Succesful by design
Citigroup pledges commitment to customers despite planned sale of Taiwan consumer businessCitigroup Inc on April 15 announced a change to its corporate strategy, including the sale of its consumer business in Taiwan and 12 other markets. “The process has just started and will take some time,” Citibank Taiwan Ltd (花旗台灣) said in a statement. “For the time being, no specific buyer has been identified for the Taiwan consumer business.” Until a buyer is found, it would “continue to serve our customers with the same care, empathy and dedication that we do today,” the lender said. Citibank said that there would be no changes for its credit card and banking customers, including for those enrolled
Source:Taipei Times
April 28, 2021 15:56 UTC
Songshan Precinct chief removed after damage to station
Songshan Precinct chief removed after damage to stationBy Chiu Chun-fu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday removed Lin Chih-cheng (林志誠) from his post as Taipei Songshan Precinct chief because of an incident at the precinct’s Zhonglun Police Station in which a group of young men were released without being charged after causing damage at the station. Yang had also been drinking, and said he had been on his way to the station at the time to rest. Lin Chih-cheng, who has been removed from his post as Taipei Songshan Precinct chief, talks to reporters at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Allowing people to act recklessly and damage police property has hurt the image of the station and the police force, the NPA said. Hsu Shu-huan (許書桓) — who was removed from his position as Zhonglun Police Station director on Thursday last week — yesterday said that he had accidentally deleted the surveillance footage.
Source:Taipei Times
April 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Gudeng to invest NT$5bn in new plant
Gudeng to invest NT$5bn in new plantBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterGudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登), the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pods to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), yesterday said that it plans to invest NT$5 billion (US$179.18 million) to build a new factory to expand its EUV component capacity. The more companies that adopt EUV technology, the more EUV pods would be used, the firm said. Intel is using more EUV tools to make 7-nanometer chips to fend off growing competition from Apple Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, the executive said. TSMC, Intel and Samsung are among the few chipmakers in the world that have the technological capability to advance their technologies with the assistance of EUV tools from ASML Holding NV, the sole supplier of EUV tools. EUV pods are to make up about 60 percent of Gudeng’s wafer pods, up from 50 percent last year, Chiu said in January.
Source:Taipei Times
April 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
TPP lawmakers slam labor conditions
TPP lawmakers slam labor conditionsAGING TAX BASE: Among a host of other issues, Lai Hsiang-ling said that an injection of NT$22bn would not shore up the labor insurance fund before it becomes insolventBy Chen Yun and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) yesterday called Taiwan’s low wages “a national disgrace,” and demanded that the government improve working conditions and raise the minimum wage. Taiwan’s labor conditions fall short with regard to labor insurance, protection for atypical workers, the minimum wage, the health of labor unions and peace of mind for workers, Lai said. The government has to shore up the labor insurance fund before it becomes insolvent, which critics have said could occur in 2026, she said. TPP Legislator Kao Hung-an (高虹安) said that the party caucus has proposed amendments to the Culture and Arts Reward Act (文化藝術獎助條例), which would bolster the rights of creative industry workers and expand their participation in labor insurance. Unreasonable regulations are to blame for Taiwan’s low unionization rate, which has remained at 7.6 percent for many years, Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions president Chiu I-kan (邱奕淦) said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Subsidies mulled for Palau visits
Taiwan has been allowing people to travel to the Pacific island nation since April 1 via a “travel bubble” agreement between the two countries. While the pilot tours attracted more than 100 Taiwanese tourists, travel operators have since then reported lackluster sales of tours, which caused China Airlines to cancel charter flights to Palau. Restrooms set aside for “travel bubble passengers” are pictured at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on April 4. Photo: Hsiao Yu-hsin, Taipei Times“Through the subsidies, we hope that tour prices would return to the pre-COVID-19 level, which would motivate more people to travel. Foreign expatriates in Taiwan who have Alien Permanent Resident Cards or Alien Resident Cards are allowed to travel to Palau through the “travel bubble” agreement as well, the bureau said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Novatek profit hits record amid stay-at-home demand
Novatek profit hits record amid stay-at-home demandBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterNovatek Microelectronics Corp (聯詠) on Monday reported a record NT$6.08 billion (US$217.88 million) net profit for last quarter as the work-from-home and remote-schooling trends boosted demand for chips for notebook computers, tablets and gaming monitors. Last quarter’s net profit tripled from NT$2.02 billion a year earlier, Novatek said. On a quarterly basis, net profit expanded 33.63 percent from NT$4.55 billion, it said. Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei TimesEarnings per share (EPS) surged to NT$9.66, compared with NT$3.63 a year earlier and NT$5.99 the previous quarter, it said. Revenue last quarter also surpassed the company’s guidance of NT$25.2 billion to NT$26 billion, expanding 56.13 percent annually and 17.46 percent quarterly to NT$26.37 billion, Novatek said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
The crow who caws for the land
Huang Huan-chang shows reporters in 2016 evidence of industrial waste from a fish farm in Tainan. “That’s why I’m still an assistant professor.”Huang Huan-chang, left, joins a press conference last August to criticize the government’s regulation of industrial waste. Electronic industrial waste can still be found on the banks of the Erjen River. Huang says the government’s broad designation of certain types of industrial waste as “reusable” in the name of sustainable development is problematic. “We talk about a circular economy, but it’s circulating poison into the soil,” Huang says.
Source:Taipei Times
April 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Cycling tours beckon post-pandemic tourism era
Cycling tours beckon post-pandemic tourism eraBy Hsiao Yu-hsin / Staff reporterMore than 1,000 hotels are expected to be certified as cyclist-friendly accommodation by the end of this year as they eye business opportunities brought by the “Year of Cycling Tourism,” the Tourism Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said it has designated this year the “Year of Cycling Tourism” as the government focuses on creating innovative domestic tours in the post-COVID-19 era. The hotel chain also offers several unique cycling tours. Fullon Hotels & Resort, which has seven hotels across the nation, has upgraded its facilities to prepare for the cycling tourism year. The hotel chain offers special deals combining cycling tours with hotel stays, with more than 100 rooms being booked through the promotion, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
April 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
KMT needs to recognize US’ shift on Taiwan ties
KMT needs to recognize US’ shift on Taiwan tiesBy Tommy Lin 林逸民On April 14, a delegation of retired US officials arrived in Taiwan for a three-day visit. The next day, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga met with US President Joe Biden at the White House for a leaders’ summit. These events point toward a new era of US-Japan “strategic clarity” on Taiwan, characterized by explicit support for Taipei. The Biden administration has clearly decided to retain much of the China policy it inherited from former US president Donald Trump. Although unable to annex Taiwan, China takes advantage of every opportunity to vocalize its claim to it.
Source:Taipei Times
April 26, 2021 15:56 UTC
TPP establishes Kaohsiung base, eyes council seats
TPP establishes Kaohsiung base, eyes council seatsBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporter, with CNAThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday established a Kaohsiung chapter, with a pledge to win at least three city councilor seats in elections next year. TPP Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) doubles as the head of the chapter, which is headquartered on Sandao 2nd Road in Cianjhen District (前鎮). It is also Jang’s service office. From second left, Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) Legislator Jang Chyi-lu, Taipei Mayor and TPP chairman Ko Wen-je and TPP Taipei chapter head Lin Kuo-cheng take part in a ceremony to inaugurate the party’s Kaohsiung chapter, which doubles as Jang’s service office, at a ceremony in the city’s Cianjhen District yesterday. The Kaohsiung mayoral election is a single-seat, single-vote system, so it would be difficult for a small party to win, Jang said, adding that the office would focus on councilor seats next year.
Source:Taipei Times
April 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taiwan in Time: The ‘communist rebellion’ finally ends
The six-day Wild Lily Student Movement of March 1990 called for Taiwan’s democratization, including the abolishment of the temporary provisions. The May 1, 1991 edition of the Liberty Times announces the repeal of the temporary provisions. After deliberating, they decided to add the temporary provisions, which were adopted on May 10, 1948 and set to expire two years later. Most importantly, with the repeal of the temporary provisions, the Chinese Communist Party would no longer be seen as a rebel group. After deliberation, they decided to add the temporary provisions, which were adopted on May 10, 1948 and set to expire after two years.
Source:Taipei Times
April 24, 2021 15:56 UTC
Learning from China’s diplomacy
Learning from China’s diplomacyBy Paul Lin 林保華April 10 marked the 50th anniversary of the US and China’s “Ping-Pong diplomacy.” Washington and Beijing issued statements to mark the occasion, which betrayed a sense that both sides, like lovers apart, still hold a fondness for their previous relationship. The US should not at all be sentimental, as Ping-Pong diplomacy was a trap — a triumph of deceit and subterfuge for Beijing, and a five-decade strategic disaster for Washington. It began in 1971 when Beijing extended an invitation to US table tennis players to visit China. To mark the Ping-Pong diplomacy anniversary, Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai (崔天凱) released a recorded speech in which he called on both sides to carry forward the spirit of Ping-Pong diplomacy and seek common ground. The global order bears an uncanny resemblance to ancient China’s Records of the Three Kingdoms (三國志).
Source:Taipei Times
April 23, 2021 16:11 UTC
KMT complains about cameras
KMT complains about cameras‘POLICE STATE’: The lack of CCTV devices outside the DPP office down the corridor suggests the installation was politically motivated, KMT Legislator Alex Fai saidBy Chen Yun, Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused the government of conducting “surveillance of the opposition” after the installation of CCTV cameras in front of its office in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) told a conference outside the legislative chamber that the cameras — which have facial recognition and sound recording capabilities — were installed without the caucus’ assent. You asked Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) to halt installations until the matter is looked into and a report is delivered within 10 days. Cameras were installed in 2012 following a request by the KMT caucus, which at the time was concerned about possible break-ins at office, Lin said. The KMT caucus is free to sign a statement that it does not wish the installation to continue, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
Putting it together
IN FOCUS: China’s drills near Taiwan take aim at US‘AN EXCUSE’: The intent of Beijing’s incursions was ‘intimidation and coercion,’ a senior US official said, adding that China was using the US to justify its actions Chinese carrier drills and stepped-up incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in the past few weeks are meant to send a message to Washington to stand down and back off, security sources in Taipei said. The increased activity — which China, unusually, described as “combat drills” on Wednesday — has raised alarm in both Taipei and Washington, although security officials do not see it as a sign of an imminent attack. Rather, at least some of the exercises are practicing “access denial” maneuvers to prevent foreign forces from coming to Taipei’s defense in a war, one official familiar with Taiwan’s securityBy Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee
Source:Taipei Times
April 23, 2021 15:56 UTC
Groups hail labor hazards act
Groups hail labor hazards actPAYOUTS: The Labor Occupational Hazard Insurance and Protection Act says that workers have to be insured, and minimum premiums are tied to the minimum wageBy Chen Yun, Peng Wan-hsin and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writerMore than 10 million people are to be affected after disability premiums and mandatory insurance rules were overhauled yesterday, as the Legislative Yuan passed the Labor Occupational Hazard Insurance and Protection Act (勞工職業災害保險及保護法). Members of labor rights groups hold placards outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Anticipating the act’s passage, legislators and labor rights groups earlier yesterday held a news conference in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. Taiwan Occupation Safety and Health president Liao Hui-fang (廖蕙芳) said that the act, once promulgated, would be the first law providing a legal basis for occupational hazards disputes. Labor rights organizations would keep a close watch on the government as the regulations are implemented, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
April 23, 2021 15:56 UTC