Fri, Oct 22, 2021
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) is next week to visit Slovakia and the Czech Republic to enhance ties with the central European countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. In Slovakia, Wu would give a keynote speech on Tuesday next week at a conference on “Resilience in a post-pandemic world” hosted by the Bratislava-based think tank GLOBSEC, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. Wu would then travel to Prague, where he is to receive a medal from Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil to honor the minister as a special guest of the country, and meet with Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib. Wu would also speak at a seminar cohosted by the Czech Academy of Sciences and Prague-based think tank Sinopsis, Ou said. Although Wu would not attend a conference organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China in Rome on Friday next week, “due to a tight schedule and each country’s COVID-19 prevention rules,” he would speak at the conference virtually, Ou said. Wu’s European trip to two countries with which Taiwan has no official diplomatic relations is rare for a Taiwanese foreign minister, given that the countries usually face strong pressure from Beijing to prevent such trips. The ministry did not say when Wu is expected to depart or when he would return. Wu’s visit coincides with one by a trade delegation led by National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫). The 66-person delegation departed on Wednesday to visit the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania, as part of the government’s efforts to boost trade and economic ties with central and east European countries. The visit ends on Saturday next week. While Wu’s visit would not overlap with the trade delegation’s itinerary, it shares the same goals of expressing the strategic importance of Taiwan, its economic strength and its resolve to defend its democracy, Ou said. Taiwan plays a
SKEPTICAL: Long-time US diplomat Nicholas Burns said that China has been the ‘aggressor’ in its relationship with Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines US President Joe Biden’s pick to be ambassador to China drew sharp lines with Beijing over its “aggressive” actions in the Indo-Pacific region, but said that “American strength” gives the US key advantages in the relationship between the world’s two largest economies. Nicholas Burns, a long-time diplomat who previously served as US ambassador to NATO and Greece, said that China has been the “aggressor” in its relationship with Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines. He also said that he is skeptical about Chinese intentions on issues such as 5G technology, but he emphasized his view that the US has the upper hand. “Beijing proclaims that the East is rising and the West is in decline,” Burns said. “I’m confident in our own country. The People’s Republic of China is not an Olympian power.” Burns singled out China’s frequent incursions of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone as particularly egregious, saying it is clear that “they intend to take back Taiwan” and that the US needs to redouble efforts to prevent that from happening. “Our responsibility is to make Taiwan a tough nut to crack,” Burns said, while dismissing a suggestion that the US ditch its policy of “strategic ambiguity.” “We’re better off, and we’ll be more effective, in staying with the one China policy of the last four decades,” he said, without clarifying its position on Taiwan’s sovereignty. In Taipei yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the Biden administration for reiterating the US’ commitment to Taiwan. The threatening posture that Beijing has adopted toward Taiwan is affecting regional security and stability, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said. Many countries, including the US, have become increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s belligerence, Ou said, referring to what Burns had said at his confirmation hearing: “We certainly cannot trust the Chinese.” Taiwan would continue to bolster its self-defense capabilities and safeguard its democracy, she
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged the UN not to yield to China, stressing that UN Resolution 2758 does not say that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) can represent Taiwan. The ministry issued the remarks as Monday next week marks the 50th anniversary of the resolution, which gave the Repulic of China’s seat in the UN to the PRC. In the resolution adopted on Oct. 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly decided to “expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.” Since then, Taiwan has not been represented at the UN. The ministry yesterday reiterated that the resolution only deals with the issue of China’s representation in the UN system. It does not say that Taiwan is part of the PRC, nor does it authorize the PRC to represent the people of Taiwan, the ministry said. Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said it is regretful that the UN Secretariat has persisted in making incorrect references to the resolution and in expanding a false interpretation that backs Beijing’s assertion that “Taiwan is a province of China.” Meanwhile, it refuses to allow Taiwanese to enter UN facilities, denies Taiwan the opportunity to engage in UN forums and even rejects applications from Taiwanese media to cover events inside the UN, she said. The PRC has never governed Taiwan, and does not have the right to represent the people of Taiwan, Ou added. The ministry urged the UN not bow to China’s political pressure, and not to expand the interpretation of Resolution 2758, which has excluded Taiwan for too long.
Southeast Asia’s regional bloc should do some “soul-searching” on its policy of not interfering in members’ internal affairs so that it can deal effectively with issues such as the crisis in Myanmar, Malaysia said yesterday. The comments came after ASEAN members last week excluded Myanmar’s military leader, Burmese Army Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, from an upcoming leaders’ summit, a rare rebuke. ASEAN members have accused the Burmese military of failing to stick to a roadmap they drew up together, which was supposed to defuse the crisis that erupted in Myanmar after a February coup. Following the snub, Myanmar accused the bloc of breaking its decades-old policy of not meddling in each others’ domestic affairs — which critics say has made the grouping “toothless.” Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Saifuddin Abdullah said he understood that the policy is “almost sacrosanct” in ASEAN, and had been “useful and practical” in the past. “But when we are faced with situations like the one that is currently occurring in Myanmar, then perhaps ASEAN should actually do some soul-searching,” he said at a virtual dialogue on human rights in Myanmar. “As much as the issue in Myanmar is local and national ... it has [an] impact on the region and we should also recognize the concerns of the other nine member states,” he said. The military leader was excluded after authorities refused to allow an ASEAN special envoy to meet with ousted Burmese civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Southeast Asian bloc has been under international pressure to address unrest and the Burmese military’s brutal crackdown on dissent. Diplomatic sources have said that key ASEAN members, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore, have pushed for tough action to stop the group’s credibility from being tarnished.
ANTI-COERCION: EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said the EU wishes to bolster relations with Taiwan within the framework of its ‘one China’ policy The EU is to further its engagement with Taiwan to defend democracy, freedom and an open market, while bolstering cooperation in semiconductor supply chains, EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday. In her remarks at a European Parliament plenary session focused on Taiwan-EU relations, Vestager referred to China’s increasing military presence in the Taiwan Strait, including flying missions off the southwest coast of Taiwan. “This display of force may have a direct impact on European security and prosperity,” she said, adding that the EU encourages all parties to avoid any unilateral actions that might increase tensions across the Strait. “We Europeans — we have an interest in preserving the status quo in the Taiwan Strait ... and we will continue voicing our concerns in our contact with China and publicly, and step up coordination with like-minded partners such as the G7,” Vestager said. The EU wishes to enhance relations and cooperation with Taiwan within the framework of its “one China” policy, while strengthening their people-to-people ties, she said. Exchanges between the two sides have also been expanded in that past few years to include human rights, trade and economic issues, she said. “While enhancing ties with Taiwan, the EU also has to address China’s assertiveness and attempts to intimidate Taiwan’s like-minded partners,” Vestager said. The EU is evaluating how to better tackle challenges posed to its supply chains and consolidate its relations with partners in strategic sectors, such as semiconductors, she added. The EU hopes that Taiwan will become an important partner to help it realize the “European chips act,” she said. The chips act, proposed last month by the European Commission, covers research and production capacity, prompted by a chip shortage that has disrupted the auto industry, medical device makers and telecoms. The EU relies on Asian-made chips and it has a diminished share in the supply
‘IT’s FINE’: Retired army lieutenant general Chi Lin-liang reportedly told a radio show that China’s military drills near Taiwan should not be considered harassment Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday expressed outrage after a retired army general had on Tuesday implied that China has the right to fly warplanes over Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Retired army lieutenant general Chi Lin-liang (季麟連), who chairs the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Huang Fu-shin branch — the party’s veteran affairs organization — told a radio show that any country can fly in the skies over the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), which he claimed to be “international airspace.” “Let them [the warplanes] come through — it’s fine,” he said. Beijing’s military drills near Taiwan are more frequent than the Ministry of National Defense has disclosed, but they should not be considered harassment of Taiwan, he added. During yesterday’s legislative session with defense and intelligence officials, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that Chi abetted China’s psychological warfare against Taiwan and that the Ministry of National Defense’s Political Warfare Bureau should take action against him. “Such a comment would have been laughable if it came from an ordinary citizen, but not from the mouth of a retired general,” he said, adding that some retired military officers have made remarks about China that appeared to have been “coordinated at a high level.” DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said that Chi had spread disinformation in an attempt to downplay Beijing’s hostile intent. Taiwan has laid sovereignty claims to the skies above the Pratas Islands as an extension of the atoll’s land mass, National Security Bureau Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) told lawmakers. “Chi’s comment that no nation owns the skies over the Dongsha Islands is absurd to the international community and the nation,” he said. The bureau is aware that retired generals have echoed the Chinese Communist Party’s statements, he added. The Political Warfare Bureau would bolster its operational security protocols for former military members, agency Director-General Chien Shih-wei
CROSSED LINES: A planned terminal at Yilan Station hit a snag after authorities learned it would overlap with a TRA overpass project, the transportation ministry said The government is in less than 18 months to decide on a terminal station of a planned high-speed rail (HSR) extension to Yilan County, as it assesses all proposed routes for the line, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday. Wang made the remarks at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee, which asked him to brief legislators on the ministry’s progress on the project. CECI Engineering Consultants, which the ministry contracted to perform a comprehensive assessment on the extension, recommended four possible sites for the terminal station: Yilan Station, Luodong Station (羅東), Sicheng Station (四城) or a new station near Yilan County Hall. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that there are two additional proposed routes. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus at the Yilan County Council suggested that a new station be built in downtown Yilan, while the ministry proposed a station be built at a site south of Yilan County Hall, the newspaper said. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said that Wang did not mention the two additional sites in his briefing. After CECI published an assessment in May, the ministry said it preferred the terminal station to be at Yilan Station, but changed its preference to Sicheng Station in August, Hung said. “Now you are telling everyone that there are fifth and sixth options. Are you playing a city-building video game or Monopoly?” Hung said. The ministry pivoted to Sicheng Station because it realized that the route to Yilan Station would overlap with a planned Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) overpass, Hung said, adding that CECI should have worked with the consulting firm planning the line. Wang said the ministry would still consider the four terminal stations recommended by CECI, as they were carefully reviewed by the firm. “The two other options were brought up while we were communicating
‘TERRIBLE SIGHT’: Polystyrene boards and buoys, as well as broken cages and nets, which drift from oyster farms, have marred Taiwan’s coasts, conservation groups said A Taipei-based ocean conservation group on Tuesday urged the government to quickly address the growing problem of trash from oyster farms drifting ashore. Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation CEO Lin Dong-liang (林東良) said the government needs to amend laws and offer subsidies to reduce waste, as more garbage washes onto the northeastern coast from the southwest, where the majority of oyster farms are based. Over the past three years, an increasing amount of abandoned cages and pieces of polystyrene boards used by farmers to grow oysters have been carried to the northeastern coast by ocean currents, he said. On the west coast, large areas have been covered with broken pieces of polystyrene boards or buoys, which Lin called a “terrible sight.” Due to the diverse types of discarded fishing gear being found along the west coast, Lin called for a concerted effort between central and local authorities to swiftly tackle the marine trash problem. According to the foundation’s Fishery Debris Handbook of West Taiwan, more than 60 percent of marine trash is produced by oyster growers in Tainan, and Changhua, Chiayi and Yunlin counties. Citing the handbook, Yen Ning (顏寧), chief executive of environmental consultancy IndigoWaters, said that dumped oyster farming gear has often been found along the coasts of southwestern Taiwan, as well Penghu County to the west of Chiayi, while more abandoned fishing gear has been found in the waters off Hsinchu and Miaoli counties. Although recycling facilities for discarded fishing nets have been established along coastal areas, there is an urgent need to regulate the use of polystyrene boards and buoys, she said. She called for a ban on the use of polystyrene boards in the next two to three years, along with subsidies to help oyster farmers shift to using buoys made of other materials. Yen said that encouraging oyster growers to use other types of
The Control Yuan on Wednesday censured a junior high school in Taoyuan for reportedly covering up the sexual abuse of students by a baseball coach, who allegedly raped and harassed 22 children. The Control Yuan said in a statement that the school’s principal, former principal and dean of students hired the coach, whom it called unqualified, and worked to impede an investigation into the school’s misconduct. Although the Control Yuan withheld the name of the school, it identified the coach by the surname Huang (黃). The coach is being investigated by law enforcement over charges of sexual assault and using corporal punishment against students, acts that allegedly started in 2016, the Control Yuan said. Control Yuan members Wang Mei-yu (王美玉), Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容), Chang Chu-fang (張菊芳) and Yeh ta-hua (葉大華) launched an investigation into the school after being assigned to the case in September 2019, it said. The probe revealed that the two principals had allowed Huang to house students in the school’s kendo dojo, a structure that was not approved for use as a dormitory, and that they secretly called a staff meeting to collude in their testimonies should they be questioned, it said. The school officials contravened the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法) and the Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, or Sexual Bullying on Campus (校園性侵害性騷擾或性霸凌防治準則), it said. The Control Yuan approved the members’ recommendation that corrective measures and criminal complaints be brought against school officials, in addition to requesting that the Taoyuan City Government take additional disciplinary action, it said. Only two out of 22 alleged victims pressed charges against Huang, the Control Yuan said, adding that authorities must improve the mechanisms for children to report sexual abuse.
This year’s online-only Taiwan LGBT Pride parade on Saturday next week is to feature interactive “stages” with celebrity performances and drag queen shows, organizer Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association said. In place of the event’s normal parade through downtown Taipei, the 19th edition of the event would include five interactive stages — Main Stage, Party Float, International Pride Issues, Parade Issues and Chat Box — accessible through the event’s Web site, event.taiwanpride.lgbt, the association said. The lineup for this year’s event includes celebrity performances, drag queen shows, chat rooms and online shopping from 2pm to 5:30pm, it said. The organizers last month announced that the parade would be held virtually this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Association spokesperson Tai Yu-hsun (戴佑勳) on Tuesday said that even though the nation’s COVID-19 situation has been improving, it was too late to reverse preparations for an online event, which started when domestic cases were still climbing. “When we were planning for the parade earlier in the year, we were just about to enter a level 3 COVID-19 alert. So, if we made any changes now, it would affect the agreements we have with our collaborators,” Tai said. Restrictions on public gatherings were introduced after a nationwide level 3 alert was announced on May 19 following a surge in domestic cases. With daily local case numbers regularly in the single digits, the Central Epidemic Command Center on July 27 announced a return to a level 2 alert. About 130,000 people attended last year’s parade, which followed a record-breaking turnout of 200,000 in 2019 — the same year Taiwan became the first nation in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Association chairman Fletcher Hong (小鯨) said that despite recent progress, society has not yet reached true equality for people in the LGBT community. “We often see areas, such as in shops or restrooms, labeled as
PROTECTION: The Ministry of Health and Welfare is aiming for a full vaccination rate of 30 percent, and allowing mixed first and second doses to boost coverage rates Whether Taiwan reopens its borders would depend on the nation’s vaccination coverage rate and the COVID-19 situation in other countries, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare is aiming for a 70 percent first-dose vaccination coverage and 30 percent two-dose coverage as part of its consideration, Shih told a media briefing following the weekly Cabinet meeting. In spite of a relatively stable COVID-19 situation in Taiwan, and calls from foreign missions and businesses in the country to allow more international travelers, the government is maintaining strict border control measures. Since March last year, Taiwan has banned most arrivals except for citizens and foreign residents, and required those who do enter the country to undergo a stringent 14-day quarantine. The government further tightened its border restrictions in May in the wake of a surge in domestic COVID-19 infections. Exceptions to the visitor ban can only be made in emergencies or for humanitarian reasons, but travelers have to apply in advance to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for permission to enter the country. As of yesterday, about 5.69 million people, or 24.3 percent of the population, had been fully vaccinated, with 15.2 million people, or 65 percent of the population, having received one dose, CECC data showed. MIXING VACCINES Separately yesterday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that mixing certain brands for first and second doses would be allowed for all age groups after the 13th round of COVID-19 vaccinations, depending on the availability of vaccine supplies. The ministry’s report, submitted to the Legislative Yuan, said that its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had decided in July that people in categories 1 to 3 of its vaccination priority list who were inoculated with the AstraZeneca vaccine for their dose could receive an mRNA
The latest long-term, large-scale study indicates that multiple species of birds in Taiwan have declined sharply over the past decade, the Endemic Species Research Institute said yesterday. The institute said that the Taiwan Breeding Bird Survey is conducted annually by 400 volunteers throughout the country, and the latest analysis correlated the data from 2009 to last year. The population of Taiwan rosefinch, an endemic species under conservation dropped by 45 percent, institute assistant research fellow Fan Meng-wen (范孟雯) said. Climate change has likely led to the loss of high-altitude habitats where Taiwan rosefinches dwell, she said. Styan’s bulbul — another of the country’s endemic species — experienced a 2 percent population loss, Fan said, adding that since Styan’s bulbuls inhabit cities and suburbs, human activity likely contributed to the species’ decline. In addition, urban development along the east coast, where most Styan’s bulbuls live, has resulted in cross-breeding with light-vented bulbuls from the country’s west, Fan said. The life-release of light-vented bulbuls in the east, part of a religious practice, has exacerbated the loss of distinctiveness by cross-breeding, she said. Several species that dwell on farmland and in underbrush declined precipitously, including 83 percent of barred button quails, 73 percent of Himalayan prinias and 74 percent of vinous-throated parrotbills, Fan said. Urban development, predation by cats and dogs, and pollution of the environment by agricultural herbicides and pesticides are possible causes for the population losses, she said. Some invasive species have bloomed, including the chestnut-tailed starling and the white-rumped shama, whose populations have grown by 7,618 percent and 1,573 percent respectively, Fan said. Competition from these invasive species is expected to ratchet up the pressure on endemic birds in the struggle for survival, she said. While the COVID-19 pandemic has since last year curbed human activity and boosted wildlife, Zoology Division head Chang Shih-wei (張仕緯) said these effects are only temporary. Without
NOISE TICKET: Nearly 90% of people in a poll support the initiative of cameras taking snapshots of noisy vehicles, and offenders being fined Nearly 700 tickets for vehicle noise have been issued this year through a new “noise camera” initiative that officials say has proven popular with the public. Starting on Jan. 1, local governments nationwide began installing devices that automatically take a snapshot of any vehicle emitting more than 86 decibels of noise on roads with speed limits of up to 50kph, or in excess of 90 decibels on faster roadways. Fines range from NT$1,800 to NT$3,600 (US$64.49 to US$128.98), with a possible additional fine of between NT$3,000 and NT$30,000 if the vehicle is found to have been illegally modified. From Jan. 1 to the middle of last month, 696 tickets had been issued, Environmental Protection Administration Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬) told a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee on Wednesday. About 90 percent were first-time offenders and therefore received the lowest fine, he said, adding that the most tickets were issued in New Taipei City. The agency aims to deploy 100 cameras by the end of the year, adding to the 50 cameras already set up in 20 cities and counties across the nation, he added. The policy has won widespread support from the public, Chang said. In the agency’s survey, 58.3 percent of respondents said they were “very much” in favor of the policy, while 31.2 percent were moderately in favor, Chang said. In a Yahoo poll, a comparable 85 percent of respondents approved of the cameras, he added. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) was encouraged by the positive feedback, but recommended some improvements as the policy expands further. As drivers might learn to avoid roads with fixed cameras, Hung suggested that the agency invest more in mobile stations that could be moved wherever needed. He also requested that the agency investigate appropriate locations for noise cameras in New Taipei City and allocate funding
The Maritime and Port Bureau yesterday said it had inadvertently destroyed 2,000 copies of a picture book by Taiwanese artist Chen Min-yu (陳旻昱). Chen, widely known by his pen name Yumichen (玉米辰), is often compared to Japanese animator and manga artist Hayao Miyazaki. He was invited by the bureau to publish a book on lighthouse keepers, which the bureau completed printing in April. However, on Wednesday night, Chen wrote on Facebook that Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) had ordered that the book be reprinted after he took over the post on April 20 from Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Lin, as the transport minister at the time, had written a preface for the book. “Apparently, whatever the minister says goes,” Chen wrote. In response, Wang wrote on Facebook that he had told the bureau that the artist and the bureau deserve the credit for the publication of the book, and that he did not want it to feature a picture of him or a preface written by him. He added that he had told bureau Director-General Yeh Hsieh-lung (葉協隆) that the bureau must keep the books that have already been printed. However, the bureau said it found out yesterday morning that all 2,000 copies of the picture book in its warehouse have been accidentally destroyed. Civil servants periodically destroy or shred old government documents, the bureau said, adding that Wang and Yeh did not know that the books had been destroyed. The bureau said that it had spent NT$300,000 to print the book, and a new version has been reprinted. “We decided to reprint the books after the printing firm told us that changing the cover of a hardcover book is technically unfeasible,” the bureau said. The new version of the book has the name of the bureau — rather than the Ministry of Transportation
Taiwanese nonprofit organization One-Forty, which is devoted to migrant workers’ rights, on Wednesday won a Good Design Gold Award for its education kit, which was praised for its contribution to facilitating networking among migrant workers and with Taiwanese. The “Book & Host Project for Migrants” education kit is a free package of physical and online learning materials provided to migrant workers to help them adjust to Taiwan in a timely manner, and initiate quality interactions with locals, the organization said. The kit, which has been given to more than 3,000 families in Taiwan since its inception in 2019, was chosen from among 5,800 designs around the world as one of the 20 winners of the Japan-based Good Design Gold Award, a news release by One-Forty says. Aside from promoting networking between migrant workers and with Taiwanese, the kit is also “excellent, as it “not only provides practical knowhow in consideration of migrants’ cultural and religious backgrounds, but also covers their later lives with various interviews and reports,” the Good Design Gold Award Web site says. Written in Indonesian, it is also the first “migrant-oriented” Chinese-learning material, which not only includes samples of useful conversations, such as seeing a doctor, buying groceries and expressing feelings, but also introductions to Taiwanese culture, the organization said. One-Forty wrote on Facebook that it was surprised and thankful for the recognition. It added that it was happy to have the opportunity to encourage people to think about how to get along with people with different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. “The project is not a short-lived attempt, but a five to 10-year, long-term action,” it said. Funded mainly through donations, it pledged to provide more than 1,000 kits every year across the nation, including rural areas and offshore islands. Founded in 2015, One-Forty has dedicated itself to the empowerment of migrant workers in
SILVER LINING: Even though no application for the cancer drug’s approval can be filed, the firm would continue its development based on the results, it said The unblinding of phase 3 trial data of SynCore Biotechnology Co Ltd’s (杏國新藥) newly developed pancreatic cancer drug SB05PC showed no statistical significance when compared with the control group, the drugmaker said yesterday. SB05PC is designed to prolong patients’ lives, and the trial ended once all participants had passed away, the company said. The trials tested whether people taking the drug would on average live significantly longer than those in the control group, it added. The trials tested for overall survival time — the time the patient survives from the beginning of treatment — and progression-free survival time — the time the patient’s cancer does not worsen from the beginning of treatment, it said. The median overall survival time for the 108 participants treated with SB05PC was 226 days, while their median progression-free survival time was 113 days. Meanwhile, the median overall survival time of the 100 patients in the control group was 209 days, while their median progression-free survival time was 110 days, the drugmaker said. “The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant,” Tim Lee (李志文), chairman of the drugmaker’s parent company Sinphar Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (杏輝醫藥), told a news conference in Taipei. Other secondary gauges, such as disease control rate, objective response, rate and duration of response also did not show statistical significance, the company said. The disease control rate averaged 59.38 percent in the treatment group, compared with 48.86 percent in the control group; the objective response rate was 11.46 percent in the treatment group, compared with 6.82 percent in the control group; and response to the drug averaged 4.1 months in the treatment group, compared with 5.6 months in the control group, it said. SB05PC was developed as a second-line treatment to be combined with chemotherapy drug gemcitabine for patients who do not respond well to first-line drug Folfirinox, SynCore said. Trail participants
Production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s (TSMC, 台積電) fabs was not affected by a fire at a construction site for a water recycling facility in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker said that the construction site is not adjacent to its fabs, which were unaffected. CTCI Corp (中鼎工程) is responsible for the construction of the facility, which it is to operate itself once it is completed, the chipmaker said. The facility caught fire at about 11am, and the blaze was brought under control about 30 minutes after the incident was reported, the Southern Taiwan Science Park Administration said in a statement. The construction was suspended and about 200 workers were evacuated from the site, it said, adding that no casualties were reported. The local fire department is investigating the cause of the fire, the park administration said. The facility is scheduled to start operation in December, the administration said, without elaborating on whether the fire would affect the schedule. The facility is to supply TSMC with about 10,000 tonnes of recycled water per day, it said. Tainan is one of TSMC’s major manufacturing sites for advanced chips, using 5-nanometer technology, as well as 3-nanometer technology, to be introduced in the second half of next year.
The Taiwanese offshore wind industry employs more women than the sector in other countries, especially in senior roles, a study commissioned by the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei showed. The report, released on Wednesday, showed that 95 percent of offshore wind companies in Taiwan employed female managers, while 60 percent had at least one woman in a director-level role. While female workforce participation in the global offshore wind energy sector is as low as 21 percent, with an even lower average of 15 percent in Asia, women make up 26 percent of employees in Taiwan, the report said. Among firms operating in Taiwan, developers employed the highest number of female directors, it said. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S new markets development director Maya Malik said that when she moved to Taiwan, she noticed the relatively high number of women working in the sector, including in senior roles. With her observation, she approached the business group and suggested the study, she said, adding that the report validated her impression. “Globally the offshore wind industry even lags behind oil and gas when it comes to female participation, but here in Taiwan, there are indeed more women as we have noticed,” Malik told an event in Taipei to reveal the findings. “This is very high compared to other countries, with strong acceptance for women as leaders, especially for the region.” However, the report also highlighted two factors that limit female participation in the sector: the relatively low number of women studying in field related to science, technology, engineering or mathematics; and the expectation that women adopt the role of wife and mother, and bear the brunt of domestic duties, which might lead them to leave the workforce. The report recommended that companies support female employees who wish to have children, and offer them more flexible working hours,
Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter aircraft continue to probe Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on a near daily basis, putting Taiwan’s air force under enormous strain, fatiguing airframes and aircrew alike. Set to this background, during a radio show on Tuesday, retired army lieutenant general Chi Lin-liang (季麟連) said that any country can fly in the skies over the Taiwan-administered Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), which he claimed to be international airspace. “Let them [the warplanes] come through — it’s fine,” Chi said. The Pratas Islands, situated southwest of Taiwan proper, are strategically important for their proximity to the Bashi Channel, a key strategic waterway that limits access into and out of the South China Sea. The PLA has conducted most of its “exercise” flights along a path close to the islands and toward the channel, including the surge in activity earlier this month, which saw a total of 150 aircraft fly through the area and into Taiwan’s ADIZ over a four-day period. The implication of Chi’s words was that China has the right to fly its aircraft through its airspace as well as the ADIZ. Responding to questions from legislators on Wednesday, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) said that the Pratas Islands are Taiwanese-administered sovereign territory, and as such the skies above the atolls are ipso facto Taiwanese sovereign airspace. Some lawmakers have questioned whether Chi’s remarks form part of a coordinated plan among a clique of pro-China retired officers to aid and abet China’s psychological warfare campaign against Taiwan, but this seems unlikely, as the intent of psychological warfare is to elevate, not diminish, the sense of threat. More likely, Chi’s intention was to muddy the waters; information warfare rather than psychological warfare, designed to implant the notion within the minds of serving members of the military,
The purpose of epidemic response news conferences is precisely what it says: to respond to an epidemic. In this age of social media, people’s attention is precious. These news conferences are about an important issue that affects people’s lives, which is an advantage in attracting attention. When used properly, they efficiently promote epidemic prevention measures, but if this advantage is wasted and the briefings are used for issues unrelated to the epidemic, the audience loses patience. Taiwan’s initial COVID-19 outbreak last year abated quickly. As time went by, the Central Epidemic Command Center’s news conferences were increasingly used for promoting farm products and stimulating local economies. Although this was done with people’s livelihoods in mind, the events strayed from their purpose, attracting criticism. As a resident of Taipei, I expect the city government’s epidemic response news conferences to provide useful information on disease prevention and answer queries the public might have. However, on Sept. 15, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) used a reporter’s question to discuss doubts raised by the Ministry of the Interior about social housing. At the time, I said that the next time reporters ask questions unrelated to the topic, Ko might find it hard to justify not answering. Since that day, the city has held seven more epidemic response news conferences, at each of which reporters asked 10 to 20 questions and follow-ups. On Sept. 24 there were questions about Taiwan joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, social housing and the academic credentials of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安). On Sept. 27, a reporter asked whether supporters of Sun Yat-sen School president Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) might join the TPP, which the reporter said might cause a split in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Another asked about newly elected KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫)
The relationship between the US and China promises to do much to define this era, and what could determine this relationship might well be whether the two countries are able to continue to avoid armed conflict over Taiwan. However, with signs that the chances of conflict are growing, the question facing the US and its partners is how to avoid that outcome without sacrificing essential interests. Conceptual framing is always critical to foreign policy. This is no exception. There are problems and there are situations. Problems can in principle be solved. Situations can at best be managed. Taiwan is a situation. Attempts to treat it as a solvable problem will not just fail, but most likely result in a conflict that will leave the US, Taiwan, China, and others in the region and the world much worse off. The reason is that there is no possible outcome that would be universally acceptable. The good news is that the diplomatic framework that the US and China put in place four decades ago, in which the two sides essentially agreed to disagree over Taiwan, allowed them to avoid conflict and build a productive relationship that helped end the Cold War peacefully and on Western terms. The US and China went on to develop a deep economic relationship. Taiwan, for its part, became one of Asia’s tigers and evolved from a one-party dictatorship into a robust democracy. To be sure, US-China relations have deteriorated sharply in recent years, but not because of Taiwan. Here I would point to China’s militarization of the South China Sea, its unfair trade practices, its growing repression at home and its economic coercion of countries in the region. However, now there is speculation that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is contemplating the use of force to absorb Taiwan in an effort to realize
OVERWORKED? Julio Urias and Max Scherzer have struggled in the National League Championship Series when starting two days after taking to the mound in relief The Los Angeles Dodgers were asking the world of Julio Urias when he took the mound for the fourth time in 12 days on Wednesday and the result was a 2-9 loss against Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Although Urias was the only 20-game winner in the major leagues this season, Los Angeles had used him in three roles in the past week alone. Urias and the Dodgers claimed that it was nothing he could not handle, but the left-hander was out of rhythm and away from his normal between-starts preparation when he took on the Braves. “I felt good physically,” Urias said after the game. “I just have to give them credit for what they did today,” he added. By the time Urias left the Dodger Stadium bump with a five-run deficit, it seemed clear that his team are asking for too much — or are not getting enough — from the top pitchers in their tumultuous rotation. The Dodgers’ front office is disregarding most traditional norms in an October attempt to get the most out of their pitching staff, but with his team on the brink of elimination, it is clear that those decisions have not worked out the way LA boss Andrew Friedman hoped. Urias and Max Scherzer struggled in the series when asked to start just two days after pitching in relief. Walker Buehler also did not match his usual standard when pitching on extra rest. And now the Dodgers are down to their last chance to get those decisions right against the Braves, who have a 3-1 series lead against LA for the second straight October and three opportunities to dethrone the defending World Series champions. After matching the best regular-season record in franchise history, the Dodgers face elimination for the fourth time already in these playoffs in Game
Cristiano Ronaldo’s second coming at Manchester United has already produced two memorable moments with late winners against Villarreal and Atalanta BC to edge the Red Devils toward the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League. However, Ronaldo’s return has also come at a cost, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men increasingly looking like a disjointed bunch of talented individuals rather than a team. United were on course for a fifth defeat in eight games when Atalanta led 2-0 at halftime at Old Trafford on Wednesday. A stirring second-half fightback eased the pressure slightly on Solskjaer as United went from bottom of Group F at the break to top by fulltime. Ronaldo completed the comeback with a towering header after goals from Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire brought the home side level. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has come under fire in the past few weeks for the detrimental impact his arrival has supposedly had on the rest of the team. Ronaldo’s lack of running off the ball has been scrutinized as a cause for United’s dreadful defensive record. However, he is delivering at the other end, with six goals in nine appearances. “He’s great in front of goal,” Solskjaer said. “If anyone wants to criticize him for work rate or attitude just watch this game. Watch how he runs around.” A much-needed three points reduces the risk of crashing out at the group stage for a second consecutive season, although there remains plenty of work to do with trips to Atalanta and Villarreal still to come. The spotlight also remains on Solskjaer ahead of Liverpool’s visit to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday, with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City also to come before the international break next month. United have taken just one point from a possible nine in the Premier League against Aston Villa, Everton and Leicester City to
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel had warned that his big names might be playing too much soccer, and on Wednesday he lost forwards Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner to injury against lowly opposition in the UEFA Champions League. The defending European champions ran out easy 4-0 winners against Malmo in Group H with goals from Andreas Christensen and Kai Havertz, and two bullet penalties by Jorginho. However, Lukaku fell victim to a clumsy tackle in the 18th minute and Werner pulled up clutching his hamstring just before halftime. “We have a twist of the ankle for Romelu, and muscle injury and hamstring for Timo,” Tuchel said. “They will be some time out.” However, the German said that he did not regret playing Lukaku, who had failed to score in six games before Wednesday’s clash. “It was maybe the moment to give him confidence and let him play,” Tuchel said. “We don’t want these problems too often, but it happens during a season.” The coach had suggested before the game that some of his players might have lost a little motivation through playing too much. He mentioned Lukaku in particular. “In this moment, I feel like Romelu is a bit overplayed, he played too many games over the summer... It is difficult to judge if he really needs a break or if we need to keep him on the pitch,” Tuchel said on Tuesday.
Fast bowlers will need a varied skillset to conquer the “tired” pitches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia’s Pat Cummins said yesterday ahead of their Twenty20 World Cup opener against South Africa tomorrow. The pacers would be a worried lot heading into the World Cup looking for ways to master the dry and slow pitches in the UAE, which has split warm-up matches with Oman, but hosts the rest of the tournament from tomorrow’s start of the Super 12 stage. The UAE also hosted the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which concluded on Friday last week, meaning fast bowlers face the prospect of toiling on worn pitches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. “A couple of wickets have been tired and a couple times you get some really good wickets,” Cummins told a virtual news conference sharing his experience from his side’s warm-up matches. “In Twenty20, you got to have a few different varieties. Bowling with a new ball up front is going to look quite different to how you bowl in the end, so you’ve got to be able to adapt and have two or three different spells within the 20 overs.” The 28-year-old, who is returning to competitive cricket after more than five months, said that conditions in the UAE would significantly differ depending on match timing and bowlers would need to adjust accordingly. “The night games tend to be a bit more batter-friendly. There’s a bit of dew around and the ball skids on, whereas the day games are a bit drier,” he said. “I think the biggest difference is when we talk about it being dry. That kind of brings in the slower balls. Night games, if they start sliding on, you’ve got to look at other options. Maybe it’s yorkers, bouncers, and try different deliveries where
DEMAND-DRIVEN: The report, produced by Greenpeace and TheTreeMap, said law enforcement has allowed palm oil plantations on UNESCO sites, parks and tiger habitats Almost one-fifth of the land used for Indonesian palm oil plantations is located in the country’s forest conservation areas, despite a law banning such activity, a study by Greenpeace has found. The report, produced by Greenpeace and TheTreeMap, describes a catastrophic failure of law enforcement that has permitted swathes of land — including UNESCO sites, national parks and areas mapped as habitats for orangutans and Sumatran tigers — to be cultivated as palm oil plantations. Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer of palm oil, which is used in many everyday products and foods, from shampoo and lipstick to chocolate and frozen pizzas. However, demand for palm oil is driving the destruction of carbon-rich forests that are home to Aboriginal communities and crucial to biodiversity. Of the estimated 16.38 million hectares of palm oil plantations across Indonesia, 19 percent are found inside forest conservation areas. The analysis, produced using maps of industrial palm oil plantation concessions and satellite imagery, found that by the end of 2019, there were 3.12 million hectares of palm oil operations across forest conservation areas. Half of the operations (1.55 million hectares) were industrial palm oil plantations. At least 600 plantation companies had operations set up inside forest conservation areas, the study found. As of the end of 2019, plantings to produce palm oil in Indonesia’s forest conservation areas occupied 183,687 hectares of land previously considered orangutan habitats and 148,839 hectares of Sumatran tiger habitats. Greenpeace Indonesian Forests Campaign head Kiki Taufik said that instead of punishing companies, the government had offered increasingly lenient amnesties for such operations. “It’s supposed to be that [companies] are sanctioned, but now they have got the red carpet out to process the illegal [activities],” Taufik said. It is not clear what proportion of the identified plantations have subsequently been legalized. Policy is pushing Aboriginal and rural communities toward an apocalyptic future, he said. “In
BITTER DISPUTE: In one ballot, 60 percent of residents near a planned dump site backed the proposal, but in another, the traditional owners unanimously rejected it Two tonnes of nuclear waste are next year to be shipped from the UK to Australia, as debate continues over a national storage facility. The shipment of four 500kg canisters inside a forged steel container called a TN-81 is part of a waste swap deal with the UK. The waste is to be stored temporarily at Sydney’s Lucas Heights facility, before being sent to the national radioactive waste management facility that the Australian government plans to build near Kimba, South Australia. In 1996, Australia sent spent fuel rods from its Hifar reactor — the predecessor to the existing Opal multi-purpose reactor — to the UK to be recycled into fuel for nuclear power plants. Next year, the “radiologically equivalent” waste is to be sent to Australia under a waste repatriation project. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation said that it successfully repatriated radioactive waste from France to Australia in 2015 and that TN-81s have been successfully used in 180 nuclear shipments around the world. The government said that Lucas Heights does not have the room, so it plans to commission a dump. It settled on a site at Napandee, near Kimba in South Australia, but that plan has been deeply divisive. A ballot run by the Australian Electoral Commission found that more than 60 percent of people in the Kimba council area supported the facility. However, the traditional owners, the Barngarla community, have said that many were excluded from that ballot because they lived outside the council area. In a separate ballot, Barngarla voters unanimously rejected the dump site proposal.
It is one of the last places in Kabul where women can meet outside their households, a bubble of freedom and even frivolity away from the gaze of men. Mohadessa has kept her beauty salon open, despite threats from Afghanistan’s new rulers. Since the Taliban seized Kabul in mid-August, many women have disappeared from public spaces, driven into private areas out of fear and sometimes very real threats. However, Mohadessa’s beauty salon has, for now, remained a place where women can relax among themselves outside the household and share their woes — or forget them in favor of fun and fashion. The oasis provides income for the staff and moments of indulgence for the clients, but its days might be numbered. “We don’t want to give up and stop working,” the 32-year-old entrepreneur said over the hubbub of women getting ready for a wedding celebration. “We love that we have a job, and it is necessary for women to work in Afghan society — many of them are the breadwinners for their family,” Mohadessa said. Customers are dropped off outside, and whisked past posters advertising fashion and beauty brands that are now blotted out with white paint. They quickly disappear into the shop through a heavy curtain. Once inside, the women shed their headscarves and outer garments, and their excited voices compete with the hum of hairdryers as they choose their new looks. The last time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, women were obliged to wear a burqa. Under the Islamist movement’s interpretation of Shariah law, beauty salons were banned outright. Just having painted nails meant that a woman could risk having her fingers cut off. However, since the Taliban returned to the capital and declared their Islamic Emirate, the movement has been at pains to present a more liberal face to the world. Eager to secure international finance to head
That morning, there was no getting away from food. I was in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng District (鹽埕), trying out some of the neighborhood’s older and more distinctive eateries. Knowing I had to pace myself — to seek respite from repasts, if you will — I went into a temple I’d not noticed on previous trips to this part of the city. Shaduo Temple (沙多宮) is dedicated to five Wangye (王爺) spirits, or Lords of a Thousand Years (五府千歲). If the baskets of fruit, trays of candy, and packets of cookies on the main offertory table are anything to go by, the deities honored here have a good appetite and a sweet tooth. The alleyways behind the shrine, which is at 49 Fuye Road (富野路), looked invitingly labyrinthine. Within minutes, I’d stumbled across the picturesque ruins of a cottage constructed using coral stone, unhewn rocks, bricks, and tiles. A man locking up part of the wreck told me the building is at least 90 years old. I could glimpse the roof of, but not get a proper look at, a two-floor mansion that I later discovered was built for Lin Chia (林迦, 1888-1972), an entrepreneur and philanthropist once hailed as “the richest man in Yancheng.” The scale of this abode, which combines Western and Chinese architectural elements, and its garden are obvious if you look at satellite images of the neighborhood. CONGEE AND CLINIC My gourmand tour had begun an hour earlier, at Old Tsai’s Milkfish Congee (老蔡虱目魚粥) at 201 Lainan Street (瀨南街). From the street, the only thing likely to catch a person’s eye is what’s stated on a glass door: “Established 1953. Open 6am to 2pm.” In Taiwan, certain restaurants are like bottles of whiskey. They bear age statements, and the implication is the same: The longer the history, the better the product. Rather than order the
Daniel Pearl World Music Day takes on a special meaning this year as the late journalist’s mother, Ruth Pearl, passed away on July 20 at the age of 85. After Daniel Pearl was tragically abducted and killed by terrorists in 2002 while working for the Wall Street Journal in Pakistan, Ruth and her husband Judea started the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which seeks to promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism and music — Daniel’s two main passions in life. “[Ruth] was a tireless champion of human rights, press freedom, and racial harmony,” concert organizer Sean Scanlan says. “We all remember her devotion to making this world a better place for those who often found themselves in difficult, unfair situations.” Now in its 20th year, Taipei’s longest-running concert will be held at C-Lab and is sponsored by Reporters Without Borders, an organization dedicated to press freedom and the safety of journalists around the world. The programming is eclectic as usual, ranging from Afro-Caribbean and American folk to straight up blues and rock. ■ Tomorrow from 2pm to 8pm at C-Lab, 177, Jianguo S Road Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市建國南路一段177號) ■ Crafts and beverages will be on sale, and all government COVID-19 protocols must be followed. ■ Free admission, visit www.facebook.com/events/557857185538259 for more information
The MTV Europe Music Awards will be held Nov. 14 in Hungary, the network said Tuesday, reaffirming and defending the location despite the country’s recent passage of legislation widely condemned as anti-LGBTQ. The ceremony is an opportunity to make a stand for gay and trans civil rights worldwide in the central European nation that has moved to curtail them, said Chris McCarthy, president and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group Worldwide. “We’re looking forward to using the event to amplify our voices and stand in solidarity with our LGBTQ siblings,” McCarthy said. No government censorship of the telecast will be tolerated, McCarthy said. “We’ve made it very clear and we have from the beginning .... we do not allow editorial input as it relates to the artists” and the content we create, he said. “That’s always a condition regardless of whatever country we go into.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s conservative ruling party introduced the measure that on its face was aimed at fighting pedophilia. Amendments ban the representation of any orientation besides heterosexual, along with gender change information in school sex education programs, or in films and advertisements aimed at anyone under 18. Human rights groups strongly denounced the measure passed in June, saying it wrongly links gays with pedophilia and is intended as a a tool that could be used to stigmatize and harass residents because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. A majority of European Union leaders said it goes against the EU’s values and that discrimination must not be tolerated in the 27-nation bloc. Last year, Hungarian lawmakers approved legislation banning the legal recognition of transgender citizens. MTV, which made a deal two years ago to hold the show in the nation’s capital, Budapest, planned to issue a lengthy memo to staffers in apparent anticipation of possible criticism of its decision. “This may surprise
A: You could try eating often but smaller portions, so that you won’t be digesting too much food at any one time, which will be easier on your stomach and your blood sugar won’t jump. You can still eat what you want. B: To be completely honest, I’ve tried that, too, with the result that I never stopped eating, haha. But I have found that if my jaw is always moving and my teeth are always biting into things, I don’t feel so sleepy when I’m studying. A: Then you should eat a low calorie food like konnyaku or chew gum. B: Or we could just close our books and stop studying. Fancy a game of badminton? A: 你可以試試看少量多餐，這樣要消化的食物不會一下子太多，腸胃的負擔比較輕，血糖也不會一下子衝太高，你想吃的還是可以吃。 B: 不瞞你說，這個我也試過，結果變成我一直不停在吃東西，哈哈！不過我發現如果我嘴巴一直在動、牙齒一直在咬東西，唸書的時候就比較不會昏昏欲睡。 A: 那你就吃像蒟蒻之類低熱量的東西，不然就是嚼口香糖。 B: 或者乾脆就把書闔起來，不要唸了。我們去打羽毛球吧？ (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.
You can still eat what you want (4/5) 你想吃的還是可以吃（四） A: If you don’t want to go into a food coma after eating food, there is another thing you could try: eating more fruit and vegetables. B: Ah, I’ve tried that! For a while I wanted to lose weight, and I only ate vegetables and chicken salad for all three meals, and I ended up not being able to sleep because I was so hungry. I gave that idea up pretty quickly. A: That was a bit extreme: I’m not surprised you couldn’t see it through. Starchy foods will make you feel satiated. I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat them, I’m just saying you should have a balanced diet. B: If I don’t feel full when I eat, I will just feel empty inside, and I will just want to keep on eating. A: 如果你希望吃過飯以後不要那麼想睡，還有一個辦法，就是多吃蔬菜水果。 B: 啊，我試過了！有一陣子我想要減肥，三餐只吃蔬菜雞肉沙拉，結果餓得睡不著覺！沒過多久我就投降了。 A: 你這樣有點極端，難怪沒辦法堅持下去。澱粉類的食物會給你飽足感，不是說都不能吃啦，營養平均就好。 B: 我如果吃飯沒有飽足感，就會覺得很空虛，會一直想要再吃。 (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times / 台北時報林俐凱)
You can still eat what you want (3/5) 你想吃的還是可以吃（三） A: Foods with non-refined starch, such as brown rice, whole grain bread and oats are less easy to digest, so they will release the glucose more slowly and steadily, just like if you turn on the faucet more carefully, so that your blood sugar won’t jump up all of a sudden. B: So we should eat more non-refined starchy foods, is that right? A: Yes, so you should be eating less of foods such as white rice, noodles, white bread, cakes and cookies — because these are all refined. B: I’ve been hearing the phrase “low GI diet” a lot recently, is this the same kind of idea? A: Yes, the Glycemic Index is a measure of a food’s ability to increase blood sugar. A: 非精緻澱粉食物，比如說糙米、全麥麵包、燕麥片，因為比較不好消化，所以分解出葡萄糖的速度比較慢而且穩定，就像水龍頭流出適量的水，所以血糖不會一下子衝太高。 B: 所以我們要多吃非精緻澱粉的食物，對吧？ A: 嗯，然後盡量少吃白米、麵、白吐司、蛋糕、餅乾之類的東西，因為這些都屬於精緻澱粉。 B: 最近還蠻常聽到「低升糖飲食」這個名詞，是不是類似的概念？ A: 沒錯，「升糖指數」就是衡量食物升高血糖的能力。 (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 | 20-20 | 100% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 20-20 | 100% | |
| Hsinchu City | 19-20 | 100% | |
| Taipei City | 19-20 | 100% | |
| Miaoli County | 21-21 | 80% | |
| Taoyuan City | 19-19 | 100% | |
| Keelung City | 20-20 | 100% | |
| Yunlin County | 21-23 | 20% |  |
| Taichung City | 22-24 | 30% | |
| Nantou County | 22-24 | 20% |  |
| Changhua County | 22-23 | 30% | |
| Chiayi County | 22-23 | 20% | |
| Chiayi City | 21-22 | 20% | |
| Tainan City | 22-23 | 20% | |
| Kaohsiung City | 23-26 | 20% |  |
| Pingtung County | 21-24 | 20% | |
| Yilan County | 20-22 | 80% | |
| Hualien County | 22-24 | 20% |  |
| Taitung County | 23-24 | 30% | |
| Kinmen County | 20-20 | 30% | |
| Penghu County | 22-22 | 20% | |
| Lienchiang County | 16-16 | 70% | |
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