COVID-19: Ministry proposes virus guidelines for school opening
COVID-19: Ministry proposes virus guidelines for school openingBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterSchool faculty and staff members would need to have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days before or provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken up to three days prior to be allowed entry when classes resume next month, guidelines proposed by the Ministry of Education showed yesterday. The proposed guidelines on the prevention of COVID-19 on school campuses drafted by the ministry would cover kindergartens to high schools. Ministry of Education announced guidelines on the prevention of COVID-19 when schools re-open next month, including how to handle large gatherings, on-campus dining and other activities. Students and teachers should have their temperatures taken upon arrival at school, as well as before afternoon classes begin, the guidelines show. That would include dividers for dining areas, rapid test kits and backup supplies of masks, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Team develops drug that could boost tumor treatment
Team develops drug that could boost tumor treatmentStaff writer, with CNAA Taiwanese research team has developed a drug that shows promise for boosting immunotherapy in the treatment of malignant tumors, it said on Monday. In animal trails, the drug helped boost immunotherapy efficacy by 30 to 40 percent in the treatment of tumors, said research team leader Alan Lee (李岳倫), of the National Institute of Cancer Research. While the drug VEGF121-VEGF165 proved effective against tissue tumors in animal trails, it was not tested for use in the treatment of blood cancer, Lee told a news conference. With VEGF121-VEGF165, the research team has developed a fusion protein drug that can breach the “Captain America” shield and enter the tumor’s microenvironment, thus enhancing immunotherapy to fight the cancer cells, he said. VEGF is an abbreviation for vascular endothelial growth factor, a signaling protein that promotes the growth of new blood vessels.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taiwan Cooperative posts record profit
Taiwan Cooperative posts record profitGROWTH RETURNING: Taiwan Cooperative Financial president Chen Mei-tsu said that operating conditions look bright ahead as major countries lift border controlsBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterTaiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co (合庫金控) yesterday posted record profit of NT$10.2 billion (US$365 million) for the first half of this year, up 26.67 percent from a year earlier, thanks to improved interest income and contributions from overseas operations. The impressive showing translated into earnings per share of NT$0.73, with banking arm Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行) generating 83.19 percent, despite COVID-19 restrictions, Taiwan Cooperative Financial president Chen Mei-tsu (陳美足) said. Vehicles drive past a Taiwan Cooperative Bank branch in Taipei on Feb. 12, 2019. Taiwan Cooperative Bank plans to create a private banking division next quarter to bolster relations with the nation’s ultra-wealthy customers and increase wealth management business, Chen said. It is optimistic about Taiwanese companies that have benefited from a realignment in the global electronics supply chain and a contactless economy boom, Taiwan Cooperative Financial said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Haiti earthquake aid remains a priority for emotional Osaka
Haiti earthquake aid remains a priority for emotional OsakaAFP, CINCINNATI, OhioNaomi Osaka on Monday pledged to give more than just this week’s Cincinnati Masters prize money in aid of earthquake victims in her father’s native Haiti. The natural disaster, which has claimed more than 1,400 victims, prompted an immediate response from world No. Photo: AFPThe Japanese-Haitian player called the disaster “really scary.”“I see there was damage near my parent’s former school,” she added. Osaka was holding her first traditional news conference since May in Rome. After her first-round win, she answered a few questions on court, but a day later quit the tournament before the second round.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Macronix says demand surprisingly strong
Macronix says demand surprisingly strongBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterMacronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest supplier of NOR flash memory chips, yesterday said that demand is surprisingly strong through next year, with some customers even seeking year-long contracts, as it rejected Morgan Stanley’s bearish view on memory stocks. Macronix International Co chairman Miin Wu is pictured at the company’s headquarters in Hsinchu on June 18, 2019. The outlook for NOR flash memory chips remains strong in the second half of the year, Wu said. Automakers are likely to face a new headache with shortages of flash memory chips, he said. Macronix shareholders yesterday approved a cash dividend distribution of NT$1.2 per common share.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
BHP to merge oil operations with Woodside
BHP to merge oil operations with WoodsidePOTASH SHIFT: The company said potash operations would give it increased leverage to key global mega-trends, including diets and environmental stewardshipBloombergBHP Group is to merge its oil and gas operations with Woodside Petroleum Ltd as the biggest miner positions itself for a global shift away from fossil fuels and prepares to plow US$5.7 billion into a massive new fertilizer mine in Canada. After the deal, BHP shareholders are to own about 48 percent of Woodside, the miner said in a statement yesterday. A BHP logo is displayed at a meeting in Tokyo on June 5, 2017. “Potash provides BHP with increased leverage to key global mega-trends, including rising population, changing diets, decarbonization and improving environmental stewardship,” the company said. It is also expanding existing nickel operations in Australia and building a stake in a copper company in Ecuador.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Billions spent on Afghan army benefit the Taliban
Billions spent on Afghan army benefit the TalibanAP, WASHINGTONBuilt and trained at a two-decade cost of US$83 billion, Afghan security forces collapsed so quickly and completely — in some cases without a shot fired — that the ultimate beneficiary of the US investment turned out to be the Taliban. The Taliban captured an array of modern military equipment when they overran Afghan forces who failed to defend district centers. Photo: APThe US failure to produce a sustainable Afghan army and police force, and the reasons for their collapse, will be studied for years by military analysts. He added, presciently: “Slow decay is inevitable, and state failure is a matter of time.”Some elements of the Afghan army did fight hard, including commandos whose heroic efforts are yet to be fully documented. The Afghan force-building exercise was so completely dependent on US largesse that the Pentagon even paid the Afghan troops’ salaries.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
India’s belated ‘Independence Day win’ stuns
India’s belated ‘Independence Day win’ stunsAFP, LONDONIndia captain Virat Kohli promised there would no let-up from his side following an impressive 151-run win over England in the second Test at Lord’s on Monday, which he labeled a “day late” Independence Day celebration. India’s Jasprit Bumrah is hit on the helmet by a ball bowled by England’s James Anderson in the fifth day of the second Test at Lord’s in London on Monday. Photo: APVictory, which left Kohli’s men 1-0 up in this five-match series, came just a day after India’s Independence Day on Aug. 15 and the tourists enjoyed plenty of vocal support at Lord’s. “It’s a day late celebration for Independence Day.”“It’s the best feeling we can give the Indians here and back in India,” he added. India’s Virat Kohli celebrates taking a catch to dismiss England’s Moeen Ali in the second Test at Lord’s in London on Monday.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
China tech stocks fall as rules revealed
China tech stocks fall as rules revealed‘SELL IT FIRST’: A Zhongtai Financial analyst said that investors are concerned that regulatory reform is far from over and that policies will continue to be introducedBloombergA wave of selling in China’s bellwether technology stocks continued for a fifth day, following Beijing’s latest moves to tighten its grip on the nation’s Internet giants. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped as much as 3.7 percent after the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation issued draft rules banning unfair competition among the nation’s online platform operators. Photo: BloombergLosses accelerated in afternoon trade as China issued separate rules to protect key network facilities and information systems, effective next month. Investors in mainland China dumped another HK$4.1 billion (US$532 million) of Hong Kong stocks, the fourth consecutive day of net selling of the territory’s shares, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. China’s uncertain regulatory environment continues to cast a shadow on the tech sector.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Singapore to test pilot plan to allow business travel
Singapore to test pilot plan to allow business travelBloombergSingapore plans to set up pilot programs to allow business travelers vaccinated against COVID-19 from some countries to enter on controlled itineraries next month as it charts a cautious international reopening that extends to local restrictions. Factors such as infections, vaccination rates and the ability to control outbreaks would be considered in these discussions, Gan said. Photo: AFP“In the pilot, we are likely to focus more on business travel, but beyond business travel, we are also looking at the possibility of leisure travel, particularly to those safer countries, those with a lower infection rate,” he said. Still, such relaxation will be done in a careful manner and local rules on gathering sizes could still be intact for a while as more people enter the country, Gan said. “We may be the first country who has a high vaccination rate, and yet taking a step-by-step approach to reopening,” Gan said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
International community sympathetic to Taiwan’s plight: Lee
A sampling of this distasteful practice can be had at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is the apex international organization for civil aviation. Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York Director James Lee stands in his office in New York. Even though the WHO rejected Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly, we have seen strong support from the international community. The G-7 countries also spoke in favor of Taiwan and said that Taiwan’s exclusion is not in the interest of the world,” Lee says. The Biden administration has also reaffirmed its commitment to support Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taiwan’s turn to help Lithuania
Taiwan’s turn to help LithuaniaBy Chang Jim-way 張經偉Lithuania, which has never received overseas aid from Taiwan, has done so much for the nation this year. Taiwan and Lithuania are joined in standing up for what is right, but how can Taiwan return the favor? For many years now, Lithuania has suffered from a social issue that could even be regarded as existential. After the COVID-19 pandemic abates, a tourism sector should be developed specifically for Lithuanians to visit Taiwan during winter months. In the meantime, a range of Taiwanese products, resplendent and full of tropical atmosphere, should be sent to Lithuania.
Source:Taipei Times
August 17, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taichung fire equipment ‘too old’
Taichung fire equipment ‘too old’By Su Meng-chuan, Tsai Shu-yuan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, with staff writerMuch of the Taichung Fire Bureau’s personal protective equipment has exceeded its service life, Taichung city councilors said. Taichung City Councilors Chen Shu-hua (陳淑華), Hsiao Lung-tse (蕭隆澤) and Chiu Su-chen (邱素貞) of the Democratic Progressive Party were speaking at a council session on Friday, citing information from the National Audit Office’s Taichung division. From left, Taichung city councilors Chiu Su-chen, Chen Shu-hua, Hsiao Lung-tse and Hsieh Ming-yuan, of the Democratic Progressive Party, display statistics at a council meeting on Friday showing that much of the Taichung Fire Bureau’s personal protective equipment has exceeded its service life. Taichung Fire Bureau Director-General Tseng Chin-tsai (曾進財) said that most of the expired equipment has been kept in working order by being repaired, and that replacing old or broken equipment is a budget priority for the bureau. Taichung firefighters collect intelligence and assess the situation prior to dispatching personnel, unlike other fire departments that carry out assessments after fire trucks arrive at a fire, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2021 15:56 UTC
Notes from central Taiwan: Our government: the helping claw
A recent piece at Taiwan Reporter summarized these crisis programs as having high thresholds, offering low levels of subsidies and ignoring part-time workers. Foreigners often complain, rightly, that they are left out of programs that they pay taxes for, but they are hardly alone. I have often speculated, though I have no direct evidence, that the low taxes on the wealthy were Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) tacit approach to reducing opposition from the wealthy to Taiwan’s democratization. NATIONAL DEFENSE THREATENEDWith taxes low and evasion widespread, Taiwan’s tax take as a proportion of GDP is extremely low for such a developed country. Notes from Central Taiwan is a column written by long-term resident Michael Turton, who provides incisive commentary informed by three decades of living in and writing about his adoptive country.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Majority want cash, not vouchers, poll finds
COVID-19: Majority want cash, not vouchers, poll finds‘RELIEF FIRST’: Only 9.8 percent of respondents in a Consumers’ Foundation survey preferred the Executive Yuan’s NT$5,000 vouchers aimed at stimulating the economyBy Lo Chi / Staff reporter, with CNAMore than 90 percent of Taiwanese want to receive cash rather than “quintuple stimulus vouchers” proposed by the Executive Yuan, a survey by the Consumers’ Foundation showed yesterday. The Executive Yuan is planning to issue another round of stimulus vouchers worth NT$5,000 to encourage domestic consumption in the wake of the recent COVID-19 outbreak. It on Thursday touted four advantages of issuing “quintuple stimulus vouchers” instead of cash, saying that the expiration date on the vouchers would mean that people would have to spend them quickly and, hence, stimulate the economy. A person in Taipei on July 16 last year holds samples of Triple Stimulus Vouchers. The Executive Yuan is scheduled to further discuss the proposed voucher plan with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus today.
Source:Taipei Times
August 15, 2021 15:56 UTC