Tsai cited several bills in support of Taiwan that Washington had passed over the past four years, the approval of 10 arms procurement deals to boost Taiwan’s military capability, and visits by top-level US officials as indicative of a wide-ranging progress in bilateral relations. President Tsai Ing-wen talks to reporters before attending a Democratic Progressive Party Central Standing Committee meeting in Taipei yesterday. “Taiwan’s move to lift trade barriers is good for American farmers, ranchers and our economy. Su and his team have worked diligently and the public is enjoying the fruit of their labor, Tsai said. Asked about the National Communications Commission’s (NCC) decision not to renew CTi News’ operating license, Tsai said: “We have the rule of law in Taiwan.

Book review: Taiwan in global contextThis book contains much interesting material on literature, food, travel and cinema. The former is the author of Colonial Taiwan: Negotiating Identities and Modernity through Literature, while the latter wrote Place, Identity and National Imagination in Post-war Taiwan. Positioning Taiwan in a Global Context Being And Becoming Edited Pei-yin Lin and Bei-yo ChangEach editor contributes an item to this book, Lin on the topic as a whole (the introductory chapter), Chang on tourism to Taiwan in a chapter called “From ‘free China’ to sunny paradise.”The book takes its place in Routledge’s Research on Taiwan series. In this context Taiwan is seen as the female being approached by a hard-bitten Hong Kong male. In “Translating Taiwan southward” Adam Lifshey points to the largely neglected strait between Taiwan and the Philippines, and the relationship between Taiwan and its southern neighbor.

Fubon Life’s FYPs dive 44.6 percent annuallyBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterFubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) yesterday reported that its first-year premiums (FYPs) for the first three quarters fell 44.6 percent year-on-year to NT$93.1 billion due to stricter regulations and the COVID-19 pandemic. The FYPs are received in the first year of a recurring policy and are the main resource for life insures’ new investments. Fubon Life in May forecast that its FYPs would fall 30 percent for the whole of this year. The logo of Fubon Life Insurance Co is pictured outside the company’s headquarters in Taipei on Nov. 22 last year. The bank would concentrate on providing personal loans, and loans to small and medium-sized companies as they have higher margins, Cheng said.

Legislator’s home, office searched in fraud investigationBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterAuthorities yesterday searched the office and residence of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu I-ding (吳怡玎) in Kaohsiung, along with those of her family, as part of an investigation into alleged securities fraud, with investors in Pharmally International Holding Co losing an estimated NT$1.5 billion (US$52.05 million) after its stock price collapsed. Phamally chairman Tony Huang (黃文烈), 59, has fled Taiwan and is reportedly hiding in Singapore, investigators said. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu I-ding said yesterday at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei that Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau agents had searched her office and residence in Kaohsiung. The investigation was launched in August, with 14 people summoned for questioning at the time, while an international warrant has been issued for Huang’s arrest. Prosecutors alleged that Huang illegally transfered NT$700 million into his personal bank accounts, which have affected four of his lenders — Entie Commercial Bank, Far Eastern International Bank, Hua Nan Bank and Bank SinoPac.

Bridge fell due to corrosion, lack of inspectionBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterSevere corrosion of stranded steel wires and a lack of inspections necessary for special bridges were the main reasons leading to the collapse of the Nanfangao Bridge (南方澳大橋) in Yilan County’s Port of Suao on Oct. 1 last year, an investigation by the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board showed yesterday. “Anchors and the stranded steel wires on the bridge were immersed in salty water for a long period of time, corroding stranded steel wires,” the board said. Before the accident, stranded steel wires at cable Nos. 10, the residual strength of the corroded stranded steel wires in cable No. The broken steel cables led to increased stress on the bridge’s steel girders, which eventually caused the bridge to collapse, the board said.

Taiwan Cooperative aims to match economic growthRESTRICTED: The conglomerate’s net income for the first three quarters dropped 6.29% from a year earlier, due to the low interest rate environment, its president saidBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co (TCFH, 合庫金控) aims to improve its business next year in line with the nation’s economic growth, but uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, top executives told an investors’ conference yesterday. A sign displaying the logo of Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co stands outside the company’s headquarters in Taipei’s Songshan District on May 21, 2018. Net interest margin, a critical gauge for the banking industry, stood at 0.966 percent in September, compared with 0.993 percent three months earlier. The lender attributed the retreat to interest rate cuts at home and abroad, as well as competition among its peers to woo customers. Chen said net interest margin showed signs of stabilization last quarter, but added that it is too early to talk about a recovery.

PNG application to join Austronesian Forum ratifiedBy Yang Mian-chieh and Jason Pan / Staff reportersAn application by Papua New Guinea (PNG) to join the Austronesian Forum was approved at an executive council meeting at the Grand Hotel in Taipei on Monday, while Canada and Australia joined as observers. Launched in 2002, the forum began formal collaborative work with 12 Pacific island nations in 2018. Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod, center, poses for a group photograph with foreign representatives at an Austronesian Forum executive committee meeting at the Grand Hotel in Taipei on Monday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesThe forum’s headquarters was inaugurated in Palau on Sept. 30 last year at its annual executive council meeting. “In that meeting, it was decided to hold the Austronesian Forum and the executive council meeting in Hawaii in June this year,” Icyang said.

FSC fines E.Sun NT$20m over theftSETTING AN EXAMPLE: The commission suspended the bank’s two top executives as ‘a warning to all banks,’ while the fine is the biggest to be given to a bank in a single caseBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) NT$20 million (US$693,698) over a theft scandal and punished the bank’s two top executives. A sign displaying the logo of E.Sun Financial Holding Co stands outside the company’s headquarters in Taipei in an undated photograph. “People follow the example of their superiors… Our punishment for the two top executives is a warning to all banks,” Huang said. The FSC spent two months investigating Chen and Chang to ascertain whether they were responsible for the breach, he said. E.Sun Bank’s BIS capital ratio would be reduced to 13.75 percent, from 14.02 percent, as the commission thinks that the bank has a higher risk than its current estimate, Chuang said.

Taipei unveils subsidies in bid to woo touristsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taipei Department of Information and Tourism yesterday announced a new tourism program that offers independent travelers and members of tourist groups a NT$1,000 (US$34.68) subsidy per person for an overnight stay in the city between next month and March 7. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, center, and city goverment officials hold placards to announce new subsidies for tourists at a news conference at Taipei City Hall yesterday. “We plan to subsidize 100,000 members of tourist groups NT$1,000 per person, and the same for 100,000 independent travelers. Subsidies would be offered to 50,000 independent travelers until Jan. 31, and then another 50,000 from Feb. 1 to March 7. Independent travelers can start applying for the subsidy on the department’s Web site from Dec. 20.

Water shortage expected to worsen during winterNON-TYPICAL: Apart from Atsani, storms in autumn missed Taiwan, rainfall has been lower and average temperatures have been higher, a CWB forecaster saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe current water shortage is expected to worsen in the next few months, with the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday forecasting a colder, dryer winter than normal. Third, average rainfall was 354.8mm, 271.7mm less than average, Lu said. Rain came from frontal systems, clouds in the circumfluence of typhoons or tropical storms, and the northeast monsoon, he said. Average rainfall from next month to February is expected to be from slightly below average to normal, he said. Cold waves are expected relatively frequently this winter, as La Nina tends to facilitate cold air from the north, Lu said.

Chen Shu-fang (L) won best actress AND supporting actress, and Mo Tzu-yi (R) picked up the Golden Horse Award for best actor. (Photo by Mykonos Chiang)What were the biggest and most surprising wins at this year's Golden Horse Awards? Andrew and Leslie weigh in on some of Taiwan's brightest stars at what's often called the Chinese-language Oscars. Chunghwa Telecom is going to start trial deliveries with DRONES. Almost half of Taiwanese adults are overweight?!

Annual GDP growth set to top 1.8 percent: NDCBULLISH: The NDC minister attributed the optimistic projection to 3.33% GDP growth in the third quarter and the ‘better-than-estimated’ performance of exportsStaff writer, with CNAThe National Development Council (NDC) has forecast that annual GDP growth would be more than 1.8 percent this year, thanks to better-than-expected export orders in the fourth quarter. Kung attributed the optimistic projection to 3.33 percent GDP growth in the third quarter and what he described as the “better-than-estimated” performance of exports and export orders so far this quarter. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesAsked if GDP growth this year could surpass 2 percent, Kung said only that the government is continuing its efforts to boost the economy. Despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has adversely impacted economic activity worldwide, Taiwan has so far managed to sustain its economic growth. On Nov. 3, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) increased its forecast for GDP growth this year by 0.80 percentage points to 1.91 percent.

Unemployment rate falls for sixth consecutive monthBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe nation’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.8 percent, falling for the sixth consecutive month, as fewer people quit their jobs, although more people became unemployed due to business downsizing or closures, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The data represented a fractional 0.03 percentage point retreat from one month earlier as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to subside, but has not disappeared altogether, the statistics agency said. People with junior-high school education had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.66 percent. The unemployment rate was lowest for people aged 45 to 64 at 2.25 percent. Taiwan’s unemployment rate was higher than South Korea’s 3.7 percent and Japan’s 3 percent, but lower than Hong Kong’s 6.6 percent, the report said.

T-REC green energy sales exceed 700 million kWhBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterMore than 700 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green energy has been sold through the Taiwan Renewable Energy Certificate (T-REC) program, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspections said yesterday. In addition, the transaction volume also surpassed the bureau’s expectation, bureau division director Huang Chih-wen (黃志文) said. Huang last month told the Taipei Times that the bureau predicted “more than 500 million kilowatt-hours” of green energy would be sold through the T-REC platform by the end of the year. With 113 million kWh of certificates sold through the first batch and 705 million kWh of certificates sold through the second batch, the bureau has surpassed the 500 million kWh prediction. The other notable change is the inclusion of onshore wind in the T-REC system, Huang said, adding that the first batch was entirely solar photovoltaics.

Profit momentum at CTBC overseas units continues to slow on bad loansOPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK: Net profit at Japanese subsidiary Tokyo Star Bank plunged 85 percent annually as net fee income halved and bad loans increased by 4.8 timesBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterCTBC Bank (中信銀行) yesterday said that its overseas units’ profit momentum continued to slow last quarter, due to bad loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but it remains upbeat for next year in light of positive steps in vaccine development. Tokyo Star has been seeing bad loans since the second quarter, after loans to some Japanese hotels and airlines turned sour, said Chiu Ya-ling (邱雅玲), spokeswoman for CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控), the parent firm of CTBC Bank. Tokyo Star posted cumulative profits of NT$19 million in the first three quarters of the year, making it the fourth-largest profit generator among CTBC Bank’s overseas units, Chiu said. Their non-performing loan ratio rose to 1.12 percent as of the end of September, compared with 0.48 percent for CTBC Banks’ domestic corporate lending and 0.08 percent for the bank’s personal lending, the data showed. Overall, combined profit generated by its overseas units made up less than 20 percent of CTBC Bank’s total profit for the first three quarters, compared with 30 percent last year, Chiu said.