Scam calls, texts to local users up 488%: GogolookBy Liu Hui-chin and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerWith people worldwide stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of scam calls and text messages has rocketed to new heights, growing 190 percent worldwide last year from 2019, Gogolook said earlier this month. Photo: Huang Ching-chun, Taipei TimesTaiwanese were at particular risk, receiving more than 14 million scam calls and texts last year, up 488 percent from 2019, the company said. Clicking on a suspicious link could infect a device with a Trojan virus, which might hijack the device to send scam messages, it added. The most commonly received scam texts were notifications for package deliveries, as well as banking verification messages, the company said. “When you click the link, it asks you to enter your bank account number, password and ID card number.

Regular format resumes on Thursday, Feb. 18. To our readers:Because of the Lunar New Year holiday, from Wednesday, Feb. 10, through Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Thursday to Sunday it will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Monday, Feb. 15. The paper returns to its usual format on Thursday, Feb. 18, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.

Independent Kaohsiung councilor survives recall‘ENDING HATRED’: Huang Jie thanked Fongshan District residents for their support in the ‘retributive’ recall, calling the result a victory for democracy and pro-Taiwan forcesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterIndependent Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (黃捷) yesterday weathered a recall vote to retain her councilor seat in Fongshan District (鳳山). Kaohsiung City Election Commission data showed that 65,391 people voted against recalling her, while 55,261 voted in favor. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh, left, hands a tissue to independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie, center, as the result of a failed recall vote against her was announced in Kaohsiung yesterday. KMT officials in Kaohsiung said that the recall motion failed because other political parties put too many resources into protecting Huang. Huang officially entered politics in 2018, when she was elected to the Kaohsiung City Council as a New Power Party (NPP) member.

Taiwan in Time: The rehabilitation of Eastern gouacheLin Chih-chu spent three decades defending Eastern gouache against critics who claimed it was a Japanese artformBy Han Cheung / Staff reporterFeb. 8 to Feb. 14Lin Chih-chu (林之助) spent over three decades trying to convince critics that his art form, commonly known today as Eastern gouache, was rooted in Chinese art, not Japanese. Although Eastern gouache was still allowed in the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition, Lin was unable to officially teach it. RESISTING OPPRESSIONLin flourished in the Taiwan art scene, claiming top honors in the Governor General’s Office Art Exhibition three years in a row. He did demonstrate some basics of Eastern gouache, and a few enthusiastic students continued to learn from him after school hours. In 1985, he taught the first ever university-level Eastern gouache class at Tunghai University.

British man ninth to die of COVID-19 in TaiwanNOT MORE DEADLY: Although the man had the UK variant of the virus, the hospital could not conclude whether his death was related to it, the CECC said A British man in his 70s on Wednesday became the ninth person, and first foreign national, to die of COVID-19 in Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The man traveled from the UK on Dec. 18 last year to visit family, and had a sore throat and fatigue while in quarantine, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told a news conference in Taipei. The man was admitted to a hospital on Dec. 29 and tested positive for COVID-19 two days later, Chen said, adding that as his situation deteriorated, he had to be

Burmese protest against coup from Taiwan havenBy Ben Blanchard / Reuters, TAIPEIHundreds of people from Taiwan’s large Sino-Burmese community yesterday rallied in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和) to denounce the coup in Myanmar and express their support for deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Taiwan is home to about 40,000 people from Myanmar, most of whom are ethic Chinese. People wearing National League for Democracy (NLD) T-shirts in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District yesterday protest the recent military coup in Myanmar and show support for deposed Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, chairwoman of the NLD. Ko Ko Thu, 54, who fled to Taiwan after those protests were suppressed and helped organize the rally, said that he took inspiration from democratic Taiwan. Yee, an ethnic Chinese woman who asked to be identified by her Burmese name, also came to Taiwan after the 1988 protests, and said that it is important to show opposition to the coup.

The collection, which was donated by Kokichi Hatta, Yasuo Takasaki and Nobuhiro Yoshida, has 27,000 specimens, the university said. It arrived in the middle of last month, and includes dragonflies and butterflies from Japan, Indonesia, Burma and Peru, the university said. Photo copied by Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei TimesIt includes a renowned Japanese dragonfly that was caught in 1932, the university said. Yoshida donated his collection of Japanese, Indonesian, Burmese and Peruvian butterflies and dragonflies, the university said. Recent donations from domestic and foreign sources have greatly enriched the collection, Yang said, thanking the three Japanese academics for their trust and support.

KMT supporters prefer Jaw-Han ticket: surveyWINNING STRATEGY? Photo: Lu Hsin-te, Taipei TimesThe survey showed that while the general public preferred former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) as KMT chairman, polling of KMT members showed their preference for Jaw. However, if Han were to enter the race, but not Jaw, KMT supporters showed a preference for Chu, giving him a lead of 4.3 percentage points over Han, it showed. However, self-identified KMT supporters, when asked the same question, gave Jaw the lead at 41.9 percent, followed by Chu at 34.9 percent and Han at 29 percent, the survey showed. However, the survey also showed lower backing for Jaw and Han among younger KMT supporters, those under 40 years old.

CECC confirms new local infection, three importedStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new domestically transmitted case of COVID-19 and three imported cases. A Taiwanese woman in her 40s who was listed as a contact of a nurse at Taoyuan General Hospital — the center of a cluster infection that broke out on Jan. 12 — tested positive yesterday, the center said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The three imported cases involved travelers from the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the US, the center said. A Taiwanese in his 20s who lives in the US arrived with three family members on Jan. 13 — all with negative COVID-19 test results, the center said.

Athletic defeat Betis in shoot-out to make semisAP, MADRIDRaul Garcia on Thursday scored a last-gasp equalizer to force extra-time and goalkeeper Unai Simon saved two penalties as Athletic Bilbao defeated Real Betis Balompie 4-1 in a shoot-out to reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Garcia also scored one of the penalties after a 1-1 draw to help keep Athletic in contention for consecutive Copa titles. “When it gets to a penalty shoot-out it’s a lottery,” Betis midfielder Joaquin Sanchez said. We played a complete match.”Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis went into the match unbeaten in eight consecutive matches in all competitions. “It was a tough night, but in the end things went our way in the shoot-out,” Toral said.

The housing advocacy group has joined forces with like-minded lawmakers to push property tax reforms and legal protections for tenants and home buyers ahead of next year’s local elections and the 2024 presidential and legislative elections, it told a news conference. Proposed property tax reforms are to include provisions for a tax on unoccupied residential properties, incentives for their sale or rent, and raising rental income tax, the group said. A man at a news conference in Taipei yesterday holds a sign with the Chinese and English name of pop-up exhibition space “Celestial Dragons House” organized by advocacy group Housing Movement 2.0. “Rent is a huge economic burden on young people,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌) said. “Saying that the problem is inherited does not excuse the government’s inaction.”DPP Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) said “the moment is right” to push for deeper housing reforms, adding that legislative efforts should focus on implementing affordable housing and taxing rent-derived income.

On a monthly basis, the group’s revenue increased 2.3 percent, the companies’ filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed. “We had thought that an intensification of the COVID-19 pandemic plus a shortage of shipping containers would depress first-quarter revenue,” FPC president and chairman Jason Lin (林健男) said. “Now, we expect first-quarter revenue to equal or slightly surpass fourth-quarter revenue.”Lin attributed the improved outlook to higher products prices and China’s “no travel” policy. Nanya president Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭) attributed the figures — its eighth consecutive month of revenue growth — to demand for copper-clad laminate and other electronic components. Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) reported a contraction in year-on-year revenue to NT$42.24 billion — up 4.1 percent from December, but down 27.3 percent year-on-year.

KMT urges more, better support for healthcare workersRECOGNIZING VALUE: The government should show they appreciate healthcare workers, and help them with finding and paying for quarantine, the KMT saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged the government to give greater support to healthcare workers on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. One of the measures it proposed at a news conference in Taipei was giving healthcare workers priority access to quarantine hotels. Healthcare workers, who are worried about infecting their families, have had difficulty finding accommodation at quarantine hotels, it said. “We hope that [the Central Epidemic Command Center] and the Ministry of Health and Welfare can truly see the hard work of healthcare workers,” she added. The government should consider providing a dedicated facility for healthcare workers who might otherwise need to pay for a quarantine hotel, she said.

Highways & Byways: Memories of a deadly earthquakeA 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Tainan in the early hours of Feb. 6, 2016. Tomorrow will be the fifth anniversary of the disaster, which killed 117 people, all but two of them in a single apartment complex. The replacement for Weiguan Jinlong Apartment Complex is nearing completion. The death toll at Weiguan Jinlong Apartment Complex was 115. After the ruins of Weiguan Jinlong Apartment Complex were cleared, the city government decided to build a new residential block.

US aid sought after the death of Huang Fang-yenSUICIDE SUSPECTED: Prosecutors in Taipei said that once the death of the physician has been officially confirmed, the charges he faced dating to 2009 would be droppedBy Tsai Shu-yuan and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe Ministry of Justice yesterday said that it would ask the US for mutual legal assistance following the death of fugitive doctor Huang Fang-yen (黃芳彥) in California. Huang Chung-yen shows a photo of his brother, former Shin Kong Memorial Wu Ho-Su Hospital deputy superintendent Huang Fang-yen, in Taichung on Thursday. Huang’s younger brother, Huang Chung-yen (黃重彥), a doctor in Taichung, confirmed the news of the death to reporters on Thursday. “We spoke by telephone a few times recently and discussed the COVID-19 pandemic situation and its handling in Taiwan,” Huang Chung-yen said. Huang Chung-yen said that he could not fathom why his brother would commit suicide.