Wed, Jul 28, 2021
Except for Taipei and New Taipei City, the COVID-19 situation in cities and counties has dropped to a medium-to-low risk level, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 16 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and one death. The local cases, 11 men and five women, are aged between 30 and 70, and seven of them tested positive during isolation or upon ending it, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, told a daily media briefing. The infection sources of 11 cases have been identified, four remain unclear and one is under investigation, he said. Taoyuan had the most cases, with six, followed by Taipei with five, New Taipei City with four and Hsinchu County with one, he said. “Recent case reports have been limited to a few cities and counties, and their sources of infection are mostly clear, so the COVID-19 situation is under control,” he said. As of Monday, vaccination coverage in Taiwan reached 28.74 percent, he said. The CECC also reported one imported case — a teenager who returned from the US — and one death — a man in his 70s with underlying health conditions who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 31 and died on Saturday. Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), the CECC’s deputy head, said he had met with local governments earlier yesterday and reported that the local COVID-19 situation was steadily slowing, with the effective reproductive (Rt) number — the average number of cases caused by an infected person — remaining low. As the nationwide COVID-19 alert has been lowered to level 2, the center reminded local governments to thoroughly implement the remaining restrictions and closely monitor the effects, he said. Local governments should ensure they have sufficient medical capacity to respond to possible outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, he added. “The new
The government yesterday thanked the Czech Republic for its pledge to donate 30,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan, saying bilateral relations are a “virtuous circle” among democracies. Following a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Czech Minister of Health Adam Vojtech said Prague would donate at least 2.39 million vaccine doses to Balkan countries, as well as African and Asian nations through the Team Europe and COVAX initiatives by the end of this year. Prague would donate 30,000 doses to Taiwan and 250,000 doses to Vietnam, Vojtech said, without specifying a brand. The donations to Taiwan and Vietnam are “outside the European initiative,” Vojtech wrote on Twitter. The Czech Republic is the third European nation that has pledged to donate COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan, following Lithuania and Slovakia, while the US and Japan had donated millions of doses, although none have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The Presidential Office thanked the Czech government for its “timely help” and the “heart-warming support” from the Czech Senate and the nation’s citizens. This demonstrates again that Taiwan and the Czech Republic are not only firm partners on the path of freedom and democracy, but also true friends in need, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said in a statement. The Czech Republic’s support for Taiwan highlights the “virtuous circle” among democratic countries that are mutually supportive, Chang said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing its gratitude, while underscoring the assistance by Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil, Czech Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Pavel Fischer, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib, as well as diplomatic and health personnel who helped finalize the deal. On Aug. 30 last year, Vystrcil led an 89-member delegation to Taiwan for a six-day trip, and Fischer and Hrib were part of the delegation. The ministry has instructed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague to maintain close
The first person to be tried under Hong Kong’s sweeping National Security Law was yesterday found guilty of secessionism and terrorism, in a ruling closely watched for indications of how the law would be applied as China tightens its grip on the territory long known for its freedoms. Tong Ying-kit (唐英杰) was charged with inciting secession and terrorism for driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers last year while carrying a flag bearing the banned protest slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.” Rights groups condemned his conviction, and many are bracing for further such trials as more than 100 people have been arrested under the legislation — part of Beijing’s increasing crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong following months of anti-government protests in 2019. Tong, a 24-year-old restaurant worker, pleaded not guilty to the charges, arguing the slogan itself does not call for secession. He now faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but his lawyers are expected to argue for a lighter punishment at his sentencing hearing tomorrow. The National Security Law not only resulted in the charges against Tong, but it also spelled out how the trial would be conducted. The proceedings, which ended on Tuesday last week, were held in the Hong Kong High Court with no jury, under rules allowing the exception from Hong Kong’s common law system if state secrets need to be protected, foreign forces are involved or if the personal safety of jurors needs to be protected. Trials are presided over by judges handpicked by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥). Reading the verdict, Justice Esther Toh (杜麗冰) said that Tong “committed terrorist activities causing or intended to cause grave harm to the society” in pursuit of a political agenda. His behavior was an act of violence aimed at coercing the central
RESTORATION: North and South Korea said they had exchanged a series of letters since April and restored all lines of communication yesterday North and South Korea yesterday signaled a surprise thaw in relations, announcing the restoration of cross-border communications that were severed more than a year ago and an agreement between their two leaders to improve ties. The joint announcement, which coincided with the anniversary of the end of the Korean War, was the first positive development since a series of summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in 2018 failed to achieve any significant breakthrough. The two sides said that Kim and Moon had exchanged a series of letters since April in which they agreed that re-establishing hotlines would be a productive first step in rebooting relations between the two rivals which, despite the end of their 1950-53 conflict, remain technically at war. “The top leaders of the north and the south agreed to make a big stride in recovering the mutual trust and promoting reconciliation by restoring the cut-off inter-Korean communication liaison lines,” the Korean Central News Agency reported. Pyongyang unilaterally cut off all official military and political communication links in June last year over activists sending anti-North Korea leaflets across the border, but the two sides said all lines were restored yesterday. They exchanged their first phone call since the suspension yesterday morning, the South Korean Ministry of Unification said, with the Ministry of National Defense adding that military hotlines were back to normal. Moon’s office said that restoring the hotlines was the first step toward improving ties. “The two leaders also agreed to restore mutual trust between the two Koreas as soon as possible and move forward with the relationship again,” it added in a statement. The dovish Moon is credited with brokering the first-ever summit between North Korea and a sitting US president in Singapore in June 2018. However, Pyongyang largely cut off contact with Seoul following the collapse of
NEXT ROUND: About 1.44 million people who have registered online to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine are to get text messages today to book a vaccine appointment Strict border control measures, including a ban on foreign nationals entering or transiting through Taiwan, are to continue, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 10 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and no deaths. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said five of the cases tested positive during isolation or upon ending it. The sources of infection of eight cases have been identified, one remains unclear and one is under investigation, he said, adding that 87.8 percent of the people infected with COVID-19 since May 11 have been released from isolation. Chen said an imported case was also confirmed on Sunday: a Taiwanese man who had been on a fishing vessel with six foreign nationals. The foreigners were suspected to be illegal immigrants and they tested positive last week, he said. “Although the local COVID-19 alert level will be lowered tomorrow [today], I must stress that the border control measures remain the same,” Chen said. “Foreign nationals who do not hold a valid Alien Resident Certificate or resident visa are still temporarily banned from entering Taiwan, with the exception of those with special permissions for emergencies or humanitarian reasons,” he said. “Visitors are also temporarily prohibited from making flight connections in Taiwan,” he said, adding that the policies are subject to change based on the global and local COVID-19 situation, as well as the implementation of disease prevention measures in local communities. Chen said that about 1.44 million people who have registered with the online COVID-19 vaccination booking system and selected the AstraZeneca vaccine would receive a text message today to book an appointment for the next round of inoculations from Friday to Friday next week. Eligible recipients include about 1.18 million people born before 1984, about 3,400 residents of Keelung and Yilan County who missed their appointments due
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) would soon discuss with local government officials the possibility of raising the number of flights to the nation’s outlying islands after a nationwide COVID-19 alert is downgraded to level 2 today, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. More than 80 percent of domestic flights have been canceled since the COVID-19 alert was raised to level 3 on May 19. Many people have complained about the inconvenience brought by the reduced domestic flights, particularly those who need to frequently travel between the outlying islands and Taiwan proper for businesses and medical services. However, the ministry did not announce any changes after the Central Epidemic Command Center said at its daily news conference on Friday that the COVID-19 alert was to be lowered to level 2. “It has come to our attention that flights to the outlying islands do not meet the demand. The CAA will discuss with local government officials the possibility of raising the number of flights next month,” Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-chung (祁文中) said. The ministry must continue to exercise extreme caution, even though the COVID-19 alert has been downgraded to level 2, he said. “The last thing that officials in the outlying islands want is for there to be a dramatic influx of tourists from Taiwan proper. As such, we respect their opinions in this matter,” Chi said. Airlines currently schedule eight to nine flights from Taiwan proper to Penghu County per day, departing from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung. Five to seven flights are dispatched daily to Kinmen, departing from Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung. One to two flights depart daily for Nangan Airport in Lienchiang County, while three per week fly to the county’s Beigan Airport.
VACCINATIONS: Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said that people aged 18 or older can now register, while more than 8.87 million people have so far A domestic COVID-19 vaccine was included as an option for people aged 20 or older when the national online vaccination booking system was reopened yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The vaccination booking system had been closed since the end of the previous registration period at 12pm on Monday last week. More than 8.87 million people have registered on the system, with about 4.95 million people having selected the AstraZeneca vaccine. The system was reopened from 2pm yesterday so that people aged 18 or older who have yet to register could do so, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. The government on Monday last week granted the COVID-19 vaccine of local drugmaker Medigen Vaccine Biologics emergency use authorization, so it was added as a vaccine choice in the booking system for people aged 20 or older, Chen said. Anyone who has registered online, but goes back and selects the AstraZeneca vaccine would now need to wait until the 4.95 million people who selected the vaccine during the previous registration period get a second shot, Chen said. While the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has agreed to allow people to receive different vaccine brands, with AstraZeneca as the first dose and an mRNA vaccine as the second, the practice has yet to be implemented, he said. At 3:14pm yesterday, 582,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Taiwan. Chen said the shipment was the fourth batch of a contract for 10 million doses that the government signed with the company on Oct. 30 last year. The first batch of 117,000 doses arrived on March 3, the second batch of 626,000 doses arrived on July 7 and the third batch of 560,000 doses arrived on July 15, he said. As the AstraZeneca shot was the only vaccine during the first four weeks
ELDERLY AT RISK: Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said 90 percent of those who died in a local outbreak were aged 60 or older Taiwan won plaudits for its successful containment of COVID-19 last year, which made its recent virus resurgence all the more surprising. Data show that it was unusually deadly, as well. While Taiwan has seen fewer than 800 COVID-19 deaths in total, 500 of them occurred last month alone, amid its biggest virus wave to date. The pathogen got through the stringent border curbs that had kept local infections at bay for most of last year, seeding an outbreak that tore through the then-largely unvaccinated elderly population. This pushed the case-fatality ratio to as high as that seen in Italy and the UK in the first months of last year, when the disease was a mystery. Overall, Taiwan’s fatality ratio of total cases to total deaths since the pandemic began is 5 percent, much higher than Hong Kong’s 1.8 percent and the 0.1 percent rate in Singapore. These places, like Taiwan, avoided the caseloads and death tolls of Western nations, and were also similarly ranked highly in terms of quality of healthcare provision before the pandemic. As Taiwan’s outbreak finally abates and restrictions are slowly lifted, with curbs on larger social gatherings and tourist sites easing this week, attention is turning to what went wrong. Medical experts say that Taiwan — which once went 200 days without a case in the community — was unprepared. Hong Kong, which has implemented a similarly hardcore border and quarantine policy aimed at keeping all cases out, used its four virus waves to learn and build capacity, said Lam Ching-choi (林正財), a medical doctor in the territory who is an adviser to Hong Kong’s leader and a member of the government’s working group on vaccination. However, Taiwan appears not to have done enough to ramp up testing capabilities, medical system readiness or vaccine supply. “I’m actually quite disappointed to see it — maybe I
A large solo exhibition that explores the themes of family, belongings and home by award-winning Philippine artist Marina Cruz opened in Taipei yesterday as the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts reopened after being shut for 10 weeks. The Tide Table exhibition, a look back over 20 years of her work, highlights Cruz’s poignant relationship with her childhood home in Bulacan province, about 24km north of Manila, the museum said. The 94 works on display at the Kuandu Museum include paintings on canvas, fabric collages, laminated photographs and embroidery from Cruz’s contemporary art platform, the Mind Set Art Center, one of the exhibition’s organizers. Cruz developed a deep connection with the historical objects in her family home, where her maternal grandmother also lived, the art center said. Known for her photorealistic paintings of vintage clothes, Cruz’s work highlights the folds, creases, patterns and stitching in the fabric of vintage dresses. Her works depict handmade clothes, sewn by her family, and record the details of their residence, which is part of her personal history, the art center said. In a prerecorded video, the Philippine artist said that she works with mundane objects, such as clothes, because she thinks that they provide insights into the frailties, beauty and vulnerabilities of humans. “I hope people who see the works will ponder on the idea of what a home is, or examine the belongings that we have, and the idea of being able to belong to a family or to someone,” she said. “Tide Table” is a reference to a calendar that marks high tides, which frequently cause flooding in her village, Cruz said. “The flooding doesn’t come unannounced. It comes at an expected time,” she said. “We just look at the table on the calendar, and we know what time and how high the flood will be. It’s all there.” Born in
CONCERN: Kerry TJ Logistics, which controls a firm that provides logistics services at Taiwan’s two main science parks, has filed an equity transaction with a Chinese firm The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday accused the Investment Commission of negligence for allegedly not investigating whether a firm that controls the logistics services of Taiwan’s two main science parks is funded by Chinese investors. The party held a news conference after former NPP legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) last week said that China Airlines’ sale of a stake in Science Park Logistics in 2017 had given Kerry TJ Logistics Co the opportunity to seize ownership of the company in 2018. Huang said that Kerry TJ was funded by Chinese investors after it announced an equity transaction with China’s SF Holding Co in February. At a news conference yesterday also attended by representatives from the state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp and the Investment Commission, NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said that Science Park Logistics was established in 1998, and owned by China Airlines and Taiwan Sugar, with each holding a 50 percent stake. By 2017, Taiwan Sugar and China Airlines each had a 26 percent stake, but the airline sold its stake to HCT Logistics, he said. HCT Logistics in 2018 sold its 55 percent stake in Science Park Logistics to Kerry TJ, he added. “Many people are concerned about Kerry TJ’s funding from China, as the firm in February announced an equity transaction with SF Holding Co, which is based in Shenzhen, China,” Chiu said. NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said that the party received a tip-off that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national policy adviser Chin Chia-hung (秦嘉鴻) had met with senior management from China Airlines and Taiwan Sugar at the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party ahead of the 2017 sale. Taiwan Sugar did not exercise its right of first refusal when it learned that China Airlines was selling its stake, Chen said. Chen questioned the lack of any minutes of the meeting and why Taiwan Sugar
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that its plans to donate doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp to the nation’s diplomatic allies are in response to their needs, after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called for an explanation. KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) at a news conference in Taipei yesterday showed reporters an image of a document that he said the ministry had sent to nine of the nation’s embassies on Tuesday last week. The document says that the government is considering donating doses of the Medigen vaccine to the nation’s diplomatic allies and asked the embassies to inquire whether their host nations would be interested in receiving them. “On the one hand, we rely on other nations to donate to us internationally certified vaccines, then on the other hand our government wants to use public funds to purchase domestic vaccines without international certification to give to our diplomatic allies,” Chiang said. He questioned the “logic” behind the plan, as well as where the funding would come from. Chiang also asked why the government was “in a hurry” to donate the vaccine, as it only received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Monday last week. The Medigen vaccine is “controversial,” Chiang said, questioning whether the donation proposal was the ministry’s idea or whether it had been requested by senior government officials. “Taiwan’s public health standards are very high,” Chiang said, adding that the government should not sacrifice the nation’s credibility. “The government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs must come out and explain” the plan, he said. In a statement yesterday afternoon, the ministry said that some diplomatic allies have struggled to acquire COVID-19 vaccines and have followed the progress of Taiwan’s domestic vaccines, expressing their high expectations for them. Beijing has continued to use vaccines in an attempt to
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators yesterday urged the government to negotiate a reciprocal “vaccine passport” with other nations and to set clear standards for reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that preparations can be made early, even while the vaccination rate remains low. The appeal came a day after the party caucus donated NT$1 million (US$35,644) of needles to remote medical centers to help their vaccination efforts. Many nations have been proposing so-called “vaccine passports” as part of plans to reopen borders, and restart travel and the economy, TPP deputy caucus convener Ann Kao (高虹安) told a news conference. The EU on July 1 introduced the “EU Digital COVID Certificate,” issued to those inoculated with an approved vaccine, who have taken a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or have recently recovered from COVID-19, she said. Holders of the certificate can travel between EU nations without any restrictions or additional testing, she added. Japan on Monday launched its own vaccine passport, enabling holders to enter Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Turkey without quarantine or a PCR test, and Tokyo is pursuing additional partners, Kao said, adding that South Korea has agreed to waive quarantine requirements with certain documentation. However, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) has said that Taiwan would not adopt a vaccine passport, as the vaccination rate is still relatively low and such programs are controversial, she said. “No wonder people in other nations are more willing to get vaccinated than in Taiwan,” Kao said, asking why plans cannot be made for when the vaccination rate passes a certain threshold. Although the COVID-19 alert has been lowered to level 2, many confusing and awkward regulations remain, TPP caucus convener Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) said. An example is reopening water-based activities, but requiring masks to be worn at all times, Chiu said. Masks need to be replaced if
The Kaohsiung City Government yesterday launched a travel advisory system to show how busy the city’s major attractions are as they reopen to visitors under the level 2 COVID-19 alert. The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau in collaboration with Far EasTone created the three-color system to provide real-time information on visitor numbers. Using data from the telecom analyzed by artificial intelligence, a colored signal is given to each attraction to indicate how many people are there, the bureau said. Green indicates that volumes are relatively low, while a yellow signal means there are more people, with the bureau recommending either adjusting or delaying travel plans. Red means that the location is already over capacity, it said. The real-time data could also help the city implement measures or ask people to leave if locations become too crowded, it added. Seven attractions are included in the system: Lotus Pond (蓮池潭), Pier2 Art Center, Love River, Cijin Island (旗津), Jinshi Lake (金獅湖), Moon World and Kuanyin Mountain (觀音山). Before departing for one of the attractions, the bureau recommends first checking the Web site. Although the COVID-19 alert was downgraded to level 2 yesterday, the bureau said that there was no clear increase in travel, with all seven locations maintaining a green signal. The site is accessible through the Kaohsiung Travel Web site or at khpublic.fettourism.tw. Additional reporting by CNA
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday denied a report that he plans to run for mayor of Taoyuan in next year’s local elections. In a report published on Monday, NOWnews.com cited a source based in Taoyuan as saying that Chiang and his aide KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) in April repeatedly met with Taoyuan city councilors. Two weeks ago, Chiang told several key local figures at a meeting in Taoyuan that he was considering running for mayor, the report said, citing an anonymous source. Asked to comment on the report in a radio interview yesterday with Huang Wei-han (黃暐瀚), Chiang said that the report was false and accused the reporter of having an ulterior motive. “As the chairman of the party, it is normal for me to go everywhere,” Chiang said. He had attended fewer events and meetings in Taoyuan than in other cities and counties, he said. Asked which candidate he planned to nominate to represent the KMT in the Taoyuan mayoral election next year if he is re-elected KMT chairman, Chiang said that the party would have a nomination procedure approved by the KMT Central Standing Committee. He declined to say who he thought would be a good candidate for the position. Chiang was sworn in as KMT chairman on March 9 last year after defeating former KMT vice chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) in a by-election to replace former KMT chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義). Chiang on Feb. 20 announced that he would be seeking re-election in a KMT chairperson election, which was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday last week, but was postponed due to a domestic COVID-19 outbreak. At a weekly meeting today, which is to be held in-person after weeks of videoconferences due to a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert, the KMT Central Standing Committee is
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday rejected the claim Beijing has been making about Taiwan’s status, while thanking US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for raising concerns about Taiwan during her meeting with Chinese officials. Sherman met with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on a visit to Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, with Wang urging Washington not to infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Taiwan is part of China, a fundamental fact that would never change, and China has the right to take any action needed to restrain Taiwanese independence, Wang said, urging Washington to abide by its commitments regarding the Taiwan issue. Sherman raised concerns about China’s actions in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, in cyberspace, in the Taiwan Strait, and in the East and South China seas, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said on Monday. She reiterated Washington’s concerns about China’s unwillingness to cooperate with the WHO on the investigation into COVID-19’s origins, but also affirmed the importance of cooperation in areas such as climate change, counternarcotics and nonproliferation, Price said. In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the US for voicing its concerns about Taiwan. Taiwan and the US have maintained close communications regarding Sherman’s visit to China, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday. Beijing’s claim about Taiwan not only deviates from the facts and the understanding of the international community, but runs counter to the collective volition of Taiwanese, Ou said. The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a democratic nation with independent sovereignty, with the sovereignty belonging to its 23.5 million people, she said. Only Taiwanese have the right to determine Taiwan’s future, and only the elected government of Taiwan can represent Taiwanese on the international stage, she added. No matter how the Chinese government distorts its claims about Taiwan, it cannot change
HIGH-END MARKET: The company has sufficient growth upsides in its four major business segments to reach revenue of US$20 billion, CEO Rick Tsai told investors MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest supplier of 5G smartphone chips, yesterday raised its revenue growth target for this year to more than 45 percent, after strong demand mainly for its mid-range and premium 5G chips pushed net profit to a record high last quarter. The Hsinchu-based chip designer had three months earlier projected a 40 percent growth from NT$322.16 billion (US$11.48 billion) last year. MediaTek expects next year to be another growth year, with a higher 5G penetration rate and accelerating digital transformation during the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. The company also gained confidence about its gross margin improvement on the expectation that it would this year reach the high end of its original estimate of 40 to 46 percent. With growth momentum continuing to build up, MediaTek expects revenue to reach US$20 billion within two years, double last year’s figure. “We already have enough growth upsides from our current four major business groups to achieve revenue of US$20 billion,” MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told an online investors’ conference yesterday. Smartphone chips were the biggest revenue contributor with a 57 percent share last quarter, after growing 143 percent year-on-year, the company said. With its new premium Dimensity 1000 series gaining traction, MediaTek said that it has gained market share in the high-end segment during the first half of this year. Pressing further into the turf of its major competitor Qualcomm Inc, MediaTek is making inroads into the higher-end segment to supply chips for flagship mobile phones. The company said it plans to debut its first flagship 5G smartphone chip, made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) 4-nanometer technology, by the end of this year. The new chip would be used in a key customer’s new flagship model to be launched early next year, it said. MediaTek said revenue growth was across the board, with
CAUSE INVESTIGATED: The incident occurred early in the morning, when electricity demand was low, and did not result in a power outage or a radiation leak, Taipower said The No. 2 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) experienced a malfunction that triggered an automatic shutdown early yesterday morning, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said. The exact cause of the incident is still being investigated, but there is no risk of a radiation leak, the state-run utility said. “While we are still investigating the exact cause, the automatic shutdown was safely executed and there is no danger from radiation,” Taipower spokesman Chang Ting-shu (張廷舒) said. The malfunction occurred at 6:33am, triggering an emergency shutdown, taking 985 megawatts of power offline, Chang said. The control rods have now been fully lowered into the reactor and Taipower would apply with the Atomic Energy Council for the unit to be restarted as soon as the malfunction is resolved, he said. However, it would take three days before the reactor reaches maximum output, Taipower said. “The malfunction took place early in the morning during low power demand and it was possible for us to dispatch our reserve capacity immediately, leading to no loss of power [to the grid],” Chang said. “With the nation’s hydropower system full after the recent rains, we should be able to cope while the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 2 reactor remains offline.” The operating reserve ratio is expected to remain “green,” or above 10 percent, in the coming days, but might dip into “yellow” territory, or 6 to 10 percent, during nighttime peak periods before the reactor is restarted, Taipower said. As the mercury spiked close to 38°C, the nation’s electricity consumption reached 38.84 gigawatts (GW) at 1:50pm yesterday, with an operating reserve ratio of 10.17 percent, the company said. The No. 1 reactor at the Guosheng power plant went offline on July 1 after the facility ran out of space to store spent nuclear fuel. The
The government’s business climate monitor was last month “red” for the fifth consecutive month, as the nation’s export-focused economy continued to boom, although service-oriented sectors and business confidence took a hit from a COVID-19 outbreak, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The overall score shed 1 point to 40, while the leading and coincident indicators softened, the council said, adding that the situation is temporary and would not harm Taiwan’s economic fundamentals. “The economic boom lost some steam last month because a level 3 alert wreaked havoc on sectors that rely on domestic demand and weighed on corporate sentiment,” NDC research director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) told an online news conference. The negative effects might taper off after the government yesterday eased anti-virus measures and they would disappear once the outbreak is brought under control, Wu said. The council uses a five-color system to depict the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” signaling a recession. Dual colors indicate a transition. STRONG ORDERS The monitor might remain red this month and beyond in light of strong export orders and rosy business guidance by major firms, even though the low-base effect would vanish in the second half of the year, Wu said. Local chipmakers and chip designers have raised revenue forecasts for this year on the back of insatiable global demand for new technology products and applications, as well as digital transformation. Strong export orders would lend support to critical GDP components, such as industrial production, private investment and employment, Wu said. The index of leading indicators, which aims to project the economic situation for the following six months, weakened 1.74 percent to 99.33, as the sub-indices on accession rates, construction floor area, imports of capital equipment and business confidence lost points, the council said. The retreats were due to the virus outbreak and
As expected, the nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert greatly increased the nation’s garbage volume, as restrictions led to surges in online shopping, food deliveries and takeout meals. While this might have been a necessary evil to allow people to survive amid an emergency, the authorities should be preparing in case a similar situation arises. Online shopping is so convenient that some people might continue the habit even after all of the restrictions are lifted, so rules are needed to ensure that environmental issues are addressed, or the policies fostered in the push to reduce the use of plastics and single-use tableware over the past few years will be drowned out. Last week, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection said that in May alone the city produced 10.79 tonnes of recyclable waste, up from 7.05 tonnes a year earlier. A lot of the waste was single-use tableware, paper and plastic. Discarded takeout container waste in the first five months of this year increased 85 percent from a year earlier, the agency said. Part of the problem is that during the level 3 restrictions, many restaurants refused to fill food containers that people brought with them, fearing that the items might be carrying the virus. Moreover, many people believe that single-use utensils are safer and restaurants have reported an increase in the number of requests for them. Such thinking needs to change. The focus should be on properly cleaning and disinfecting tableware, just as it is on mask wearing and hand sanitization. Single-use items can be contaminated during packaging and transportation — experts have said that they are not necessarily safer — and because they are single-use, they are often not washed before being discarded, putting garbage collectors at risk. While the outbreak and restrictions were stressful and environmental awareness might not have been at the front of everyone’s mind,
Media reports have said that the government is planning to issue stimulus vouchers again to boost the economy, which has been hit hard by a COVID-19 outbreak. Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) reportedly named four business sectors as priorities for subsidies: dining, retail, hospitality, and exhibitions and performing arts. As the government has lowered the COVID-19 alert to level 2, the plan would be welcomed by the marketplace and businesses. Stimulus vouchers are designed to spark consumption, and promote commodities and services, in the hope of revitalizing an economy. Consider dine-in services and other food products: While psychological factors affect consumption, the high price of household necessities also makes people less willing to spend money. Data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed that the consumer price index last month rose 1.89 percent from a year earlier, while the cost of major household necessities rose 2.57 percent — the biggest jump in two-and-a-half years. Why are farm produce and meat, such as pork, vegetables and eggs, more expensive? The authorities have said that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decrease in shoppers at major wholesale markets, as well as a drop in bulk buying for meals at schools and government agencies. However, as total market demand remains unchanged, some suspect that unethical business owners are taking advantage of tighter supply to raise prices and rake in huge profits. If that is the case, and if such businesses are eligible for stimulus vouchers, that would go against the policy’s intent. Articles 3, 6 and 35 of the Agricultural Products Market Transaction Act (農產品市場交易法) say that those who monopolize the trade of agricultural products or manipulate prices can be fined up to NT$300,000 (US$10,687). Article 40 of the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法) says that business competitors that collude on prices, affecting trade and distribution,
Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, a flagship strategy formulated by President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to nurture ties with countries in ASEAN and South Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand, is getting widespread attention. However, it has failed to gain much traction in Vietnam. Taiwan’s engagement with the Southeast Asian nation under the policy framework seems to focus on visible dimensions such as economic ties and scholarships, rather than a thorough people-to-people investment. The lack of a comprehensive approach in its outreach to Vietnam can be testified by delving into perceptions of both sides. The impression Vietnamese have of Taiwan has largely been on Taipei’s status as one of the four Asian Tigers. An imprint has been left in terms of Taiwan’s economic emergence and resilience, with Taiwanese electronics and high-tech firms operating in Vietnam. In the past few years, Vietnamese have favored visiting Taiwan, while their enthusiasm for bubble milk tea and healthcare products from the archipelago has grown. However, there seems to be no profound knowledge of Taiwan other than that. If there is a rising issue that has caught the attention of Vietnamese, it is likely lingering cross-Taiwan Strait tensions. When viewed through the lens of academia, Vietnamese journals centering on East Asian studies, notably the Vietnam Review of Northeast Asian Studies and the China Studies Review, tend to focus on Vietnam-Taiwan economic and human resources cooperation, the two vital fields of interest embedded in the New Southbound Policy. Recently, some Vietnamese academics have studied how Taiwan navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and what nuanced implications Taiwan’s success story might have for trade ties between Taipei and Hanoi. Some recent articles have dived into the southbound policy, focusing on Taiwanese firms leaving China and a fortified security relationship between Taiwan and Japan. In Vietnamese media, Taiwan-related news is framed within the field of trade collaboration. Some journalists
For Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin, there were no chances left: Either beat the world’s top-ranked men’s doubles badminton team from Indonesia for the first time or see their Olympic hopes dashed in the preliminary round. The world No. 3 Taiwanese duo answered the challenge, edging past Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in their final Group A match 21-18, 15-21, 21-17 to qualify for the final eight knockout round. “We finally made it,” Lee wrote on Facebook after beating the Indonesian duo. However, he said that the competition still had a long way to go. “We’re happy not only because we won, but because we were able to score a breakthrough,” Wang wrote on Facebook. In a match that was tight throughout, the Taiwanese duo tried to apply pressure, attacking whenever possible, taking chances at the net to pick off shots early and keeping their opponents off balance. While that worked in the first game, unforced errors, mostly defensive shots that went beyond the baseline, began to haunt them in the next frame, helping the Indonesians even up the match. In the decider, Lee and Yang held a narrow lead for much of the game, but it took repeated smashes, an opportune net cord and a few errors by their opponents to take them to victory. “They played very well because they really need to win this match to pass the group stage,” Gideon said. “Their style is fast and they didn’t make mistakes.” To advance to the final eight, Lee and Yang had to finish in the top two of their group, and their chances seemed bleak after they were upset in their opening group match by the world No. 10 duo from India, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. They then defeated Ben Lane and Sean Vendy from the UK before securing
The morning after capturing a bronze medal in the mixed doubles, Taiwanese table tennis stars Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching met different fates in their opening-round singles matches at the Olympics Games in Tokyo. Lin, seeded fifth in the men’s singles, was in control throughout his opening-round match and defeated Anton Kaellberg of Sweden 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 in 42 minutes, never trailing by more than two points. He won despite getting only about five hours of sleep after his mixed doubles final on Monday night. The 19-year-old got to bed at about 1am and woke up at 6am to prepare for his 9am match. “Yesterday’s win didn’t change anything. Today was a new start,” he said. He then took 58 minutes to beat Gustavo Tsuboi of Brazil 11-5, 11-7, 11-2, 9-11, 9-11, 13-11 in the round of 16 in the afternoon. In his first game against Tsuboi, Lin took a small early lead and gradually widened it in the second half. In the second game, Lin opened up an early lead of four points, and although Tsuboi managed to even the score 6-6, Lin went on to score three consecutive points to win 11-7. In the third game, Lin easily defeated Tsuboi 11-2 in just six minutes, which took the Taiwanese player one win away from victory. Lin lost the next two games 9-11, and Tsuboi jumped to a four-point lead at the beginning of the sixth game, but Lin saved three match points at the end to gain a hard-won 13-11 victory. While Lin overcame his lack of sleep, Cheng, seeded fourth in the women’s singles, never seemed to shake off the emotions of the previous night against an opponent who was in top form in their round-of-32 match. Cheng
Triathlete Flora Duffy yesterday reveled in a “cool moment” after delivering the first Olympic gold medal in history for the tiny island of Bermuda in Tokyo. The 33-year-old crossed the line in the women’s race in 1 hour, 55 minutes, 36 seconds, more than a minute ahead of Britain’s Georgia Taylor-Brown, with US athlete Katie Zaferes taking bronze. Duffy’s success makes Bermuda the smallest nation or territory in terms of population — about 70,000 — to ever win a gold medal at a Summer Games. “I have achieved my dream of winning a gold medal, but also winning Bermuda’s first gold medal,” she said. “It’s bigger than me and that’s a really cool moment. That was the longest kilometer of my life [the final one of the run],” she said. “I think I can get used to being called Olympic champion for the rest of my life,” Bermuda’s only previous Olympic medalist was boxer Clarence Hill, who won a bronze in 1976. For Duffy it was a welcome reward after persistent injuries and being diagnosed with anemia in 2013. She quit the sport after failing to finish the event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and started working in a shop before studying for a degree and returning to the sport. In a race delayed by 15 minutes because of slippery conditions following heavy overnight rain in the Japanese capital, Duffy took control in the final running section. She had opened up a lead of almost 1 minute after the first of four laps and was never under threat from then on. The broad grin she sported entering the finishing straight gave way to tears at the realization of what she had achieved as she crossed the line. “I tried to just keep my composure and not allow my mind to drift to the fact that this was really happening
Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka’s dreams of a home Olympic gold were yesterday crushed by a 6-1, 6-4 defeat to the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova as her return to action came to an abrupt end. Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron and was one of the faces of the Tokyo Games, struggled in an error-strewn display that blew the draw wide open after the earlier exits of world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and third seed Aryna Sabalenka. “How disappointed am I? I mean, I’m disappointed in every loss, but I feel like this one sucks more than the others,” the four-time Grand Slam-winner said. Asked what went wrong, she said: “Everything — if you watch the match then you would probably see. I feel like there’s a lot of things that I counted on that I couldn’t rely on today.” The third-round defeat follows a turbulent few months for Osaka, who abandoned her French Open campaign in May after refusing to attend news conferences, citing the need to preserve her mental health. Osaka also skipped Wimbledon, saying she had been battling depression and anxiety, before returning in Tokyo for her first Olympics and her starring role at the opening ceremony. “I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this. I think it’s maybe because I haven’t played in the Olympics before and for the first year [it] was a bit much,” Osaka said. After looking assured in the first two rounds after her eight-week hiatus, Osaka made a dreadful start under the center court roof at a rain-hit Ariake Tennis Park and never recovered. “I’ve taken long breaks before and I’ve managed to do well. I’m not saying that I did bad right now, but I do know that my expectations were a lot higher,” she said. “I feel like my attitude wasn’t that great
CHINA RELATIONSHIP: While campaigning, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa promised to halt a port development, which would have added to the large debt Samoa owes Beijing More than three months after winning an election that sparked a constitutional crisis, Samoa’s first female prime minister was yesterday eventually able to take office. A smiling Fiame Naomi Mata’afa sat in the chair her predecessor had been reluctant to relinquish after 22 years in power. She held her first Cabinet meeting, with members of her Faith in the One God of Samoa (FAST) party dressed in the distinctive red clothes that party members and supporters often wear. Mata’afa, 64, said they were ready to begin their work. That could include a reset of the nation’s relationship with China. On the campaign trail, Mata’afa had pledged to stop a US$100 million port development backed by Beijing, calling the project excessive for a nation that is already heavily in debt to China. After a knife-edge election result in April, Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi refused to concede defeat, despite several court rulings that went against him. He had two powerful allies in the nation’s head of state and the speaker, who were able to stall the transfer of power. A bizarre scene played out in May when Mata’afa and her FAST party were locked out of the Samoan Legislative Assembly, with Malielegaoi saying he was still in charge. Mata’afa and her party members took oaths and appointed ministers in a ceremony held under a tent in front of the locked Legislative Assembly. In an interview with The Associated Press, Mata’afa said that day was charged with emotion. “It could have gone pear-shaped, but we were able to keep calm,” she said. “We could have stormed the building and knocked down the doors, like in Washington DC, but we just sat and sang a few hymns, sang a prayer.” Last week, the nation’s top court ruled the unusual swearing-in ceremony that day had been constitutional, and Malielegaoi
Dozens of Afghan soldiers fled across the border into northwestern Pakistan after their border post was overrun, apparently by the Taliban, the Pakistani army said on Monday. The statement said 46 members of the Afghan forces, including five officers, slipped across the border late on Sunday near the Pakistani border town of Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Afghan soldiers “have been provided food, shelter and necessary medical care as per established military norms,” the Pakistani army said, adding that it had informed Afghan authorities of the development. The Afghan government on Monday denied its troops crossed into Pakistan. “This issue is not true. No Afghan military personnel have taken refuge in Pakistan, the sensitivity that all Afghans have against Pakistan and especially our military, is clear to all,” General Ajmal Omer Shinwari, spokesman for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, told a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul. However, Pakistan’s military early yesterday distributed a video of Afghan soldiers in uniform being greeted by Pakistani troops. An accompanying statement read: “The said soldiers have now been amicably returned to Afghan authorities on their request along with their weapons and equipment. Pakistan will continue to extend all kinds of support to our Afghan brethren in time of need.” Neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan provided information about fighting on the Afghan side of the border. Pakistan’s military dismissed the Afghan denial. The Taliban have in the past few weeks swiftly captured territory in Afghanistan, and seized strategic border crossings with several neighboring countries. They are also threatening a number of provincial capitals — advances that come as the last US and NATO soldiers complete their final withdrawal from Afghanistan. The insurgents are said to control about half of Afghanistan’s 419 district centers. The rapid fall of districts and the seemingly disheartened response by Afghan
African nations should build capacity to produce vaccines on the continent and work with pharmaceutical companies to ensure that the raw materials needed to produce the inoculations are available, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. While a waiver on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights that is being discussed at the WTO is seen as a way to improve the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s least inoculated continent, Okonjo-Iweala said that only a handful of African countries have the capacity to produce the life-saving drugs. “There [are] a handful of countries — maybe Tunisia, Morocco to some extent, Senegal, South Africa — where we have some capacity; that’s why we are importing 99 percent of our vaccines,” Okonjo-Iweala said in a Webinar hosted by the UN Economic Commission for Africa. “If we get IP [intellectual property] today, we won’t be able to do anything with it because we don’t have investment, we don’t have manufacturing capacity,” she said. WTO members are divided over the question of whether a waiver to the its intellectual property rules for vaccines is the best way to expand access to life-saving drugs in the developing world. Negotiations are moving very slowly as parties try to come to a “pragmatic, sensible agreement that allows developing countries access to technology, know-how and find a solution on intellectual property that does not also disincentivize research and negotiations,” she said. A meeting with heads of vaccine manufacturers including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc, the makers of Russia’s Sputnik jab and Sinopharm Group Co at the WTO last week showed that companies are interested in boosting investments on the continent, she said. Johnson & Johnson is having its inoculations produced on a so-called fill-finish basis in South Africa by Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd, where Aspen packages the doses using
The importance of biodiversity is well understood. A diverse biosphere is better able to provide ecosystem services, those tangible and intangible benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems. These include: foods that can be grown, gathered, hunted or trapped; plant pollination; useful materials such as timber and bamboo; clean air and water; the regulation of flooding and soil erosion; and non-material benefits such as recreation and cultural enrichment. The greatest biodiversity is found in certain places untouched by agriculture or industry. Urbanization is usually harmful for native animals, which suffer as their original habitats shrink and are fragmented. For this reason, nature-lovers in Taiwan — just like their counterparts elsewhere — often fetishize wildernesses, while ignoring the cities in which more than 80 percent of the country’s population lives. Such thinking shows an incomplete understanding of cities’ ecological functions, argue the authors of a paper published in the February issue of BioScience. CONSERVATION In “The Biological Deserts Fallacy: Cities in Their Landscapes Contribute More than We Think to Regional Biodiversity,” scientists affiliated with the San Francisco Estuary Institute assert that not only do many urban areas harbor greater biodiversity than even many specialists suspect, cities also have the potential to make important contributions to global biodiversity conservation as the impact of climate change on nature grows. Researchers in Australia have identified 39 species, among them plants, a type of tortoise and a kind of snail, that now cling to existence only in urban habitats. In an article posted by the Environmental Information Center (環境資訊中心, e-info.org.tw) late last year, Lee Yu-chin (李育琴) explains how tidiness can be an enemy of biodiversity. Lee writes that citizens expect neatly trimmed trees and the removal of dead leaves from parks, not knowing that “fallen leaves nourish microorganisms in the soil [and] seemingly useless deadwood is also home to insects and some
Staging an Olympics during the worst pandemic in a century? There’s a widespread perception that it couldn’t happen in a better place than Japan. A vibrant, open democracy with deep pockets, the host nation is known for its diligent execution of detail-laden, large-scale projects, its technological advances, its consensus-building and world-class infrastructure. All this, on paper, at least, gives the strong impression that Japan is one of the few places in the world that could even consider pulling off the high-stakes tightrope walk that the Tokyo Games represent. Some in Japan aren’t buying it. “No country should hold an Olympics during a pandemic to start with. And if you absolutely must, then a more authoritarian and high-tech China or Singapore would probably be able to control COVID better,” said Koichi Nakano, a politics professor at Sophia University in Tokyo. The bureaucratic, technological, logistical and political contortions required to execute this unprecedented feat — a massively complicated, deeply scrutinized spectacle during a time of global turmoil, death and suffering — have already put an unwelcome spotlight on the country. Most of all, it has highlighted some embarrassing things: that much of Japan doesn’t want the Games, that the nation’s vaccine rollout was late and is only now expanding and that many suspect the Games are being forced on the country because the International Olympic Committee needs the billions in media revenue. The worry here isn’t that Tokyo’s organizers can’t get to the finish line without a major disaster. That seems possible, and would allow organizers to claim victory, of a kind. The fear is that once the athletes and officials leave town, the nation that unwillingly sacrificed much for the cause of global sporting unity might be left the poorer for it, and not just in the tens of billions of dollars it has spent on the Games. The
The Yoyogi National Stadium by Kenzo Tange was the elegant symbol of Tokyo’s 1964 Summer Olympics, a combination of modern technique and Japanese tradition. Tange was awarded the Pritzker prize in 1987 — architecture’s highest award — and the citation described Yoyogi as “among the most beautiful buildings of the 20th century.” It remains so. Simple. Striking. Timeless. It went up just 19 years after Japan’s defeat in World War II, a time when building materials were in short supply in the country. It offered an early glance into a modernizing Japan that included tiny transistor radios, bullet trains, and ubiquitous labels that read “Made in Japan.” Yoyogi’s sweeping roof is anchored to earth and held up by steel cables — like a suspension bridge — and connects modern, western design with forms found in Japanese temples and shrines. “It’s kind of a miracle,” said professor Souhei Imamura, who teaches architecture at the Chiba Institute of Technology. “It combines structure, form and also function. Each is unique and they are blended. Dynamism was required at the time because Japanese society wanted to change, to evolve. The dynamism was also needed for those Olympics.” Yoyogi endures like a 500-year-old European cathedral and sits next door to the sprawling park and Meiji Shrine in central Tokyo. Small by today’s standards, Yoyogi was the swimming venue in ‘64 where American teenager Don Schollander won four gold medals. He was the Mark Spitz or Michael Phelps of Tokyo 57 years ago. This time it’s the venue for team handball, and was also used for a gymnastic event last year when organizers began testing anti-COVID-19 measures they might use in order to hold the Olympics during a pandemic. Tange also designed a companion building next door — usually called the Annex — that was the basketball venue in ‘64 where the Americans won
Would banana skins be considered kitchen waste? (3/5) 那香蕉皮算不算廚餘？（三） A: Some cities and counties require you to use special bags to throw your garbage out in. Taipei and New Taipei City do this, for example. The cost of the bag goes toward the cost of processing the garbage. B: I know that type of bag. If I go to the supermarket and forget to bring a bag, when I go to pay at the till, the sales clerk tells me that if I want a plastic bag I will need to pay extra, and they give me one of those bags. A: Yes, the bags are dual use: later on, you can use them to throw out your trash. You don’t have to use them for recycling, though. B: Thank goodness for that. I was wondering how I would be able to stuff cardboard boxes into one of those small bags. A: 有些縣市丟垃圾要用專門的袋子裝，比如說台北市和新北市，因為買袋子的錢，就包含了垃圾處理費。 B: 我知道這種袋子。我去超市忘了帶購物袋，結帳的時候店員說，如果要塑膠袋的話得要另外付錢，買的就是這種袋子。 A: 對呀，這袋子可以重複利用，最後用來裝垃圾丟掉。不過如果是資源回收，就可以不用這種袋子。 B: 太好了，讓我鬆了一口氣。我還在煩惱說，這些紙箱要怎麼塞進這個小袋子呢！ (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱)
Hit by the fourth wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, South Korea has recently issued a ban on fast gym music in the greater Seoul region. The new rules aim at stopping gym-goers breathing too hard or splashing sweat on others. It bans gyms from playing music with a tempo faster than 120 beats per minute (bpm) during group exercises. According to AFP, a list of “safe” K-pop songs is circulating online, including supergroup BTS’s No. 1 hit “Dynamite” at 114 bpm. However, singer Psy’s megahit “Gangnam Style” at 132 bpm will have to stay off the workout playlist. Also, the new rules put a maximum 6km an hour speed limit on treadmills. “Are we going to get speeding tickets?” a netizen asked. In Taiwan, the government has relaxed the restrictions to allow gyms and public sports centers to reopen conditionally since July 13. However, several gyms were forced to suspend operations again for sanitation after confirmed COVID-19 patients visited the venues. (Eddy Chang, Taipei Times) 受到第四波武漢肺炎（新冠病毒，COVID-19）爆發衝擊，南韓近日發布新規定，禁止在大首爾地區的健身房播放快歌，目的是避免讓上健身房運動的人太用力呼吸，或汗水濺到他人身上。該規定禁止健身房在進行團體活動時，播放每分鐘超過一百二十拍（bpm）的快節奏音樂。 據法新社報導，一份韓國流行歌曲的「安全歌單」在網路上流傳，其中包括防彈少年團BTS的冠軍歌曲《Dynamite》（每分鐘一百一十四拍）。江南大叔Psy的神曲《Gangnam Style》（每分鐘一百三十二拍），則必須暫時從健身歌單上移除。而新規定還包括跑步機的時速上限為六公里。一名網友就問：「那我們會不會收到超速罰單啊？」 在台灣，政府自七月十三日起已微解封，有條件開放健身房及運動中心。不過數家健身房因確診者造訪，隨即又被迫停業消毒。 （台北時報張聖恩）
Would banana skins be considered kitchen waste? (2/5) 那香蕉皮算不算廚餘？（二） A: I think Taiwan’s “keep trash off the ground” program is pretty good. Before, everyone used to put their garbage in collection points. Even though garbage trucks would come and take it away, the places the rubbish was sitting were dirty, and they stank. B: But the current system can be rather inconvenient, too. You have to be home when the garbage truck comes so that you can throw the trash out. What if you are at work when it does? A: If your apartment building has security guards, they will take the trash out for you. You put the rubbish in a wheelie bin on the first floor, and when the time comes the guards will take it out. B: In the apartment I was in when I was living abroad, there was a small garbage chute door set into the wall on each floor. When you opened it up you would place your garbage bag inside and then close it, and it would tumble down a chute to a wheelie bin on the first floor. A:我覺得台灣這個「垃圾不落地」政策還蠻好的，以前是大家把垃圾堆在一個定點，雖然垃圾車會來收，可是放垃圾的地方都會變得又髒又臭。 B: 可是這樣也很不方便，垃圾車來的時候你一定要在家才能倒，如果那時候要上班怎麼辦？ A: 如果是住有大樓管理員的公寓，他們會幫忙倒。你平常就把垃圾放到樓下的垃圾子母車裡，管理員到時候會把它拖出去。 B: 我在國外住的公寓，每層樓牆上有個小拉門，拉開後把包好的垃圾放進去，門一關，它就會沿著管道滾到樓下的垃圾子母車。 (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times／台北時報林俐凱 ) Audio recordings for Speak Up! dialogues will be suspended until further notice due to the pandemic.
| New Taipei City | 28-30 | 0% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 28-29 | 0% | |
| Hsinchu City | 28-29 | 0% |  |
| Taipei City | 27-29 | 0% | |
| Miaoli County | 27-29 | 0% | |
| Taoyuan City | 27-29 | 0% | |
| Keelung City | 27-29 | 0% | |
| Yunlin County | 26-28 | 30% |  |
| Taichung City | 27-29 | 30% | |
| Nantou County | 27-28 | 20% | |
| Changhua County | 27-29 | 30% | |
| Chiayi County | 27-28 | 30% | |
| Chiayi City | 26-28 | 30% | |
| Tainan City | 28-29 | 40% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 28-29 | 50% | |
| Pingtung County | 26-28 | 50% | |
| Yilan County | 26-28 | 0% | |
| Hualien County | 27-28 | 0% | |
| Taitung County | 27-29 | 0% | |
| Kinmen County | 29-29 | 10% | |
| Penghu County | 27-28 | 30% | |
| Lienchiang County | 27-28 | 20% | |
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