Mon, Aug 03, 2020
A detention hearing yesterday afternoon to review prosecutors’ request to detain five incumbent and former lawmakers accused of bribery was still ongoing as of press time last night. The Taipei Prosecutors’ Office was hoping to detain Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) and Sufin Siluko, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) and former New Power Party legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) over their alleged involvement in a bribery case. Prosecutors asked the Taipei District Court to detain them, citing the seriousness of the crimes and the possibility that they could collude to destroy evidence, or flee the nation. They suspect Su of taking NT$20 million (US$677,920) in bribes, while the other lawmakers have been accused of taking bribes ranging from tens of thousands of New Taiwan dollars to NT$2 million from former Pacific Distribution Investment Co (太平洋流通) chairman Lee Heng-lung (李恆隆). The bribes were allegedly taken since 2013 to help Lee in his legal battle against Far Eastern Group (遠東集團) over the ownership of the Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨) chain. Prosecutors on Saturday asked the court to detain Lee. They also requested that independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) be detained for allegedly taking bribes to help two funeral service providers obtain a piece of land that was part of a national park. Chao was alleged to have pressured the Construction and Planning Agency to allow a cemetery to be built on the land, with Su’s former aide Kuo Ke-ming (郭克銘), who now runs a political consulting company, allegedly serving as one of the two intermediaries responsible for delivering bribes to lawmakers and their assistants on behalf of Lee. During a raid of Chao’s home on Friday, prosecutors found NT$9.2 million in cash in a bag, which is suspected to be the bribe Kuo paid to the lawmaker on
The Central Weather Bureau yesterday issued a sea warning for Tropical Storm Hagupit and said that the storm would continue to affect the nation today. As of 8:40pm, the storm’s center was 280km southeast of Hualien, moving northwesterly at 20kph, with a maximum wind speed of 83kph near its center, the bureau’s data showed. Hagupit was approaching northeastern Taiwan, threatening vessels operating near the northeast and north coasts, bureau forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. The storm would become slightly stronger as it moves closer to Taiwan, he said. Heavy rainfall is forecast for the north and south of Taiwan today due to the combined influence of the approaching storm, stronger southwesterly winds and radiative effects, Hsu said. A low-pressure system in the south, along with the storm, would bring swells off the north coast, east coast, the Hengchun Peninsula, Green Island (綠島), Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), and Penghu and Lienchiang counties, Hsu said. People should avoid coastal activities, he said. Meanwhile, foehn winds are likely in the southeast today, so the bureau has issued a yellow alert, which means that temperatures in the region could reach 36°C or higher, Hsu said. The bureau did not rule out issuing a land alert for Hagupit, but it would depend on the force of a Pacific high-pressure system, which, if it strengthens, could cause the storm to move closer to Taiwan, he said. Based on the bureau’s projected path, Hagupit would come close to Taiwan’s northeast coast today before moving toward China tomorrow. Hagupit is a Filipino word for “smash” or “lash.” In 2014, a typhoon by that name caused massive destruction in the eastern Philippines, killing 27 people on the island of Samar. Additional reporting by staff writer
The WHO warned that the COVID-19 pandemic would be lengthy and could lead to “response fatigue” as the case count in South Africa topped half a million. Six months after the WHO declared a global emergency, the novel coronavirus has killed more than 685,000 and infected more than 17.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. South Africa is by far the hardest hit country in the continent, accounting for more than half of its diagnosed infections, although South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the nation’s fatality rate is lower than the global average. Nigeria on Saturday also announced it would ease a lockdown in the commercial capital, Lagos, allowing churches and mosques to reopen next week. An emergency WHO committee reviewing the pandemic “highlighted the anticipated lengthy duration of this COVID-19 outbreak, noting the importance of sustained community, national, regional and global response efforts.” “WHO continues to assess the global risk level of COVID-19 to be very high,” it said in its latest statement. Mexico overtook the UK to become the third-hardest hit country in virus deaths — after Brazil and the US — with more than 47,400 deaths. Although many Latin American countries have begun relaxing stay-at-home measures, the virus is still spreading quickly across much of the region, which has now recorded more than 4 million cases and almost 200,000 deaths. Half of them are in Brazil, where Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he believes “nearly everyone” will catch the virus eventually, after himself recovering from it. The US, the hardest-hit country in the world, has tallied more than 4.6 million cases and more than 154,000 deaths. The outlook was bleak in Asia as well, where India and the Philippines reported record increases in new daily infections. “We are waging a losing battle against COVID-19, and we need to draw up a consolidated, definitive plan of action,”
‘UNACCEPTABLE’: The time for leniency has passed, the premier of Victoria said, adding that infected people who flout quarantine rules would be dealt with harshly Australia yesterday imposed an overnight curfew on its second-biggest city and banned people from moving more than 5km from home to control a growing COVID-19 outbreak that is infecting hundreds daily. Declaring a “state of disaster,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said that Melbourne would move to Stage 4 restrictions until Sept. 13 given “unacceptably high” levels of community transmission. Under the harshest rules in Australia to date, city residents are to face a curfew from 8 pm to 5 am for the next six weeks. Only those carrying out essential work, or seeking or providing care, are to be allowed out. “The time for leniency, the time for warnings and cautions is over,” Andrews said. “If you are not at home and you should be, if you have the virus and are just going about your business, you will be dealt with harshly. Lives are at stake.” Melbourne residents would be limited to an hour of exercise a day, no further than 5km from home, starting last night. Only one person per household is allowed to shop for essential items each day, also within the same strict radius. Most school and university students in Melbourne would go back to online learning from midnight on Wednesday, just weeks after returning to their classrooms, while weddings would also be banned. The sweeping new measures follow a citywide lockdown that began early last month, but has failed to curb the spread of the virus, with Andrews blaming the continuing rise in cases on people flouting stay-at-home orders. “These are the decisions made because anything short of this will not keep us safe,” Andrews said, adding that anything less “will see it drag on for months and months and months.” Additional restrictions affecting workplaces would be announced today, Andrews added, suggesting that non-essential businesses would face closures. Victoria accounts for the vast majority
‘WEAK POSITIVE’: The man arrived in Taiwan in May and was quarantined for two weeks, Chen Shih-chung said, adding that he might be infected a long time ago The government is considering tightening mask-wearing rules again in light of a potential domestic COVID-19 infection, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed seven new COVID-19 cases, six of which are imported. The other case involves a Belgian engineer who entered Taiwan on May 3 and remained in quarantine until May 17, said Chen, who heads the CECC. Although the source of infection has yet to be identified, the case could end the nation’s record of not having any domestic cases in the previous 110 days. The Belgian, in his 20s, is a technician working on an offshore wind project in Changhua County. He underwent COVID-19 testing to be able to return to his native country, Chen said. The man tested positive in two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with cycle threshold values of 34 and 33, which Chen described as a “weak positive,” but still in the positive range for a disease considered to have an incubation period of two to 14 days. The man was also tested for antibodies, Chen said, adding that his IgM — the first antibody the body makes when it fights a new infection — was negative, while IgG was “strongly positive.” According to a US Federal Drug Administration fact sheet dated June 12, IgG antibodies generally start appearing about seven to 10 days after infection and often indicate a past infection. Chen said the case has not yet been classified as an imported or domestic case, because if the man’s IgM is negative and IgG is positive, he might have been infected a long time ago. The Belgian has been put in an isolation ward in a hospital and 89 people who had come into close contact with him are being monitored, Chen said, adding that 82 of them are under home
The White House in a statement on Friday marked the passing of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), while Lee’s alma mater Cornell University issued an obituary remembering his academic achievements and his 1995 speech during a visit to the campus. It followed a statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo marking Lee’s contributions to Taiwan’s democratization. Lee died due to septic shock and multiple organ failure in Taipei on Thursday evening. He was 97. The White House statement said that “President Lee was Taiwan’s first popularly elected leader and stepped down in adherence to term limits. President Lee was the architect of Taiwan’s modern democratic system, which today serves as a shining example of citizen-centric governance for the region and the world.” “He led Taiwan through its transition from authoritarian military rule to a prosperous, free and open society. He will always be remembered for his strong commitment to democratic principles and human dignity,” it said. The White House statement came after the US National Security Council remembered Lee as “Mr Democracy.” “We offer our deepest condolences to the people of Taiwan and the loved ones of former President Lee Teng-hui, the first popularly elected leader of Taiwan. ‘Mr. Democracy’ was a champion for freedom and the architect of Taiwan’s free and open society,” it said. Cornell University, where Lee earned a doctorate in agricultural economics in 1968, published an obituary on its Web site. Lee’s dissertation, titled “Intersectoral Capital Flows in the Economic Development of Taiwan, 1895-1960,” was selected as the outstanding dissertation of 1968 by the American Agricultural Association and later published as a book by the Cornel University Press, the school said. Cornell also noted Lee’s speech at the Cornell Reunion on June 9, 1995, which he delivered in English. Saying the visit “has been a long and challenging journey, with many bumps in
ANOTHER IMPORT: A Filipina who arrived on Friday to visit family developed a fever on Saturday and test results yesterday were positive, making her Taiwan’s 465th case The government’s real-name mask purchasing system is to be continued until at least the end of the year, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported a new imported COVID-19 case from the Philippines. The center would continue to requisition mask production to ensure people can buy masks using the real-name system until the end of December, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesman. While the CECC requisitions about 8 million masks per day to ensure there are enough for the real-name system, more than 10 million masks are produced per day for sale domestically or overseas, so people can also purchase masks from various retailers, he told the CECC’s daily news conference, after being asked about former vice president Chen Chien-jen’s (陳建仁) suggestion that each household have a mask reserve to last them three months. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is raging worldwide, Taiwan could face the challenges of low herd immunity, an increase in imported cases as border controls are gradually eased, the lack of a vaccine and the possibility of COVID-19 cases being mistaken for the flu during flu season, said Chen, an epidemiologist and public health expert, adding that having a mask reserve was a practical suggestion. Chuang said a Filipina in her 20s who has an Alien Resident Certificate arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday to visit her family and was given a COVID-19 test at the airport upon arrival, as all Filipinos must now do as of Wednesday last week. As the woman did not have any COVID-19 symptoms upon arrival, she was taken to a hotel to undergo quarantine. However, on Saturday she developed a mild fever and was tested again, and the test result received yesterday was positive, raising the total number of confirmed cases
CHINESE MEDICINE PRESCRIPTIONS: Blood tests showed that Taichung City Councilor Chang Yen-tung and his father had dangerously high levels of lead in their bodies The Taichung Health Bureau yesterday suspended operations at a Chinese medicine clinic for a month and fined the owner, after a preliminary investigation into the lead poisoning of Taichung City Councilor Chang Yen-tung’s (張彥彤) family indicated the source was herbal medicine prescribed for them at the clinic. Chang on Thursday said that he had become critically ill after being treated by the clinic and was diagnosed with multiple organ failure. He, his sister and parents all reportedly suffered from lead poisoning, he said. Chang on Friday said that blood tests showed that his lead level was 88 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL), nearly nine times the normal level of 10 mcg/dL for an adult, while his father’s was 367mcg/dL. His sister and parents are still hospitalized, he said. The health bureau on Thursday collected samples of the herbal medicine powder the Chang family had taken from the clinic for examination, and on Friday said the powder contained high levels of lead and that it had filed a legal charges against the owner of the clinic. The bureau yesterday said its examinations on the traditional medicinal powder from the clinic show that its cinnabar, which is a prohibited medicinal material, had a lead concentration of up to 15,281 parts per million (ppm), about 509 times the maximum allowable level of 30ppm. Although the Taichung Prosecutors’ Office is still investigating the incident, Taichung Health Bureau Director Tseng Tzu-chan (曾梓展) said the clinic’s owner has been fined NT$100,000 for not truthfully registering medicinal ingredients on patients’ medical records. The owner could also be fined up to NT$500,000 under the Physicians Act (醫師法) if they are found to have prescribed prohibited medicinal material to patients, Tzeng said. Hung Tung-jung (洪東榮), a doctor in China Medical University’s toxicology department, on Saturday said that the public should ensure that prescribed Chinese herbal medicine is from manufacturers
The incidence of child abuse in Taiwan is closely linked to parents’ unemployment, so recent job losses and furloughs due to the COVID-19 crisis are cause for concern, a physician from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou said on Tuesday, citing one of the hospital’s studies. The correlation between unemployment and child abuse became evident in the US during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when the number of children hospitalized with brain damage nearly doubled from previous years, said Hsin Yi-chen (辛宜臻), an attending physician in the pediatric department. It was later discovered that the spike in child abuse during that period was closely related to the high unemployment rate at the time, Hsin said. In 2018, a team at the hospital conducted a similar study, using unemployment data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics from 2004 to 2015, and a correlation between the two factors was also found, she said. Over that period, the study found that there were a total of 161,183 abused or mistreated children, or an average of 36 victims per day, Hsin said. The study also found an increase in the average daily incidence of child abuse, from 14 per 10,000 children in 2004 to 23.4 per 10,000 in 2015, peaking at 43 per 10,000 children in 2012, Hsin said. In areas of the nation where the unemployment rate was higher, the incidence of child abuse was also higher, the study found. There was also a delayed effect in the correlation between parental employment and child abuse, which meant that the latter could rise a year after an increase in the former, the study showed, she said. It estimated that for every 1 percentage point rise in the unemployment rate, the incidence of child abuse increased by seven per 10,000 children in the following year,
Six preservers of traditional performing arts and craftsmanship were recognized by the Ministry of Culture on Saturday. Wang Jen-hsin (王仁心) and Chen Feng-kuei (陳鳳桂) were recognized in the performing arts category for their efforts to preserve koi-a-hi or gezai opera (歌仔戲, Taiwanese opera), while in the craftsmanship category, Chen Hui-mei (陳惠美) was recognized for silk-wrapped flowers (纏花), Liu Chien-shao (劉千韶) for embroidery, Huang Lan-ye (黃蘭葉) for kesi (緙絲) silk tapestry and Chen Chi-tsun (陳啟村) for wood carving, the ministry said. Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) presented the six with certificates at a ceremony held by the Bureau of Cultural Heritage in Taipei. Lee thanked the “national treasures” on behalf of the nation, saying they have dedicated a lifetime of strength, time and talent to preserving and passing down traditional arts. Their dedication has highlighted the nation’s cultural strength, and allowed Taiwan’s diverse and rich culture to be seen by the world, he said. The ministry would continue to integrate and increase the resources for the bureau, the National Center for Traditional Arts and the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute, and invest more money so that all Taiwanese would be able to develop an appreciation and understanding of the nation’s culture, and to let the world better see Taiwan, Lee said. An exhibition of work by the six is on display at the Cultural Heritage Park in Taichung from 9am to 6pm through Saturday next week, the ministry said.
An 80-year-old Rukai manfrom Pingtung County has won this year’s Best Trail Builder/Repairer Award from the Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association (TMI Trail) for his seven decades of work and sharing his experience with the next generation. Ripunu Abalriini, who lives in Wutai Township’s (霧台) Adiri Village (阿禮), was nominated for the award by the Community Forestry Laboratory of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. Abalriini started to learn masonry from his father at the age of 10, he told TMI Trail in an interview. “The trails needed to be repaired once a year, by removing grass and other work, and I always accompanied experienced craftsmen and learned the skills from them,” Abalriini said. It is not easy to acquire slate and shale, because they are found next to rivers in the southern part of the Central Mountain Range, the laboratory said. Abalriini and other Rukai usually use hoes and crowbars to extract the rocks, break them into suitable sizes and carry them back to their villages, carrying about 20kg per person, the laboratory said. Chen Mei-hui (陳美惠), a professor at the university, said Abalriini is one of the few Rukai tribal elders who learned traditional masonry skills, and he teaches younger members a range of cultural skills, such as hunting, and how to build stone slab houses and trails. Masonry is an essential skill for the area’s Aborigines, because their houses and trails are made from stone slabs, Wutai Township Mayor Tu Cheng-chi (杜正吉) said. However, nowadays, a blend of traditional masonry skills and modern architectural techniques are used, with faux shale and granite widely used to build housing, Tu said. The association, a non-profit organization established in April 2011, aims to preserve natural beauty and create an eco-friendly environment in Taiwan by building and maintaining a network
‘ZERO TOLERANCE’: Chiu Hsien-chih has taken over as the party’s acting chairman, and said he would work on the party’s ability to detect and address corruption The New Power Party (NPP) on Saturday suspended party chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) over his alleged involvement in a bribery case. The NPP made the decision after the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday afternoon filed a motion with the Taipei District Court to detain Hsu, along with legislators Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) and Sufin Siluko of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇), an independent, over their alleged involvement in a department store bribery case. The NPP said it has appointed caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) as acting chairman until an intra-party election for chairperson is held early next year. Chiu was NPP chairman from March to August last year. In response to Hsu’s alleged involvement in the corruption case during his tenure as an NPP legislator from 2016 to this year, Chiu apologized to the public and NPP supporters on behalf of the party, saying that as acting chairman, his most important tasks are to regain public trust, reflect on old mistakes and guide the party forward. The NPP has “zero tolerance” for corruption, he said, adding that he was thankful for the investigation, as it has given the party an opportunity to improve. Chiu said he would improve the party’s mechanisms to detect and fight corruption, and would present more details about how to achieve those goals in two weeks. As to whether Hsu would be stripped of his party membership, Chiu said that its disciplinary committee was following party regulations in suspending Hsu’s chairman position for the moment. While there are only 11 members left on the party’s decisionmaking committee, Chiu said he would propose that they resign and be replaced with new candidates to break fresh ground. Chiu said that he stepped down as chairman in August last year to take responsibility for failing
‘IMMORAL, INSINCERE’: Huang Kun-huei said that Ma was ‘distorting history’ in claiming that Lee Teng-hui laid the foundation for the so-called ‘1992 consensus’ Former Presidential Office secretary-general Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) on Saturday rejected former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) claim that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had been a proponent of Beijing’s “one China” principle. Lee, who served as president from 1988 to 2000, died in Taipei on Thursday last week. After visiting the Taipei Guest House on Saturday to pay his respects to Lee, Ma posted on Facebook that “28 years ago on this day” Lee hosted a session of the now-defunct National Unification Council, during which he passed a resolution on the “one China” principle. That resolution became the basis of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) “one China, with different interpretations” framework that formed the foundation of the “1992 consensus,” Ma said. The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. In his post, Ma had called upon the public to “remember the historical importance of this resolution,” which he said both sides of the Taiwan Strait persistently promoted. In August 1992, the year the resolution was passed, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits worked out a consensus on what “one China” means, and it was on the basis of that agreement that cross-strait relations developed prosperously through Ma’s presidency from 2008 to 2016, Ma said. Huang said that Ma was “immoral and insincere for distorting history at a time like this.” Huang — who in 1992 was Ma’s superior, serving as Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) minister, while Ma was a deputy minister — said the meeting in Hong Kong where Ma said the “1992 consensus”
Crowds yesterday gathered at a memorial for late president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) set up by the Presidential Office at the Taipei Guest House to pay their last respects to Lee, who passed away at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on Thursday aged 97. Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), former Judicial Yuan president Weng Yueh-sheng (翁岳生), Democratic Progressive Party Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and former Research, Development and Evaluation Commission chairman Sun Te-hsiung (孫得雄) were among those who visited the memorial. Chen Chu said what moved her most and was most memorable of him was when Lee, then aged 90, visited the Siaolin Village Memorial Park to pay his respects to the victims of Typhoon Morakot. In a note she left on a message wall, Chen Chu asked Lee to “protect the land of Taiwan and guard the kind people.” In their notes, Chen Shih-chung wrote that a “giant of an era” had passed away, while Cheng wrote “illuminate Taiwan, protect democracy.” Cheng said that during the Wild Lily student movement, Lee was the main figure who spoke to the students, and promised to open Taiwan’s doors to democratization. Lee played a crucial role in Taiwan’s transition from authoritarianism to democracy, he added. Lin in his note wrote that he and people of his generation would fulfill Lee’s wish and bolster Taiwan’s democracy, develop the nation and make its people happy. Sun, among the first batch of students Lee taught at National Taiwan University Department of Agricultural Economics, placed a handwritten letter in front of the late president’s photograph. Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who succeeded Lee in 2000, remembered him in a Facebook post. He recalled how after the transfer of power on May 20, 2000, he personally saw Lee off. “The sight of his back was
The time has arrived for Taiwan to have a second “silent revolution,” Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) told the party’s conference yesterday afternoon at the National Taiwan Sport University in Taoyuan. The first “silent revolution” was the democratization process in the early 1990s initiated by then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). The conference in the school’s gymnasium was attended by 5,141 TPP members. In his opening remarks, Ko talked about political reform under Lee and the need for reform today. “Lee’s greatest contribution was setting Taiwan on an irreversible path to democratization, without which we would not be meeting today to discuss Taiwan’s future,” Ko said. “Direct presidential elections were held and a Taiwanese consciousness was established, but today political power goes unchecked and the major parties vie for power,” he said. A “second silent revolution is needed for social inclusion [in politics] and the realization of national governance.” The TPP could hopefully be a “model” party in the legislature, engaging with legislators from other parties rather than confronting them, he said. Social inclusion could be achieved through communication with the public, Ko said, citing the Taipei-Shanghai twin-city summit, which he said was of benefit to Taiwanese businesspeople and students in China, despite being “smeared as a pro-China” activity. The central government must “create flexible international space” and must not let ideology prevent it from communicating with China, he said. The TPP would continue to act as a check on budget spending, promote constitutional reform and fight for issues such as housing justice and amendments to the Mining Act (礦業法), he said. The party needed to elect a public liaison official, and would hold smaller member meetings in every county and municipality, he added.
MOVING FROM CHINA? The article did not name the company, but Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron were among firms chosen for a production-linked incentive plan in India An Apple Inc vendor is looking at shifting six production lines to India from China, which could result in US$5 billion of iPhone exports from the South Asian nation, the Times of India reported, citing people familiar with the matter who it did not identify. The establishment of the facility would create about 55,000 jobs over about a year, the newspaper reported, not naming the Apple vendor. It would also cater to the domestic market and expand operations to include tablets and laptops, the newspaper reported. Samsung Electronics Co and Apple’s assembly partners are among 22 companies that have pledged 110 billion rupees (US$1.47 billion) of investments to set up mobile phone manufacturing units in India. Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), Wistron Corp (緯創) and Pegatron Corp (和碩), all iPhone assemblers, are among companies picked to make smartphones under a production-linked incentive plan, Indian Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad told a news conference in New Delhi on Saturday. The move could boost the value of phone output to 11.5 trillion rupees in the next five years, he said. The incentives are aimed at encouraging global companies to shift their manufacturing beyond China after a pandemic-induced trade dispute put the focus on risks to supply chains. The step is also part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s calls for a self-reliant India aimed at boosting local manufacturing and reducing dependence on imports. “The move is not against any country, but is India positive,” Prasad said. The aim is for India to become a big global player in the electronics manufacturing segment, he said. The plan is expected to generate 300,000 direct jobs and 900,000 indirect jobs in the next five years. Indian companies including Dixon Technologies and Optiemus Electronics have also applied to take advantage of the incentive program. Companies that
RIGHT DIRECTION: Thanks to its cloud computing, PC and optoelectronics businesses, the firm’s revenue increased 28.3 percent, 10.3 percentage points better than predicted Electronic component maker Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) last week reported better-than-expected profit margins and earnings per share for last quarter, thanks to a better product mix, strict operating expense control and effective inventory management, the company said. Lite-On also announced that Raymond Soong (宋恭源) and Warren Chen (陳廣中) have resigned as chairman, and vice chairman and group chief executive officer, respectively, with Tom Soong (宋明峰) elected as chairman by the board of directors and Anson Chiu (邱森彬) appointed to serve as president, with effect from Saturday. Tom Soong is the son of Raymond Soong, while Chiu formerly served in the company’s optoelectronics branch. Lite-On reported a gross margin of 19.41 percent last quarter, with operating margin hitting 8.72 percent and earnings per share rising to a record high of NT$1.48. Net income increased 119.15 percent quarter-on-quarter and 43.9 percent year-on-year to NT$3.45 billion (US$116.9 million), according to the company’s financial statement released after its quarterly earnings conference last week. With more contributions from its cloud computing, PC and optoelectronics businesses, the company’s revenue for last quarter reached NT$41.796 billion, a quarterly increase of 28.3 percent, the statement said. The increase in sales exceeded the company’s forecast of 18 percent and was carried by strong demand from its cloud computing, notebook, 5G and artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) businesses. However, last quarter’s revenue was still down 6 percent from a year earlier due to difficulties in supply chain management amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By segment, the information technology unit remained Lite-On’s biggest business with a sales contribution of 68 percent last quarter. Its optoelectronics unit accounted for 17 percent of sales, and the storage unit contributed to 11 percent of sales, company data showed. “Lite-On once again posted upbeat results in the second quarter. We believe it can repeat its solid performance going forward on the back of
Softbank Group Corp plans to keep a stake in the chip designer Arm Ltd, even if it sells a partial interest to Nvidia Corp, the Nikkei reported. The companies are negotiating terms, the newspaper reported, citing sources. Softbank might take a stake in Nvidia after it buys Arm, the report said. Nvidia and Arm might also merge through a share swap, and Softbank would become a major shareholder in the combined company, it said. The two parties aim to reach a deal in the next few weeks, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Nvidia is the only suitor in concrete discussions with Softbank, the sources said. A deal for Arm could be the largest ever in the semiconductor industry, which has been consolidating in the past few years as companies seek to diversify and add scale. However, any deal with Nvidia, which is a customer of Arm, would likely trigger regulatory scrutiny, as well as a wave of opposition from other users. Cambridge, England-based Arm’s technology underpins chips that are crucial to most modern electronics, including those that dominate the smartphone market, an area in which Nvidia has failed to gain a foothold. Customers including Apple Inc, Qualcomm Inc, Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) and Intel Corp could demand assurances that a new owner would continue providing equal access to Arm’s instruction set. Such concerns resulted in Softbank, a neutral company, buying Arm the last time it was for sale. It bought Arm for US$32 billion four years ago. No final decisions have been made, and the negotiations could drag on longer or fall apart, the sources said. Representatives for Nvidia, Softbank and Arm declined to comment. “With Nvidia’s low-cost fabless model enabling it to focus on R&D, engineering and programming, the fit with Arm would be perfect,” Mirabaud Securities
In Tatung’s controversial shareholders’ meeting at the end of June, the family-controlled management overstepped its power and self-interpreted the laws to block its opponents’ voting rights. As a result, not only did the Ministry of Economic Affairs reject the company’s registration of new board directors, but the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) also reported the matter to judiciary authorities, saying the company had committed a breach of trust. Soon after, Jko Fintech last month relaunched its investment product Tuofu Bao, which, as expected, attracted NT$150 million (US$5.1 million) from 5,000 investors on its first day. The financial technology company claimed its product complied with the law and had regulatory approval, which the FSC denied. In the end, Jko Fintech had to suspend the service, because it is the commission, not the company, that has the final say. Jko Fintech touted Tuofu Bao as its answer to Alibaba Group’s Yuebao, which has attracted massive deposits from Chinese consumers to become the largest money market fund in China. Tuofu Bao would have allowed users of Jko Fintech’s e-payment platform, Jkopay, to invest cash online in the Jko Multi-Asset Fund, which is managed by Jko Fintech affiliate Jko Asset Management. The company has been promoting Tuofu Bao since 2018, saying it would offer better returns than traditional deposits. Last month was the third time Jko Fintech has unsuccessfully attempted to bring the service to market. What raised eyebrows at the FSC were the company’s claims that the investment service would offer an “expected return of 1.2 to 2.5 percent,” although the company said that it was not guaranteeing annual returns. The commission also took issue with the company’s other claims that Tuofu Bao faces no legal issues and that it does not require FSC approval. Jko Fintech committed the same mistake as Tatung. Whether in the electronics industry or
South China Sea exercises in July by two United States Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers reminds that Taiwan’s history since mid-1950, and as a free nation, is intertwined with that of the aircraft carrier. Eventually Taiwan will host aircraft carriers, either those built under its democratic government or those imposed on its territory by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). By September 1944, a lack of sufficient carrier airpower and land-based airpower persuaded US Army and Navy leaders to forgo an invasion to wrest Taiwan from Japanese control, thereby sparing Taiwanese considerable wartime destruction. But two days after North Korea’s invasion of South Korea on June 27, 1950, when US President Harry Truman ordered the US Navy’s 7th Fleet to “neutralize” the Taiwan Strait, it was the arrival of the carrier USS Valley Forge on June 29 that added the strength to deter Mao Zedong (毛澤東) from attempting an invasion. In February 1955, after persuading a reluctant Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣介石), seven US carriers helped provide air cover for the evacuation of Taiwanese troops and civilians from the difficult-to-defend Dachen Islands. But Chiang would also benefit from public shows of Washington’s support when he visited US aircraft carriers on four occasions: first the USS Wasp in January 1954 amid the First Taiwan Straits Crisis; then USS Midway in late 1958 during the Second Taiwan Straits Crisis; the USS Constellation in July 1963; and, with his son and successor Chiang Ching-Kuo (蔣經國), the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise in March 1966. Another nuclear-powered carrier, the USS Nimitz, along with the non-nuclear powered USS Independence, would embarrass CCP leader Jiang Zemin (江澤民) by demonstrating the PLA’s inability to prevent Washington from supporting Taiwan, during the Taiwan Straits Crisis of March 1996. But this incident would advance already underway PLA efforts in two directions:
In 1997, then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) took the bold initiative to invite the Dalai Lama to Taiwan as a state guest for the first time in history. His foresight allowed Taiwanese to be exposed to the Tibetan leader, who has earned respect as a great Buddhist teacher. Lee’s passing is a true loss for Tibetans, as he was a strong supporter. Prior to the 1997 visit, much dialogue had taken place. Our delegation would not have anything to do with the then-Mongolian Tibetan Affairs Commission (MTAC), which was a sticking point in Tibet-Taiwan relations, and we had discussed the closure of this office, as it had become irrelevant. In due course, the commission’s role was diminished and later merged with the Ministry of Culture. Scores of Tibetans who had entered Taiwan on different passports were offered residency. His Holiness was allowed entry not only as a religious but also as a political leader. One direct result of the visit was the setting up of the official Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Taipei. A few days before His Holiness’ visit to Taiwan, I was asked what I thought of the visit. I said that it was a historic visit, as His Holiness would be visiting a Taiwanese territory. If the visit was to be successful, it would be the springboard to visiting China. The visit was extremely well received by both the government and the people of Taiwan. It left a changed view with us that Taiwan was not part of China, but instead a separate entity. In our dialogue with Beijing, they insisted that His Holiness recognize Taiwan as part of China. This was a precondition that Beijing said would lead to future talks. After visiting Taiwan, seeing the vibrant democracy and making many friends, His
IS IT ENOUGH? After the captain dropped the cup, head coach Mikel Arteta promised him ‘more experience with trophies,’ saying that he hopes he will not be lured away Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta hopes that captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will stay to lead the Gunners to more success after scoring twice to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Aubameyang dropped the trophy before lifting his first piece of silverware since moving to English football from Borussia Dortmund two and a half years ago. Victory secured Arsenal’s place in the UEFA Europa League next season, as they risked missing out on European football for the first time in 25 years after finishing eighth in the Premier League. However, with Aubameyang facing another season without UEFA Champions League soccer and just one year left on his contract with Arsenal, the Gabon international has been linked with a move away this summer. “He needs more experience with trophies. We can get him used to that,” said Arteta, joking after Aubameyang’s mishap with the trophy lift. “He knows what I think about him; I want to build a squad around him,” Arteta said. “I think he wants to stay. It is about getting the deal done. I think moments like that will help to realize and give him belief that we are in the right path and he is a big part of it.” Arteta also played his part to win a trophy in his first season in a senior managerial role after Chelsea made a blistering start in the eerie surroundings of an empty Wembley Stadium. The Blues had already achieved their primary goal from head coach Frank Lampard’s first season in charge by securing a place in next season’s Champions League last weekend, and started confidently as Christian Pulisic’s composed finish opened the scoring just five minutes in. “We started well for 10 to 15 minutes, and we can only blame ourselves form that point,” Lampard said. “We got complacent, we took time on the
Lewis Hamilton smashed the track record twice on Saturday to grab a record seventh British Grand Prix pole position with a stunning performance in a tense qualifying session. Hamilton, who was looking to secure a record-increasing seventh Silverstone victory yesterday, finished ahead of his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by more than three-tenths of a second after the Finn had been fastest in final practice, and then again in both Q2 and Q3 when he also set lap records. The defending six-time champion and current series leader bounced back from a ragged performance, including a spin, in the first parts of qualifying to claim his 65th pole with Mercedes and the record-increasing 91st of his career. It was also a record eighth successive Mercedes pole success in Britain on a day when they were clear of their nearest rivals, Red Bull, by a full second, Max Verstappen taking third place on the grid ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Rising British star Lando Norris, 20, was fifth for McLaren ahead of Lance Stroll in Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes,’ Carlos Sainz in the second McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo and his Renault teammate Esteban Oconm and Sebastian Vettel, who was 10th for Ferrari. “This track is awesome, but it is tough out there — with the winds, it is like juggling balls on a moving plate,” Hamilton said. “I had a spin, and as you know qualifying is all about confidence, and I was struggling in the first sectors of every lap, but I took some deep breaths, composed myself and in Q3 I had a clear lap, and the second one was even better.” “It still isn’t perfect, but it never gets old,” he added. He said that it was strange to drive without any fans in the circuit. “Usually, it’s all sirens, flags and smoke and the atmosphere
The Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens, with the fewest wins of any NHL playoff teams, ignited the rink returning from a COVID-19 hiatus with upset triumphs in Saturday openers. NHL Rookie of the Year candidate Dominik Kubalik inspired the Blackhawks to a 6-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in game one of their best-of-five qualifying series at Edmonton, Alberta, scoring two goals and assisting on three others. “We were ready to go, and I think the game was pretty good,” Kubalik said. “I felt pretty good and everything went my way, so it’s nice, but it’s just the first game, so we’ve got to keep going.” Montreal’s Jeff Petry scored with six minutes, three seconds remaining in overtime to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh in their opener at Toronto after each team had missed a late penalty shot. Other playoff games on the first day of the NHL’s return from a March 12 COVID-19 shutdown saw the Carolina Hurricanes edge the New York Rangers 3-2, the New York Islanders beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 and the Calgary Flames defeat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1. Edmonton is the Western Conference hub city and Toronto the Eastern Conference hub city for quarantine bubbles being used to help safeguard NHL players from the novel coronavirus, which halted the campaign with three weeks remaining in the season. A dozen teams from each conference are in the playoffs, the top four season finishers in each city playing one another to determine seeding order for the first round of the playoffs. The other eight clubs in each conference meet in qualifying best-of-five matchups to decide the other four teams that will reach the first round of the best-of-seven playoffs. At Toronto, Montreal’s Carey Price made 39 saves for the 12th-seeded Canadiens to stun the fifth-seeded Penguins. Pittsburgh’s Conor Sheary missed wide
The Auckland Blues maintained their outside chance of claiming New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aotearoa title with a 32-21 victory over a hard-finishing Otago Highlanders in Dunedin yesterday. They led 32-16 after 55 minutes and then produced a gritty defence to hold off the desperate Highlanders who controlled the final quarter and threw everything at the visitors. Blues captain Paddy Tuipulotu summed up the game as “a real nail-biter,” and rated it as one of his side’s best performances in their late charge for the championship. “I think it was. Coming down to the last five minutes it was really close points-wise,” he said. “We had to dig in deep with our D [defense] and it was good for us to hang our hat on the D and get the win.” However, after disposing of the Highlanders, the Blues now need the Otago club to do them a favor and beat the table-topping Canterbury Crusaders next weekend. A Crusaders win would give them the title with a week to spare, but an upset Highlanders victory would set up a final-round decider between the Blues and the Crusaders at Eden Park in Auckland. Following the bonus-point victory against the Highlanders the Blues trail the Crusaders by two points, although they have a bye next weekend. Against the Highlanders they scored four tries in the first half, but were left frustrated when they were denied a fifth after Dalton Papalii galloped 70m to the try line from an intercept. The try was disallowed after the referee ruled that a prone Karl Tu’inukuafe impeded play when Highlanders scrumhalf Aaron Smith tripped over him as the Highlanders scrambled to retain possession before the intercept. The Blues produced a rollicking start with tries to standout backrower Akira Ioane and Finlay Christie in the opening 10 minutes. Once the Highlanders settled, they gained momentum
‘COVIDIOTS’: Politicians condemned the protest that came amid surging infections in the country, while a marcher said government-induced fear weakened the body Loudly chanting their opposition to masks and vaccines, thousands of people on Saturday gathered in Berlin to protest against COVID-19 restrictions before being dispersed by police. Police put turnout at about 20,000 — well below the 500,000 organizers had announced as they urged a “day of freedom” from months of virus curbs. Despite Germany’s comparatively low toll, authorities are concerned at a rise in infections over the past few weeks and politicians took to social media to criticize the rally as irresponsible. “We are the second wave,” shouted the crowd, a mixture of hard left and right and conspiracy theorists, as they converged on the Brandenburg Gate, demanding “resistance” and dubbing the pandemic “the biggest conspiracy theory.” Few protesters wore a mask or respected the 1.5m social distancing requirement, an Agence France-Presse journalist reported, despite police repeatedly calling on them via megaphone to do so. After several warnings, Berlin police ordered demonstrators to leave the area at the end of the afternoon. Police tweeted they had launched legal proceedings against organizers for not respecting virus hygiene rules. A handful of people held a counterdemonstration. Dubbing themselves “grandmothers against the extreme right,” they hurled insults against “Nazi” protesters. The protest’s “Day of Freedom” slogan echoes the title of a 1935 documentary by Nazi-era film-maker Leni Riefenstahl on a party conference by Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Several politicians condemned the demonstration as Germany seeks to minimize transmission of a virus that had claimed just more than 9,000 lives as of Saturday — a far lower toll than its neighbors. Saskia Esken of the Social Democrats, a junior coalition partner in German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, blasted the demonstrators as “Covidiots.” “No distancing, no mask. They are not only putting at risk our health but also our success against the pandemic as well as economic recovery, education and society. Irresponsible!” Esken
’MAKE-OR-BREAK’: More than 1,000 fires were detected on Thursday alone, the highest daily figure in 15 years, advocates said, urging measures against burning The number of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon last month rose 28 percent from July last year, satellite data showed on Saturday, fueling fears that the world’s biggest rainforest will again be devastated by fires this year. The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) identified 6,803 fires in the Amazon region last month, up from 5,318 the year before. The figure is all the more troubling given that last year was already a devastating year for fires in the Amazon, triggering global outcry. That has put pressure on Brazil, which holds about 60 percent of the Amazon basin region, to do more to protect the massive forest, seen as vital to containing the impact of climate change. The fires are largely set to clear land illegally for farming, ranching and mining. Advocates have accused Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right climate change skeptic, of encouraging the deforestation with calls to open up the rainforest to agriculture and industry. Under international pressure, Bolsonaro has deployed the army to fight the fires and declared a moratorium on burning. However, advocates have said that that does not go far enough to address the roots of the problem. Fires rose 77 percent on indigenous lands and 50 percent on protected nature reserves from July last year, environmental group Greenpeace said, showing how illegal activities are increasingly encroaching on those areas. On Thursday alone, satellites detected 1,007 fires in the Amazon, INPE said. That was the worst single day for fires in the month of July since 2005, Greenpeace said. “More than 1,000 fires in a single day is a 15-year record and shows the government’s strategy of media-spectacle operations is not working on the ground,” Greenpeace spokesman Romulo Batista said in a statement. “On paper, the fire moratorium prohibits burning, but it only works if there is also a response on the ground,
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on Saturday shoved off from the International Space Station (ISS) with two US astronauts on board, beginning their journey back to Earth, despite a storm threatening Florida. NASA footage showed the capsule drifting slowly away from the ISS in the darkness of space, ending a two-month stay for the first US astronauts to reach the orbiting lab on a US spacecraft in nearly a decade. “And they are off!” NASA tweeted, with astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken set to splash down yesterday. “[They] will spend one more night in space prior to returning to their homeland, Earth,” NASA tweeted. Their proposed splash-down sites were off the coast of western Florida’s panhandle, while Tropical Storm Isaias was headed toward the state’s east coast. NASA opted to go ahead with bringing the pair home, despite the threat of Isaias, which was downgraded to a tropical storm from a hurricane on Saturday. The agency later added that the capsule was confirmed to be “on a safe trajectory.” FAREWELL “Now is the entry, descent and splashdown phase after we undock, hopefully a little bit later today,” Hurley said in a farewell ceremony aboard the ISS that was broadcast on NASA TV. “The teams are working really hard, especially with the dynamics of the weather over the next few days around Florida,” he said. Earlier, during the ISS ceremony, Behnken said that “the hardest part was getting us launched, but the most important part is bringing us home.” The mission, which blasted off on May 30, marked the first time a crewed spaceship had launched into orbit from US soil since 2011, when the space shuttle program ended. It was also the first time a private company has flown to the ISS carrying astronauts.
Amid the chaos of the pandemic’s early days, doctors who faced the first coronavirus onslaught reached across oceans and language barriers in an unprecedented effort to advise colleagues trying to save lives in the dark. With no playbook to follow and no time to wait for research, YouTube videos describing autopsy findings and X-rays swapped on Twitter and WhatsApp spontaneously filled the gap. When Stephen Donelson arrived at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in mid-March, Kristina Goff was among those who turned to what she called “the stories out of other places that were hit before.” Donelson’s family hadn’t left the house in two weeks after COVID-19 started spreading in Texas, hoping to shield the organ transplant recipient. Yet one night, his wife found him barely breathing, his skin turning blue, and called 911. In New York or Italy, where hospitals were overflowing, Goff thinks Donelson wouldn’t even have qualified for a then-precious ventilator. But in Dallas, “we pretty much threw everything we could at him,” she said. Like doctors everywhere, Goff was at the beginning of a huge and daunting learning curve. “It’s a tsunami. Something that if you don’t experience it directly, you can’t understand,” Italian Pier Giorgio Villani said in a series of Webinars on six straight Tuesday evenings to alert other intensive care units what to expect. They started just two weeks after Italy’s first hospitalized patient arrived in his ICU, and 10 days before Donelson fell ill in Texas. Villani, who works in the northern city of Lodi, described a battle to accommodate the constant flow of people needing breathing tubes. “We had 10, 12, 15 patients to intubate and an ICU with seven patients already intubated,” he said. The video sessions, organized by an Italian association of ICUs, GiViTI, and the non-profit Mario Negri Institute
Aug 3 to Aug 9 Even though his moniker mimicked that of a Buddhist master, Nien Hsi-lin (粘錫麟) was devoted to one religion: the environment. “Environmental Protection Preacher” (環保弘法師) was more than a nickname, though, it was Nien’s actual job title when the full-time activist moonlighted as an environmental writer and speaker for a Buddhist magazine in 1990. Only finding his true calling at the age of 47, Nien liked the title so much that he listed it as his occupation on his national identification card. “I don’t plan on changing the job title,” Nien says in his 2008 biography by Lai Pei-ju (賴珮茹), long after he stopped working for the publication. Nien says that he led a “dispirited and decadent life” before he joined the fight in 1986 to prevent chemical giant Dupont from building a titanium dioxide plant in his hometown of Lukang (鹿港). The success of the anti-Dupont movement was a pivotal moment in Taiwan’s environmental protection history. Just five months after Dupont scrapped its Lukang project, the Executive Yuan upgraded the Department of Health’s Environmental Protection Bureau to an independent Environmental Protection Administration, greatly expanding its scope and responsibilities. The Dupont fight also became a model for future anti-pollution protests, with Nien involved in many of them. “I’m no mighty justice warrior, I just feel the sorrow of the disadvantaged,” he writes in the foreword to his biography. “When faced with authority and corporate tyranny, ordinary people like workers, farmers, women, Aborigines, fishers are Taiwan’s disadvantaged. But at the most disadvantaged is the environment, because the environment cannot speak up for itself … That’s why I have so stubbornly carried on with my mission.” Until his death on Aug. 7, 2013, Nien never stopped preaching and railing against the authorities and big business. At the age of 70, he
France’s coronavirus crisis has sparked a fierce battle in its hallowed champagne industry over this season’s harvest, with producers and growers at loggerheads over how much bubbly should be put into bottles. The main production houses are demanding a sharp reduction in harvest yields as sales plunge amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Growers say this would decimate their revenues. Traditionally, both sides negotiate how many grapes are harvested by the hundreds of champagne growers each year, many of whom sell to merchants including big-name brands like Veuve Clicquot or Pommery. The goal is to limit the risks from poor harvests and drastic price swings that could put many players out of business. But merchants say they are already loaded with stocks and with revenues hit hard by the crisis they cannot afford to produce more bottles than they can sell. “The growers want 8,500kg per hectare and the houses want just 6,000 to 7,000 kilos,” said Bernard Beaulieu, a grower in Mutigny, a village amid rolling vineyards south of Reims, the capital of France’s Champagne region. With the price per kilo expected to remain relatively strong this year at roughly 6.50 euros, the stakes are high. “Not having a deal with harvests just a month away, this hasn’t happened since after World War II,” Beaulieu said. The Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC) trade body, however, expects to sell 100 million fewer bottles this year, an unheard-of hit that will slash overall sales to 3.3 billion euros (US$3.9 billion) — down 34 percent from 2019. And they say over one billion bottles are currently waiting in champagne cellars, representing several years of potential sales. The UMC’s director general, David Chatillon, said he would not comment on the dispute before an August 18 meeting of the Champagne Committee, which groups both growers and merchants. ‘ROLL OF THE DICE’ Growers are especially furious because this
In the eastern Afghan city of Herat, 18-year-old high school student Somaya Faruqi adjusts a suction cap as she puts the finishing touches before unveiling a low-cost, lightweight ventilator created by her and six other young women. The all-female Afghan Robotics Team, which has won international awards for its robots, started work in March on an open-source, low-cost ventilator as the coronavirus pandemic hit the war-torn nation. It took the team almost four months to finalize the ventilator, which is partly based on a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) design, and they received guidance from experts at Harvard University. The device is easy to carry, can run on battery power for 10 hours and costs around US$700 (approx. NT$21,000) to produce, compared with the US$20,000 price of a traditional ventilator. Although the ventilator still has to undergo final testing from health authorities before it can be used, officials welcome it in a country with only 800 ventilators, to treat the fast-growing number of coronavirus cases in a health system damaged by decades of war. Health Ministry spokesman Akmal Samsor said once the ventilators were approved they would be rolled out in Afghan hospitals and the design shared with the World Health Organization. Afghanistan has recorded 36,710 COVID-19 cases and 1,283 deaths, though experts warn that the true count is probably far higher due to low testing rates. (Reuters) 在阿富汗東部的城市赫拉特，十八歲的高中生索瑪亞‧法路琪調整了吸盤，在這款低成本、輕便的呼吸器發表前，做最後的修飾。這呼吸器是由法路琪和其他六位年輕女性一起創作出來的。 阿富汗機器人團隊全由女子組成，所設計的機器人曾獲得國際獎項。冠狀病毒疫情重創已飽經戰火摧殘的阿富汗，因此小組成員自三月起，便開始研發開源、低成本的呼吸器。 該團隊花了近四個月的時間完成呼吸器，它部分是基於美國麻省理工學院的設計，團隊也受到哈佛大學專家的指導。 這套裝置便於攜帶，可用電池供電，續航力有十小時；其成本約為七百美元（約為台幣兩萬一千元），傳統的呼吸器則要價兩萬美元。 雖然這套呼吸器還必須經過衛生主管機關的最後測試才能夠派上用場，但在這僅有八百套呼吸器、染疫民眾暴增、醫療系統已被數十年戰亂毀壞的國家，政府官員對此呼吸器的研發樂見其成。 阿富汗衛生部發言人阿克馬‧山穆索表示，這些呼吸器一經核准，便將推廣至國內各醫院使用，其設計也將與世界衛生組織共享。 阿富汗已有三萬六千七百一十人確診武漢肺炎（冠狀病毒病，COVID-19），其中一千二百八十三人死亡，但專家表示，由於檢測率低，實際的數字可能還要高得多。 (台北時報林俐凱編譯)
A: Wow, the current Power Lottery jackpot is a record breaking NT$3.12 billion due to 47 consecutive rollovers without a winner. B: Are you serious? NT$3.12 billion! You could buy a small island with that. When does the draw take place? A: Let me check. . . It’s this evening! B: We’ve still got one hour before ticket sales close. This opportunity’s just too good to miss. Quick, put your shoes on and grab your wallet. There’s a lottery store not far from here. A: Go go go! (Edward Jones, Taipei Times) A: 哇，這期的威力彩，頭獎三十一點二億打破紀錄。已經連續累積四十七期都沒人中獎。 B: 真的嗎？三十一點二億！那些錢都可以買下一座小島了。什麼時候開獎？ A: 讓我來查一下……就是今晚。 B: 在彩券截止販售前我們還有一小時，這麼好的機會千萬不可錯過。快點，穿上鞋子、帶上皮夾， 離這裡不遠就有一家彩券行。 A: 快出發吧！ （台北時報張聖恩譯） English 英文: Chinese 中文:
Russian scientists are poring over the stunningly well-preserved bones of an adult woolly mammoth that roamed the Earth at least 10,000 years ago, after local inhabitants discovered its remains in the shallows of a north Siberian lake. Part of its skull, several ribs and foreleg bones, some with soft tissue still attached to them, were retrieved from Russia’s remote Yamal peninsula above the Arctic Circle on July 23. Scientists are still searching the site for other bones. Similar finds in Russia’s vast Siberian region have happened with increasing regularity as climate change warming the Arctic at a faster pace than the rest of the world has thawed the ground in some areas long locked in permafrost. Scientists circulated images in December of a prehistoric puppy, thought to be 18,000 years old, that was found in the permafrost region of Russia’s Far East in 2018. The mammoth remains are at least 10,000 years old, although researchers don’t yet know exactly when it walked the earth or how old it was when it died, said Dmitry Frolov, director of the Scientific Centre for Arctic studies. Researchers have found mammoth fossils dating from up to 30,000 years ago in Russia, he said. Yevgeniya Khozyainova, a scientist from a local museum, said it was unusual to find so many bones belonging to a single species and to know where they came from. “Of course, we’d like to find the remaining parts, to understand how complete a find it is. Whenever there is soft tissue left behind, it is valuable material to study,” she said. (Reuters) 俄國科學家近日埋首挖掘一頭真猛瑪象的成象骸骨，其保存狀況良好得讓人吃驚。遠在一萬年前，這頭真猛瑪象曾經漫步於地球上，而這次出土的骨骸是當地居民在西伯利亞北部一座湖邊的淺灘所發現。 這隻真猛瑪象的部分頭蓋骨、數根肋骨和前腿骨，在七月二十三日出土於俄羅斯位於北極圈內偏遠的亞馬爾半島，其中一些骸骨仍有軟組織附著在上面。科學家目前仍然在該地持續搜尋其他骸骨。 在俄羅斯廣闊的西伯利亞地區，類似的考古發現愈趨頻繁，這是因為氣候變遷暖化北極圈的速度，比世界其他地方還來得快。某些長久以來鎖在永凍土層的地區，地面已經解凍。 去年十二月，科學家間流傳著一隻史前時代幼犬的照片，是二○一八年在俄羅斯遠東地區的永凍土區域發現的，推測年代為一萬八千年前。 俄羅斯北極研究中心主任狄米崔‧伏羅洛夫表示，雖然研究人員還不知道這隻猛瑪象漫步在地球上的確切時代，或是牠過世的年紀，但是這具遺骸起碼有一萬年的歷史。他說，研究人員曾經在俄羅斯發現過可追溯到三萬年前的猛瑪象化石。 當地博物館的科學家葉芙金妮雅‧霍奇艾諾娃指出，能夠發現許多同屬於單一物種的骨頭是相當少見的，也不容易知道它們來自何處。她說：「當然，我們希望能找到剩下的部位，想要了解這次發現的完整程度。只要有軟組織殘留下來，都會是珍貴的研究材料。」 （台北時報章厚明譯）
| New Taipei City | 27-27 | 40% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 27-29 | 40% | |
| Hsinchu City | 27-29 | 40% | |
| Taipei City | 26-27 | 40% | |
| Miaoli County | 26-29 | 40% | |
| Taoyuan City | 27-27 | 40% | |
| Keelung City | 27-29 | 40% | |
| Yunlin County | 26-28 | 40% | |
| Taichung City | 26-28 | 40% | |
| Nantou County | 25-28 | 40% | |
| Changhua County | 27-29 | 40% | |
| Chiayi County | 26-29 | 50% | |
| Chiayi City | 25-28 | 40% | |
| Tainan City | 26-28 | 90% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 26-28 | 90% | |
| Pingtung County | 24-26 | 80% | |
| Yilan County | 26-30 | 40% | |
| Hualien County | 26-30 | 40% | |
| Taitung County | 25-30 | 80% | |
| Kinmen County | 27-30 | 60% | |
| Penghu County | 26-28 | 90% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-29 | 40% | |
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