Tracing the footsteps of 228
Little did they know that it would lead to one of the bloodiest events in Taiwan’s modern history, the 228 Incident. This memorial wall to the victims of the 228 Incident can be found outside the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum. A plaque indicating the “flash point of the 228 Incident” in Chinese and English can be found slightly to the east. Taipei 228 Memorial Hall (台北228紀念館) is situated here with permanent and special exhibitions about the incident. Photo: Han Cheung, Taipei Times
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2021 15:56 UTC
Identity and society
KMT’s signature drives near recordDISSATISFACTION? If the referendums collect more than 700,000 signatures each, they would have gotten the most signatures in the shortest time, the party said The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) two referendum petitions — one on banning the importation of pork with traces of ractopamine and the other on holding referendums on the same day as national elections — had as of Thursday gathered 691,398 and 674,497 signatures respectively, the party said yesterday. If the petitions collect more than 700,000 signatures apiece, they would have garnered the most signatures in the shortest time since the Referendum Act (公民投票法) was amended in 2017, party officials said. The KMT proposed the “anti-ractopamine pork” or “food safety” referendum just days after President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) announcement on Aug. 28 lastBy Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2021 15:56 UTC
Hand washing urged as diarrhea cases increase
Hand washing urged as diarrhea cases increaseMORE WARY: The rise in the number of cases has been slightly lower this year, which could be because people are practicing disease prevention measures due to COVID-19By Lee I-chia / Staff reporterPeople were urged to wash their hands more frequently after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported an increase in the number of cases of diarrhea over the past two weeks. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) told a news conference that 138,462 cases of diarrhea were reported last week, adding that 87 clusters of diarrhea cases have been reported nationwide in the past four weeks, with 86 percent of the clusters containing 10 or fewer cases. Fifty-eight of the clusters tested positive for pathogens, with norovirus accounting for 97 percent of the cases, he said, adding that 71 percent of cases had occurred at restaurants and hotels. Centers for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday after the number of cases of diarrhea continued to increase last week. Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei TimesPeople often get together and enjoy meals with family and friends during the Lunar New Year holiday, so diarrhea cases often increase after the holiday, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2021 15:56 UTC
China pineapple ban offset in four days
China on Friday announced that it would suspend imports of Taiwanese pineapples starting on Monday, citing biosafety concerns. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times“Domestic orders have already surpassed the total sold to China last year,” COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said, after announcing a total of 41,687 tonnes in domestic orders over the past four days. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times“We are also looking at boosting exports to countries other than China. Last year, we sold US$131 million of fruit to China and US$52 million to all other countries combined,” Chen said. At 71 percent of total fruit exports, sales to China last year dropped slightly from 2016, when 77 percent of Taiwan’s fruit exports went to China, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2021 15:56 UTC
Student union urges safe entry for HK refugees
Student union urges safe entry for HK refugeesBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe National Students’ Union of Taiwan yesterday urged the government to provide safe entry for Hong Kongers seeking asylum in the nation. The government should continue to provide ways for students in Hong Kong to enroll in or transfer to local schools, and to expand the list of schools accepting such requests, it said. Union members also held a news conference in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei in support of the Chinese University of Hong Kong student union, as well as the 47 pro-democracy figures facing charges under the territory’s national security legislation. They held placards and chanted slogans such as: “Support Hong Kong youth,” “Political participation is not a crime,” “There are no rioters, only tyranny,” and “Hong Kongers will not give up. We will not give up.”The news conference came after members of Syzygia (朔夜) — the newly elected executive committee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong student union — on Monday announced their collective resignation, citing death threats and intimidation.
Source:Taipei Times
March 02, 2021 15:56 UTC
HPA planning premature baby home-care program
HPA planning premature baby home-care programAGING PARENTS: As the number of women waiting until after 35 to have children increases, so do the number of premature births in Taiwan, an expert saidBy Yang Yuan-ting and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Health Promotion Administration (HPA) is to implement a program for the home care of prematurely born babies, after more than 10 percent of babies born in 2019 were premature or underweight. Data from 2019 showed that 10.24 percent of newborns weighed less than 2.5kg, while 10.4 percent were preterm births, the HPA said yesterday, adding that it has produced a booklet for parents of premature and underweight babies, and that it is planning to offer a home-care program. When babies are born prematurely their organs are not fully developed, which can lead to heightened risk of respiratory distress syndrome, patent ductus arteriosus, periventricular leukomalacia and other conditions, the HPA said. “The program is to be implemented at five hospitals nationwide in the coming year.”Resources for parents of premature babies are concentrated in major cities, but the new program would make more resources available in rural areas, as well as outlying islands, Wu said. The majority of babies born prematurely — defined as those born before 37 weeks of pregnancy — are healthy, but some face brain development problems, Huang said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2021 15:56 UTC
‘No terminal, no gas’: Official defends CPC project
‘No terminal, no gas’: Official defends CPC projectLIMITING GROWTH: Stopping the LNG terminal project could lead to a power shortage and worsen air quality, as the nation would need to burn more coal, an official saidBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterA proposed referendum to stop CPC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣中油) third liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project in Taoyuan would exacerbate a potential energy crunch in northern Taiwan, a Bureau of Energy official and an academic told the Taipei Times yesterday. The proposed terminal is critical for supplying LNG to the Datan power plant, Bureau of Energy Deputy Director-General Lee Chun-li (李君禮) said. The site of CPC Corp, Taiwan’s third liquefied natural gas terminal project is pictured in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of an unnamed environmental protection group via CNA“No terminal, no gas,” he said by telephone. “Forget about starting the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, we cannot even find a way to let the second nuclear power plant run for its full lifespan,” Lee said, referring to the Guosheng plant.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2021 15:56 UTC
Insurers’ FYPs continued to drop in January, but pace of decline slowing
Insurers’ FYPs continued to drop in January, but pace of decline slowingBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterLife insurers’ first-year premiums (FYPs) continued to fall in January, but the pace of decline slowed from previous months, helped by sales of investment-linked products, the Life Insurance Association said in a report on Feb. 19. The logos of local life insurance companies are pictured in an undated illustration. The association attributed the decline to insurers cutting declared interest rates and halting sales of unprofitable disability insurance products. Traditional life insurance policies comprise of regular life insurance, accident insurance, health insurance and annuity insurance products. Sales of accident insurance policies rose 2.5 percent in January and annuity insurance sales rose 34.3 percent, the report said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2021 15:56 UTC
Taiwan’s GDP forecast to grow 4.1%
Economic indicators at the beginning of this year signal improving growth momentum for its economy over the coming months, as the global economy and trade rebounds, the US-British information provider said. Taiwan’s economy is forecast to expand 4.1 percent this year, accelerating from a 3.11 percent pickup last year, research body IHS Markit said yesterday. With an improving economic landscape worldwide following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, global demand for electronics products would remain sturdy, IHS Markit said. Demand for industrial electronics is also expected to grow substantially over the medium term, as industrial automation and the Internet of Things would fuel demand for industrial electronics, IHS Markit said. These factors lend support to the medium-term outlook for Taiwan’s electronics sector exports and capital expenditure, which would be key drivers of economic growth, IHS Markit said.
Source:Taipei Times
March 01, 2021 15:56 UTC
Local firms step up for pineapples
Local firms step up for pineapplesBy Yang Yuan-ting and Lee Hsin-fang / Staff reportersTaiwanese firms responded swiftly to a call to buy the nation’s surplus pineapple crop after China abruptly stopped imports, with 10 local firms placing orders totaling 1,600 tonnes, Council of Agriculture officials said yesterday. Excluding the 13 batches, 99.79 percent of the pineapples sent to China since last year have met Chinese import standards, it added. The council has set up a hotline for companies to place large orders, and it took measures to stabilize pineapple prices. Taiwan last year exported 41,661 tonnes of pineapples to China for NT$1.49 billion (US$52.64 million), accounting for 91 percent of total pineapple exports, the data showed. “We are looking at companies to place orders to present pineapples as gifts to employees and customers.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 16:00 UTC
Southern sojourn
Tainan City councilor calls for adopting RomanizationCHANGING IT UP: With Bopomofo rarely used outside of Taiwan, the lawmaker said that Romanization would help the government in its internationalization efforts Tainan City Councilor Lee Chi-wei (李啟維) yesterday called for the use of Romanized spellings to make Taiwanese dialects and languages internationally recognizable. Speaking at a news conference in Tainan to mark International Mother Language Day, Lee said the use of zhuyin fuhao (注音符號, Mandarin phonetic symbols commonly known as Bopomofo) made it difficult to promote interest in, or recognition of, the nation’s dialects and languages, as the system is not commonly used outside of Taiwan. “The legislature has already passed the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法), but under the current circumstances that act is like a candle in the wind,” heBy Tsai Wen-chu and William Hetherington
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Wanhua store declared heritage site
Wanhua store declared heritage siteBy Yang Hsin-hui and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chin Yi Ho (金義合) building opposite the Wanhua Train Station was on Friday unanimously approved by the Taipei City Government’s Cultural Asset Review committee as a cultural heritage site. In the past few years, the family had intended to knock down the building and construct a building for commercial and office use. The Chin Yi Ho building near the Wanhua Train Station in Taipei is pictured in an undated photograph. Photo copied by Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei TimesHowever, they backed away from the idea, saying that the building had great significance to the family. The consensus was to conserve the building, Lu said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
KMT uses issues, swag to attract youth
KMT uses issues, swag to attract youthBy Shih Hsiao-kuang and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerThe Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is this year setting its sights on young, moderate voters by focusing on policy issues such as animal protection and housing, and offering trendy merchandise, the party’s youth director said on Saturday last week. To boost waning support for the KMT among young voters after last year’s general election, the party first focused on reaching out to people already within the pan-blue camp, KMT Youth Department director Chen Kuan-an (陳冠安) said. People hold Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) merchandise and books about Taiwanese history at a news conference in Taipei to launch an online shopping portal on Nov. 17 last year. Another task for the department is to design merchandise, Chen said. However, many young pan-blue supporters are not enthusiastic about working in politics due to the party’s opaque promotion system, he added.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
COVID-19: Home isolation rules to be tightened
“Starting on March 1, individuals under home isolation will also be subject to the ‘one person per housing unit’ rule,” he said. Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesPeople undergoing home isolation cannot stay in a housing unit in which non-isolated people live, unless they obtain special approval, the CECC said. However, she tested positive upon ending centralized quarantine on Thursday, he said. He tested positive in a paid test on Thursday after having completed quarantine at a hotel, he added. The other case is a Philippine migrant worker who tested positive in a paid test on Friday while practicing self-health management, Chen said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 27, 2021 15:56 UTC
Ko urges no parking for vehicles with unpaid fees
People who owe parking fees for one week or longer should be denied parking public spaces, Ko said at a city government meeting on traffic affairs yesterday. The city in 2015 established a mechanism to enforce parking fee payment, and in 2018 added a mechanism to track and lock vehicles that have unpaid fees, the Taipei Parking Management Development Office said. The office last year collected NT$25 million (US$883,205) in fines from 210,000 vehicle owners who had not paid their parking fees, it said. Ko urged officials to target vehicles instead of owners, saying that vehicles should be denied parking in the city if there are outstanding fees. Vehicles whose owners have not paid their fees in more than a month should be towed immediately, Ko said.
Source:Taipei Times
February 26, 2021 15:56 UTC