Researchers heal burns with fish peptide
Researchers heal burns with fish peptideANTIBACTERIAL: The Academia Sinica team’s success made them stand out among more than 700 teams applying to participate in this week’s Taiwan Innotech ExpoBy Lin Ching-lun, Chien Hui-ju and Dennis Xie / Staff reporters, with staff writerAcademia Sinica research has found that collagencin, an antibacterial peptide from fish collagen, shows great potential in the treatment of burns by accelerating healing and helping to prevent scarring. Photo: Lin Ching-lun, Taipei TimesIn stage 1 of a four-part experiment, collagencin proved to have healing properties on mice burns, which healed in seven to 14 days without scarring, while in stage 2, collagencin similarly helped to heal pig burns, which healed in about 25 days, he said. In stage 3, collagencin is to be tested on monkeys and the last stage is the clinical trials, Chen said. In related news, the Council of Agriculture (COA) has developed technology to extract collagen from pig lungs, which mostly go to waste as few people eat them. Research and development with bone biomaterials would benefit from the process, as animal collagen works best with such biomaterials, Tu said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 25, 2020 15:56 UTC
Poll finds 62.6% identify as Taiwanese
Poll finds 62.6% identify as TaiwaneseCONSOLIDATION? Taiwan Thinktank deputy executive-general Doong Sy-chi presents the findings of a poll on constitutional amendments and national identity in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei TimesEthnically, 62.6 percent identified as Taiwanese, while 2 percent identified as Chinese and 32.6 percent identified as both, the results showed. Under a 1981 agreement with the International Olympic Committee, the Republic of China Olympic Committee was renamed the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee. In 2008, China used “Zhongguo Taibei” instead of “Chinese Taipei,” saying that there was no difference between them in Chinese.
Source:Taipei Times
September 24, 2020 15:56 UTC
CHPT cautiously upbeat on prospects for next year
CHPT cautiously upbeat on prospects for next yearBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterChunghwa Precision Test Technology Co (CHPT, 中華精測), a supplier of probe cards used for silicon wafer testing, is cautiously optimistic about its business outlook for next year, bolstered by robust demand for vertical probe cards (VPC) and testing demand for high-performance-computing (HPC) chips, a company official said yesterday. The company reported NT$1.06 billion (US$36.16 million) in revenue last quarter, with VPC accounting for 22 percent. Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei Times“We are cautiously optimistic about next year’s business,” Huang said. CHPT counts the world’s two major 5G chip suppliers — Qualcomm Inc and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) — among its top clients. CHPT said that it set up a smart automation business group earlier this month.
Source:Taipei Times
September 24, 2020 15:56 UTC
Hon Hai, Adlink form robotic venture
Hon Hai, Adlink form robotic venture‘SWARM TECH’: Joint venture FARobot is to develop autonomous mobile robots that would first be deployed in Hon Hai’s factories to optimize production efficiencyBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterHon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Adlink Technology Inc (凌華科技) have formed a robotic venture that aims to use “swarm technology” to create robots that can communicate with one another on the factory floor to optimize production efficiency. Hon Hai is Apple Inc’s leading iPhone assembler and the world’s largest contract electronics maker, while Adlink supplies industrial computers and Internet of Things solutions. Through a subsidiary, Hyield Venture Capital Co (鴻揚創投), Hon Hai holds a 51 percent stake in autonomous mobile robot (AMR) developer FARobot (法博智能移動), while Adlink owns the remaining 49 percent. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Young Liu, left, and Adlink Technology Inc chairman Jim Liu pose for photographers at the launch of their robotic venture FARobot in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District on Wednesday. “This will reduce the amount of time spent waiting rather than in operation.”FARobot’s AMRs are to be deployed in Hon Hai factories within three years, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 24, 2020 15:56 UTC
Military jets prepare for Double Ten celebrations
This was the sound of [Taiwan’s] military aircraft flying over,” Tsai wrote on Facebook in Chinese. One UH-60M Black Hawk, two CH-47 Chinook helicopters, three F-16Vs and three AT-3 training jets flew over Taipei as part of rehearsals for the Oct. 10 celebrations. Three AT-3 training jets fly above Taipei yesterday in a rehearsal for Double Ten National Day celebrations. The Chinese and English-language slogans for this year’s Double Ten National Day celebrations are displayed in a video released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday released video clips — a full version of more than 5 minutes and a shorter version of 30 seconds — to celebrate Double Ten National Day.
Source:Taipei Times
September 24, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ma Ying-jeou urges respect from Beijing
Ma Ying-jeou urges respect from BeijingBy Dennis Xie / Staff writer, with CNAFormer president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged Beijing to respect the median line of the Taiwan Strait by immediately stopping its military intimidation of Taiwan, as such actions would only hurt the feelings of Taiwanese. Beijing should immediately stop making military provocations against Taiwan, Ma wrote on Facebook after Chinese warplanes in the past week have made numerous forays across the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait. Although it has never officially acknowledged the median line, Beijing used to respect it, Ma said in response to comments on Monday by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌), who said that the line does not exist, because “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.”Former president Ma Ying-jeou gestures at a ceremony for teachers in Taipei yesterday. Beijing respected the median line and the feelings of Taiwanese, showing mutual trust and goodwill with the adjustments it made, he said. Respect for the median line is the most basic element for cross-strait peace, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 24, 2020 15:56 UTC
Female leadership focus of Webinar
Female leadership focus of WebinarBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNAA Webinar on female leadership in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era is to be conducted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York on Wednesday next week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The event, titled “Women’s Leadership: Redesigning the Post-COVID-19 Era,” is to be attended by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Kelley Currie, as well as non-governmental organizations (NGO). Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of NGO International Affairs Secretary-General Constance Wang holds a placard at a news briefing in Taipei yesterday to promote “Women’s Leadership: Redesigning the Post COVID-19 Era” Webinar. The 90-minute Webinar is to be livestreamed on the ministry’s YouTube channel at 9pm Taipei time. More information on the events and Taiwan’s efforts to promote gender equality can be found on Twitter at the handle @womensrightsTW.
Source:Taipei Times
September 24, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taipei authorities tipped off about illegal facility
Taipei authorities tipped off about illegal facilityFATAL FIRE: The health department is trying to contact the inspector who visited the site of the illegal nursing home to ask why they did not advise follow-up checksBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taipei City Government yesterday said that a health department inspector last year had visited the site of a long-term care facility in Neihu District (內湖) after receiving a report questioning its status. The Taipei Fire Department said that it received a report about a fire on the first floor of a four-story residential building on Kangning Road Sec. Firefighters look through the cut-open steel shutter of an unregistered long-term care facility in Taipei’s Neihu District on Tuesday after putting out a fire that caused the death of three residents. A health department inspector, accompanied by the borough warden and police, went to the reported address on Sept. 17 last year. The health department is trying to contact the investigator, who was a contracted personnel, to clarify why there was no follow-up on the case.
Source:Taipei Times
September 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Acer announces software to diagnose eye condition
Acer announces software to diagnose eye conditionBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterPC brand Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday rolled out artificial intelligence (AI) software for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy in collaboration with National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) and Novartis (Taiwan) Co (台灣諾華), the first “smart” ophthalmology equipment approved by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The software was created by training AI learning models with 50,000 retinal images sourced from databases abroad. Acer’s nonconsumer PC businesses, such as AI, would have an outsized impact on its bottom line, Acer founder Stan Shih (施振榮) said. “We see [nonconsumer PC business] reaching about one-third of Acer’s revenue eventually,” Shih told reporters. FDA Director-General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) told the news conference that the cooperation between Acer, Novartis and NTUH is a milestone.
Source:Taipei Times
September 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
Institute increases GDP forecast
Institute increases GDP forecast‘K-SHAPED RECOVERY’: The Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute’s president said that export growth and declining imports had improved the trade surplus from last yearBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterThe Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute (元大寶華綜經院) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan to 1.63 percent, up from its March prediction of 1.5 percent, due to better-than-expected exports, Yuanta-Polaris president Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源) said. The growth also beat some foreign think tank forecasts that Taiwan’s exports would fall prey to contracting global trade amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute president Liang Kuo-yuan speaks at a news conference in Taipei on March 25. “Thanks to stable growth in exports and declining imports due to falling oil prices, the nation’s trade surplus improved from a year earlier, which also helped support GDP growth,” he said. The institute projected a “K-shaped recovery” for Taiwan’s economy, meaning uneven but continued growth among different sectors and income groups.
Source:Taipei Times
September 23, 2020 15:56 UTC
MRT fare evasion crackdown urged
MRT fare evasion crackdown urgedBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff writer, with CNATaipei City Councilor Wang Hao (王浩) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Monday called for security improvements to the MRT, as fare evasion has increased more than 13-fold on the metropolitan railway system over the past five years. Passengers wait on a platform at Jingan MRT Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District on Monday. Of the 481 cases of fare evasion, more than 20 percent (103 cases) were committed by 43 repeat offenders, one of whom was caught five times, the data showed. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp vowed to propose an improvement plan within a week. The Mass Rapid Transit Act (大眾捷運法) states that those found guilty of fare evasion, in addition to having to pay the original fare, must also pay an additional fine of up to 50 times the original fare or NT$4,500.
Source:Taipei Times
September 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
Foundation urges action against fishery pollution
A copy of an illustrated handbook featuring pictures of abandoned fishing gear found in Taiwan’s waters is pictured at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Abandoned fishing gear are displayed at a news conference held by the Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation in Taipei yesterday. Of more than 100 tonnes of garbage collected from waters near Taiwan last year, waste fishing gear made up 60 tonnes — the most among all garbage, she said, citing OCA data. In January, a 24m-long dead blue whale washed ashore on Taitung County’s coast, and the creature was entangled in fishing nets and might have starved to death, she said. However, those who fail to identify their gear when fishing would face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 22, 2020 15:56 UTC
Five politicians charged with graft
Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office Deputy Chief Prosecutor Chen Yu-ping speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Therefore, we have asked the court to mete out heavy punishment with the strongest sentences as a deterrent,” she added. Lee has been fighting with Far Eastern Group chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) over Pacific SOGO’s ownership since the early 2000s. Prosecutors also alleged that Su accepted more than NT$25.8 million from Lee, while Sufin allegedly took NT$7.9 million and Chen NT$1 million. A bail hearing for Chen, Sufin, Su and Chao at the Taipei District Court was ongoing as of press time last night.
Source:Taipei Times
September 21, 2020 15:56 UTC
Cathay lowers GDP growth forecast for second time
Cathay lowers GDP growth forecast for second timeBy Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporterCathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) yesterday lowered its forecast for the nation’s GDP growth for a second time this year to 1.7 percent, from the 1.8 percent it predicted in June, due to weaker-than-expected economic performance in the first half of the year. Hsu Chih-chiang, an economics professor at National Central University and the head of a research team commissioned by Cathay Financial Holding Co, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “Exports likely hit US$28 billion this month, which would raise the third quarter’s total exports to US$88 billion, beyond the government’s prediction of US$84 billion,” Hsu said. Cathay Financial expects the economy to recover next year with annual growth of 2.9 percent, which would be higher than the nation’s average GDP growth of 2.7 percent over the past 10 years, Hsu said. “While the government has predicted a V-shaped recovery in the economy, Cathay Financial tends to expect a swoosh-shaped rebound, which means that it would take a long while for the economy to get back to the pre-pandemic situation due to uncertainty,” Hsu said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 21, 2020 15:56 UTC
Test charter flight from Manila lands at Hengchun
Test charter flight from Manila lands at HengchunBy Shelley Shan / Staff reporterA Philippine charter flight arrived at Pingtung County’s Hengchun Airport yesterday morning as part of a trial run on resuming passenger operations at the facility, the first passenger jet to land at the airport since 2014. The Dornier 328-110 turboprop from Platinum Skies Aviation departed Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport and arrived at Hengchun at 10:39am. A charter flight from the Philippines is seen behind Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an on the runway at Hengchun Airport yesterday. The test flight had been scheduled for June, but was postponed because of the pandemic, he said. “We hope the airline would secure the aviation rights to offer charter flight services, and that more travelers from neighboring countries could arrive via charter flights.
Source:Taipei Times
September 21, 2020 15:56 UTC