, the economics ministry said in a statement. The government seeks to attract 50 local and foreign companies, as well as 120 start-ups, to join the innovation hub over five years, generating NT$30 billion of new investment and creating NT$120 billion in production value, the statement said. The Executive Yuan made the announcement after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was briefed by the economics ministry and the city government about the investment plan earlier yesterday at a meeting at the Kaohsiung Public Library. Tsai said the development of Asia New Bay Area plays an important role in the government’s Great South, Great Development policy, which aims to balance the development gap between southern and northern Taiwan. It also represents a close collaboration between the central and local governments, she said. Kaohsiung is expected to become a “technology smart city” and demonstrates the realization of the policy, Tsai said. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) thanked the central government for its support and said the city government would offer incentives for participating companies. These would include zero-interest corporate loans for investments exceeding NT$400 million and a 25 percent wage subsidy for workers, Chen said. The city government would offer a preferential program for industrial land, he said. Companies setting up shop in the innovation zone would stay rent-free for the
Taiwan is reviewing an emergency use authorization application by Moderna Inc for its COVID-19 vaccine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The center had secured 5.05 million doses of the Moderna vaccine. However, as Moderna does not have a branch in Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has forwarded the documents provided by the company and applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an emergency use authorization, said CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman. The application is being reviewed by the FDA, he said. Meanwhile, the COVAX global vaccine distribution platform has yet to inform the CECC about when it would deliver the first batch of the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine to Taiwan. COVAX was supposed to announce a delivery schedule by late last month. Chuang said Taiwan’s representative office in Geneva, Switzerland, made an inquiry on the matter with COVAX, upon the CECC’s request. COVAX said it is still dealing with some issues and currently cannot inform each country when it would receive the first batch of vaccines, he said, adding that the delay is not solely targeted at Taiwan. Separately yesterday, the CECC reported an imported case of COVID-19 — a Taiwanese student who returned from Poland. The student traveled to Poland in September last year, returned to Taiwan on Jan. 28 and was quarantined at a relative’s residence without showing any symptoms, Chuang said. The student on Feb. 12 returned to his home to undergo self-health management, he added. He underwent a paid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at a hospital on Friday, as he was planning to return to Poland for study, and the test result came back positive the same day, with a cycle threshold value of 35, indicating a low viral load, Chuang said. The student tested negative in a second PCR test
The US on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the country a third shot to battle the outbreak that has killed more than 500,000 Americans. The single-shot vaccine is highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19, including against newer variants, the US Food and Drug Administration said. “This is exciting news for all Americans, and an encouraging development in our efforts to bring an end to the crisis,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement. However, he urged Americans to remain vigilant with anti-virus curbs, such as social distancing, saying that new variants of the virus still posed a threat. “But we cannot let our guard down now or assume that victory is inevitable,” he said. A third vaccine is seen as a vital means to ramp up the immunization rate in the US, where more than 500,000 people have lost their lives to COVID-19. In large clinical trials, the J&J vaccine’s efficacy against severe disease was 85.9 percent in the US, 81.7 percent in South Africa and 87.6 percent in Brazil. Overall, among 39,321 participants across all regions, the efficacy against severe COVID-19 was 85.4 percent, but it fell to 66.1 percent when including moderate forms of the disease. Analyses of various demographic groups revealed no marked differences across age, ethnicity or people with underlying conditions. The J&J vaccine is the third to be approved in the US after Pfizer Inc’s and Moderna Inc’s were provisionally approved in December last year. More than 65 million people in the US have so far received at least one shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
HEAVY-HANDED: Security forces fatally shot people in at least three cities and detained hundreds, while a reporter was beaten and held, and another shot by a rubber bullet Burmese security forces yesterday shot dead at least six protesters in the bloodiest action so far to smother opposition to the military coup four weeks ago. The junta is battling to contain a massive street movement demanding it yield power and release ousted Burmese State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained on Feb. 1 along with top political allies. Yesterday brought a significant escalation in force, with fatal shootings of protesters in at least three cities, as police and soldiers attempted to bring the civil disobedience campaign to heel. Three men were killed and at least 20 others injured when security forces moved on a rally in the southern coastal city of Dawei. Rescue worker Pyae Zaw Hein said the trio were “shot dead with live rounds,” while the injured were hit by rubber bullets. “More wounded people keep coming in,” he told reporters. Two teenagers were gunned down in Bago, a two-hour drive north of the commercial capital, Yangon. Ambulance driver Than Lwin Oo told reporters that he had sent the bodies of the 18-year-olds to the mortuary at Bago’s main hospital. Officers in Yangon began dispersing small crowds minutes before the scheduled beginning of the day’s protest, with a 23-year-old man shot dead in the city’s east. “His wife is heartbroken,” Win Ko, a social worker who visited the man’s widow, told reporters. “She’s three months pregnant.” Elsewhere, protesters took up positions behind barricades and wielded homemade shields to defend themselves against the onslaught, with police using tear gas to clear some rallies. Hundreds of people had been arrested by evening and transported to the Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, where many of Myanmar’s leading democracy campaigners have served long jail terms under previous dictatorships. One man in Mandalay was taken to hospital in critical condition after a projectile pierced his helmet and lodged into his brain. A doctor in
‘ONE PERSON PER UNIT’: People undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they have special approval Starting tomorrow, people under home isolation would be required to follow the “one person per housing unit” rule if in private housing, or stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the rules require people under home quarantine to be quarantined with one person per housing unit, or at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility. “Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. “We consider the risk of infection to be relatively high among people living in the same household.” People undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they obtain special approval, the CECC said. If all members of a household have been put under home isolation and were last exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case on the same day, they would be allowed to isolate in the same housing unit, but in separate rooms with independent bathrooms, it said. Minors, people aged 65 or older, people with disabilities or catastrophic illness, who need to be accompanied by another adult during home isolation, would be allowed to isolate in a housing unit with one caregiver, Chen said, adding that the caregiver would receive a home isolation notice and would be obligated to follow isolation rules. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is deputy chief of the CECC’s medical response division, said gene sequencing on virus samples taken from 14 people among the 21 confirmed cases in a cluster infection at Taoyuan General Hospital has found that they were all infected with novel variant SARS-CoV-2, CAL.20C, which was first identified in South California. The variant is possibly
Taiwanese firms responded swiftly to a call to buy the nation’s surplus pineapple crop after China abruptly stopped imports, with 10 local firms placing orders totaling 1,600 tonnes, Council of Agriculture officials said yesterday. China on Friday announced that it would suspend pineapple imports from Taiwan starting tomorrow, saying that various types of mealybugs were found in several batches of fresh pineapples bought from the nation last year. Taiwanese farmers expressed anger and disappointment over the decision. The council said it had dealt with the pests after China notified it of their discovery in 13 batches of pineapples sent between March and May last year. It had not received reports of the pests since new measures took effect on Oct. 19, it said. Excluding the 13 batches, 99.79 percent of the pineapples sent to China since last year have met Chinese import standards, it added. Following China’s import ban, government officials called on Taiwanese to support the nation’s pineapple farmers, who are preparing for the harvest season. The council has set up a hotline for companies to place large orders, and it took measures to stabilize pineapple prices. Taiwan’s annual pineapple production has averaged about 420,000 tonnes over the past few years, of which nearly 50,000 tonnes were exported to China, government data showed. Taiwan last year exported 41,661 tonnes of pineapples to China for NT$1.49 billion (US$52.64 million), accounting for 91 percent of total pineapple exports, the data showed. “We are looking at companies to place orders to present pineapples as gifts to employees and customers. We have already received orders for 1,600 tonnes in one day, which is close to 10 percent of our target of 20,000 tonnes for the domestic market,” council officials said yesterday. “If more companies join in, we could reach the target in 12 days.” The council said it would strive
READY TO GO: The ministry said it expects to choose the company that would create the platform in April and have the system online at the end of the year The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) plans to open bidding this week for the creation of a smart transportation rental platform for more than 1,700 vehicle rental companies nationwide. The ministry on Saturday said that the system is expected to go online at the end of this year. A mobile platform would facilitate vehicle rental services not only for locals but also foreigners who visit the country, the ministry said. Working with the National Joint Association of Rental Car of the Republic of China, the ministry said it has obtained letters of intent from more than 600 companies. If the platform is created, renting a vehicle in Taiwan would be as easy as logging in to a mobile app, the ministry said, adding that services would also include chauffeurs. The platform would be listed among package deals offered by tourism agencies or the Taiwan Pass program, the ministry said. The Taiwan Pass is an electronic ticket offering time and location-specific discounts for different modes of travel and destinations recommended by local governments. The platform would hopefully provide more flexibility regarding travel packages or programs, the ministry said. Taichung, and Miaoli, Changhua and Nantou counties have been selected to test the platform, it said. The platform would also enable users to pick up a vehicle at one location and return it at another, the ministry said. The ministry said it would be opening the bidding online this week and would be holding an information session on March 10, adding that it expects to choose a candidate in April. The company that wins the bid would be tasked with managing the platform, integrating existing rental company services into the system and charging rental companies for joining it, while the ministry would levy a fee on the company running the system, it said. The company would be expected to provide data on the platform
HOPE? There are no treatments that can reverse the damage caused by pulmonary fibrosis, but experimental stem cell therapy has helped mice that have the disease A National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) research team has transferred the technology for its experimental stem cell therapy for pulmonary fibrosis to two biotech companies, the first step toward beginning clinical trials, it announced on Friday. The team led by Fu Yu-show (傅毓秀), a professor in the university’s Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, first published details of its therapy, which involves transplanting stem cells collected from umbilical cord fluid into lungs affected by fibrosis, in the international medical journal Theranostics in 2019. At a ceremony on Friday, Fu and her team said they have agreed to transfer the research to two local biotech firms, Fuhwasheng Regenerative Medicine Co and Taiwan Bio Theraputics Co, in preparation for domestic clinical trials. Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease characterized by the progressive scarring and thickening of tissue in the lungs, which can be caused by factors such as smoking, air pollution, infection or aging, Fu said. Because the scarring is permanent, and there are no medications to reverse the damage, treatment has typically focused on easing symptoms and improving quality of life, she said. The team found that umbilical stem cells transplanted into the lungs of mice with the disease not only survived, but also secreted growth hormones capable of reducing inflammation, Fu said. Aside from its anti-inflammatory effects, the therapy also promoted the degradation of collagen, a protein in scar tissue, and stimulated the regeneration of alveoli, the tiny sacs in the lungs responsible for the intake of oxygen, she said. Mice that were given the therapy experienced higher blood oxygen saturation and lower respiratory rates, indicating deeper and less strained breathing, Fu said. After publishing the results of the study, the team received inquiries from a number of pulmonary fibrosis patients and their families from around the world, leading them
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began more than a year ago, Taiwanese consumers have developed a penchant for sanitation products and cosmetics that has led to unexpected opportunities for some businesses, retail sources said. During the pandemic, consumers have been buying larger amounts of cleaning supplies, such as medical-grade alcohol, antibacterial soap, disinfectant sprays, wet wipes and hypochlorous acid cleaning solution, a Watson’s Personal Care Stores official said. Demand for these items grew several times and shortages of 75 percent alcohol solution were particularly acute until Watsons took measures to maintain adequate supplies, the official said. A Pxmart spokesperson said sales of bleach, liquid and bar soap, and alcohol hand wipes remained high, while a Carrefour spokesperson said sales of washers that utilize steam or hot water for better sanitization had gone up during the pandemic. A spokesperson for smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Corp said that sales of its previously unsuccessful automatic soap dispenser had increased since the virus’ outbreak. Meanwhile, the requirement to wear masks in public has seemingly led to an increased interest in eye makeup. Online retailer Momo.com said that sales of eye makeup had nearly doubled last year, with eye shadow palettes being the most popular. Drug chain Cosmed said that sales of waterproof mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow had surged, claiming the top three spots for its most popular items. Department store Shin Kong Mitsukoshi said that consumers have become more interested in skincare products that protect the skin against irritation and allergies, which might be caused by prolonged mask wearing. Ointments featuring plant extracts that are billed as environmentally friendly and capable of protecting the skin are fast becoming one of the company’s best sellers, while breathable and hydrating foundations are becoming more popular, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi said. As Taiwanese reduce unnecessary contact with others by cooking at home, supermarkets across the country are
The Taiwan International Light Festival, which opened on Friday at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung, seeks to “illuminate the dark world shrouded by the [COVID-19] pandemic,” the Ministry of Culture said. The exhibition, in its second year, is themed “Silver Lining” (黑暗之光) and showcases light installations by eight artists and collectives from Taiwan and abroad in the museum’s outdoor space, the ministry said in a statement on Friday. The participants from Taiwan include new media artist Tsai Yi-ting (蔡宜婷), the duo Hsieh Yu-cheng X Wang Chung-yuan (謝佑承 X 王中原), the multidisciplinary collective UxU Studio (有用主張) and the studio Peppercorns Interactive Media Art (黑川互動媒體藝術), the ministry said. Their works are featured alongside those of Groupe LAPS from France, Yasuhiro Chida from Japan, ENCOR from Switzerland and Kou Tak Leong (高德亮) from Macau, it said. “Through their light artwork, the artists lead the public to reflect on the positive meaning contained in negativity and darkness, and hope to break through the barriers [created by] national borders and the pandemic to illuminate the dark world shrouded by the pandemic,” the ministry said. The artists have created pieces including a light sculpture controlled by a computer program, a site-specific installation engaging with the museum’s surrounding environment and an interactive work of art incorporating 5G technology, it said. “Over the past year, the world has been shrouded in the shadow of the pandemic, and finally, it has seen some light in recent days,” Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) said at the opening, expressing the hope that the combination of light and art at the festival would “shine a beacon for us and lead us away from the shadow of the pandemic.” Light art is one of the best ways to combine art and technology, he said, adding that the ministry has also been promoting the art form
Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara is to hold a solo exhibition in Taipei this month as scheduled, as well as at two new locations in southern Taiwan after people there expressed an interest, one of the event’s organizers said. The free exhibitions are to take place at the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Taipei from March 12 to June 20, the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in July, and the Tainan Art Museum in November, the General Association of Chinese Culture said, adding that this would be the first time that Miss Moonlight, a painting Nara finished last year, would be displayed overseas. The painting, which made its debut at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo last summer, features a girl — a regular subject among Nara’s works of art — in a yellow top with her eyes closed. Viewers would also be able to see the artist’s paintings on canvas and wooden boards, objects made of a variety of materials, and other works previously exhibited at the Mori Art Museum. Nara, who was trained in Germany, is now in Taiwan to prepare the exhibition, the association said. The association is organizing the exhibitions with the Yoshitomo Nara Foundation and the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts.
SCARS REMAIN: As international experience shows that democracy might regress and authoritarianism might return, Taiwan must unite to hold on to its freedom, Tsai said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday urged people to cherish the nation’s hard-won democracy and freedom, and said that awareness of human rights must be internalized into the DNA of the government. She made the remarks at a Peace Memorial Day event at the Kaohsiung Museum of History to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the 228 Incident. The 228 Incident refers to a protest in 1947 against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime and the resulting crackdown that left thousands dead and led to nearly four decades of martial law. Anti-government protests had spread to Kaohsiung by March 3, 1947. Patches on the walls of the museum cover bullet holes left behind from the Incident, Tsai said, adding that when the military intervened, they targeted the Kaohsiung City Government, Kaohsiung Main Station and Kaohsiung Senior High School. However, despite being under authoritarian rule, Taiwanese did not give up fighting for freedom and democracy, she said. The 228 Incident, the White Terror period and authoritarian rule are painful memories for everyone living in Taiwan, she said. The government should have a deep understanding of the system of oppression under authoritarian rule, and how it violated human rights, so that transitional justice can be achieved, she said. Generations of Taiwanese must unite, work hard, cherish their hard-won democracy and freedom, and continue to define their history, she said. International experience shows that democracy might regress and authoritarianism might return, Tsai said, adding that human rights awareness must be internalized into the DNA of the government. Separately yesterday, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) attended a commemoration organized by Taipei’s Gikong Presbyterian Church to mark the anniversaries of the Incident and the murders of family members of veteran democracy campaigner Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) 41 years ago. Lin’s mother and twin daughters were found stabbed to death at his house on Feb. 28, 1980. The perpetrator
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) early yesterday morning set off on his third one-day cycling trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung, but had to cut the journey short after arriving in Changhua about three hours behind schedule. Ko finished his first 520km “twin-tower” cycling trip from the nation’s northernmost Fuguijiao Lighthouse (富貴角燈塔) in Keelung to the southernmost Oluanpi Lighthouse (鵝鑾鼻燈塔) in Pingtung County on Feb. 28, 2016. On his second run, on Feb. 28, 2019, Ko only rode from Taipei to Hsinchu, returned to Taipei for a ceremony, and later continued the trip from Tainan. The Taipei Department of Sports said that the city government this year formed a “Team Taipei” relay to complete the challenging one-day, 365.5km Taipei-to-Kaohsiung cycling trip. Ko led the first team, while Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) and Taipei Department of Sports Commissioner Li Tsai-li (李再立) led the second and third teams respectively. The event was held to promote cycling as a recreational activity, as well as to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the 228 Incident, it said. Ko’s team embarked on the first leg of the journey at 12:50am from Kuandu Temple (關渡宮) in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投). They were set to arrive at Baotian Temple (寶天宮) in Changhua County’s Shengang Township (伸港) shortly before 8am, but he arrived much later at about 10:43am. The planned destination for the first part of the journey was Kouhu Visitor Center (口湖遊客中心) in Yunlin County. From there, Ko was to return to Taipei by high-speed rail to attend a ceremony to commemorate the 228 Incident in the afternoon, before returning to finish the final leg from Tainan to Kaohsiung in the evening. However, Ko had to cut short the first part of the trip at Baotian Temple to return to Taipei. At the temple, Ko said the trip was “really tiring” and he had not trained enough this
DECADES OF INFLUENCE: Over the past 20 years, China has made inroads with Aborigines, funding political campaigns and trips, a legislator said Lawmakers have called on the National Security Bureau to investigate claims of pervasive Chinese influence among Aboriginal communities. Legislators pointed to a surge in communist propaganda and Chinese-funded projects over the past few years, which they say are aimed at infiltrating and buying political influence among Aboriginal communities. “China has for decades carried out wide-ranging ‘united front’ tactics and propaganda campaigns targeting Aborigines,” said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩), a member of the Puyuma community in Taitung County. “Now, they are influencing elections for local councilors and village chiefs, offering money for candidates to mount their campaigns, and to establish a network of Aboriginal friends and influencers.” The bureau has found that China has used its “united front” strategies to garner influence, with all-expense-paid trips, Chinese companies helping to finance Aboriginal businesses, subsidies for Aboriginal farmers traveling to China for business, establishing “Taiwan agricultural trade emporiums” in China, donating to Aboriginal youth programs, financing school lunch programs, and funding harvest festivals and traditional events, Chen said. “There are financial rewards for Aborigines going to China to engage in traditional crafts and farming for specialty crops, helping to set up and fund Aboriginal organizations in Taiwan, which serve as conduits for China to influence local villages and people,” she said. “Chinese money has paid for fleets of ambulances and small buses for Aboriginal communities, under the names of Aboriginal lawmakers and local politicians,” she added. During election campaigns, some local organizations take trips to tour China, with the participants paying only for airfare, while the Chinese government foots the rest of the bill as a way to “buy voter support,” Chen said. Another method is for the Chinese government to instruct Taiwanese businesspeople based in China to make large political donations to certain candidates of the pan-blue camp, she added. Chen demanded the bureau investigate these
A campaign to start a referendum against a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project near an algal reef off Taoyuan has been extended to Wednesday next week, after generating massive support over the past few days, campaigners said yesterday. State-run utility CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC) is building an LNG terminal off the coast of Datan Borough (大潭) in the city’s Guanyin District (觀音), a project that was approved by the Environmental Protection Administration in 2018. The Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance is making a last-minute push to secure the needed 350,000 signatures so that the referendum to conserve the reef can proceed to the next stage of the process and reach a vote in August, it said. The proposed referendum would ask: “Do you agree that CPC’s LNG terminal should be relocated from its planned site on the algal reef coast of Datan and its adjacent waters?” The campaign was originally to end yesterday so the alliance could start reviewing the submissions to meet the Central Election Committee’s March 17 deadline. However, after collecting about 240,000 signatures, the alliance urged supporters to continue submitting signatures until Wednesday next week. The campaign, which started last year, had been relatively low-key until recently, when an increasing number of celebrities and political figures spoke out in support of preserving the reef. The alliance said it has been receiving new signatures at a rate of 30,000 to 60,000 per day over the past few days. Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said earlier this week that every effort has been made to avoid environmental damage caused by the LNG project, while securing the country’s energy supply. “We want to stop the coal-burning generation of electricity as soon as possible to cut carbon emissions, so this is a choice we had to make,” Su said. For instance, the government has already minimized the impact on the reef by
MULTI-USE: The arrangement of seats in future vehicles would be different, allowing passengers to do everything they do at home, the CEO of the firm’s EV platform said Electric vehicles (EVs) developed on a Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) platform would be built like “a smartphone on a different platform,” Jack Cheng (鄭顯聰), chief executive officer of the Hon Hai-initiated MIH Open Platform Alliance, said on Saturday. It would be the ultimate goal to make vehicles built on the platform an extension of the driver’s home, he said during an online presentation. The alliance aims to provide resources to automakers and boost Taiwan’s EV development, with a vision to make an EV its owner’s “second home,” Cheng said. “Whatever they can do in their home, they will be able to do in an EV,” Cheng said. All passengers in a vehicle developed on the platform would be able to attend live-streamed meetings, watch TV or even play mahjong, he said, adding that he envisions a “mobility world” in which EVs play a major role. The arrangement of seats in the vehicles would be different from that in other vehicles, which would require crash-testing to adapt to the new situation, Cheng said. Commenting on the role of Hon Hai, a manufacturer of consumer electronics, in EV development, Cheng said that the company can build on its experience. “Building an EV is like assembling a smartphone on a different platform,” he said, adding that EVs would in the future be “everyday tools” like smartphones are today. Hon Hai, known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), launched its EV platform in October last year. As part of its efforts to diversify its business, the firm said that it aims to build the platform into the “Android of the EV industry.” More than 800 companies have joined the platform, Hon Hai said. The firm last week said that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Fisker Inc, a California-based start-up, to build a new EV model under
Taiwan’s IC exports last month hit a new monthly record of US$11.9 billion, up 46.3 percent from a year earlier, on the back of strong global demand, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Thursday. Although the first quarter is traditionally a slow season for the semiconductor sector, emerging applications such as automotive electronics, 5G, high-performance computing and the Internet of Things helped the nation’s IC suppliers boost their sales, the ministry said in a statement. The momentum has carried over from last year, when the semiconductor industry shrugged off the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with exports totaling US$122.5 billion, up 22.1 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said. Demand for Taiwanese chips in major markets such as China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia remained as strong last month as it was a year earlier, it said. The semiconductor industry has become the main driver of Taiwan’s export growth over the past decade, the ministry said. From 2011 to last year, the compound annual growth rate of the nation’s exports averaged 1.1 percent, while the rate for semiconductor exports averaged 3.3 percent, and the rate for information technology, communications and audiovisual equipment averaged 9 percent, the ministry said. Without the semiconductor industry, the average growth rate of the nation’s exports would have been minus-1.5 percent, the ministry added. China and Hong Kong were combined the destination of more than 50 percent of Taiwanese semiconductor exports over the past decade, and last month about 60 percent of the exports went to those markets, it said. China’s high demand for Taiwanese ICs is driven by an inventory build-up by the country’s numerous brands, the ministry said. Especially before the US on Sept. 15 last year imposed sanctions on Huawei Technologies Co (華為), Chinese buyers stockpiled Taiwan-made ICs, it said.
DESPITE PROFIT DROP: Local subsidiaries continued to generate increasing operating profit, while some overseas operations were affected by COVID-19, the company said President Chain Store Corp’s (PCSC, 統一超商) board of directors has proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$9 per common share, the second-highest in the company’s history, despite the firm’s lower net profit last year due to losses from its overseas investments. Taiwan’s largest convenience store operator, which owns more than 6,000 7-Eleven stores around the nation, reported net profit of NT$10.24 billion (US$361.61 million) for last year, down 2.85 percent from the NT$10.54 billion in 2019, PCSC said in a statement on Friday. Earnings per share were NT$9.85, compared with NT$10.14 the previous year, it said. The proposed dividend, a payout ratio of 91.37 percent, suggests the company’s positive outlook for this year. Based on the closing price of PCSC shares of NT$262 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Friday, the payout would translate into a dividend yield of 3.44 percent, higher than the TAIEX’s average dividend yield of 3.3 percent and local banks’ one-year deposit interest rate of below 1 percent. However, the firm’s net profit missed market expectations last year, mainly due to substantial losses at its Philippine subsidiary, Philippine Seven Corp, amid the country’s COVID-19 lockdown, it said. Its business in Taiwan continued to generate increasing operating profit, PCSC said. As of the end of last year, the company operated 6,024 7-Eleven stores in Taiwan, and 10,526 stores around the world, including those in the Philippines and in Shanghai, China. Consolidated sales year last year grew 0.95 percent annually to NT$258.595 billion, benefiting from rising sales in Taiwan, at its core convenience store business, and its subsidiaries including online bookstore Books.com Co Ltd (博客來) and home-delivery service President Transnet Corp (統一速達), it said. PCSC also owns drugstore chain Cosmed (康是美), coffee shop operator President Starbucks Coffee Corp (統一星巴克) and Uni-Ustyle Department Store (統一時代百貨). On a consolidated basis, gross margin decreased 0.24 percentage points to 34.07 percent
Moody’s Investors Service last week affirmed Taiwan’s sovereign credit rating of “Aa3” and changed its credit outlook for the nation to “positive” from “stable,” which is not only a first since the ratings agency began covering Taiwan in 1994, but also a vote of confidence in the nation’s resilient economy and its good governance model, despite US-China trade tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic. The government welcomed the move. The Ministry of Finance said that Moody’s affirmation reflects Taiwan’s strong fiscal discipline and effectiveness of restoring economic normalcy amid the pandemic, while the outlook upgrade indicates that the nation’s sovereign rating might be upgraded within a year. The central bank said that the agency’s assessment suggests the nation’s ample foreign-exchange reserve and its flexible exchange rate regime strengthen the economy’s shock-absorption capacity and have enhanced its monetary and macroeconomic policy effectiveness. The assessment also points to the bank’s deployment of macroprudential measures last year to ease financial risks from elevated household debt and rising property prices in some areas, it said. The Moody’s report is just the latest assessment from global institutions giving high marks to Taiwan. The International Institute for Management Development’s annual world competitiveness report, released in June last year, gave the nation its best rating since 2016, while the institute’s global digital competitiveness survey and the corporate governance rankings by the Asian Corporate Governance Association last year also gave Taiwan its best marks in the past few years, the Executive Yuan said last week. Despite daunting challenges at home and abroad, Taiwan has managed to keep COVID-19 at bay, and the latest data show that the economy and stock markets are stronger than those of its regional peers. However, closer scrutiny reveals that economic development has been concentrated among a few high-tech industries, especially electronics, communications and semiconductors, while the nation’s overseas
When Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) wakes up one morning and decides that his People’s Liberation Army (PLA) can win a war to conquer Taiwan, that is when his war will begin. To ensure that Xi never gains that confidence it is now necessary for the United States to shed any notions of “forbearance” in arms sales to Taiwan. Largely because they could guarantee military superiority on the Taiwan Strait, US administrations from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama practiced “forbearance” — pre-emptive limitation of arms sales to Taiwan — in hopes of gaining diplomatic leverage with Beijing. President Ronald Reagan was convinced not to sell Taiwan an advanced 4th-generation fighter like the F-16 but instead sold Taiwan the components to make its less capable and logistically awkward Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). George Bush and Barack Obama refused to sell Taiwan new F-16s as the PLA developed the J-10, J-11, J-15 and J-16 4th-gen fighters and the J-20 5th-generation fighter. No administration from Bill Clinton to Obama would even consider selling short-range ballistic missiles to Taiwan as that might be “provocative,” as the CCP/PLA proceeded to build up to over 2,000 theater range ballistic missiles now targeting Taiwan and US forces in Japan and Guam. When US analysts supporting current President Joe Biden heaped criticism on former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s January 10 decision to end the State Department “Contact Guidelines” that have demeaned democratic Taiwan officials for 40 years, there was some fear that “forbearance” would return with the Biden Administration that began on January 20, 2021. But it took only three days for the CCP/PLA to shatter any hope by the new administration that forbearance regarding Taiwan could avert the CCP’s murderous intentions. On January 23 the PLA sent eight H-6K bombers to simulate the launching of up to 48
Rice-growing champion Huang Kun-bin (黃崑濱), better known as “Uncle Kun-bin,” died on Feb. 20 at the age of 92. I knew him, but he did not really know me. After watching the 2004 TV documentary about him, Let It Be (無米樂), I occasionally drove to Jingliao Village (菁寮) in Tainan’s Houbi District (後壁) to buy rice from him, and I would always benefit from our conversations. The last time I saw Huang was in late September two years ago. He still joked with me as I bought rice and took pictures with him, but as a professional physical therapist, I could tell that his physical strength was deteriorating, as he moved the bags of rice in his shop less vigorously. When I went to buy rice from him again last year, I met his wife and later learned from the newspaper that he was ill and in bed. In Let It Be, directors Yen Lan-chuan (顏蘭權) and Chuang Yi-tseng (莊益增) highlight the predicaments facing Taiwan’s agricultural industry by documenting the daily lives of four farmers in the village. The problems they picture include the outflow of young people and the aging population, low prices of local agricultural products, and the inability to compete in price with foreign agricultural products after Taiwan had joined the WTO in 2002. Despite the country’s large areas of farmland, the average income of farming households is relatively low, affecting young people’s willingness to return home after their education to work in agriculture. As a result, large areas of farmland lie uncultivated. With his love for his profession, Huang continued farming as he aged, because no younger members of his family were willing to take over. After he auctioned off his prize-winning rice for NT$1 million (US$35,328 at the current exchange rate), he used the money to set up
‘CANNOT ARGUE’: Despite the referee allowing two controversial tries by Wales to stand, England coach Eddie Jones said that they were worthy winners Wales on Saturday surged clear in the closing stages to beat England 40-24 in Cardiff to clinch the Triple Crown and stay on course for a Six Nations Grand Slam. Defeat all but ended reigning champions England’s hopes of a successful title defense. England, in a match where French referee Pascal Gauzere controversially allowed two of Wales’ four tries to stand, battled back from 17-6 down to 24-24 with 18 minutes left. However, England’s indiscipline, a long-running problem for coach Eddie Jones’ men, allowed Wales replacement Callum Sheedy to kick three penalties before Cory Hill’s late try rounded off the victory. It was the latest chapter in a remarkable Wales turnaround after they won just three of 10 matches last year under coach Wayne Pivac. Wales led 17-14 at the break following two controversial tries scored by Josh Adams and Liam Williams. England wing Anthony Watson’s try reduced the deficit before captain Owen Farrell’s penalty on the stroke of halftime cut the gap to three points. However, England could have no complaints when scrumhalf Kieran Hardy crossed for Wales’ third try early in the second half. From 24-14 behind, England hit back with a Farrell penalty and a try by Ben Youngs just after the hour. With Farrell adding the conversion, England were level heading into the last quarter. Yet Wales responded by finishing with their highest points score against arch-rivals England. “I’m very, very pleased for the players,” Pivac told the BBC. “Some people will say it [luck] has been on our side the last three matches, but you have to be in games to win them,” the New Zealander added. “I have played in a few games on the end of those decisions, it is up to the officials to make them,” Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones said. Fellow skipper Farrell was equally wary of discussing Gauzere’s display, saying “we
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez demolished Turkey’s Avni Yildirim in three rounds to retain his WBC and WBA super middleweight titles by knockout on Saturday. Mexico’s Alvarez dominated underdog Yildirim from the opening bell and sent the Turk crashing to the canvas with a crisp left-right combination in the third round at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. The outclassed Yildirim then failed to emerge from his corner for the fourth round as Alvarez once again demonstrated why he is regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. “I wanted to have a great fight here, and I did what I had to do,” Alvarez said. “I needed a knockout and that’s what I did. It doesn’t matter if they’re taller, if they’ve got more reach, or they’ve got a good trainer. I came to do my job; I came here to win.” Alvarez, who improved to 55-1-2 with 37 knockouts, had got back into the ring on Saturday a little more than two months after beating Britain’s Callum Smith in December last year. After the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn said the 30-year-old Mexican star would next seek to add the WBO belt to his collection with a May 8 fight against Britain’s Billy Joe Saunders. The Saunders fight would be the next step in Alvarez’s quest to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion in boxing history. “No one has done it,” Alvarez said. “I want to make history. No-one has done it at 168.” Alvarez meanwhile brushed off suggestions that he wants to be remembered as the greatest boxer Mexico has ever produced. “I respect everyone, but I want to make my own history,” Alvarez said. Yildirim, fighting for the first time in two years, looked hesitant from the outset. The end came after a third round where Alvarez once again went on the attack against a passive Yildirim. A straight left
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin came back from a set down yesterday to beat Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik at the Singapore Tennis Open and win his first ATP Tour title. Popyrin started off badly, losing the first set 4-6, but charged back and snatched the second 6-0. Bublik put up more of a fight at the start of the third, with both men holding their serve until it reached 2-2. However, Popyrin then surged ahead, firing a total of 11 aces, to take the set 6-2 and clinch the title. The 21-year-old, who had earlier stunned former world No. 3 Marin Cilic in the semi-finals, was delighted with his breakthrough. “It’s an unbelievable feeling to know I have won my first ATP title,” he said. “I always have the belief that I can compete against the top guys, and without that belief, I would not be able to win an ATP title. It’s a good start and hopefully I can build on this result.” “We put in a lot of hard work in pre-season and it’s paying off,” Popyrin said. “Also my family behind the scenes ... they’ve sacrificed so much for me and to finally win a tournament, just shows how much hard work they put in with me also and this is for them, this is for them 100 per cent.” He added that Bublik “was mentally up and down, so I just had to keep my head level and weather the storm when he was playing well in the first set. I was not scared — I knew I was playing well”. In the doubles finals, the formidable partnership between Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen proved too strong for Australia’s Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith as the Belgians won comfortably 6-2, 6-3. Additional reporting by Reuters
With one star back for the Dallas Mavericks and another one sidelined for the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA’s longest winning streak was halted rather easily. Luka Doncic scored 27 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 18 in his return from injury, helping the Mavericks snap the Nets’ eight-game run with a 115-98 victory on Saturday night. James Harden had 29 points for the Nets, but only four after halftime while playing as Brooklyn’s solo superstar with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving sidelined. “Obviously, they had two great players out, but he’s an amazing player. It’s very tough to stop him,” Doncic said. “We did a great job in the second half. I think it was way better.” Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left hamstring strain and Irving rested his surgically repaired right shoulder. That took more than 56 points per game away from the NBA’s highest-scoring team and Brooklyn managed just 34 points after halftime. “Look, I know they’re down a couple of superstars, but to hold them to 18 and 16 in the second half is pretty damn good,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. Porzingis missed the past three games with lower back tightness and shook off his rust after halftime to help Dallas break open the game. Leading by four at halftime, the Mavericks came out for the third quarter focused on throwing the ball inside to the 2.2m-tall Latvian, who has nearly 18cm on any starter in the Nets’ small-ball starting lineup. He responded with 10 points in the quarter, including a three-point play that capped an 11-2 spurt and pushed Dallas’ lead to 85-74. It became 91-76 when Dorian Finney-Smith blocked Harden’s shot to lead to Tim Hardaway Jr’s basket. Dallas put it away with 12 straight points early in the fourth, making it 106-84 and soon after
‘THE NEXT STEP’: The vaccines are being tested to ensure correct temperatures had been maintained during flight and would be used to inoculate people in priority groups Australia yesterday received 300,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and is to begin using them by Monday next week. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the arrival in a statement, saying that it was “the next step as we ramp up the vaccine rollout.” It comes as New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian called for the federal government to keep states better informed of its vaccine rollout plans. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), is the second COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Australia after Pfizer’s jab began arriving early last month. Australia expects to receive about 1.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from its production centers in Europe before its Australian partner company CSL begins producing 50 million doses of the vaccine domestically from late this month. The first doses of the new vaccine would be held in a storage facility in western Sydney before undergoing batch testing by the TGA. Australian Minister of Health Greg Hunt said temperature checking on the vaccines was under way, but that his “preliminary advice” was the correct temperatures to store the vaccine had “been maintained throughout the course of the flight.” Hunt also said he expected about 50,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be sent to Australian states over the next few days. “It’s another important milestone,” he said. “In one shipment we have more than doubled the total amount of vaccines that have arrived in Australia.” Morrison said the arrival meant “we will now be able to scale up the vaccination rollout to our priority groups, including our most vulnerable Australians and to our frontline border and health workers.” “Australia is in a unique position, because, importantly, this vaccine gives us the ability to manufacture onshore. Every Australian who wishes to be vaccinated will be able to receive
‘UNCOMFORTABLE’: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo denied the accusation and called for an outside review of the allegations, led by a former federal judge A second ex-employee of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has accused him of sexual harassment, charges the governor denied on Saturday. This time the allegations came from 25-year-old former health adviser Charlotte Bennett, who told the New York Times that the governor sexually harassed her in the spring of last year. According to Bennett, the 63-year-old politician said in June that he was open to dating women in their 20s, and asked her if she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, the Times reported. While Cuomo never tried to touch her, “I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett told the paper. She added that she spoke to Cuomo’s chief of staff and legal counsel, who transferred her to another post in another building. Bennett was happy with the new job and decided not to insist on an investigation. Cuomo became a national star last spring with his straight-talking yet empathetic COVID-19 briefings that contrasted sharply with then-US president Donald Trump’s dismissive approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the harassment allegations come as Cuomo faces a growing storm over his handling of the pandemic in nursing homes in his state. In a statement on Saturday, Cuomo said he “never made advances toward Ms Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” He said he wanted instead to support Bennett, who had told him that she was a sexual assault survivor. The governor, whose third term expires at the end of next year, called for “a full and thorough outside review” of these charges, led by a former federal judge. “I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgments,” he added. This is the second
Salvadorans yesterday went to the polls to vote in legislative and municipal elections that could give a broad victory to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s party, consolidating his overhaul of traditional politics. Opinion polls show that Bukele’s party, New Ideas, could win more than half of the mayoral positions, and enough seats to hold at least a simple majority in Salvadoran Congress. A two-thirds majority in Congress would let the party appoint high-level government officials, such as the attorney general and five of the 15 Salvadoran Supreme Court justices. Bukele, a 39-year-old publicist and city mayor, took office in 2019 promising to root out corruption and upend the two-party politics — led by the Nationalist Republican Alliance and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front — that has dominated since the end of the civil war in 1992. Despite garnering popularity by providing economic support during the COVID-19 pandemic and curbing homicides, Bukele has clashed with the legislature and the Supreme Court, and rights groups have said he has shown authoritarian tendencies. Wilson Sandoval, coordinator of El Salvador’s Anticorruption Legal Advisory Center, said it would be important to maintain a counterweight to the executive branch. Voting for Bukele would essentially take away an entity that can control the executive, Sandoval said, and so “we are giving them a blank check so they can do whatever they want.” Bukele has said his rivals are fearful because his policies threaten their privileges.
Otto von Bismarck once famously remarked that the “great European war will come out of some damn foolish thing in the Balkans.” We may have inched closer to that damn foolish thing in recent weeks. On Feb. 1, a new law came into effect in China, which codified Beijing’s claim that its well-armed Coast Guard could remove vessels in its waters “illegally” and use force against them if necessary. This is no more or less a “law” than any other law administrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), since Beijing could use its Coast Guard to attack vessels from other nations any time it wanted to, without any such law. It is merely another way Beijing legitimates the conflict it seeks to its own people, always a problem for authoritarian states. However, it does signal the increasing seriousness of China’s expansion into its neighbor’s territories. Although Taiwan is often identified as a major flashpoint, and there is much handwringing about US freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea — a pavane whose steps are understood by all involved — the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) — known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan — are the only place in which armed vessels of China and Japan are frequently in dangerous and turbulent proximity to each other. The islands have been Japanese territory since Tokyo claimed them in the 1890s. Prior to that they had been uninhabited rocks belonging to no nation. In the late 1960s, a survey suggested the possibility of oil beneath them, and suddenly both governments of China — the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) — discovered that the little cluster of islands had been Chinese since the Neolithic period. The PRC and ROC governments then hastily reinvented their history
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March 01 to March 07 There was only one Taiwanese department head in Taiwan’s first post-World War II provincial government: Sung Fei-ju (宋斐如), who served as deputy director of the department of education. Sung, who lived in China for over two decades, had close ties with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and was also allowed to start his own newspaper, the People’s News-Leader (人民導報). Aside from Sung, only a handful of Taiwanese held significant positions in the government, almost all of them banshan (半山, half mountain) like him. The term refers to those who moved to China and returned to Taiwan after World War II. Sung’s standing, however, did not save his neck during the 228 Incident, an anti-government uprising on Feb. 28 1947 that was brutally suppressed. He was dragged away from his home on March 11 and never seen again. Lin Cheng-te’s (林政德) book Banshan and 228 (半山與二二八) explores the various roles these banshan took up before, during and after the incident. Despite their allegiance to the government, they tried to help their people in their own way, and in Sung’s case, paid the ultimate price for it. HOPEFUL RETURN As World War II neared its end, the KMT set up a committee led by future governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) to make plans for the takeover and rule of Taiwan. Several founding members were banshan, and Sung joined the following year. They flew to Taipei on Oct. 5, 1945, set up headquarters and began working with local elites such as Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂) to prepare for the Japanese governor-general’s formal surrender on Oct. 25. Sung was one of many Taiwanese who, unsatisfied with Japanese rule, turned to the “motherland” of China. He moved to Beijing in 1922 to attend university, and from 1932 to 1935
“Hey, what is 228 anyway?” My ears perked up when I overheard two young people sitting next to me discussing the upcoming holiday. I was eating a late dinner after spending all afternoon at the library researching and writing about some of the more obscure victims of the 228 Incident, the infamous anti-Chinese Nationalist Party uprising in 1947 that was brutally suppressed. “I have no idea,” the other replied. They proceeded to look it up online and appeared astonished at the new information, especially over the number of alleged victims. Virtually censored and seldom discussed until the late 1980s, it seems that many younger locals still see Feb. 28 as just another day off, not a day of remembrance to the thousands who lost their lives. I only had a cursory understanding of the incident before I started writing the history column Taiwan in Time five years ago, and throughout the years I’ve stumbled my way into some of the seldom-visited, cobweb-filled corners of the tragedy. But there’s still so much to explore, and I gained an even deeper understanding yesterday at the National 228 Museum’s new exhibition Scars on the Land (土地傷痕), which is the first of a three-part series on historic sites related to the 228 Incident in northern Taiwan, starting in Taipei and Keelung. The show opened this past Sunday and runs until May 16, and generally covers events leading up to the uprising and the immediate aftermath. The second part, which opens May 20, will cover New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli and deal with the attempts to negotiate with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government before troops arrived from China for the final bloodbath, which is detailed in the last chapter, set for Aug. 19. The exhibition is organized chronologically. The first few sites set the scene
You like the great outdoors, don’t you? (1/5) 你不是很熱衷戶外活動嗎？（一） A: Are you ready for the hiking trip next weekend? B: Hiking trip? Oh, that completely slipped my mind! I haven’t done anything about it! A: No worries, I have a list here of all the things you will need to take with you. Let’s go through them now. You like the great outdoors, don’t you? I’m sure you have most of the equipment you’ll need tucked away somewhere at home. B: OK. Hit me with it. What’s first? A:下週爬山你準備好了嗎？ B: 爬山？喔我完全忘光光了！我根本就還沒開始準備！ A: 沒關係，我這邊有一張清單，列出應該要帶的東西，我們來看一下。你不是很熱衷戶外活動嗎？想必大部份的用品你家裡已經有了。 B: 那好，你就唸來聽聽吧。第一項是什麼？ （Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
As the COVID-19 pandemic shows signs of slowing down, and having considered the Taiwanese medical system’s ability to cope, as well as the demands of business and trade, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), announced that, starting March 1, foreigners (including those from Hong Kong, Macao and China) holding valid residence certificates for Taiwan can enter the country without applying for permission in advance. However, they are required to present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result obtained within three days before their flight, and home isolation after entry still requires one person per household. Due to the successive discovery of mutant virus strains abroad, Chen said that in order to avoid the risk of community transmission due to large-scale gatherings, people must still wear masks during such events, and they must not remove them except to drink water. If a person does not wear a mask or eats and drinks carelessly, the offender will be fined between NT$3,000 and NT$15,000 by the local government of the place where the offense took place. The CECC also announced that, starting this month, passengers coming to Taiwan from medium-low and low-risk countries for short business trips can apply for shortened home isolation. Countries and regions with low infection risk include New Zealand, Macau, Palau, Fiji, Brunei, Laos, Nauru, East Timor, Mauritius, the Marshall Islands and Bhutan, while those with medium-low infection risk include Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia. (Translated by Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times) 考量國際疫情趨緩、國內防疫量能足夠與商務貿易交流需求，中央流行疫情指揮中心指揮官陳時中宣布，三月一日起，持有我國有效居留證的外國人（含港澳中），不需申請就可入境，但仍需提供搭機前三天的PCR 核酸檢驗陰性證明，入境居家檢疫仍需一人一戶。 由於國外陸續發現變種病毒株，陳時中表示，為了避免因辦理大型集會活動造成社區傳播風險，民眾參加大型集會仍要全程戴口罩，並且除飲水外，不得摘除。若未戴口罩或任意飲食，由違反義務行為地的地方政府依法處三千元以上、一萬五千元以下罰鍰。 指揮中心也公布三月起恢復中低與低風險國家來台從事短期商務者，可申請縮短居家檢疫。目前低感染風險國家／地區有紐西蘭、澳門、帛琉、斐濟、汶萊、寮國、諾魯、東帝汶、模里西斯、馬紹爾群島、不丹；中低感染風險國家／地區有澳洲、新加坡、越南、柬埔寨。 (自由時報記者楊媛婷)
According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Labor, starting full-time salaries for university and junior college graduates in the last five years were highest in the financial and insurance sector, averaging NT$47,361, and lowest in the hospitality sector, averaging NT$32,990. Comparing different disciplines, average salaries among technology, media and industry-focused disciplines — physics, chemistry and Earth sciences — all broke the NT$50,000 salary barrier, while graduates of catering, tourism and civic and life services experienced the lowest salaries, averaging NT$31,163. Cross-comparison of different industries and disciplines shows that students must not only read the right disciplines, but also choose the right industry to ensure that they will enjoy a good salary when they enter the workplace. The data set was compiled from doctoral, master’s, bachelor and junior college-level students who graduated between 2015 and 2019. Average salaries were calculated using withholding wages. Comparing different industries, finance and insurance provided the best wages at an average of NT$47,361 yuan, followed by software development and programming engineers, information management and maintenance technicians in the publishing, audiovisual production, mass media and communication services sectors — providing an average salary of NT$44,361. In manufacturing industries, specialists in the setting and operation of metal machine tools and semiconductor fabrication and equipment enjoyed average starting salaries of NT$44,029. The bottom three were starting salaries of NT$32,990 in the hospitality sector, NT$31,148 in agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry, and NT$32,900 in construction and engineering. (Liberty Times, translated by Edward Jones) 根據勞動部最新統計，近五年大專畢業生踏入職場後的全時工作薪資，以金融及保險業平均四萬七三六一元「薪」情最佳，住宿及餐飲業的三萬二九九元最「薪」苦；對比不同學門，出路涵蓋科技及傳產的「物理、化學及地球科學學門」均薪破五萬元最高，「餐旅及民生服務學門」三萬一一六三元最低。交叉比對不同行業與學門，讀對學門、也要選對行，初入職場薪情才會好。 該統計對象是二○一五到二○一九年畢業的博碩士、學士與專科生，以勞退提繳工資來推算平均薪資。以行業別分，金融及保險業的四萬七三六一元最佳，其次是軟體開發及程式工程師、資訊管理及維護技術員為主的出版、影音製作、傳播及資通訊服務業、約四萬四三六一元，金屬工具機設定及操作、半導體製品設備操作等的製造業、則約四萬四○二九元；倒數三名依序是住宿及餐飲業的三萬二九九元、農林漁牧業三萬一一四八元及營建工程業三萬二九○○元。 (自由時報記者李雅雯)
| New Taipei City | 18-23 | 90% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 17-20 | 80% | |
| Hsinchu City | 17-20 | 70% | |
| Taipei City | 18-23 | 90% | |
| Miaoli County | 17-20 | 70% | |
| Taoyuan City | 17-22 | 90% | |
| Keelung City | 17-20 | 100% | |
| Yunlin County | 19-23 | 30% | |
| Taichung City | 20-24 | 50% | |
| Nantou County | 19-24 | 40% | |
| Changhua County | 19-22 | 40% | |
| Chiayi County | 19-23 | 20% |  |
| Chiayi City | 19-24 | 20% | |
| Tainan City | 20-23 | 20% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 22-25 | 20% | |
| Pingtung County | 20-26 | 20% | |
| Yilan County | 19-23 | 20% |  |
| Hualien County | 20-23 | 20% |  |
| Taitung County | 21-24 | 20% | |
| Kinmen County | 18-20 | 50% | |
| Penghu County | 19-20 | 30% | |
| Lienchiang County | 12-15 | 90% | |
RSS