US Meat Imports: KMT to attempt to block ractopamine at local levelBy Huang Ming-tang, Lin Liang-sheng and Chou Min-hung / Staff reportersThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it is planning to push for cities and counties nationwide to implement ordinances that would effectively ban pork containing ractopamine. Members of the Hsinchu City Council’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus hold a news conference on US meat imports in the city yesterday. Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei TimesThe KMT said that it would supervise the central government’s decision through its caucuses in county and city councils or set local ordinances to block it. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang points to a poster titled: “Risk assessment black box!” during a news conference on US meat imports in Taipei yesterday. Some cities and counties have already formulated ordinances banning ractopamine, he said, adding that KMT city and county caucuses would demand that local governments enforce those ordinances.

Hsinchu-based Vanguard is a specialty IC foundry service provider, specializing in LCD driver ICs and logic ICs, as well as power management ICs and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor image sensors. In the first eight months, Vanguard’s accumulated revenue rose 15.09 percent year-on-year to NT$18.78 billion (US$636.16 million), company data showed. The Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp logo is pictured in an undated photograph at the company’s headquarters in Hsinchu County. In the short term, the 8-inch wafers for power management ICs and driver ICs will remain in short supply,” Fang said. Vanguard operates three 8-inch fabs in Taiwan and acquired an 8-inch fab in Singapore from US-based GlobalFoundries Inc early this year to resolve capacity constraints.

No need to worry about US pork, former VP saysBy Lee I-chia and Wang Chun-chung / Staff reportersThe level of ractopamine residue in meat products is regulated by international food safety standards, so people should not worry about imports of US pork containing the additive, former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday. Self-government ordinances in Changhua and Hsinchu counties, as well as a few other cities and counties, ban pork containing ractopamine residue. Chen Shui-bian said he only allowed imports of US beef that was deboned and came from cattle under 30 months old. However, Ma was unwilling, Chen Shui-bian said, adding that after Ma assumed office, he was still “forced” to make the decision to allow imports. The easing of restrictions on US beef and pork imports might, as Tsai said on Friday, be an “important starting point” for comprehensive Taiwan-US economic cooperation and promote Taiwan-US relations, Chen Shui-bian said.

Tsai welcomes Czech delegation in Facebook postLANDMARK VISIT: The president expressed the hope that the two nations would deepen cooperation on epidemic control, trade, tourism and investmentStaff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday welcomed a delegation from the Czech Republic headed by Czech Senate Speaker Milos Vystrcil with an online message, saying that she looked forward to deepening cooperation with the European country. Tsai’s welcome to the 89-member delegation followed its arrival earlier in the day on a direct charter flight from Prague. The delegation, which includes eight Czech senators and Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib, is to visit Taipei until Friday. Vystrcil, the second-highest-ranking official of the Czech Republic after the country’s president, is his nation’s highest-level official ever to visit Taiwan. However, Vystrcil said the Czech Republic would not bow to China’s objections, Reuters reported on Saturday.

Completed in 1891, Taipei ‘Railway Wharf’ is considered the first-generation Taipei Train Station. The building is considered the fourth-generation Taipei Railway Station (there was a temporary one that most historians don’t count), and is still in use today. The modernist third-generation Taipei Train Station was adorned with portraits, flags, slogans and billboards during Chinese Nationalist Party rule. On Oct. 20, the first-generation Taipei “railway wharf” was inaugurated. The fourth-generation Taipei Train Station was inaugurated on Sept. 2, 1989, and remains in use today.

EDITORIAL: Stopping China investment influenceThe Investment Commission on Monday ruled that Taobao Taiwan is Chinese-controlled, despite it listing UK-based Claddagh Venture Investment as its parent company. China’s Alibaba Group Holding is a major shareholder in the British company and must be represented at shareholder meetings, the commission said. Foreign investment should be more carefully scrutinized rather than dealing with such issues only after concerns are raised. The commission should seek to understand how companies such Taobao and content providers like iQiyi acquired registration in Taiwan without raising red flags. Perhaps it is time for an independent body to be tasked with aggressive investigations of foreign investment.

Pork import plan sparks call for risk assessmentPORK FEED ADDITIVE: Food safety experts are concerned over the risk posed by pork products containing ractopamine residue to human healthStaff writer, with CNAThe medical community on Friday called for an assessment of the risk of consuming meat containing ractopamine as Taiwan plans to allow imports of US pork containing the controversial lean meat additive. The commission standard allows up to 10 micrograms per kilogram (mcg/kg) of ractopamine in beef and pork, 40mcg/kg in livers and 90mcg/kg in kidneys. The maximum residue limit was approved by a 69-67 vote, showing the equal support both for and against the standard, Su said, urging the government to publish a risk assessment report on the issue given the lack of hard data. Ractopamine does not treat animal diseases, but saves feed costs and increases profits, Su said. However, higher residue levels are found in internal organs such as the lungs and kidneys, and risk assessments should be conducted if imports of internal organs are allowed, Yang said.

NPP elects a new leader amid crisisREINVENTION NEEDED: After the departures of high-ranking members in the wake of a bribery scandal, a new party chairwoman promised to lead reform effortsBy Wu Su-wei and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe New Power Party’s (NPP) decisionmaking committee yesterday elected former NPP secretary-general Kao Yu-ting (高鈺婷) as chairwoman. Former committee members earlier this month jointly stepped down after former NPP chairman Hsu Yung-ming’s (徐永明) alleged involvement in a bribery scandal related to an ownership dispute over the Pacific Sogo Department Store chain was made public. New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chiu Hsieh-chih, left, and new NPP Chairwoman Kao Yu-ting talk to reporters in Taipei yesterday. The new 15-member committee yesterday elected Kao chairwoman, the NPP said, adding that the next party chairperson and committee elections are to be held on Feb. 28 next year. An NPP member, commenting on condition of anonymity, said that the recent departures underscored the party’s problems, adding that the NPP lacks direction.

Taipei selling monthly scooter parking passBy Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNAScooter riders in Taipei can now pay NT$400 per month for unlimited parking in all of the city’s parking spaces, the Taipei Parking Management and Development Office said. Transportation Management Division section chief Lo Chih-hao (羅至浩) on Tuesday said the office has launched two new scooter parking measures to lower expenses for riders. The city charges NT$20 for scooter parking near 16 designated shopping districts, according to the office’s Web site. The goal is to charge for scooter parking everywhere in the city, he added. Parking spaces in downtown areas along the Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) would be included by the end of the year, he added.

Virus Outbreak: Tough measures taken for Czech visitSPECIALISTS: Members of the 90-strong delegation would use separate elevators and restrooms, and would have Taiwanese officials escorting them at all timesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterHigh-standard disease prevention measures have been prepared for a Czech delegation that is to arrive in Taiwan today, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The 90-member delegation, headed by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, is to visit Taiwan until Friday to bolster bilateral economic, scientific and cultural ties. The Czech delegation would arrive and leave on a chartered plane, and delegation members would use designated vehicles for transportation during their stay in Taiwan, he said. An entourage from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would accompany delegation members during their visit, he added. He reported his condition to airport quarantine officers upon his arrival in Taiwan, Chuang added.

A photograph of ‘Queen’s Head’ shown in Taipei altered a fishing village’s fateBy Yu Chao-fu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA photograph taken by a former chairman of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store of the “Queen’s Head” (女王頭) rock formation at Yehliu Geopark (野柳公園) in New Taipei City changed the fate of the fishing village Yeliou (野柳). The “Queen’s Head” rock formation at Yehliu Geopark in New Taipei City is pictured on Aug. 21. “The people in Yeliou are really thankful to Wu for photographing the Queen’s Head and showing his photograph at an exhibition in Taipei, letting it become so well known,” Lin said. A woman holding a baby stands in front of the “Queen’s Head” rock formation at Yehliu Geopark in New Taipei City in a picture taken during the 1970s. The park protects the Queen’s Head and other rock formations from damage, and promotes the study of geology, he added.

President Tsai Ing-wen, center, yesterday presides over the opening ceremony of a maintenance center for F-16s in Taichung alongside National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo, third right, Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa, third left, and others. The maintenance center “will significantly reduce maintenance time and increase fighter jet availability,-- ensuring air superiority on the front lines of national defense,” she said. Expounding on her mantra that “peace depends on national defense,” Tsai said that national defense efforts could also be used to spur industrial development by creating industry chains, technology transfers and better training. One of her top priorities is to allow local vendors to participate in production and maintenance work connected with the center, Tsai said. Taiwan would soon have more than 200 F-16s, he said, adding that with a system availability of about 70 to 80 percent, about 40 fighter jets would always be undergoing maintenance.

Taiwan to ease rules on US pork, beefSETTING STANDARDS: The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it yesterday finalized a new rule that would require vendors to clearly label the origin of pork productsBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced that Taiwan would ease restrictions on US beef and pork imports, while setting standards for pork containing ractopamine, in an apparent attempt to broker a trade deal with the US. President Tsai Ing-wen, center, speaks at a news conference in the Presidential Office Building’s Entrance Hall in Taipei yesterday, alongside Vice President William Lai, left, and Premier Su Tseng-chang, right. The decision to lift the bans on US pork containing ractopamine and beef from cattle more than 30 months old is aimed at facilitating efforts to expand Taiwan’s international trade, officials said. Only about 20 percent of pig farmers in the US still use ractopamine, he said, adding that Taiwanese can always not buy US pork. The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei yesterday in a statement welcomed the decision, saying it would help Taiwan and the US to make progress in starting negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement.

Ruling upholds ill-gotten assets act, committee‘NOT SURPRISED’: The KMT said the ruling was expected, as the DPP had chosen the justices, but the committee said it was an important ruling for transitional justiceBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Council of Grand Justices yesterday ruled that provisions of the Act Governing the Settlement of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations (政黨及其附隨組織不當取得財產處理條例) are constitutional. Photographers take pictures of the plaque outside the Executive Yuan’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee’s offices in Taipei on Aug. 31, 2016. The grand justices also said there was no breach of the Constitution in establishing the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee, and the committee’s authority did not contravene the “division of government power” under the Constitution. “Therefore, corrective measures should be taken to build an environment for fair competition among all political parties, and to ensure ‘constitutional order of liberal democracy.’”“For our democracy, under the rule of law with a plurality of political parties, it is essential to have fair and equal competition among all political parties, and therefore some appropriate measures are needed to regulate the finances of political parties,” Lin said. KMT Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang (王育敏) added that members of the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee have certain political leanings.

FSC introduces fintech roadmapDEVELOPMENT GOALS: The three-year plan includes allowing data sharing to facilitate risk assessments and implementing a licensing exam to develop fintech talentBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on Thursday unveiled its fintech development roadmap for the coming three years, relaxing its regulations on consumer data sharing and corporate account opening while introducing a new fintech license. The FSC would consider broadening the scope of consumer data sharing to non-affiliated financial firms, such as start-up fintech companies in 2022 or to non-financial companies, such as telecoms and electronic commerce firms, in 2022 or 2023, it said. Currently the commission only allows sole proprietorships or single-shareholder companies to open online corporate accounts to prevent potential disputes. The commission would study the issue further and would relax its regulations on corporate online accounts by phases, Lin said. Given a lack of fintech talent in Taiwan, the commission would introduce a new fintech license by 2022, rewarding companies that have more licensed fintech staff by prioritizing their applications to conduct fintech businesses, Hu said.