CECC reports 23 local COVID-19 cases, two deathsBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 23 local cases of COVID-19 and two deaths. The cases are 19 men and four women, in their 20s to 50s, with an onset of symptoms between July 10 and Thursday, center data showed. As of yesterday, the nation had reported 15,535 COVID-19 cases and 784 deaths, the data showed. Of the 14,280 cases reported from May 11 to Wednesday, 87.5 percent have been discharged from isolation facilities, the data showed. Other genome sequencing results for 18 local cases found that the Alpha variant remains the dominant source of domestic infections, he said.

COVID-19: Ministry touts guidelines for funerals and templesBy Chien Hui-ju and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Ministry of the Interior yesterday announced guidelines for funerals, and visits to temples and national parks, to take effect after a nationwide COVID-19 alert is downgraded to level 2 on Tuesday next week. People paying their respects to a deceased person should nominate one representative to attend the funeral, the ministry said. Temples would be open to individual worshipers and religious gatherings, the ministry said. Visitor flow would be regulated and COVID-19 prevention measures remain in place, it said, adding that parking lots would operate at 50 percent capacity. Meetings that do not allow for appropriate disease prevention measures would have to be postponed, the ministry added.

The Washington-based group of security officials from the world’s democratic states has said it would cohost HFX Taipei with the Institute for National Defense and Security Research. “The [Halifax] think tank is heavily funded by the Canadian government,” DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. “The HFX Taipei forum is effectively a form of semi-official cooperation between the two state-level think tanks.”Politico had reported that the Canadian government had warned the forum not to give the award to Tsai for fear of angering Beijing. DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said the institute would discuss security issues regarding China at the forum. That Canadian lawmakers have stood by the forum in honoring Tsai suggests that Canadians’ views on China have changed, he said.

Lesbian drama earns prestigious selectionAngel Teng’s mini-series ‘Fragrance of the First Flower’ has been officially selected to France’s Series Mania festivalBy Han Cheung / Staff reporterIn the first scene of Fragrance of the First Flower (第一次遇見花香的那刻), protagonist Yi-ming (Zaizai Lin, 林辰唏) accidentally wanders into a gay wedding. Director Angel Teng, right, is pictured on set of Fragrance of the First Flower with Zaizai Lin, center, and Lyan Cheng. Lyan Cheng, left, and Zaizai Lin star in the series Fragrance of the First Flower. Teng says she consciously stayed away from the more stereotypical depiction of lesbian couples, with one more gender-netural and the other more feminine. It was chaotic, but I think we nailed it.”Zaizai Lin, left, and Lee Yi star in the series Fragrance of the First Flower.

COVID-19: CECC reports 30 domestic cases‘STILL UNDER CONTROL’: The center also reported the first fatality involving the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, a woman in her 70s who died on WednesdayBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 30 domestic COVID-19 cases, three imported cases and four deaths. Taipei and New Taipei City recorded 11 cases each, Taoyuan had seven cases and Hsinchu City had one, it said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung gives a COVID-19 update at a Central Epidemic Command Center news conference in Taipei yesterday. The center reported 16 domestic cases on Wednesday, 18 on Tuesday, 15 each on Monday and Sunday, eight on Saturday and 29 on Friday last week. As of yesterday, Taiwan had recorded 15,511 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1,253 imported and 14,205 domestic cases, and 782 deaths, CECC data showed.

NTHU, tech firms team up on semiconductor collegeBy Hung Mei-hsiu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerNational Tsing Hua University (NTHU) on Wednesday announced that it would team up with 10 of Taiwan’s largest tech firms to establish a semiconductor research college. The college would be jointly operated with some of the larger companies in the sector, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, the university said. Students work in a laboratory at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu City on Wednesday. Other Taiwanese backers are GlobalWafers Co, Unimicron Technology Corp, United Microelectronics Corp, Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp, Novatek Microelectronics Co and Nanya Technology Corp, while Japan’s Tokyo Electron and the US’ Micron Technology are also onboard. Meanwhile, Lin said that the college would offer internationally competitive salaries to attract big-name teachers, including inviting industry elites to teach microcredit courses.

Taishin Bank fined NT$30m for lax internal controlsPROFIT-ORIENTED: The bank’s focus on hitting sales targets while cutting its staff is partly to blame for its failure to spot illegal activities, the FSC saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) a record NT$30 million (US$1.07 million) for oversight failure, after its staff stole NT$347 million from customers. An E.Sun employee had stolen NT$140 million from 41 clients, while Cathay United Bank’s staff had stolen NT$17.32 million from four clients, data from the commission showed. The entrance to the Dunhua S Road branch of Taishin Bank in Taipei is pictured on Feb. 9. Although some of Chou’s clients applied to reconcile their bank accounts, the bank failed to save the records of account activity for inspection, Huang said. The FSC suspended Taishin Bank’s deputy head of consumer banking, surnamed Lin (林), for three months, saying Lin was responsible for the poor management as he had designed the employee performance assessment, Huang said.

COVID-19: Retailers need to accelerate change: expertStaff writer, with CNADepartment store and shopping mall operators should accelerate their adoption of new sales models in the face of challenges brought by the COVID-19 outbreak, an expert said on Sunday. That has been especially true after Taiwan imposed a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert on May 19, when case numbers surged. An employee at a food court in Taipei cleans seating partitions yesterday in readiness for the relaxation of regulations as the government mulls lowering the nationwide COVID-19 alert level. Department stores and shopping malls were among the retail spaces hardest hit by the COVID-19 restrictions. Retailers should also speed up their membership marketing, which allows them to send tailored and precisely targeted messages and personalized discounts to boost sales, Wang said.

Typhoon In-Fa to bring heavy rain to northLAND ALERT UNCERTAIN: The CWB was waiting to observe how In-Fa shifts as it moves north to determine when to issue a land alert, a forecaster at the bureau saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterResidents of northern Taiwan should brace for heavy rain today and tomorrow as Typhoon In-Fa approaches the northeast, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. A land alert for the typhoon would be issued depending on the angle at which it moves north today, the bureau said. A cyclist in rain gear, visor and mask rides through the rain in Taipei yesterday. “If the typhoon veers to the east after it turns north, the radius of the storm would not reach Taiwan,” Hsieh said. Intermittent rain began to fall in the northern and northeastern regions yesterday, Hsieh said, adding that extremely heavy rain is forecast for mountainous areas in northern Taiwan today.

COVID-19: Taipei to help businesses enter delivery marketBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAThe Taipei City Government on Tuesday announced a NT$42 million (US$1.5 million) fund to help market vendors provide delivery services, as the city expects a permanent transition to a delivery economy. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, left, places fresh produce in a food courier’s bag at Taipei’s Guangfu Market yesterday. To help these businesses adapt to new consumer habits, the city government has begun a delivery service fee subsidy program, Ko said. A total of NT$42 million has been set aside for market vendors to cover delivery platforms’ service fees, Taipei Department of Economic Development Commissioner Lin Chung-chieh (林崇傑) said. Businesses with tax registration can apply to cover half of their monthly delivery service fees up to NT$10,000, capped at a total of NT$60,000, Lin said.

COVID-19: DPP lawmakers slam KMT campaign against heads of health authoritiesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is colluding with outside forces to harm the nation’s health authorities, as it is filing a lawsuit against the adoption of a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday. “We urge KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) to drop the lawsuit, which is based on ridiculous reasons and groundless claims. We ask the KMT to stop abusing the resources of the judicial system,” DPP legislative caucus whip Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said. Democratic Progressive Party legislators yesterday in Taipei accuse the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of wasting judicial resources. Photo copied by Chien Hui-ju, Taipei TimesDPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said that the KMT has vilified Taiwan’s vaccine development efforts.

COVID-19: KMT’s Chiang urges CECC accountabilityBy Sherry Hsiao and Shih Hsiao-kuang / Staff reportersChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday said that Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) should answer daily complaints from the public about Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccine shortage. Third to first from right: Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang, KMT Secretary-General Lee Chien-lung and KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an promote the party’s food package donation campaign at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Meanwhile, the KMT is mobilizing its service stations, party chapters and civic groups nationwide for a “meal donation campaign,” Chiang said. Many people are also complaining about the government’s latest relief packages, which were designed after last year’s packages without necessary improvements, Chiang said. Many people are in need of help, but the government has left behind more people than it has helped with its relief packages, KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said.

Hon Hai, Nidec eye joint ventureAUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS: A joint venture would provide a stable source of motors for Hon Hai’s electric vehicle ventures, while creating a new market for Japan’s NidecBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterHon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it is in discussions with Japan’s Nidec Corp to form a joint venture to produce and distribute motors via its subsidiary Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進). Exact details of the venture have yet to be determined, a Hon Hai statement said. People walk into Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s headquarters in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District in an undated photograph. Nidec is targeting a 40 to 45 percent share of the global electric vehicle powertrain market by 2030, it added. Describing the relationship as “deeply complementary” and “leading to an increase in development efficiency and product competitiveness,” Hon Hai said the new joint venture would provide a stable source of motors for the company’s electric vehicle ventures, while creating a new market for Nidec.

Industrial property market boomsBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwan’s industrial property transactions grew 34.6 percent to a record high of NT$59.3 billion (US$2.11 billion) in the first half of this year, driven by strong demand for industrial plots of land, as well as factories and logistics facilities, CBRE Taiwan said yesterday. A relatively undeveloped industrial zone around Tanmei Street in Taipei’s Neihu District is pictured from above yesterday. The trend also drew the attention of local constructions firms, who have poured money into the development of science parks, a further sign that this segment of the property market would continue to thrive, Lee said. Land prices have soared in northern Taiwan in recent years, but they remain relatively affordable at lower than NT$100,000 per ping elsewhere, Lee said. CBRE Taiwan real estate appraisal head Winston Shih (施甫學) said that office building upgrades and urban renewal projects would dominate land deals in northern Taiwan in light of a lack of supply.

‘Taiwanese’ office to open in Lithuania‘BREAKTHROUGH’: All countries should be free to pursue closer ties with Taiwan, a leading democracy, a major economy, and a force for good in the world, the AIT saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan is to establish a “Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania,” the first office in Europe to be called Taiwanese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday. When the Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland opened last year, it was the first to use the name “Taiwan,” he said. The planned office in Vilnius would be the first in Europe that is called “Taiwanese,” a nomenclature similar to the names of the British Office Taipei, the French Office in Taipei, the German Institute Taipei and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), he added. Following the news conference, the AIT issued a statement backing the plan to establish the office in Lithuania. Taiwan last year opened the office in Somaliland and the Taipei Representative Office in France’s new branch in Aix-en-Provence.