Memorial hall could be transitional justice hubBy Tsao Chin-jung 曹欽榮Taiwan finds itself in a period of transitional justice. The best place for implementing these ideas is the museum at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. During the first name rectification campaign in 2007, almost 100 White Terror and 228 Incident victims and family members stepped into the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for the first time in their lives to express their support for changing the name to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall. Wu’s article brought up the complicated issue of whether the memorial hall should be kept. The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the National Human Rights Museum, the National 228 Memorial Museum and the Transitional Justice Commission should work together with private museums to gain an understanding of what most members of the public are thinking.

The islands — known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan — are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan. The protesters had hoped to deliver the letter to an association official in person, but no one from the association immediately responded to their requests. The ministry has expressed its serious concern about the matter to Japan, while reiterating Taiwan’s sovereignty over the islands, Ou said. Taiwan’s sovereignty rights over the islands would not be altered just because another country or its local government renames them, she said. The nation’s abiding position is that any disputes should be resolved through peaceful means, and Japan and China should restrain themselves to avoid escalating tensions in the region, Ou said.

CPC says workers in recruiting scam to be dismissedBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterEmployees allegedly involved in a company recruiting scam would be dismissed, state-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. Uncovered earlier this year by the Ministry of Justice’ Agency Against Corruption and the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, the scam was allegedly orchestrated by a CPC employee surnamed Huang (黃). Employees who used the scheme to bypass the entry exam would have their contracts terminated, it said, citing rules stipulated on its exam prospectus. To maintain the fairness of its recruiting system, CPC said that it is enforcing stricter identity controls at exams and assessing the performance of new employees. China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) is also threatening to terminate employees who used proxies to take the entry exam.

The Tourism Bureau agency has invited those who used to live and work on Turtle Island to return for a visit on Aug. 1, including those who attended elementary school on the island, teachers, military personnel, police, doctors and nurses. Turtle Island is visible off the coast of Yilan County yesterday. Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei TimesIt also invited people whose names include the word “turtle” to visit the same day and take a free tour of the island. People are welcome to call her “a turtle island owner,” she wrote. Turtle Island is open to the public from March to November, with the number of visitors capped at 1,800 per day, to protect its ecosystem.

The PC market is no longer on an upward trend,” Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei. Citing heavy market uncertainty fostered by the pandemic, Shih said that Asustek’s revenue might be affected in the second half of this year. Asustek Computer Inc chairman Jonney Shih answers a shareholder’s question at the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei yesterday. The company yesterday reported that sales last month increased 29.03 percent year-on-year to NT$30.17 billion (US$1.01 billion). Analysts forecast that the company’s second-quarter revenue would increase from the previous quarter due to rush orders driven by work-from-home demand.

Chiang led attendees at a meeting at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei in a minute of silence for Hsu before the meeting started. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesHan’s recall and Hsu’s death were two hard pills to swallow for KMT members during a time filled with sorrows, worries and anger, Chiang said. However, while Hsu’s death saddened his supporters and people close to him, a DPP councilor ridiculed his death with inappropriate remarks, Chiang said, referring to comments made by DPP Taipei City Councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) on Sunday on Facebook. Describing Hsu’s death as “horrifying,” Liang added: “Were the bets that high?” — an apparent reference to rumors that Hsu had engaged in underground gambling on the results of the recall election. Tsai should launch an investigation into who had made groundless comments through fake accounts, he said.

Taipei offering the elderly NT$1,000 as stimulus effortBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taipei City Government is to give elderly residents NT$1,000 (US$33) if they link their Triple Stimulus Vouchers with their Taipei Elderly Card, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said yesterday. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang, right, talks to reporters during a visit to Neihu Flower Market yesterday. Photo: Kuo An-chia, Taipei TimesThe central government is to offer senior citizens who link their elderly card to the voucher program a NT$2,000 return after they spend NT$3,000, but the Taipei City Government would offer another NT$1,000, adding up to NT$3,000 in return, she said. The city government hopes that the more than 400,000 Taipei Elderly Cards would be used in ways that would help stimulate the city’s economy, she said. Huang also encouraged other city residents to use their EasyCards with the voucher program.

CTBC and SinoPac report annual drop in net profitBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterCTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) and SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) yesterday reported that net profit for last month fell year-on-year, due to less income from interest and fees. CTBC Financial’s profit declined 4.5 percent to NT$3.35 billion (US$112.37 million), as profit at its banking unit, CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行), plunged 29.6 percent to NT$1.83 billion. There was “less interest income due to the central bank’s rate cut of 25 basis points in March,” CTBC Financial head of financial management Chiu Ya-ling (邱雅玲) told the Taipei Times by telephone. SinoPac Financial’s profit plummeted 9.8 percent annually to NT$963 million, as its banking unit, Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行), saw its profit tumble 21 percent due to higher loan-loss provisions and lower interest income. For the first five months, SinoPac Financial’s profit totaled NT$4.51 billion, down 20 percent from a year earlier, it said.

Virus Outbreak: Lin unveils plans for third tourism bailout packageBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe government is preparing to roll out a third bailout package for the travel and hotel industries, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect business, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. The package would be used to help service providers that are expected to experience financial difficulties between next month and September, despite switching their focus to the domestic tourism market, he added. The nation has about 3,100 travel agencies, including 260 that provide domestic tours, Tourism Bureau data showed. “They can use this time to change their business models and enhance the competitiveness of domestic tour services in the international travel market,” he added. “Through government subsidies, we want to encourage large travel agencies that used to mainly serve outbound tourists to start promoting high-end domestic tours,” Lin said.

If the government hopes to reduce the nation’s economic reliance on China it must re-examine the laws, it said. The changing situation in Hong Kong means the government should also no longer differentiate between investment from China and that from Hong Kong, it said. The oversight mechanism for Chinese investment is ineffective, and Chinese investors have used overseas Chinese, Hong Kongers and Taiwanese to hide the sources of their investment, the report said. A more comprehensive investor registration system and stricter penalties for contravening investment regulations are needed to overcome this, it said. That pact was signed on June 21, 2013, but it has never been ratified by the legislature.

Lawmaker urges sugar labeling on tea beveragesRISK: Many teenagers on average drink one sweetened beverage per day without knowing that it exceeds their daily recommended added sugar intake, Kao Chia-yu saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterBeverages sold at tea shops should be labeled to display their sugar and calorie content, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu, center, calls for compulsory labeling of sugar content on shaken drinks at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei TimesOne 700ml cup of pearl milk tea with a full serving of sugar has a sugar content of 62g, which is equivalent to 248 calories, she said. The lowest consumption rate was among people aged 65 or over, who on average consumed 2.1 servings of sweetened beverages per week, Kao said. Some people have the habit of drinking cold beverages, such as milk tea or smoothies, in summer, but it would be better to drink water or eat fresh fruits, Hsieh said.

Travel subsidies to begin next monthStaff writer, with CNAThe government would offer subsidies to domestic travelers from July 1 as part of a stimulus package to boost the economy as the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak eases, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesIndependent travelers would be offered a subsidy of NT$1,000 per room per night at a hotel, he said. People who travel to outlying counties, as well as Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球), Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), would be able to register for the subsidies for two hotel stays, Lin said. Foreign residents of Taiwan are not eligible for the subsidies, but foreign nationals who have Taiwanese ID cards are, the ministry said in a statement. The promotions would cost an estimated NT$3.9 billion and are expected to stimulate 6.38 million hotel and park visits, and tour bus trips, Lin said.

Ian Easton On Taiwan: In 2030At no other time in the ancient story of international relations has Taiwan mattered as much as it does today and will in the next ten years. Part of the answer will hinge on whether or not the United States and other like-mind countries stand together with Taiwan. Such an event would drive the United States and Taiwan closer together, much like the last three crises did. In 2030, there could be an American embassy in Taipei where the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) currently stands. Ian Easton is senior director at the Project 2049 Institute and author of The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia (中共攻台大解密).

Virus Outbreak: Taiwanese return home from PolandStaff writer, with CNAA total of 116 Taiwanese yesterday morning arrived home from Warsaw on board a charter flight operated by LOT Polish Airlines, after being stranded in the European country for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taiwanese returning home from Warsaw on a charter flight operated by LOT Polish Airlines follow security staff upon their arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday. Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei TimesThe airplane landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 6:24am after a 13-hour flight. It took the parties involved three to four weeks to arrange the charter flight, Lin’s International said. There would be three more such flights to evacuate Taiwanese from Poland in the near term, the company said.

In exam, most students choose to run coffee shopJUNIOR-HIGH ESSAY: Others were more original, with one student saying that he would open an eatery, as cooking noodles brought him and his grandfather closerBy Rachel Lin / Staff reporterMost junior-high school students would open a coffee shop if they were to run their own business, the writing test in this year’s Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students showed. The subject of this year’s writing test was if they were to open a shop, what kind would it be? Students answer questions at a school in Taipei on May 17, the second day of the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students. A student from New Taipei Municipal Zhong-Zheng Junior High School wrote that he would like to inherit his father’s laser etching store, Lee said. A student at Taipei’s Chinghsin Academy Affiliated Junior High School said that they would like to set up a shop selling memories, Lee said.