Ian Easton On Taiwan: Are Taiwan’s nuclear plants safe from Beijing?
Ian Easton On Taiwan: Are Taiwan’s nuclear plants safe from Beijing? At the north end of the beach, lurking just outside the picture, is Taiwan’s 4th Nuclear Power Plant. According to Rene Vienet, an expert on Taiwan’s nuclear power infrastructure, the 2nd Nuclear Power Plant has two over-saturated waste pools, which were not designed for the long-term storage of spent fuel. One plausible explanation for the pessimism of PLA researchers is that they believe Taiwan’s nuclear power plants could meltdown in the course of fighting. It seems prudent to assume that Taiwan’s nuclear power plants will remain PLA targets until they are fully deactivated.
Source:Taipei Times
April 11, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: CECC plans out-of-pocket shots for eligible people
COVID-19: CECC plans out-of-pocket shots for eligible peopleAPPOINTMENT NEEDED: Officials need to discuss the timing, cost and vaccine locations, and would reveal the details next week at the soonest, Chen Shih-chung saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said it plans to release 10,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine for people to get vaccinated at their own expense. It also said that 10 local government heads would be vaccinated tomorrow. There would be eligibility requirements for people to get vaccinated out-of-pocket, such as a need to travel abroad to study, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC. A nurse holds a vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Taipei on March 22. The CECC yesterday reported two new imported cases of COVID-19 — an Indonesian fisherman and a Philippine migrant worker who are both in their 20s.
Source:Taipei Times
April 10, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taipei Mayor Ko touts food vendor advancement plan
Taipei Mayor Ko touts food vendor advancement planBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterTaipei is undertaking a “food vendors long-term advancement project” in the hopes that more of its traditional markets would be awarded “five stars” by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. Ko made the remarks at the launch ceremony of the two-day Taipei City Traditional Market Festival at Taipei Flora Expo Park in Zhongshan District (中山), where 59 food vendors from Taipei’s traditional market offer delicacies from a variety of cuisines. At the end of the two-day event, which is its 14th year, the Taipei Market Administration Office is to present an award to the food stall that offers the best dumpling-based dish. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, right, and Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang sample food at an event in Taipei yesterday. The Taipei Government has been promoting a “food vendors long-term advancement project” aimed at improving the service quality, hygiene and food safety of food stalls in the city, Ko said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 10, 2021 15:56 UTC
Navy to christen new domestically built ship the ‘Yushan’ on Tuesday
Navy to christen new domestically built ship the ‘Yushan’ on TuesdayBy Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, staff writerThe navy’s new 10,600-tonne warship is on Tuesday to be christened the ROCN Yushan (玉山), as the nation’s indigenous shipbuilding program reaches a milestone, sources said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), a member of the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed the report in a Facebook post. The ship is armed with an OTO Melara 76mm gun, two Tien Chien-2N air-defense missile systems and two Phalanx close-in weapon systems. The navy has full confidence that CSBC and the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology will continue their smooth cooperation to deliver the ship, he said. The navy thanks President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for supporting its programs to build new ships and promoting national defense self-sufficiency, industry upgrades and economic growth, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 10, 2021 15:56 UTC
Real-estate taxes clear Legislative Yuan
Real-estate taxes clear Legislative YuanREACHING BACK: The changes, aimed at preventing individuals from creating entities to avoid capital gains taxes, would apply retroactively to transactions dating to 2016Staff writer, with CNAThe Legislative Yuan yesterday approved amendments to the Income Tax Act (所得稅法) that are on July 1 to place a 45 percent capital gains tax on individuals and businesses selling real estate within two years of purchase. The bill, intended to curb real-estate speculation, was passed after legislators in interparty negotiations on Wednesday resolved areas of disagreement, including setting July 1 for the changes to take effect. Legislative Speaker You Si-kun bangs his gavel in the legislature in Taipei yesterday after the legislature approved amendments to the Income Tax Act. Businesses pay an across-the-board rate of 20 percent on such gains under corporate income tax rules. The tax on individuals for gains on properties sold five to 10 years after purchase would be 20 percent, and 15 percent thereafter.
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Golden Friends sales rise 38.7% amid a recovery
Golden Friends sales rise 38.7% amid a recoveryBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterElevator supplier Golden Friends Corp (崇友實業) yesterday posted NT$330.48 million (US$11.62 million) in revenue for last month, a 38.7 percent rise from a month earlier, amid continued recovery in the local property market, although the figure fell 15.15 percent from a year earlier. Revenue in the first quarter totaled NT$1.03 billion, a 3.66 percent increase from a year earlier, Golden Friends data showed. Golden Friends Corp’s office in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District is pictured on Nov. 21, 2019. It intends to boost its market share by spending more to improve the ease and convenience of elevator rides, helped by the latest technologies, it said. Last month, Golden Friends proposed a cash dividend of NT$3 per share based on its net income of NT$726 million last year, or earnings per share of NT$4.1.
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Nanya posts best profit in three quarters
Nanya posts best profit in three quartersSUPPLY CONSTRAINTS: The firm is close to finalizing contract negotiations for the second quarter, its president said, adding that prices would rise month by monthBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterDRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday posted its best quarterly profit in three quarters as work-from-home and remote schooling trends helped improve demand for Chromebooks and other consumer electronics. Nanya Technology Corp president Lee Pei-ing is pictured after a news conference at the company’s headquarters in New Taipei City’s Taishan District yesterday. Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times“We are close to finalizing contract negotiations for the second quarter,” Nanya president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told a media briefing. That boosted DDR3 DRAM prices, he said. Nanya said that it plans NT$15.6 billion in capital expenditure this year, mostly to develop 10-nanometer-class technology.
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Hands in the air
Monthly births hit all-time lowSHRINKING FEMALE POPULATION: Last year, 107.74 boys were born for every 100 girls in Taiwan, which is a greater gender imbalance than in Japan and South Korea The Ministry of the Interior recorded 9,601 births in January, the first time the nation has produced fewer than 10,000 newborns in a single month, while different indicators showed that Taiwan might also be facing a population with increasingly fewer births, women and marriages. It comes after the ministry reported a record low 165,249 births last year, which was lower than the 173,156 deaths recorded last year. The nation experienced negative population growth for the first time last year, ministry data found. The number of births in January also dropped from a year earlier, when there were 12,510 births. In February, there wereBy Chien Hui-ju
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Annual Matsu pilgrimage starts
Annual Matsu pilgrimage startsStaff writer, with CNAThe annual Dajia Matsu Pilgrimage started last night at Jenn Lann Temple (鎮瀾宮) in Taichung’s Dajia District (大甲), for the first time livestreamed in 11 languages by Radio Taiwan International. The nine-day pilgrimage — the largest religious event in Taiwan — passes through Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties, before returning to the temple. A huge sky lantern is released at Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung’s Dajia District yesterday night to pray for rain to alleviate the drought as the annual nine-day Matsu pilgrimage began. Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei TimesAfter preliminary activities were completed yesterday, temple personnel carrying three effigies of the sea goddess Matsu in sedan chairs embarked on the journey at 11:05pm. Visitors to Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung’s Dajia Township yesterday pray ahead of the start of a nine-day pilgrimage.
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Champions face a tough opener
Champions face a tough openerBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Taiwan Mulan Football League begins today, with the spotlight on a “clash of the giants” of the women’s game in Taichung, where defending champions Hualien City are to be visitors for what is expected to be a fierce contest against Taichung Blue Whale. It will take at least three rounds of play to get to know their tactics, strengths and weaknesses,” Chu said. “As champions, we are under pressure, as all the other teams will be aiming to beat us. Michelle Pao is to lead the Blue Whale attack on the back of winning last season’s Golden Boot with 21 goals in 15 games. Hualien City’s clash with Taichung Blue Whale kicks off at 4pm at the Taiyuan Football Field in Taichung.
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Report suggests changing KMT emblem
Since its installment in 1928, the national emblem has been broadly applied on the national and military flags, medals, uniforms, certificates, foreign embassies and other places, it said. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) emblem, left, and the Republic of China national emblem are pictured in an undated photograph. Although the similarity between the national and KMT emblems is based in history, the national emblem is a symbol of the nation and changing it should not be considered lightly, the ministry said. The party-state era is over and the political arena has become diversified, so political symbols should change to respect the national emblem, it added. “If the DPP fully identifies with the Republic of China, the KMT will be happy to see it incorporate elements of the national flag and national emblem into its party emblem,” he said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Move over Bruce Wayne
Monthly births hit all-time lowSHRINKING FEMALE POPULATION: Last year, 107.74 boys were born for every 100 girls in Taiwan, which is a greater gender imbalance than in Japan and South Korea The Ministry of the Interior recorded 9,601 births in January, the first time the nation has produced fewer than 10,000 newborns in a single month, while different indicators showed that Taiwan might also be facing a population with increasingly fewer births, women and marriages. It comes after the ministry reported a record low 165,249 births last year, which was lower than the 173,156 deaths recorded last year. The nation experienced negative population growth for the first time last year, ministry data found. The number of births in January also dropped from a year earlier, when there were 12,510 births. In February, there wereBy Chien Hui-ju
Source:Taipei Times
April 09, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taipower to phase out coal at Sinda over next five years, as protests mount
Taipower to phase out coal at Sinda over next five years, as protests mountStaff writer, with CNAAll four coal-fired generators at the Sinda Power Plant (興達電廠) are to be phased out over the next five years and replaced with natural gas-powered units, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Sunday, amid protests over air pollution in Kaohsiung. Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) plans to decommission all four coal-fired generators at the Sinda Power Plant within five years, the ministry said in a statement. 1 and 2 coal-fired generators are scheduled to be decommissioned in 2023 and replaced with natural gas-powered ones, it said. The Sinda Power Plant in Kaohsiung is pictured in an undated photograph. Over the past five years, state-owned Taipower has been working to reduce the use of coal at the Sinda plant by more than 2 million tonnes, or 34 percent, compared with 2016, the ministry said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Cathay Life to pay NT$60m to families after train accident
Cathay Life to pay NT$60m to families after train accidentBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterCathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) is to pay NT$60 million (US$2.1 million) in compensation for 21 of its clients who died in Friday last week’s derailment of Taroko Express No. 408, including the train’s driver and assistant driver, the insurer said on Sunday. It would also pay out to another 80 people injured in the accident in Hualien County, it said. Logos of local life insurance companies are shown in an undated photograph. Meanwhile, Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) said it is to pay a combined compensation of NT$15 million for its 10 clients who died in the accident.
Source:Taipei Times
April 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taroko Express Crash: KMT calls on premier to resign over derailment
Taroko Express Crash: KMT calls on premier to resign over derailmentBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus has called on Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to step down after a train derailment in Hualien County on Friday left 50 people dead. The accident occurred at 9:28am when the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) Taroko Express No. From left, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Jennifer Chen, Cheng Li-wun, Alex Fai and Hung Mong-kai hold a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should also apologize to the public, the KMT caucus said. Meanwhile, the KMT caucus is to propose the establishment of an incident review committee at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee scheduled for tomorrow, said KMT Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷), who sits on the committee.
Source:Taipei Times
April 05, 2021 15:56 UTC