She tested positive for the virus upon arrival at Narita Airport on Saturday last week. The 123 people who had close contact with the woman, including teachers and former roommates, have been ordered to isolate at home. As of yesterday, Taiwan had reported 447 cases, with seven fatalities, CECC data showed. In related news, eight foreign students arrived yesterday at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and began 14 days of isolation, the Ministry of Education said. Seven travelers from the Philippines arrived at the airport yesterday on transit stops before flights to three cities in the US.

The annual report ranks more than 180 countries in four tiers of anti-trafficking performance, with tier 1 being the best, followed by tier 2, tier 2 watch list and tier 3. The report said that there were “significant challenges” that remained unaddressed in Taiwan and reiterated recommendations for improvement. Taiwan is home to more than 700,000 foreign workers, with some incurring substantial debt to pay brokers’ high recruitment fees and deposits, while many earn significantly less than the minimum wage, it said. Taiwan was one of 34 nations in tier 1, along with the Czech Republic, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, the UK and the US, the report said. China was one of 19 nations in tier 3, which also includes Myanmar, North Korea and Nicaragua, it said.

Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) off Pingtung County reported 14,000 visitors on Thursday, with all hotels and hostels on the island fully booked and all ferries from Donggang Harbor (東港) and Dapengwan (大鵬灣) full. The total number of visitors yesterday exceeded 20,000. Photo: CNALiouchiou Township Tourism Association Director Hung Hao-sheng (洪豪昇) said the number of tourists over the past two days was comparable to the peak tourist season. The county government said that most of the visitors did not arrive until late Thursday due to traffic congestion. Meanwhile, Hualien County Department of Tourism Deputy Director Chang Chih-hsiang (張志翔) said that his department was investigating complaints that on Thursday hotel room prices online had increased from the morning to the afternoon.

Launch of Internet-only banks may be delayedBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe nation’s three Web-only banks might launch later than expected as their preparations have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are still expected to commence operations by the end of this year, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said on Wednesday. The commission in July last year approved applications by Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Line Financial Taiwan Corp (台灣連線金融科技) and Rakuten Inc to set up virtual banks — Next Bank (將來銀行), Line Bank (連線商業銀行) and Rakuten International Commercial Bank Co (樂天國際商銀). The commission told reporters in January that Rakuten Bank would take the lead by launching its operations this month, while Line Bank and Next Bank would launch in the third quarter, according to documents submitted by the three banks’ preparatory offices. Chuang did not reveal which Web-only banks are facing such challenges, but said the commission still expects the banks to start by the end of this year. Rakuten Bank would soon conduct the test and intends to start operating by the end of September, company chairman Chien Ming-jen (簡明仁) said by telephone.

Guardians’ Hu demoted after post sparks ruckusINFIGHTING? “Though the message was not posted by Hu himself, it was on his [Line] account and it has harmed the club. Hu is being demoted to the farm team effective today. The message, originally posted by “clhu15,” allegedly Hu’s Line account, was widely circulated on social media on Thursday. Hu and his representatives issued an apology, saying that Hu had apologized to Hong in person, while condemning whoever had “leaked” the message for the purpose of inciting disputes among Guardians teammates.

Bin Laden ‘martyred’: Pakistani PMAP, ISLAMABADPakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the US “martyred” former al-Qaeda leader and mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks Osama bin Laden, a term that is mainly used for honorable figures slain in battle. The special operations force swooped into Pakistan’s military garrison town of Abbottabad in the middle of the night on May 2, 2011, killing bin Laden and several of his operatives. They openly held us responsible because they did not succeed in Afghanistan,” Khan said. Opposition lawmaker Khwaja Mohammed Asif criticized Khan for calling bin Laden a martyr, saying that the al-Qaeda chief had brought terrorism to Pakistan. “He [bin Laden] ruined my country, but he [Khan] is calling him a martyr,” Asif said.

Sex industry should be given legal foundationBy Jeng Shann-yinn 鄭善印The Council of Grand Justices’ in Constitutional Interpretation No. According to the interpretation, Article 239 of the Criminal Code and a proviso clause in the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) for the crime of adultery are unconstitutional and were to be considered null and void, effective immediately. The person visiting the prostitute could argue that it is a matter of sexual autonomy, both for the client and for the prostitute. This examplifies Taiwanese’s attitude to the sex industry: They turn a blind eye to private and informal premises, but legal establishments are still considered taboo. Many problems in secret and informal sex businesses remain unresolved, such as exploitation, armed bodyguards, poor hygiene and corruption.

Undocumented migrants arrestedStaff writer, with CNAA dozen undocumented migrants were arrested during a sweep of Taichung’s ASEAN Plaza over the weekend, police said on Tuesday. The authorities launched the operation on Saturday by visiting a number of dance clubs on the plaza’s sixth floor, where they arrested five undocumented Vietnamese men before conducting spot checks on the seventh floor, the statement said. Undocumented migrants are found hiding in a small room by police during a sweep of Taichung’s ASEAN Plaza on Saturday last week. Police will continue to conduct weekly spot checks in the area and encourage undocumented migrants to proactively contact the NIA for assistance to be deported back to their country of origin, Chou said. There are a total of 49,859 undocumented migrants in Taiwan, NIA statistics as of the end of April showed.

Freeway Bureau data showed that the severest congestion occurred on the southbound lanes of Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5 would likely not alleviate until 8pm yesterday, whereas the amount of traffic on other freeways would gradually decrease after 4pm, it added. The southbound lanes of Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) are pictured congested with traffic yesterday on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend. “Congestion occurs when the volume of traffic increases by 20 percent in a short period of time, as it exceeds the capacity of the freeways.

Taiwan on Tuesday received notice from Japanese authorities of a confirmed case of COVID-19, a female student in her 20s who had returned to Japan from Taiwan and was asymptomatic, the CECC said on Wednesday. Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei TimesShe returned to Japan on Saturday last week and tested positive upon her arrival there, it said. Japanese authorities and the center believe that the case was unlikely to have been contagious at the time of testing, Chuang said. The center yesterday revised the number of people ordered into home isolation to 123. He was sent to a quarantine facility and did not come into contact with family members or friends in Taiwan, Chuang said.

Fu Kun-chi sentenced to three years, 10 monthsBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Taiwan High Court on Wednesday ruled on three separate cases against independent Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), handing out a combined sentence of three years and 10 months. Fu last month reported to Hualien Prison to start serving a two-year-and-10-month sentence for insider trading and stock manipulation. Though nominally an independent legislator, Fu, a former Hualien County commissioner, is closely aligned with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), despite leaving the party in 2009. Independent legislator Fu Kun-chi, a former Hualien County commissioner, is pictured in an undated photograph. Fu and Hsu received prison sentences of six months and four months respectively or fines of NT$540,000 and NT$360,000.

KMT illegally acquired land: assets committeeBy Chen Yu-fu and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee said that its initial investigation found that the plots of land housing multiple Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) service centers across the nation were illegally acquired during the Martial Law era. Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee Chairman Lin Feng-jeng, center, speaks at a news conference at the committee’s headquarters in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei TimesThe KMT in 1987 purchased the land on which it built the KMT Nuannuan Service Center from the Keelung City Government, the committee said. The KMT Gaoshu Service Center in Pingtung County’s Gaoshu Township (高樹) was built in the 1950s on a piece of township-owned land that the KMT had “occupied,” it said. The KMT in 2008 resold the land and property to Kuang-Hwa Investment, it added.

Team touts wood pellets as ‘green’ alternative to coalBy Chiu Chih-jou and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerA Taiwanese team is to introduce natural wood pellets to the market as a low-emission alternative to coal for barbecues in an effort to recycle wood waste from local farmers and reduce air pollution. The wood pellets are 100 percent natural, as they are sourced from subtropical trees, such as lychee, pomelo, lime, wax apple and bamboo, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology department of wood science and design assistant professor Long Way (龍暐) said. Wood pellets of different trees would bring unique smoky flavors to barbecued food, Long added. From left, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology department of wood science and design assistant professor Long Way, Ynidyi Enterprise general manager Hsu Kun-yuan and deputy general manager Hung Cheng-te barbeque meat in Pingtung County on Tuesday using their natural wood pellets. The team has also developed a barbecue grill designed for wood pellets, which is to cost NT$3,000, Hsu said, adding that 2kg of wood pellets would be included with the grill.

Tributes paid as hepatitis expert Chen dies at 76By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAAcademia Sinica’s Chen Ding-shinn (陳定信), the nation’s leading authority on hepatitis, died from pancreatic cancer at National Taiwan University Hospital on Wednesday. Born on July 6, 1943, in then-Taipei County’s Yingge Township (鶯歌), Chen was a student of National Taiwan University College of Medicine professor Sung Juei-low (宋瑞樓), dubbed the Taiwanese father of liver disease research. Academia Sinica’s Chen Ding-shinn holds a bouquet of flowers at a book launch in an undated photograph. To overcome public resistance to the program, Chen and Sung appeared on TV and radio to promote it. Chen’s research on hepatitis B and C, and his influence on related policymaking, made Taiwan a world leader in liver disease research, Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said.

TCFH chairman Lei Chung-dar (雷仲達) made the remarks after the company’s annual general meeting, when government-appointed candidates secured an overwhelming majority on the company’s board, winning 13 of 15 seats. Shareholders attend Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co’s annual general meeting in Taipei on Wednesday. Lei said that people who previously postponed property purchases might start to resume buying after the virus crisis in Taiwan began to wind down late last month. Overall, the record low interest rate would lend support to property purchases, Lei said. Shareholders at the meeting approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1.15 per common share.