The new measure is to encourage unlicensed migrant workers to get tested at a time when Taipei has been affected by COVID-19 cluster infections, especially in Wanhua District (萬華), Ko said. People yesterday line up at a COVID-19 testing site in Taipei’s Wanhua District as medical workers arrive to open the station. Taipei would open four rapid testing stations in the Heping and Zhongxing branches of Taipei City Hospital, in West Garden Hospital, and at the Bopiliao Historic Block, he said. Taipei authorities have ordered all 172 hostess teahouses in Wanhua to shut down for three days for disinfection and to conduct contact tracing of confirmed cases. The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection yesterday announced a temporary halt to a single-use utensils ban, citing disease prevention concerns.

The outages affected 8.46 million customers, Taiwan Power Co said, adding that a short-term rolling blackout was initiated across the country as an emergency measure after four generators tripped at the Singda Power Plant in Kaohsiung. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Yang Chiung-ying, left, and Jennifer Chen, right, listen yesterday as KMT legislative caucus secretary-general Cheng Li-wun demands the resignation of Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua at a news conference at the legislature in Taipei. Thermal power, which reached 80.64 percent during Ma’s administration, increased to 82.24 percent last year, Huang said, adding that the numbers indicate the country is suffering from insufficient power generation. Citing a power outage on Aug. 15, 2017, Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新), another committee deputy director-general, said the Tsai administration at the time had also claimed that it was not a problem with power generation, but the distribution network. KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) said that someone in the Tsai administration should step down for the five-hour rolling blackout.

ITRI revises chip industry forecast upwardINFLUENCE OF TWO: An analyst said that MediaTek and TSMC have performed much better than was expected, prompting a much bigger forecast for all local designersBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterThe Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) yesterday revised upward its growth forecast for Taiwan’s chip industry, expecting production value to increase 18 percent to NT$3.81 trillion (US$136.01 billion) this year from NT$3.22 trillion last year. “MediaTek and TSMC have performed way better than we expected,” ITRI analyst Jerry Peng (彭茂榮) said in an e-mail to the Taipei Times. TSMC’s first-quarter revenue rose 17.6 percent annually to NT$262.41 billion, with expected growth of about 20 percent this year, TSMC said. Peng said he adjusted his output growth forecast for local chip designers to 30.5 percent annually this year, compared with a previous estimate of 10.9 percent. Three months ago, ITRI estimated that chipmakers’ production value would grow 8 percent and memorychip makers’ output 4 percent this year.

The logo and name of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, also known as Foxconn, is pictured outside a company office in Taipei on Jan. 4. While prices of components and raw materials have increased, the impact on Hon Hai will be limited, Liu said. To reduce its reliance on consumer electronics, Hon Hai has been searching for new growth drivers and it has identified electric vehicles as a key emerging industry. Hon Hai said in a statement that it has signed a framework agreement with Fisker to establish an electric vehicle production site in the US with both sides using the MIH Open Platform promoted by Hon Hai for EV development. Fisker is expected to secure semiconductor supplies through its partnership with the company, Hon Hai said.

Unlock identities of political oppressors: associationBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taiwan Association of University Professors on Monday urged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to order intelligence units to open to victims of political oppression or their kin the files on their oppressors so that they might know their names and identity. Shielding these people is tantamount to letting the perpetrators escape justice, the group said. All information given to the Transitional Justice Commission has had the names of individuals involved redacted or omitted, contravening the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), association chairman Hsu Wen-tang (許文堂) told a news conference in Taipei. Only by delivering justice to the victims or their surviving kin can wounds be healed and lead to forgiveness, the association said. Leaving files classified and shielding the informants’ identities prevent true reconciliation, Fan said, adding that victims or surviving kin should have full access to the files.

Starting with Thursday’s Game 3, the league and teams will lose nearly NT$10 million in revenue per game, Chen said. In Game 3, the Fubon Braves took a 2-1 lead in the series, in a hard-fought overtime win against the Dreamers. The SBL championship finals start today, with Taiwan Beer taking on the Yulon Dinos, with Game 2 tomorrow. Taiwan Beer and the Dinos finished first and second in the standings respectively, wrapping up the season last month. Taiwan Beer nailed down the top position early, with 31 wins against 9 defeats, while the Dinos chalked up a 26-14 record.

Qisda Q1 net profit hits 13-year highCONTINUED DEMAND: Qisda said that it is seeking to leverage the strengths of its businesses and industry partners in a ‘grand alliance’ to tackle component shortagesBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterLCD monitor maker Qisda Corp (佳世達) yesterday reported that net profit in the first quarter reached the highest in about 13 years, thanks to strong demand for monitors and industrial devices amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Net profit increased to NT$2.61 billion (US$93.23 million) from NT$233 million last year and from NT$2.28 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, the company said. Qisda Corp chairman Peter Chen poses for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei on June 21, 2019. “As we said in March, this year will be a good year for Qisda, considering the faster pace of growth in revenue and net profit,” chairman Peter Chen (陳其宏) told investors in a virtual conference yesterday. Overall, revenue this quarter is expected to increase quarter-on-quarter by a double-digit percentage, Qisda chief executive officer Jasmin Hung (洪秋金) said.

The jets had been part of training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and had briefly landed in Honolulu, where the photographer, Aeros808, had spotted them, a source said. An F-16 flies into Hualien Air Force Base from the US yesterday in preparation to receive an upgrade package of F-16V capabilities. Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei TimesThe jets did not land in Guam, which had been done in 1996 when the US Air Force delivered F-16s to Taiwan, the source said, adding that the jets were refueled mid-air eight times. The air force had launched two F-16Vs to escort the jets, while officials cleared the perimeter of Hualien Air Base of unauthorized people. The jets are to undergo an inspection before their departure for Ching Chuang Kang Air Base, where they are to be upgraded, the source said.

Tax filing deadline for personal and business returns extended to June 30Staff writer, with CNAThe deadline for filing tax returns for last year and making payments has been extended by a month, to June 30, in part to prevent crowding at National Taxation Bureau offices amid a COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. Hsinchu City Tax Bureau employees, left, check tax documents from behind a plastic partition in Hsinchu City on Wednesday. However, the June 30 deadline does not apply to property taxes, which people are encouraged to pay online after receiving their bill from the tax bureau, the ministry said. As of Sunday, more than 2 million people, or about 30 percent of the nation’s taxpayers, had filed their returns, ministry data showed. Last year, the ministry also extended the tax deadline due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Executive Yuan raises relief fund to NT$630 billionBy Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNAThe Executive Yuan yesterday approved a draft bill to expand a COVID-19 stimulus package, increasing its spending limit from NT$420 billion to NT$630 billion (US$15 billion to US$22.5 billion) and extending it to June 30 next year. Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) approved the bill at a Cabinet meeting, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) told a news conference. The program duration should be extended by 12 months and the spending limit be increased by NT$210 billion, Lo cited Su as saying. The legislature might, if necessary, hold the reading in an extraordinary session, Lo Chih-cheng added. Taiwan People’s Party deputy caucus convener Ann Kao (高虹安) said that the Executive Yuan should report on effects of the program before proposing an increased budget.

Journalists sit in near darkness amid a power cut at a news conference at the Central Epidemic Command Center in Taipei yesterday. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua, center, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng, second left, and Taiwan Power Co officials bow at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Taiwan Power Co’s Singda Power Plant is pictured in Kaohsiung’s Yongan District in an undated photograph. Idle power generators, including nuclear facilities, were brought online in an attempt to fill the gap left by the Singda outages, Chang said. Some of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) facilities reported brief power dips yesterday, but the power supply is currently normal, the company said in a statement.

DPP officials have noticed an increase in such information, which aim to promote “a certain agenda,” she said, adding that the posts might be part of “cognitive warfare” efforts. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei TimesPostings include calls for the government to purchase doses of Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines on the popular messenger app Line and other platforms, Hsieh said. “In the past few years, we have seen many of these cognitive warfare efforts and disinformation campaigns,” Hsieh said. “Such posts occur increasingly at critical times, when people are concerned about the COVID-19 situation. The CECC frequently posts information on its Web site and updates its guidelines depending on the situation, she said.

Quanta reports strong Q1 profit, but fears shortagesBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterQuanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), one of the world’s leading contract notebook computer makers, yesterday reported strong profit for the first quarter, but added that a severe shortage of key components could affect its business. “Our growth could be limited by a shortage of components,” Quanta spokesman Elton Yang (楊俊烈) told an online investors’ conference. The logo of Quanta Computer Inc is pictured outside the company’ headquarters in New Taipei City’s Linkou District on March 30 last year. Last year, Quanta shipped a record 59.8 million laptops, up 70 percent from a year earlier. Quanta posted a net profit of NT$7.1 billion (US$253.6 million) in the first quarter, down 17.72 percent quarter-on-quarter, but up 175.18 percent year-on-year.

Citibank Taiwan, DBS Bank Taiwan hit for AML failingsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined Citibank Taiwan Ltd (花旗台灣) NT$10 million (US$357,194) and DBS Bank Taiwan (星展台灣) NT$6 million for breaches of the nation’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The NT$10 million fine is the highest penalty that it has imposed on a domestic bank, the commission said. The commission yesterday fined Citibank Taiwan Ltd NT$10 million (US$357,194) and DBS Bank Taiwan (星展台灣) NT$6 million for breaches of the nation’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Citibank Taiwan also failed to set up a system to specifically monitor clients that were cryptocurrency exchanges, also a breach of AML regulations, it added. DBS Bank Taiwan was penalized for similar breaches, the commission said.

Vigilance urged as 21 new cases foundSIXTEEN LOCAL: Three COVID-19 infections are linked to a cluster at a gambling house in Yilan County, 10 to a case in New Taipei City and three had unclear sourcesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday urged people to increase vigilance and thoroughly practice preventive measures against COVID-19 as it reported 16 locally transmitted cases of the disease. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that 21 cases were confirmed in Taiwan yesterday: 16 local cases, four imported cases and one case undetermined. Local health departments are conducting contact tracing on the confirmed cases to identify other close contacts and the locations they visited, Chen said. 1,187 — a pilot — on a flight to Vietnam on Wednesday last week also tested positive, Chen said. The CECC also reported four imported cases — three migrant workers from the Philippines and a Taiwanese who returned from India.