Taiwan has been on alert as international deliveries have been found to contain meat products that tested positive for African swine fever, the ministry said. A pack of sausages sent from Thailand and intercepted by the Tainan Post Office is pictured in an undated photograph. The ministry also reminded employers to inform their foreign staff about African swine fever prevention laws and regulations. African swine fever is not known to infect humans, but can be fatal to pigs, and an outbreak might devastate the country’s high-value pig farming industry. Migrant workers who have questions about African swine fever should call the 1955 counseling and protection hotline, the ministry said.

CECC reports four more domestic infectionsStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 62 new COVID-19 cases, including four domestic infections linked to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport initially confirmed by the Taoyuan City Government on Thursday evening. The domestic COVID-19 cases are a 27-year-old security guard working at the airport’s Terminal 2, two members of the Golden Voice Social Club and the sister of a previously infected social club member. The other seven cases in the cluster are airport janitors, who were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 earlier this week, the center said. Janitors in protective suits sanitize Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) yesterday. A taxi outside Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) yesterday displays a sign to show that the vehicle had been fully sanitized.

HTC sales rise 20 percent on metaverse enthusiasmStaff writer, with CNATaiwan-based smartphone brand HTC Corp (宏達電), which has entered the virtual reality (VR) business, has benefited from enthusiasm over the metaverse concept to post a more than 20 percent month-on-month increase in sales. A woman uses HTC virtual reality equipment at Taipei Medical University on Nov. 30 last year. HTC Vive Asia-Pacific general manager Charles Huang (黃昭穎) said the Vive Flow is smaller and lighter than its predecessors, which should help the device generate more sales than its counterparts in the Vive headset series. The Vive Flow has an expansive 100-degree field of view, 3.2K resolution, and full 3D spatial audio that can connect to Bluetooth earphones, according to HTC product specifications. Products HTC is featuring include the first inside-out tracking device used by the Vive Focus 3, and healthcare content used by the Vive Flow.

Rising New Taiwan dollar comes with risks, rewardsCOLLISION COURSE: Strong exports prompted currency gains that could hurt trade in the long run, prompting the central bank to consider curbs on further gainsBloombergBuoyed by booming exports, the New Taiwan dollar is rallying in another attempt to crack a level that has held for almost 25 years. Taiwan’s policymakers could slow the currency’s gains as it approaches NT$27.501 per US dollar, a level it last reached in March 1997. The currency’s rise could put Taiwanese bulls on a collision course with the central bank, which frowns on excessive gains that could hurt exports. Still, others said that the central bank might tread lightly in the run-up to the release of the US Treasury Department’s foreign-exchange policy report. After the US raises borrowing costs, the Taiwan dollar is likely to return to the NT$28 level by the end of this year, said Cathay United Bank chief economist Eupho Lin.

CECC cuts booster interval to 12 weeksDIVERSIFY: Fully vaccinated people can choose any brand as a booster, but AstraZeneca recipients should choose a different brand for better COVID-19 protection, the center saidStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has shortened the interval between getting a second COVID-19 vaccine shot and a booster dose to 12 weeks effective immediately, it said yesterday. A medical worker prepares a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Hsinchu City yesterday. Only a half-dose of the Moderna vaccine would be administered as a booster, in keeping with the company’s recommendation, he added. Chen suggested that people who received two AstraZeneca jabs should choose a different brand as a booster for better protection. New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) also urged eligible residents to take boosters to prevent the spread of the virus.

Military showcases urban terrain training operationMILES FIGHTING: The soldiers, who were divided into ‘attackers’ and ‘defenders,’ wore laser detectors that registered ‘hits,’ with commanders watching the dataStaff writer, with CNATaiwan’s military showcased its urban terrain operational capabilities yesterday in exercises at a mock town inside an infantry training center in Kaohsiung. The exercise took place in a 6,599m2 compound inside the Army Infantry Training Command in Fengshan District (鳳山). The mock town — built to allow simulations of military operations in urban terrain — has 26 buildings. The mock town, which was built decades ago, is regularly upgraded to mimic up-to-date urban environments. Since November 2019, 36 infantry platoons have conducted urban terrain operations at the mock town, with each session lasting two weeks, it said.

UBS asked all business functions in Hong Kong to revert to two split teams to alternate office work week by week, while Bank of America Corp “encouraged” staff to work at home until Jan. 24. The Hong Kong Economic Journal reported on the message earlier. Standard Chartered PLC told staff to work in split teams in Hong Kong. Frustration has been mounting among businesses in Hong Kong over its stringent quarantine rules, which require arrivals to stay at government facilities and hotels for as long three weeks. Business groups in Hong Kong have said that it puts the territory’s status as a global financial hub at risk.

The authors have used a stethoscope to examine the minutia of the American election process. The Steal by Mark Bowden and Matthew TeagueThe attempted coup was led by Donald Trump. The book reminds us that democracy itself depends on a modicum of trust. Bowden and Teague have performed a singular service by revealing the details that disprove Republicans’ unceasing inventions about voter fraud. The problem is that so many Republicans will continue to ignore the lessons of this book.

China bullying Lithuania, MOFA saysSHARED VALUES: The ministry urged like-minded countries that cherish democracy and free trade to support Lithuania, so it would not succumb to pressure from BeijingBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday condemned China for bullying Lithuania and called for solidarity among democratic countries after Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s remarks about Taiwan’s mission in Vilnius triggered new tensions. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news conference at the ministry in Taipei in an undated photograph. The ministry strongly condemns China for using “despicable” means to exert political and economic pressure on Lithuania, she said, adding that the ministry is convinced that the solidarity of democratic countries would triumph over the bullying of an authoritarian regime. “I don’t think it was a mistake,” the legislative speaker told ELTA news agency, adding that the president is criticizing the decision only after China pressured Lithuania. The Bucharest group comprises countries on NATO’s eastern border — Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

Shopping on social media to hit US$1.2tn by 2025BloombergShopping on social networks such as Facebook, TikTok and WeChat would grow three times faster than sales from traditional channels over the next three years, a study released by Accenture found. Social commerce, defined as transactions that take place entirely within the context of a social media platform, are to reach US$1.2 trillion by 2025, up from US$492 billion last year, the consulting firm said in the report. Accenture also found that about 3.5 billion people used social media last year, spending on average two-and-a-half hours engaged with it per day. The market for social commerce is far less saturated in the US and the UK than in China, where 80 percent of users make purchases on social media, Accenture said. The study is based on an online study of 10,053 social media users in China, India, Brazil, the US and the UK conducted from Aug. 12 to Sept. 3.

Plan to boost Taiwan-Europe links in works: MOFAStaff writer, with CNASeveral government agencies are discussing a plan to enhance ties with Europe in several fields and would unveil it soon, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday. Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) did not name any of the agencies other than the MOFA. The plan aims to further enhance already robust economic, education, scientific research and supply chain ties between Taiwan and Europe, he said. Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen, right, accompanies French Senator Alain Richard, chairman of the French Senate’s Taiwan Friendship Group to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Oct. 10 last year. No details of the plan were provided by Tsai, and Chen, who offered few other details of his own, would only say that more information would be provided by the agencies involved.

House purchase data show buyers shunning TaipeiBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterHousing transactions in the nation’s six special municipalities last month rose 7.1 percent to 27,802 units, led by conspicuous gains in central and southern Taiwan, data released yesterday from respective local governments showed. In particular, transfers in Taoyuan and Taichung advanced by double-digit percentages to above 5,000 units, as central and southern Taiwan are catching up with the north by measure of transaction volume. Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei TimesKaohsiung also achieved a milestone with 5,070 deals, representing an 8 percent increase from November, the local government’s statistics showed. Property deals in Taipei grew 6 percent to 2,869 units last month and shed 3 percent to 6,934 in New Taipei City, separate local government data showed. The trend could prompt developers to shift their focus away from Taipei and New Taipei City and give more attention to central and southern Taiwan, Tseng said.

Suez cargo hit record high last yearAFP, CAIROEgypt’s Suez Canal Authority said that the key waterway netted record revenues last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a six-day blockage by the giant cargo ship Ever Given. About 1.27 billion tonnes of cargo were shipped through the canal last year, earning US$6.3 billion in transit fees, 13 percent more than in 2020, and the highest figures ever recorded, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) managing director Osama Rabie said. People watch a shipping container pass through the Suez Canal in Ismailia, Egypt, on Oct. 5 last year. In March, the Ever Given super tanker — a behemoth with deadweight tonnage of 199,000 — became stuck diagonally across the canal during a sandstorm. Egypt lost up to US$15 million each day during the canal closure, the SCA said.

Sudanese PM resigns amid crackdown on protestersAFP, KHARTOUMSudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned on Sunday, more than two months after a military coup and following another deadly crackdown on protesters, with the military now firmly in control. Protesters gather on Sunday in Khartoum at a demonstration against an Oct. 25 military coup in Sudan. Hamdok was the civilian face of the nation’s fragile transition, while al-Burhan has been the nation’s de facto leader following al-Bashir’s ouster. However, thousands still came out to demonstrate “in memory of the martyrs,” with at least 57 protesters now killed since the coup, according to pro-democracy medics. Young men on motorcycles were seen ferrying wounded protesters to hospitals as security forces blocked ambulances from reaching them.

Big tech adds US$2.5tn in value last yearBloombergBig tech powered US stocks to a third straight winning year last year, as giants such as Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp continue to see strong demand almost regardless of the economic environment. While their performances last year varied from Alphabet’s 65 percent surge to Amazon’s 2.4 percent slog, the group collectively added more than US$2.45 trillion in market valuation. Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet were among the three biggest contributors to the S&P 500 Index’s gains for the year. “While I believe in the merits of tilting toward cyclical names going into 2022, I would not abandon tech,” Luschini said. It was the strongest year for the stock since 2009, and it briefly joined Apple and Microsoft with a US$2 trillion market valuation.