Taiwan pushing to join the CPTPPEXPLORING OTHER OPTIONS: As the RCEP free-trade deal is led by China, Taiwan would find it challenging to join the partnership, the foreign ministry saidBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Lin Liang-sheng / Staff reportersTaiwan would strive to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as it would be challenging for the nation to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) given China’s dominance in the latter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The RCEP was signed by 15 Asia-Pacific nations on the last day of the virtual ASEAN summit yesterday, becoming the world’s largest free-trade agreement. The logo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pictured at the ministry in Taipei on March 3. Taiwan would strive to initiate informal consultations, in preparation for joining the CPTPP, the ministry said, adding that it would continue to seek economic and trade cooperation opportunities with New Southbound Policy partner nations, the US, Japan and other like-minded nations. Separately yesterday, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of not proactively trying to join the RCEP over the past four years, and declaring failure without even trying.

Mica, a multi-purpose space in Daan District, is to be part of Open House Taipei on Saturday and Sunday next week. PLANNING REQUIREDTo anyone thinking of taking part in Open House Taipei, organizers have two words of advice: Plan ahead. “Open House can be exhausting if you try and do too much,” Milliner said, reminding visitors to factor in transportation time, and to schedule breaks. “There’s a little bit of something for everybody no matter what they’re interested in,” she said about Open House events. Already on pace to become a staple in the city’s cultural calendar, Open House Taipei might just prove architecture to be one of Taipei’s best-kept secrets.

Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesRussia has complicated feelings about Xinjiang, Lu said. For Russia, the region is already being effectively controlled by China and as a result, in terms of Russia’s China strategy, Xinjiang is a place that no longer holds much “obvious strategic value,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s formation in 2010 of a customs union among Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was aimed at curtailing China’s influence, Lu said. He said he does not think China’s economic strategy will last long due to the country’s internal socioeconomic problems and the US-China trade dispute. The development of the Belt and Road Initiative will “determine the fate of Uighurs in Xinjiang,” he said.

Forex losses dim BizLink’s record profitMIXED BALANCE SHEET: Surging revenue thanks to product mix improvement was canceled out by the New Taiwan dollar’s strong appreciation against the greenbackBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterBizLink Holding Inc (貿聯控股) on Friday posted lower-than-expected net profit for last quarter due to foreign exchange losses, although its operating profit was the highest for a single quarter in the wiring harness maker’s history. Third-quarter profit declined 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter and 5.4 percent year-on-year to NT$499.58 million (US$17.32 million), or earnings per share of NT$3.83, the company said in a statement. Consolidated revenue in the July-to-September period rose 14.8 percent quarterly and 4.95 percent annually to NT$6.05 billion, while gross margin and operating margin stayed firm at 26.27 percent and 12.35 percent respectively, it said. Bizlink Holding Inc chairman Roger Liang is pictured at a media gathering in Taipei on March 27 last year. Gross margin improved to 25.56 percent, from 23.76 percent, and operating margin also rose to 10.57 percent, from 9.7 percent.

Older people should return to workforce: Ko Wen-jeBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterAs Taiwan is soon set to become a super-aged society, more older people should return to the workforce to make up for labor shortages, and the government should offer incentives to encourage young people to marry, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. Ko was speaking at an employment fair for middle-aged and elderly people, held by the Taipei City Department of Labor at the Taipei Flora Expo Park. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je beats a drum at a job fair for middle-aged and senior jobseekers in Taipei yesterday. “How can the nation support you for 20 years, with you not working?”The Taipei City Government has subsidized companies that offer development courses aimed at teaching middle-aged and older people skills to help them return to the workforce, he said. The fertility rate among married couples has not significantly declined, but the percentage of single people has increased, so as local governments consider “baby bonuses” to encourage childbirth, they should start with offering incentives to encourage young people to marry, he said.

Tainan baseball fans out in force for Lions’ paradeBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThere was a festive atmosphere as Taiwan’s pro baseball champions, the Uni-President Lions, paraded through the streets of Tainan yesterday. Large crowds greeted the Lions players and coaches at the start of their victory parade at the team’s home park, Tainan Municipal Stadium. Tainan residents cheer their home baseball team, the Uni-President Lions, as they ride a bus through the city yesterday to celebrate winning this year’s Taiwan Series. Many Lions fans followed the buses on their scooters and cars; my teammates and I felt very honored by their devotion and their passion,” he said. “The biggest winners are the baseball fans who have followed the teams for so many years...

The main entrance to the Academia Sinica building in Taipei’s Nangang District is pictured on Tuesday. The team discovered that a weakening of atmospheric circulation during winter would contribute to a reduction in rainfall in winter and spring, he said. Reduced winter rainfall would affect farmers’ ability to sow rice in the spring, he added. For northern Taiwan, springtime southwesterly winds are an important annual source of rain, he said. Typhoons that do occur at latitudes above 20 degrees north latitude would become stronger, and those south of that latitude would become weaker, he said.

Cabinet spokesman Ting Yi-ming, left, Premier Su Tseng-chang, second right, and others on Friday eat at the restaurant that won this year’s Taipei Beef Noodle Championship. Li has said that the winning dish at the Taipei Beef Noodle Festival last month used US beef containing ractopamine residue, Lin said. While Ting and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) after the controversy ate at the restaurant and apologized, they did not compensate for the damage done to its reputation and that of other beef noodle restaurants, Lin said. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration is abusing the beef noodle industry for their own gain, as it wants to legitimize its plan for easing restrictions on the import of US pork containing the feed additive, he said. Ting’s behavior jeopardizes the trust between the central and local governments, and the reputation of beef noodle restaurants, Chiang said.

The national emblem — which was adopted in 1947 and depicts a white sun in a blue sky — was derived from the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) emblem. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) emblem is displayed at the party’s national congress at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on Sept. 6. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesIn the KMT emblem, the sun is larger and its 12 rays touch the outer edge of the blue circle that encompasses them, but it is otherwise identical to the national emblem, they said. Everything it does as a political party should put the nation first,” Chen said. “The KMT established the state, and the national emblem was modeled after that of the KMT.

NTU boosts student care after mental health incidentsBy Rachel Lin / Staff reporterNational Taiwan University (NTU) has established a task force to improve mental health services for students, after two alleged suicides and one accident were reported on its campus over five days, NTU president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) said yesterday. National Taiwan University president Kuan Chung-ming, front row, fifth left, and others celebrate the 92nd anniversary of the school’s founding on the Taipei campus yesterday. The school is saddened by the unfortunate incidents and has set up a threefold mechanism for student care, he said. Asked about the school’s ban on online discussion of self-injury incidents, Kuan said that there are upsides and downsides of such discussions. The NTU Student Association last night staged a candlelight evening on the school’s main boulevard, hoping that teachers and students could cheer each other up.

KMT pork video misleading, DPP lawmakers sayBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday condemned a video of a convulsing pig posted online by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) , as the US animal rights group that produced the clip said that it was not related to ractopamine. The KMT’s Facebook page, where the video was posted on Tuesday, said that the video was of hogs fed ractopamine that were experiencing physical and emotional distress as a result. Members of the Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday demand that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) remove a video from its Facebook page. The footage was shot at Quality Pork Processors (QPP), a high-speed pig slaughterhouse in Minnesota, it said. COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) on Thursday asked the KMT to remove the video.

Taiwan-Thai operation leads to record drug bustBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterOfficials yesterday praised a joint operation with Thai authorities that led to Thailand’s largest-ever drug seizure, consisting of almost 12 tonnes of ketamine and precursor chemicals worth an estimated 30 billion baht (US$994.6 million). The bureau set up a task force with the Customs Administration, the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office and police to investigate. Bureau officials worked with Thai customs officers and the Thai Narcotics Suppression Bureau for nearly two months before locating the warehouse, he said. According to Thai media reports, Thai authorities on Thursday raided the warehouse, where they seized a record haul of 11.65 tonnes of ketamine. Authorities found 66 25kg sacks of ketamine, as well as 10 tonnes of chemicals believed to be used to manufacture the drug, reports said.

TSMC reveals wage hike planBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said it is to raise employees’ regular wages by an average of 20 percent in an effort to acquire and retain talent. The last such move came in 2009, when it boosted employees’ regular pay by 15 percent, before scrapping long-term practices of stock bonus distribution for employees in 2010 in response to a major change in accounting rules. The worldwide median annual compensation for TSMC employees, excluding pensions and benefits, is NT$1.63 million (US$56,505), the company’s corporate social responsibility report on its Web site said. The structural wage adjustment would not affect the annual paycheck adjustments, it said. TSMC hired 5,087 new employees last year, bringing its total workforce to 51,297 at the end of last year.

Formosa Railroad Bento Festival opens in TaipeiBOXED MEALS: A pop-up restaurant themed on a Juguang Express car offers a nostalgic experience, while France, Japan and Switzerland have boothsStaff writer, with CNAThe sixth Formosa Railroad Bento Festival began yesterday at Taipei Railway Station, with people lining up to get a boxed meal from Taiwanese eateries and abroad. The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), the event’s organizer, said that this year’s festival has more than 40 gastronomic treats from about 30 food providers and international railway operators. Hosts hold boxed meals on the opening day of the Formosa Railroad Bento Festival at Taipei Railway Station yesterday. Railway operators from France, Japan and Switzerland have booths at this year’s festival, which runs through Monday, it said. Four Taiwanese hotels are participating for the first time, including the Courtyard restaurant at the Marriott and the Taipei branch of the AMBA, the TRA added.

Augusta gives ‘older guys’ a shot: WestwoodReuters, AUGUSTA, GeorgiaVeteran golfer Lee Westwood said that Augusta National rewards experience and that his busy schedule heading into this year’s Masters puts him in a prime position to capture his elusive first major title this week. “It’s nice to see my name up there,” Westwood said. “It’s the kind of golf course that gives the older guys a chance. It gives you chances if you hit good shots and keep it in play.”England’s Lee Westwood hits an approach shot in the first round of the Masters at Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, on Thursday. Photo: AFP“Bombers,” such as tournament favorite Bryson DeChambeau, learned the hard way that Augusta can bite back when you try to overpower it.