Tsai warns China against overreachingHONG KONG SECURITY: The president blasted regulations requiring Taiwanese agents or political organizations to provide information on their Hong Kong-related activitiesBy Chung Li-hua, Lin Ching-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday warned of countermeasures should controversial Chinese national security legislation imposed on Hong Kong undermine or harm Taiwanese interests. “If necessary, we will issue warnings and guidance to Taiwanese groups and people [in Hong Kong],” Tsai said. “Beijing and the Hong Kong government should not trample on human rights and commit jurisdictional overreach to harm the rights of Taiwanese groups and organizations in Hong Kong,” the MAC said. It called on the Hong Kong government to clarify how it would protect Taiwanese interest and rights, as well as the safety and freedom of Taiwanese in Hong Kong. Taiwan is not under the jurisdiction of China or Hong Kong, the DPP said, adding that the Taiwanese government would never comply with acts that would oppress human rights.

Travel restrictions biggest hindrance: German firmsRIGHT BALANCE: Taiwan and the EU should ‘reach a compromise on mutually lifting their travel restrictions’ imposed due to the global pandemic, Axel Limberg saidStaff writer, with CNAAn overwhelming majority of German companies operating in the nation consider travel restrictions between Taiwan and the EU harmful to their businesses, a survey by the global network of the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad found. Among the surveys of the chambers’ 140 locations in 92 nations from June 15 to 26, the one in Taiwan found that 90.5 percent of respondents cited travel restrictions as the biggest burden on their operations, the German Trade Office Taipei said on Monday. Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times“It was with great regret that we have learned about the decision of the European Union not to add Taiwan to the list of safe travel destinations,” German Trade Office Taipei Executive Director Axel Limberg said. China provisionally made the list, but only on condition that Beijing reciprocally grant EU visitors the same right of entry. The trade office is lobbying the German government to include Taiwan on the list to facilitate bilateral business efforts, Limberg said, adding that lifting travel restrictions is essential for business development.

DGBAS shrugs off deflation concerns as CPI falls 0.76%By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe consumer price index (CPI) last month contracted 0.76 percent from a year earlier, as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced transportation, recreation and food costs, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. Photo: Clare Cheng, Taipei TimesThe index gained 0.79 percent from a month earlier and picked up 0.39 percent after seasonal adjustments, Chiou added. Core CPI, a more reliable long-term tracker of consumer price movements because it excludes volatile items, rose 0.13 percent. The wholesale price index (WPI), a measure of production costs, dropped 10.36 percent, easing from a revised 12.15 percent decline a month earlier, the DGBAS said. For the first six months of the year, the CPI edged down 0.22 percent and the WPI fell 8.2 percent, it said.

Examination nominee critic criticized‘TOO ARBITRARY’: Legislator Fan Yun said that Examination Yuan nominee Ho Yi-cheng’s articles are listed in databases with strict standards for the articles they acceptBy Chen Yun and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerAn academic yesterday drew criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) after saying that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) nominees for a Examination Yuan president and member are unfit for the positions. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun takes part in a public hearing on Control Yuan nominees at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Huang’s resume shows his leadership qualities, such as his considerable effort on behalf of the human rights movement during the nation’s Martial Law era, but that experience is more relevant for the Control Yuan than the Examination Yuan, he said. Kuei also raised doubts over the nomination of Ho Yi-cheng (何怡澄), head of National Chengchi University’s public finance department, to be an Examination Yuan member. However, the post of Control Yuan president would probably be a much better match for his experience, Kuei said.

Task force mulling name, changes for passport, CALBy Chen Yu-fu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerAn Executive Yuan task force is reviewing templates for name and logo changes for the nation’s passport and China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), following calls to remove the word “China” after several countries refused medical donations from Taiwan after mistaking it for China. A CAL plane delivering medical supplies to Luxembourg on April 9 was mistaken for the Chinese carrier Air China Ltd (中國國際航空). The Executive Yuan is awaiting the finalized versions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), Cabinet spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) said. Photo: Cheng Wei-chi, Taipei TimesPremier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) would review all versions and reach a decision before forwarding it to the Legislative Yuan, a source in the Executive Yuan said. As for the passport cover — which Taiwanese travelers have said has led them to be misidentified as Chinese — the DPP said the MOTC should look into measures that would help identify the passport holder as “Taiwanese.”

Majority supports lay judge system, DPP poll shows‘NATIONAL JUDGE ACT’: The survey showed 78.2 percent support for the DPP initiative as opposed to a jury system, which had only 19.2 percent supportBy Yang Chun-hui, Chiu Yan-ling and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writerNearly 80 percent of the public prefer a lay judge system over a jury system, a survey conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) showed. The DPP has come under fire for not including a proposed jury system on the agenda for legislative talks on judicial reform, despite the party’s charter calling for a jury system. It has instead pushed for a lay judge system, which was initially proposed by the Judicial Yuan. Photo: Su Fun-her, Taipei TimesThe survey, released on Sunday, showed that 78.2 percent of respondents support a “national judge system,” while only 19.2 percent support a jury system. The national judge system represented an “evolution of the jury system,” the statement said.

Taichung MRT to launch this year, Mayor Lu says‘WE ARE CONFIDENT’: The city is planning a ceremony to celebrate the launch, and would invite former officials who helped oversee the project, Mayor Lu Shiow-yen saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Taichung City Government would apply for a preliminary inspection next month of the Tai-chung MRT Green Line, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said yesterday, adding that the line would become operational by the end of this year. Taichung city councilors take a test ride on the city’s Mass Rapid Transit system’s Green Line yesterday. Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who was Taichung mayor from 2014 to 2018, oversaw the project as well, Lu said. Ticket prices for the Taichung MRT Line would start at NT$20, with an extra NT$5 to be added for every 2km traveled, she said. The Taichung Transportation Bureau is also preparing for the launch of the MRT service, Yeh said.

Protection center to file Tatung suitBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Securities and Futures Investors Protection Center would file a lawsuit for an order to dismiss Tatung Co (大同) chairwoman Lin Kuo Wen-yen (林郭文艷), as the firm has severely breached shareholders’ rights, agency chairman Chiou Chin-ting (邱欽庭) said yesterday. The center filed the suit as Lin Kuo severely breached shareholders’ rights and disrupted market order by revoking the voting rights of 27 shareholders who own a combined 53 percent stake in Tatung, Chiou said. “What Lin Kuo did was wrong and hence we do not think it was a fair election,” Chiou said. Chiou rejected Tatung’s attorney Lai Chung-chiang’s (賴中強) remark that disputes regarding voting rights are part of a firm’s self-governance. “That statement clearly indicates that Tatung knew it had no right to cancel the voting rights of its shareholders, so it needed to apply for an injunction,” he said.

Ama Museum to close on Nov. 10By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Ama Museum in Taipei, dedicated to Taiwan’s “comfort women,” is to close on Nov. 10 for financial reasons, the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation said yesterday. The museum became a platform for international exchanges on human rights and gender equality, and drew more than 125,000 visitors, the foundation said. Opening-day visitors look at photographs at the Ama Museum in Taipei on Dec. 10, 2016. Despite government support, shop revenue and donations, the museum lost between NT$4 million and NT$5 million (US$135,359 and US$169,199) annually over the past three years, it said. The foundation sold its office last year to make up for the losses.

Tsai visits marines in hospital after deadly accidentStaff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday visited two hospitalized Marine Corps personnel rescued after their vessel overturned during a military exercise in waters off Kaohsiung on Friday. Senior military officials observe a moment of silence at a news conference in Taipei yesterday for two soldiers who died on Sunday after an accident in a military drill last week. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesThe second marine, 24-year-old female Sergeant Chen Jo-ying (陳若盈), is in a stable condition with a minor lung infection, Tsai said. Tsai also visited the families of Private First Class Tsai Po-yu (蔡博宇) and Staff Sergeant Chen Chih-jung (陳志榮), who passed away on Sunday after the incident. Speaking at a meeting with senior military officials, Yen expressed his condolences over the deaths of Tsai Po-yu and Chen Chih-jung.

FDA warns on risk of food poisoningCAUTION: Taiwan had zero cases of death from food poisoning for six years until last year, when two people died after eating wildlife, an FDA official saidBy Lin Hui-chin and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday urged the public not to eat wildlife or unidentified wild plants, as they could be fatal, with nearly 7,000 people affected by food poisoning last year, including two deaths due to wildlife consumption. The number of food poisoning incidents increased by nearly 50 percent last year, from 398 cases involving 4,616 people in the previous year to 503 cases involving 6,944 people, FDA data showed. Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei TimesAmong the 503 cases, 87 were food poisoning clusters affecting 4,019 teachers and students, due to contaminated food provided by caterers, the agency said. Norovirus was another major cause of food poisoning last year, the FDA said. Taiwan had no cases of death due to food poisoning for six consecutive years until last year, when two people died after eating wildlife, FDA official Chou Pei-ju (周珮如) said.

“From the Presidential Office to the Judicial Yuan and DPP legislators, these government leaders are digging in, rigid in their hardline stance against judicial reform measures. They just want to ... get the procedure over with, while excluding the jury system, which is favored by a majority of society,” he added. Members of the Judicial Reform Foundation in Taipei yesterday protest against the government’s proposed lay judge system. “Our poll showed that only 8 percent favor the Judicial Yuan’s proposed bill to conduct criminal trials using the lay judge system,” Cheng said. “Yes, that is true, but it is much easier to bribe and influence a ruling in the lay judge system,” he said.

Railway park in Taipei opens to publicBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe National Taiwan Museum’s Railway Department Park in Taipei is to open to the public today. During the Japanese colonial era, the site housed the railway department of the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan’s Bureau of Transportation. Journalists attend an event outside the National Taiwan Museum’s Railway Department Park in Taipei’s Datong District yesterday. The park has three permanent exhibitions: the “Historic Site Exhibition,” “Taiwan’s Railway Culture Exhibition” and “Steam Dream Works,” which was designed for children. The Railway Department Park is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30am to 5pm, including national holidays, except for Lunar New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

In the 1950s, most experts believed that liver disease was caused by parasites and poor diet. During his clinical clerkship, he saw countless terminal liver cancer patients, many of them men in their 40s and 50s. He thought about the families like his that were traumatized by liver cancer, and vowed to find a solution. Chen and Sung would work closely together over the years as one of three teams in Taiwan focusing on liver disease. Known as the “Liver King” for his contributions to liver disease research, Chen Ding-shinn died on June 24.

Virus Outbreak: UK list shows Taiwan is ‘trustworthy’‘TRAVEL CORRIDORS’: Chen Shih-chung thanked the UK for recognizing Taiwan’s control over COVID-19, adding that flights to Vietnam could soon restart as wellBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterEngland on Friday placed Taiwan on a list of countries and territories from which visitors would not be placed under quarantine, implying that Taiwan is trustworthy, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday. “I believe the UK looked at various scientific data and considered Taiwan a trustworthy country with low infection risk,” he said. If they must travel for business, science, academic research, diplomacy or other important reasons, they should be mindful of their health, Chen said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also welcomed the UK’s decision, saying the inclusion of Taiwan on the list marks London’s affirmation of Taiwan’s achievement in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. The CECC would continue to adjust its list of low and low-medium infection risk countries, he said.