Ministry looking to help 80 Taiwanese leave India
Ministry looking to help 80 Taiwanese leave IndiaBy Lu Yi-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said that it is assisting more than 80 Taiwanese citizens to return from India, but panned media reports that it had been against the idea. Commenting on reports that the government should evacuate Taiwanese from India, Tseng said that such an action has greater diplomatic ramifications than people realize and should not be done lightly. In a news release on Wednesday, the ministry denied a media report saying that it had allegedly decided on Monday to not evacuate Taiwanese from India. MOFA and the TECC are assisting Taiwanese who wish to return by negotiating with airlines, the ministry said. Since COVID-19 spread to India in March last year, the ministry has helped more than 750 Taiwanese return home by negotiating flights for them, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
CECC tightens rules for CAL crews
CECC tightens rules for CAL crews‘DOWN TO ZERO’: Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said quarantine periods for long-haul CAL flight crews are to be lengthened from three to five daysBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAThe Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced longer quarantine restrictions for China Airlines (CAL, 華航) flight crew, after another confirmed COVID-19 case brought the total in a cluster linked to the airline to 29. Meanwhile, the CECC yesterday reported 13 new cases, including a local case related to the Novotel Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport hotel. With yesterday’s confirmation, five hotel employees and one subcontractor have now tested positive for COVID-19, as well as three of their family members. Information provided by the CECC and the Taoyuan City Government indicated that the hotel placed CAL crew under quarantine in areas not sanctioned for quarantine use, it said. Eleven of them tested positive during quarantine, while one had a fever when she arrived and tested positive after being sent to hospital, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
May 06, 2021 15:56 UTC
Airline staff, families must be vaccinated: lawmakers
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ming-wen speaks at the legislature in Taipei on March 26. In addition to airline workers, railway and highway bus workers should be vaccinated as well, he added. “The hotel’s Hall 1, on the other hand, was for China Airlines flight and cabin crew who needed to fulfill the quarantine requirement. The flight and cabin crew are managed by the CAA,” Wang said. Nearly 1,300 EVA Airways pilots and flight attendants had been vaccinated as of yesterday, the airline told the Taipei Times.
Source:Taipei Times
May 05, 2021 16:00 UTC
Brown Line riders can check how crowded cars are
Brown Line riders can check how crowded cars areBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterPassengers of Taipei MRT System’s Wenhu Line (Brown Line) can check how crowded the carriages are using the Taipei MRT app, as well as displays in the stations, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The company has made the service available on the busiest MRT Line after testing it for one year on the Bannan Line (Blue Line). A train travels along the Taipei MRT System’s Wenhu Line (Brown Line) in an undated photograph. Instructions on how to use an app that shows how crowded carriages are on the Taipei MRT System’s Wenhu Line (Brown Line) are displayed on a computer monitor yesterday. Photo: Tsai Szu-pei, Taipei TimesBy next year, the service would also be available for passengers on Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line), Songshan-Xindian Line (Green Line) and the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line (Orange Line), TRTC said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 05, 2021 16:00 UTC
HSBC Taiwan wins happy work environment award
HSBC Taiwan wins happy work environment awardBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterHSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) plans to adopt several approaches to build a happy workplace for its employees, chief executive officer Adam Chen (陳志堅) said yesterday. Chen’s comment came after the bank ranked first among all domestic companies to win Chinese-language Global Views Monthly magazine’s Happy Enterprise Award on Monday. HSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd chief executive officer Adam Chen, right, receives the Happy Enterprise Award from Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Thomas Huang at a ceremony in Taipei on Monday. Photo courtesy of HSBCThe magazine said that HSBC Bank Taiwan’s flexible working arrangements was one of the reasons it was a happy enterprise. The bank offers spouse benefits to employees’ partners and would be relaxing some basic rules to benefit staff more, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
May 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Along the camphor trail
We consider the comfort and safety of the user with each step.”Thousand Miles Trail Association instructor Chu Mu-kun, short sleeves, works on the Daniuci Trail last Saturday. Thousand Miles Trail Association instructor Chu Mu-kun, short sleeves, works on the Daniuci Trail last Saturday. Named the Dunan Old Trail (渡南古道), it is the first entirely hand-built trail on the Raknus Selu. Instead, Miao and Lo recommend several loops from the guesthouse through the Dunan Old Trail that range from 5km to 17km. “It’s a special connection that you’ll never forget.”Thousand Miles Trail Association recommends six communities and routes to explore:‧ Siaocukeng Old Trail (小粗坑) — Sankeng Old Street (三坑), Longtan District (龍潭), Taoyuan City‧ Dunan Old Trail and Feifeng Old Trail (飛鳳古道) — Guansi Township (關西), Hsinchu County‧ Shihyingzih Old Trail (石硬子古道) — Beipu Township (北埔), Hsinchu County‧ Mingfeng Old Trail (鳴鳳古道) — Shihtan Township (獅潭), Miaoli County‧ Chuguan Old Trail (出關古道) and Guandaoshan (關刀山) — Jiangmayuan (姜麻園), Miaoli County‧ Laoguandao (老官道) — Dahu Townsnhip (大湖), Miaoli County
Source:Taipei Times
May 05, 2021 15:56 UTC
Grizzlies owner buys Taipei unit
Grizzlies owner buys Taipei unitStaff writer, with CNARobert Pera, owner of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, has bought a luxury apartment in Taipei, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) said on Monday. The exterior of Continental Development Corp’s upscale 55Timeless Tower, white building on left, is pictured in Taipei’s Xinyi District on Jan. 7. The Liberty Times report said that Pera’s 950m2 luxury unit is on Xinyi Road Sec 5, adjacent to many tall buildings, including landmark skyscraper Taipei 101. Excluding three parking spaces that cost him NT$13.80 million, Pera spent about NT$2.15 million per ping (1 ping equals 3.3m2) for the property, the report said. On its Web site, Continental Development said that the 55Timeless Tower, designed by New York-based architect Richard Meier, has 31 floors above ground and four below ground.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Experts encourage handwashing
To mark World Hand Hygiene Day today, National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital held a news conference to raise awareness about the importance of hand hygiene, saying that it can prevent infectious disease, including COVID-19. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, third left, and other officials hold teddy bears at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. NTU vice president and CECC specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that masks, handwashing and social distancing over the past year have significantly reduced seasonal flu, enterovirus infections and even diarrhea-related illnesses. Confirmed cases so far include airline crew members and hotel employees, and their family members, which can be considered the first degree of local transmission, Huang said. As some of the recent cases had only mild symptoms, they visited many places in Taiwan, so it is difficult to track everyone who was potentially exposed to them, Huang said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
GlobalWafers mulls more capacity as demand grows
GlobalWafers mulls more capacity as demand growsBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterGlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that it is considering further capacity expansion as customers are requesting more capacity due to rising end-market demand and persistent supply constraints. The Hsinchu-based company said that emerging technologies and applications from 5G, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles are driving semiconductor demand. We are now in discussions with customers,” company chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) told a virtual investors’ conference yesterday. To keep up with rising customer demand, GlobalWafers plans further capital spending on expanded capacity this year, Hsu said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
KMT urges more vaccination incentives
KMT urges more vaccination incentivesBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged the government to increase incentives for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang (王育敏) told a news conference in Taipei that China, Israel, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US have higher COVID-19 vaccination rates than Taiwan. Taiwan Society of Preventive Medicine chairman Arthur Chen speaks at a news conference at the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) headquarters in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times“We are far behind” in vaccination efforts, she said. The Ministry of Labor is to announce an unpaid vaccination leave policy, but given the low vaccination rate, the CECC should consider offering additional incentives, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Most working mothers anxious, exhausted: survey
Most working mothers anxious, exhausted: surveyBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterMost Taiwanese working mothers are anxious and exhausted, with 66 percent saying that their workplace is not friendly toward them, a survey by online job bank yes123 found. “The typical Taiwanese working mother is burning the candle at four ends,” yes123 spokesperson Yang Tsung-pin (楊宗斌) said. “They are expected to provide economically for the family, deliver excellent performance at work, bring up the kids and also take care of elderly people in the family.”In addition to family expectations, many working mothers said they faced discrimination at work. Of the respondents, 54.8 percent said that they were paid less for the same amount of work than their colleagues who were not mothers, while 66.8 percent said that they had lost out on promotions because they were mothers. If they could do it over again, 66.2 percent of respondents said that they would still have children, while 33.8 percent said they would not.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Vanguard to raise annual equipment outlay by 70%
The Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp logo is pictured at the company’s headquarters in the Hsinchu Science Park on Jan. 9 last year. We expect the company’s factory utilization rate to be very high throughout 2021,” Vanguard chairman Fang Leuh (方略) told investors in a teleconference. Asked about the possibility of acquiring a less advanced 6-inch fab, Fang said that the company would clinch a deal as long as the fab has a reasonable price and a good location. Revenue this quarter is expected to increase 11 percent sequentially, or up to NT$10.2 billion from NT$9.18 billion last quarter. In the January-to-March quarter, Vanguard saw its net profit surge 46.36 percent to NT$2.21 billion from NT$1.55 billion last year.
Source:Taipei Times
May 04, 2021 15:56 UTC
Tsai owes public an apology: KMT
Tsai owes public an apology: KMT‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: Chao Chieh-yu’s misconduct dates back to 2016 and President Tsai Ing-wen should have reacted to his behavior long ago, Alicia Wang saidBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), as chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), should apologize to the public for a scandal involving former DPP member Chao Chieh-yu (趙介佑), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee director-general Alicia Wang speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Tsai was DPP chairperson at the time and should have been upset by Chao Chieh-yu’s controversies “long ago,” Wang said. As DPP chairperson, Tsai should apologize to the public for the disturbance caused by a member of her party, Wang said. The KMT in a statement accused Tsai of wanting to distance the DPP from the scandal.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Military at peacetime readiness
The military continuously adjusts the number of troops on alert depending on developments in the security situation around Taiwan, Chang told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has conducted at least 270 sorties into airspace and waters near Taiwan, Ministry of National Defense data showed. To prevent the occurrence of an unplanned military encounter, all Taiwanese military personnel receive comprehensive briefings before going on missions, Chang told lawmakers, adding that the nation closely cooperates on intelligence with like-minded countries. “Normal combat readiness status” is one of two general alert levels in the military, and remains active during peacetime and natural disasters when civilian authorities need military support. Responding to criticism that the incident represents a serious breach of national security, National Security Bureau Deputy Director-General Hu Mu-yuan (胡木源) said the authenticity of Zhou’s claims are still under investigation.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC
Two cases add to virus cluster
She is the daughter of a cargo pilot who tested positive in Australia, as reported by the center on April 20. The pilot’s wife and other child tested positive later in the month. The local health department arranged for her to be tested again on Sunday, because her family members were all diagnosed with COVID-19, he said. As of yesterday, 10 cargo plane pilots, eight of the pilots’ family members, four hotel workers and a hotel contractor, and three family members of a hotel worker have tested positive since April 20. The CECC yesterday reported six imported cases: travelers from the Netherlands, Indonesia and Uzbekistan.
Source:Taipei Times
May 03, 2021 15:56 UTC