Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee acting director Alicia Wang holds a news conference in Taipei yesterday. There is confusion among civil servants and the public over how to file applications, she said. Civil servants at local district offices were initially unable to access people’s household savings and income data from this year — information required to determine eligibility — Chiang added. Similar scenes also played out outside of New Taipei City, KMT Culture and Communications Committee chair Alicia Wang (王育敏) said. District and township offices in all of the nation’s 22 cities and counties are facing similar difficulties, she said, adding that Su has a responsibility to help local civil servants solve the problems they are dealing with.

Computer, IT sector posts record salesNOT ALL WINNERS: Sales in the technical support and professional service sector fell 5 percent last quarter, with sales in the photography industry dropping 12.7 percentBy Natasha Li / Staff reporterCombined sales across the computer and information technology (IT) service sector last quarter hit a record of NT$90.8 billion (US$3.04 billion), increasing 7.3 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Although the spread of COVID-19 has benefited the computer and IT service sector, it adversely affected the technical support and professional service sector, which posted its steepest decline in more than 10 years. Sales in the sector decreased 5 percent year-on-year to NT$69.1 billion amid waning market demand, the ministry said. Within the same sector, the management and consulting industry posted a 1.1 percent increase in sales to NT$18.3 billion due to growing corporate interest in renewable energies, Wang said. Rental sector sales rose 7.5 percent year-on-year to NT$35.3 billion as the transportation rental industry posted a 16.2 percent increase in sales to NT$24.1 billion, data showed.

KMT presses Chiang to ‘lead the charge’ and run for Kaohsiung mayor if neededBy Chen Yun / Staff reporterChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members are calling for KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) to “lead the charge” by joining a possible mayoral by-election amid a bleak outlook for Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) in a recall vote scheduled for June 6, party sources said on Saturday. Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu raises his arms in a heart shape in a photograph on Facebook yesterday in celebration of Mother’s Day. Calls for ex-KMT chairman and former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) to run in a possible mayoral by-election are also intensifying at the grassroots level, another party source said. Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei, front, second left, participates in a rally in Kaohsiung yesterday supporting a vote to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu. Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuang (李四川) would be a “safer bet,” said another KMT legislator, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Beijing in 2018 began requiring airlines that fly to Chinese airports to refer to Taiwan in their booking systems as “Taiwan, China” or “Taiwan Area.” Although there are still 39 airlines that refer to Taiwan in one of these two ways, 22 companies have corrected their systems to refer to the nation as “Taiwan,” Chiu said on Saturday, citing the ministry. However, it would not reveal the carriers’ names out of concern that China might again pressure them into reversing course, the ministry said. The logo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pictured at the ministry in Taipei on March 3 last year. The ministry should seek to take advantage of the current situation to counter Chinese pressure on Taiwan on the international stage, he said. Taiwan’s flag carrier, China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), should take the lead on the issue by removing the word “China” from its name, he said.

DPP joins call for ‘Taiwan’ CPBLAVOID CONFUSION: Changing the name so that fans worldwide know it is Taiwan’s baseball league would be a good thing, DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) yesterday joined calls for renaming the nation’s baseball league — the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) — a day after league officials said that American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen recommended adding “Taiwan” to the league’s name in international materials so that foreigners know it is not from China. “Sports competitions in almost all countries have been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hsu said. From left, Rakuten Monkeys manager Lin Ying-chieh, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan and AIT spokeswoman Amanda Mansour sit behind a cardboard cut-out with their pictures at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium on May 1. The AIT suggested adding ‘Taiwan’ to promotional material used internationally to ensure that people know it is Taiwan’s professional baseball league,” the statement said. “It cannot simply hide behind the ‘private organization’ label, but has a responsibility to answer public calls to rectify the name of Taiwan’s professional baseball league.”

Remittance experiments extended: FSCBANKING SERVICES: The FSC raised remittance limits for two firms and approved Mega International Commercial Bank’s application to open a sub-branch in Phnom PenhBy Kao Shih-ching and Crystal Hsu / Staff reportersEMQ Taiwan (易安聯) and Welldone Co (統振) can extend their remittance services for migrant workers from April 30 to Oct 29, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said on Thursday. The firms, which were permitted to conduct the experiment as part of the commission’s regulatory sandbox, began their remittance services in May last year. Their experiments allow workers from Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia to send money home and without having to pay the high fees conventional banks charge for remittance services. Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo speaks to lawmakers at the legislature in Taipei on Dec. 16 last year. Japanese supermarket operator Aeon Co is to build a mall in Phnom Penh, where several Taiwanese companies have a presence, and more are likely to follow suit, creating opportunities for the new sub-branch, Mega Bank said.

Acer sales, shipments to rise this quarter: YuantaNOTEBOOKS AND CHROMEBOOKS: Revenue in the first quarter did dip as shipments were affected by production disruptions caused the spread of COVID-19By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterSurging work-from-home orders and greater demand for remote learning are expected to boost Acer Inc’s (宏碁) notebook computer sales and shipments of educational Chromebook this quarter, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said. “Acer demonstrated strong velocity of growth in capturing new business demand from work-from-home and distance learning needs. Year-on-year revenues for Acer Chromebooks grew 327.9 percent and thin-and-light notebooks nearly doubled,” Yuanta said. Earnings per share were NT$0.18, compared with NT$0.23 a year ago and NT$0.11 the previous quarter, Acer said on Wednesday. Cumulative revenue totaled NT$93.49 billion in the first quarter, a decrease of 11.74 percent on an annual basis.

SynCore to analyze cancer drug as it enters next phasesBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterSynCore Biotechnology Co (杏國新藥) is planning an interim analysis of its pancreatic cancer treatment, SB05PC, later this month to determine the drug’s safety and efficacy. The company is conducting a phase III trial for the drug in Taiwan, the US, France, Hungary, South Korea, Russia and Israel, SynCore general manager Su Muh-hwan (蘇慕寰) told the Taipei Times on Thursday by telephone. As SB05PC is designed to prolong a person’s life, SynCore cannot enter into interim analysis of the drug until half of enrolled participants pass away, he said. SynCore had planned to enroll 218 participants, but the US Food and Drug Administration has approved adjusting that number based on the outcome of the interim analysis, Su said. If everything goes smoothly, SynCore plans to apply to the US regulator for marketing approval of the drug in 2022, he added.

CECC skirting dance hall issue is ‘typical,’ Ko saysCENTRAL GOVERNMENT: ’Ordering the businesses to suspend operations was easy, but no one wants to take the responsibility for reopening them,’ the mayor saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) instruction that local governments can decide whether hostess clubs and dance halls can reopen is a typical example of the central government’s unwillingness to take responsibility, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. The CECC on April 9 ordered all hostess clubs and dance halls to suspend operations after a case of locally transmitted COVID-19 involving a hostess in northern Taiwan was confirmed the day before. “I know firsthand that the central government’s instruction that ‘local governments can decide whether to allow hostess clubs and dance halls to resume operations’ is a typical example of its unwillingness to take responsibility,” Ko said. Taiwan had not reported a new domestic case in 27 days, so hostess clubs and dance halls should be allowed to resume operations, Ko said. Asked about Ko’s remarks, Chen later yesterday said that the central government has issued the guidelines, but that local governments know the businesses in their area better.

Biotech expo is also to be onlineBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe BIO Asia-Taiwan Exhibition is to run from July 22 to 26 in the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s Hall 2 as scheduled and feature an additional online platform for companies who cannot attend, Taiwan Bio Industry Organization (台灣生物產業協會) said on Thursday. Photo: Chen Yung-chi, Taipei TimesAll forums, seminars, partner meetings and business presentations would be accessible online, he added. The online platform would highlight companies in the exhibition and provide interactive engagement opportunities for visitors, such as exchanging business cards and forming chat groups, Lee said. The expo is to focus on topics such as combating the pandemic, precision medicine, advanced therapies, investment and collaboration and digital health, Taiwan Bio said. The event is expected to attract more than 2,000 professionals from 600 companies worldwide and host more than 3,500 one-on-one business meetings, Taiwan Bio said.

Lawmakers call for restrictions on sale of wood contractors cut from city treesBy Wu Su-wei and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerNew Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) yesterday called for laws prohibiting the sale of wood obtained by contractors pruning urban trees. Chuang said that vendors buy wood to process into sawdust and are offering NT$1,600 to NT$2,300 per tonne, regardless of wood type. “I wonder if the aggressive pruning of trees nationwide could be considered illegally selling national property,” he said. Taipei City Tree Protection Committee member Ho Cheng-han (何承翰) said that government agencies view trees as just environmental aesthetics, and are prone to hire contractors at a minimal cost. Setting up storage for pruned wood would increase overhead costs for schools and other organizations, Lin said, adding that contracts should state how much wood should be removed.

Most firms view working mothers positively: surveyBy Rachel Lin / Staff reporterWhile most working mothers felt that having children had a negative effect on their career, a vast majority of companies approved of their performance in the workplace, a survey by the Chinese-language magazine Parenting (親子天下) released on Tuesday showed. The poll surveyed the heads of human resources departments at 2,000 companies and more than 6,000 mothers who are either housewives, working moms or on parental leave. The poll found that 54 percent of mothers said that having children had held them back at work, while 87 percent of companies praised working moms as steady performers. A ”Tomistoma schlegelii,” also known as a false gharial, is pictured at the Taipei Zoo in a photograph released by the zoo yesterday ahead of Mother’s Day tomorrow. Meanwhile, 97 percent of employers are in favor of mothers taking parental leave, while nearly 60 percent of companies said that they would have trouble coping with staff shortages if parental leave lasted more than a year, it showed.

Siemens eyes autonomous vehiclesBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterSiemens AG is collaborating with Taiwanese partners to conduct field trials for autonomous vehicles by the end of this year, as the German company aims to increase its foothold in the nation’s smart transportation sector. “Our colleagues are working with a local partner on an autonomous driving project,” Siemens Taiwan president and chief executive officer Erdal Elver said at a media briefing in Taipei on Tuesday. Siemens hopes to bring its Aimsun solution — traffic simulation and large-scale testing of path-planning algorithms for autonomous vehicles — to Taiwan, Elver said. Apart from autonomous vehicles, Siemens is also looking at business opportunities in the electric bus sector, Elver said. The company is also in discussions with a German automaker to supply electric charging solutions for sedans in Taiwan, Elver said.

Virus Outbreak: Virus budget given NT$150bn top-upBAILOUTS COMING: The increase would cover subsidies for affected companies’ operating costs, grants for needy households and programs to spur consumer spendingBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterWithout slashing a dollar, legislators yesterday passed a NT$150 billion (US$5.02 billion) increase to the Special Budget for COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery. The budget increase — which builds on NT$60 billion in stimulus funding that was passed on Feb. 25 — is divided into two parts: NT$133.5 billion in relief funds and NT$16.5 billion for disease prevention. Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, right, bangs his gavel at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday to mark the passage of additional funds for the Special Budget for COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery. Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) said in the explanation for the increase that it would be entirely sourced from borrowing. Several resolutions accompanying the budget increase were also passed.

US Representative Guy Reschenthaler on Thursday shared the letter on Twitter, showing that it was endorsed by 26 other Congress members. “US-Taiwan relations have never been more important. “Existing restrictions on various aspects of US-Taiwan relations, including those for travel, government-to-government meetings and media, are inconsistent with these principles and not required by the Taiwan Relations Act or relevant policies,” it said. Taiwan’s embassy in Paraguay would continue to communicate with senators to clarify their doubts about bilateral ties, Ou said. Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez has on multiple occasions voiced support for deepening bilateral ties, she said, adding that many bilateral projects for boosting Paraguayan civic life are conducted smoothly.