Council reviews Aboriginal hunting rightsTRADITIONS: The Council of Grand Justices is to issue an interpretation within one month on whether laws limiting hunting and firearms infringe on Aboriginal rightsBy Wu Cheng-feng and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAOral arguments began on Tuesday in a case that is to determine whether laws restricting hunting and firearms infringe on the constitutional rights of Aborigines. Aboriginal groups rally in front of the Judicial Yuan in Taipei on Tuesday after oral arguments were heard at the Council of Grand Justices to determine whether laws restricting hunting and firearms infringe on the constitutional rights of Aborigines. In Talum’s appeal to the Supreme Court in 2017, the judges decided to suspend the trial until the Council of Grand Justices issues an interpretation on whether the laws breach the constitutional rights of Aborigines. At the hearing, Ministry of the Interior representative Kung Wen-hsiang (宮文祥) said that homemade firearms are sufficient to protect the hunting rights of Aborigines. Homemade shotguns must be front-loading and therefore less efficient to better protect the rights of others, Kung said.

TPP calls for measures to address water shortageMISMANAGEMENT? Whenever there is a water shortage, the agricultural sector is usually the first to be asked by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to cut water usage by reducing irrigation, TPP Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安) told a news conference in Taipei. Kao also questioned why water resources management has to be divided among the MOEA’s Water Resources Agency, the COA’s Irrigation Agency and Taiwater, adding that the three agencies even make profits by selling water rights to one another. If the government can regularly adjust the prices of electricity and gasoline based on their fluctuating costs, it should apply the same mechanism to water prices, she said. Heavy water users — defined as those that consume more than 50 units — should pay a higher price to encourage them to save and conserve water, she said.

Housed in a cluster of seven restored Japanese-era dorms, the Taiwan Literature Base officially opened in December last year. The latest to open to the public is the Taiwan Literature Base (台灣文學基地), launched in December last year. Housed in a cluster of seven restored Japanese-era dorms, the Taiwan Literature Base officially opened in December last year. Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times“If not for Chu-Chen Pao-kuei, this place wouldn’t be here,” Sun says. Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times“I didn’t know any of this stuff before,” she says.

Coast guard nabs ship loaded with illegal cigarettesBy Hung Ting-hung / Staff reporterCoast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol ships last week seized contraband cigarettes worth an estimated NT$110 million (US$3.9 million), after uncovering a smuggling operation that originated in the South China Sea, officials said yesterday. It was the first time a cigarette-smuggling operation was discovered near the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), coast guard officials said. The hold of a cargo ship on March 6 is filled with Chinese-made contraband cigarettes. The ship’s Burmese captain told the coast guard that they had embarked from a port in Cambodia loaded with the cigarettes, and were headed to Taiwan, officials said. As of yesterday, the contraband cigarettes had been forwarded to the Kaohsiung City Department of Finance for assessment, the officials said.

CSC to raise steel product pricesCAPACITY CONSTRAINTS: The steelmaker said that signs of a global manufacturing recovery are clear and that a 4.1% rise in global steel demand has been predictedBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterChina Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, yesterday said that it would raise prices by 8.3 percent on a quarterly basis for local deliveries next quarter, citing strong demand and rising raw material prices. Steel prices for next month are to rise 1.7 percent, CSC said. “Demand for automobiles, basic infrastructure and appliances is rapidly increasing.”“The World Steel Association predicts an increase in global steel demand of 4.1 percent,” CSC said. CSC cited high costs of raw materials, such as iron ore, scrap steel and smelting materials, for its increase of average steel prices. For quarterly priced products, steel boards are to rise NT$2,500 per tonne, hot-rolled high-carbon steel by NT$2,800 per tonne and automotive steel by NT$2,800 per tonne, it said.

Rules to release positive cases to be relaxed todayASYMPTOMATIC: People who test positive for COVID-19 overseas and those who test positive in quarantine may get out of isolation early, public health authorities said Modified standards to allow people who have tested positive for COVID-19, but have no symptoms, to be released from isolation after arriving from overseas are to be implemented today, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that from today, asymptomatic individuals who test positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Taiwan would be divided into two groups. The first group is “arriving travelers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in other countries and later tested negative twice before entering Taiwan,” Chen said. He said that they would be released fromBy Lee I-chia

The Liberty Times Editorial: Bilingualism needs broad effortThe COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of people all over the world, bringing great changes in many sectors. Making Taiwan bilingual Chinese and English is essential to build and maintain an open economy and society. Speaking English is an indispensable asset, enabling people to broaden their horizons, find a job, get promoted, absorb new knowledge and communicate internationally. The push for Taiwan to become a bilingual nation is driven by forward-looking economic and social actors. Improving English teaching in schools is the starting point for creating a bilingual nation, but it also involves many other social sectors.

‘Financial Times’ defamation case droppedBy Chien Li-chung and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday announced that it has dropped defamation cases against the Financial Times, Central News Agency (CNA) president Chang Jui-chang (張瑞昌) and others after Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時集團) suddenly rescinded its lawsuits. The group in 2019 filed a lawsuit against the London-based newspaper, the state-run news agency and two others over a July 17, 2019, report by Financial Times reporter Kathrin Hille. China Times president Wang Feng, second left, speaks to reporters in Taipei on July 19, 2019, criticizing the Financial Times for saying that the China Times was pro-China media. Earlier this year while the office was investigating the case, Want Want abruptly rescinded its lawsuits, the office said. Since defamation suits in Taiwan require a complaint by a victim, investigators decided to end their probe, it said.

Executive Yuan approves changes to museum billsBy Lee Hsin-fang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Executive Yuan yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Organization Act of the National Taiwan Museum (國立臺灣博物館組織法) and the National Museum of History Organization Act (國立歷史博物館組織法) that would upgrade the administrative level of the National Museum of Taiwan Literature and the National Museum of Taiwan History. An exhibition at the National Museum of Taiwan History in Tainan is pictured on Jan. 4. The Executive Yuan urged all legislative caucuses to work with the Ministry of Culture to expedite their passage, he said. The National Museum of Taiwan History and the National Museum of Taiwan Literature are the only national-level museums dedicated to Taiwanese history and literature, it said. The research, education and promotion of Taiwanese history and literature are crucial tasks for the development of soft power, the ministry said.

NPA head vows to uphold public safetyCRACKDOWN: Major crime sweeps over the week to Wednesday resulted in the seizure of 26 firearms and the arrests of 823 suspected gang members, the police chief saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday vowed to continue to carry out crime sweeps and enhance public safety following a number of shootings and other violent incidents in the past few weeks. However, all these are separate, unrelated incidents, so it is wrong to say that Taiwan has a serious crime problem. That would be unfair to all the hard work by our police officers,” Chen told reporters after the meeting. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times“Public safety is good [in Taiwan], and it is an accumulation of the endeavors and support of everyone in society. The police will take extra efforts to protect the public,” he said.

Taipei exhibit celebrates Taiwan-Japan friendshipStaff writer, with CNATaiwan and Japan yesterday celebrated their friendship at the opening ceremony of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara’s solo exhibition in Taipei, with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressing hope that the two sides could join hands to face global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. A sculpture by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara is pictured at Taipei National University of the Arts’ Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in an undated photograph. Photo: Ling Mei-hsueh, Taipei TimesTsai also thanked Nara, with whom she had breakfast earlier this week, for the painting Hazy Humid Day, which he dedicated to Taiwan. He thanked Taiwan for lending a helping hand after the earthquake and tsunami, and expressed hope that there can be long-lasting bilateral friendship. Giving a review of the exhibition, Nara said: “This is the best work I, at this stage, have created.

“It is possible that Taiwan might be listed as a manipulator,” Yang told lawmakers in Taipei as he delivered a report. However, Yang said that the US’ criteria for labeling another economy a currency manipulator are no longer suitable, as the global economy has changed over the past year. “If they want to reduce our trade surplus with them, then we could just stop selling them our chips,” he told lawmakers. Taiwan was added to the currency watch list in the latest US report in December last year, but was not listed a currency manipulator. Being designated a currency manipulator requires the US to engage with the perceived offender to address the imbalance.

SinoPac targets growth from overseas, looks to Vietnam, Singapore branchesBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterSinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) aims to generate 30 percent of its profits from overseas operations this year, as well as expand its operations in Vietnam and open a Singapore branch, SinoPac Financial president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. The bank would start with personal loans in Vietnam, as it expects the nation’s rapid economic growth and rising middle class to boost the growth of consumer loans, Hsu said. From left, SinoPac Securities Co president Chiang Wei-yuan, Bank SinoPac president Eric Chuang, SinoPac Financial Holdings Co president Stanley Chu and SinoPac Financial spokeswoman Kerry Hsu attend an investors’ conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei TimesThe Financial Supervisory Commission last year approved the bank’s plan to establish a Singapore branch, he said. The bank expects to receive regulatory approval in Singapore this year to open the branch, which would be its fourth overseas market, after China, the US and Vietnam, he said.

TSMC denies any 3-nm production plan for HsinchuMEETING DEMAND: TSMC’s Tainan plant is scheduled to begin 3-nanometer process production on a trial basis this year, before commercial production begins next year Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its soon-to-be-opened research and development (R&D) center in Hsinchu County’s Baoshan Township (寶山) would be involved in its ongoing efforts to develop a 3-nanometer (nm) process. The company made the statement following media reports that the world’s largest contract chipmaker is planning to expand its proposed 3-nanometer production at the South Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) to the new Hsinchu facility to meet strong global demand. The reports said that the expansion was being undertaken to compete for orders from US clients such as Apple Inc. TSMC said that the R&D center is the first

Lifting food ban up to Taiwanese: Japanese envoyBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterWhether the ban on certain Japanese food products is lifted depends on Taiwanese, Japanese Representative to Taiwan Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday, while praising the taste of Taiwanese pineapples. Nonetheless, scientific evidence, including data collected by Taiwanese researchers, shows that food products produced in the five prefectures are safe, he added. Asked he has supported Taiwanese pineapples, as many Japanese have done after China’s ban on imports of the fruit from Monday last week, Izumi said that Taiwanese pineapples are delicious. Among the more than 20 cultivars of Taiwanese pineapples, he particularly likes the No. Many Japanese are willing to pay a bit more to buy Taiwanese pineapples in Japan, as they want to show support for Taiwan, he said.