... but companies still fearful of SARS

The nation's consumers may be sloughing off SARS fears, but if the number of times Taipei residents have their temperatures measured during the course of an average day is anything to go by, businesses have not let down their guard against the deadly virus.

"The alarm is still on," said Justine Chen (陳靜婷), a spokeswoman for motherboard maker Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉科技). "We have made no changes to our SARS policy."

Gigabyte has canceled all business trips to SARS-affected areas since the beginning of April. The company's employees have their temperatures checked twice a day, must wear a mask in the office, and there are alcohol hand-wash stations on each floor of the company's headquarters, Chen said yesterday.

At consumer-electronics maker BenQ Corp (明基電通), officials are waiting for the nod from the World Health Organization (WHO) before they relax their SARS policy.

"BenQ has not revised its policy," said corporate marketing and communications manager Ginny Cheng (鄭怡君). "Until [Taiwan is] taken off the WHO travel advisory list, we will continue implementing precautionary measures to keep our employees safe."

BenQ encourages its employees "to seek alternative means for meetings both in Taiwan and abroad," and has installed video-conferencing equipment in strategic locations for employees to use.

The world's largest manufacturer of made-to-order computer chips, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), also sees no reason to moderate its policy just yet.

"We have no plans to ease our restrictions," said TSMC spokesman Tseng Jin-hao (曾晉皓). "We have taken a serious look at the entire SARS situation and for now there will be no change."

After a SARS false alarm at a research and development center belonging to Silicon Integrated Systems Corp (SiS, 矽統科技) near the company's foundry in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, TSMC heightened the alert at its manufacturing facilities in Hsinchu and Tainan two weeks ago, restricting access beyond the lobby area to core personnel and banning cold calls from other companies.

The nation's largest technology company, Acer Inc, still restricts its employees from traveling to the areas hardest hit by SARS.

"Currently Acer has not loosened its guidelines for employee travel," public relations specialist Stella Chou (周之新) said in an e-mail statement. "We are still asking employees to avoid places such as Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzen and Guangzhou. Employees may only visit China when it is absolutely necessary, and on return have to work from home for the next seven days."

Local businessmen with interests in China are also staying away from the region.

Steven Ho (何紹國), a Taiwanese entrepreneur who runs a women's clothing factory in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, is steering clear of China altogether.

"No-one is traveling to China any more," he said yesterday from quarantine at home, having recently returned from a trip to Hong Kong. "It's not very safe and you have to be quarantined for 10 days after you get back, which isn't a very pleasant experience."

When Ho first opened his factory two years ago, he had to make frequent trips there to inspect the quality of the clothes produced.

"I am happy that my factory is now stable and I have no worries about quality so I don't have to travel there," Ho said.

Companies that have kept much of their manufacturing in Taiwan are also maintaining tough anti-SARS measures for fear an outbreak of the disease could shut down their operations.