COVID-19: SMS registration used for tracing ‘confirmed cases’
COVID-19: SMS registration used for tracing ‘confirmed cases’NO MASS SURVEILLANCE: An interior ministry official said users’ telecoms see the number, the date and time, and the venue’s code — which they already haveBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe free short message service (SMS) registration launched by the government last week so that retail stores and restaurants could record customers’ contact information is only to be used for tracing the contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, not for mass surveillance, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. All businesses and public venues are required to record their customers’ contact information for possible use in contact tracing, after the center raised the COVID-19 alert to level 3 for the whole nation on Wednesday last week. A woman scans a QR code to register her contact information before entering the Zhongxiao-Fuxing MRT Station in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesDeputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the center, yesterday said that free SMS registration is only used to trace the contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases. The venue would not keep a record of the information and the center would only request records from service providers once cases were confirmed, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Four areas ban on-site dining
COVID-19: Four areas ban on-site diningBy Cheng Ming-hsiang and Tsai Ssu-pei / Staff reportersFour areas yesterday announced a ban on on-site dining at food and beverage establishments to curb the spread of COVID-19. Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as Pingtung and Yilan counties, said that the ban would be in effect from today until Friday. A food courier checks a takeout order in front of a restaurant in Taipei yesterday. The tougher measure is being imposed as the COVID-19 situation has not eased as hoped, he said. While the positivity rate at rapid COVID-19 testing sites in the city had reached a low of 4.6 percent on Wednesday last week, it climbed to 8.5 percent on Saturday, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
PCB makers look for new sources of water
PCB makers look for new sources of waterMANY FACTORS: Raw material price hikes are likely to dent PCB makers’ Q2 earnings, but not so much if Asian currencies fall against the US dollar, Yuanta analysts saidBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterLocal printed circuit board (PCB) makers are planning alternative water sources — such as using recycled water, preparing water storage facilities or hiring water trucks to transport water from remote areas — in anticipation of more stringent water rationing as the nation’s most severe water shortage in 56 years worsens. Photo: Tsai Ching-hua, Taipei TimesThe analysts said the water shortage is affecting PCB makers’ production in the second quarter, while the outlook for the third quarter remains uncertain. “Industrial water supply costs NT$12 per tonne, while water delivered by water tank costs NT$400 per tonne. Based on our estimates, water accounts for 0.2 percent of PCB suppliers’ production costs,” Yuanta analysts said. “Persistent raw material price hikes are likely to continue to suppress PCB makers’ earnings in the second quarter of this year,” they said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
Marriage equality gains support
Marriage equality gains supportTWO YEARS AFTER LEGALIZATION: An Executive Yuan survey found that an increasing number of Taiwanese also support adoption rights for same-sex couplesBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerAttitudes toward gender equality have continued to improve, especially toward marriage equality, with more than 60 percent of people now agreeing that same-sex couples should have the right to marry, an Executive Yuan survey found ahead of today’s two-year anniversary of Taiwan’s marriage-equality legislation. The Cabinet’s Gender Equality Committee yesterday announced the results of its annual telephone survey on attitudes toward gender issues. A total of 5,871 couples have registered marriages from May 24, 2019 — when the Legislative Yuan legalized same-sex marriage — to April 30, the committee said. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei TimesThe survey showed that support for marriage rights has continued to rise, with 60.4 percent of respondents expressing support compared with 52.5 percent last year, it said. Over the past two years, Taiwanese society has become enriched by the appearance of more diverse families, yet there have also been a number of lawsuits fighting for equal marriage rights, the alliance said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Taiwan adds 321 new virus cases
COVID-19: Taiwan adds 321 new virus casesDELAYED REPORTING: An additional 400 cases were integrated into the past week’s reports and the updated figures showed that new infections peaked on MondayBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 321 new local COVID-19 infections and two deaths, while an additional 400 cases that had been delayed in reporting have been added to the daily confirmed cases reported from Sunday last week to Friday. Two imported cases were also confirmed yesterday, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. The 400 delayed cases have been added to the previously reported cases following “regression calibration,” he said. After the correction, the daily reported cases would be 245 for Sunday last week, 406 for Monday, 325 for Tuesday, 359 for Wednesday, 360 for Thursday and 349 for Friday, CECC data showed. The center integrated the cases with past infections instead of reporting them as newly confirmed cases to gain a better understanding of the actual daily COVID-19 situation and to implement suitable response measures, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 22, 2021 15:56 UTC
Justices say copyright law sanctions constitutional
Justices say copyright law sanctions constitutionalOPTICAL DISILLUSIONMENT: A lawyer said penalties for specifically using optical disks were disproportionate with the offense and contravened constitutional rightsBy Wu Cheng-feng and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerA law punishing copyright infringements involving the sale or public distribution of reproductions on optical disks with a minimum six-month prison term is constitutional, the Council of Grand Justices ruled on Friday. Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Lin Hui-huang reads aloud the Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. Other copyright crimes are punishable by a maximum three-year prison term with no minimum prison term or fine, the lawyer said, questioning the imposition of a minimum term for breaches specifically involving optical disks. The law says that copyright infringements involving optical disks are prosecutable without complaint, meaning that a defendant faces criminal charges even if they reach an agreement with the copyright holder. Liu’s lawyer said that application of these laws also harmed Liu’s constitutional rights and requested an interpretation.
Source:Taipei Times
May 22, 2021 15:56 UTC
Disinformation targeting is increasing: politician
Disinformation targeting is increasing: politicianBy Ko Yu-hao and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerChinese disinformation campaigns are becoming more selective over their targets, while the messages show an increased level of customization to target audiences, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party said on Friday. The message said that Taiwan Statebuilding Party Taoyuan chapter head Lan Shih-po (藍士博) had been filmed entering a meeting with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members, Chou said. He immediately suspected that the message was a “phishing” attempt and warned his colleagues, Chou said. An encrypted file sent with the message had a Chinese Internet protocol address, another indicator that it was a Chinese attempt at disinformation, he said. The incident indicates that Beijing’s disinformation campaign is getting more sophisticated by the day, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 22, 2021 15:56 UTC
Putting the ‘spike’ in perspective
Putting the ‘spike’ in perspectiveBy Ian Inkster 音雅恩Quite a lot of mileage is being gained in the Western press with reports of a COVID-19 “spike” in Taiwan over the past few days. In other words, even within low-COVID-19 East Asia, Taiwan remains the tall one standing. The first is the low level of vaccinations in East Asia. The third clear danger is the partial knowledge of what composes the new spike in Taiwan, especially the virulence of the type of virus. Of course, Taiwan has already banned arrivals from India, but the exact variant distribution within the new spike remains to be verified.
Source:Taipei Times
May 21, 2021 16:07 UTC
COVID-19: Test results made available via app
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, made the remarks at the CECC’s daily briefing. Medical personnel wait at a COVID-19 testing station in New Taipei City’s Xindian District yesterday. Chuang said that the Keelung resident was tested on Tuesday, meaning they should not have used public transportation until yesterday. People wear masks in a truck in Taipei yesterday. A man jogs in a park in Taipei yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
May 21, 2021 16:00 UTC
Bills to bolster virus-hit economy pass reading
They are to be considered for a third reading on May 31, the final day of the current legislative session, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said. Legislators conduct a videoconference test at the legislature in Taipei yesterday to prepare for a potential closure of the Legislative Yuan building due to COVID-19 prevention measures. People sit at tables with dividers at the legislature in Taipei yesterday, the last session before it closed until Friday next week as part of disease prevention efforts. Meanwhile, the Legislative Yuan yesterday tested holding sessions through videoconferencing during the morning session, which You said was a “historic” moment. Meetings at the Legislative Yuan have been suspended for a week starting today amid a surge in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.
Source:Taipei Times
May 21, 2021 16:00 UTC
Control Yuan to probe teahouses
Control Yuan to probe teahousesPUBLIC SECRET: More than 100 teahouses with hostess services operate in Wanhua, but authorities have not cracked down on them, a Control Yuan member saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Control Yuan yesterday launched an investigation into the alleged sex trade in Taipei’s “teahouses,” as the establishments draw greater attention after they were linked to a cluster of COVID-19 infections in Wanhua District (萬華). Control Yuan member Lin Kuo-ming (林國明) said that local officials have been negligent in addressing the matter, after teahouses, known as “A-gong diam” (阿公店) in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), were shown to be the center of a COVID-19 cluster. A lane along Guangzhou Street Night Market in Taipei’s Wanhua District is pictured on Tuesday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times“As local authorities have not cracked down on such contraventions, a probe will be launched into the matter,” Lin said. Although the teahouses along Wanhua’s streets and alleys are among the nation’s most famous, there are similar businesses on a smaller scale in other cities and towns.
Source:Taipei Times
May 21, 2021 16:00 UTC
CECC reports 312 new local cases
CECC reports 312 new local casesMAPPING THE SPREAD: Raising alert levels, based on the number of cases reported, also depends on whether it can continue to trace infection sources, the center saidBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 312 new local COVID-19 cases and called on local governments to implement disease prevention measures consistent with pandemic alert level 3 guidelines. Next week is crucial to determine whether Taiwan’s measures to contain an accelerating outbreak of the virus centered in Taipei and New Taipei City have been successful, he said. A man yesterday does situps in the exercise area of a park in New Taipei City. Amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, the New Taipei City Government has announced that all 800 park facilities in the city are to be closed until Friday next week. The center yesterday also reported three new imported cases, arrivals from the US, the Philippines and Canada.
Source:Taipei Times
May 21, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taipei teacher takes to 17Live for online classes
However, Taipei CooC-Cloud (台北酷課雲), the city-government approved digital learning platform, crashed on Wednesday due to a surge in traffic. Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School geography teacher Wu Meng-huan conducts a class over the 17Live app in an undated photograph. Wu Meng-huan (吳孟寰), a geography teacher at the all-boys high school, gave his lessons through 17Live. “We also suggested that students not use emojis during online classes,” 17Live said. However, Su denied that the platform is seeking to reshape its image by focusing on online teaching.
Source:Taipei Times
May 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
FSC tells firms to postpone annual meetings
FSC tells firms to postpone annual meetingsUNPRECEDENTED: The move to delay shareholders’ meetings marked the first time the commission had imposed such a measure, but follows discussions with the CECC, it saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday told publicly traded companies to postpone their annual shareholders’ meetings from Monday next week to the end of next month to curb public gatherings amid a surge in COVID-19 infections. A total of 1,931 companies had planned to convene their shareholders’ meetings during the period, but the FSC has made it mandatory for them to delay the events to July or August, it said. The deadline for the solicitation of proxies for attendance at shareholders’ meetings remains the same, she added. So far, 57 public companies have convened their shareholders’ meetings and another seven are to hold their meetings today, commission data showed. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Inventec Corp (英業達) are among the firms that announced that they would postpone their annual shareholders’ meetings by two weeks.
Source:Taipei Times
May 20, 2021 15:56 UTC
CECC confirms 286 local cases, 1 death
People wait to be tested for COVID-19 outside Taipei City Hospital’s Heping branch yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei TimesYesterday, the center reported 295 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases — 286 local infections and nine imported cases. Frontline medical personnel rest after being vaccinated against COVID-19 at a hospital in New Taipei City yesterday. Soldiers in protective suits disinfect an MRT station in Taipei yesterday. The volunteer, who took care of retired service dogs, tested positive on Wednesday and was one of the domestic cases announced by the center yesterday, Chang said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 20, 2021 15:56 UTC