Last Monday the Ministry of Finance released export figures for last month. Taiwan’s exports totalled US$24.12 billion in July, a 1.2 percent increase on last year’s figure, and a return to growth following 17 consecutive months of contraction. Imports fell to US$20.51 billion, a 0.2 percent decrease on last year’s figure and the trade surplus for July was US$3.61 billion; an increase of US$320 million from last year.
The ministry also revealed that exports in June contracted annually by 2.1 percent, but when valued in New Taiwan dollars, exports actually increased in real terms by 3.4 percent on last year. Additionally, in the second quarter, imports of manufacturing plant and machinery experienced a second quarter increase of 18 percent, which marks a successive four-quarters of expansion.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, MediaTek Inc and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc are all feeling bullish about market conditions for the second half of this year, which demonstrates the electronic components industry believes there will be ample business opportunities going forward.
Photo: CNA
照片:中央社
However, Liang Kuo-yuan, chairman of the Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute, believes that although July’s export figures show a slight return to growth, it is still a somewhat weaker performance than for the equivalent period in 2014.
(CNA, translated by Edward Jones)
財政部上週一公布七月出口二百四十一億二千萬美元,年增百分之一點二,是睽違十七個月後首度轉正;進口二百零五億一千萬美元,年減百分之零點二。出入相抵,七月出超三十六億一千萬美元,年增三億二千萬美元。
財政部也表示,六月出口年減百分之二點一,但按新台幣計價反而年增百分之三點四。且第二季相關生產設備進口季增百分之十八點四,已連續四季明顯擴增,包含台積電、聯發科、日月光皆看好下半年市況,顯見電子零組件未來商機可期。
但元大寶華經濟研究院院長梁國源認為,七月出口雖微幅轉正,與二○一四年同期相比仍略遜一籌。
(中央社)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too