Rail repair reassessment ordered
Access to the section has been disrupted by a massive landslide on Friday last week triggered by days of heavy rainfall on Taiwan’s northeast coast. Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung, second left, inspects a damaged section of railway between Ruifang and Houtong stations in New Taipei City yesterday. “The new management system should take environmental factors into consideration,” Lin said. The landslide last week has raised questions over why the area fell through the cracks in the system. United Geotech was the contractor in charge of building the management system.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT’s Chiang visits human rights park
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang reads name plaques memorializing victims of political persecution in New Taipei City’s National Human Rights Museum yesterday. Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman Johnny Chiang, second left, yesterday visits the courtroom where Kaohsiung Incident detainees were tried at what is today the National Human Rights Museum in New Taipei City. Seeing his name on the plaque filled him with grief and regret, and taught him an important lesson, Johnny Chiang said. “There is no history that cannot be declassified, no truth that cannot be revealed,” Johnny Chiang said. It is from this stage in history that Taiwan’s flourishing democracy emerged, Johnny Chiang said, adding that he visited to reflect on this past and cherish the free and open society Taiwan now enjoys.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
GlobalWafers to acquire Siltronic for US$4.5 billion
GlobalWafers to acquire Siltronic for US$4.5 billionBloombergGlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) on Wednesday agreed to acquire German silicon wafer manufacturer Siltronic AG for about 3.75 billion euros (US$4.53 billion), yet another deal in a record year for the global semiconductor industry. GlobalWafers Co chairwoman Doris Hsu holds a silicon wafer at a media event at Hsinchu Science Park on Sept. 24, 2015. “Siltronic can help bolster GlobalWafers’ capability in 5G, power and Internet of Things,” Hsu said in an interview, adding that the deal would help GlobalWafers accelerate the development of more advanced, compound-based semiconductor technology. The combined company would be the world’s largest silicon wafer maker by revenue, with a market share of 32 to 35 percent, Fubon Securities Investment Services Co (富邦投顧) analyst Richard Hsia (夏武正) said. GlobalWafers, majority-owned by Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美晶), reported revenue of about NT$58 billion (US$2 billion) and operating income of NT$18 billion last year.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
CTi News online subscriptions soar
CTi News online subscriptions soarReutersThe CTi News has received a boost to its online presence, a senior executive of the channel said yesterday, as it prepares to shift its focus to the Internet after the expiration of its broadcasting licence. CTi’s major shareholder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), also runs one of China’s largest food firms, Want Want China Holdings. A CTi News broadcast is fimed in the lobby of the channel’s office building in Taipei, yesterday. CTi began operations in 1994 and is by many seen as being pro-China or “red media,” a reference to the Chinese Communist Party. “I’ve been at CTi for a long time, and as a senior executive in the news department.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
Financial risks low, but bear watching: TABF
Financial risks low, but bear watching: TABFVOLATILITY: The subindex on asset valuation risk slid last month, but remained above 100 because of an overheated property market, the institute saidBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe nation’s financial risks remain low, but rising housing prices, lending risks in banks’ overseas branches and stock market volatility need to be monitored, the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance (TABF, 台灣金融研訓院) said yesterday at the launch of its Taiwan Financial Risk Index. Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance (TABF) chairman Wu Chung-shu, second left, Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Thomas Huang, center, TABF president Hank Huang, second right, and other guests attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday to announce the launch of the Taiwan Financial Risk Index. Photo: Wu Chia-ying, Taipei TimesThe nation’s first self-developed financial risk indicator, the index is composed of four sub-indices: asset valuation risk, systemic stress in the financial sector, potential instability in the non-financial sector, and spillover and contagion risks. A reading of below 100 indicates low financial risks, while a reading above the threshold suggests higher risks, the nonprofit organization said. The institute spent two years compiling the index based on the European Central Bank’s financial stability risk index.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
Legislators call for legal amendment on gender equality
Legislators call for legal amendment on gender equalityBy Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNADemocratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) and Fan Yun (范雲) yesterday urged the Ministry of Labor to review gender equality laws to protect workers, following a sexual harassment scandal at a chocolate company. At a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, the lawmakers called for amending the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法). The amendment highlights a case in which former Fu Wan Chocolate president Hsu Feng-chia (許峰嘉) was sentenced to six months in prison in 2015. Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun, left, and Hung Sun-han attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday, calling on the Ministry of Labor to review gender equality laws. Fan said that Fu Wan Chocolate is the first instance of a company’s products being boycotted due to a sexual harassment case.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
Airbnb value reaches US$47bn on IPO
Airbnb value reaches US$47bn on IPOBloombergAirbnb Inc has priced its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) above a marketed range to raise about US$3.5 billion, seizing on investor demand for a home-rental business roaring back from a COVID-19 pandemic-fueled slump. Airbnb host Perla Requejo folds towels in a property that she rents to holidaymakers on the rental platform in Sanxenxo, Spain, on Monday. Photo courtesy of Perla Requejo, ReutersAt that price, Airbnb has a fully diluted value of about US$47 billion, which includes employee stock options and restricted stock units. San Francisco-based Airbnb has seen a bounce back in domestic bookings since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic crushed demand. Today, Airbnb is one of the biggest travel companies in the world.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
Popular shops incorrectly label drinks, FDA reports
Popular shops incorrectly label drinks, FDA reportsStaff writer, with CNASeveral popular hand-shaken drink brands and coffee shops have not correctly labeled the origin of the tea they use or the amount of caffeine contained in their products, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Wednesday. The FDA earlier this year inspected 258 convenience stores, mobile coffee outlets and hand-shaken beverage shops to determine if they are registered with local authorities, comply with Good Hygiene Practice and correctly label their products. It found that some stores, including Louisa Coffee, Comebuy, Itso Tea and tea house Gui Ji, incorrectly labeled the origin of their tea leaves, while Gui Ji and Taoyuan-based tea shop chain Cao Ben Tea incorrectly stated the sugar and calorie content of their beverages. Louisa Coffee was also found to have falsely labeled the geographic origin of its coffee beans, the FDA said. In addition, after testing 332 random samples ranging from beverage raw materials to containers from the 258 shops, the FDA found that ice cubes used by some beverage shops — including Comebuy’s Sheng-Shin branch in Keelung, one of Like Tea Shop’s Taichung branches and Tea House in Yunlin County’s Dongshi Township (東勢) — failed to meet required sanitary standards.
Source:Taipei Times
December 10, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ministry braces for A-mei rush on New Year’s Eve
Ministry braces for A-mei rush on New Year’s EveBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday unveiled plans to facilitate transportation to the east coast on New Year’s Eve, as people are expected to flock to Taitung County to attend Taiwanese pop diva A-mei’s (阿妹) New Year’s Eve concert. “Compared with the counties on the west coast, Taitung has a less developed public transport system. Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei TimesVisitors are encouraged to access the concert through the public transport system and wear masks throughout the concert to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it added. Meanwhile, Taitung city bus services would be offered every 30 minutes during peak hours, the ministry said, adding that more bus services would be provided between the Taitung Bus Station and the Taitung Railway Station, Taitung Airport and Jhihben National Forest Recreation Area. A temporary shuttle bus service between Kaohsiung and Taitung would be offered during the New Year holiday as well, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Breathing new life into an extinct beast
Breathing new life into an extinct beastAward-winning comic artist discusses his fantastical new work about the Formosan clouded leopard for the National Taiwan MuseumBy Han Cheung / Staff reporterComic artist Hambuck (漢寶包) worried that the outline for his new work was too whimsical. After all, the client was the National Taiwan Museum (國立台灣博物館), one of the nation’s oldest and respected institutes dedicated to Taiwan’s flora, fauna, history and culture. Museum director Hung Shih-yu (洪世佑) did give Hambuck flack after reading the plot featuring cloud leopards — but for being too conservative. We just wanted to draw what was cool and exciting.”This specimen of a cloud leopard is on display on the third floor of the National Taiwan Museum and is featured in The Beast of the Clouds. “They say that it’s extinct, but there’s people who dispute that ... There’s a lot of room for imagination,” he says.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taipower, joined by GE, CTCI, to add gas power units
Taipower, joined by GE, CTCI, to add gas power unitsCLEANER ENERGY: Five combined cycle generators would replace older models at the power plant in Kaohsiung and complement units at the Taichung plant, the firm saidBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterTaiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) has purchased five new natural gas power generators from General Electric Co (GE) that would add 6.5 million kilowatts to Taiwan’s power capacity, a 16.2 percent boost, the state-run company said yesterday. Three of the five units would be installed at the Sinda Power Plant in Kaohsiung, while two would be added to the Taichung Power Plant, Taipower said. From left, GE Gas Power Asia Pacific president and CEO Ramesh Singaram, Taiwan Power Co chairman Yang Wei-fu and CTCI Corp chairman Michael Yang pose for a photograph at a signing ceremony in Taipei yesterday. 2 coal-fired generators at the Sinda Power Plant, Taipower manager Chang Ting-shu (張廷抒) said. Installation of the Taichung units could be completed as early as 2024, pending approval.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Powerchip shares soar in trading debut
Powerchip shares skyrocketed to touch NT$84 soon after the market opened in the morning, from the subscription price of NT$26 per share. The logo of Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp is pictured outside the company’s headquarters at the Hsinchu Science Park on Feb. 25 last year. Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei TimesAbout 1.3 billion Powerchip shares changed hands, making it the most heavily traded stock on the board. In the first 10 months of this year, revenue surged about 84 percent year-on-year to NT$37.79 billion from NT$20.56 billion. Yesterday’s debut marked a comeback for Powerchip, which was delisted from the Taipei Exchange in 2012 due to deep debts.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Standard Chartered projects slow Taiwan GDP growth
Standard Chartered projects slow Taiwan GDP growthBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterStandard Chartered Bank Taiwan Ltd (渣打台灣銀行) yesterday forecast that the economy would grow 3.3 percent next year, following an expansion of 1.8 percent this year. Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan Ltd economist Tony Phoo is pictured in his office in Taipei on Dec. 15, 2016. Only when people feel safe and resume their consumption, the global economy will return to the pre-pandemic level,” he said. The prediction came in contrast to the DGBAS’ forecast that private investment would increase by a healthy 3.19 percent next year. The US-China trade tensions would be another potential risk for Taiwan’s economy, Phoo said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
CTi News closure ‘detrimental’: KMT
CTi News closure ‘detrimental’: KMTSILENCING DISSENT? Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang said the Democratic Progressive Party cut out the news channel most opposed to its viewsBy Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe shutdown of CTi News (中天新聞), after its license expires tomorrow, would have a detrimental effect on people’s trust in the government, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said in Taipei yesterday. “As the ruling party during the nation’s authoritarian period, the Chinese Nationalist Party is still often criticized and blamed,” he said, adding that criticism of the party has come with “misunderstandings and distortions.”Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang speaks at a symposium in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesHowever, the course of Taiwan’s democracy “although slow and arduous, has never regressed,” he said. Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chiang are scheduled to appear at a KMT news conference in Taipei tomorrow, titled “Safeguard Press Freedom, Hold Government Accountable,” on the issue of the National Communications Commission’s denial of CTi News’ license renewal, the KMT said yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC
Shinzo Abe might visit Taiwan 2021: deputy minister
Shinzo Abe might visit Taiwan 2021: deputy ministerBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterFormer Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe might visit Taiwan next year, which the private sector highly anticipates and the government welcomes, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. Tien made the remarks in answering questions from legislators at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang answers lawmakers’ questions at the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesIn September, Abe — Japan’s longest-serving prime minister — stepped down due to health issues and was replaced by Yoshihide Suga. Asked by other lawmakers to confirm Abe’s visit, Tien said that the government is positive about the plan and welcomes it, even though it has not received formal notice from Abe.
Source:Taipei Times
December 09, 2020 15:56 UTC