Government monitoring housing market: ministerBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe government is to review housing transaction data this week to determine if further action is necessary to cool the property market, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. “The government is to convene a cross-ministerial meeting later this week and review related data to arrive at a conclusion,” Kung said, adding that it takes time for the market to respond. National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin, left, and Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi attend a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. The economy is lending support after expanding 8.16 percent last quarter, making upward revisions for full-year growth inevitable, Kung said. Kung declined to speculate if growth could reach 5.5 percent this year, but said that it could rise above the 5 percent mark.

Ministry pushes LNG project farther offshore‘NO LONGER AFFECTED’: With the LNG facility an additional 455m away from shore, the project would no longer require dredging the ocean floor, the ministry saidBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced that it would move a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off Taoyuan farther from shore to “minimize any impact on algal reefs.”In an effort to prevent the project from being blocked by a referendum, the ministry said that it had updated its proposal for the nation’s third LNG receiving terminal to move it another 455m from shore. “By pushing the project farther out into deeper water, we no longer need to dredge the ocean floor,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei. They have successfully petitioned for a referendum to block the terminal, which the ministry says is essential for the government’s plans to transition away from coal. “We can finish the third LNG terminal in two-and-a-half years. If the referendum passed, the ministry would respect the people’s wishes, Tseng said.

Nonagenarian is nation’s oldest licensed caregiverBy Tsai Shu-yuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerAt 96 years old, Lien Chin-ting (連金廷) has become the nation’s oldest licensed caregiver. “I am old, so I know better how to care for old people,” he said on Friday, as he demonstrated how to care for a bedridden patient. At the encouragement of his daughter, Lien said he often attends activities at an elderly-care center in Taichung. The nation’s oldest licensed caregiver, 96-year-old Lien Chin-ting, left, attends to a patient at an elderly care center in Taichung on Saturday. In January, he began a 97-hour course that includes 52 hours of coursework, eight hours of practical work and 30 hours of clinical practice.

COVID-19: India’s virus surge could slow global recovery: DBSBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterA surge in COVID-19 cases in India is expected to slow a global economic recovery, DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) said yesterday, while maintaining its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan at 5 percent this year. Taiwan reported stronger-than-expected 8.16 percent growth in GDP in the first quarter, beating the Singaporean bank’s 6.1 percent prediction from late March. DBS Bank Ltd economist Ma Tieying poses for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei on April 7. However, India’s sharp spike in COVID-19 infections could still take a toll on the global economic rebound, Ma said. Regarding Taiwan’s economy, Ma said the nation’s recovery has been “at full speed,” with GDP expanding quarter-on-quarter for three consecutive quarters.

Adata net profit soars 57.18% to a 14-quarter highBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterAdata Technology Co (威剛), a supplier of memory modules and solid-state drives (SSDs), yesterday posted its best quarterly net profit in 14 quarters on the back of rising prices. During the three-month quarter to March, net profit surged 57.18 percent to NT$707 million (US$25.27 million), from NT$450 million last year. On a quarterly basis, net profit more than doubled from NT$317 million. Earnings per share rose to NT$2.94, compared with NT$2.12 a year earlier and NT$1.41 in the previous quarter. Adada had accumulated key components worth NT$10 billion as of the end of last quarter, a record high, the statement said.

A person walks past the entrance of a departure lounge at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Feb. 11. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, last week said that the infection source might be flight crew members of foreign airlines who stayed at the hotel, where many China Airlines crew members have been quarantined upon returning to Taiwan. The airlines would also be asked to evaluate whether they can allow crew members to report for duty online or separately, he added. Flight crew members should also be quarantined for 14 days, or they should be required to get vaccinated to have shorter quarantine periods, he said. Asked for comment, Chen Shih-chung said the quarantine policies can be further discussed with specialists, the CAA and the airlines.

CECC reports four more local casesHIGH-RISK GROUP: After the latest outbreak, family members of workers exposed to infection would from tomorrow be eligible for government-funded vaccinesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported four local COVID-19 cases: three family members of an infected worker at a quarantine hotel and a family member of an infected pilot. Chemical Corps members in hazmat suits yesterday assemble outside China Airlines Ltd’s headquarters in Taoyuan, ready to disinfect the area. She is the daughter of an infected pilot, and although she did not have any symptoms, her brother tested positive, so she was tested on Friday, he said. “The family members of workers exposed to infection — the top three priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination — will also be eligible for government-funded vaccination starting tomorrow,” he said. So far 1,225 pilots have received an antibody test, he said, adding that 1,212 tested negative, 12 tested positive and one person is awaiting their result.

Golf venues top taxpayer list in north as claw machines rule central TaiwanBy Huang Ching-chun and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAMost of the entertainment tax in northern Taiwan came from golf venues, while claw machines dominated central Taiwan, the Ministry of Finance said in a report. Revenue from golf venues made up 33 percent of the total entertainment tax collected in the north, while revenue from claw machine parlors accounted for nearly 30 percent in central Taiwan, the report said. Photo: Chen Feng-li, Taipei TimesThe number of taxable golf venues, KTV parlors, movie theaters, arcades and Internet cafes fell from 2011 to last year, the report said. The amount of entertainment tax collected from KTVs, arcades and Internet cafes fell during the period, while tax collected from people in performance-related careers grew, it showed. While those with subscriptions tended to subscribe to more than one service, a majority of respondents preferred subscription-free music, the survey said.

Stephen M. Young On Taiwan: The snakes of TaiwanTaking advantage of my Taipei Times editors’ forbearance, I thought I would go with a change of pace by offering a few observations on an interesting nature topic, the many varieties of snakes in Taiwan. Toward that end, they collected exotic snakes from throughout East Asia for experimentation and development of serums to counter snake bites. As a young boy living on the edge of Kaohsiung, I encountered snakes on a regular basis. I remember one morning we found a small snake inside our house. In short, Taiwan has a rich and long history of snakes, yet another small window into the Taiwan I knew over the years.

Notes from central Taiwan: Taiwan: Island of bossesWant to understand why Taiwan’s birth rate is not going to improve? The childcare subsidies that Premier Su Cheng-chang announced last week will do little to improve Taiwan’s worryingly low birth rate. Low birth rates are also an issue in South Korea and Japan. Further, Taiwanese bosses foster a work culture defined by the ideal of suffering, shaping Taiwan culture in entirely negative ways. Until the culture of Taiwan’s bosses changes, nothing will change.

Kaohsiung’s Tengjhih Forest park to reopen after 12-year hiatusBy Hsu Li-chuan / Staff reporterThe Tengjhih National Forest Recreation Area (藤枝森林遊樂區) in Kaohsiung is to reopen on Friday next week after a nearly 12-year hiatus. The forest park in the city’s Taoyuan District (桃源) has been closed since parts of the park were flooded and many roads were damaged during Typhoon Morakot in 2009. The park would be open to up to 500 visitors from 8am to 5pm daily, officials from the Pingtung Forest District Office said yesterday, adding that no accommodation would be provided. People stand on a walkway in the Tengjhih National Forest Recreation Area in Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District yesterday. In other news, Tainan’s Baihe District Office yesterday opened its annual lotus festival, a series of events running until the end of July.

CECC lists places patients visitedTRAVELING WHILE CONTAGIOUS: The highest risk of infection is indoors, especially in settings where people take off their masks to eat and drink, an expert warnedBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday posted a list of places visited by people who were recently diagnosed with COVID-19 while they were likely contagious, urging people who visited the sites at the same time to practice self-health management. On Monday, she took a Taoyuan Airport MRT train from Taipei Main Station to Taoyuan Airport Hotel Station from 6:55am to 7:50am, and from Airport Hotel Station to Kengkou Station (坑口站) from 5:40 to 5:55pm, Chen said. Chen said that a few locations and details have been added to the list of places visited by case No. The woman on Tuesday last week visited the Mr Sandwich restaurant in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) from 6:20am to 6:40am, and hypermarket RT-Mart’s Jhongli branch from 6:20pm to 6:35pm, he said. He stayed at the terminal from 1:30pm to 2pm and took a Taoyuan MRT train to Airport Hotel Station between 2pm and 2:20pm, Chen said.

Legislature reduces taxes artists pay on sold worksBy Chien Hui-ju and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Legislative Yuan on Friday passed an amendment to reduce the taxes artists pay on income from auctioned art. Taxes would be calculated as 20 percent of 6 percent of the final transaction amount — which reduces the tax from the income of a sold artwork by 1.2 percent. Companies providing cultural services for government agencies would also be required to have business insurance under the amendment. The amendment brings Taiwan in line with international norms of separating taxation of cultural production from that of individual income, he said. “I hope that this amendment will keep art transactions in Taiwan, and attract large auction houses and other professionals to come here,” he said.

DPP Taipei official resigns over allegationsNO SPECIAL TREATMENT: The Taipei chapter of the DPP has ‘zero tolerance for gangs,’ its chairman said, adding that Chao Chieh-yu’s party membership would be revokedBy Yang Hsin-hui, Peng Wan-hsin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerAn official at the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Taipei chapter on Friday said he would resign over allegations that his son had been implicated in a narcotics and fraud investigation. Chao Ying-kuang resigned as convener of the Taipei chapter’s review committee after earlier saying that his son should be expelled from the party. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei chapter review committee chairman Chao Ying-kuang in Taipei on Friday announces his decision to resign over his son Chao Chieh-yu’s alleged involvement in gang-related crimes. Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei TimesTaipei chapter head Enoch Wu (吳怡農) said he had no prior knowledge of the accusations against Chao Chieh-yu. Chao Chieh-yu’s party membership would likely be revoked tomorrow as party bylaws require providing three days of advance notice before expelling a member, he added.

KMT caucus calls for resignation of envoy to JapanBy Chen Yun and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday demanded that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) remove Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) as the nation’s representative to Japan and issue a public apology over his statements about wastewater discharge. Japan on April 13 announced that it plans to release treated wastewater from the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant into the ocean, despite protests from neighboring countries. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus hold placards while staging a protest in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei yesterday, demanding that President Tsai Ing-wen dismiss Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh. KMT lawmakers yesterday marched to the Presidential Office to voice their complaints. In response, the Presidential Office said that Hsieh has adequately conveyed the Taiwanese government’s concern regarding its plan to pump irradiated water out to sea in two years.