Some events, such as the one at the Kaohsiung Animal Protection Office, even have special tables that are lower in height so the animals spirits can more easily reach the offerings. “Then I thought, why not do a Chung Yuan pudu ceremony?” he says. New Taipei City’s Animal Protection Office has also opened its pudu ceremonies to the public in recent years, often collaborating with various animal welfare groups. “New Taipei City is the most populous municipality in Taiwan, meaning that people here likely consume a lot more animals. The priests will help the animals’ spirits return to the reincarnation cycle so they don’t linger in the world of the living.”

KMT says US withdrawal proves policy of stay close to US, keep peace with ChinaBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan is proof that the party’s policy of remaining close to Washington while maintaining peace with China is correct. The US’ pullout proves that the KMT’s policy of being “close to the US” and pursuing “peace with the Mainland [China],” while improving Taiwan’s national defense and the economy, is correct, the KMT said. It also shows that the DPP’s avoidance of the institutionalization of cross-strait relations is “by no means a good solution,” it added. On national defense, the KMT accused the DPP of engaging in more talk than action, adding that this has disappointed figures in the US. “Now, because of the changes in the political situation in Afghanistan, Taiwanese are reconsidering the various variables in national security,” the KMT said.

KMT’s Afghanistan posts harm US ties, DPP saysAPPLES TO ORANGES? DPP legislative caucus whip Liu Shyh-fang said KMT leaders have sacrificed Taiwan’s interests to back those running for party chairpersonBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday accused leaders of the main opposition parties of tainting Taiwan’s international image and undermining Taiwan-US ties by airing erroneous messages to the world about events in Afghanistan. Democratic Progressive Party legislators hold an online news conference at their legislative caucus office in Taipei yesterday. In the 1970s, the US shifted to play the China card to contain the Soviet Union, so the US military left Taiwan. “It left chaos and the Afghan people in a very dire situation...

Facebook, media foundation launch training programBy Huang Chao-hsiang and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerFacebook and the Foundation for Excellent Journalism Award on Wednesday last week announced a new digital training program for local and alternative media, marking the first time that the US tech giant is to directly fund the promotion of local reporting in Taiwan. “The Internet and digital platforms are a lifeline for local media,” foundation chief executive Eve Chiu (邱家宜) said. Facebook has long supported Taiwanese media with trainings and resources provided through the journalism project, said Wu Tzu-min (吳子敏), who manages Facebook’s media partnerships in the region. This is the first time that the social media giant is to provide grants specifically for local and diverse media in Taiwan, Wu said. Facebook has since 2019 been supporting the foundation’s work in encouraging a standard of excellence and professionalism in Taiwanese journalism.

COVID-19: Powell says no returning to pre-pandemic economyAP, WASHINGTONUS Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday said that the US economy has been permanently changed by the COVID-19 pandemic and it is important that the central bank adapts to those changes. “We’re not simply going back to the economy that we had before the pandemic,” Powell said at a Fed virtual town hall for educators and students. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, left, speaks with former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke at a conference on monetary policy at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on June 4, 2019. “It seems a near certainty that there will be substantially more remote work going forward,” Powell said. The town hall is an event started by former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and continued by former Fed chair and now US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.

COVID-19: CECC reports six local, five imported cases, no deathsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported six locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, five imported cases and no new deaths, while it reiterated Ministry of Foreign Affairs information on COVID-19 vaccination requirements to enter other countries. The infection sources of two cases have been identified and contact tracing is ongoing to clarify the remaining four cases, Chen said. Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command CenterThe five imported cases arrived in Taiwan from the US, Saudi Arabia, India and France, CECC data showed. Chinese-language media reported she was a breakthrough case, but the CECC had not provided details to validate that, it said. Three confirmed cases have been reported linked to the floor she works on, indicating a cluster infection, Chen said.

Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei returns to the US’ Coco Gauff in their Western & Southern Open women’s singles match in Mason, Ohio, on Tuesday. “It means a lot, I’m really happy to win. Romania’s Simona Halep reacts during her Western & Southern Open women’s singles match against Poland’s Magda Linette in Mason, Ohio, on Tuesday. Montreal champion Camila Giorgi fell 6-2, 6-2 in her opening match to Jessica Pegula in a re-run of the pair’s semi-final last Saturday in Canada. “I knew it would be tough, but I’m really happy — as much with the mindset as with the tennis,” Berrettini said.

Nissan debuts latest edition of Z sports carBloombergNissan Motor Co on Tuesday debuted the latest edition of its Z series coupe in New York, marking the seventh generation of a sports-car line that was introduced in 1969 as the Fairlady Z in Japan and the Datsun 240Z in the US. The new Z is the first refresh of the two-door platform in more than a decade and would be available for purchase next spring, Nissan said in a statement. Nissan Motor Co CEO Makoto Uchida poses for photographs at the company’s headquarters following a Bloomberg Television interview in Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 3. Along with the Ariya and Z, updated iterations of Nissan’s Rogue, Pathfinder and Frontier are among the vehicles coming to market. The French company owns 43 percent of Nissan, while the Yokohama, Japan-based automaker has just 15 percent of Renault and no voting rights.

Agencies agree to retain day trading tax cutStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission and the National Development Council on Tuesday night reached a consensus on extending the transaction tax cut for day trading for two or three years after it expires at the end of this year, local media reported yesterday. The three agencies will report the conclusion of their meeting to the Executive Yuan by the end of this month to finalize the extension plan, the reports said. The government cut the tax for day trading from 0.3 percent to 0.15 percent in 2017. The bellwether electronics sector yesterday also reversed earlier losses, giving an additional boost to the broader market, Huang said. Turnover was NT$417.49 billion (US$14.99 billion), with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$2.24 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.

Afghan turmoil shattering Paralympians’ dreamsReuters, TOKYOThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons yesterday said it was sad that Afghan athletes trapped in Kabul would not be able to compete in the Paralympic Games and heartbreaking to watch a female athlete’s video plea for help in reaching Tokyo. Amid the country’s ongoing turmoil, the Afghanistan Paralympic Committee on Monday said that two Afghan athletes would not be able to attend the Games, which start on Tuesday next week. By seeing what’s happening in Afghanistan and this is shattering the dreams of one of our athletes, it is really sad and it really breaks my heart,” Parsons said. Parsons added that the committee would work with the Afghan team to support her pursuing her dream again, including possibly competing at the games in Paris in 2024. “It’s something that goes way, way, way, way bigger than sports, and we are first concerned in Afghanistan as a nation and with the human beings, especially the female of that nation.

Jakobsen earns stage win a year after horrific crashAP, MOLINA DE ARAGON, SpainAbout a year ago, Fabio Jakobsen was on a hospital bed fighting for his life in an induced coma after a horrific crash at the Tour of Poland. On Tuesday, he was a stage winner again at a Grand Tour race, taking the lead in the final stretch of the closing sprint to win the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana. “After the crash, it was a long way back, but I’m happy I’m here.”Fabio Jakobsen, right, celebrates as he wins the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana in Molina de Aragon, Spain, on Tuesday. Photo: AFPRein Taaramae held on at the top of the overall standings despite crashing with a couple of kilometers to go. “It took a lot of time and a lot of efforts by a lot of people,” Jakobsen said.

Thousands out of range of air-raid sirens: reportEDUCATION KEY: The affected areas have been told to rectify the situation, but one lawmaker said that people do not know where to find safety during an emergencyBy Aaron Tu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerAbout 350,000 people live in areas out of audible range of air-raid sirens, a National Audit Office report has found. The alarms are crucial for ensuring public safety in the event of an air attack or major natural disaster, it added. Photo: Tsai Tseng-hien, Taipei TimesThe National Police Agency’s Civil Defense Office completed a survey on Nov. 20 last year that used QGIS, an open-source geographic information system, to analyze the reach of the country’s 1,435 air-raid sirens. The office found that in 38 communities across Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hsinchu County, people were unable to hear air-raid sirens due to their distance from the nearest siren or other geographical factors. Before more sirens are installed, communities could rely on police sirens, school public address systems and community offices to assist in alerting community members, it said.

US opens Tesla Autopilot investigationAFP, NEW YORKUS safety officials opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla Inc’s Autopilot after identifying 11 crashes involving the driver assistance system, officials said on Monday. The agency “is committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety on the nation’s roadways” and to “better understand the causes of certain Tesla crashes, NHTSA is opening a preliminary evaluation into Tesla Autopilot systems,” a spokesperson said. The interior of a Tesla vehicle is pictured at a showroom in New York City on July 5, 2016. Photo: AFPTesla founder Elon Musk has defended the Autopilot system and the electric automaker warns that it requires “active driver supervision” behind the wheel. The Center for Auto Safety, a non-profit group, has pressed US officials since 2018 to bar the name “Autopilot,” viewing the moniker as deceptive.

Taiwan and the Czech Republic cooperate on the material sciences, smart agriculture, biotechnology and information security, he said. On Friday last week, Representative to Hungary Liu Shih-Chung (劉世忠) led a delegation to visit the testing facility, which is the biggest testing ground in Europe for self-driving vehicles. In 2019, Taiwan established its first closed testing ground for self-driving vehicles — called the Taiwan CAR (connected, autonomous and road-test) Lab — in Tainan, which is operated by the National Applied Research Laboratories. This year’s conference is to be hosted by Taiwan, but whether it is in person or virtual depends on the virus situation, Lin said. Precision medicine, including brain science, and space technology are priorities for the ministry, which would announce the projects soon, Lin added.

Afghanistan not a parallel with Taiwan: academicsENTIRELY DIFFERENT: Holmes Liao, formerly of the National Defense University, said that Afghan leaders are corrupt, while Taiwan has a stable democracy It is impossible to compare Taiwan with Afghanistan, academics said yesterday in response to claims that the US’ withdrawal proves that Taiwan cannot rely on US military assistance. Nearly two decades after the US took control of Kabul, the Taliban on Sunday swiftly retook control of the Afghan capital, prompting the nation’s president to flee. Critics have been quick to compare the situation to the fall of Saigon after the withdrawal of US troops during the Vietnam War, with some suggesting that the US’ track record bodes poorly for Taiwan’s chances in the event of an invasion by China. “Taiwan is not Afghanistan,”By Chen Yu-fu, Jason Pan and Kayleigh Madjar