PMI reads 62.7, the ninth month in expansion zoneOVERHEATING RISK: CIER’s president said that prices for oil, raw materials and mass commodities are spiking, and producers might soon pass costs on to consumersBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month was 62.7, soundly in the expansion zone for the ninth straight month, with all sectors reporting an uptick in business amid deepening concern over inflation risks, the Chunghua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. “Prices for oil, raw materials and mass commodities are spiking, and producers might soon pass costs on to consumers,” Chang said. The PMI subindex on new business orders was 60.5, while the industrial production gauge was 59.2, CIER’s monthly survey found. Companies in all sectors have rosy expectations, sending the six-month outlook reading to an all-time high of 78.8, Chang said. An upturn in the next six months is likely in the non-manufacturing sectors, including hospitality providers, it said.

First flight of Taiwan-Palau ‘travel bubble’ takes offBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter, with CNA and AFPTaiwan and Palau yesterday launched what is being billed as the Asia-Pacific region’s first COVID-19 “travel bubble,” as the diplomatic allies seek to kick-start their battered tourist industries after successfully keeping infections at bay. Excited Taiwanese tourists arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, checking in five hours before their afternoon flight so that they could be tested for COVID-19. Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr, left, waves as he concludes a news conference at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday following a five-day visit to Taiwan. A group of tourists pose at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday before boarding a flight to Palau as part of the Taiwan-Palau “travel bubble.” Photo: CNADoctors were stationed at the airport in case any passengers tested positive, he said. The “travel bubble” arrangement was first announced by the government on March 17.

Factory activity last month in Japan and South Korea expanded thanks to solid demand at home and abroad, purchasing manager indices (PMI) showed, offering relief to policymakers facing pressure to accelerate a patchy recovery. People work on a wire harness production line at a factory in Huaibei, China, on March 9. China’s factory activity expanded at the slowest pace in almost a year, although underlying economic conditions remained positive. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing PMI, which focuses on smaller firms, last month dropped to 50.6 from February’s 50.9, missing market expectations. “All the uncertainty really rests with the economies they’re exporting to,” ING Groep NV chief Asia Pacific economist Rob Carnell said.

New Zealand sweep T20 series against BangladeshAFP, AUCKLAND, New ZealandNew Zealand yesterday beat Bangladesh by 65 runs in a rain-shortened third Twenty20 international in Auckland to claim a series clean sweep. With their innings reduced to 10 overs due to bad weather, Bangladesh were all out for 76 with three balls to spare, well short of the 142 target set by New Zealand. New Zealand’s Adam Milne, right, tries to run out Bangladesh’s Shoriful Islam in the third Twenty20 international in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday. Bangladesh captain Liton Das said that mistakes cost his side, including a series of dropped catches that allowed Allen to run away with the match. They were starting to rebuild when Astle also claimed a brace, leaving Bangladesh teetering on 37-4.

Cross-strait forum focused on Tokyo Games: ministryBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Cross-Straits Sports Exchange Seminar on Tuesday focused on how Taiwan and China are preparing their athletes for the Tokyo Olympic Games in July, Ministry of Education officials said, adding that neither side addressed whether Beijing should be allowed to hold the Winter Olympics next year. The annual seminar — over which Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) president Lin Hong-dow (林鴻道) and Chinese Olympic Committee president Gou Zhongwen (苟仲文) presided — was held online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung speaks to reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday after a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Sports Administration International and Cross-Strait Sports Division Director Hsu Hsiu-ling (許秀玲) said the seminar was a routine meeting that Olympic Committee leaders and staff members should attend. The seminar focused on preparing athletes for the Tokyo Games and did not touch on issues related to the Winter Olympics next year, she added.

Dietitians call for higher nutritionist-student ratioBy Chien Hui-ju and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerA nonpartisan group of legislators and dietitians yesterday called for the swift passage of a comprehensive school lunch bill, as only 538 nutritionists serve the nation’s 1.8 million schoolchildren, the equivalent of one for every 3,345 students. Local governments are left to create their own school lunch policy, Taiwan Dietitian Association president Chin Huei-min (金惠民) said. A student of Chiayi County Minhe Elementary School eats his lunch at the school in Chiayi County yesterday. Without enough experts, the nutritionist-student ratio would continue to decline, Chin added. Every day, 1.8 million school lunches are distributed nationwide, but there are only 538 school nutritionists, DPP Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) said, citing K-12 Education Administration data.

CTBC Bank to boost stake in Thai financial companyBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterCTBC Bank (中國信託銀行) would increase its investment in LH Financial Group Public Co by acquiring another 2.33 billion shares of the Thai company, CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) said yesterday after its board of directors approved the proposal. The financial conglomerate still needs to obtain the approval of the Financial Supervisory Commission for the investment, CTBC spokeswoman Chiu Ya-ling (邱雅玲) told a news conference in Taipei. The deal, which would cost CTBC Financial NT$3.9 billion (US$136.7 million), would raise its stake in the Thai company from 35.6 percent to 46.6 percent, making it the largest shareholder, Chiu said. A sign displaying the logo of CTBC Bank is pictured outside the company’s headquarters in Taipei on April 13 last year. LH Financial Group focuses on the banking business, with its banking unit, LH Bank, ranking 13th in terms of assets among Thai banks, Chiu said.

Girlfriend allegedly cuts off, flushes man’s penisFIT OF ANGER: The suspect said she flushed the severed penis down the toilet to prevent reattachment surgery, while a doctor said the victim would need counselingBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterA woman in central Taiwan on Tuesday allegedly cut off her boyfriend’s penis and flushed it down the toilet, police said. Police yesterday questioned the Vietnamese woman, surnamed Phung (馮), and said she is facing charges of aggravated assault. Photo: Tang Shih-ming, Taipei TimesThe couple’s neighbors told reporters that Huang and Phung had been living together for 10 months. The remaining part is insufficient to engage in sexual intercourse, therefore the best way is to implant an artificial penis,” Chou said. Huang had been married three times previously and has three daughters from those marriages, his neighbors told reporters.

Wisdom approves reduced payoutBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterWisdom Marine Lines Co’s (慧洋海運) board of directors has approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1 per share this year, down from NT$1.5 a year earlier, as the dry bulk shipping company’s net profit plunged 95 percent annually to NT$111.41 million (US$3.9 million) last year. Earnings per share were NT$0.15 last year, the company said on Tuesday. The cash dividend suggested a yield of 3.03 percent based on the company’s closing share price of NT$32.95 on Tuesday. Wisdom Marine Lines Co chairman James Lan speaks to reporters after an investors’ conference in Taipei on Tuesday. Lan said that he is optimistic about the company’s operations in the next few months, as it is nearly the traditional peak season for bulk shipping.

Having acquired majority control of Jih Sun Financial, Fubon Financial on Tuesday started to recognize its peer’s profits, but operations integration would take more time, Harn said. Fubon Financial Holding Co’s headquarters is pictured in Taipei on Dec. 20, 2011. Jih Sun Financial would cease to exist at the end of this year, but Jih Sun International Bank (日盛銀行), Jih Sun Securities Co (日盛證券) and Jih Sun Futures Co (日盛期貨) would continue operating until they become part of Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行), Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) and Fubon Futures Co (富邦期貨) respectively next year, he said. Although some of Jih Sun Bank’s and Taipei Fubon Bank’s branches overlap in some areas, they would not necessarily be closed, Harn said. “Fubon Financial has conducted many small and big mergers and acquisitions over the past 20 years, and we have never had major labor disputes.

Chang Hwa Bank looks to recover profit momentumBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterBacked by an improving global operating environment, state-run Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) yesterday said that it expects its growth momentum to recover this year, after net income tumbled by double-percentage points last year and remained weak in the first two months of this year. Chang Hwa Commercial Bank’s headquarters in Taipei’s Zhongshan District is pictured in an undated photograph. Chou, who served in different positions in another state-run lender, First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), aims to strengthen Chang Hwa Bank’s overseas operations and risk controls. Chang Hwa Bank is seeking to expand its loanbook by 5 to 6 percent this year, led by loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, and mortgage for people with real demand, the bank said. Chang Hwa Bank would be engaged in loans to first-time home buyers, as the central bank’s two recent waves of credit controls are directed at multiple home owners and property investors, it said.

Chiang, KMT Secretary-General Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍) and other members of the party were visiting the Cihu Mausoleum in Taoyuan to pay their respects ahead of the 46th anniversary of Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) death on Monday next week. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang speaks at a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Chu, who was KMT chairman from January 2015 to January 2016, has not said he plans to run, but is seen as a likely contender. Johnny Chiang on Feb. 20 announced that he would seek re-election. Asked about the poll yesterday, Johnny Chiang said that many polls are being conducted and would likely continue to be until the end of the election.

Tunnel built for Chiang Kai-shek opens to publicTHE GREAT ESCAPE: Equipped with explosion-proof lighting, sound-dampened walls and an 84-step spiral staircase, the 67m-long passage opens to a garden An underground tunnel in the east wing of the Grand Hotel in Taipei that once served as an emergency exit for former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was yesterday opened to the public for the first time since it was built 50 years ago. A passage in the west wing of the hotel has been open since September 2019, drawing more than 50,000 visitors within three months of its opening. Last year, about 170,000 visited the west tunnel, the hotel said. As tours of the west tunnel were warmly received, the hotel began renovating the east passage more than a year ago toBy Shelley Shan

First flu death reportedTYPE A INFLUENZA: A man in his 80s who had a history of diabetes and hypertension, and had not received the influenza vaccine, became the first fatality this flu seasonBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the nation’s first case of death from influenza this flu season and one new imported case of COVID-19. Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei reports at a news conference in Taipei yesterday the first death this flu season — a Taiwanese man in his 80s who died of serious flu complications on Saturday. It was the first flu death and the second serious flu complication this season, he added. While the number of serious flu complications and flu deaths have been significantly lower than in previous years, it does not mean that local communities are safe from circulating flu viruses, so people, especially those with underlying health conditions, should still take preventive measures against the disease, he added. Eligibility for government-funded flu vaccines has since Jan. 30 been expanded to include everyone older than six months, so people with a higher risk of serious complications from flu infection are advised to get vaccinated, he said.

A visitor to the Chi Mei Museum in February last year admires its collection of outstanding violins. The Infinite String Quartet play instruments from the Chi Mei collection during a performance at Chi Mei Museum in October last year. Violins are displayed at the Chi Mei Museum in Tainan during its Beethoven Festival in July last year. The approximately 400 loan applications that Chi Mei receives each year are reviewed by a special committee, Chung says. Visitors to Tainan’s Chi Mei Museum walk last April along its central plaza.