COVID-19: I-Mei to send Lithuania snacks in thanks for vaccines
COVID-19: I-Mei to send Lithuania snacks in thanks for vaccinesStaff writer, with CNASnack packages that I-Mei Foods is planning to send to Lithuania to express Taiwan’s gratitude for the donation of COVID-19 vaccines are to have a special design incorporating the national flags of the two countries, the food manufacturer told the Central News Agency on Monday. Boxes of I-Mei Foods’ Puffs with packaging specially designed to show gratitude for Lithuania’s pledged donation of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan are shown in an undated photograph. On June 23, one day after Lithuania announced the donation, I-Mei said it would send 21,600 boxes of puffs in a 20-foot container to the Baltic country as a gift. Krizinio Nestumo Centras acting head Simona Nevieriene said that it was the first time since the charity’s foundation in 2013 that it received donations from Taiwan. RUTA Taiwan, which sells chocolate made in Lithuania, said it had to temporarily suspend online orders due to high demand.
Source:Taipei Times
July 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Daily local COVID-19 count drops to 18, three deaths
Daily local COVID-19 count drops to 18, three deathsBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterEighteen domestic cases of COVID-19 were confirmed yesterday, a new low since a local outbreak began in May, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Twelve of the cases were reported in Taipei and six in New Taipei City, it said. They had been confirmed with COVID-19 between May 28 and June 17, the center said. As of yesterday, Taiwan had reported 15,149 confirmed COVID-19 cases — including 1,193 imported and 13,903 domestic cases — with 718 deaths, CECC data showed. As of Wednesday, 2,899,997 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered — 2,847,653 first doses and 52,344 second doses, CECC data showed.
Source:Taipei Times
July 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Lithuanian minister eyes Taiwan office opening this year
Lithuanian minister eyes Taiwan office opening this yearStaff writer, with CNALithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite hopes to open a trade office in Taiwan this year, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported yesterday. Armonaite said that opening representative offices in new markets is part of her mission as minister, because Lithuania is an export-driven economy, Deutsche Welle reported. On issues relating to China, Armonaite told Deutsche Welle that it is important to pay attention to what is happening in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and other places. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that the ministry welcomes Lithuania’s intention to expand cooperation with Taiwan, including its plan to set up a trade office in Taiwan and to amend laws to pave the way for that to happen. Ou thanked Lithuania for its pledge on June 22 to donate 20,000 AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan.
Source:Taipei Times
July 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
First in Asia: CTBC reveals financed emissions using PCAF methodology
First in Asia: CTBC reveals financed emissions using PCAF methodologyStaff writerCTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) has disclosed its financed emissions after completing an inventory using the industry-leading Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) methodology, becoming the first company in Asia to do so. “Financial institutions like us need to use our influence to make this low-carbon transition happen,” he added. The company will continue to track the GHG emissions of each financial business line and conduct more comprehensive assessments and disclosures, it said. In November last year, PCAF published the first edition of The Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry. To date, 138 financial institutions worldwide with assets totaling more than US$42 trillion have joined PCAF.
Source:Taipei Times
July 08, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ho Ming-teh charity heads indicted over cash issue
Ho Ming-teh charity heads indicted over cash issueBy Lin Yi-chang and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerProsecutors in Chiayi yesterday charged two leaders of the Ho Ming-teh Charitable Group for allegedly misappropriating nearly NT$700 million (US$25.01 million) from donations over 18 years. The organization was founded in memory of engineer Ho Ming-teh (何明德), who from 1965 led a volunteer movement to build bridges and pave roads in remote areas of Chiayi, Yunlin and Tainan counties. A composite photograph of the late Ho Ming-teh and his bridge-building work is pictured on a wall of the Ho Ming-teh Charitable Group’s office in Chiayi City yesterday. Under the premise of continuing her father’s legacy, Chen and Hsiao solicited donations online, including through Facebook, for the unregistered organization, they said. The remaining NT$695.71 million was allegedly used to purchase financial investments, high-value insurance and real estate, they said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ministry reiterates nation’s sovereignty
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou speaks at a news conference in Taipei on May 11. In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked Washington for supporting Taiwan’s participation in international affairs and having donated it 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccines. Ou also asserted the nation’s sovereignty. The government has been cautiously handling cross-strait relations based on a steady and practical attitude, while defending its liberal democracy and striving for more opportunities to participate in international affairs, Ou said. The ministry would continue to work closely with the US and deepen bilateral partnerships based on firm foundations, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Data support easing of pandemic alert: expert
COVID-19: Data support easing of pandemic alert: expertBy Wu Po-hsuan / Staff reporterScientific data suggest that a gradual lifting of a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert can be considered, National Taiwan University College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday. The nation has been under the level 3 alert since May 19. The college in late May introduced an index for evaluating whether the level 3 alert should be eased, he said. The government can consider lowering the alert level when the index falls below 0.5, he said, adding that the index is now at 0.32. If the government continues to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates while promoting high-precision virus tests, the alert level can be downgraded, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Yageo bullish about Q3
Yageo bullish about Q3BROADER VIEW: Yageo chairman Pierre Chen said the firm is benefiting from growing demand for high-end passive components from Europe, Japan and the USBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterYageo Corp (國巨), the world’s No. Yageo Corp chairman Pierre Chen poses for a photograph at the company’s annual general meeting in New Taipei City’s Xindian District yesterday. Orders and customer demand are keeping good momentum,” Chen said. To cope with robust customer demand, Yageo expects capital spending to make up 33 percent of the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year, and 28 percent next year, before slipping below 20 percent in 2023. Yageo shareholders yesterday approved a planned distribution of NT$10 per common share, including NT$2 per share from its capital surplus.
Source:Taipei Times
July 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
Chip shortage to last until 2023, UMC president says
Chip shortage to last until 2023, UMC president saysHUGE DEMAND: UMC’s revenue grew 26 percent last year, while operating income surged to NT$22.01bn, reflecting solid utilization rates across all its facilitiesStaff writer, with CNAThe global semiconductor shortage is expected to last until 2023 as the COVID-19 pandemic boosts demand for chips for automobiles and smart home devices, United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) copresident Chien Shan-chieh (簡山傑) said yesterday. Chip supply would fall short of demand and only worsen in the short term, with a shortage of 8-inch and 12-inch wafers set to be the most severe, Chien said. Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei TimesAs demand continues to soar, the global chip shortage is likely to last beyond next year until 2023, he said. Shareholders of UMC, the world’s third-largest contract chipmaker, yesterday during the online meeting approved a plan to distribute a NT$1.6 cash dividend. The company last year posted consolidated revenue of NT$176.82 billion, or earnings per share of NT$2.42, up 19.3 percent year-on-year.
Source:Taipei Times
July 07, 2021 15:56 UTC
EDITORIAL: Surge in pet adoptions worrisome
EDITORIAL: Surge in pet adoptions worrisomeAs domestic COVID-19 infections decrease and vaccinations increase, people across the nation are hoping that life can soon return to normal. Last month, the nation’s shelters reported a surge in adoptions, with the Taoyuan Animal Protection Office reporting 10 percent more adoptions than last year. The Taipei City Animal Protection Office reported being flooded with adoption requests immediately following the announcement of a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert on May 15. While this is common sense, the prevalence of pet abandonment requires it to be emphasized every time the issue is brought up. Adoption should be encouraged and many of these animals end up in loving, committed homes, but pet adoption should by no means be touted as a solution for weathering the seclusion of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:07 UTC
Vaccination booking system trial begins
Vaccination booking system trial begins1922.GOV.TW: People in the ninth and 10th priority groups are encouraged to start registering their willingness to be vaccinated from Tuesday next weekBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday unveiled the national online COVID-19 vaccination booking system and announced that a trial program was launched on three outlying islands yesterday morning. The ninth priority group is people aged 18 to 64, who have a high-risk disease, a rare disease or catastrophic illness; while the 10th priority group is people aged 50 to 64. Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang explains how to use the online vaccination booking system at the Central Epidemic Command Center’s daily news conference in Taipei yesterday. People who receive a text message informing them that they are eligible for vaccination in the next week can use 1922.gov.tw or the NHI app between Thursday and Sunday to book a vaccination appointment for the following week, she added. They can also make an appointment with their NHI card at convenience stores, pharmacies or public health centers that worked with the government’s mask rationing system, Tang said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:03 UTC
Commission tightens ESG rules to stop ‘greenwashing’
Commission tightens ESG rules to stop ‘greenwashing’SELLING POINT: Asset management firms must set at least one sustainability goal and explain how their investment would help achieve that goal, the FSC saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday enhanced disclosure requirements for environmental, social and governance (ESG)-themed funds to prevent “greenwashing” in the asset management sector. The logos of the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Securities and Futures Bureau are pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph. The firms should set at least one sustainability goal, and each goal should tackle environmental, social and governance issues at the same time, she said. The commission would not intervene in or regulate the sustainability goals that can be set by asset management firms, she said. If a recipient of an ESG fund were to be embroiled in a corporate scandal, the asset management firm supplying the fund would not be asked to withdraw its investment, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:02 UTC
Yageo’s revenue almost doubles year-on-year
Next quarter, it would continue to operate its factories at a high utilization rate to meet end-market demand, Yageo said. Yageo’s revenue last month was its best ever for June and brought revenue in the second quarter to NT$27.73 billion, up 105.9 percent from NT$13.47 billion in the same period last year. The company’s growth could be linked to the financial performance of its conductive paste supplier, Ample Electronic Technology Co (勤凱科技). Ample yesterday posted record revenue of NT$162.52 million for last month, up 60.56 percent from NT$101.22 million a year earlier. During the quarter ended Wednesday last week, Ample saw aggregated revenue soar 53.87 percent year-on-year to NT$472.81 million from NT$307.28 million.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:02 UTC
NPP backs KMT call for absentee vote
NPP backs KMT call for absentee voteOPPOSITION: The KMT is using absentee voting as an excuse to promote mail-in ballots, which contravene the Constitution, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming saidBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday threw its support behind a proposal by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to amend the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to allow absentee voting. “We will submit our version of the amendment to allow people to vote through absentee ballots in referendums,” Chen said. The KMT is using absentee voting as an excuse to promote mail-in ballots, which are against the Constitution, he said. DPP caucus secretary general Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the DPP’s position has always been to stipulate special regulations for absentee voting. Furthermore, the commission will need at least six months to train poll workers on the mechanics of an absentee voting system, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 16:00 UTC
Travel agency says Guam travelers mostly under 50
Travel agency says Guam travelers mostly under 50By Shelley Shan / Staff reporterNearly 73 percent of travelers participating in a pilot vaccine program in Guam are aged 49 or younger, with most choosing to be inoculated with Moderna’s or Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, Lion Travel said yesterday. Lion Travel’s first vaccine tour group departed for Guam at 9am yesterday, as did groups with other travel agencies. Messenger RNA vaccines reportedly offer stronger protection against variants of COVID-19, the travel agency said when asked why most travelers preferred to get inoculated with a regime requiring two shots. All 439 spots in its five-day Guam packages have been booked, it said. As of yesterday, 300 people had signed up for seven-day packages, Lion Travel said.
Source:Taipei Times
July 06, 2021 15:56 UTC