Coast guard airborne unit worth itBy Wu Tung-ming 吳東明After the Ocean Affairs Council submitted an assessment report to the Legislative Yuan in February on the feasibility of establishing airborne patrolling and monitoring capacity for the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), I wrote an opinion piece to explain the necessity of setting up such a unit, given the situation and developments in other countries. Establishing the specialized coast guard airborne unit would be a more professional and practical solution than borrowing aircraft from the NASC, which deploys aircraft over land and sea. One of these airports would be an ideal base for a coast guard airborne unit. The benefits of setting up a coast guard airborne unit to safeguard Taiwan’s marine rights and bolster national security far outweigh the equipment and training costs. The many advantages that a coast guard airborne unit would bring to the nation make setting it up necessary and practical.

More alcohol prevention needed for teens: doctorsDOING ENOUGH? Government agencies focus less on alcohol education and prevention for young people than on tobacco and drug prevention, but alcohol consumption is the cause of multiple health and social issues, Yen said. “Hopefully, the government will add alcohol prevention as an item in its budget next year,” he added. HPA Tobacco Control Division official Lu Meng-ying (呂孟穎) said that alcohol prevention is promoted through interministerial channels. The HPA bundles alcohol prevention with its tobacco prevention, so the tobacco prevention funding is available to alcohol prevention efforts, typically in the form of special projects, he added.

KMT institute resumes party training sessionsBy Shih Hsiao-kuang / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Institute of Revolutionary Practice yesterday resumed its training sessions after a 20-year hiatus, with institute director Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) saying the party should do more to connect with young people. During the session’s opening ceremony in Taipei yesterday, Lo said he was moved to see 400 applicants sign up “even when the KMT is in its darkest era.”Lo Chih-chiang, director of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Institute of Revolutionary Practice, talks to reporters in Taipei yesterday as the institute resumed its training sessions after a 20-year hiatus. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei TimesGiven its limited quota, the institute only admitted 100 applicants, he said. “Young people’s interest in the session is an extremely precious gift for the KMT, as the party has almost nothing left but ideals, its mission and glory in its counteraction against the power-abusing Democratic Progressive Party,” Lo said. KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), serving as the director of the session’s camp activity, met with trainees at an evening forum yesterday.

The two reporters — Ai Kezhu (艾珂竹) and Lu Qiang (盧薔) — worked for Fujian Province-based Southeast Television and arrived in Taiwan in December last year. If TV news programming had been produced in Taiwan, then the Chinese journalists must have contravened the law, Chiu said. “Our job in Taiwan is to interview people and ask questions; we don’t make TV programs in Taiwan,” Ai said. Southeast Television journalists had not made any appearances on political talk shows or offered any personal opinions, she said. The objective reporting of Taiwanese issues by Chinese reporters over many years had helped Chinese viewers better understand Taiwan, Zhu said, adding that the rights of Chinese reporters should be protected and respected.

Government to reopen representative office in GuamBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday announced that it is to reopen a representative office in Guam, citing the growing strategic importance of the Pacific region and a strong Taiwan-US partnership. Preparations for reopening the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam were already under way, the ministry said yesterday in a statement. Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei TimesDue to budget and personnel considerations, the government in 2017 deemed it necessary to temporarily halt operation of the office in Guam, the ministry said. Re-establishing the representative office in Guam would facilitate economic and trade cooperation, and exchanges between Taiwan and the greater western Pacific region, deepen relations with its Pacific allies and increase multilateral exchanges, it said. After the reopening of the Guam office, the number of representative offices in the US would increase to 13: Washington, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, Honolulu, Denver, Miami and Guam, the ministry said.

Control Yuan nominees’ legislature visit canceledBLOCKED PLANS? KMT lawmakers had assembled at an entrance, apparently seeking to prevent Chen Chu from entering the Legislative Yuan for a planned courtesy visitBy Chen Yun and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Legislative Yuan at the last minute yesterday canceled a scheduled visit by Chen Chu (陳菊), who has been nominated as Control Yuan president, and other nominees to visit lawmakers, citing “intelligence” it received and other arrangement issues. The KMT caucus opposes Tsai’s nomination of Chen, saying that her qualifications to lead the branch are stained by cases being investigated by the Control Yuan from when Chen was Kaohsiung mayor. If Chen is to become Control Yuan president, she would be “handling her own corruption cases,” which would severely undermine the nation’s constitutional system, the KMT caucus said. The TPP caucus has initiated steps to abolish the Control Yuan and the Examination Yuan with constitutional amendments, making the visit even more unnecessary, Lai said.

Virus Outbreak: Extend relief programs, business group saysPOLICYMAKING: The General Chamber of Commerce called for a balanced economic development approach, with services and manufacturing accorded the same careBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe government should extend relief programs by another three months for all businesses other than urban hotels and travel agencies that continue to struggle due to the nation’s border controls, the General Chamber of Commerce (全國商業總會) said yesterday. General Chamber of Commerce chairman Lai Cheng-yi, left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday as vice chairman Paul Hsu looks on. It is time the government adopts a balanced economic development approach that would take care of all, he added. “A balanced approach is urgent and critical as the virus outbreak is reshaping people’s behavior... Some jobs might be lost forever and policy directions are badly needed to help companies transform and survive,” Lai said.

Ministry orders Tatung to submit minutes of meetingBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday asked Tatung Co (大同) to submit the minutes of a controversial shareholders’ meeting within five days as a dispute over the legality of its board election on Tuesday raged on. The ministry on Thursday told Tatung to submit supplementary documents within five days or the ministry would return its application, Lee said. Tatung could apply again, but it is supposed to complete the registration within 15 days after the board election, she said. While Wang’s lawyer, Chuang Cheng (莊正), on Tuesday said that shareholders would apply to the ministry to hold a special shareholders’ meeting to defend their rights, Lee said the ministry has not received their application. “While Tatung claimed some shareholders used money from other Chinese investors to buy Tatung shares, no shareholder would admit that,” Lee said.

That implies about 3.54 million subscribers switching to 5G, based on the company’s 7.08 million subscribers as of the end of February. Models demonstrate the speed difference between a 5G handset, left, and a 4G phone, right, at a Far EasTone Telecommunications Co news conference in Taipei yesterday. The company started its 5G services yesterday. Far EasTone Telecommunications Co chairman Douglas Hsu, left, announces the start of the company’s 5G services at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, while company president Chee Ching looks on. It has budgeted NT$10.2 billion for capital expenditure this year, mainly for 5G network buildout.

Doctor tells parents to keep kids away from small objectsBy Tsai Shu-yuan and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA Taichung doctor on Thursday advised parents to keep children away from small objects after he treated a five-year-old boy who swallowed a metal ornament. Swallowing foreign objects is common among children aged six months to six years, with the most commonly swallowed objects being coins, he said. In most cases, objects are passed within four to six days, but there have been cases where it took three to four weeks, he said. Parents should keep small items out of reach of young children and should remain calm if items are swallowed, Lin said. The first thing a parent should do if their child swallows something potentially harmful is to check that the they are breathing normally.

CIB detains three on counterfeiting chargesMORE FAKE MONEY: Officials said they seized fake US$100 bills that contained the same misspelling as US$11.04 million in bills seized in December last yearBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterAuthorities have detained three people for their alleged involvement in counterfeiting US currency, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The CIB said an examination of the bills and records was completed at the end of last month. CIB experts said they believe the bills came from a Taiwanese counterfeiting ring in New Taipei City that authorities broke up in December last year. In that case, police arrested five people and seized a total of US$11.04 million in counterfeit US$100 bills. Kaohsiung prosecutors said they intend to indict the three people on fraud charges and offenses related to counterfeiting currency.

Legislature passes bill to nationalize irrigation groupsBy Huang Hsin-po and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the third reading of a bill to convert Taiwan’s 17 irrigation associations into a government body, despite strong opposition from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and some farmers. There are 17 irrigation associations nationwide and one joint association in Taichung, a Council of Agriculture Web site showed. When the legislature passed amendments to the Act of Irrigation Association Organization (農田水利會組織通則) in 2018 requiring the entities to be legally defined as public juridical persons, the government was already seeking “illegitimate ways” to “infringe upon assets belonging to irrigation associations,” KMT Legislator Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉) said. DPP caucus secretary-general Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that if irrigation associations are non-governmental entities, they cannot enforce the law or crack down on people involved in illegal activity related to agricultural irrigation and drainage and their funds for irrigation and drainage come from the council. Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said that the council would establish a new irrigation and water conservancy department, with 17 divisions, that would replace the 17 associations.

Life insurers reduce declared interest ratesBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe nation’s major life insurers this month are continuing to cut the declared interest rates for interest-sensitive products, due to falling bond yields amid a low-interest rate environment, the companies said yesterday. Life insurers release rates on a monthly basis, based primarily on their investment returns, which they use to calculate policyholders’ distributions. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) and Yuanta Life Insurance Co (元大人壽) also lowered rates. Nan Shan Life kept the rates for its US dollar policies unchanged, but cut the rates for its NT dollar products by 10 basis points, driving the rates to 1.95 percent, corporate data showed. Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) and China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽) did not adjust their rates.

Rights advocate Chen Wen-chen honored in TaipeiBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterA memorial event for democracy advocate Chen Wen-chen (陳文成) was held in Taipei yesterday on the 39th anniversary of his death. Vice President William Lai, center, places a flower at Dr Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square at National Taiwan University in Taipei yesterday during a service to commemorate the 39th anniversary Chen’s death. The evening memorial had been scheduled for the Dr Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square (陳文成事件紀念廣場) at NTU, but was moved inside the First Student Activity Center due to rain. It was co-organized by the NTU Student Association, the NTU Graduate Student Association, the Dr Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation and the Professor Chen Wen-Chen Memorial Foundation. Vice President William Lai (賴清德), Transitional Justice Commission Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠), Dr Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation chairwoman Yang Huang Maysing (楊黃美幸), Professor Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation board member Huang Ching-chih (黃靜芝) and National Human Rights Museum Director Chen Chun-hung (陳俊宏) were among the attendees.

However, the latest data for commercial property deals, a gauge of investment interests, represented a 53.6 percent decline from the same period last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined buyers. Factory and office buildings constituted the bulk of transactions in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taichung during the April-to-June period, the company’s valuation and advisory services director Wendy Hsueh (薛惠珍) told a news briefing. The Taipei 101 and the Breeze Nan Shan building in Taipei’s Xinyi District are pictured on April 21. Wan Hai plans to turn the Chong Hong building into its new headquarters and use the other office space to accommodate future expansions. Land deals appeared unaffected by the virus downturn with transactions totaling NT$80.1 billion last quarter, Yen said.