A recovery was previously evident in commercial and land deals, but the data now supports that the upward trend has spread to residential properties, especially presale projects. “The local property market has seen signs of recovery judging by the price hikes and stable volume,” the report said. Presale projects and new housing nationwide averaged NT$303,000 per ping (3.3m2) between July and September, rising 1.98 percent from the second quarter, it said. Average housing prices in Taoyuan stood at NT$26,600 per ping, virtually flat from a quarter earlier, while the 30-day sales rate rose to 11.12 percent and the transaction index advanced to 463.74, it said. In Tainan, presale and new housing prices increased 2.7 percent to NT$24,900 per ping, while prices edged up 0.82 percent in Kaohsiung to NT$239,000 per ping, it said.

Nantou charges suspect in murder of four-year-oldBy Chen Feng-li and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Nantou District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday charged a suspect in the killing of a four-year-old girl and asked a court to sentence him to life in prison or death. The girl’s mother, surnamed Peng (彭), 29, and her boyfriend, surnamed Chen (陳), 37, were detained by police on Sept. 4 on suspicion of murder and abandonment of a corpse. A law enforcement officer in Nantou County, right, on Sept. 4 escorts a man, surnamed Chen, who was on Monday charged with killing the four-year-old daughter of his girlfriend. Photo copied by Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei TimesPolice found bruises and other injuries on the girl’s body, and an autopsy found amphetamines and Rohypnol, a tranquilizer, in her system. An autopsy on the girl’s body revealed damage to the membrane lining the brain, they said.

KMT, groups to protest ractopamine rule changeBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) plans on Nov. 22 to join groups in protesting the government’s decision to allow the importation of US pork containing traces of ractopamine, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said yesterday. The policy “lacks not only supporting administrative actions, but also a complete risk assessment,” Chiang said at a weekly KMT Central Standing Committee meeting in Taipei. “It directly affects the food safety environment of people.”Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City councilors yesterday protest against Democratic Progressive Party councilors for boycotting a deliberation of proposed amendments to the Taipei City Self-Governing Regulations for Food Safety. Another KMT proposal requesting that Tsai apologize and the government make public its process of negotiating with the US to allow imports of pork containing ractopamine was also voted down 58-38. Once details of the demonstration are confirmed, the KMT would call on its supporters to join the protest and “block the incorrect policy together,” he said.

Government to issue NT$30bn in bonds for CAA fundBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterGovernment bonds would be issued to increase the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Operating Fund by NT$30 billion (US$1.04 billion), CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) confirmed yesterday. Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien presents CAA and Taoyuan International Airport Corp budget plans for review by the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee in Taipei yesterday. Lin said that the CAA and TIAC have given excessively rosy forecasts for the air transport market in the next fiscal year. This would be the first time in 48 years that the government has issued bonds to raise money for the CAA Operating Fund. The decline in passengers accessing the airport also has affected the Tourism Development Fund, which is partially funded by airport service fees.

Virus Outbreak: Ministry to hold Webinars on virusBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Education is to hold two Webinars next month to explore how young people from around the world can collaborate on disease prevention during the COVID-19 crisis. The Webinars are to feature Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) and 18-year-old Web developer Avi Schiffmann. Registration is required for the Webinars, which are to be livestreamed, organizers said, adding that attendees would be welcome to ask questions during the discussions. For his contributions, Schiffmann was named this year’s Webby Person of the Year and selected as one of Wired magazine’s Wired25 honorees, the ministry said. The Webinars aim to help young people gain a more comprehensive understanding of the pandemic, the ministry said.

NCC to question CTi again over license issueBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterCTi News’ management and stakeholders would be asked to visit the National Communications Commission (NCC) again to answer questions about its license renewal application, as the commissioners need more evidence to make a decision on the case, an NCC official said yesterday. NCC Department of Broadcasting and Content Affairs Director Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) said that CTi News’ attorney asked to examine more evidence. National Communications Commission Department of Broadcasting and Content Affairs Director Huang Wen-che attends an administrative hearing in Taipei on Monday to review CTi News’ operating license renewal application. “We are likely to invite the CTi management to attend the commissioners’ weekly meeting as early as next week. NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that the commission has no intention of holding another administrative or public hearing about CTi News’ license renewal at this point.

EDITORIAL: A good and bad week for marriageThis week has been positive and negative regarding marriage in Taiwan. The military’s annual joint wedding ceremonies scheduled for Friday are to include two same-sex couples — a first for Taiwan since same-sex marriage was legalized in May last year. Even though many Taiwanese soldiers remain afraid to come out to their peers, and discrimination undoubtedly exists, at least the military establishment is accepting about same-sex marriage. However, even with the right to marry, it is not easy to maintain a marriage. As more women take to Internet forums to complain, a quick search shows countless posts made in the past few months.

Pingtung residents fume over graffiti in historical streetBy Chiu Chih-jou and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerPingtung County residents on Monday condemned people who spray-painted brick walls at Moru Lane (摸乳巷), a tourist attraction in Chaojhou Township (潮州). The bricks on the walls of Moru Lane, also known as “the breast touching lane,” belong to a house with a history of more than 100 years. Graffiti covers the walls of Moru Lane in Pingtung County’s Chaojhou Township on Monday. Street graffiti can be beautiful and artistic, but it should only be applied where the law permits, he said. The Chaojhou Township Office urged locals to help protect the image of the township by showing respect for the lane’s status as private property.

Poll shows over half back license for CTi NewsBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterNearly 53 percent of people would not want to see CTi News’ license revoked, a survey released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation found. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesAnother 15 percent either had “no opinion,” did not know or declined to answer, the foundation said. The Taiwan People’s Party and the New Power Party each had 5.8 percent, while the Taiwan Statebuilding Party had 4.4 percent, the survey showed. The survey, which was conducted on Monday and Tuesday last week, collected 1,080 valid responses from adults in Taiwan aged 20 or older. It has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.

Deaths not caused by flu vaccination: CDC expertsUNDERLYING CONDITIONS: Adverse events caused by the flu vaccine have been sporadic, and were not caused by a single batch of immunizations, a CDC physician saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterFour deaths have been reported to the vaccine adverse event reporting system this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, but added that its advisory specialist panel considered the causes to be associated with underlying health conditions, so the government’s flu vaccination program would continue. The meeting also discussed several serious adverse events in people who received flu shots in Taiwan, after the government-funded flu vaccination program began on Oct. 5, he said. Chuang said the specialists at the meeting also suggested that the CDC continue with the flu vaccination program, while closely following up on reported vaccine adverse events. South Korean authorities have said the deaths there were not linked to flu vaccination and the nation’s vaccination program would continue, he said. While Singapore has temporarily halted the use of two types of flu vaccines as a precaution, other countries have continued with their flu vaccination programs.

Chen pushes human rights training for civil servantsBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAPrevious Judicial Yuan cases related to human rights would be incorporated into civil servant training courses to help them better understand that human rights transcend political differences, Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊) told a news conference yesterday. The project is a collaborative effort between the Control Yuan’s National Human Rights Committee and the Examination Yuan’s National Academy of Civil Service. Civil servants should be above partisan politics and should dedicate themselves to the advancement of society, similar to some other countries in which civil servants, no matter which political party they belong to, always work for the people, Chen said. Examination Yuan President Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村) told the news conference that civil servants are the core that makes the government stable. Hao said she hoped that all civil servants would continue to reflect on the greater meaning of these materials.

Lai made the remark in Taipei yesterday at an NHIA conference, which showcased the work by 12 research teams that used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze National Health Insurance data. Vice President William Lai speaks at a forum in Taipei yesterday to mark the 25th anniversary of the National Health Insurance program. Fifteen research teams — nine from the medical field and six from academia, with 10 involving industry-academia partnerships — were approved for the project, he said. However, what solved this social problem was the establishment of the NHIA in 1995 and cooperation from the medical field, he said. With research teams from the medical field and academia having joined the pilot project, many outstanding preliminary results have already been achieved, he said.

Hon Hai to set up a joint fund with Chinese firmBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterHon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that it has signed a strategic partnership contract with China Insurance Investment Co (中保投資) to create a venture capital fund valued at 10 billion yuan (US$1.49 billion), targeting investments in emerging technology. The fund’s size would gradually grow to 20 billion yuan, Hon Hai said in a statement. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Young Liu takes part in a news conference on the company’s “Technology Day” on Oct. 16 to introduce its electric-vehicle platform. The fund would be a “mutually beneficial collaboration that combines quality industry with long-term capital,” Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said in the statement. The strategic partnership with China Insurance Investment and its cooperation in high-tech investments would create a win-win situation for both sides, Hon Hai said.

Electrified South Link Line to open Dec. 23TRANSFORMATION: The rail operator is planning to reduce the number of diesel-powered trains on the line from 57 to 28 and upgrade Fangliao Station to tier 2By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterAn electrified South Link Line is to officially begin operations on Dec. 23, which would reduce the estimated travel time between Kaohsiung and Taitung County by about 27 minutes, the Taiwan Railways Administration said yesterday. The 123.4km-long line connecting Pingtung and Taitung counties was the last stretch of the nation’s railway system that had yet to be electrified. Photo: Chen Hsien-yi, Taipei TimesSix Puyuma Express services and four Tzuchiang Express services would be added to the line once it is fully electrified, raising transport capacity by 7 percent during weekdays and 13 percent on weekends. Once the South Link Line is completely electrified, travel time between Kaohsiung and Hualien could be shortened by 39 minutes, the agency said. Schedules along the line would be changed once the electrified services begin on Dec. 23, with the number of diesel-powered trains to be reduced from 57 to 28, the TRA said.

CTBC joins global carbon accounting partnershipStaff writerCTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) has signed on to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), becoming Taiwan’s first financial institution to join the industry-led initiative. “Urgent solutions are required to address the risks brought by climate change,” CTBC Financial president Daniel Wu (吳一揆) said in a news release on Monday. The bank on Monday said that it became Taiwan’s first financial institution to join the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials initiative. The Science Based Targets initiative has officially endorsed the PCAF’s methodology as a universal method for calculating and disclosing financial products’ greenhouse gas emissions. In the past two years, CTBC Financial and its subsidiaries have voluntarily joined a raft of international sustainability initiatives.