The commission’s tougher stance came one day after the Consumers’ Foundation said that Taiwan Mobile should take full responsibility for the security breach and fix the loopholes immediately. Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei TimesThe foundation said that some Amazing A32 owners had filed complaints with it over the recall offer. Taiwan Mobile halted sales of the smartphone in July last year after selling about 90,000 units since the model’s launch in April 2018. Only about 7,600 of Taiwan Mobile subscribers who bought the phones are still using them, the commission said last week. In addition, Taiwan Mobile must add a specific icon for the recall on its Web site, and should use every means possible to inform Amazing A32 owners about the recall, including sending text messages and making media announcements, the commission said.

Marathons postponed, canceledVIRTUAL RACE: Kinmen County is planning to set up an online marathon for registered runners to upload their data using an app before the end of the monthBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporter, with CNAThis year’s Kaohsiung Fubon Marathon, Kaohsiung Metro-LRT Marathon and Tainan Half Marathon have been postponed, while the Kinmen Marathon has been canceled due to the possibility of COVID-19 infection, the municipalities announced. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) yesterday afternoon announced that the marathons had been postponed, after he hosted a COVID-19 response meeting. Runners participate in the Tainan Half Marathon on Oct. 18 last year. The organizer yesterday announced that this year’s Tainan Half Marathon would be postponed from March 7 to Oct. 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) yesterday announced that the Tainan Half Marathon, which was originally scheduled for March 7, with more than 16,000 registered participants, had been postponed to Oct. 3.

DBS opens fintech R&D in TaiwanStaff writer, with CNASingapore-based DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) has opened its third financial technology (fintech) research and development (R&D) center in the world in Taiwan, company executives announced at a news conference yesterday. DBS Bank Taiwan (星展台灣) general manager Lim Him-chuan (林鑫川) said that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for digital financial services, and the bank decided to set up an R&D center in Taiwan to build a lead over its local rivals in fintech development. DBS Bank Taiwan general manager Lim Him-chuan poses at the bank’s Taipei headquarters on May 24, 2018. Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei TimesThe bank’s first fintech R&D center was set up in Singapore, where it is headquartered, and the second was established in India because of that country’s big pool of tech experts, DBS Taiwan technology head Rock Tsai (蔡祈岩) said. If Taiwan hopes to become an international financial hub, it has to cultivate experts in this field, he said.

Chip shortages slow vehicle productionRIPPLE EFFECTS: Diminished supply, which has for the past few months affected auto firms worldwide, might prove to be a short-term issue due to COVID-19, an expert said A widening global shortage of semiconductors for auto parts is forcing major auto companies to halt or slow vehicle production just as they were recovering from COVID-19 pandemic-related factory shutdowns. Officials at Volkswagen AG, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co all say they have been hit by the shortage and been forced to delay production of some models in order to keep other factories running. “This is absolutely an industry issue,” Toyota spokesman Scott Vazin said in an e-mail on Friday. “We are evaluating the supply constraint of semiconductors and developing countermeasures to minimize

Farmer uses 5G lighting to protect fish in cold snapBy Wang Chu-hsiu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA Tainan-based aquaculture company has developed a system that uses 5G networks to prevent mass fish deaths during cold snaps. Yen Jung-hung (顏榮宏), the founder of Fisherman Taijiang, said rapid drops in temperature stymie algae growth in fish ponds. The lighting system could be used by fish farmers to remotely monitor their ponds, and it allows fish farmers to remotely activate equipment such as pumps and water wheels, he said. Fisherman Taijiang serves as a platform where local fish farmers and collaborating university teams can interact. The Fisheries Agency yesterday issued a warning for fish farmers over a new cold front approaching the nation, urging them to take precautions to protect their ponds.

Machine tool group says industry set to grow 20%By Angelica Oung / Staff reporterThe local machine tool industry is forecast to see a recovery this year, with annual production value likely to increase 15 to 20 percent, the Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders’ Association (台灣工具機暨零組件公會) said yesterday. From left, Hiwin Group chairman Eric Chuo, Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders’ Association chairman Habor Hsu and Tongtai Machine and Tool Co chairman Yen Jui-hsiung hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Lin Jing-hua, Taipei TimesDomestic manufacturers last month exported US$206 million in machine tools, up 9.3 percent month-on-month, but down 18.2 percent year-on-year, association data showed. Cumulative exports for machine tool products last year were US$215.4 million, down 29.7 percent from 2019, association data showed. China last year bought the most Taiwanese machine tools, accounting for 35.1 percent of the total, followed by the US (12.7 percent), association data showed.

The flight, operated by China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport with 47 passengers and 13 crew aboard. Passengers who arrived aboard a humanitarian charter flight from Guam are screened by health officials at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Guam Governor Lourdes Leon Guerrero, center in blue dress, is joined by other officials and China Airlines staff and passengers at a ceremony yesterday at Guam International Airport in Tamuning before the departure of a humanitarian charter flight to Taiwan. Photo courtesy of Guam International Airport via CNAThe US Department of State’s announcement that long-standing restrictions on contacts between US officials and their counterparts in Taiwan would be ended would help Guam and Taiwan establish a peaceful and democratic partnership, and discuss economic and political agreements, she said. Meanwhile, the CECC reported six new imported cases of COVID-19, including members of an Egyptian family related to case No.

Kaohsiung site to develop marine tech‘GREEN-COLLAR JOBS’: The Marine Technology Industrial Innovation Zone was designed to train an estimated 1,800 people per year to service offshore wind farmsBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterGovernment officials yesterday inaugurated a center for developing oceanic resources in Kaohsiung, which Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said would create an industrial cluster for the development of marine technology. The 6.7 hectare Marine Technology Industrial Innovation Zone (海洋科技產業創新專區) in Singda Harbor (興達港) is ready to start training people in the maintenance and repair of offshore wind farms, Chen said at the opening ceremony. Photo: Su Fu-nan, Taipei Times“By cultivating talent for the offshore wind power industry, the innovation zone would support the development of our renewable energy industry,” Chen said. “We have seen from other countries’ experiences that it is expensive to train skilled workers for the offshore wind farm industry,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said. The zone would also house a number of laboratories to develop marine technology, including a deep water pool for simulating offshore conditions to be completed in 2023, the MIRDC said in a statement.

‘Double 12’ boosts Momo revenue to a record highBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterE-commerce operator Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體) yesterday posted record revenue of NT$6.48 billion (US$227.5 million) for last month, up 25.6 percent year-on-year on the back of a “Double 12” shopping event that saw sales increase 36 percent year-on-year. Revenue was also boosted by robust sales of electric heaters, dehumidifiers and winter clothing during a spate of cold fronts, the company said in a statement. Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei TimesThe strong performance saw fourth-quarter revenue grow 30 percent year-on-year to NT$20.67 billion and boosted full-year revenue to NT$67.2 billion, up 29.6 percent, it added. Local rival PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) on Sunday posted revenue of NT$4.17 billion for last month, up 13.66 percent year-on-year. PChome’s cumulative revenue for last year was a record-high NT$43.87 billion, up 12.82 percent year-on-year, company data showed.

Late TSMC rally boosts TAIEX to a record highFLUSH WITH CASH: The index has repeatedly hit record highs because of a buildup of liquidity, which has also bolstered tech and petrochemical shares, an analyst saidStaff writer, with CNAThe TAIEX yesterday closed at a record high after early losses were reversed by a late rally in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares on hopes that it will have positive news at its investor conference on Thursday, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 93.35 points, or 0.60 percent, at the day’s high of 15,557.30 on turnover of NT$323.597 billion (US$11.36 billion). Photo: Taipei Times file photoForeign institutional investors sold a net NT$1.59 billion of shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. TSMC shares rose 0.69 percent to close at NT$584. The market is expecting TSMC to forecast about a 15 percent year-on-year increase in sales this year.

An 86-year-old Cheng Jih-ching performs at a tribute show to Hung Yi-feng in 2010. Photo courtesy of Taiwan Film InstituteALWAYS SINGINGCheng was born in 1924 in today’s Guting (古亭) area in Taipei. When the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) took over Taiwan, he kept his job and was moved to the highway department. Cheng befriended future stars like Hung Yi-feng (洪一峰) and began singing with them on stage after they noticed his talent. Chengsheng Broadcasting Corporation hosted one of the three singing competitions Cheng Jih-ching won in 1957.

Doctor urges lung cancer screeningsBy Chien Hui-ju / Staff reporterPeople who have cases of lung cancer in their family should ask their doctor for regular screenings, as the survival rate for lung cancer that is detected early is nearly 100 percent, a researcher at National Taiwan University said. Before her surgery, Chung wrote on Facebook that her mother and one of her aunts had died from lung cancer. Especially non-solid nodules, of which 80 percent are malignant, are an indicator of lung cancer, as they often precede cancerous growth, he said. The National Health Insurance since June last year subsidizes lung screenings for high-risk groups, including long-term smokers and people with cases of lung cancer in their family. Health Promotion Administration officials have said that the subsidized low-dose computed tomography is the best tool to detect early-stage lung cancer, allowing physicians to start treatment at a stage with a high likelihood of recovery.

The Lalashan Forest Reserve (拉拉山自然保護區), home to more than 120 Formosan cypresses estimated to be more than 500 years old, was also covered with snow. Visitors to the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area in Yilan County yesterday enjoy snow-clad views along one of the area’s footpaths. People wave the national flag after climbing to the top of Qixingshan in Taipei’s Yangmingshan National Park yesterday. A snowman made by visitors to Qixing Park in Taipei’s Yangmingshan National Park is pictured yesterday. As cold weather is expected to persist into next week, people should be mindful of staying warm, especially those with seniors, children or people with chronic conditions in their homes, the department said.

New passports ready for distribution from MondayBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAThe first batch of 500,000 passports with a new design is ready for distribution from Monday, and foreign governments, airlines and government agencies have been notified about the change, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. Preparations for the rollout are complete, with 500,000 passports ready for distribution, Bureau of Consular Affairs Director-General Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) told a regular news conference in Taipei. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Central Taiwan Office head Weng Ying-min holds new, left, and old passports at the office in Taichung’s Nantun District on Wednesday. People can apply for the new passport no matter where they are or when their current passport expires, she said. This means that about 1.3 million passports have expired or are set to expire in less than a year, Yeh said.

Technology products lift exports 12% to new recordBROAD RECOVERY: Technology exports took the lead amid favorable demand, while non-technology shipments rose 2 percent to 15 percent in their respective sectorsBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwan’s exports last month clocked another 12 percent upturn from a year earlier to a record US$33 billion, as 5G smartphones and other new technology applications ramped up business for local component suppliers, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said yesterday. Meanwhile, strong demand for laptops, servers, and other information and communication technology (ICT) products showed no sign of receding as COVID-19 infections spike around the world, Tsai said. Electronics exports soared 22.2 percent to US$12.76 billion, while shipments of ICT products gained 17.6 percent to US$4.77 billion, jointly contributing about 50 percent to overall exports, ministry data showed. Optical products, mainly flat panels, posted the fastest advance of 27 percent year-on-year, Tsai said. Exports rose 11.7 percent year-on-year to US$97.21 billion last quarter, stronger than the November forecast of 7.8 percent by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Tsai said.