DPP’s Su Chen-ching, aide to post bail of more than NT$11.5m in SOGO caseBy Chang Wen-chuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Taipei District Court yesterday allowed Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) and his office director, Yu Hsueh-yang (余學洋), to post bail of NT$10 million (US$351,964) and NT$1.5 million respectively, for their alleged involvement in a dispute over the ownership of Pacific SOGO Department Store. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chen-ching yesterday leaves the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office in Shilin District following a bail hearing. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesThe payments were allegedly to help Lee in a legal dispute with Far Eastern Group over the Pacific SOGO ownership. Su’s office yesterday said in a statement that recent media reports about him misrepresented his role in the dispute, adding that the court would find him not guilty and restore his honor. Su never accepted a “red envelope” related to the matter, the office said.

Taichung coal power resolution passedTARGETING 2035: Clean Air Taichung urged the mayor of the city not to delay the plan, which promises gas turbines for the Taichung Power Plant at an earlier dateBy Shih Hsiao-kuang, Chen Yun and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a resolution proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to decommission Taichung Power Plant’s coal-fired generators by 2035, and to preserve the generators as a national security emergency reserve. Taichung Power Plant is pictured in an undated photograph. The national emblem, left, and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) emblem are pictured together in an undated photograph. The emblem resolution, which was proposed by the NPP, cleared the legislative floor 63 to 37. “The similarity of the national emblem to the party emblem suggests a lack of separation between state and party.

Control Yuan to investigate six judgesMARATHON SESSION: After deliberating for more than seven hours, a judicial committee also rescinded the judiciary medals conferred on two accused judgesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Judicial Yuan on Thursday forwarded the cases of six high-ranking judges to the Control Yuan for further investigation of alleged involvement in a corruption scandal centering on former Supreme Court judge Shih Mu-chin (石木欽) and Chia Her Industrial Co (佳和集團) president Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾). Control Yuan President Chen Chu, third right, yesterday in Taipei cuts a cake at the opening of an exhibition marking the institution’s 90th anniversary. After confirming the results of previous investigations that had concluded that the judges had breached judicial ethics rules, the committee recommended that the Control Yuan render disciplinary measures. Responding to questions on the case, Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday said: “Each Control Yuan member has independent authority. Chen made the remarks on the sidelines of an exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Control Yuan.

Landis Group eyeing food and beverage sales growthBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterLandis Taipei Hotel, the flagship property of Landis Hospitality Group (麗緻餐旅集團), is seeking to boost its food and beverage sales this year, in the hope that international travel restrictions might be lifted in the second half of the year, the company said yesterday. “Our food and beverage business has proven to be resilient and recovered quickly from a COVID-19 slump last year, thanks to a strong, loyal clientele and fast adjustments in our operations,” Landis Group business development division assistant general manager Gary Lo (羅明威) said. Last year’s food and beverage revenue remained at 2019 level, and might grow this year, as Taiwanese travel regularly and travel restrictions might be lifted in the fall, Lo said. Landis Hospitality Group managing director Michelle Hsu, left, and Michelin-starred chef Hideki Takayama pose for photographs in Taipei yesterday. The hotel forecasts a 30 percent increase in packaged food sales this year, after a 50 percent rise last year, helped by the low-contact economy, he said.

Four indicted over allegations of labor exploitationBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterAuthorities have indicted four people for allegedly docking Vietnamese workers half of their monthly wage, including a Vietnamese woman naturalized in Taiwan, Diao Yu-hong (刁予弘), who headed up labor placement companies. Vietnamese workers involved in a labor exploitation case sit in a police station in Taichung in an undated photograph. The Vietnamese workers told prosecutors that they believed they were working legally in Taiwan and did not know Diao’s actions were illegal, Chang said. When they complained about receiving only half of the promised wage, Diao threatened to have them deported, as her company had confiscated their passports and personal papers, Chang said. Prosecutors have requested a severe punishment for Diao over her egregious offenses and human exploitation, he said.

As a result, hospitals are largely writing their own rules about delivery locations, which has increased risks to delivery workers and of community spread, he said. “It is not my sense that delivery workers are afraid of doing their jobs. What they are afraid of is becoming that gap” in pandemic prevention, NPP Hsinchu City Councilor Liao Tzu-chi (廖子齊) said. OSHA official Yeh Pei-chieh (葉沛杰) said that the guidelines are to give delivery workers and clients flexibility to appoint a location that best suits the hospital. The convenor of the Hsinchu Union for Online Platforms-Employed Delivery Workers, surnamed Wen (文), said that while on the job, an average delivery worker is in contact with about 50 people per day.

Virus Outbreak: Banks limit in-person operationsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterE.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) has asked employees at its Taoyuan branches to stop visiting clients due to the COVID-19 situation, it said on Wednesday. Photo: Kelson Wang, Taipei TimesOther banks also allow their staff to work from home or in remote offices. Thus far, about 500 employees at Fubon Financial work remotely or at back-up offices, the company said. Fubon Financial has about 44,465 employees. CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) said it is considering additional precautionary measures.

Cluster infection has same virus strain: CECCBy Lin Hui-chin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced that a COVID-19 cluster infection at Taoyuan General Hospital shared the same virus strain, allaying concerns over the unidentified source of infection of case No. The cluster infection had affected 15 people, and it has been about two weeks since case No. Taoyuan General Hospital deputy director Wang Wei-chieh thanks the public for their support as the hospital deals wiith a cluster infection. 889’s virus strain could not be fully sequenced, it largely has the same genetic makeup and mutations as other strains tested. While the nation has had four days without local infections, it is still too early to tell whether it has weathered the worst of the cluster infection, Chen said.

US has not halted arms sales: MOFANO PAUSE: The US has suspended pending arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, but Taiwan has not received any such notification, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saidBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer and bloombergThere has been no indication that the US is to pause or alter arms sales to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, after Washington placed a hold on weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. Ou said that communication between Taiwan and the US has been smooth, adding that Taipei has not received notice from Washington about a change in arms sales. All Washington’s arms sales to Taipei are under way per relevant procedure, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said. Concern over weapons sales to Taiwan arose following reports that Washington had put a temporary hold on some of its largest pending arms sales, including a Trump administration effort to sell F-35 jets to the UAE and smart bombs to Saudi Arabia. Raytheon officials previewed the sales pause to analysts on Tuesday during the firm’s fourth-quarter earnings call, though they did not name the country or munitions involved.

Wan Hai orders 50,000 containers amid shortageBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterWan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) has purchased 50,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers from China International Marine Containers Ltd (CIMC, 中國國際海運集裝箱) at a cost of US$141.73 million amid a global container shortage, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Monday. The average price of the containers would be US$2,835 per unit, Wan Hai said. The Wan Hai Lines Ltd booth is pictured at the Asia Fruit Logistica trade show in Hong Kong on Sept. 6, 2017. Photo courtesy of Wan Hai Lines LtdMost of the new containers would be 40-foot high-cube containers, one of the most commonly used containers for ocean freight, Su said. Wan Hai owned 66 ships and was chartering 39 ships as of Sept. 1 last year.

“This is a historic moment for Taiwan. Drafting a new constitution is the most important task Taiwanese face,” veteran independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said at the inaugural event in Taipei. “Although the Democratic Progressive Party is in power, its authority is based on the Republic of China [ROC] Constitution, which has no connection to Taiwan,” said the 95-year-old Koo, a former presidential adviser. “The historic task of drafting a new constitution depends on efforts by all Taiwanese,” Koo said. “A constitution for a sovereign, independent TaiwanBy Jason Pan

Poll shows rise in stores selling tobacco to teensBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA survey by the Consumers’ Foundation showed that more stores breached regulations banning the sale of tobacco products to teenagers last year, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday. The foundation, which conducted the survey from April to October last year, arranged for its 18-year-old interns to wear senior-high school uniforms and try to buy cigarettes from 660 stores in 22 cities and counties. The stores included supermarkets or hypermarkets, convenience stores, general shops and betel nut stands. Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei TimesThe poll showed that 37.1 percent of the stores breached the rules last year, up from 32.3 percent in 2019, HPA Tobacco Control Division official Lu Meng-ying (呂孟穎) said. “The Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法) stipulates that stores are prohibited from selling tobacco products to people under 18 years old, and may be fined NT$10,000 to NT$50,000 for breaking the law,” he said.

DGH not to use Chinese-made speed detectors: ministerBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterMinister of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday ruled at a ministerial meeting that speed detectors must be accompanied by a signed affidavit that they contain no Chinese-made parts. “Leo” said that speed measurement systems are a “massive surveillance program,” as the systems identify drivers’ license plate numbers and calculate their average speed between two points so that law enforcement can determine whether vehicles are speeding. A traffic speed camera is pictured on a section of Provincial Highway No. Firms would need to furnish customs declarations, merchandise certificates and specification sheets for their detectors, Lin said. Speed detectors that are made in China would be immediately removed, Lin added.

Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei TimesThe use of advanced equipment and software have greatly enhanced the preservation process and quality of sperm after coming out of cryo storage, he said. The Lanyu pig sperm taken in 2005 was part of a project to preserve all unique indigenous species, Huang said. Research has shown that cryo storage of an animal sperm specimen can, if used on a broader scale, help preserve biodiversity, he added. The institute also presented a new breed of chicken, which is based on a breed of cocks traditionally used for cockfighting, Huang said. Roosters or hen produced from the new breed can be used for breeding or as food, he said.

Majority against US meat with ractopamine: surveyDIPLOMACY: Of the polls’ respondents, 67% said they disagreed that the Taiwan-China relationship was more important than Taiwan’s relations with other nationsBy Yang Chun-hui and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe majority of people oppose imports of US meat containing ractopamine, but remain optimistic about Taiwan-US relations, survey results released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found. Foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) designed the questions, and commissioned Focus Survey Research to conduct the survey by telephone. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesOf the respondents, 66.3 percent opposed imports of meat products containing ractopamine, while 28.2 percent approved, the foundation said. However, the survey found that 60 percent of Democratic Progressive Party supporters approved of the imports, while 32 percent did not. The survey also found that 54.3 percent of respondents supported a referendum drive initiated by KMT lawmakers to reinstitute a ban on meat products containing ractopamine, while 36.1 percent did not.