Virus Outbreak: Virus casts haze over outlook: Lite-On
Although Lite-On has good order visibility for the third quarter, Chen expressed doubts about its future performance. “Nevertheless, the second half would be better than the first half, as we would have more working days,” he said. However, Lite-On saw sales plummet again by 7.3 percent year-on-year last month, as demand from the US shrank. Lite-On has resumed operations at its plants in Mexico and Brazil, while its Indian plant remains partially closed, Chen said. The company’s shareholders yesterday approved a cash dividend distribution plan of NT$3.2 per common share, representing a payout ratio of 79 percent based on earnings per share of NT$4.03 last year.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Vouchers should cover workshops: groups
Vouchers should cover workshops: groupsBy Yang Mien-chieh and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writerSocial welfare groups for mentally challenged people on Sunday urged the government to include sheltered workshops in the Triple Stimulus Voucher program, citing a 50 to 70 percent decrease of sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some baking workshops run by the foundation only sell products via online shopping platforms and have no physical stores, so the foundation hopes that the government can allow people to use the vouchers on its e-commerce platforms, she said. Premier Su Tseng-chang promotes the government’s Triple Stimulus Voucher program at a news conference in Taipei on June 2. However, the vouchers cannot be used on e-commerce platforms, except on platforms that sell tourism products, as well as tickets for sports or art and culture events. Syin-lu Social Welfare Foundation business development director Wen Te-feng (溫德風) said that revenue generated from sales of goods produced by foundation members have dropped from about NT$50 million to about NT$20 million in the first half of this year.
Source:Taipei Times
June 15, 2020 15:56 UTC
Museums offer free admission to visitors under 19
Museums offer free admission to visitors under 19By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporterThe Ministry of Education is offering free admission to science museums nationwide for visitors under the age of 19 from next month to August, to encourage domestic tourism. National Museum of Marine Science and Technology deputy director Chen Yi-hsiung, left, introduces exhibits to visitors at the museum in Keelung on Saturday. Photo: Wang Chu-hsiu, Taipei TimesUnder 19 visitors to the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology would have access to its main exhibits, some special exhibits, the IMAX 3D theater and the nearby Chaojing Ocean Center, it said. Free entrance to the National Taiwan Science Education Center and the National Science and Technology Museum would include access to permanent and some special exhibits, while visitors to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium would have access to all exhibits, it said. The ministry said it expects the program to attract 300,000 visitors and generate NT$100 million (US$3.36 million).
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Pork industry awaiting OIE decision
Removal from the OIE’s list means that Taiwan would be able to export fresh pork products once again. Taiwan had been free of foot-and-mouth disease for more than 68 years before an outbreak of the disease in March 1997, forcing the culling of millions of pigs and crippling the nation’s pork industry. A sentinel animal is one that is deliberately placed in an environment to detect the presence of an infectious agent. In comparison, the sentinel pigs in 2009 were only isolated for four hours, and were tested only once, Huang said. Finally, he maintained good communication with pig farmers to ensure that they cooperated with the council’s measures, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Poya reports 11.77% increase in revenue
In the first five months of the year, cumulative revenue totaled NT$6.77 billion, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier, Poya said. People walk past a Poya cosmetics store on Xinyi Road in Taipei on April 16. On Saturday, the company launched its 235th Poya cosmetics store in Taipei’s East District area. The Zhongxiao-Fuxing store is part of seven new store openings the company has planned for this month, including six Poya cosmetics stores and one Poya Home store in Taichung. “In addition, Poya Home targets the male and family segments, complementing Poya’s targeted female customers, while Poya Home’s gross margin would be higher than Poya cosmetics chain in the long term.”
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Exhibition looks at South Korea’s path to democracy
Exhibition looks at South Korea’s path to democracyBy Lee I-chia / Staff Reporter Staff ReporterA photography exhibition on South Korea’s democratization opened yesterday at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei. Chu said the road to democracy in Taiwan and South Korea occurred at about the same time, starting with the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident that led to demonstrations and the lifting of Martial Law in July 1987, and in South Korea with the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. The two nation achieved democracy from the bottom up, with the people’s demonstrations forcing the authoritarian regimes to give in, Chu said. “Without the sacrifice and dedication of previous activists, there would be no democracy, freedom and human rights today,” he said. Quoting South Korean independence activist Sin Chae-ho, Chu said: “A nation that forgets its history does not have a future.”Chu added that Taiwanese should be conscious of history.
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Temple finally receives address
Temple finally receives addressStaff writer, with CNAA temple built in 1909 in Pingtung County was given its own address on Friday after a year-long campaign, and help from the township office and council, Chaojhou Township (潮州) Office Chief Secretary Wang Chien-yuan (王建元) said. After using the neighbor’s address for more than four decades, the temple sought the office’s help last year, worried that the lack of a formal address might lead to disputes over property rights, Wang said. The front entrance of the Chaolin Temple in Pingtung County’s Chaojhou Township is pictured on Friday. The temple on Friday unveiled its own address plaque with a ceremony that included lion and dragon dances. At the ceremony, Chaojhou Mayor Chou Pin-chuan (周品全) said that having a registered address would help the temple apply for and proceed with projects to develop its potential as a tourist attraction.
Source:Taipei Times
June 14, 2020 15:56 UTC
Taoyuan leads on education, survey shows
Taoyuan leads on education, survey showsFALLING BEHIND: Huang Kun-huei said that Taiwan’s education system has focused too heavily on testing, and was not evolving with technology and a changing economyBy Rachel Lin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaoyuan leads in public approval of its education policies and its emphasis on education, while Taipei and Kaohsiung came in last respectively, a survey released yesterday by the Professor Huang Kun-Huei Education Foundation showed. Professor Huang Kun-Huei Education Foundation chairman Huang Kun-huei speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The foundation released public approval ratings of education policies in cities and counties nationwide. Regarding approval of a city or county’s education policies and their effectiveness, the survey ranked Taoyuan the highest of the six special municipalities, followed by New Taipei City, Tainan, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taipei. Outside of the special municipalities, Taitung, Pingtung and Hualien counties received the highest ratings, and Miaoli, Hsinchu and Yunlin counties received the lowest, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
NTU quashes students’ transitional justice proposal
NTU quashes students’ transitional justice proposalBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterNational Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday rejected a proposal by students to establish a transitional justice task force to deal with authoritarian symbols on campus and review the school’s history. The NTU Student Association proposed that historical researchers and representatives from the Gallery of NTU History, as well as students and faculty from each college, could be invited to form a campus transitional justice task force. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei TimesAfter a university affairs meeting yesterday, NTU Student Association president Tu Chun-ching told reporters that the proposal had been voted on and rejected. “Many people mistakenly believe that the transitional justice task force would lead to political struggle and chaos,” he said. NTU vice president Chou Chia-pei (周家蓓) told a news conference that 109 people had voted against the students’ proposal and 24 had voted for it.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Groups call for action on Hong Kong
“Hong Kongers are facing China’s passage of new national security legislation for Hong Kong, which will target protesters, human right lawyers, social workers and civic groups,” she said. “We ask that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Taiwanese government support us by implementing policies to help Hong Kongers seeking to immigrate to Taiwan,” she said, adding that she thanked her Taiwanese friends for standing up for Hong Kong in this dire situation. Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) urged lawmakers to amend the Enforcement Rules of the Act Governing Relations With Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例施行細則) to provide humanitarian assistance and political asylum for Hong Kongers to settle in Taiwan. “This would minimize the risks involved in transborder movement.”“The amendments would delineate legal parameters and get rid of gray areas regarding people from Hong Kong and Macau entering and exiting Taiwan,” he said. Separately yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council said that the government is finalizing a Hong Kong assistance action plan.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Brothers’ win puts them on top
Brothers’ win puts them on topBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe Rakuten Monkeys and the CTBC Brothers traded places atop the CPBL table for the second day in a row yesterday, with the Brothers on top after an 8-5 win at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium. Chou Szu-chi of the CTBC Brothers, right, slides into third during their game against the Rakuten Monkeys at the Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium yesterday. They looked good for a comeback win, with closer Chen Yu-hsun holding the Brothers scoreless in the eighth. Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei TimesIn Friday’s opener of the three-game series, Rakuten starting pitcher Lisalverto Bonilla handcuffed the Brothers hitters for a 4-0 win in Taoyuan. In the other game yesterday, the Uni-President Lions edged the Fubon Guardians 3-2 in Tainan.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
FEATURE: Taiwan-Japan ties ‘always good,’ official says
FEATURE: Taiwan-Japan ties ‘always good,’ official saysBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterTaiwan-Japan relations are “always good,” but as with any couple, the occasional dispute is inevitable, a government official said, as interaction between the two nations has recently experienced ups and downs. Ties between Taiwan and Japan have been informal since Tokyo switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1972. The group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, are claimed by Taiwan, Japan and China. “Taiwan-Japan ties are a rare jewel among bilateral relations around the world,” the ministry official said. Democratic values bond Japan and Taiwan together, while mutual benefit and honesty are essential for sustaining enduring ties, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Ketagalan rally vows to recall Tsai, DPP officials
Ketagalan rally vows to recall Tsai, DPP officials‘FULL-ON CLASH’: ‘KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang asked us not to initiate revenge recalls, but that is exactly what we are going to do,’ retired teacher Chou Ming-tai saidBy Sean Lin / Staff reporterAbout 500 protesters demonstrated on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday, vowing to recall President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and lawmakers in the pan-green camp. Democracy Watch Alliance convener Huang Cheng-chung (黃正忠) said that if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) does not take action on the death of KMT Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源), he would quit the party. Demonstrators attending a Democracy Watch Alliance rally along Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei yesterday call on President Tsai Ing-wen to step down. Huang said that Hsu died a wrongful death, and that yesterday’s rally sought in part to redress the injustice perpetrated against him. New Power Party Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (黃捷) and Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) are DPP members in all but name, Chou added.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Groups hold BLM rally in Taipei
Groups hold BLM rally in TaipeiAN OPPORTUNITY: A professor attending the rally with his family said that it was a chance for Taiwanese to reflect on their own prejudicesBy Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporterAfrican Americans in Taiwan yesterday held a rally in Taipei to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and were joined by Aboriginal rights advocates who spoke out about all racist violence. The rally, which started at 2pm in front of the National Taiwan Museum, attracted nearly 300 people, according to police estimates. People stand in front of a sign with the names of victims of police violence during a Black Lives Matter rally in Taipei’s 228 Peace Memorial Park yesterday. Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei TimesStefanie Davis, of the Black Lives Solidarity Global Initiative, said that it was important to show solidarity with people in the US, where there have been numerous protests and rallies. People hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter rally in Taipei’s 228 Peace Memorial Park yesterday.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC
Yang Ming-jou sworn in as Kaohsiung acting mayor
Yang Ming-jou sworn in as Kaohsiung acting mayorStaff writer, with CNAKaohsiung City Councilor Yang Ming-jou (楊明州) yesterday took the helm as Kaohsiung acting mayor, stepping into the vacancy left by the recall of former mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜). Yang, who served as deputy mayor under former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), is to remain in the post until the city chooses a new mayor in an Aug. 15 by-election. Kaohsiung Acting Mayor Yang Ming-chou is sworn in yesterday at Kaohsiung City Hall. Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei TimesThe 64-year-old Yang has been working for the Kaohsiung City Government since 1984. After Han became mayor in December 2018, he appointed Yang to be the city’s secretary-general.
Source:Taipei Times
June 13, 2020 15:56 UTC