From Monday, China is to stop importing pineapples from Taiwan, the Chinese General Administration of Customs said. The regulation is a normal measure for ensuring biosafety, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) said in a news release later yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesSince last year, Chinese customs officials have repeatedly seized pineapples imported from Taiwan that carried “perilous organisms,” Ma said. In “normal” international trade practices, this qualification rate is top-notch, while the few pineapples that did not pass were approved after fumigation, Chen said. China accounted for 97 percent of exported pineapples, followed by Japan (2 percent) and Hong Kong (1 percent), the data showed.

Officials deny HK tycoon residency, citing securityBy Wang Kuang-jen and Chen Yu-fu / Staff reporters, with CNAProtecting national security is the priority, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday after the government rejected residency applications by Hong Kong entertainment tycoon Charles Heung (向華強) and his son. “Government officials handling the case have applied the most rigorous scrutiny, with the top priority to protect national security,” Su said. Hong Kong entertainment tycoon Charles Heung, center, and his wife, Tiffany Chan, left, attend an exhibition in Kaohsiung on July 12, 2019. Sources said that the decision was made after meetings between officials from the NIA, the National Security Bureau and the Mainland Affairs Council. Bureau officials said that the foundation conducts propaganda campaigns for Beijing and organizes programs for the Chinese government’s push for “all-citizen national defense” in public education.

Looking to Taiwan in chip shortageBy Thomas ShattuckAs the US marks one month under the leadership of President Joe Biden, the conversations around Taiwan have shifted. From last month to this month, the conversation about Taiwan has shifted again — from Taiwan being a “bargaining chip” to Taiwan bargaining its chips. TSMC is working on alleviating the chip shortage, but executives have said that they are already operating at full capacity. It is beyond the government’s power to interfere with private commercial contracts.”The auto chip shortage is being felt around the world. Between its COVID-19 response and world-class semiconductor industry, Taiwan has much to offer the world.

DRAM maker boosts capex to NT$15.6 billionBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterDRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp’s (南亞科技) board of directors yesterday approved a proposal to boost capital expenditure for this year to NT$15.6 billion (US$551.12 million), mainly to fund the initial production of next-generation 10-nanometer (nm) class technology. The capital spending exceeded its original estimate of NT$15 billion and represented a sharp increase from last year’s NT$8.5 billion. Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei TimesThe company mainly relies on 20nm process technology at present. Nanya Technology’s board also approved a proposed cash dividend of NT$1.299 per common share, with total payment estimated to reach NT$4 billion. The cash dividend proposal is subject to shareholders’ approval at its annual general meeting on May 27.

COVAX doses are expected to be available by AprilStaff writer, with CNAA total of 4.76 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that Taiwan has secured through the global COVAX sharing initiative are expected to be available by April, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. The vaccines would be those made by British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in collaboration with the University of Oxford, Su said. They would be among 20 million doses that the government has arranged so far — including 5.05 million doses from US pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc and 10 million additional doses from AstraZeneca — he said, adding that they are likely to become available next quarter. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesIn addition, a deal with US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and BioNTech is approaching completion, which might provide an additional 5 million doses, a Cabinet report submitted to lawmakers showed. “The order of vaccinations has been planned, with front-line medical workers given priority for the jabs,” Su said.

Tsai speaks on Aboriginal inclusionBy Yang Chun-hui, Cheng Ming-hsiang and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that academics are working to include Aboriginal perspectives into the discourse on the 228 Incident, now that discussion of the massacre is no longer taboo. Tsai made the remarks in a speech at a forum on the 228 Incident and Taiwanese Aborigines at the Academia Historica in Taipei. Academia Historica President Chen Yi-shen, right, presents President Tsai Ing-wen with a compilation of files on the 228 Incident at a forum at the academy in Taipei yesterday. Evidence of Aboriginal collaboration and resistance can be seen in historical records of the 228 Incident, he said. In other news, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) will not attend a 228 Incident event planned by the Taipei City Government, Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) confirmed on Wednesday.

Nutritionists warn parents over diet for obese childrenBy Chen Feng-li and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerYumin Hospital in Nantou County’s Caotun Township (草屯) on Monday said that 80 percent of obese children consulted by the hospital’s nutritionists had abnormally high levels of uric acid, blood lipids or sugar, or high blood pressure. Two years of medical data from 288 obese children were analyzed, hospital nutritionists Chen I-en (陳苡恩) and Liao Mei-yu (廖美俞) said. Soy milk and yoghurt products are displayed at a news conference in Nantou County in an undated photograph. Unsweetened milk, soy milk and yogurt should be served instead of the sweetened alternative, Liao said. The consumption of vegetables, milk and fruit should be limited to three, two and two servings per day respectively, she said.

Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政) last year initiated a referendum proposal to protect the reefs. Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng holds a chart showing the number of signatures the alliance’s referendum proposal had obtained as of Wednesday. Traffic moves in outside the Taipei Railway Station yesterday, while the air quality is poor. The administration has cut 90 percent of the station’s original size and has done its best to avoid the reef area, Lo said. The next elections are not until next year and critics should not link everything a party does to preparation for them, he said.

Cross-strait ties at a stalemate: forumDEADLOCK: While a war between Taiwan and China is not inevitable, cross-strait relations are bad and continue to deteriorate, former KMT legislator Lin Yu-fang saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterAs relations between Taiwan and China continue to deteriorate, there is no immediate solution to the cross-strait stalemate in sight, National Policy Foundation member Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said yesterday. National Policy Foundation member Lin Yu-fang, left, listens to experts discuss deteriorating relations between Taiwan and China at a forum at the foundation in Taipei yesterday. “Cross-strait relations are now entering a winter and freezing over,” Lin said. It will be a long time before cross-strait relations “blossom,” he said. “The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The jobless rate after seasonal adjustments held steady at 3.75 percent, suggesting a stable market, Chen said. The number of jobless people shrank by 0.52 percent, or 2,000, to 438,000 last month, the agency’s monthly report showed. People with a junior-college education had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.5 percent, followed by those with a junior-high school education at 2.67 percent, it showed. People aged 45 to 64 had the lowest unemployment rate of 2.16 percent, it showed. The nation’s unemployment rate is lower than South Korea’s 5.7 percent, Hong Kong’s 6.5 percent and Germany’s 4.4 percent, but higher than Japan’s 2.8 percent, government data showed.

StarLux considering a delay to flights to the USBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterStarLux Airlines Co (星宇航空) is considering delaying plans to fly from Taiwan to North America and Guam until the end of next year due to uncertainty over border restrictions, the company said yesterday. A StarLux Airlines Co plane is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of StarLux Airlines Co“The outlook remains clouded,” Nieh said. If it defers launching the flights to the end of next year, it would not need to reapply to the CAA, Nieh said. The airline might pick three or four destinations to begin flights next year, and another five to six destinations in 2023, Nieh said.

Silicon Motion to invest NT$4bn to build new facilityBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterSilicon Motion Technology Corp (慧榮科技), the world’s biggest supplier of controllers used in NAND flash memory chips, yesterday said it plans to invest NT$4 billion (US$141.31 million) to build a new headquarters in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City as chip demand continues to grow. Revenue this year is forecast to increase by 20 to 30 percent to US$650 million to US$700 million, from US$539.52 million last year, which was up 17 percent from 2019, Silicon Motion Technology said in a statement. Silicon Motion Technology Corp president Wallace Kou, left, and company chairman James Chow attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s new headquarters in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City yesterday. Silicon Motion Technology has a global workforce of 1,350, it said. PC makers are driving strong demand for SSD controllers, while smartphone and IoT device producers are boosting demand for UFS and eMMC mobile storage controllers, he said.

NCC nixes military news channel bidUNANIMOUS DECISION: Golden TV’s application to take over Channel 52 was rejected because it was deemed unfit to fulfill its business plan, the commision saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday rejected Golden TV’s (靖洋傳媒) application to establish a military news channel, saying that its news department would be significantly understaffed. It was the first time that the commission received an application to establish a news channel dedicated to the coverage of military news. The network said in its business plan that it plans to hire only four full-time employees for the channel, which NCC commissioners said would be inadequate to carry out its business plan, NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Pot-tsung (翁柏宗) said. Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei TimesThe commission said in a statement that the planned channel would cover global military developments and military issues, adding that it planned to produce and broadcast military news programs. “That should be determined through negotiations between cable operators and channels.”

High Court finds man guilty in death of rail police officerOVERTURNED: A lower court’s ruling in April last year acquitting the man because of his mental health issues sparked a public outcry at the timeBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe High Court yesterday found a man guilty of stabbing and killing a railway police officer last year, overturning an earlier acquittal. The court sentenced the man, surnamed Cheng (鄭), to 17 years in prison, after which he must undergo five years of custodial protection to monitor and treat his mental health issues. Cheng, 55, was found guilty of homicide and of using violence against a public official on duty. On April 30 last year, when the Chiayi District Court acquitted Cheng of murder based on the psychiatric evaluation, there was a public outcry. The judges have lost their senses and reason.”The father died one month after the first ruling from a stomach hemorrhage.

Board approves UMC dividendBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterUnited Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. Based on the plan, UMC would pay NT$19.88 billion (US$702.32 million) in cash dividends to shareholders this year. The payout plan is subject to shareholders’ approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 8, UMC said. The board approved a plan to raise funds via an issuance of 1.38 billion new common shares. Delta, the nation’s leading power and thermal solutions provider, last year distributed a cash dividend of NT$5 per share to shareholders.