Taiwan’s wildlife database the second-largest in AsiaStaff writer, with CNAA database on biodiversity in Taiwan has compiled records of almost 10 million wildlife sightings, making it the second-largest wildlife index in Asia, with the vast majority of data coming from volunteers, the Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute said. Volunteers pose for a picture at a Taiwan Biodiversity Network news conference on Friday in Taipei. Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei TimesThey are followed by butterflies and moths, with 410,000 sightings, and frogs, with about 100,000, the database showed. For instance, the Centers for Disease Control bases the nationwide distribution of antivenom on the database’s records of poisonous snake sightings, institute director Yang Jia-dong (楊嘉棟) said. In addition to recording wildlife sightings, the institute also promotes civilian science initiatives and education on topics such as roadkill prevention and wildlife conservation on farmland, he added.

Construction on Taipei Dome can resume, city saysStaff Writer, with CNAThe Taipei City Government yesterday said that construction on the long-suspended Taipei Dome can resume immediately, after it approved a request by the project’s main contractor, Farglory Group. In a statement, the Taipei Construction Management Office said that after it on July 16 issued a new building permit, Farglory submitted revised design plans and an application to resume construction, which the office approved on Friday. The Taipei Dome is pictured in an aerial view on June 7. While the office is allowing construction to resume, it also called attention to its ongoing disagreements with the contractor. In the intervening years, there have been multiple lawsuits between the contractor and the city over the resumption of construction.

During the two-month preview period for the draft amendments, which ended at the end of last month, the HPA received more than 4,000 letters from members of the public expressing conflicting opinions on the proposed bans. Asked why the proposals described heated tobacco products as “novel cigarette products,” Wu said that tobacco companies often change their products’ names. The HPA is also to submit a draft concerning the removal of mislabeled tobacco products from online shopping Web sites, he added. Currently, the agency can fine sellers of mislabeled vaping devices up to NT$50,000, based on Article 14 of the act, HPA Tobacco Control Division Director Chen Miao-hsin (陳妙心) said. National Cheng Kung University physician Chen Chuan-yu (陳全裕) said that he estimated a 5 percent increase in e-cigarette use.

Lee Teng-hui’s achievements defended‘UNFINISHED BUSINESS’: A Taiwan Graduate School of Theology professor said that Lee’s quote, ‘the self does not just mean me,’ reflected a struggle with his ‘old self’By Chen Yun / Staff reporterVilification of president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) by people who favor unification with China would not taint the legacy and achievements he has left for Taiwan, Taiwan Society chairman Li Chuan-hsin (李川信) said yesterday. “In a democratic society, we are all free to hold different ideologies and viewpoints, but people can respect each other’s stance,” Li said alongside members of affiliated groups the Northern Taiwan Society and the Taiwan Society Hakka. Messages and a photograph that includes former president Lee Teng-hui are pictured at a memorial at the Taipei Guest House yesterday. Separately, leading figures from the Taiwan Graduate School of Theology and the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan also paid their respects to Lee. According to official records, since the memorial opened on Saturday last week, more than 15,282 had visited as of yesterday.

NTU accused of limiting student reporters, inputRULES WANTED: An NCCU professor said it remains to be seen whether NTU is behind the times or if the problem would be fixed by improved communicationBy Peng Wan-hsin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerNational Taiwan University (NTU) has limited student attendance at university affairs meetings and attempted to influence articles written by student reporters, NTU Students’ Association president Yang Tzu-ang (楊子昂) said yesterday. Yang told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei that a petition calling for student reporters to be allowed to attend one of the meetings on Oct. 24 was launched on Wednesday. Members of the National Taiwan University Students’ Association hold signs at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. NTU is sidestepping the issue of it selectively overlooking student reporters and trying to isolate them, Yang said, referring to NTU on Wednesday saying that it had issued a notice on the matter. NTU should endeavor to give students opportunities to conduct interviews, he said, adding that a system allowing unhindered reporting should be established.

Profit and revenue up for Acer, Largan and Hon HaiBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterPC vendor Acer Inc (宏碁) on Wednesday reported that net profit last quarter soared 192 percent annually and 114 percent quarterly to NT$1.19 billion (US$40.33 million). Operating income was NT$2.13 billion, the highest in its history, Acer said in a news release. Earnings per share were NT$0.4, compared with NT$0.13 a year earlier and NT$0.18 the previous month, company data showed. The company posted revenue of NT$48.85 billion in the first quarter. Total revenue in the first seven months of this year reached NT$2.46 trillion, down 5.87 percent from the same period last year, the company said.

Protest to decry Chinese student rules‘CROSS-STRAIT CONSIDERATIONS’: Groups said that the Ministry of Education’s policies excluded Chinese and students should not be blocked over political issuesStaff writer, with CNAThe Taiwan International Student Movement yesterday said it would protest today outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei against a policy that excludes some Chinese students from returning to Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The students’ group criticized the policy on Facebook, calling the exclusion of Chinese students an example of politics overriding the right to study. Chinese students should not been blocked due to political factors, the second group said. The council on Wednesday night said that there have been several cases recently of Chinese authorities preventing Chinese students from traveling to Taiwan. National Taiwan University yesterday said in a statement that it “deeply regrets” the ministry’s decision not to include Chinese students in its latest policy.

Stop pointing fingers, MOFA spokeswoman tells ChinaBy Lu Yi-hsuan / Staff reporterThe Chinese government should tackle its internal problems before pointing fingers at others, given that it has become a “global troublemaker,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday, after Beijing criticized a planned visit to Taiwan by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news conference at the ministry in an undated photograph. The Chinese government should listen to its people and stop making irresponsible comments on the global stage, she said. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday had also weighed in on Beijing’s response at a news conference in Washington. US Cabinet members have traveled to Taiwan in the past, and Azar’s visit is “consistent with the policies of previous times,” Pompeo said.

Priest relaunches Hualien charity for poor residentsBENEFITING THE DISADVANTAGED: French-born Priest Yves Moal said that he had no problems securing funding for the new store in just two daysBy Hua Meng-ching and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerHualien County’s Yuli Township (玉里) on Wednesday celebrated the reopening of a second-hand store and redistribution center for disadvantaged and poor residents after the store burned down in February. The center was founded by Catholic priest Father Yves Moal. The ceremony was attended by former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and his wife, Lo Feng-ping (羅鳳蘋), who are Catholics. Bishop Philip Huang (黃兆明) of the Hualien diocese also attended the ceremony and blessed the new center. The ceremony coincided with Moal’s 80th birthday, which was also celebrated with a large cake.

Spokesman rebuts charges against premierBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterExecutive Yuan spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) yesterday rebutted accusations by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had worked to ensure that banking executive Jason Liao (廖燦昌) last year landed the job of chairman of state-run First Financial Holding Co and its subsidiary First Commercial Bank. Liao resigned from both posts after he was indicted on Thursday last week in connection with charges of fraud against Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (FAT) chairman Chang Kang-wei (張綱維), which implicated several of the nation’s leading banks, including Taiwan Cooperative Bank. Ting said that Chang negotiated the loans with Taiwan Cooperative Bank in 2016, during the transition from the KMT government to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government. There were calls demanding that the Executive Yuan remove Liao, but “Su was protecting him at the time,” the KMT said. “Su subsequently appointed Liao as chairman of First Commercial Bank.

The Examination Yuan is now headed by Wu Chin-lin (伍錦霖) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), while Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村), the newly appointed Examination Yuan president and a former minister of education, is to assume office, along with other newly appointed members, on Sept. 1 for the next four years. The main entrance of the Examination Yuan is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei TimesDuring the Legislative Yuan’s review last month of nominees for the Examination Yuan, Huang said that he was prepared to be its last president. However, a statement issued later yesterday by incoming Examination Yuan vice president Chou Hung-hsien (周弘憲), two incumbent members — Yang Ya-hui (楊雅惠) and Chen Tzu-yang (陳慈陽) — and other officials said that the Examination Yuan should respect the Legislative Yuan and public opinion. Examination Yuan members should state their own opinions as individuals, instead of issing a collective statement under the agency’s name, they said.

Bribery Case: Former NPP chairman quits party over scandalBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterFormer New Power Party (NPP) chairman Hsu Yung-ming’s (徐永明) withdrawal from the party over his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal failed to appease some young members, with two Taipei city councilors saying that they have also withdrawn from the party in protest of its handling of Hsu’s caseHsu was on Tuesday released on bail of NT$800,000. The party confirmed that it had received Hsu’s application to leave the party via fax at 3:50pm yesterday before its Disciplinary Committee’s scheduled meeting at 5pm. New Power Party acting chairman Chiu Hsien-chih speaks at the party’s office in Taipei yesterday after former chairman Hsu Yung-ming, who is facing bribery charges, resigned and left the party. “As independent legislators, we would continue to oversee the Taipei City Government and residents in the city,” they said. The two said that they joined the relatively young party and ran in local elections to reform politics in Taiwan, so that more young people’s voices could be heard.

Seeds, soil from China prompt warningBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterNine cases of unsolicited packages containing seeds or soil from China have been reported, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday. Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung briefs reporters in Taipei yesterday about packets of seeds or soil sent from China. The two Facebook orders were made by people who ordered seeds and expected them to be locally sourced, but received seeds from China, Chen said. The other three packages contained fertilizer or soil, including two attached with ordered products and one sent by itself, he said. A Council of Agriculture spokeswoman in Taipei yesterday shows photographs of packets of seeds and soil that were forwarded to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

Chunghwa Precision posts highest-ever Q2 profitBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterWafer probing services provider Chunghwa Precision Test Technology Co (中華精測) yesterday said net profit last quarter reached NT$233 million (US$7.9 million), its highest second-quarter revenue ever, and maintained a cautiously optimistic outlook for the second half of this year. Chunghwa Precision Test Technology Co chairman Lin Kuo-feng, left, and president Scott Huang pose for a photograph at the company’s quarterly earnings conference in Taipei yesterday. Chunghwa Precision attributed the strong growth to resilient demand for its services for a variety of chips used in 5G smartphones. With prices of 5G smartphones falling rapidly, Chunghwa Precision is optimistic about global 5G smartphone growth, chairman Lin Kuo-fang (林國豐) told an investors’ conference in Taipei. Chunghwa Precision said rising demand for its vertical probe card business contributed to its optimistic outlook.

Vanguard to boost capital spendingGROWING DEMAND: Most of the additional spending would be earmarked for the company’s newly acquired fab in Singapore, where Vanguard aims to boost capacityBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterVanguard International Semiconductor Co (世界先進), which makes power management ICs and driver ICs for displays, yesterday said that it would raise capital spending by about 35 percent for this year to boost 8-inch wafer capacity amid strong customer demand. For the whole of this year, Vanguard plans to spend NT$3.5 billion (US$118.62 million) on new equipment and facilities, up from a capital spending budget of NT$2.6 billion disclosed in February. Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei TimesThe Singaporean fab has a maximum production capacity of 60,000 wafers a month, Vanguard said. As 8-inch wafer capacity worldwide is limited, “demand is to exceed supply significantly in the second half of this year. This quarter, customers continue to show strong appetite for driver ICs used in large TV panels and power management ICs, Vanguard said.