Sat, May 08, 2021
‘REGRETTABLE’ DECISION: Although the ruling tasks authorities with amending regulations that contravene the Constitution, Aborigines said it does not do enough The Council of Grand Justices yesterday ruled that some hunting restrictions on Aborigines were unconstitutional, but stopped short of supporting a total overhaul of regulations, which some hunting advocates had called for. Hunting restrictions have become a contentious issue among Aboriginal communities. Under current regulations, Aboriginal communities are only allowed to hunt with self-made shotguns during certain festivals and only with prior approval from authorities. Advocates say the self-made firearms are dangerous and that restrictions impede on the subsistence hunting traditions their communities have practiced for centuries. In Constitutional Interpretation No. 803, the grand justices found portions of the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法) unconstitutional. Although the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act specifies the kind of guns and munitions Aborigines can make, it contravenes the Constitution’s protection of Aborigine’s and their way of life, as the regulations do not consider the safety of those making the guns, the grand justices found. The National Police Agency must amend the act to make it compliant with the Constitution within two years, the council said. Under the act, Aborigines cannot manufacture, transport or own self-made shotguns or harpoons for making a living without a permit. The interpretation said that the Constitution protects the traditional cultures of Aboriginal communities, but this protection is predicated on the basis that these are not used for commercial purposes. However, the Wildlife Conservation Act does not protect Aborigines’ right to hunt protected species, the interpretation said. A requirement that Aborigines apply to hunt five days in advance, with a ban on unplanned hunting, was unreasonably rigid and unconstitutional, in contravention of the principle of proportionality, it said. Under the rules, Aborigines must specify the animals they would hunt and how many they would kill in an application, which the interpretation also found unconstitutional. The ruling followed the 2015 conviction of Tama
Taiwan and the US are working with Paraguay to identify private-sector opportunities to bolster the renewable energy and electric vehicle sector in the South American country, the US Department of State said on Thursday. Paraguay is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies and its sole ally in South America. With Paraguay reporting an increase in COVID-19 cases over the past few months, there has been speculation over whether it would switch recognition from Taipei to Beijing to secure medical supplies from China, including vaccines. Taiwan’s and the US’ embassies partnered with the Paraguayan government to host a virtual meeting on the Partnership Opportunity Delegation, the department said in a news release. Taiwan and the US are working with Paraguay to identify private sector opportunities that would improve the renewable energy and electric vehicles sector in Paraguay, it added. “During the meeting, executives from the United States and Taiwan discussed Paraguay’s hydroelectric energy surplus and potential collaboration in green hydrogen, solar energy, smart electricity distribution and storage systems, and electric vehicle components,” it said. The meeting was attended by business leaders from Taiwan and the US, who met with Paraguayan Ministry of Industry and Commerce Director for Export Promotion Ambassador Estefania Laterza, it said. Other participants included Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Director-General Alexander Yui (俞大㵢), Ambassador to Paraguay Jose Han (韓志正), US Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung and US Department of State Managing Director for Global Partnerships Thomas Debass, it said. The meeting is the third trilateral meeting hosted virtually by Taiwan and the US, after meetings with Saint Lucia and Eswatini, the ministry said in a news release. The ministry expects to enhance business partnerships among Taiwan, the US and Paraguay, and jointly explore clean energy market opportunities in the South American country, it said. It also
A virus state of emergency in Tokyo and other parts of Japan was yesterday extended, less than three months before the Olympics, as India logged yet another record number of infections. While many Western nations have begun a gradual opening-up — Germany yesterday declared that a recent surge of infections had been “broken” — much of the world continues to battle a virus that has claimed more than 3.2 million lives. Japan’s COVID-19 outbreak remains much smaller than in many countries, with about 10,500 deaths, but its vaccine rollout is moving slowly and more infectious variants are driving fresh waves of contagion, with record case numbers in some regions and medics warning that hospitals are under strain. The pandemic has disrupted test events for the upcoming Olympics, with several postponed, canceled or moved abroad, although the Diving World Cup and a rowing qualifier went ahead this week in Tokyo with athletes from abroad. The emergency measures, less strict than blanket lockdowns in other countries, had been due to end on Tuesday next week, but would continue until the end of the month, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said. “The number of new virus cases is at a high level in major cities, while hospitals continue to be overwhelmed in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures,” he said. Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura has warned that the western region’s medical system is “reaching breaking point,” with reports of COVID-19 patients dying while waiting for an ambulance. The surge has forced Olympic torch relays off Japan’s roads, with the world’s oldest person, a Japanese woman aged 118, giving up her spot in the event. Kane Tanaka of Fukuoka had planned to use a wheelchair to carry the torch when it passes through the city — but her family said she would no longer participate because “the spread of the coronavirus has not been
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday called for the release of four Hong Kong democracy advocates who were jailed for participating in a vigil for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. “The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong and rejects the sentencing of activists for attending a Tiananmen commemoration,” Blinken wrote on Twitter. “All those imprisoned for nonviolent exercise of guaranteed freedoms should be freed immediately,” he added. Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), Lester Shum (岑敖暉), Tiffany Yuen (袁嘉蔚) and Janelle Leung (梁凱晴) — four prominent activists in their 20s — were jailed after pleading guilty to taking part in an “unauthorized assembly” on June 4 last year on the anniversary of the massacre. Last year’s event was banned for the first time, with police citing the COVID-19 pandemic and security fears following huge democracy protests that roiled Hong Kong the year before. Since then, prosecutors have charged more than two dozen prominent democracy advocates who attended the vigil. Wong is serving 17.5 months in jail for two convictions linked to the 2019 demonstrations. He was handed a consecutive 10 months of jail for the new conviction, which starts once current sentences are finished. Shum, 27, was sentenced to six months in jail, while Yuen, 27, and Leung, 26, were both handed four-month sentences. Meanwhile, a Hong Kong court yesterday granted emergency bail to former Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai (胡志偉), detained on charges of breaking the territory’s National Security Law, so he can attend his father’s funeral, the South China Morning Post reported. Wu is among 47 opposition figures charged with conspiracy to commit subversion by participating in an unofficial, nonbinding and independently organized primary vote last year to select candidates for a since-postponed Hong Kong election. Additional reporting by Reuters
TAKING NOTICE: In the first time that G7 foreign ministers have mentioned Taiwan in a joint communique, they called for ‘peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait’ The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the G7 foreign ministers for their strong support of Taiwan after the group in its joint statement on Wednesday called for the nation’s participation in the WHO, and the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The ministers in a communique issued at the end of their three-day meeting declared support for “Taiwan’s meaningful participation” in WHO forums and the World Health Assembly (WHA). “The international community should be able to benefit from the experience of all partners, including Taiwan’s successful contribution to the tackling of the COVID-19 pandemic,” it said. The statement included a section on the East and South China seas, in which it explicitly referenced the Taiwan Strait. “We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues,” it said. The group reiterated concern regarding “any unilateral actions” that could escalate tensions and undermine regional stability. Referencing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, it emphasized the importance of an international rules-based order, while calling a July 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the South China Sea a “useful basis” for peacefully resolving disputes. It was the first time that the G7 foreign ministers mentioned Taiwan in one of their joint communiques, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement. The 2019 communique, while implying support for Taiwan’s participation in the International Civil Aviation Organization, fell short of mentioning the nation by name. The statement once again expresses international recognition of Taiwan’s democratic and unified handling of COVID-19, Chang said. It reiterates that stability in the Taiwan Strait is no longer merely a cross-strait issue, but involves the entire Indo-Pacific region and has become a focus of global attention, he added. Whether by helping to maintain regional stability or contributing to global health, Taiwan is showing
The G7 nations on Wednesday scolded China and Russia, casting the Kremlin as malicious and Beijing as a bully, but beyond words there were few concrete steps aside from expressing support for Taiwan and Ukraine. Founded in 1975 as a forum for the West’s richest nations to discuss crises such as the OPEC oil embargo, the G7 this week addressed what it perceives as the biggest threats: China, Russia and the COVID-19 pandemic. G7 foreign ministers, in a 12,400-word communique, said that Russia was trying to undermine democracies and threatening Ukraine, while China was guilty of human rights abuses and of using its economic clout to bully others. However, there was little concrete action mentioned in the communique that would unduly worry either Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) or Russian President Vladimir Putin. The G7 said it would bolster collective efforts to stop China’s “coercive economic policies” and to counter Russian disinformation — part of a move to present the West as a much broader alliance than just the core G7 countries. “I think [China is] more likely to need to, rather than react in anger, it is more likely going to need to take a look in the mirror and understand that it needs to take into account this growing body of opinion, that thinks these basic international rules have got to be adhered to,” British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab said. Russia denies it is meddling beyond its borders and says the West is gripped by anti-Russian hysteria, while China says the West is a bully and that its leaders have a post-imperial mindset that makes them feel they can act like global police officers. “We will work collectively to foster global economic resilience in the face of arbitrary, coercive economic policies and practices,” the G7 ministers said on
KNOT FINALLY TIED: Taipei’s Zhongzheng District Household Registration Office was ordered to register the marriage of Taiwan’s Ting Tse-yan and Macau’s Guzifer Leong The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ordered a household registration office to register a same-sex marriage involving a foreign national from a jurisdiction in which such marriages are illegal. Taipei’s Zhongzheng District Household Registration Office had refused to register the marriage of Taiwanese Ting Tse-yan (丁則言) and his Macanese partner, Guzifer Leong (梁展輝), when they attempted to do so on Oct. 1, 2019. The office based its decision on Article 46 of the Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements (涉外民事法律適用法), which states that “the formation of a marriage is governed by the national laws of each party.” It means that same-sex couples involving a partner from a nation or area in which same-sex marriage is illegal — such as Macau — cannot marry in Taiwan or have a marriage conducted in a third nation legally recognized. In its ruling, the administrative court cited Article 6 of the same act, which states that in specific situations where Taiwanese courts must consider the civil laws of foreign jurisdictions, the foreign law should be applied unless that nation’s laws specifically state that Taiwanese law should be applied. Under the Macau Civil Code, legal jurisdiction for civil matters is based on a person’s place of “habitual residence,” it said. Therefore, since Leong is a resident of Taiwan, Taiwanese law allowing same-sex marriage should take precedent, it added. The court ordered the household registration office to validate the registration that the couple submitted in 2019. Leong on Thursday thanked the court for its ruling, while noting that many other international same-sex couples in Taiwan have found themselves in the same situation. Leong, who came to Taiwan in 2017 and runs a small bakery with his partner, said that he has long come to regard Taiwan as his home. As of press time last night, it was unclear whether
Members of the Puyuma people yesterday urged the Taitung County Government to scrap plans for a solar power plant on a 161 hectare plot of land near the estuary of the Jhihben River (知本溪). Taitung City Councilor Chen Cheng-tsung (陳政宗), acting head of the Mafaliu branch of Taitung County’s Aboriginal Katatipul community, accused the county government of hastily passing an ill-designed project while excluding Aborigines from the negotiating process. The land was, in 2018 when the county government was discussing the project, mostly traditional Aboriginal land, Chen said. Chen said that the questions in a vote held on June 1, 2019, soliciting the opinions of Aborigines were poorly designed. The vote passed 187-173, with one abstention. However, those opposed to the project have questioned the validity of the vote, saying that many people voted on behalf of those not present. Members of the Mafaliu, Pakaruku and Ruvaniaw branches of the Katatipul community yesterday protested in front of the Taichung County Government building, demanding that the county government respect traditional Aboriginal land and cancel the project. Aborigines were never consulted about the contract for the project, as it was handled by the county government and the contractor, demonstrating an utter lack of respect for local Aborigines, Chen said. The county government has also handed the contractor powers that, by law, only Aborigines have the right to exercise, he said. Over the past three years, local Aborigines have voiced their opposition to the project many times, but the county government has not only ignored their opinions, but has also facilitated the contractor’s efforts to persuade villagers to agree to the project, representatives of the Katatipul community said. The protesters said that if they did not take a stand and voice their discontent, their autonomy, opinions and rights would be ignored by the county government. In response, the county government said that it remains
‘COLD ATTITUDE’: The man claimed that his wife of nearly 50 years had not cooked or done any laundry for 40 years and that she refused to bathe A court last month rejected a man’s application for a divorce over lack of evidence that his wife “would rather feed stray dogs” than her husband. The 90-year-old man, surnamed Chao (趙), filed for divorce from his wife of nearly 50 years, surnamed Tung (董), saying that she had not cooked or done any laundry for 40 years. “Every morning my wife goes to Gaoping Bridge to feed stray dogs and does not come home until late,” Chao said. “I am 90 and I need to be taken care of,” he said, complaining of his wife’s “cold attitude” toward him. Chao also complained in court about Tung’s personal hygiene, claiming that she refused to bathe. When he took the case to the Pingtung District Court early last year, court officials assumed he was merely letting off steam, as divorce suits between couples of such advanced age are rare. However, Chao persisted, and the court called in both parties to hear each side of the argument. Tung said that her husband has a bad temper and would refuse to speak with her for years when he gets angry. She also denied her husband’s claims about her hygiene, saying that she bathes every day after returning home from feeding the dogs, adding that it was Chao who was unhygienic. Their daughter-in-law lives with them, so Chao’s claim that no one takes care of him is a lie, Tung said. The court rejected the application for divorce, citing Chao’s failure to provide evidence of Tung’s unsanitary behavior and refusal to provide care. The case can be appealed.
The COVID-19 cluster involving employees of China Airlines and the Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport hotel can be traced to three sources, which are all linked to a virus variant imported from the UK, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The CECC has completed genome sequencing of the viruses which have infected 29 people in the cluster, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division. There are three different genetic sequences, meaning there are three different sources of infection connected to the cluster, he said, adding that all three are linked to a virus variant from the UK. Among them, a China Airlines pilot (case No. 1,153) and a flight attendant (case No. 1,154) who had visited a bar in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) were both infected by the same strain of the UK variant, Lo said. The center also confirmed that cases No. 1,101 and No. 1,122 were infected by the same virus strain, but the strain is different from the two other sources, Lo said. The source of their infection is yet to be confirmed, he said. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said that the Tourism Bureau is to fine Novotel NT$150,000 after the quarantine hotel was found to have accepted bookings of ordinary visitors in contravention of the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例). The Taoyuan City Government could also fine the hotel NT$15,000 for each breach of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), Chen said. China Airlines is to be fined NT$1 million by the Civil Aeronautics Administration for failing to properly implement quarantine measures for its crew, contravening the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法) and related regulations, he said. The CECC yesterday reported five new imported COVID-19 cases — three arrivals from the Philippines, one
New legislation to regulate meals served at schools is needed, the Taiwan Dietitian Association and other non-governmental organizations said on Thursday. The association, the Douceur Network, the Junior-High Union of Parents’ Associations in Taipei City, the Cancer Care Foundation and a national federation of suppliers of boxed meals told a news conference in Taipei that they are joining forces to advocate for a “school meals provision act.” Nearly 1.78 million elementary and junior-high students eat meals at school, the groups said. However, complaints from students and parents, food-safety incidents and struggles among caterers to provide meals this year due to a water shortage point to long-standing problems with school meal programs, including a lack of professionals and resources, they said. The groups said that along with attorney Hsieh Meng-yu (謝孟羽), who is a member of the Taipei Bar Association’s public service committee, and Hsu Han-yun (許菡芸), director of Taipei City Councilor Chiu Wei-chieh’s (邱威傑) office, they have drafted regulations based on legislation in Japan and South Korea, as well as first-hand experience at schools. One of the major aims of the proposed legislation would be to ensure that there are enough professionals at schools to ensure the health of students, Hsieh said. Authorities should be allowed to carry out inspections and penalties should be set to ensure that the proposed regulations are enforced, he said. There is only one nutritionist for almost every 1,200 students in the nation, far lower than the ratios in Japan and South Korea, Taiwan Dietitian Association president Linda Chin (金惠民) said. Teachers might not be able to tell whether students are eating enough, she said, adding that every school should be required to hire at least one nutritionist. Guaranteeing the safety of school meals by enacting dedicated laws would be “the best Mother’s Day gift,” Junior-High Union of Parents’ Associations in Taipei City president
DISTANT-WATER FLEET: The Control Yuan ordered the foreign and labor ministries, as well as the Fisheries Agency, to take corrective measures to protect fishers’ rights Forced labor in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing fleet must be addressed, the Control Yuan said on Thursday, when it issued demands of government entities over the issue. The US in a report on child and forced labor in September last year for the first time said that fish caught by Taiwanese-flagged vessels are products of forced labor. “Crews on Taiwan-flagged vessels face confiscation of documents, long days with little rest, physical and verbal abuse, and lack of payment,” the US report said. Control Yuan member Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and the Fisheries Agency have known about forced labor on the Taiwanese fleet since as early as 2019, when Greenpeace released a report on the issue. The government bodies knew that Greenpeace would submit its findings to Washington, but took no concrete measures to address the issue, Wang said. To spur reforms, the Control Yuan has demanded that the three bodies take corrective measures to ensure fishers’ rights are protected. It is also urging the Executive Yuan to make changes, she said. If this issue is not dealt with, Taiwan faces being banned from exporting fish to the US and Europe, Control Yuan member Tsai Chung-yi (蔡崇義) said. Among the demands is that the Fisheries Agency assign more personnel to conduct inspections, and for it and the Ministry of Labor to educate the fisheries industry on human rights. Executive departments should ensure that their employees have a clear understanding of what constitutes forced labor, as such cases are sometimes classified as employer-employee disputes, the Control Yuan said in a statement. Cross-agency communication — within executive departments and between departments and the Judicial Yuan — is required so reports of forced labor are dealt with efficiently and perpetrators punished, the statement said. The Executive Yuan is required to evaluate whether a ban on products
NATIONWIDE EVENTS: The KMT said it would hold events in 21 cities and counties to promote its proposals on the scheduling of referendums and pork import policy Referendum proposals on protecting the Datan algal reefs, barring pork imports containing ractopamine and how to schedule referendums have received enough signatures to advance, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said yesterday. However, a final decision on whether the proposals would be put to a vote is expected on Friday next week, after a commission review, it said. If the three proposed referendums are approved, they are expected to be conducted on Aug. 28 alongside a proposal to restart work on the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮). The nuclear referendum was approved last year and is to be voted on that day, the CEC said. Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng (潘忠政) last year initiated a referendum proposal aimed at protecting reefs off Datan Village (大潭) in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) amid plans to build a CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC) liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. It gained 643,371 valid signatures, far surpassing the required level, the commission said. The proposed referendum would ask: “Do you agree that CPC’s LNG terminal should be relocated from its planned site on the algal reef coast of Datan and its adjacent waters?” Two referendum questions proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also cleared the second of two hurdles before being put to a vote. One of them is aimed at overriding the Democratic Progressive Party government’s policy easing restrictions on imports of pork products with residue of the livestock drug ractopamine, with the petition garnering 461,594 valid signatures. The proposal was initiated by KMT Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), which asks: “Do you agree to a total ban on the importation of pork and related products containing leanness enhancing additives (ractopamine and other beta agonists)?” A referendum initiated by KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) asks: “Do you agree that a referendum should be held concurrently with
In a bid to prevent people affiliated with criminal gangs from joining the party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei chapter head Enoch Wu (吳怡農) yesterday proposed a set of “reform measures.” “This is the only way forward for our party to make progress in politics with democratic values,” Wu told a convention of chapter heads that was led by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is the DPP chairperson. “The DPP must not betray the trust of its members, so I am asking chapter heads to push for and to implement these policies.” The meeting was called in response to allegations that Chao Chieh-yu (趙介佑) was involved in racketeering, assault and kidnapping related to organized crime. Chao was expelled from the party this week after the allegations came to light. Wu proposed three measures to screen people who apply to join the DPP. The application must be filled out with authentic personal data; applicants must provide personal phone numbers, to prevent several people using the same number; and each applicant must pay a membership fee from their own pocket, he said. The Taipei chapter will lead by example by vigorously screening every applicant and authenticating personal information that they submit, he said, adding that his office would keep in contact with every member of the city chapter and root out people affiliated with organized crime. A prohibition on gang affiliation was approved at the DPP’s 2013 National Congress, but it was not fully implemented, Wu said. The Taipei chapter has 250,000 members, but only about 30 percent have submitted complete personal information, so screening would be stepped up, every member would be contacted and payment of membership fees checked to remove “puppet members,” he said. The checks are based on the 2013 provisions, disqualifying applicants who have been convicted of breaches of the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例), the
An arrest warrant for former National Security Bureau (NSB) officer Liu Kuan-chun (劉冠軍) was issued on April 23, more than two decades after he left Taiwan in the wake of media reports accusing him of embezzling government funds, the bureau said on Thursday. The warrant issued by the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office says that Liu, a former colonel who was director of the Cashiers’ Section, is accused of surrendering to the Chinese government and engaging in espionage operations. The maximum penalty for both charges is death. Liu traveled to China in September 2000 after media reports said that he allegedly embezzled about NT$190 million (US$6.81 million at the current exchange rate) of bureau funds allocated to secret government projects. An arrest warrant was issued that month on money laundering and corruption charges. However, a re-examination of the case determined that Liu might have leaked information from the projects, for which he was responsible, an unnamed prosecutors’ office official said. Classified documents were disclosed by the media in 2002, two years after Liu left Taiwan, some bearing a watermark that showed they were printed in Liu’s office at the NSB, the official said. Liu took the highly classified documents with him when he fled to China, investigators said. He is believed to have given the documents to Chinese authorities and even helped them decipher messages, investigators said. In February, the bureau transferred the case to the high prosecutors’ office, which on April 23 issued a warrant for Liu’s arrest on espionage charges. The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office, which is in charge of Liu’s embezzlement case, in March applied for a court order to confiscate his assets in Taiwan, which total about NT$200 million. However, the whereabouts of Liu, now in his 60s, remains unknown. His wife, Meng Wen-hua (孟雯華), reportedly left Taiwan with their children the day after Liu departed.
FULL SPEED AHEAD: Exports could stay above the US$30 billion mark this month, as material, component and capacity shortages persist, a government official said Exports last month surged 38.7 percent year-on-year to US$34.96 billion, the second-highest value in history, as local firms benefited from an across-the-board increase in demand, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. A pickup in economic activity around the world also lent support to inventory building for tech and non-tech products, pushing up their selling prices, during a historically slow season, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a news conference in Taipei. “Exports could stay above the US$30 billion mark for this month, or an increase of 25 to 31 percent from a year earlier,” Tsai said, adding that material, component and capacity shortages could persist until next year, based on the guidance of major tech firms. Taiwan is home to the world’s leading contract makers of electronics used in smartphones, personal computers, TVs, vehicles, as well as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things applications. The second quarter is usually a low season for technology brands to digest inventory before the launch of next-generation products in the fall. Shipments of electronics spiked 38.6 percent to US$13.51 billion, propelled by a 34.9 percent increase in semiconductors, a 44.1 percent bump in LEDs, a 35.2 percent pickup in capacitors and a 10.6 percent growth in printed circuit boards, the ministry’s report showed. Exports of information and communications technology devices expanded 35.9 percent to US$4.71 billion on the back of demand for personal computers and accessories, data storage devices, routers, switches and related products, it said. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of companies and organizations, while 5G wireless communication and other new technologies are gaining momentum, Tsai said. The boom extended to non-tech sectors, with chemicals, minerals, textiles, base metals and plastics reporting sweeping comebacks, with growth ranging from 27 percent to 128.8 percent, the ministry said. Shipments of transportation tools grew 68.5 percent, while electrical products
CHIP SHORTAGES: Winbond swung into the black, while Nanya Technology saw double-digit percentage growth in revenue, as supply constraints support higher prices Macronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest supplier of NOR flash memory chips, yesterday posted its best April revenue, at NT$3.81 billion (US$136.52 million), lending support to its optimistic forecast about customer demand amid a persistent chip shortage. Last month’s revenue rose 5.6 percent from NT$3.61 billion in March and 11.2 percent from NT$3.43 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Macronix has forecast a gradual growth in quarterly revenue through the end of the year, as customers scramble to secure chip supply, boosting its book-to-bill ratio to “a stunning level.” The chip supply crunch is expected to extend into next year, and chip prices are reflecting this tight market situation, company chairman Miin Wu (吳敏求) told a virtual investors’ conference last month. Macronix saw aggregate revenue in the first four months of this year grow 4.6 percent to NT$13.44 billion, from NT$12.84 billion a year earlier. Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), another NOR flash memorychip maker, swung into a net profit of NT$1.71 billion last quarter, from losses of NT$86.65 million in the same period last year. Gross margin jumped to 37.55 percent last quarter from 24.16 percent in the prior quarter, company data showed. Winbond told investors that it expected price hikes to boost its revenue, leading to a further improvement in gross margin this quarter. Earlier this week, DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) reported that its revenue last month soared 31.58 percent year-on-year to a 31-month high of NT$7.39 billion. That also represented sequential growth of 15.4 percent from NT$6.41 billion. Nanya Technology attributed last month’s growth to a 15 percent increase in prices from a quarter earlier. Shipments were flat last month from the previous month, as it has been running at full capacity. Adata Technology Co (威剛), a supplier of memory modules and solid-state drives (SSDs), yesterday said that revenue
Freight forwarder Dimerco Express Corp (中菲行) yesterday reported a net profit of NT$300 million (US$10.7554 million) for the first quarter, up 207 percent from a year earlier, thanks in part to higher freight rates. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to NT$2.38, from NT$0.77 a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Dimerco, which focuses on strategic logistics planning and execution for the international transportation of goods, attributed the profit growth to higher revenue of NT$6.98 billion in the first three months of this year, up 68 percent from a year earlier. Revenue from its air and sea cargo forwarding operations expanded 53 percent annually to NT$3.5 billion and 93 percent to NT$3 billion respectively, making up 51 percent and 44 percent of its total sales, company data showed. However, its first-quarter gross margin fell from 15.95 percent a year earlier to 13.71 percent due to higher operating costs, it said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE). That was lower than T3EX Global Holdings Corp’s (台驊國際投資控股) gross margin of 18 percent, but higher than Soonest Express Co’s (捷迅) gross margin of 9.75 percent, companies’ data showed. Soonest, a Taipei Exchange-listed forwarder that mainly concentrates on air cargo forwarding, on Wednesday reported a net profit of NT$48 million for the first quarter, up 50 percent from NT$32 million a year earlier, it said in a filing to the TWSE. Its EPS grew from NT$1.1 a year earlier to NT$1.6, company data showed. Soonest’s board of directors on Wednesday approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$4 per share, compared with Dimerco’s proposed cash dividend of NT$5.2 and T3EX’s NT$3.2. T3EX yesterday reported revenue of NT$2.06 billion for last month, up 64 percent from a year earlier, thanks to strong cargo demand as economies recover and freight rates rise in light of the Suez Canal incident
On March 9, then-commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command Philip Davidson — just over a month before he retired — told a budget meeting that Washington should rethink its decades-long policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan. Davidson said that the US had to strengthen its defenses in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of the threat posed by China, and its allies in the region are indispensable to US strategy. However, US National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell on Tuesday seemed to flip that argument on its head when he said that the US should attempt to maintain the “status quo” in its relations with Taipei and Beijing. That would be a great idea, except that maintaining the “status quo” implies an unchanging state of affairs. The situation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea is anything but unchanging. The US has warned Taiwan and China to avoid unilaterally changing the status of Taiwan’s sovereignty or the bilateral relationship, but both sides have been doing just that. China has increased its incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. The administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), too, has been pushing the envelope, redesigning the nation’s passport, redesigning the fuselages of airplanes flown by the national carrier, China Airlines, and renaming overseas representative offices. Taipei and Beijing are nowhere near a consensus on anything, and Washington must respond accordingly. Why should the US care about the risk China poses to Taiwan? US officials over the past several months have reiterated the importance of Taiwan-made semiconductors to the global IT supply chain. On March 25, American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a chip factory to “restate the US government’s focus on supply chain security.” There is also the issue of Taiwan’s proximity to Okinawa. As Davidson said,
The Taipei City Government recently announced a new round of junior-high school teacher recruitment for the next academic year. Despite the limited number of openings, the available positions for bilingual teachers in eight subjects was 60, almost the same as for regular teachers, 66. For example, in music, life technology and information technology, there were openings for regular and bilingual teachers, who would teach in English and Chinese. There were 12 vacancies for bilingual physical education teachers, but how would such teachers help improve students’ physical fitness? The government has pledged to turn Taiwan into a “bilingual nation” by 2030, hoping to equip students with better international competitiveness by improving their English ability. This is a good policy, but it might help to look at a nearby multilingual country: Singapore. Singapore has four official languages — English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Apart from mother-tongue instruction, all school subjects are taught in English. When Singapore declared independence in 1965, it started promoting the use of English to boost national economic development. Within 15 years, the proportion of students at English-language elementary schools had surged from 50 percent to 90 percent, while the number of students at Chinese, Malay and Tamil-language elementary schools plunged, forcing many such schools to close. Singapore is a melting pot of ethnic groups, but even so, under its government’s English-first policy, other mother tongues are only spoken by elderly people, while more than half of households there use English to communicate. A “multilingual country” might sound good, but English has long been the new mother tongue of Singaporeans. As its 12-year Basic Education has only one mother-tongue class per week, the question is whether the authorities pushing the bilingual policy have spotted the problem in Singapore, where mother tongues are being eliminated. What can Taiwan do to avoid this issue? Building an environment for English-only instruction
Economic reporting about China focuses far too much on total GDP and not enough on per capita GDP, which is the more revealing indicator. This skewed coverage has important implications, because the two indicators paint significantly different pictures of China’s economic and political situation. They also focus attention on different issues. A quick search through English-language news firms in the ProQuest database since 2011 shows that 20,915 articles discussed China’s GDP, whereas only 1,163 mentioned its GDP per capita. The difference was proportionally even larger among the eight largest and most elite papers, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among which 5,963 articles referred to Chinese GDP and only 305 discussed the per capita measure. In 2019, China’s GDP — measured at market exchange rates — of US$14 trillion was the world’s second-largest, after that of the US (US$21 trillion), with Japan (US$5 trillion) in third place. Aggregate GDP reflects the total resources — including the tax base — available to a government. This is helpful for thinking about the size of China’s public investments, such as in its space program or military capacity, but it has much less bearing on the everyday lives of Chinese. Most economists therefore care more about China’s per capita GDP, or income per person, than the aggregate measure. The key takeaway is that China remains a poor country, despite its phenomenal headline GDP growth over the past four decades. China’s per capita GDP in 2019 was US$8,242, placing the country between Montenegro (US$8,591) and Botswana (US$8,093). Its per capita GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms — with income adjusted to take account of the cost of living — was US$16,804. This is below the global average of US$17,811 and puts China 86th in the world, between Suriname (US$17,256) and Bosnia and
DESTINATION POLAND: The Yellow Submarine take on Manchester United in Gdansk after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side advanced despite a 3-2 loss in Rome Villarreal coach Unai Emery on Thursday came back to haunt Arsenal as the Spanish side held out for a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium in London to set up a UEFA Europa League final against Manchester United with a 2-1 victory on aggregate. The defeat means the Gunners will miss out on the UEFA Champions League for a fifth consecutive season, with the pressure building on Emery’s successor Mikel Arteta. Sitting ninth in the English Premier League, Arsenal are now on the verge of failing to qualify for Europe for the first time in 26 years. “We are devastated,” Arteta said. “We tried everything until the last minute. I think we deserved to win the game, but the details define these ties.” Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang twice hit the post for Arsenal, while Emile Smith Rowe sliced a glorious chance wide early in the second half. “We had three big chances, they didn’t have anything, but they are through,” added Arteta, who was forced into a last-minute reshuffle when Granit Xhaka picked up an injury in the warmup. “So many things happened to us, and so many players were just trying to compete not at their best.” Villarreal’s first European final prevented a clean sweep for English Premier League sides across the Champions League and Europa League. The Yellow Submarine take on United in Gdansk on May 26, three days before Manchester City face Chelsea in the Champions League final on May 29. That clash will be Emery’s fifth Europa League final, having won the competition three times with Sevilla and taking Arsenal to the final in his only full season in charge at the Emirates. The Spaniard was sacked after just 18 months as Arsene Wenger’s successor, but again showed his experience at this level by guiding his side through, despite vastly inferior resources to his former club. “I’m very
Paul George on Thursday scored a team-high 24 points as the Los Angeles Clippers clobbered the Los Angeles Lakers 118-94 to sweep the season series between the two California rivals. While the Clippers are getting healthy at just the right time, the Lakers season is slipping away with their two biggest stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, nursing injuries. “I only came here to win a championship and if we don’t do that we go back to zero. We all know that in the locker room,” said guard Rajon Rondo, who was one of seven Clippers in double figures with 11 points. The Lakers got more bad news when Davis left the game in the first quarter and did not return because of back spasms. James and Davis have missed large chunks of the season and once again the reigning NBA champions looked lost on the floor without their primary ball handlers. Not only are the Clippers healthy again, but they are back sharing the ball. “We have the DNA,” Rondo said. “We have the blueprint in this locker room to do it. It’s just a matter of coming together and believing in one another.” Kawhi Leonard played in his third straight game after missing nine last month with a sore foot and point guard Patrick Beverley played his second game since rejoining the team for a 105-100 win over Toronto on Tuesday. Leonard had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Clippers swept the Lakers during the regular season for the first time since 2016. Kyle Kuzma scored 25 points to become just one of two Lakers in double figures. Both James and Davis have made their returns from long injury layoffs only to go back to the infirmary late in the season when they are needed the most. Davis played nine minutes of the first quarter and
Rafael Nadal on Thursday got through another young opponent and showed signs he was getting closer to his best form on clay as he defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3 to make it to the Madrid Open quarter-finals. Nadal overcame eight aces and saved five break points against the Australian. The five-time Madrid champion cruised past Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz in the second round on Wednesday. “There is a lot of young, good players. [It’s] something normal that is happening,” said Nadal, who at 34 is 13 years older than Popyrin. “And, yeah, I’m excited that at my age I am able to keep playing against all of them. They are good. They are talented. They have a great future. For me it’s amazing to be where I am with my age competing with them still.” Nadal struggled at times against the aggressive style of world No. 76 Popyrin, but was able to stay in control for most of the match. “I knew he was coming with confidence, he has this energy that the young players have,” Nadal said. “From what I could do, it was a good match, and I’m happy to make it to the quarter-finals again here.” Nadal next faces fifth seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated Daniel Evans 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). The German world No. 6 has won his past two matches against Nadal, though none were on clay. World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev lost to Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 6-1. The Chilean next faces eighth seed Matteo Berrettini, who beat Federico Delbonis 7-6 (7/4), 6-4. Earlier, US Open champion Dominic Thiem reached the last eight by defeating Alex de Minaur of Australia 7-6 (9/7), 6-4. The third seed is playing in his first tournament since taking a few weeks off after a slow start to his year. “There were some good, long rallies. I was many, many
Hertha BSC on Thursday climbed out of the Bundesliga relegation zone with a 3-0 home win over SC Freiburg in their second match after coming out of a two-week quarantine. An outbreak of COVID-19 cases saw the Hertha squad quarantined in the middle of last month from which they only emerged on Friday last week when training resumed. After a 1-1 draw against FSV Mainz 05 on Monday, Hertha have now picked up four points from two of their three postponed games. Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek, Peter Pekarik and Nemanja Radonjic scored the goals at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The result lifted Hertha from second-from-bottom up to 14th, but there is just one point between them and the three clubs below with three weeks left this season. With his team now halfway through playing four games in nine days, Hertha coach Pal Dardai made nine changes from the side that drew with Mainz. “It didn’t matter,” Dardai told Sky when asked about his heavily-rotated lineup. “We were fit, played very well and were very compact. The spaces were there in the second half, we really wanted the third goal.” Dardai said the quarantine has brought the squad together in the relegation battle. “Something is growing together here now. Egos have been pushed to the side, everyone from the Hertha family is joining in,” he said. Hertha have four games left, one more than their rivals, all against sides in the bottom half of the table. Tomorrow’s opponents DSC Arminia Bielefeld replaced them in the bottom three. The win caps a turbulent few days for Hertha, who on Wednesday dismissed former Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann from their supervisory board for making a jibe deemed to be racist.
‘COWARDLY ATTACKS’: Although no one has taken credit for the bombing, sources said they suspected vested political interests opposed to an anti-corruption drive Former Maldivian president and current parliamentary speaker Mohamed Nasheed yesterday underwent more surgery following an assassination attempt, but his condition was described as stable. The Indian Ocean archipelago’s first democratically elected leader was seriously injured when a device attached to a motorcycle was detonated as he entered a car in the capital, Male, late on Thursday, an official said. “Nasheed escaped an assassination attempt,” a Maldivian government official said. “He is injured, but his condition is stable.” The private ADK hospital said that the 53-year-old required further surgery following a thorough assessment of his condition. The hospital did not give additional details, but a family member said that shrapnel was removed from a lung and his liver. “We are hopeful of a full recovery,” he said, adding that Nasheed was responsive and spoke with doctors as he was admitted. One of his bodyguards was also taken to a hospital. Officials said that the motorcycle with the device attached was parked down the narrow lane leading to Nasheed’s home. Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, a close ally of Nasheed, said that an investigation was under way as officials rushed to denounce the targeted attack on the country’s second most powerful figure. “Cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society,” Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid wrote on Twitter. The Indian Ocean nation of 340,000 Sunni Muslims is best known for its luxury holiday resorts popular with honeymooners, but it suffers from regular political turmoil. There was no claim of responsibility for the bomb attack, but officials close to Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said they suspected vested political interests opposed to his anti-corruption drive. Nasheed has vowed to investigate a US$90 million theft from the state’s tourism promotion authority during the tenure of former Maldivian president Abdulla Yameen. “There are some dormant Islamists who could have collaborated with political elements threatened by Nasheed’s anti-corruption
DEADLY OPERATION: Police said that the people killed in the raid were ‘suspects,’ but rights groups said that authorities label anyone killed by police as ‘criminals’ A massive police operation against drug traffickers in a Brazilian favela on Thursday left 25 people dead, turning the impoverished Rio de Janeiro neighborhood into a battlefield and drawing condemnation from rights groups. A policeman was among those killed in the early morning raid on Jacarezinho, on Rio’s north side, where residents awoke to explosions, heavy gunfire and helicopters overhead. Police confirmed the toll — and investigators said it was the deadliest police operation in the history of Rio de Janeiro state. Police identified the other 24 dead as “suspects” and said that all protocols had been followed before officers opened fire, but rights groups and academics cried foul. “Who are the dead? Young black men. That’s why the police talk about ‘24 suspects.’ Being a young, black favela resident automatically makes you a suspect to the police. They just keep piling up bodies and saying: ‘They’re all criminals,’” said Silvia Ramos, head of the Security Observatory at Candido Mendes University. “Is this the public security policy we want? Shoot-outs, killings and police massacres?” she said. Large groups of heavily armed police could be seen streaming into the favela as frightened residents tentatively went about their business once the gunfire died down, Agence France-Presse journalists said. Residents reported seeing corpses lying on the pavement in pools of blood, and numerous bodies being taken out in an armored police vehicle, a local community leader said, asking that their name not be published for safety reasons. At least two people were wounded when a subway car they were riding in was apparently caught in the crossfire during the operation, news site G1 reported. TV network GloboNews showed aerial images of armed suspects fleeing from one residence to another in the densely packed neighborhood during the raid, passing what looked like high-powered rifles from hand to hand. “Unfortunately, there were many clashes in
In Cuba, where US vehicles older than the average inhabitant are a common sight on city streets, Pablo Manso makes his living in a particular niche: repairing Chevrolets from 1955, 1956 and 1957. The self-taught technician plies his trade in a workshop he built 15 years ago at his home in Placetas, a small city in the rural center of the communist island. He recreates Chevy parts with machines he built himself in a country where US sanctions have crippled imports of vehicles, parts and tools of the trade. “Modern cars do not interest me,” the 53-year-old Manso said with a shrug. It took him years to teach himself his craft, working day and night and learning through trial and error. “I was tearing my hair out,” he said with a laugh. His efforts have paid off, and Chevrolet owners from all over Cuba — even further afield — look to him to keep their motors running. “People are commissioning pieces from many countries,” Manso said proudly — citing orders from Canada, Italy, Spain and the US. In the first half of the 20th century, Cubans imported tens of thousands of US vehicles, then brand new. Economic sanctions declared in 1962 against the government of Fidel Castro stopped the influx. “We need tractors, not Cadillacs,” Castro said at the time. It is estimated that about 60,000 US classic vehicles from the 1940s and 1950s are in circulation in Cuba. They are pampered by their owners, who rely on them for daily transport, but also to convey tourists in a country where the vehicle have themselves become a key attraction. Manso owns a red and white Chevrolet Bel Air from 1955, a shining museum piece with almost all its original parts except for the engine, which is from Toyota. This has been the biggest adaptation to most surviving Chevys in Cuba, with the original engines
Who would have thought that Taiwan — just over 100km from China and a few hundred kilometers away from Vietnam, which are the world’s first and second biggest consumers of pangolin scales — would become the last beacon of hope for this imperiled species? In fact, pangolins — from sub-species in Africa all the way down to Indonesia — are the world’s most highly trafficked mammal. Thought to cure anything from HIV to hangovers, ground pangolin scales and pangolin soup (the photos online are difficult to stomach) are expensive delicacies in Vietnam and China, and the rarer the species becomes, the more it is sought after — because it is going extinct — creating a dreadful vicious cycle propelling the animal into oblivion. CONSERVATION However, Taiwan’s pangolin populations have recovered from previous hunting campaigns in decades past, and that this scaly anteater-like creature is now somewhat common on the island. Furthermore, pangolin-range countries with dwindling populations of this fascinating mammal (it is its own order in the animal kingdom — Pholidota) were, at least before COVID-19, collaborating with Taiwanese researchers and learning from Taiwan’s success in trying to bring the species back from the brink. Kurtis Pei (裴家騏), one of the most prominent wildlife conservationists in Taiwan, says that pangolins can now be seen in many rural areas. “The pangolin is increasing island-wide in the past decades,” Pei says. Pangolins can today even be found in places as popular and populated as Yangmingshan (陽明山國家公園), and even on my own university campus — Chang Gung University (長庚大學) — on the Linkou (林口)/Gueishan (龜山) plateau just south of Taipei, I was stunned when one of my students showed me a video he took one evening of a pangolin scurrying at a nervously fast pace near his dormitory once it realized it had been seen. This
The degree of a hike’s difficulty is directly proportional to how much conversation people will engage in. Barely a peep, for example, is heard from those summiting Jade Mountain’s main peak (玉山, 3,952m). The steep ascent to the ancient Aboriginal village of Kucapungane (舊好茶, Jiuhaocha) in Taitung County finds only the most experienced energized enough to weave a tale or utter an anecdote. A hike along the Jinshueiying Ancient Trail (浸水營古道, 1,490m), however, with its moderate inclines and long stretches of mostly horizontal path, ensures that hikers will engage in all kinds of banter. And that’s the problem — if you are on the hunt for wildlife. Voices make noise. Noise startles animals. And there are plenty of exotic animals — pangolins and Reeves muntjac (a type of small deer), Formosan rock macaques and civet cats — to be found on the Jinshueiying Trail. Stay with a group, though, and good luck getting close to any. Jinshueiying stretches 47km over the Central Mountain Range from Pingtung County’s Fangliao Township (枋寮) to Dawu Township (大武) in Taitung County. The trail was popularized by husband-and-wife Yang Nan-chun (楊南郡) and Hsu Ju-lin (徐如林), amateur adventurers who have done much to interest a whole generation of Taiwanese to leave the city and explore the history of the many Aboriginal trails that criss-cross the nation. Signs indicating historical anecdotes punctuate the well-maintained and easily traversable path, and point to the many wanderers who have used it over the centuries for the purposes of trade, migration and leisure. Although the trail is easily navigatable, getting to the trailhead on the Taitung side is a little difficult, so going with a group is recommended. Our party began on the Taitung side and hike 15km of the trail to Pingtung. After disembarking at Guzihlin Bridge (姑仔崙) we set out
Thirty teenagers, thousands of hours of training, dozens of shattered dreams: it all comes to a head next week when the Blitzers will be launched into the cut-throat K-pop market, hoping to become the next BTS. An all-male septet — like the musical phenomenon that topped the US Billboard charts last year — their three years of training are being distilled into three minutes of music and dancing that will determine whether they are a hit, or just another nowhere band. The routine, always intense, is punishing in the weeks running up to their debut: gym sessions, singing lessons, promotional shoots, and around 10 hours of dance practice into the early morning. The program leaves them less than five hours sleep a night in bunk-beds in their shared Seoul house — the empty berths tombs for the hopes of those expelled after failing to make the cut. In a dedicated, mirror-lined rehearsal studio, the seven survivors stood poised for the opening bars of their first single, Breathe Again, outnumbered by managers, trainers and choreographers. The moment it came over the speakers they launched into high-energy lockstep moves, spinning each other around with military precision. “Though I want to hold your hands I can’t come near you/Because I’m stuck unable to move,” sang 17-year-old lead singer Cho Woo-ju as he jumped off a human staircase formed by his bandmates. As the song reached its climax they came together in a line-up, simultaneously throwing trademark K-pop poses. But the response was underwhelming. “It was just a warm up for you guys, right?” said a dance instructor. “Let’s do it for real now.” “Yes!” the boys responded with a unanimous shout. “We practice our dance moves until we synchronize them perfectly,” said backup singer Jang Jun-ho. ‘ONLY A COUPLE SURVIVE’ K-pop is the latest and biggest instance of the so-called Korean
Which one should we get? (5/5) 不知道該買哪一種才好？（五） A: These smartwatches are very capable, but the price differences are huge. B: Yep. This aviator smartwatch is cool, but it’s quite pricey, and I don’t think we’ll be on a plane anytime soon. A: Some models have too many functions, and this just drains the battery, so you’ll need to charge it every day. B: My friend has one that never needs charging, and the battery lasts for a year! But it’s quite basic. A: With some you can have different watch straps, too, with plenty of colors and materials. They all have something special, I can’t decide which one to get. B: How about we print off some of the better options and get mom to choose for herself? A: 這些智慧型手錶的功能都很不錯，可是價錢差別蠻大的。 B: 對呀，這支有航空功能的好酷，不過一方面太貴，一方面我們最近根本就不會去搭飛機。 A: 而且有的型號功能太多，反而變得很耗電，要每天充電才行。 B: 我朋友戴的不需要充電，電池續航力一年耶！不過功能很陽春。 A: 有些還可以搭配不同的錶帶，有好多顏色跟材質喔！各有特色，真的讓我有選擇障礙。 B: 不然我們把幾個不錯的選項印出來，請媽媽自己選好了。 (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱) English 英文: Chinese 中文:
Which one should we get? (4/5) 不知道該買哪一種才好？（四） A: Look, this smart wristband can measure your heart rate! B: Yes, and it can also measure your stress levels. A: How clever! How does it work? B: Look at my watch, there are green lights flashing on the back. These monitor the blood flow at your wrist, and from this it knows what your heart rate is. A: Is it a problem to have the light on your wrist all the time? B: I think it’s alright, the LED emits low energy, so it won’t irritate your skin, or at least it hasn’t bothered me so far. A: 你看，這個手環還有測量心律的功能耶！ B: 對，還有測量壓力。 A: 好奇妙喔！這是什麼原理啊？ B: 你看我的手錶，背面的LED會發出綠色的光，來偵測通過手腕的血液流量，這樣就可以知道心臟跳動的頻率。 A: 這樣一直有光照著手，不會有問題嗎？ B: 還好吧，LED發出的光能量很低，不會刺激皮膚，至少我到目前都沒事。 (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱) English 英文: Chinese 中文:
| New Taipei City | 25-26 | 10% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 24-25 | 10% | |
| Hsinchu City | 24-25 | 10% | |
| Taipei City | 24-26 | 10% | |
| Miaoli County | 22-24 | 10% | |
| Taoyuan City | 23-25 | 20% | |
| Keelung City | 23-24 | 10% | |
| Yunlin County | 23-25 | 20% | |
| Taichung City | 24-25 | 20% | |
| Nantou County | 23-25 | 20% | |
| Changhua County | 24-25 | 20% | |
| Chiayi County | 24-25 | 20% | |
| Chiayi City | 23-25 | 20% | |
| Tainan City | 26-27 | 30% |  |
| Kaohsiung City | 27-28 | 20% | |
| Pingtung County | 25-26 | 20% | |
| Yilan County | 23-25 | 10% | |
| Hualien County | 23-25 | 30% | |
| Taitung County | 24-25 | 30% | |
| Kinmen County | 23-23 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 24-25 | 10% | |
| Lienchiang County | 19-21 | 40% |  |
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