Daily new virus cases lowest since MayBACK TO WORK: Six requirements were laid out for Huannan Market, which is resuming operations today, including negative PCR tests and real-name registrationBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday reported 28 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the lowest number since the outbreak started in May. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesThirteen of the cases tested positive during quarantine or upon ending quarantine, he said. Taipei reported 15 cases, followed by New Taipei City with five, Taoyuan with three and Miaoli County with two. The sources of 16 cases have been identified, while 11 cases are under investigation and the source for one was unclear, Chen said. Of the 13,696 local cases reported from May 11 to Sunday, 2,712 people, or 19.8 percent, were considered severe cases, while 675 people died as a result, specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said.

COVID-19: Market group boss slams politicization of outbreakBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writerHuannan Market Autonomous Association president Lin Sheng-tung (林勝東) on Friday urged politicians to concentrate on eradicating the COVID-19 outbreak, after he earlier in the day accused independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) of politicizing an outbreak at the market while ignoring his electorate. Huannan Market Autonomous Association president Lin Sheng-tung, right, points to independent Legislator Freddy Lim, left, at a news conference at Huannan Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District on Friday. From second left are Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang. He also criticized Ko for what Lim called his “contradictory testing policy,” first saying that the market outbreak was too complex for PCR testing, only to later implement comprehensive PCR testing. Lim also apologized for his “emotional” remarks on Facebook, while reiterating the responsibility of politicians to control the outbreak.

Nine firms join government’s investment planKEEP IT LOCAL: The firms applied to invest NT$3.3 billion as part of a program that has attracted hundreds of applications to invest up to NT$1.26 trillion in TaiwanBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs approved nine more Taiwanese companies’ applications to join the government’s three-year action plan for domestic investment, it said on Friday. Another 55 firms are waiting for their applications to be reviewed, it added. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei TimesThe newly approved applicants aim to invest a combined NT$3.3 billion (US$118 million) in Taiwan, it said. The ministry has approved more than NT$1.26 trillion in investments, which are expected to create 106,490 jobs, it said. The government’s action plan on domestic investment provides companies with assistance on taxes, financing, land, utilities and labor.

The show, titled “Yang San-lang: A Taiwanese Treasure,” features several of Yang’s scenic oil paintings and some pastels. The extensive showing of Yang’s work illustrates the progress of modern art that occurred simultaneously in Taiwan and Japan, the Japanese Gekkan Bijutsu newspaper said. Yang San-lang Museum CEO Noriko Morakoshi poses for a photograph next to paintings by her father-in law, Yang San-lang, at Taimei Gallery in Toyko on Friday. New Taipei City’s Yang San-lang Museum, of which Morakoshi is the CEO, loaned pieces from its collection to the exhibition, but several oil paintings were too large to be transported to Japan, she said. Yang San-lang’s son, Yang Shin-lang (楊星朗), in a statement said that his father had been a life-long friend of Japan.

COVID-19: New infections fall to 37: CECCFACING DIFFICULTIES: People who hold a notice of release from isolation must be allowed into offices and other venues without other certification, the CECC saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 37 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and two deaths as it said that people who hold a “Notice for Release From Isolation Treatment” (解除隔離治療通知書) should not be asked to provide a negative COVID-19 test result at certain venues. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the daily COVID-19 case counts have been falling, adding that there were two imported cases yesterday. Of the 37 local cases, 13 tested positive during quarantine or upon ending quarantine, he said. A soldier from the 6th Army Corps’ 33 Chemical Warfare Group sprays disinfectant on empty cages loaded on a truck near Huannan Market in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNAThey tested positive upon arriving at the airport, it said.

COVID-19: Job openings in tech, e-commerce sectors rise 25%By Wu Po-hsuan / Staff reporterThere has been a 25 percent increase in job openings in the technology and e-commerce industries over the past two years, while travel-related industries have seen a decline in vacancies of about 30 percent, a representative from job bank yes123 said yesterday. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there appears to have been a shift in the jobs available for recent graduates, the job bank said. Accordingly, there have been fewer job opportunities, he added. Estimates show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities in the e-commerce and technology industries have grown by 25 percent, while the number of openings in businesses such as airlines and hotels have fallen by 30 percent, he said. Yang said he believes that recent graduates with STEM degrees still possess an advantage over those with liberal arts degrees.

COVID-19: CECC reports 76 new COVID-19 cases, 10 deathsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 76 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 10 deaths. Taipei reported the most cases at 48, followed by New Taipei City with 24 cases, Taoyuan with three and Hsinchu City with one, he said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, left, and a healthcare worker gestrue at each other at the First Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District yesterday. Medical personnel administer COVID-19 tests to workers at the First Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District yesterday. Of the total 220 confirmed cases, 93 are Taipei residents, 117 are New Taipei City residents and 10 are residents of other cities or counties, CECC data showed.

EDITORIAL: Media literacy more vital than everChina has ramped up its disinformation campaign against Taiwan, using a COVID-19 outbreak to provoke discontent against the government, an international newspaper said on Tuesday. The government certainly faces a dilemma in holding mainstream media accountable for what is reported, while also ensuring press freedom. After President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) offered condolences on Twitter last week to people affected by a building collapse in Florida, a reply came from what was obviously a fake account. The government should ensure that students take mandatory media literacy courses to help them make informed decisions about what they see and read. It could also require news agencies and social media platforms to flag information determined by an independent body to be questionable.

CECC reports 57 cases, 15 deathsLOCATING CONTACTS: An additional 41 cases were linked to an outbreak at a Taipei market, but were ‘not yet’ included in the center’s daily figures, the CECC saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 57 new local cases of COVID-19, and 15 deaths, while outlining its plans to curb infections linked to Taipei’s Huannan Market (環南市場). Among the local cases, Taipei reported 29, followed by New Taipei City with 15, while Hsinchu County reported four cases, Taoyuan and Keelung three each, Taichung two and Hsinchu City one, the center said. The 15 deaths were eight men and seven women in their 40s to 80s, all of whom had a history of chronic illness, except a woman in her 40s, the center said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, left, stands next to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Chen said that no new cases have been reported in Pingtung County, where as of Thursday there had been 15 cases recorded caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.

COVID-19: Doctor warns on ill-fitting gogglesNOT TOO TIGHT: Pericranial soft tissues are squeezed or pulled whenever a person wears goggles, which can lead to ‘goggle headaches,’ Sui Shan-chung saidBy Liu Bin-chuan / Staff reporterWith more people wearing goggles to protect themselves against COVID-19, experts warned that wearing ill-fitting goggles could cause headaches. Sui Shan-chung (隋善中), a doctor at Nantou Hospital, said that pericranial soft tissues are repeatedly squeezed or pulled whenever a person wears a hat, helmet, face shield or goggles, which could lead to supraorbital neuralgia, also known as “goggle headaches.”People experience “goggle headaches” after swimming if they wear ill-fitting goggles, Sui said, adding that the symptoms ease when they take off the goggles. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times“When people buy protective or swimming goggles, they should check if the goggles are too tight to wear, which could squeeze nerves and subsequently cause headaches. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration also advised people on the correct way to wear a mask to avoid damaging the skin. Non-medical workers should not wear an N95 mask, as it could cause a reddened and oily face, it added.

TAIEX tipped to sink to 15,000 in Q3, surge afterBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe TAIEX would likely fall to about 15,000 points in the third quarter if US monetary policy changes next month, but the index is expected to rebound, peaking at 19,000 points in the fourth quarter, Capital Investment Management Corp (群益證投顧) said yesterday. Local semiconductor companies and manufacturers of electronics would benefit from a global economic recovery, while 5G suppliers are expected to receive more orders as countries where the COVID-19 situation has eased accelerate 5G development, Tsai said. A woman walks past an electronic stock board at a securities firm in Taipei on April 20. Capital Investment is optimistic about local airlines as they have expanded capacity amid demand for air cargo, he said, adding that air cargo sales are expected to continue growing. The TAIEX yesterday closed down 0.02 percent at 17,710.15 points, with turnover of NT$607.08 billion (US$21.69 billion), Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.

Xi pledges ‘reunification’ with TaiwanCCP CENTENNIAL: Responding to Xi’s pledge, the Mainland Affairs Council said that Beijing should drop the military intimidation and talk with Taipei on an equal footingReuters, TAIPEI and BEIJINGChinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday pledged to complete “reunification” with Taiwan and vowed to “smash” any attempts at formal independence, drawing a stern rebuke from Taipei, which lambasted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a dictatorship. China, which considers independent Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up efforts under Xi to assert its sovereignty claims, including regular flights by fighter jets and bombers close to the nation. “Solving the Taiwan question and realizing the complete reunification of the motherland are the unswerving historical tasks of the CCP and the common aspiration of all Chinese people,” Xi said in a speech on the centennial of the party. A woman takes a selfie as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech is being broadcast on a large screen in Beijing during the cenntenial of the Chinese Communist Party yesterday. He has batted back criticism of his government’s actions in Hong Kong, attitude toward Taiwan and treatment of Uighurs.

Highways & Byways: The understated appeal of Pingtung CityA leafy cantonment containing historic military homes and a high-security Buddhist temple are among the reasons to visit Pingtung CityBy Steven Crook / Contributing reporterThe shrinking capital of a stagnating county, Pingtung City (屏東市) hasn’t found its way on to any kind of top 10 tourist attractions list. Silver-haired culture vultures and beach-bound backpackers zip through Pingtung City by express train, or bypass it on Freeway 3. VIP ZONEWhat was known for much of the postwar period as Shengli New Village (勝利新村) is now promoted as VIP Zone (勝利星村創意生活園區). For the time being, some of the more dilapidated military housing units in Pingtung City are to be left unrenovated. In 2019, when the Taiwan Design Expo was held at Taisugar Civic Park (台糖縣民公園) on the southern outskirts of Pingtung City, VIP Zone served as a satellite venue.

While conceding that the CCP has achieved “certain economic development” by adopting a Western free-market system, the council condemned the party for “strangling democracy and violating human rights.”Under the pretext of national rejuvenation, the CCP is becoming “increasingly authoritarian,” while turning its back on private enterprise, it said. “The CCP’s historical policy blunders and persistent harmful actions pose a grave threat to regional security and global liberal democracy,” the council said. The CCP must reflect on its mistakes and promote democratic reforms as soon as possible to return political power to the people, it said. The Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation yesterday released the results of its first-ever “feeling thermometer” poll, designed to gauge public sentiment toward the CCP. The poll shows that the overwhelming majority of Taiwanese have either negative or no feelings toward the CCP, You said.

Arrivals need to get tested three timesNEW POLICY: The Central Epidemic Command Center said the requirement is in response to the global spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterStarting today, all arrivals to Taiwan are to be tested three times for COVID-19 before the end of their quarantine period. The arrivals would be given a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test upon arrival and at the end of their quarantine period, it said. Specimen collection rooms at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport await COVID-19 test specimens from arriving passengers yesterday. Arrivals who have not visited these countries in the past 14 days would also need to take a PCR test upon arrival, it said. However, all arrivals are now required to stay at a quarantine hotel or centralized quarantine facility, he said.