‘Taiwan Bravo’ shows experiences of new immigrants in TaiwanStaff writerTaiwan Bravo (我們一家人), produced by the National Immigration Agency and SetTV (三立電視台), records the experiences of new immigrants in 368 towns and villages across Taiwan, including in Penghu and Lienchiang counties. It is no wonder, then, that many Hong Kongers choose Taiwan as a new home. The stories of these new immigrants in Taiwan Bravo, which is sponsored by the New Immigrants Development Fund, relate their experiences living in Taiwan and show how different cultures can unite. Taiwan Bravo is broadcast on Sundays at 2pm on SetTV, channel 54. Taiwan Bravo online:Line: https://lin.ee/UvcPzddFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SETwearefamilyWeb site: http://setwearefamily.setn.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/331eyXb

Tatung chairman, president quitSUBSTANTIAL ASSETS: After 20 years with no dividend payments, Wang Kuang-hsiang said ‘Tatung shareholders are like paupers sitting in a house made of gold’By Angelica Oung / Staff reporterTatung Co (大同) chairman Lu Ming-kuang (盧明光) and president Chaney Ho (何春盛) yesterday announced their resignations, adding further uncertainty at the troubled conglomerate which has undergone several changes to its management team since last year. Tatung Co chairman Lu Ming-kuang, left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, as director Wang Kuang-hsiang looks on. Photo: CNALu came out of retirement to take over as chairman in December last year after his predecessor, Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵), stepped down from the position after 50 days in office amid a disagreement with major shareholder Shanyuan Group (三圓建設) chairman Wang Kuang-hsiang (王光祥). There are rumors that Wang is likely to take over as Tatung chairman when the company holds a board meeting on Tuesday next week. “Chairman Lu was hardworking and conscientious, but it’s been 20 years since Tatung paid a dividend, we will not let our investors wait another five.”Chung Yi-wen (鍾依文), who made way for Ho in June, is expected to return as president.

Myanmar’s garment workers grow desperateAs unions demand more sanctions, low-paid factory laborers fear for their jobsBy Matt Blomberg / Thomson Reuters Foundation, YangonAt a garment factory on the outskirts of Myanmar’s biggest city, Zin Mar Htun has been working through the night — doing unpaid overtime in a desperate attempt to keep her job. Myanmar workers, mostly from garment and shoe factories, take part in a May Day march in 2018 in Yangon, Myanmar. Workers in the Great Forever factory stitch clothes in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone outside Yangon, Myanmar in 2015. Since the coup, union leaders from the sector have used established networks to mobilise workers in strikes and protests. “We are doing what we believe.”’RACE TO THE BOTTOM’But critics say deeper economic sanctions could do irreversible damage to the sector and put workers at further risk.

Turkish lira plummets on expectations of a rate cutReuters, ISTANBULThe Turkish lira yesterday crashed as much as 7 percent in just a few minutes to a new record near 15 to the US dollar, gripped by worries over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s risky new economic policy and prospects of another interest rate cut on Thursday. The central bank had previously kept the lira below the 14.0 level, intervening in the foreign exchange market three times in the past two weeks by selling US dollars. The lira slid as far as 14.99 against the US currency, losing 7.3 percent of its value since Friday’s close of 13.889. Turkey’s central bank is expected to cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 14 percent this week, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, despite inflation soaring to 21.3 percent last month. Investors and savers are concerned about recent aggressive monetary easing under which the central bank has slashed its policy rate by 400 basis points since September last year.

Catcher would sell Topo Technology (Suzhou) Co (蘇州可勝科技) and Meeca Technology (Suzhou Industrial Park) Co (蘇州工業園區可利科技) for a total of 1.27 billion yuan (US$199.38 million), a regulatory filing showed. The entrance to the Catcher Technology Co building in Tainan’s Yongkang District is pictured in an undated photograph. Catcher shares closed at NT$156 in Taipei on Friday, down 0.64 percent from the previous session. On Thursday, the company started to buy back its own shares on the open market to bolster its share price. Catcher would continue the program past that date if the share price falls below the lower limit, it added.

MAC pans calls for unification at Xiamen eventBy Chung Li-hua and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan would never accept Beijing’s “deceptive and insolent” approach to cross-strait relations, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Saturday in response to accusations at China’s 13th Straits Forum that Taipei is endangering peace in the Taiwan Strait. The name and logo of the Mainland Affairs Council are pictured at its headquarters in Taipei in an undated photograph. China — not Taiwan — is the one posing a threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait, the MAC said, citing Beijing’s attempts at political coercion and “united front” sabotage. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has adopted an erroneous and inflexible strategy toward cross-strait relations and has “trapped itself in a vicious cycle of contradictions,” it said. The council also urged Taiwanese to see that the CCP is two-faced and work together to protect the nation’s best interests.

Photo: CNAIt was the fourth consecutive month of increase in employment, it said. Employment figures have improved since the government downgraded a national COVID-19 alert level, easing restrictions on people’s movement, DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said. In October, the average monthly regular wage in the industrial and service sectors was NT$43,593, up NT$214, or 0.49 percent, from a month earlier, the DGBAS said. In the first 10 months of this year, the average regular wage and average monthly earnings rose 1.82 percent and 2.91 percent from the previous year respectively, to NT$43,088 and NT$56,387. However, after inflationary adjustments, the average regular wage and average monthly earnings rose only 0.01 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.

Listed firms’ overseas profits exceed NT$900bnStaff writer, with CNACompanies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the over-the-counter (OTC) market raked in a record NT$918.1 billion (US$33.1 billion) in the first nine months of this year, the Financial Supervisory Commission said. It comprises NT$881.4 billion from companies listed on the TWSE and NT$36.7 billion from firms listed on the OTC market, the data showed. Listed firms investing in China reported a record NT$379.5 billion in total profit in the first nine months, rising NT$102.6 billion from a year earlier, the commission said. The figure comprises NT$357 billion posted by companies listed on the TWSE and NT$22.5 billion by those listed on the OTC market, the commission said. As of the end of September, 1,202 listed companies had invested in China, accounting for 73.5 percent of the companies listed on local equity markets.

Ministry expands chatbot services for migrant workersStaff writer, with CNAAn automated chatbot service for migrant workers on instant messaging app Line has been upgraded with automatic visa and employment status notifications, the Ministry of Labor said on Friday. The “1955 E-Line” chatbot was set up in May by the Workforce Development Agency to give migrant workers easier access to COVID-19 prevention information, offering services in English, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai. Migrant workers show their “yellow cards” after receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shots at Taipei Main Station on Thursday. Photo: CNABy signing up, the workers would gain access to services and notifications related to their personal employment and visa status in the four languages, it said. The agency is implementing the upgrade in response to the high number of migrant workers who have called the ministry’s 1955 hotline seeking help on a wide variety of issues, he said.

Nicaragua embracing China to shield against sanctions, US official saysReuters, WASHINGTONNicaragua’s sudden diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China was part of efforts by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government to protect itself from recent international sanctions against Managua, a senior US administration official said on Friday. China and Nicaragua on Friday re-established diplomatic ties after the Central American country broke relations with Taiwan, boosting Beijing in a part of the world long considered the US’ backyard, and angering Washington. Nicaragua’s abrupt break with Taiwan followed months of worsening ties between Ortega and US President Joe Biden’s administration. Washington viewed Nicaragua’s diplomatic switch as partly in response to such pressure from the international community, the official said. “They have felt that pressure and perhaps need the PRC [People’s Republic of China] support, or think they need the PRC support, for their way forward as they hunker down in a more authoritarian posture,” the official said.

Taiwan, Nicaragua cut diplomatic tiesOVERCOMING PRESSURE: Nicaragua’s decision would not dissuade Taiwan from its ‘determination to adhere to democracy and freedom,’ President Tsai Ing-wen saidAgencies, TAIPEI and MANAGUATaiwan severed diplomatic ties with Nicaragua shortly after the Central American nation on Thursday switched recognition to China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. “As of today, Nicaragua breaks its diplomatic relations with Taiwan and ceases to have any official contact or relationship.”Flags of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies flutter outside the embassy complex in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFEAlthough Nicaragua’s diplomatic switch leaves Taiwan with just 14 diplomatic allies, it comes as Taipei bolsters ties with multiple unofficial Western friends, including the US. The ministry added that Taiwan was not part of the PRC, which has never ruled over Taiwan. Since May 2016, when Tsai came to office, Taiwan has lost eight diplomatic allies: Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Kiribati, Nicaragua, Panama, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Solomon Islands.

Visit to enhance economic ties: Slovak delegationBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan is the global leader in semiconductors and Slovakia’s second-largest investor from Asia, a delegation of Slovak officials said yesterday, adding that the visit is economic — and not political — in nature. “Taiwan is an important part of our future economic diplomacy,” Lucia Kiss, director-general of economic and development cooperation at the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, told a news conference at the Sherwood Taipei. Lucia Kiss, left, director-general of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs looks on as Slovak Second State Secretary of Ministry of Economy Karol Galek, center, speaks during a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “This visit is an economic one, not a political one,” and is a continuation of our cooperation since 2003, she said. Slovakia is also eyeing further cooperation with Taiwan in space technology, such as developing small satellites, he said.

US restricts arms to CambodiaCHINESE INFLUENCE: A US embargo on arms exports took effect yesterday to protect national security as ties grow between Cambodia and the Chinese militaryAP, BANGKOKThe US has ordered an arms embargo on Cambodia, citing deepening Chinese military influence, corruption, and human rights abuses by the government and armed forces in the Southeast Asian country. Photo: APThe aim of the embargo is to ensure that defense-related items are not available to Cambodia’s military and intelligence services without advance review by the US government, it said. The US is the largest export market for Cambodia, a major garments manufacturing hub, but three-quarters of Cambodia’s imports are from China and other countries in Asia. The US halted military assistance to Cambodia following a 1997 coup in which the country’s leader, Hun Sen, grabbed full power after ousting his joint prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Hun Sen remains prime minister.

Wedding season sends gold demand in India soaringBloombergGold consumption in India would probably be the best in at least a decade in this quarter, as buyers stocked up for festivals last month and the peak wedding period that followed, the World Gold Council (WGC) said. Indians buy gold ornaments to wear and gift during weddings as the precious metal is considered auspicious, and a bringer of luck and prosperity. Almost every day there are weddings,” WGC India head P.R. Gold jewelry is pictured on a counter inside a store in Mumbai, India, on Nov. 2. With very little mining and modest levels of recycling, India is heavily reliant on bullion imports to meet domestic demand.

6432 in 2018 and does not need to pay compensation to the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), the Taipei District Court said yesterday. Photo: Wang Meng-lun, Taipei TimesThe TRA’s lawsuit said that the derailment occurred because of an ill-designed air compressor and a missing connection between the automatic train protection (ATP) and telemonitoring systems. It was seeking compensation from Sumitomo for the casualties caused by the derailment, as well as for damage to the train, railway facilities and its business, the TRA said. “The telemonitoring system, which monitors the ATP system, is not designed to slow down a train or reactivate the ATP when it is turned off,” the manufacturer said. On Oct. 18, the Yilan District Court sentenced train driver Yu Chen-chung (尤振仲) to four years and six months in jail for negligence leading to the crash.