HSBC unveils investment platform for young clientsBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterHSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) yesterday launched a new wealth management platform targeting people aged 25 to 40, as more young people prefer investing over saving amid a low-interest environment, the bank said. HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd retail banking and wealth management head Linda Yip, back row third left, and other bank personnel hold promotional material at a news conference in Taipei yesterday to introduce a new investment platform targeting young clients. The bank would consider whether to add local shares to the platform after receiving clients’ feedback, she added. Given that all transactions would be made online over the platform, the bank would not offer insurance products or derivatives for young clients, as trading of such products requires assistance from financial consultants, Lee said. HSBC Taiwan’s wealth management department has about 60,000 clients aged 25 to 40, and the number is expected to rise quickly, as many of them would need to invest amid a low-interest environment, retail banking and wealth management head Linda Yip (葉清玉) said.

EVA renegotiates Boeing orders, eyes cargo growthBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterEVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) has canceled orders with Boeing Co for seven 787-10 Dreamliner passenger jets, replacing them with orders for three 777F cargo aircraft and four smaller 787-9 jets, as the airline looks to grow its cargo business and optimize its network. “We are happy to have reached an agreement with Boeing about the order adjustment and expect it to help optimize our network,” an EVA official told the Taipei Times yesterday. EVA has received three of 18 787-10 jets that it purchased in 2015. The airline expects the cargo business to continue booming for the next few years, the official said. Including the four 787-9 jets ordered and two 787-10 jets EVA has leased, the airline would have eight 787-9s and 13 787-10s in operation after taking delivery by 2022, the official added.

During Monday’s forum, Stilwell was joined by Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Tsai wrote on Facebook. The dialogue is to be led by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach, it added. Since its last meeting in 2016, the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), previously the key trade negotiation platform between Taiwan and the US, has been suspended. TIFA was managed by the Office of the US Trade Representative, which even some US officials complained was slow in advancing trade talks between the two nations, he added. While the new platform would be led by a US undersecretary, the third-highest official in the US Department of State, Taiwan would send a representative higher than the economic minister to head the dialogue, Wang said.

Chang took up the post yesterday after his predecessor, Kao Chin-hsung (高俊雄), in July returned to a teaching position at National Sports University. He would contribute to the sports industry by helping more Taiwanese athletes reach their potential, Chang said. The Tokyo Games, scheduled for July next year, would be the agency’s most important task, Chang said, adding that the event would bring a powerful change to Taiwanese sports. Sports Administration officials said that they would ask coaches and athletes to look at every scheduled international tournament and gauge whether the nation’s athletes could skip some of them to focus on the most important ones. NTNU agreed to giving Chang two years to head the Sports Administration.

Police target unyielding driversBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe police yesterday began a program targeting drivers who fail to stop amid a rise in pedestrian deaths at intersections over the past few years. The one-month campaign to enhance transportation safety at key intersections nationwide was launched by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and the Ministry of the Interior (MOI). “Also, there is an increased rate of smartphone use while crossing and drivers are distracted by screens on their dashboards,” he said. They would focus on drivers and motorcyclists who do not yield to pedestrians, with fines ranging from NT$1,200 to NT$3,600, it said. When officers are directing traffic, drivers and riders must comply with instructions to yield, it said.

Ministry to launch book exhibition vouchers‘HAPPY READING’: The minister of culture said the vouchers for the virus-delayed event are to encourage people to buy books and support the publishing industryBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Culture yesterday said it would issue vouchers for book purchases at next year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE). The annual exhibition is sponsored by the ministry and organized by the Taipei Book Fair Foundation. For the first time, the ministry is to release a limited number of NT$100 vouchers for people to spend at the exhibition, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) said. Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, center, Taipei Book Fair Foundation chairman Robert Lin, second left, and others attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday to promote next year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition. It would be South Korea’s third time in the role, having previously been invited as guest of honor in 2005 and this year’s online exhibition, he said.

CDC warns women over listeriosis risk during pregnancyBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday urged pregnant women to maintain good hand hygiene and avoid eating raw food after it reported a case of listeriosis in a newborn, who might have contracted the disease from her mother after she ate contaminated food during the pregnancy. Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that the nation’s first case of neonatal listeriosis reported this year was an infant born in northern Taiwan late last month with shortness of breath. In rare cases, neonatal listeriosis can occur through vertical transmission of the bacteria from mother to fetus, Lin said. People with a weak immune system should avoid eating raw food, he said. The center urges pregnant women to avoid eating raw food and to maintain good hand hygiene to prevent listeriosis, and if people experience a fever, headache, nausea, vomiting or other symptoms after eating raw food, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible, he said.

Irrigation groups file suit to stop nationalizationWORRIES: One director said farmers’ irrigation sources might be sacrificed for industrial users, but the COA said that the move would ensure better management of water useBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterA group of irrigation association members yesterday filed an administrative lawsuit against the government’s move to nationalize 17 irrigation associations, as it plans to establish an agency to oversee them. It would govern 17 irrigation associations nationwide, which have nearly 1.5 million members. To make the change, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in July passed the Act of Irrigation and Engineering (農田水利法), despite the protests of some irrigation association members and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Su Huan-chih, a lawyer for a group of irrigation associations, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday to announce his intention to apply for a provisional injunction to stop the government from nationalizing irrigation associations. While the act stipulates that the Irrigation Association Organization Act (農田水利會組織通則) would no longer be applicable, it cannot abolish the associations that have existed for more than a century, he said.

KMT protests decision on pork importsUS MEAT FUROR: The premier said NT$10bn has been set aside for pig farmers, but pork exports should increase, as Taiwan has been declared free of foot-and-mouth diseaseBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday protested outside the legislative chamber against the government’s decision to lift a ban on US pork containing ractopamine while a Czech delegation led by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil was visiting. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday stage a protest at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei against the government’s decision to lift a ban on imports of pork containing ractopamine. Separately yesterday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) was asked at an event in Taipei about several local governments saying that they would ban the sale of pork containing ractopamine. The fund would partially be used to upgrade facilities used by pig farmers and improve the industry as a whole, he said. Su said that Taiwanese still prefer locally produced pork, which accounts for 91 percent of total pork sales, and people’s eating habits would not change with the lifting of the ban.

Virus Outbreak: CECC boss responds to China’s concerns about virus casesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterAfter China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Monday said it was worried about Taiwan’s COVID-19 disease prevention measures, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said that China does not have good credit either. The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission reported three cases in which travelers from Taiwan tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 19, Aug. 24 and on Sunday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei TimesMa asked: “How many big flaws are still in Taiwan’s COVID-19 prevention, how many actual infected patients are there and how much risk are the compatriots on the island [Taiwan] facing?”He said that these issues could not be neglected. Ma also urged the Democratic Progressive Party to be responsible for preventing and controlling the disease professionally, and to stop the chain of infection. Asked if Ma’s remarks would harm Taiwan’s international status, Chen said: “I don’t think so.

Powerchip to build new fab in Miaoli next yearBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterPowerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) yesterday said that it plans to build a 12-inch fab in Miaoli County next year as strong demand for display drivers used in laptops and image sensors has boosted factory utilization to 100 percent. Powerchip makes CMOS image sensors, DRAM chips and driver ICs used in flat panels for mobile phones, and operates three 12-inch fabs and two 8-inch fabs in Taiwan, as well as a 12-inch fab in China. “The company hopes to start building the new Tongluo fab in the second quarter next year,” spokesman Eric Tang (譚仲民) told the Taipei Times by telephone. “Customers are showing strong demand for driver ICs, CMOS sensors and power management chips. Some customers already want to book capacity at the yet-to-be-built fab, which would have an initial capacity of 15,000 wafers per month, Huang said.

Bats returning to Taoyuan’s Sanmin cave after decadesBy Lee Jung-ping and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe bat population at Taoyuan’s Sanmin Bat Cave (三民蝙蝠洞) has shown signs of recovery after dropping to nearly zero over the past two decades, the Taoyuan Department of Tourism said on Sunday. The department urged visitors to the cave to follow the rules when observing the bats to preserve their habitat. Bats hang from the ceiling of Sanmin Bat Cave in Taoyuan’s Fusing District on Sunday. Visitors explore Sanmin Bat Cave in Taoyuan’s Fusing District on Sunday. Following the restoration, some bats have returned, with about 70 to 80 animals beings spotted on the cave ceiling, Kung said.

The Executive Yuan said that the policy would take effect on Jan. 1 and is aimed at expanding international trade. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung speaks during an interview at Hit FM radio station in Taipei yesterday. Regarding concerns over the health effects of eating pork containing ractopamine, he said that, unlike the COVID-19 pandemic, which has many uncertainties, the health risk from consuming US pork or beef can be controlled using scientific calculations. US pork containing ractopamine would be labeled, and those who label pork incorrectly would face a fine of between NT$40,000 and NT$4 million (US$1,355 and US$135,474), he said. The amounts used for risk assessments usually exceed normal daily pork or beef consumption levels, so most people would not consume enough pork for ractopamine to affect their health, Chen said.

Czech Senate head calls for increased cooperationECONOMIC FOUNDATION: Milos Vystrcil touted freedom and democracy as the basis for prosperity, as Taiwanese and Czech business entities signed MOUs to boost tiesBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterCalling for “action over arguments,” Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil said it was time to take bilateral business cooperation between the Czech Republic and Taiwan to the next level, despite threats of retaliation from China. Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua delivers a speech at the 2020 Taiwan-Czech Republic Economic, Trade and Investment Forum in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times“Without the freedom for our businesses to work together, the Czech Republic and Taiwan cannot be free. The Czech Republic is Taiwan’s fourth-largest investment destination in Europe, the ministry said. In addition to the business advantages, Krcmar said he finds that Taiwanese and Czech people tend to get along.

US Meat Imports: DPP accuses KMT of ‘playing politics’ over US meat issueBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayors and lawmakers yesterday accused the Chinese Nationalist Paty (KMT) of “playing politics” by launching protests against imports of US pork containing the controversial leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Friday announced that Taiwan would ease restrictions on US beef and pork imports, while setting standards for pork containing ractopamine. Most Taiwanese buy fresh meat at traditional markets, and frozen imported pork products are rare at such markets, Pan said. The KMT should discipline those responsible for circulating “malicious rumors to vilify one of the US president’s Cabinet members,” DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. “Before Azar took the health secretary job, Eli Lilly had already sold off the division that made pharmaceutical products for animals...