Central Bank working to avoid manipulator labelBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe central bank would continue communicating with the US to avoid being labeled a currency manipulator next month when the US Department of the Treasury renews its list, the bank said on Thursday. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in Taipei on March 11. Photo: CNAThe US understood that the COVID-19 pandemic and major central banks’ money-printing programs helped account for the imbalances, Yang said. Strong exports inflate Taiwan’s current account and propel hot money to the local exchange market, Yang said. One way to address trade imbalances is for Taiwan to stop selling chips, but the US and the world need them, Yang added.

Fuel prices remain steady despite a rise in oil pricesBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterCPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that its gasoline and diesel prices would remain unchanged from last week, a move echoed by the privately run Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化). The firms last week raised gasoline prices by NT$0.1 per liter, while lowering diesel prices by NT$0.1 per liter. Prices at CPC stations would remain at NT$28.2, NT$29.7 and NT$31.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while the price of premium diesel would remain at NT$25.3 per liter, CPC said in a statement. While its gasoline and diesel prices could have increased by NT$0.6 and NT$1.5 per liter respectively this week based on its floating oil price formula, CPC said that it would absorb the cost increase to comply with government policy. Formosa said that it was leaving the prices of its 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline unchanged at NT$28.2, NT$29.6 and NT$31.7 per liter for this week respectively, while the price of premium diesel would remain at NT$25.1 per liter.

Hon Hai to add 20 ‘lighthouse’ factoriesMANUFACTURING EVOLVED: The WEF last year recognized 11 Hon Hai sites in China as lighthouse factories, while this year it hopes to add ones in Taiwan and Vietnam, it saidStaff writer, with CNAHon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, plans to add 20 “lighthouse” factories this year to expand into smart manufacturing. In a virtual SEMICON Taiwan forum on Friday, Hon Hai chief information officer Michael Kung (龔培元) said that lighthouse factories have become a leading indicator of smart manufacturing. In addition to plants in China, Hon Hai has listed sites in Taiwan and Vietnam as potential lighthouse factories, Kung said. Upgrading production sites into recognized lighthouse factories has improved efficiency, lowered inventories and reduced labor costs, Kung said. Hon Hai has provided its subsidiaries a standardized production management platform and the necessary technologies to upgrade their plants into lighthouse factories, he said.

Time is ripe for CPTPP bid: ministryBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs said that now is the best time for Taiwan to apply to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), after the nation on Wednesday submitted its application to New Zealand, the legal depositary for the 11-member trade bloc. In a written report to the Legislative Yuan, the ministry said that it is scheduled to brief lawmakers on the impacts of joining the CPTPP on Taiwan’s industries at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee today. The ministry is also expected to brief lawmakers about the government’s contingency plans for local industries in preparation for a potential accession to the CPTPP, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported yesterday. The ministry said in the report that Taiwan’s importance in global supply chains is increasing, and being a member of the CPTPP could further consolidate Taiwan’s position in supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, the 11 CPTPP members have close trade relations with Taiwan, as they together accounted for about 24.3 percent of Taiwan’s trade last year, the ministry said.

Exhibition in Taipei spotlights ‘genocide’ in TibetBy Chen Yu-fu / Staff reporterAn exhibition on Tibet opened at a bookstore in central Taipei yesterday, highlighting human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party in the region. Tung, who is a member of the Students for a Free Tibet-Taiwan, said that China systematically oppresses Tibetans and denies them access to education about their own language and culture. Tung Ching-jung stands in front of her portrait of the Dalai Lama at the independent bookstore To-uat Books in Taipei yesterday at an exhibition on Tibet that runs until Oct. 9. China’s oppression of Tibetans is based on destroying their culture and closing local schools in which students can learn about their own background, he said. Tibetans have been imprisoned for speaking their language or beaten to death for having a photograph of the Dalai Lama on their mobile phone, he said, calling the measures “genocide.”The exhibition, hosted by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan, and Students for a Free Tibet-Taiwan, is to run until Oct. 9.

Kim’s sister warming to ending Korean hostilitiesBloombergKim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, reached out to South Korea for a second time in recent days, saying Pyongyang would consider taking part in another inter-Korean summit and declaring an end to the war if Seoul adopts a less hostile policy. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 2, 2019. North Korea also did not answer an inter-Korean hotline call earlier last month in protest against the military drills. The move put major Chinese cities under South Korea’s range and increases Seoul’s ability to strike North Korea. Resuming inter-Korean talks could influence Moon — a long-time proponent of reconciliation — to prioritize the high-stakes negotiations rather than military modernization.

Chu hopes the KMT, CCP will seek common groundRESPONDING TO XI: The DPP’s ‘anti-China’ policy has changed the ‘status quo’ across the Taiwan Strait and caused alarm on both sides, the KMT chairman-elect saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said he hopes the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will seek common ground and respect differences on the basis of the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence. Chu made the remarks in response to a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) written in his capacity as general secretary of the CCP Central Committee on the occasion of Chu’s election as KMT chairman on Saturday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Eric Chu speaks to reporters in Taoyuan yesterday. Chu said he hopes that the KMT and the CCP will, on the basis of the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, seek common ground and respect differences, increase mutual trust, and bolster exchanges and cooperation so that the peaceful development of cross-strait relations can continue. Chu is expected to be sworn in as KMT chairman on the same day as the party’s National Congress, which is scheduled to convene on Oct. 30, according to the KMT’s charter.

Usyk dethrones Joshua, claiming titlesOUTCLASSED: Despite lacking height, weight and reach advantages, Oleksandr Usyk proved too elusive for Anthony Joshua and landed much cleaner punchesReuters, LONDONUkraine’s Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday dethroned world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in his own backyard, with a stunning display that led to a unanimous decision in front of a sellout crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Oleksandr Usyk defeats Anthony Joshua for the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight titles in their bout at the Totteham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. He is only the third cruiserweight world champion to step up a weight and become the heavyweight world champion since Evander Holyfield and David Haye. Constantly on the move, Usyk rocked Joshua in the third round with a powerful left hand. “Congratulations to Oleksandr Usyk.

Recent polls point to a neck-and-neck race between Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democrats, with the latter marginally ahead. The polls show the Greens, making their first bid for the chancellorship, in third place after a campaign in which all three have held the lead. That set up the first election since West Germany’s initial vote in 1949 in which there is no incumbent chancellor seeking re-election. Whoever finishes first is expected to get a historically low share of the vote, with polls showing no party expected to get 30 percent support. When the CDU and the Greens chose their candidates this spring, the election was widely expected to be a race between the two.

NBA denies Andrew Wiggins vaccination exemptionAP, GREENBURGH, New YorkThe NBA on Friday denied Andrew Wiggins’ request for a COVID-19 vaccination exemption, leaving the Golden State Warriors swingman ineligible to play home games until he meets San Francisco’s vaccination requirement. Wiggins is one of the highest-profile NBA players to publicly say that he will not take the vaccine. Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, top, defends against Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant during their NBA game at the Chase Center in San Francisco on May 21. “The NBA has reviewed and denied Andrew Wiggins’ request for religious exemption from the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s order requiring COVID-19 vaccination for all participants age 12 and older at large indoor events,” the league said in a statement. “I’m proud to say that our organization — players, coaches and staff — are 100 percent vaccinated,” Knicks general manager Scott Perry said.

DPP marks 35 years with book on party’s founding‘TENSE ATMOSPHERE’: Those present at the book launch recalled fears at the founding meeting, while celebrating photographer Chiu Wan-hsing’s tribute to the partyBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterSenior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members gathered in Taipei yesterday to launch a book on the party’s early history. “We must never forget the DPP’s original spirit and the party’s founding principles. President Tsai Ing-wen, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson, speaks at yesterday’s launch in Taipei of photographer Chiu Wan-hsing’s book Taiwan’s Defiant Years: the Rise of the DPP 1986-1987. Several DPP founding members attended the event, including Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃), former Taipei county commissioner You Ching (尤清) and former DPP chairman Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文). It was urgent to announce the party’s founding to the world, he said, adding that it was crucial that foreign media reported the event.

Liverpool’s Klopp wants ‘solution’ to quarantine rowAFP, LONDONLiverpool manager Juergen Klopp on Friday demanded “some kind of solution” to prevent another club versus country row over COVID-19 quarantine rules for qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup. Eight Brazilian Premier League players — including Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker and midfielder Fabinho — were called-up by Brazil coach Tite for the next round of qualifiers for next year’s global tournament. Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo controls the ball during their Premier League match against Aston Villa at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, yesterday. “There must be a solution, because we cannot just leave it like this and say it’s not a problem,” Klopp said. In early games in the Premier League yesterday, Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, while Aston Villa beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford.

Donation of 500,000 shots arrives from Japan: CECCBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA fifth shipment of COVID-19 vaccines donated by Japan arrived in Taiwan yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said, as it reported no new local infections or deaths, but five imported cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the batch of 500,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at noon. Customs inspectors stand by at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday as workers unload a batch of 500,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by Japan. On Friday, 259,781 vaccine doses were administered, bringing the nation’s first-dose coverage rate to 51.49 percent, Chen said. As of Friday, 12,075,243 people had received a first dose of a vaccine, and 2,067,218 had received two doses, CECC data showed.

Researchers look to frogs to create anti-barnacle filmBy Su Meng-chuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA research team at National Chung Hsing University has developed a substance inspired by frog skin to prevent biofouling on ships and offshore equipment. Some biofouling substances can damage precision electronic equipment if they seep inside a ship, he said. Observing frog skin magnified 30,000 times, the team saw that there were dots and grooves on the skin that helped store a lubricant, which frogs secrete on their skin, he said. The team determined that frogs were unaffected by algae or other biofouling substances in the water because of these microscopic orifices that store a lubricant that kept the substances off their skin, Hsueh said. Using polymeric synthesis technology, the team created a film with microscopic wrinkles and injected silicone into tiny artificially created holes simulating the frogs’ skin, he said.

Dow, S&P 500 rise after bumpy weekBALANCING ACT: Facebook gained 2% and Tesla rose 2.7%, lifting the two indices and outweighing the 6.3% decline Nike posted after it reduced its full-year sales estimateReutersThe Dow and S&P 500 on Friday edged higher and ended a turbulent week with slight increases, helped by gains in Tesla Inc and Facebook Inc that offset a tumble by Nike Inc. On the flip side, Facebook climbed 2 percent and Tesla rose 2.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33.18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 34,798, the S&P 500 gained 6.5 points, or 0.15 percent, to 4,455.48 and the NASDAQ Composite dropped 4.54 points, or 0.03 percent, to 15,047.7. For the week, the Dow was up 0.62 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.51 percent and the NASDAQ gained 0.02 percent. The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the NASDAQ Composite recorded 82 new highs and 73 new lows.