Taiwan will resist ‘one country, two systems’: premierBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterPremier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said that Taiwan would steadfastly resist Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework and vowed to defend the nation’s democracy. The government would reject Chinese attempts to belittle Taiwan by imposing its framework on it, he said. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesIt would closely monitor the situation in Hong Kong, provide people there with humanitarian assistance, and invite Hong Kong capital and professionals to Taiwan, he said. The government has prepared to welcome Hong Kong companies, capital and talent in many areas, Su said. Separately, Taiwan criticized the Chinese government for commemorating its 2005 passage of a law authorizing “non-peaceful means” to prevent Taiwanese independence.

Grand Justices decriminalize adulteryDETERRENT DEBATE: Lawyers were divided over whether the rules that were cut helped protect families, while one justice disapproved of Interpretation No. Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li, center, who also chairs the Council of Grand Justices, announces Constitutional Interpretation No. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesThe interpretation was issued after 18 judges and a man convicted of adultery this year asked the Council of Grand Justices to overturn Interpretation No. The processes would begin immediately to amend the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, officials said. Lawyer Huang Lu-fang (黃祿芳) said that the Criminal Code article has limited deterrent effect and abolishing the laws would not affect families.

Advantech founder’s son joins boardBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterAdvantech Co Ltd (研華), the world’s biggest industrial PC maker, yesterday said that shareholders have approved the addition of Wesley Liu (劉蔚志), son of company founder K.C. Wesley Liu heads systems integration unit Advantech Intelligent Services Co Ltd (研華智誠). In his nine years at the company, he was also an industrial control engineer, sales representative and assistant manager. Advantech board member Wesley Liu, right, speaks at the company’s annual general meeting in Taipei yesterday, as his father, Advantech chairman K.C. Advantech forecast a sequential sales increase this quarter of between 19.6 percent and 24.9 percent to between US$450 million and US$470 million.

“Originally, people expected the second quarter would be a down [season]. Nanya Technology Corp’s logo in front of the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City is pictured in an undated photograph. Rising data traffic has further spurred demand for faster Internet connections and driven demand for cloud-related equipment and networking devices, Nanya Technology said. Asked about the US limiting Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) access to chips from non-US suppliers, Lee said that Nanya Technology cannot comment on any single client. Nanya Technology, which holds more than 4,200 patents, has established an 800-engineer research team.

Entertainer Fanny Liu gestures in Taipei in this file photo. “What I’m doing here is not vote-buying, but rather it is intervening in the elections with Chinese capital,” she wrote. A Taiwanese Facebook user saw the post and passed a screenshot of it to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. After an investigation confirmed the payment, prosecutors charged Liu with vote-buying. Liu said the NT$1,000 was to cover the cost of taxi fare to the polling station, they added.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Joanne Ou gives a briefing at the ministry in Taipei yesterday. “Thank you to all of our friends in #Brazil for your kind congratulations, and I hope you are all staying safe & healthy. Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right, and democracy is a mutual value shared by Taiwan and Brazil, she said. As of yesterday, 275 dignitaries from 49 nations and international organizations, including presidents, prime ministers and lawmakers, had sent congratulatory remarks to Tsai for her inauguration, she said. As Brazil adheres to a one China policy, it does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but the two nations maintain unofficial ties through representative offices.

The five-star hotel, part of Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, on Wednesday announced that next month it would suspend its guestroom operations and lay off related staff, but that its restaurants would remain open. The Taipei Department of Labor yesterday said the hotel is scheduled to lay off 212 employees on Sunday next week. The Mandarin Oriental Taipei is pictured in Taipei on July 17, 2014, after opening on May 18 that year. Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei TimesPrior to the announcement, the hotel had informed the department that it had laid off 39 employees. The Ministry of Labor has intervened to protect Mandarin Oriental Taipei’s employees, Lin said.

China’s National People’s Congress yesterday passed national security legislation for Hong Kong. Members of civic groups made of Hong Kongers in Taiwan yesterday demonstrate outside the building housing the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei, urging Taiwan’s government to provide more support for Hong Kongers. “The puppeted Hong Kong government, which is run by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] government under the table, should be the rightful target of such international sanctions instead of resilient and brave Hong Kong,” it said. The plan is to be devised by the Executive Yuan as part of the nation’s efforts to safeguard the democratic values upheld by Hong Kong. “Hong Kong and Taiwan are on the front line of the global alliance in resisting the communist Chinese invasion,” it added.

China approves HK national security legislationAP, BEIJING and WASHINGTONThe Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC) yesterday endorsed national security legislation for Hong Kong that has prompted new protests in the territory. People hold up fingers in a gesture endorsing “five demands, not one less” at the Landmark shopping mall in Hong Kong yesterday. “Hong Kong does not continue to warrant treatment under United States laws in the same manner as US laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997,” Pompeo said in a statement. Pompeo’s certification came amid calls in the US and elsewhere for Washington and others to react against Beijing imposing its national security legislation on Hong Kong. “China’s decision to impose the new national security law on Hong Kong lies in direct conflict with its international obligations under the principles of the legally binding, UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Kaohsiung stimulus plan sparks rowBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterWecare Kaohsiung founder Aaron Yin (尹立) yesterday filed a complaint against the Kaohsiung City Government for launching a NT$50 million (US$1.67 million) stimulus program to boost consumer spending, which Yin said has contravened the law, as it uses public money to counter a recall vote against Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜). Wecare Kaohsiung founder Aaron Yin, left, and his attorney file a complaint against Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu in Kaohsiung yesterday. Yin accused Han and city officials of using public funds to further Han’s cause. Although the campaign promotes consumer spending, it also works against the recall campaign against Han, he said. Separately yesterday, the KMT at a news briefing accused Wecare Kaohsiung and its coalition of civic groups of vote buying.

“We are deploying additional law enforcement units and upgrading the alert level, with the NPA to deploy 500 officers to Kaohsiung to prepare for the recall vote,” Tsai told lawmakers at the legislature in Taipei. “The NPA and the Kaohsiung Police Department have established a task force led by Kaohsiung prosecutors to coordinate efforts and any investigation,” he said. Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei TimesThe additional officers’ duties would include patrolling polling stations to uphold regulations against filming, violence and other illegal activities, to prevent voter intimidation, Tsai said. I have demanded immediate action if there is any violence by gangsters at polling stations,” Chen said. “Others have said that they are afraid of violence breaking out at polling stations.”“The police chief has ordered a strong law enforcement presence by deploying additional units for the recall vote.

Mandarin Oriental halts guestroom operationsBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterLuxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Taipei (文華東方酒店) yesterday announced that it would suspend guestroom operations and lay off related staffers from Monday, as regional border controls and travel restrictions are unlikely to be lifted anytime soon. “Mandarin Oriental Taipei will suspend all guestroom services from June 1 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the hotel said after four months of maintaining normal operations proved unsustainable. Luxury hotel Mandarin Oriental Taipei in Songshan District is pictured on March 14, 2018. Mandarin Oriental Taipei declined to comment on the number of affected workers or occupancy rates amid the pandemic, which has prompted countries in the region to close their borders and crippled tourist arrivals. Occupancy rates are believed to have dropped to an average of 10 percent for hotels in Taipei at the height of the pandemic in February and March.

A total of 419 patients have been released from isolation after treatment, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). Artist Yen Chen-fa paints a banner portraying five of Taiwan’s principal disease prevention officials in Tainan yesterday. “However, we cannot always remain isolated from the world, so we are promoting the ‘new disease prevention lifestyle’ not to maintain a safe domestic situation, but rather in preparation for the loosening of border controls,” he said. The most important factor when considering whether to loosen border controls is the nation’s preparedness against COVID-19, which depends on how well people practice the new lifestyle, he added. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and related agencies are to conduct random inspections of mask manufacturers to ensure the quality of “Made in Taiwan” masks before they are exported abroad, he added.

Lawmakers urge ministries to sign more legal assistance agreementsSHORTCOMING: The nation has signed pacts with other nations that cover either criminal or civil matters, but the issues often overlap, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterLawmakers yesterday urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry of Justice to sign mutual legal assistance pacts with more nations, as Taiwan has signed such agreements with only six countries. It has also inked agreements on the transfer of sentenced criminals with Eswatini, Denmark, the UK and Germany, he said. Legal cooperation pacts should cover criminal and civil affairs, as many legal disputes span both areas, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said, asking why the treaties only involved one of the areas. The government would strive to make its legal pacts with other countries encompass more areas, Vice Minister of Justice Chang Tou-hui (張斗輝) said. Asked by Wang why there is no legal assistance agreement with Japan, Liang said the Japanese government is considering certain matters about an agreement, while the government is working to negotiate with Tokyo over related issues.

SinoPac expects 12.5-point cut in benchmark rateBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterSinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) said that it expects the central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate again by 12.5 basis points next month to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The central bank on March 19 cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points. SinoPac Financial Holdings Co president Stanley Chu is pictured at an earnings conference in Taipei on March 3. Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行), the profit-making engine of SinoPac Financial, saw its net interest margin rise from 0.98 percent at the end of last year to 1 percent at the end of March, as the bank cut its deposit rates, Bank SinoPac president Eric Chuang (莊銘福) said. Bank SinoPac plans to recruit 1,500 employees this year to improve its momentum, Chu added.