Key genes in orchids determinedBy Su Meng-chuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerNational Chung Hsing University (NCHU) researchers have discovered certain genes in orchids that can be used to manipulate flower hue, prolong the flowering period and prevent wilting, which could reduce the time needed to produce new orchid varieties from seven years to two months. Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei TimesFive years ago, a research team led by Yang developed the “perianth password” theory, which discovered the L and SP complexes behind orchid petal formation. The SP complex determines sepal and petal formation, while the L complex determines the identity of the lip. Three of the genes involved in the creation of the SP complex can change the color of the flower, Yang said. Yang said the discovery refutes the assumption that the genes governing flower formation retreat after the floral organs are formed, showing that these mechanisms remain important in other stages of flower development.

More than 200 march in Taipei in memory of 228‘MAKING FORMOSA’: Before their march to the Executive Yuan, an organizer asked the crowd to imagine the kind of country they wanted and to ‘speak while we still can’By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterMore than 200 people yesterday marched in Taipei ahead of the 74th anniversary of the 228 Incident. Participants hold a banner and signs at a march in Taipei yesterday to commemorate the 228 Incident. Dozens of groups, including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Covenants Watch and the 228 Memorial Foundation, were represented at the march, they added. She urged people to think about the kind of country they wanted, adding: “We should continue to speak while we still can.”The names of people who died during the 228 Incident were also read aloud during the march. “I hope that everyone can get our mother language back together,” she said in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).

Academia Historica historian Wu Chun-ying presents images of documents about the Henry Liu murder case at a book launch in Taipei on Saturday. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei TimesAmong the works released was the three-volume Documentary Collection on Political Incident: The Henry Liu Case on the Oct. 15, 1984, killing of China-born US writer Henry Liu (劉宜良), who used the pen name Chiang Nan (江南). Former White Terror prisoner Tsai Kuan-yu in Taipei on Saturday holds a newly published book about his life. Another book revealed at the news conference was on White Terror victim Tsai Kuan-yu (蔡寬裕). After graduating from university in the 1950s, Tsai became a target of the KMT regime, and was arrested and charged twice, spending a total of 13 years in prison.

Brazil travelers face new restrictionsMORE RISK? Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesIn line with the rules for travelers who have been to the UK, South Africa or Eswatini within 14 days of entering Taiwan, who are also subject to centralized quarantine, travelers from Brazil would not need to pay an accommodation fee for centralized quarantine, Chen said. The three found to have the Brazilian variant are cases No. 903, 904 and 906, a Taiwanese family of four who returned from Brazil, Chen said, adding that the other family member, case No. However, Lo said that there is not yet clear scientific data to prove that the Brazilian variant is more transmissible or makes vaccines less effective.

To achieve this, experts developed airless tires, which are also called solid tires. Unlike traditional bicycle tires and tubes, which are made of rubber and need to be inflated, airless tires are made of various materials, depending on the manufacturers. As expanded TPU and expanded polypropylene, which is another material used in Air Fom, are lightweight, Air Fom tires weigh 280g to 320g per wheel, he said. Air Fom tires simulate air pressure of 40 to 70 pounds per square inch, which is close to the range in inflated tires used in commuter bikes, he said, adding that the company can manufacture products with different simulated air pressures. While regular consumers have yet to appreciate the benefits of Air Fom tires, some bike-sharing operators in Europe already have.

Tax revenue slips 2.9 percent despite GDP growthBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterConventional wisdom holds that tax revenue increases amid a growing economy. Government statistics show that GDP expanded 3.11 percent year-on-year last year, but tax revenue fell 2.9 percent, following a 3.5 percent increase in the previous year. It was the first decline in 11 years, mainly due to decreased corporate income tax revenue and commodity tax revenue,” the Ministry of Finance said in a report on Saturday. The ministry reported preliminary tax revenue data for last year on Jan. 12, and it offered more accurate and detailed statistics on Saturday, including tax data from other government agencies and deferred tax revenue from December last year. Among all tax items, the securities transaction tax, business tax, tobacco and alcohol tax, and vehicle license tax generated the highest revenue on record last year, while the personal income tax, inheritance tax, customs duty and house tax reported the second-highest level on record, the report said.

Huang Kun-bin passes away aged 92PEACEFUL, At HOME: President Tsai Ing-wen, who in 2016 appointed the Tainan rice farmer as presidential adviser, said that she is planning to visit his familyBy Yang Chin-cheng and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerFormer presidential national policy adviser Huang Kun-bin (黃崑濱) passed away at his home in Tainan yesterday. Huang, 92, was best known for his appearance in a documentary film on Taiwan’s rice farmers titled Let It Be (無米樂, meaning “riceless joy” in Chinese). Former presidential national policy adviser Huang Kun-bin, right, who died at his home in Tainan yesterday, teaches children about rice farming in an undated photograph. Born in what became Tainan’s Houbi District (後壁), Huang rose to national fame after his role in the 2004 documentary. He won the National Rice Competition two years later and was in 2016 appointed national policy adviser to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

As a result, it was the only monument throughout Taiwan that mentioned the 228 Incident until activists put one up in Chiayi in 1989 to commemorate the victims. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsBut when the 228 Incident took place, local youth were more than eager to support the cause. The situation was so tense that the Taiwan Garrison Command was afraid to send reinforcements to Taiwan from Penghu out of fear that locals would use the opportunity to rebel, Hsu writes. After one especially egregious incident, Chao and a few friends spent one night painting anti-KMT slogans around town. As the violence spread across Taiwan, governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) secretly requested help from China while pretending to seek peace.

Poor diet increases stroke risk, doctor warnsBy Wang Shan-yan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA Chiayi doctor warned that a poor diet and a lack of exercise put those aged 40 or older at a high risk for stroke. If a person’s systolic blood pressure is higher than 140 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or their diastolic blood pressure is higher than 90mmHg, they should see a doctor, Huang said. In winter, the risk of stroke increases with intermittent cold spells, and big swings between daytime and nighttime temperatures, he said, adding that an unhealthy diet and lack of activity during the Lunar New Year holiday also heighten the risk. “Those with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar are especially at risk, because they are more likely to have hardening of the arteries,” he said. To remember the signs of a stroke, people should remember the acronym FAST: face, arms, speech and time.

KMT’s Chiang throws hat into party chairperson race‘KINGMAKER’? Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang announces his decision to run for a second term as party chair in Taipei yesterday. Wang was recalled as Taoyuan city councilor, while Huang remains a Kaohsiung city councilor. The party must change from within as it is challenged from without, and areas such as its cross-strait policy, its policy to foster younger members, and improvements to party finances and organization all need to change, Johnny Chiang said. Johnny Chiang defeated former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) in the party’s chairperson by-election on March 7 last year.

A security guard scans retired Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) colonel Chang Chao-jan’s temperature as MIB agents escort him into the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning on Oct. 21 last year. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesChang was recruited to spy for China by Wei, who enticed Chang with money and travel, prosecutors said, adding that Wei instructed Chang to provide names of MIB personnel and their job functions. The three flew to Macau in 2012, where they met with Wei, who worked with Yueh to identify more than 20 MIB agents from photographs, prosecutors said. After being promised money, Yueh allegedly agreed to provide other classified information on the bureau’s operations, hierarchy and structure, they said, adding that Yueh was paid HK$6,000 (US$774) and received other gifts. Chang in 2016 allegedly persuaded Wang to visit China, as Wang also had family there, prosecutors said.

FEATURE: CTS seeks Channel 52 approval, despite flakBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterOn Nov. 18 last year, when National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) urged cable operators to consider “giving Taiwan Broadcasting System [TBS] a chance” to take over Channel 52, it was widely perceived as an unprecedented and inappropriate move. Critics said that the cable channel lineup is based on negotiations between cable system operators and channel operators, not the NCC. Bolstered by the NCC’s endorsement, the management of Chinese Television System (CTS) — the only TBS network that has a news channel license — in December last year announced a plan to move CTS News and Info to Channel 52. “However, most people can see from subsequent developments that the umpire has a preferred candidate to occupy Channel 52 and is clearing all hurdles for it,” he said. “Those who say we will definitely lose money if we take over Channel 52 are mistaking the effect for the cause,” he said.

FEATURE: Local teachers eye footing for Taiwan at US schoolsCULTURAL CAPITAL: Taiwanese can act as ambassadors while teaching in the US, by exchanging views with their colleagues and friends, one Mandarin teacher said Most US students take Chinese classes because they want to know more about China, but Taiwanese teachers can make a change with more flexible pedagogic approaches and cultural exchanges, two local teachers said. Since the US last year canceled its Fulbright programs with China and Hong Kong, Taiwan has been granted a larger quota of scholarships, including the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Fulbright Program, which is funded by the US Department of State and comanaged in Taiwan by the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange. American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen last month encouraged Taiwan to fill the gap left by the closuresBy Lin Chia-nan

Taoyuan hospital reopens one month after COVID-19 cluster infectionsStaff writer, with CNATaoyuan General Hospital, the site of a recent cluster of 21 COVID-19 infections, partially reopened yesterday, more than a month after the cluster’s first case was confirmed. Taoyuan General Hospital staff take selfies with Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung at the hospital’s reopening event yesterday. The hospital’s COVID-19 ward is to be upgraded to an intensive care unit for COVID-19 patients in serious condition, he said. Hospital superintendent Hsu Yung-nien (徐永年) would for now decide whether the hospital accepts COVID-19 patients, Chen said. Last year, the hospital in received COVID-19 cases almost every day, due to its proximity to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Hsu said.

A woman on Jan. 13 holds up two Year of the Ox coins. From 1993 to 2004, the central bank issued square zodiac sign coins, which made them rare and much sought-after. However, that year marked the high point for the zodiac sign coins, and after the central bank in 2017 initiated “round three” of commemorative coins, sales began to decline. In response to the trend, the central bank last year began reducing the coins’ edition, and this year only minted 100,000 Year of the Ox coins. “People bought zodiac sign coins for their own collection or as gifts to family and friends, and especially for those who recently had children.