Life insurers can handle strong NT dollar, Huang says
Life insurers can handle strong NT dollar, Huang saysBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe capital adequacy of the nation’s life insurers would remain healthy even if the New Taiwan dollar continues trading above NT$29 to the US dollar, Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Thomas Huang (黃天牧) told lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee on Thursday. In light of the strong NT dollar, the Insurance Bureau in August ran a stress test on the nation’s life insurance companies to assess the impact of exchange-rate risk on their finances, Huang said. The entrance to the head office of Cathay Life Insurance in Taipei is pictured on July 16. “Overall, it seems that local life insurance companies could handle a strong NT dollar,” Huang told the meeting. Increased net profit at life insurance companies last year are expected to help cushion their foreign-exchange losses, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Four bailed amid rail investigation
Four bailed amid rail investigationSINFONG SAGA: Hua Sheng Engineering Construction and TRA personnel posted bail amid an investigation into alleged collusion over a public tender in Hsinchu CountyBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterFour people were released on bail yesterday amid a probe into alleged corruption over a NT$110 million (US$3.8 million) contract for work at a Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) station in Hsinchu County. The investigation was launched into the tender process for a contract to the reconstruction of the station in Sinfong Township (新豐), which was awarded to Kaohsiung-based Hua Sheng Engineering Construction Co. The entrance to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office in the city’s Zhongzheng District is pictured yesterday. The two men reopened the public tender, which was won by Hua Sheng at a reduced bid of NT$100 million, prosecutors said. The High Court ruled in the company’s favor and ordered the TRA to pay it NT$4.94 million.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
KMT chairman calls out Chinese aggression
Yesterday’s commemoration was attended by KMT members, as well as nearly 80 Taiwanese expats returning from the US and Southeast Asian countries. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang speaks at an event in Taipei yesterday, part of a series of activities to mark the 75th anniversary of Retrocession Day tomorrow. He thanked them for lending their robust support to the ROC during the war with Japan from 1937 to 1945, which mainly took place on the Chinese mainland. Despite having different political systems, the two sides are nourished by the same Chinese culture and share the same language, Mandarin, he said. Any verbal aggression or military threat by one side would not heal the wound among Chinese who are split apart, but would instead widen the gap, he said, without naming the perpetrator.
Source:Taipei Times
October 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Restricting security suspects’ movements
However, as he was still implicated in another case involving national security, the courts prevented him from leaving the country, and this order was on Sept. 23 extended by a further eight months. Although Zhou was not allowed to leave the country, neither was he forbidden from moving around freely within the country, leaving many to ask why, if he was involved in a national security case, there were no restrictions placed on his movements. In cases where it is unknown when they would be concluded, this requirement is inherently flawed. More importantly, detention is intended to be in preparation for deportation, and there is a clear contradiction here when applied to a defendant awaiting trial. The problem is, Zhou’s case involves the crime of developing an organization that poses a threat to national security, which according to Article 2-1 of the National Security Act, requires a custodial sentence of no more than five years.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 16:06 UTC
Fading flowers bloom again
The Legend Lin Dance Theatre starts a three-city tour of a revival of Lin Lee-chen’s Anthem to the Fading Flowers at the National Theater in Taipei on Friday next week. Legend Lin Dance Theatre founder and artistic director Lin Lee-chen has revived her 2000 work, Anthem to the Fading Flowers, to mark the 20th anniversary of its premiere. The company begins a three-city tour at the National Theater in Taipei on Friday next week. Photo: Taipei TimesLin decided to revive Anthem to the Fading Flowers to mark the 20th anniversary of the production, and it begins a three-city tour at the National Theater on Friday next week. If you have never seen one of Legend Lin’s works, or even if you are already a fan, the Anthem to the Fading Flowers revival is a rare opportunity to see a truly Taiwanese masterpiece.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
Prosecutors say no charges in spying incident of HK trio
Prosecutors say no charges in spying incident of HK trioBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterCharges would not be filed against a Hong Kong student, his Taiwanese friend and private investigators over the alleged tailing and photographing of three Hong Kong democracy advocates in Taipei last year, prosecutors said yesterday. Yang and Su accused Lee of “offenses against personal privacy” after news reports, including photograhs, were published in the Wen Wei Po and other media in Hong Kong. The reports said that the Hong Kong trio met with Taiwanese independence groups and officials close to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Lee paid UIC NT$20,000 per day, with the money from a “boss” in Hong Kong, prosecutors said. Lee arrived in Taiwan on a student visa and later obtained a resident’s visa, which allowed him to work at a Taiwanese company, the council said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
Few predict salary increase: survey
Few predict salary increase: surveyBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterMore than 68 percent of people do not believe their salary would increase after the government raises the minimum monthly wage to NT$24,000 (US$830.36) next year, a survey released on Tuesday by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed. A Cathay Financial poll conducted in September last year found that 61.9 percent of respondents said that they did not expect a pay increase after the Ministry of Labor announced that it would increase the minimum monthly wage from NT$23,100 to NT$23,800. The surveys show that a majority of consumers do not think they would benefit from adjustments to the minimum salary, Cathay Financial economic research division manager Nelson Chen (陳志祿) told the Taipei Times by telephone on Wednesday. The latest survey of 23,532 respondents showed that 25 percent of people expected a salary increase of less than 3 percent next year, while 4.6 percent of respondents said they expected an increase of 3 percent to 5 percent, and 1.8 percent predicted an increase of more than 5 percent. However, 61.8 percent of respondents predicted that their salary would remain unchanged for the next six months, and 39.3 percent forecast a tougher job market, the survey found.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
Powertech net profit declines on sluggish demand
Powertech net profit declines on sluggish demandBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterPowertech Technology Inc (力成科技), the world’s biggest supplier of memory chip packaging and testing services, yesterday said that net profit dipped 7.1 percent sequentially last quarter due to sluggish demand for system-in-package (SiP) modules and mobile DRAM chips. The headquarters of memorychip packager and tester Powertech Technology Inc at the Hsinchu Science Park is pictured on April 21. Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei TimesOn an annual basis, net profit improved 1.4 percent from NT$1.6 billion. Powertech will continue to provide NAND flash memory packaging services to Intel before the deal is completed in 2025, he added. Strong packaging and testing service demand for logic chips, DRAM and flash memory chips used in PCs amid the work-from-home and online learning trends would drive growth, Powertech chief executive officer Boris Hsieh (謝永達) said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
APT eyes enterprise market for growth
APT eyes enterprise market for growthTURNAROUND? With more 5G applications coming on-line, APT aims to boost enterprise customers’ contribution to half of its revenue within the next three to five years, Huang said. “Enterprise customers deliver better margins and would help narrow our losses,” Huang said. The deal would give APT much-needed access to Far EasTone’s 3.5G 5G spectrum for 20 years. Hon Hai is expected to invest NT$10 billion and Far EasTone to invest NT$5 billion, APT said, with the remainder coming from its 5G supply chain, the company said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
FSC to inspect brokerages offering high-speed trade
FSC to inspect brokerages offering high-speed tradeBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is to conduct a full inspection of the 22 securities firms that offer high-speed trading services to see if they treat clients fairly, FSC Chairman Thomas Huang (黃天牧) said yesterday. Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Thomas Huang attends a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in Taipei yesterday. It is unclear whether Concord had put any other device in the center, the commission said. All securities firms are allowed to rent the Co-Location trading service, and so far there are 22 securities companies using the service, it said. The commission would carry out an inspection to see if any of the 22 are using the service improperly, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
BTA talks possible within one to two years: official
BTA talks possible within one to two years: officialBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterThe lifting of a ban on imports of pork products containing traces of ractopamine is a step in initiating talks on a potential bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. “Why has the US Trade Representative not yet initiated talks?” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗) asked. Without the lifting of the ban, there would have been little hope of furthering Taiwan-US trade ties, Wang said. She added that members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership allow the import of pork and beef containing ractopamine. “We can buy more corn, wheat and soybeans from the US, as well as natural gas” to help expedite trade talks, she said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taiwan should not pick sides in US presidential election: KMT’s Eric Chu
Taiwan should not pick sides in US presidential election: KMT’s Eric ChuStaff writer, with CNAFormer Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Tuesday said that Taiwan must not take sides in the US presidential election, adding that the nation’s security has to be its top priority amid a confrontation between the US and China. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Eric Chu talks to reporters in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei TimesUS academics taking part in the meeting also urged Taiwan not to take sides in the election, he said. Asked which candidate he would prefer to win the election, Chu said he is neutral. US academics have said that Washington would continue to adhere to the position, and urged Taiwan not to base its security on any particular US administration or president, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
October 21, 2020 15:56 UTC
NDC mulls property market index
NDC mulls property market indexOVERHEATED MARKET? : The gauge would be designed to provide more reliable information than private-sector data, and help improve policymaking, the council saidBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe National Development Council (NDC) is considering creating a business climate index on Taiwan’s property market, allowing policymakers to better monitor market movements and intervene if necessary, NDC Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Kung said that the council is assessing the possibility of creating an index designed to provide more accountable and transparent information than data provided by private-sector market analysts, and could help improve policymaking. National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin speaks at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei TimesThe council would compile a report on the matter within a week, Kung said, but declined comment on whether the local property market is overheated and requires government action, due to unclear data.
Source:Taipei Times
October 21, 2020 15:56 UTC
Virus Outbreak: Ministry releases VR video explaining Taiwan’s success in battling pandemic
Virus Outbreak: Ministry releases VR video explaining Taiwan’s success in battling pandemicBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday released the virtual reality (VR) video Three Crucial Steps (關鍵三布局) to share Taiwan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the world, adding that people would be able to experience it at the Presidential Office Building from next month. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) demonstrated watching the video with a VR headset at a news conference in Taipei. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesA VR experience section would be set up at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei next month, where visitors can put on VR headsets to experience the video in immersive surroundings, the ministry said. The video has English-language and Chinese-language versions, with the Chinese version featuring narration by former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), an epidemiologist. South Korea followed Taiwan’s example in creating maps displaying mask reserves, which shows that “Taiwan can help,” Tang says.
Source:Taipei Times
October 21, 2020 15:56 UTC
Activist investors win majority on Tatung’s board
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei TimesCandidates appointed by institutional investors won seven seats, including two independent director seats, with leading activist investors Wang, Lin Hung-hsin and Eastern Broadcasting Co (東森電視) chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵) elected as new board directors and garnering 1.43 billion, 1.42 billion and 1.42 billion votes respectively. “We will support Lin Wen-yuan as the new chairman and hope to make Tatung prosperous for the next century,” Wang said. “I will continue to protect Tatung as a matter of Taiwanese national security,” Lin Kuo said. Stephen Wu (吳志光), a lawyer at Lee and Li Attorneys-at-Law (理律法律事務所), said that her decision to stay on the board was unusual. The Securities and Futures Investors Protection Center is to continue its lawsuit against Lin Kuo, even though company shareholders elected a new board, and if the agency wins, Lin Kuo would be barred from serving on the board.
Source:Taipei Times
October 21, 2020 15:56 UTC