Hota holds ceremony for new plantBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterAutomotive components maker Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co (和大工業) on Friday held a beam-raising ceremony at its new manufacturing plant in the Chiayi Dapumei Precision Machinery Park (嘉義大埔美精密機械園區). The new facilities include a smart plant with automated production lines and a dormitory for 300 employees. The company, which supplies Tesla Inc and BorgWarner Inc, already operates two plants in the same industrial park. Together with the new plant, Hota has so far invested NT$14 billion in the park, Chinese-language media reported on Friday. In the first four months of this year, cumulative revenue fell 20.78 percent year-on-year to NT$1.58 billion, company data showed.

Between tomorrow and Saturday, the front, combined with a southwest wind, would bring heavy to extremely heavy rainfall nationwide. The Central Weather Bureau has lifted the sea alert for Tropical Storm Vongfong, but has also said that people should brace for extremely heavy rain from today. The water level on Saturday fell to 221.96m, storing 56.6 million tonnes of water, the Northern Region Water Resources Office. Following the rain and convective heat transfer, the water level yesterday reached 223.79m, storing 64 million tonnes of water. Before the end of next month, the reservoir would need an additional 47 million tonnes to supply the public, it added.

Statebuilding Party working to replace cross-strait ties actSETTING CHINA ‘FREE’: Chen Po-wei said Taiwan should acknowledge that China is a sovereign state to ‘spare our neighbor’ oppression by local lawsBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Statebuilding Party is drafting a “China relations act” aimed at replacing the “outdated” Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) said yesterday. Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei holds a sign that reads: “Provide Taiwanese with the choice of a new passport that rectifies Taiwan’s title” at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on April 28. The bill would redefine all matters relating to cross-strait exchanges, as well as reinvent the competent authority for cross-strait affairs, Chen wrote, adding that the party would solicit public comment on how the bill should be drafted. Although the issue is seen as a “hot potato,” Chen wrote that he “did not enter the kitchen to complain about the heat.”“No one should apologize for their self-identity,” Chen wrote, quoting the president. However, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) refuses to acknowledge that it is part of the Republic of China, which is the premise of the existing act, Chen wrote.

Or you might hit up one of the ubiquitous contraband vendors and pray not to be caught by the armed Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau (TTL) agents. The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau had its own honor guard back in the day. Cigarettes produced by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau for the army, left, navy, center and combined logistics command. This sign certifies a store as a licensed distributor of Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau products. In May 1947, the bureau took on the name Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Monopoly Bureau after dropping the matches and weights.

Taipei T10 finals resume todayBy Grant Dexter / Staff reporterThe semi-finals of the Taipei T10 Cricket Tournament are scheduled for today at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground after rain halted play halfway through yesterday’s matches. The TCA Indians reached semi-final 1, where PCCT United await, via a qualifier against the FCC Formosans, with TCA and FCC the top teams from group play. Cameraman Michael Geier kicks water from a puddle beside the covers on the pitch at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground after rain stopped play at the Taipei T10 Tournament yesterday. Photo: Grant Dexter, Taipei TimesHowever, the Formosans fell to a four-run loss as captain Manoj Kriplani (0-7) tied down the batsmen with two miserly overs. The Daredevils face the ICCT Smashers today in the playoff for seventh and eighth.

Institute unveils pineapple that smells like a mangoBy Ting Wei-chieh / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute has launched a new pineapple cultivar that smells like a mango and is better adapted to rainy weather, saying it could be a new star of exported fruits. A new variety of pineapple informally called “mango pineapple” is displayed at the Chiayi Agricultural Experiment Station in Chiayi City on Friday. 23 pineapple features a mango smell that would not be affected by the summer weather, with its sweetness and sourness nicely balanced, Kuan said. Dubbed “mango pineapple” by farmers, the new cultivar’s average sweetness reaches 18.2 degrees, with a sourness of about 0.7 degrees, he said, adding that it tastes delicate and does not have apparent fibers. The Japanese market has responded positively to the pineapple, station director Chen Kan-shu (陳甘澍) said, adding that farmers interested in growing it can contact the station for authorization.

‘New York Times’ and others apply to station in TaiwanBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterSeven more foreign news outlets have applied to open bureaus in Taiwan this year, including the New York Times, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, following China’s expulsion of US journalists in March. After the US placed a personnel cap on four Chinese media companies, China responded by banning US reporters for the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal from covering news from China, Hong Kong and Macau. “We maintain bureaus in Beijing and Shanghai with correspondents, and are hopeful that the Chinese government will allow all of our reporters to return,” New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said in an e-mail to the Taipei Times. The number of foreign journalists in Taiwan has increased in the past few years, as the nation’s press freedom has been praised by the global community, she added. Before the nation’s presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11, more than 210 foreign journalists, including nearly 60 originally stationed in Taiwan, had applied for permits to cover the elections, the ministry said.

Thousands don masks to take entrance examsPREVENTION PLAN: Of the approximately 210,000 students taking the high-school entrance exams, 12 had a fever and were sent to backup testing centersStaff writer, with CNAMore than 200,000 junior-high school students yesterday began taking their two-day academic assessment examinations, wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as they sat for a series of major exams that would determine which high school they get into. The approximately 210,000 students taking the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students exams were required to wear masks, have their temperatures checked and sanitize their hands before they could enter the test venues. All students with a fever were separated from other students and sent to a backup testing center. Students line up at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University before 7am yesterday as they prepare to take the Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students exam. Students yesterday took tests for social studies from 8:30am to 9:40am, mathematics from 10:30am to 11:50am, Chinese reading from 1:50pm to 3pm and Chinese composition from 3:50pm to 4:40pm.

Attorney Yeh Ching-yuan (葉慶元) had filed for an injunction against the recall on the same day that Chiang visited Kaohsiung, Yin said. Han has acted in ways that were an abuse of power, and has torn down signs advertising the recall, Yin added. Wecare organizer Chen Kuan-jung (陳冠榮), the lead petitioner of the campaign to recall Han, said that the mayor has claimed to be focused on municipal duties, when he has actually been working toward stopping the recall. “Han said the recall was no big deal, but to him it clearly is a big deal. Meanwhile, former KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) — who had previously called on Han’s supporters to vote in opposition to the recall — yesterday said that supporters should respect Han’s wishes, and encouraged them to go out and spend money to support Kaohsiung businesses.

CWB issues warning for Tropical Storm VongfongStaff writer, with CNAThe Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday issued a sea warning for Tropical Storm Vongfong, warning of increasing winds in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines. As of 8pm yesterday, Vongfong was about 290km south of the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving northeast at 13kph, bureau data showed. The storm, which had a radius of 80km, was carrying maximum sustained winds of 65kph, with gusts of up to 90kph, the bureau said. People cross a streeet holding umbrellas to shield themselves from heavy rain in Taipei yesterday afternoon. A rainbow spans the Taipei skyline yesterday afternoon after the city was affected by heavy rain caused by Tropical Storm Vongfong.

Hsieh Chih-hung, one of two men convicted of a double murder committed in 2000 and sentenced to death, was found not guilty by the court yesterday. Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei TimesIn September 2018, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, citing new evidence that proved Hsieh’s innocence, filed for a retrial. The High Court on March 14 last year accepted the petition and ordered Hsieh’s sentence to be temporarily suspended. Hsieh Chih-hung, who had been on death row for 19 years for rape and murder, bows toward the bench of the High Court’s Tainan branch yesterday. The collegiate bench convened to preside over the case yesterday cited these reasons as grounds for finding Hsieh innocent.

Anti-infiltration Act must cover more attacks: lawmakerBy Wu Su-wei and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) is not stringent enough to deter people from aiding foreign forces attempting to infiltrate Taiwan, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said yesterday as he proposed an amendment to better safeguard national security. “How about the human rights of the people who were attacked?” Lam asked. Hong Kong Outlanders spokesman Kuma Yung said that the attacks remind people that they cannot assume that they are completely safe just because they are in Taiwan. Although the attacks targeted public figures, it does not mean that members of the general public are not exposed to threats and the infringement of their human rights by foreign forces, Yung said. Passage of the amendment would truly enhance the security and rights of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists when they visit Taiwan, Kuo said.

Virus Outbreak: No open borders; tourism exchanges possible: CECCBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe nation is reticent to loosen border control measures amid the global risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, but is open to the possibility of tourism exchanges with certain countries, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The center yesterday reported no new cases of the coronavirus, for the eighth straight day. Some countries have discussed promoting tourism between safer regions and Taiwan would like to join that conversation, Chen said. The nation does not yet dare to open its borders, with nearly 4.5 million people infected worldwide and more than 300,000 killed by the virus, Chen said. While China’s control of its outbreak seems to have improved, underreporting is typical there, which the center must always stay aware of, he added.

Virus Outbreak: StarLux to resume limited operations next monthBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterStarLux Airlines Co (星宇航空) plans to resume operations next month by offering three flights from Taiwan to Macau each week and one weekly flight to Penang, Malaysia, citing easing conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The start-up airline, which on Jan. 23 began operations by providing daily flights from Taiwan to Macau, Penang and Da Nang, Vietnam, canceled most of its flights in February and suspended operations completely in the middle of March as the novel coronavirus spread. We do not think that Taiwanese tourists are ready to travel overseas again, as the outbreak has not ended,” Nieh said. Starlux said that it is retaining its original plan of launching operations to new destinations — two second-tier cities in Southeast Asia and Japan — in the third and fourth quarters respectively. Its goal of receiving another nine new A321neo aircraft next year remains unchanged, the airline said.

Siemens Gamesa to expand wind turbine facilityREGIONAL HUB: Aside from supplying Taiwan, the firm said its Taichung facility would also serve Japan, South Korea and other Asian marketsBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterWind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA (SGRE) yesterday said it plans to expand its production capacity in Taiwan to deliver turbines for the Hai Long 2 wind farm while aiming to capture growing market opportunities in Asia. SGRE last year leased 3 hectares from TIPC to deliver 111 8MW wind turbines to Orsted Taiwan Ltd (沃旭能源) for its 900MW offshore wind farm in Changhua. Although the wind energy industry is “still very Eurocentric ... there would soon be more turbines installed in Asia than in Europe,” he added. Having supplied 20 6MW wind turbines for the second phase of Formosa I Wind Power Co’s (海洋風力發電) offshore wind farm project, SGRE is to deliver another 47 8MW turbines for Formosa II Wind Power Co’s (海能風力發電) 376MW project this year. The company would also install 80 wind turbines off the coast of Yunlin County for Wpd Taiwan Energy Co’s (達能能源) 640MW wind farm by next year.