Kau and Scientech invest in reclaimed wafer services firmBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterFormer Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) president Charles Kau (高啟全) has teamed up with Taiwanese semiconductor equipment maker Scientech Corp (辛耘) to invest in LVG Semiconductor (Huangshi) Co Ltd (祿億半導體) in China to provide wafer reclamation services there. Former Nanya Technology Corp president Charles Kau is pictured in Taipei yesterday. “Market demand is very strong in China, but there is a lack of reclaimed wafer suppliers there,” Kau said. It is more cost-effective to provide reclaimed wafers from Chinese factories rather than importing them from Taiwan, as the logistics would add US$6 to the overall cost of every reclaimed wafer, he said. Scientech is a supplier of reclaimed wafers and semiconductor equipment with annual revenue of NT$3.95 billion (US$136.4 million) last year.

CSBC confirms cracks in wind farm projectBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterCSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday confirmed that cracks have appeared in the welding joints of transition pieces it supplied to Orsted Taiwan Ltd’s (沃旭能源) offshore wind farm projects, but dismissed speculation that it could lead to Orsted switching to foreign suppliers. The report said multiple sources confirmed that transition pieces made by CSBC, which were delivered in June, started developing cracks in the welding joints three to four months after delivery. CSC executive vice president and spokesman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) described the faults as “a part of the learning process” for Taiwanese companies making wind farm components for the first time. Under the government’s offshore wind farm localization policy, developers are required to use certain made-in-Taiwan components, even if imported components might have a price and quality advantage. “The hope is as companies meet with technical challenges [in localizing offshore wind] they will overcome them,” Tseng said.

NT dollar extends gains as central bank steps backBloombergThe New Taiwan dollar yesterday extended its winning streak, a day after it closed at the strongest level since 2011 amid speculation that the central bank would continue to loosen its grip on the rallying currency. While for months the central bank stepped in daily to limit appreciation, its relatively hands-off approach recently is a sign that officials might allow further strengthening. The central bank allowing appreciation “is justified based on fundamentals and the currency is not overvalued,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd head of Asia research Khoon Goh (吳昆) said. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said on Sept. 17 that the NT dollar was “not strong” versus trade-weighted valuation metrics. Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (台灣機械公會) chairman Alex Ko (柯拔希) yesterday urged the central bank to take action to keep the NT dollar weak, warning that Taiwanese machinery exporters would lose their global competitiveness if it did not act.

Bigger emphasis on climate change needed, CET saysBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterEnvironmental group Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan (CET) at a news conference in Taipei yesterday urged the government to place more emphasis on tackling climate change in its Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program. The news conference was held to coincide with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) delivering a report to the Legislative Yuan on the proposed NT$230 billion (US$7.94 billion) budget for the third phase of the program. Representatives of Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Face climate change.”The budget proposal is next to proceed to a review by the Legislative Yuan, Hung said. “We hope that there is still room to make this forward-looking program even more forward-looking,” he said.

Teachers urge ministry to reconsider proposal to conduct bullying surveyBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe National Federation of Teachers’ Unions yesterday urged the Ministry of Education to reconsider plans to have schools conduct a survey of students on bullying that the federation says contains ambiguous language. The Ministry of Education on July 21 revised its guidelines on the prevention of bullying on school campuses to change the definition of the term “campus bullying” from bullying between students to bullying by principals, teachers, staff members or students toward students, the federation said. Representatives of the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions hold a news conference in Taipei yesterday to criticize a proposed Ministry of Education survey on school bullying. Hou also questioned why the proposed survey only includes questions about bullying by other students or teachers. “According to the Ministry of Education’s logic, they [principals and staff members] do not have this problem” of bullying students, he said.

Military sorties up 20 percent: reportStaff writer, with CNAThe nation’s armed forces have deployed more than 4,000 sorties of military aircraft so far this year, a 20 percent increase from the same period last year, a Ministry of National Defense report said on Monday. Amid increasing military coercion by China, the armed forces have carried out 4,132 sorties by aircraft and 7,531 sorties by navy vessels in surveillance, combat readiness and fishery patrol missions and exercises this year, the report said. Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa is pictured in an undated photograph. The military has allocated a budget to improve its radar surveillance abilities in response to the increasing military threat posed by Chinese stealth aircraft and uncrewed aerial combat vehicles, the report said. Yen is scheduled to answer lawmakers’ questions at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in Taipei today.

Pro-independence groups send Trump get-well messagesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterTaiwanese independence campaigners yesterday launched a drive to send letters and get-well cards to wish US President Donald Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19. The event began with the mailing of a typed letter, along with an image of Trump and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), to the White House. Members of the Taiwan Republic Office and other proponents of Taiwanese independence yesterday at a post office near the Executive Yuan in Taipei urge Taiwanese to write letters wishing US President Donald Trump a speedy recovery from COVID-19. “These developments are proof of improving ties, of the US and Taiwan moving toward closer relations,” Chen said. “We urge people to write letters, or just write a few words in a get-well card.

Yunlin farmers battle to beat destructive macaquesBy Huang Shu-li and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerFarmers in Yunlin County “fed up” with damage wrought by Formosan rock macaques have so far this year applied for seven times more subsidies than last year to install electric fences, the county’s Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The macaques have affected agriculture around the county, but nowhere more so than in Gukeng Township (古坑), where not one fruit orchard or vegetable patch has been able to escape damage, local farmers said. As there is no compensation available for losses caused by macaques, the issue has left the nation’s farmers struggling to find a solution. Formosan rock macaques sit on the roof of a farm building in Yunlin County on Sunday. Another farmer in a mountainous region said that their entire taro field was dug up by the animals, while others said that their harvests only consist of the macaques’ leftovers.

The proposed amendment also includes modifications to the standards for marking calories, caffeine content and fruit content. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesThe proposal would require freshly made drinks sold by beverage stores to have a nutrition label that specifies the sugar and calorie content of all elements of the drink. They would have to provide the maximum total sugar content, using sugar cubes — equal to five grams of sugar — as the standard unit, as well as the maximum total calories, including toppings, Lee said. Under the proposal, fruit or vegetable drinks that contain less than 10 percent real fruit or vegetable juice would have to be labeled by manufacturers as a “drink,” or a name with the same meaning, Lee said. Drinks with no real fruit or vegetable juice would have to be renamed as “flavored” or as a “XX flavor” beverage, she added.

CECC launches government-funded flu vaccinesLEADING BY EXAMPLE: One of those vaccinated at a demonstration yesterday was the health minister, who said there are 6 million doses of government-funded vaccinesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterAs government-funded seasonal influenza vaccinations began yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that the total number of vaccines is expected to cover more than 31 percent of the population. Fitness trainer Eddie Pan (潘若迪) was invited as a disease prevention ambassador to promote the government-funded flu vaccination program. He also received a flu vaccination, along with a pregnant woman and a pair of twin infants. The nine groups of people eligible for the government-funded flu vaccines and the number of procured vaccines for this flu season are the same as last flu season, Chen said. Chuang said that people who are 65 or older have been eligible for government-funded flu vaccines since 1998, and the vaccination rate in this age group has reached about 51.3 percent.

Pharmally plans to hold extraordinary meetingBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterTroubled Pharmally International Holding Co (康友製藥) yesterday said that it plans to hold an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting later this month to appoint new board members and replace chairman Tony Huang (黃文烈), who is suspected of embezzlement. Huang disappeared on Aug. 6, the same day that three senior executives, including then-president and board member Zhang Yongjian (章永鑒), resigned. Pharmally International Holding Co spokesman Jason Chen speaks at a media briefing in Taipei yesterday. Pharmally plans to sue Deloitte & Touche Taiwan’s chairman, chief operating officer and chief risk officer over their two accountants’ alleged malpractice, Chen said. The company also believes that the Taiwan Stock Exchange made mistakes when examining the firm’s financial reports in 2018, he said.

New vehicle sales soar on pent-up demandBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterNew vehicle sales last month jumped 13.4 percent year-on-year to 37,241 units as new models from Mercedes-Benz and other brands stimulated sales, online market researcher U-Car said in a report on its Web site yesterday. In the first nine months of this year, new vehicle sales expanded at an annual rate of 4.4 percent to 325,805 units, according to U-Car. The revamped CR-V model was the most popular recreational vehicle in Taiwan last month, with sales of 1,753 units. Sales of imported vehicles rebounded to 18,669 units, up from 17,178 units in August and accounting for 50.1 percent of overall new vehicle sales. Among imported vehicle vendors, Mercedes-Benz Taiwan Ltd (台灣賓士) saw sales rise rapidly to 3,573 units from 2,680 a month earlier, retaining its No.

Pharmacy retail sales recover on cosmetics demandBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterConsumers in August spent NT$16.7 billion (US$575.5 million) at local pharmacy retailers, a 4.1 percent annual increase, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Pharmacy retailers include drugstore chains, such as Cosmed (康是美) and Watsons (屈臣氏), as well as independent pharmacies. The ministry defines pharmacy retail sales as including sales of medicines, medical equipment and dietary supplements, as well as those of cosmetics and skincare products. Pharmacy retail sales declined during the first few months of the outbreak because cosmetic sales dropped, Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) told the Taipei Times by telephone. Pharmacy retail sales returning to growth in July and August reflects that life is returning to normal, he said.

First responders, chorus to lead national anthemCELEBRATING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan has proven wrong Beijing’s claims that only its version of socialism can overcome the pandemic, the legislative speaker saidBy Lin Liang-sheng and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNAFirst responders and the Taipei Medical University Sing Song Chorus are to lead the national anthem at the main Double Ten National Day celebration on Saturday in front of the Presidential Office Building, the National Day Preparatory Committee announced yesterday. This year’s theme, “Democratic Taiwan, Advancing With Confidence,” was chosen because the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, challenging democracies worldwide, Legislative Speaker and committee chairman You Si-kun (游錫堃) said. Taiwanese puppet master Chen Si-huang, right, performs at a news conference in Taipei yesterday held by the National Day Preparatory Committee. Taiwan has become a model for the world, making it impossible for China to discredit the idea of democratic governance, he added. This year’s souvenir bags are to be a light shoulder bag that comes in two colors — gray and brown.

Largan revenue rises to highest in seven monthsBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterHandset camera lens maker Largan Precision Co (大立光) yesterday reported that revenue last month grew 1.9 percent month-on-month to NT$5.12 billion (US$176.4 million), the highest revenue since March. Largan Precision Co’s headquarters are pictured in Taichung on June 12, 2018. Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei TimesThird-quarter revenue was NT$14.79 billion, an increase of 17 percent quarter-on-quarter, but a 20 percent decline year-on-year. In the first three quarters of this year, cumulative revenue fell 4 percent to NT$40.65 billion, company data showed. Separately, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) reported revenue of NT$466.36 billion for last month, up 10.9 percent monthly, but down 20.66 percent annually.