Wed, Mar 08, 2023
Average rainfall recorded by weather stations south of Hsinchu County was the lowest in 60 years, potentially leading to water shortages if plum rains in May and June fall short of expectations, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. The weather this winter was marked by wide temperature swings and a paucity of rain in regions other than the north and the windward eastern half of Taiwan proper, Weather Forecast Center Deputy Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a quarterly briefing in Taipei. The weather stations at Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), Alishan (阿里山), Chiayi and Tainan — the oldest of which was established in 1933 — recorded the lowest-ever accumulated rainfall, Chen said. The average accumulation recorded by the five weather stations in Hsinchu and areas south was 31.4mm, the lowest in the past 60 years, he said. The low rainfall was second only to the winter of 2018 to 2019, which preceded a historic drought the following year, he said. In addition, snow did not fall on Yushan (玉山), the nation’s highest peak, this winter for the first time since records began, Chen added. Average temperatures in Yushan this season passed the seasonal average of 2.9oC to reach 3.03oC, the third-highest in history, he said. Projections based on dynamic model simulations on the bureau’s supercomputer showed that mild temperatures, but a less-than-average volume of rain, are likely to prevail this spring, due largely to a fading La Nina effect, Chen said. This means that temperatures are likely to be normal from this month to May, while the second- most likely scenario is for the mercury to rise slightly higher than average levels, Chen said. Rainfall for this month is projected to range from average to a little below average, and normal for next month and May, he said. Although no signs of a thunderstorm have been observed, they are
‘OBJECTIVE TRUTH’: The basis for the ‘status quo’ of the Taiwan Strait and peace in the region is that ‘both sides remain independent of each other,’ the council said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday criticized comments by Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛), saying that they deviate from the truth and principles upholding international peace. In his first media appearance as foreign minister, Qin on the sidelines of the “two sessions” political gathering in Beijing earlier yesterday said that the US was acting with hypocrisy when it defended the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, but not “China’s claim over Taiwan,” as well as when Washington accused China of considering arming Russia while the US is arming Taiwan. He also blamed the US for tensions over Taiwan. “The Taiwan question is the bedrock of the political foundations of US-China relations and the first red line that must not be crossed in US-China relations,” he said. Reading from a copy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) constitution, he said, quoting from the preamble: “Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People’s Republic of China. It is the sacred duty of all the Chinese people, including our fellow Chinese in Taiwan, to achieve the great reunification of the motherland.” “Taiwanese resolutely oppose such commentary,” the MAC said, adding that Beijing has no right to demand that other countries acknowledge its views. The basis for the “status quo” of the Taiwan Strait and regional peace is that “both sides remain independent of each other,” and not Beijing’s “one China” principle, which distorts the truth and abases Taiwanese sovereignty, it said. The Republic of China is a sovereign and independent nation and has never been a part of the PRC, nor is Taiwan a part of its governance, it added. The international community and Taiwan oppose Beijing’s continued machinations in the region, its attempts to divide and conquer Taiwan with “united front” rhetoric, and the touting of its absurd political frameworks on the international stage,
The first batch of mpox vaccination would be offered to about 3,000 people in targeted groups in the six special municipalities, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it reported Taipei’s first local case of the disease formerly known as monkey pox. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said the new mpox case is a man in his 30s who did not travel abroad recently. He developed a fever late last month, as well as rashes and blisters on his limbs and torso. A doctor reported the case for mpox testing and the test result was positive on Friday, he said. The man has been hospitalized for treatment, while 18 close contacts have been identified and asked to monitor their health for 21 days, Guo added. CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said two of the close contacts live with the man, so they would be assessed for receiving a vaccine as post-exposure prophylaxis. The new case marks the third local mpox infection reported in a week. Lo said that as the three cases are not linked to each other, the risk of local infections has increased, so the center plans to offer vaccines to about 3,000 people in high-risk groups in the six special municipalities in the first phase of vaccination. There are about 1,100 doses of mpox vaccine available, with each dose enough to vaccinate about three or four people, he said. The center would ask the special municipalities’ local health departments to coordinate with hospitals to open special vaccination clinics, arrange vaccination training and begin administering the vaccines this month. Recipients would include laboratory staff working with mpox, people who have had any type of sexual contact with a confirmed case and did not receive post-exposure prophylaxis, and people who engaged in high-risk sexual behavior in the past six months,
FIGHTING EXTREMISTS: US forces are ready to remain at the invitation of the Iraqi government to help it defeat the IS group, Lloyd Austin said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin yesterday made an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital, where he vowed to continue the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group until the extremists are defeated. Austin, whose visit came just days before the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein as Iraqi president, said in a statement later that he held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Iraqi Minister of Defense Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi. Al-Sudani’s office said he and Austin discussed cooperation between their countries in the fight against the Islamic State group. The Iraqi prime minister reaffirmed his government’s “keenness to strengthen and consolidate relations with the United States of America at various levels and fields.” Austin was greeted on touchdown in Baghdad by Major General Matthew McFarlane, the US commander in Iraq, which is home to hundreds of US troops helping in the fight against the militant Islamic State group. “We’ll continue working to accomplish this mission together. Through the global coalition to defeat Daesh, we liberated more than 50,000 square kilometers from Daesh and freed more than 4.5 million Iraqis from their cruel grip,” Austin said, using an Arabic name for the Islamic State. “The United States remains committed to this fight in support of Iraq’s security and the security of the entire region,” he said. Austin also said that US forces are ready to remain in Iraq at the invitation of its government, adding that these forces are operating in a non-combat and advisory role in support of the “Iraqi-led fight against terrorism.” “This is a critical mission and we’re proud to support our Iraqi partners,” said Austin, one of the most senior officials of US President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Iraq in the past few years. Since the US-led invasion in 2003 that removed Saddam from power,
‘UNDISPUTED PARTNER’: Taiwan has sustained itself despite harsh conditions, which is worth learning from, the visiting prime minister said, pledging to deepen bilateral ties Taiwan’s freedom and democracy should not be affected by external pressure, Eswatini Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini said at a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday. Dlamini, his wife and several Cabinet officials, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday for an official visit, met with Tsai at the Presidential Office in Taipei. The visit, following a trip by King Mswati III to Taiwan in October last year, is a demonstration of the deep ties between Taiwan and Eswatini, Tsai said. As this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations, Tsai thanked Eswatini for its long-term support of Taiwan’s international participation, adding that Taiwan would continue to deepen ties with the African nation. The two states partnered to produce masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have continued to boost cooperation in fields such as the economy and trade, public health, and information and communication technology, she said. Taiwan is Eswatini’s political ally and “an undisputed development partner,” which has been able to “sustain itself in spite of very harsh conditions,” which is worth learning from, Dlamini said. He reiterated Eswatini’s commitment to “stand in solidarity” with Taiwan and to advocate for Taiwan’s admission to the UN, its affiliated bodies and other international agencies, where it can share its knowledge and experience in climate change, public health, energy and pollution. Southern African states, including Eswatini, are suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as La Nina and El Nino weather phenomena, he said. Taiwan’s assistance to the kingdom has “cemented our relationship and given us renewed hope” that the two sides can achieve more in unexplored fields, he added. The trip allows Eswatini officials to meet with important development partners in Taiwan, which are “crucial to the social and economic development” of the kingdom, he said. The delegation plans
Beijing could use a potential visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to Taiwan next month as a pretext to break into Taiwan’s territorial sea baseline of 24 nautical miles (44.4km) and get close to its territorial space, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday. Chiu made the remarks in response to questions by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) regarding China intensifying its threats by sending more military vessels and aircraft near Taiwan’s territorial space or by crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait. China has continued to operate military vessels and aircraft around Taiwan, Chiu said. “Beijing has been looking for excuses, such as visits from high-ranking officials from abroad and frequent military exchanges between Taiwan and other countries, to intensify the military threat,” Chiu said. “It is constantly adjusting the size of its forces, waiting to respond whenever a situation calls for military action.” The Taiwanese military is prepared for any possible military response from China should McCarthy visit Taiwan next month, he said, adding that Beijing is likely to take more serious action than it did after a visit by then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi in August last year. Beijing “could without warning break into our territorial sea baseline of 24 nautical miles and approach our territorial space of 12 nautical miles [from Taiwan’s coast],” Chiu said. “We would restrain ourselves from launching the first strike to avoid giving China an excuse to attack Taiwan,” he said. However, this does not mean that the military has retreated its deep defense line to 12 nautical miles, he said. “China has changed the status quo of the Taiwan Strait by flying drones, aircraft and balloons over our airspace,” Chiu said. “We would be forced to respond should Chinese military vessels and aircraft come near or enter the nation’s
BACKUP IMPROVED: A microwave signaling system was upgraded from 2.2Gbps and reliably transmitting signals at 3.8Gbps, one week earlier than scheduled Lienchiang County (Matsu) residents can now send pictures and text messages faster after Chunghwa Telecom expanded the bandwidth of its microwave signaling system. Communication between Taiwan proper and the outlying islands was severely disrupted after Chinese ships broke two undersea cables on Feb. 2 and Feb. 8. A microwave signaling system linking Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山) with Dongyin Island (東引), originally designed to serve as a backup system, could only transmit telecommunications signals at 2.2 gigabits per second (Gbps), resulting in unstable voice communication and slow Internet speeds for residents since Feb. 8. The telecom has booked an international cable maintenance ship to repair the broken undersea cables on April 20. Aside from restricting bandwidth access to users of voice communications and mobile Internet, the telecom was asked by the National Communications Commission (NCC) to expand the bandwidth of the microwave signaling system. The system on Monday was capable of reliably transmitting signals at 3.8Gbps, one week earlier than scheduled. The expanded bandwidth enabled the telecom to resume fixed telecommunication services as well as improve voice services and mobile 5G Internet, the telecom told a news conference on Yangmingshan yesterday. However, the system still had interference due to inclement weather and a full tide, it said. Chunghwa Telecom Network Technology Group president Alex Chien (簡志誠) said that the cable communication was transmitted at 8Gbps to 9Gbps at peak hours and 6Gbps to 7Gbps during other hours. “With the microwave system’s transmission speed being accelerated to 3.8Gbps, people should have no trouble accessing the Internet at home and on their mobile phones most of the time,” Chien said. “However, multimedia-on-demand subscribers might report problems accessing content on the platform, as it would require more bandwidth.” The telecom is aiming to further expand the bandwidth of the microwave system to 4.4Gbps in May, 6.1Gbps in September and 8.1Gbps by the end of this
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is considering giving hoteliers and bed-and-breakfast operators at least a one-year grace period to comply with the government’s new policy of limiting the use of single-use amenities, after many of them reported that they are unfamiliar with the details of the policy. The agency made the announcement yesterday after discussing the new policy with tourism industry representatives. Single-use amenities, as defined by the EPA, include shampoo, conditioner, shower gel or lotion contained in a package smaller than 180ml, as well as hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shower caps and single-use slippers. The first phase of the policy, which was originally scheduled to begin on July 1, would require hoteliers to offer single-use amenities only when requested by guests. In the second phase, hoteliers would be asked to give at least a 5 percent price difference between rooms offering amenities and those that do not. Local environmental protection officials would decide when the second phase is to be implemented. Some hoteliers said in the meeting that many hotels have only one person at the service counter due to a severe labor shortage in the industry. Hotel managers themselves would sometimes need to deliver amenities to customers, if many consumers are not clear about the new policy, they said. Others said that the agency need not implement the policy in two phases, but that the government would need to spend a longer time raising awareness of the issue. Consumers should be informed about the 5 percent room price difference when making hotel reservations, they said. Businesses printing logos on hotel amenities said that they are hoping for a transitional period of at least one year, as they need time to consider closing their business, liquidating inventories and putting together severance packages. Others raised hygiene issues if hotels offer reusable slippers. The Society of Wilderness said that some people do
Three employees at the private De Fang House of Correction received prison sentences ranging from seven to nearly nine years after being found guilty of contributing to the death of an autistic man surnamed Lee (李) in July 2021. De Fang in Miaoli County’s Zaociao Township (造橋) is a mental institution operated by a private foundation offering live-in residency for long-term care and skill training for adult patients older than 18 who have mental and physical disabilities, in collaboration with the Miaoli County Social Welfare Department. The suspects were convicted of “illegally confining the victim, causing death.” Lee had severe autism, and had difficulty speaking and expressing his emotions, De Fang records showed. An investigation found that De Fang’s head of residency care Lin Yu-chen (林祐丞) and administrative assistant Lai Kuan-heng (賴冠亨), having failed to calm Lee down, started to use more force, including slapping and punching him. The pair later restrained Lee with plastic straps and ropes and confined him in a room due to his highly agitated state, saying it was to stop Lee hurting himself and others. Lee loosened the ropes and escaped the room, whereupon the pair punished him by slapping him on the legs and buttocks with tools, resulting in bruising, the court said. The pair tied Lee up again, despite his putting up resistance and screaming. He was later found dead, with the coroner’s report indicating that he died due to heat exhaustion and rhabdomyolysis, a breaking down of skeletal muscle tissues, the court said. Lin received a prison sentence of eight years and 10 months, while Lai received seven years and 10 months. A female nurse surnamed Chou (周) was handed a jail term of seven years and two months, as the judges said she watched the incident and the restraining, but failed to intervene. The court found that she would
COVERAGE DENIED: The policies are crucial for service providers to comply with their contractual obligations with medical institutions Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) on Thursday last week urged the government to clarify insurance regulations for private ambulance services after several companies were allegedly dropped from coverage in the past months. A number of privately owned ambulance services have complained that insurers this year have refused to provide policies beyond the minimum compulsory insurance required by law, Lai told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The types of policies being denied included driver and passenger injury, vehicle damage and third-party insurance, she said, adding that uninsured companies are no longer able to legally provide services or protect medics and patients. Fubon, Mega, Mingtai and Shin Kong were among the insurers that allegedly refused to offer the policies as of last month, she added. These policies are crucial for service providers to comply with their contractual obligations with medical institutions, Taiwan Critical Care and Emergency Medical Transport Alliance chairman Chiang Shang-yu (姜尚佑) said. There were never any difficulties for commercial ambulances to obtain the policies until this year, he said. Insurers can make reasonable adjustments to rates in accordance with risks, but they cannot deny the policies that are necessary for commercial ambulances to function, said Lu Yu-han (柳育漢), spokesman for Taichung-based Yu Chi Ambulance. Huang Feng-ju (黃鳳茹), senior executive officer at the Financial Supervisory Commission’s Insurance Bureau, urged insurance companies to offer the policies after making necessary changes to rates and limits. Damage to vehicles and passenger injury insurance are subsets of commercial insurance, which insurers are making adjustments to in response to inflation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and rising costs in the reinsurance market, Huang said. Non-life Insurance Association of the Republic of China auto insurance committee convener Sun Teng-min (孫騰敏) said that insurers need the government to clarify ambiguities in the regulations. Regulators should tell insurers whether patients fall within the
CLOSE COOPERATION: Officials said Lithuania’s robust economic partnership with Taiwan and its meaningful participation in international fora would be bolstered The US and Lithuania on Monday issued a joint statement supporting economic ties between Taiwan and Lithuania, and Taipei’s international participation. The statement was published after a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis at the US Department of State in Washington. Blinken and Landsbergis pledged to “strengthen Lithuania’s robust economic partnership with Taiwan, support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international fora and deepen people-to-people ties with Taiwan,” the statement said. Lithuania and Taiwan’s joint development projects in semiconductors, lasers and other areas are welcomed, it said. Blinken called Lithuania “a model for other countries” as it withstood China’s political and economic coercion, adding that the US would continue to side with the central European country. The coercion refers to a series of political and economic sanctions Beijing imposed after Lithuania agreed to open the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius. The office, which opened in November 2021, explicitly referred to “Taiwan” instead of “Taipei,” as is common practice to placate Beijing. Blinken and Landsbergis stressed the importance of maintaining close cooperation “to uphold the rules-based international order,” the statement said. They also reiterated their commitment to “advance a common vision for an Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure and resilient,” it said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the two leaders for their support in a statement yesterday, adding that Taiwan “is happy to work with like-minded countries around the world to maintain the rules-based international order.” Separately, Taiwan has been calling on European countries to start bilateral investment agreement talks, but so far no concrete progress has been made, Department of European Affairs Director Vincent Yao (姚金祥) told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei. Working groups from Taiwan and the EU were formed in 2017 to discuss a negotiation framework for such agreements, but negotiations have
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang (秦剛) yesterday warned that Beijing and Washington are headed for “conflict and confrontation” if the US does not change course, striking a combative tone at a moment when relations between the rivals are at a historic low. In his first news conference since taking office late last year, Qin’s harsh language appeared to defy predictions that China might abandon its aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy in favor of more moderate rhetoric as the two countries face off over trade and technology, Taiwan, human rights and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Washington’s China policy has “entirely deviated from the rational and sound track,” Qin told journalists on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress. “If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation,” Qin said. “Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity.” Qin’s comments echoed remarks made by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in a speech on Monday to the annual congress. “Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, blockade and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented grave challenges to our nation’s development,” Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. In the face of that, China must “remain calm, maintain concentration, strive for progress while maintaining stability, take active actions, unite as one, and dare to fight,” he said. US officials have grown increasingly worried about China’s expansive political and economic goals and the possibility of war over Taiwan — and many officials in Washington have called for the US to make a bigger effort to counter Chinese influence abroad. In recent weeks, concerns about Chinese spying
A Japanese newspaper yesterday expressed “regret” over any confusion caused by a story it published on Tuesday last week in which it quoted an unidentified source as saying that many discharged military personnel in Taiwan become spies for China. The Japanese-language Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or Nikkei, said in a statement that it regretted the “confusion” caused by its article, titled “Unknown truths about Taiwan part 1.” The comments in the article “introduce the views and opinions of the interviewees, and do not represent the views of Nihon Keizai Shimbun,” the statement said, adding that the paper would continue to strive to report with fairness. At no point in the statement did the Nikkei back down from the assertions in its report or suggest that they might be inaccurate. The statement was issued after Taiwan’s representative office in Tokyo demanded on behalf of the government, in particular the Ministry of National Defense, that the paper issue a correction. In the first part of a series, the report quoted an anonymous source as saying that 90 percent of retired Taiwanese military officers later travel to China and provide intelligence to China for money. The article also said that top positions in the defense ministry have long been held by “Chinese Mainlanders,” referring to Taiwanese born in China before the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in 1949 moved to Taiwan following the Chinese Civil War. Armed forces led by such pro-China personnel could not possibly fend off Chinese invaders, the report cited the sources as saying. Following the article’s release, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) called the claims “ungrounded” and “demoralizing” to Taiwanese troops, adding that he asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a protest to the Nikkei and demand an explanation. In response to the Nikkei statement yesterday, the foreign ministry said it appreciated the clarification and
The Taipei City Government is to launch five initiatives to encourage urban renewal, as about 72 percent of buildings in the capital are at least 30 years old, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday. “Buildings constructed at least 30 years ago account for about 72 percent of all buildings in the city, so urban renewal is an urgent issue,” Chiang said, adding that the initiatives “are not only about creating a comfortable living environment, but also about safety.” “Many people are concerned about the potentially devastating impact of a major earthquake,” he said. The city government would encourage urban renewal by lowering the application threshold, easing regulations, speeding up reviews, removing obstacles and increasing incentives, he said, outlining the five-part plan. Lowering the application threshold for government-led urban renewal cases from 90 percent to 75 percent and offering government-assisted assessments, price calculations and housing selection — the two phases of the first part — were announced on Friday last week, he said. The Taipei Housing and Urban Regeneration Center received dozens of telephone calls inquiring about the initiatives, showing how much demand there is for urban renewal, he added. “Easing regulations” would include exempting four review criteria for the reconstruction of unsafe and old buildings, easing the application threshold for projects involving buildings on slopes deemed to be at risk and allowing submissions of multiple applications at once, he said. There are many elderly people living in old buildings near slopes, but the rules demand that every resident agrees to a reconstruction project, he said, adding that with the eased regulations, sites deemed to be dangerous can be designated as urban renewal areas by the city government. “Accelerating reviews” is required because it takes 28 months on average to review an urban renewal proposal, Chiang said. The city has several ideas to simplify administrative procedures, such as reducing
People who run in next year’s presidential election should address 10 issues on gender equality, including rectifying the wage gap and making wages above a threshold transparent, civic groups said yesterday. Taipei City Confederation of Trade Unions executive director Chen Shu-lun (陳淑綸) told a news conference in Taipei ahead of International Women’s Day today that despite policy dictating that men and women in the same position should have the same wage, the average salary for women is lower. Taiwan should make wages transparent like the EU, Chen said, adding that whoever wins the presidential election should propose policies to address the issues within their first term. Other policies should include increasing special leave, reducing work hours, encouraging equal participation of the genders in the workplace and at home, and ameliorating sexual harassment in the workplace, she said. Awakening Foundation vice chairwoman Chiang Chen-yin (姜貞吟) said that the inability to recuse employers accused of sexual harassment in an ongoing investigation is a legal loophole that presidential candidates should address. There is administrative overlap between the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education regarding government policies for state care of children aged two to six, the groups said, adding that all such affairs should be transferred to the education ministry. They also called on the eventual candidates to formulate plans to address long-term health coverage issues and promote the program as soon as possible after they become president. Women should make up at least one-third of Cabinet members, while women from diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds should be encouraged to participate in politics more, the groups said. Separately, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus convener Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) and other party members at a news conference yesterday urged the government to improve the child-rearing environment in Taiwan. TPP Legislator Chen Wan-hui (陳琬惠) said that fewer than 100 companies could comply
GLOOMY Q1: Shipments to China declined 30.2%, which was the main reason for last month’s decline, although after this quarter, results are expected to improve Taiwan’s exports last month slumped 17.1 percent from a year earlier to US$31.05 billion, the lowest amount in two years, as demand softened for all shipments except mineral products amid a global slowdown, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The poor showing and also the sixth consecutive month of declines came after the holiday effect faded and is likely to remain similarly weak this month, resulting in a worse first-quarter result than was forecast by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said. “Global trade is taking a harder hit from inflation, monetary tightening and geopolitical conflicts,” Tsai told an online news conference. People are placing more emphasis on travel these days, and are displaying tepid interest in buying tech gadgets, Tsai said. That has driven technology firms to approach inventory management cautiously, she said. Rumors that South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co is cutting prices to secure orders for mature chips confirmed a bleak market, she added. Shipments of electronics tumbled 17.8 percent to US$12.94 billion, consistent with sluggish demand for smartphones and notebook computers, despite several quarters of inventory adjustments, Tsai said. Exports of information and communication technology products shrank a less drastic 9 percent to US$4.16 billion, as graphics cards and networking and communications devices gained support from artificial intelligence applications, Tsai said. Shipments of chemical, plastic, textile and metal products were anemic, retreating by double-digit percentage points while selling prices were discounted, she said. The slowdown in exports hit all major markets except for Japan, where outbound shipments grew 1 percent from a year earlier due to healthy demand for electronics, Tsai said. Shipments to China, Taiwan’s largest trade partner with a 35.4 percent share, plunged 30.2 percent to US$11 billion — the main reason for the decline, she said. The situation might improve, as China is about to introduce stimulus
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a long-term agreement with Infineon Technologies AG to increase its 40-nanometer capacity for the production of Infineon’s automotive microcontrollers. Infineon’s high-performance microcontroller products, based on the company’s embedded non-volatile memories technology, would be produced at UMC’s 12-inch fab in Singapore, the companies said in a joint statement. Infineon said this year it is increasing the amount of automotive microcontrollers it sells to almost 1 million per day to cope with an increase in demand for microcontrollers, which are used in a wide range of functions in vehicles. “With this strategic cooperation agreement, we have secured additional long-term capacity to serve Infineon’s customers in the fast-growing automotive market,” Infineon chief operating officer Rutger Wijburg said in the statement. “Going forward, Infineon and UMC will further deepen automotive collaboration in the areas of microcontroller, power management and connectivity solutions.” The multi-year supply agreement further reinforces UMC’s long-standing partnership with Infineon across various automotive, artificial intelligence of things and 5G market segments, UMC copresident Jason Wang (王石) said in the statement. Since 2019, UMC has tripled its shipments of automotive products, Wang said. The chipmaker said it expects that momentum to continue as demand for automotive semiconductors rises. “Given our specialty technology leadership, diversified manufacturing footprint, and focus on quality and operational excellence, we look forward to deepening our collaborations with world-class automotive leaders such as Infineon,” Wang said. Automotive chips made up about 9 percent of UMC’s overall revenue of NT$278.71 billion (US$9.11 billion) last year, the company told investors in January. It said its revenue from automotive chips grew 82 percent annually last year, and attributed the increase to the growing trend of vehicle electrification and automation. With demand for chips used in computers and mobile phones weakening, automotive chips have become an important driving force
SHARING PROFITS: The company plans to increase its cash dividend from NT$2.2 per share in 2022 to NT$7.3, as its revenue jumped 34.67 percent annually last year Silicon wafer supplier Formosa Sumco Technology Corp’s (台勝科) board of directors yesterday approved a plan to distribute a bigger cash dividend of NT$7.3 per common share this year, due to its solid earnings performance last year. Formosa Sumo shareholders received a cash dividend of NT$2.2 per share last year. Net income last year more than tripled to NT$4.82 billion (US$157.55 million) from NT$1.41 billion in 2021 — the company’ best performance since 2018. That translated into earnings per share of NT$12.43, an increase from NT$3.64 the previous year. The proposed cash dividend represents a payout ratio of 58.73 percent. It also comes with a dividend yield of 4.69 percent based on the company’s closing share price of NT$155.5 yesterday. The proposal is subject to shareholders’ approval at an annual general meeting on June 15 in Taipei, the company said. Gross margin last year expanded to 37.7 percent from 20.98 percent in 2021 — the highest it has been in four years, Formosa Sumco said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. Gross margin dropped to 36.83 percent last quarter from 38.59 percent in the third quarter of last year. During the fourth quarter of last year, net profit contracted more than 35 percent to NT$995.49 million from NT$1.54 billion in the third quarter, due to demand for 12-inch wafers being weak as customers had entered an inventory correction cycle, Formosa Sumco said. The company told investors in November last year that its 12-inch and 8-inch fabs would be fully utilized in the fourth quarter, but it would adjust its product lineup after major customers signaled a slowdown in wafer demand amid rising inventory and sagging end-market demand for notebook computers and smartphones. Last year as a whole, the company saw its revenue surge 34.67 percent from NT$12.17 billion in 2021 to an all-time high of
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧) narrowly beat the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) in a legislative by-election in Nantou County on Saturday. The victory is a boost for the DPP following a string of defeats at the polls, but it hardly assures the party victory in next year’s presidential election. After suffering setbacks in last year’s nine-in-one elections, the Chiayi mayoral election and a legislative by-election in Taipei’s third electoral district, the DPP flipped a legislative seat with Tsai’s victory in Nantou, despite Lin, who had been a Nantou legislator and commissioner for more than a decade, having a comfortable lead in pre-election polls. It is also the DPP’s first victory in the traditional KMT stronghold since the county was united as a single-seat electoral district in 2008. The victory shows that DPP Chairman and Vice President William Lai (賴清德) can unite the party, and benefits his possible presidential bid. The results of the by-election point to an electorate that used its voting power to punish Lin for his alleged involvement in several controversies, including abuse of privilege, and his failure to manage local affairs, such as garbage disposal, during his term as county commissioner, instead of one that embraced the DPP’s candidate. Another likely factor was scare-mongering by the KMT, which told Nantou residents before the poll that “voting for the DPP would mean sending the youth to war.” Although the slogan did not resonate with voters in the by-election, such extravagant claims about cross-strait issues would definitely hit closer to home ahead of national elections, especially after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) said Beijing would reach out to pro-China individuals and groups in Taiwan to promote “national unification,” and would “take concrete measures to support Taiwanese compatriots and help them resolve
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the dependency ratio in Taipei has exceeded 50. That means every two working-age people — those aged 15 to 64 — would have to support one dependent, defined as children below the age of 15 or elderly people above the age of 65. At the same time, the fertility rate in Taiwan continues to reach new lows, with the nation set to become a super-aged society by 2025. Therefore, the major reason behind the high dependency ratio is the increase in the old-age dependency ratio. Today, thanks to the advancement of medical care and technology, many jobs and tasks are not limited to the young and fit, but those over the age of 65 are not counted as a part of the working-age population. When a person passes the age of 65, they are treated as a “dependent.” This definition of the working age and who needs to “be supported” does not reflect the actual situation and is not instrumental in discussing and formulating policies related to Taiwan’s aging society. A look at the data on the average life expectancy over the past decades shows how much has changed. Thirty years ago, people aged 65 were considered “elderly,” but that it is no longer the case. Ministry of the Interior statistics show that in 1990, Taiwan’s life expectancy at birth was 71.3 years. In 2000, it rose to 76.5 years and in 2010 it increased to 79.2 years. Most recently in 2020, it rose to 81.3 years. Even though the life expectancy of Taiwan’s population keeps increasing, the concept of “old age” has not kept pace. In an aging society like Taiwan’s, the working age and the age of elderly people should be redefined in relation to social changes. Taiwan’s labor market has transformed into
One year after the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, China continues to assert its position as a neutral broker in the war, despite signs of its consequential alignment with Moscow. Beijing seemingly sought to institutionalize its reputation as such by publishing its “Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis,” initially announced by the office director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi (王毅) at the Munich Security Forum and published on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. The 12-point document, which echoes and expands on “China’s Five-Pronged Perseverance on [the] Ukraine Issue,” announced in March last year, calls for a ceasefire, negotiations and the termination of sanctions on Russia. This two-pronged proposal for a new approach to the situation in Ukraine points to China’s overarching objective of cementing its reputation as a neutral actor. Nevertheless, the plan was largely criticized as unlikely to advance the cause of peace in Ukraine. The document appears to be a rhetorical exercise seeking to afford China the allure of a responsible great power without actually expending any political capital to address the ongoing atrocities — particularly as links between China and Russia remain strong. The growing confluence of strategic interests between Moscow and Beijing is increasingly conspicuous. Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of the ongoing flows of non-lethal support from China to Russia, and pointed to new evidence suggesting Beijing could also provide Moscow with lethal weapons. Regarding diplomatic support in international venues, China abstained on a majority of votes in the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, and, along with 23 other countries, voted against suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, saying the vote would “set a dangerous precedent.” At the discursive level, top officials from Moscow and Beijing
HEAD GAMES: Williams fluffed two free throws after talking to Mitchell, with the Cleveland guard later saying he was ‘trying to mess with him mentally’ Donovan Mitchell on Monday poured in 40 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers sent the Boston Celtics spinning to a third straight defeat in a heavyweight clash of the Eastern Conference rivals. Boston’s Grant Williams missed two free throws with less than a second left on the clock that would have given the Celtics victory before the Cavs escaped to win 118-114 in overtime. A depleted Boston — missing stars Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams III — went into the game in Cleveland, Ohio, desperate for victory after consecutive defeats to the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks. Their hopes of snapping out of their mini-slump ran into a red-hot performance from Mitchell, who nervelessly drained two free throws of his own with 5.8 seconds on the clock in the fourth to tie the game at 109-109. Boston had a golden chance to win it at the death, sweeping up the court and winning two free throws after Lamar Stevens fouled Williams at the basket. However, Williams fluffed both of his free throws, allowing Cleveland to take the game into overtime and pull away for victory. Mitchell exchanged words with Williams before the Boston player prepared to take his free throws, and the Cavs star admitted later he was “trying to mess with him mentally.” “I wanted to find a way to get in his head a little bit,” Mitchell said. It completed a battling fightback by Cleveland, who had trailed by 15 points in the third quarter before staging a fourth-quarter rally to haul themselves into contention, outscoring Boston 31-17 in the final frame. Mitchell finished with 40 points from 14-of-34 shooting, with 11 rebounds and four assists. Evan Mobley provided offensive backup with 25 points — and 17 rebounds — while Darius Garland was the only other Cleveland player in double figures with 14 points. Jaylen Brown
Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera, in Taichung for the start of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), was diplomatic yesterday when asked who he was rooting for tonight when Taiwan play Panama. “I’m going to give you the political answer. I came here to support baseball. Obviously, being Panamanian, I want Panama to win, but here in Taiwan I want Taiwan to win as well,” he said. Rivera, a mainstay of the New York Yankees from 1995 to 2013, is to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of Taiwan’s opening game in Taichung. He did have a pretty good idea what each team’s closer will feel when trying to clinch wins for their WBC teams. “There’s a lot of pressure when you close games. I used to have an afro, but as the years went by, I started losing my hair because of the pressure,” Rivera said with a laugh. The legendary reliever holds the MLB record with 652 saves in 19 seasons with the Yankees. He became the first player to be unanimously elected to the US National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. Early in his career, in 1998, he founded the Mariano Rivera Foundation to provide children from impoverished families educational opportunities. Yesterday, Rivera said education was important, especially for athletes. “As a professional player, we have an enemy called injuries. Anything can happen in any given moment to whoever. It can be the best player or the worst player, it doesn’t matter,” Rivera said. “But with education you can get hurt, you can even lose a leg or arm, but you continue to learn and be able to produce or provide for your family that you are going to have,” he said, calling education the “foundation of everything.” Rivera said his son Mariano Rivera III was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2014, but still
Red Bull were so dominant in Formula One’s Bahrain season-opener that Mercedes rival George Russell suggested they could win every race this year. The Briton was not alone in pointing to such a scenario, even if such a sweep would be unprecedented in a championship that started in 1950 with far fewer rounds than the current record 23. The mood in the paddock after Sunday’s race at Sakhir, and the airport talk among departing insiders, reflected a realization that Red Bull might have given only a glimpse of their real pace. Double world champion Max Verstappen finished 11.987 seconds ahead of Mexican teammate Sergio Perez and 38.6 seconds clear of Aston Martin’s third-placed Fernando Alonso, who provided welcome thrills and emotion. The Ferrari of Carlos Sainz was 48 seconds behind the winner and Verstappen was also racing without pressure, holding plenty in reserve. “Red Bull have got this championship sewn up,” Russell told reporters after finishing seventh. “I don’t think anyone will be fighting with them this year. They should win every single race, that’s my bet.” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner naturally played down such talk and said Sunday had still been a tense and nervous experience because so many things could go wrong. “We’re not taking anything for granted,” he said. “Let’s see Jeddah in two weeks, Melbourne after that. Once we’ve got two or three circuits under our belt we’ll get a much better picture of strengths and weaknesses of our car and our opposition.” “Twenty three races is a marathon ... we fully expect our rivals to come back hard in the future races,” he said. Red Bull won 17 of 22 last year, and Verstappen all but two of those. Mercedes in the past decade, McLaren with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988, and Michael Schumacher with Ferrari in the early years of
Ivan Toney on Monday extended his hot streak as the Brentford striker’s 15th Premier League goal this season helped clinch a 3-2 win over west London rivals Fulham. Toney has shown no signs of being distracted since he was charged with 262 breaches, dating back to 2017, of the Football Association’s gambling laws. The 26-year-old recently criticized the association in an Instagram post over what he alleges are lapses of confidentiality as he prepares to argue his case. Toney has kept his focus on the pitch and his penalty at the Community Stadium made it eight goals in his past 10 games. Only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane have scored more than Toney’s tally in the league this term. Toney’s 15th goal put Brentford back in front after Fulham’s Manor Solomon had canceled out Ethan Pinnock’s opener. Mathias Jensen netted late on and Carlos Vinicius’s stoppage-time strike was no consolation for Fulham as Brentford extended their unbeaten league run to 12 matches. Brentford, undefeated in the league in 2023, sit ninth, just one point behind seventh placed Fulham in the race to qualify for European competition. Toney has scored 27 of his 28 career spot-kicks, with his only miss coming while playing for Peterborough in 2018. “Ivan is the best penalty taker in the world for a few reasons, his strategy, he practices it and he is very cool,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank said. “He is a special footballer. His character is unique in terms of leadership and driving his team,” he said. “His link-up play and the way he sees his teammates in terms of combinations and then his ability to score goals. He is an all-around player.” Given the genteel west London districts that Brentford and Fulham call home, their encounters will never rank among soccer’s most explosive derbies. Before 2014, the neighbors had never even
‘EXTREMELY FRANTIC’: North Korea is standing by to take ‘quick and overwhelming action’ in response to US and South Korean drills, the sister of Kim Jong-un said The influential sister of North Korea’s leader yesterday said that her country is ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the US and South Korea, a day after the US flew a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a demonstration of strength against the North. Monday’s US-South Korean training involving the B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months. Their militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month. Kim Yo-jong did not elaborate on any planned actions in her statement, but North Korea has often test-launched missiles in response to US-South Korean military drills because it views them as an invasion rehearsal. “We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the US forces and the South Korean puppet military, and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgement,” Kim said in the statement carried by state media. “The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the US and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide [North Korea] with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them,” she said. After Monday’s training, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said the B-52’s deployment demonstrated the allies’ decisive capacities to deter North Korean aggressions. The US deployed a long-range US B-1B bomber or multiple B-1Bs to the peninsula a few times earlier this year. Last month, the US and South Korea also held a simulation in Washington aimed at sharpening their response to North Korean nuclear threats. On Friday last week, the South Korean and US militaries announced that they would conduct a computer-simulated command post training from Monday next week to March 23 and restore their largest springtime
Four years before Li Qiang (李強) gained notoriety as the force behind the two-month COVID lockdown of Shanghai, the man set to become China’s next premier worked quietly behind the scenes to drive a bold revamp of the megacity’s sclerotic stock market. Li’s back-channelling — sources said he bypassed the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), which lost some of its power under the new setup — demonstrated what became a reputation for pragmatism as well as close ties with President Xi Jinping (習近平). In late 2018, Xi himself announced Shanghai’s new tech-focused Star Market as well as the pilot of a registration-based initial public offering system, reforms meant to entice China’s hottest young firms to list locally rather than overseas. “The CSRC was very unhappy,” a veteran banker close to regulators and Shanghai officials said, declining to be named given the sensitivity of the matter. “Li’s relationship with Xi played a role here,” enabling him to present the scheme directly to the central government, without going through the CSRC, the person added. The CSRC did not respond to a request for comment. Previously the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chief in Shanghai, Li is poised to be confirmed as premier on Saturday during the Chinese National People’s Congress, charged with managing the world’s second-largest economy. He would replace the retiring Li Keqiang (李克強), who is widely perceived to have been increasingly sidelined as Xi tightened his grip on management of the economy. Leadership watchers say Li Qiang’s closeness to Xi is both a strength and a vulnerability: while he has Xi’s trust, he is beholden to his longtime patron. Trey McArver, cofounder of consultancy Trivium China, said Li Qiang is likely to be much more powerful than his predecessor. Xi expended significant political capital to get him into the role, given Li Qiang’s lack of central government experience and the
JAPAN’S SECOND SETBACK: A previous launch attempt on Feb. 17 was aborted before liftoff after a malfunction stopped an ignition signal from reaching its side booster The inaugural launch of Japan’s next-generation rocket yesterday was aborted shortly after takeoff after the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) ordered it to self-destruct and plunge into the ocean, dealing a blow to the nation’s aspirations to take on Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX). JAXA decided to scrap the mission after the H3 rocket’s second-stage engine failed to ignite, the agency said. The self-destruct signal was sent to the craft about 19 minutes after it lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, shutting down the engine and forcing the portion carrying a satellite into the Philippine Sea. The 63m-tall spacecraft, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, represented Japan’s latest attempt to capitalize on growing demand in the global space industry. SpaceX has been launching and remotely landing its Falcon orbital rockets since 2015. The H3, on the other hand, has large parts that can be recycled and is more competitively priced, but the rocket itself cannot be landed and launched again. “It’s our duty to figure out the root cause of the malfunction and eventually restore trust in the rocket,” JAXA president Hiroshi Yamakawa said at a news conference. “The H3 is crucial for Japan’s hopes to reach space.” A task force was created to investigate what caused the malfunction. JAXA said it had no plans to recover the fallen engine. Mitsubishi Heavy worked on the H3 for more than a decade. A previous launch attempt on Feb. 17 was aborted before liftoff after a system malfunction from the main engine stopped an ignition signal from reaching its side booster. The H3 was supposed to launch from the island and deliver a satellite known as DAICHI-3 into orbit. The satellite was equipped with various instruments, including a sensor designed to detect missile launches that was set to be tested in space for the first time
The government recently touted its new 16.7 percent female cabinet as a major achievement in gender equality, but the numbers can be deceiving. Yes, it’s a marked increase from the previous cabinet, which at 7.5 percent female made up the least inclusive cabinet since 1990. This number was even lower at 4.76 percent in 2020, which is only better than the Martial Law era when zero women served. What the reports don’t mention is that this number exceeded 20 percent several times during both the Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) eras, but it has so far never met the Executive Yuan Gender Equality Policy Guidelines (行政院性別平等政策綱領) of 33 percent. Awakening Foundation (婦女新知基金會) Secretary-General Chyn Yu-rung (覃玉蓉) tells the Taipei Times that the notion of progress really depends on who is being compared with and which data sets are referenced. For example, Chyn says that an often-mentioned statistic is the percentage of women in Taiwan’s legislature, which at 42.5 percent is the highest in Asia. “But those who are familiar with Taiwanese politics know that when the ruling party holds a majority in the legislature, cabinet members hold comparatively more power,” Chyn says regarding her group’s long-time emphasis on cabinet diversity. “It feels that because we already have a female president, there’s no more problems with female participation in politics. But we see a huge problem.” Of course there has been progress, but Chyn says that painting an overly rosy picture will create an illusion that Taiwan is already gender-equal, and people no longer need to push the government to do better. “[W]e need to keep identifying areas that are still lacking and figure out how to improve them,” she says. It’s true that the number of local government heads in Taiwan that are women reached a historic high of 56.3
South Korea moved towards resolving a delicate, historical dispute with Japan over World War II-era forced labor on Monday as Seoul seeks closer ties to counter North Korea. Why is the issue so sensitive and what will it take for the two countries — both key US security allies — to move beyond their fraught past? Here are some key dates in the story. COLONIAL PERIOD Japan and Korea have fought since at least the seventh century, with Tokyo repeatedly trying to invade. Japan annexed Korea in 1910. Koreans were forced to adopt Japanese surnames during the colonial period and, when World War II broke out, were conscripted into the Imperial Army or made to work in mines and factories. Japan also forced tens of thousands of women from across Asia, many of them Korean, to provide sexual services to Japanese soldiers. The occupation ended in 1945 with Japan’s wartime surrender. KOREAN WAR The Korean peninsula was carved up by victors the United States and the Soviet Union after the war. Communist North Korea invaded the capitalist South in June 1950, sparking a brutal war that killed millions of people. The conflict ended in an armistice rather than a full peace treaty, further delaying and complicating the resolution of colonial-era issues. THE 1965 TREATY Former South Korean president Park Chung-hee agreed in 1965 to normalize relations with Japan in exchange for economic support to launch a meaningful post-Korean War recovery. Tokyo insisted that 1965 treaty, under which the two countries restored diplomatic ties with a reparations package of about $800 million in grants and cheap loans, settled all claims relating to the colonial period. The deal triggered bitter public protest in South Korea. ‘COMFORT WOMEN’ Kim Hak-sun came forward in August 1991 to testify about her experience as a “comfort woman” made to provide sexual services for the Japanese military, the first Korean to speak about it
The author of a sci-fi manga about to hit shelves in Japan admits he has “absolutely zero” drawing talent, so turned to artificial intelligence to create the dystopian saga. All the futuristic contraptions and creatures in Cyberpunk: Peach John were intricately rendered by Midjourney, a viral AI tool that has sent the art world into a spin, along with others such as Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 2. As Japan’s first fully AI-drawn manga, the work has raised questions over the threat technology could pose to jobs and copyright in the nation’s multi-billion-dollar comic book industry. It took the author, who goes by the pen name Rootport, just six weeks to finish the over-100-page manga, which would have taken a skilled artist a year to complete, he said. “It was a fun process, it reminded me of playing the lottery,” the 37-year-old said. Rootport, a writer who has previously worked on manga plots, entered combinations of text prompts such as “pink hair,” “Asian boy” and “stadium jacket” to conjure up images of the story’s hero in around a minute. He then laid out the best frames in comic-book format to produce the book, which has already sparked a buzz online ahead of its March 9 release by Shinchosha, a major publishing house. Unlike traditional black-and-white manga, his brainchild is fully colored, although the faces of the same character sometimes appear in markedly different forms. Still, AI image generators have “paved the way for people without artistic talent to make inroads” into the manga industry — provided they have good stories to tell, the author said. Rootport said he felt a sense of fulfillment when his text instructions, which he describes as magic “spells,” created an image that chimed with what he had imagined. “But is it the same satisfaction you’d feel when you’ve drawn something by hand from scratch? Probably
The Taipei Times bilingual pages are having a makeover, with professionally curated content for both English and Chinese learners of all levels. With our new partners Ivy English, English OK, and American Magazine Center (AMC), Taipei Times readers can improve their language studies while keeping abreast of important issues in Taiwan and abroad. 《台北時報》雙語版最優質的中英文內容，多年來一向受到讀者們的喜愛。近日起版面全新升級！每週和《常春藤解析英語》、《English OK中學英閱誌》、《AMC空中美語》……等專業英語機構合作，提供豐富多元且實用的英語學習內容，不但適合各種程度學生及上班族自修，老師、家長用它當教材也超便利。原先頗受歡迎的雙語新聞則予以保留，持續帶領大家了解國內外之重要議題，打造最強全方位中英文雙語版，精彩內容在網站上也看的到唷！
An estimated US$2.8 billion in expired medication and unfinished prescription drugs is thrown away each year in the US. While throwing drugs in the trash or down the drain may seem harmless, this is far from the truth. When drugs are flushed down the toilet, they can make their way into water sources. Many water treatment facilities are not equipped to filter out this type of contamination. This can damage both marine and human life. In addition, leftover medication can end up in the wrong hands. Between 2000 and 2015, US Poison Control Centers received around 30 calls a day regarding children who had accidentally consumed improperly stored or disposed of medicine. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has taken steps to combat mishandled medicine. In 2010, it launched “National Drug Take-Back Day.” This allows people to bring their unwanted pills to specific sites around the US. The main drawback is that these sites are only open once every two years. Fortunately, people may mail unconsumed drugs to the DEA at any time. Drugs that have been returned are then burned. There is, however, an alternative; rather than destroying the medicine, people can donate it. Certain pharmacies in the US will inspect the medicine to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with and is still safe to use. Then they will give it to patients who are unable to afford it. One program, “SafeNetRx,” has redistributed nearly US$54 million worth of medications and medical supplies. These programs are working hard to counter the harm caused by unused drugs. By keeping pills separate, secure, and throwing them away safely, we can help further reduce their potential dangers. 在美國，據估計每年有美金二十八億元的過期藥物及未用完的處方藥物被丟棄。雖然將藥物扔進垃圾桶或下水道可能看似無害，但事實遠非如此。當藥物被沖下馬桶時，它們會進入水源。許多水處理設施沒有配備能過濾掉此類汙染。這會損害海洋和人類生命。 此外，剩餘的藥物可能最終會落入錯誤的人的手裡。從西元2000年至2015年，美國毒物控制中心每天接到約三十通電話，關於兒童意外食用儲存或處置不當的藥物。 美國緝毒局（DEA）已採取措施打擊處理不當的藥物。西元2010年，它發起了「全國藥物回收日」。這使人們可以將他們不需要的藥丸帶到美國各地的特定據點。主要缺點是這些據點每兩年才開放一次。幸運的是，人們可以隨時將未服用的藥物郵寄給緝毒局。被退回的藥物接下來會被燒毀。 但是，還有另一種選擇；人們可以捐贈，而非銷毀藥物。美國的某些藥局會檢查藥物，以確保它沒有被蓄意毀壞且仍可安全使用。然後他們會把藥交給那些無法負擔的病人。一項名為「SafeNetRx」的計畫已重新分配了價值近美金五千四百萬元的藥物和醫療用品。這些計畫正努力對抗未使用的藥物造成的危害。透過使藥丸分開、安全地保存並安全丟棄，我們可以進一步幫助減少它們的潛在危險。 MORE INFORMATION disposal n. 拋棄；處理 leftover adj. 剩餘的；留下的 dispose of 處理；清除 mishandle vt. 處理不當 drawback n. 缺點；劣勢 pharmacy n. 藥局 tamper with 蓄意破壞；擅自更動 KEY VOCABULARY 1. expire v. 到期；死亡 ╱ expired
對話 Dialogue 馬克：小實早安，你知道怎麼去臺北101嗎？ Make: Xiǎoshí zǎoān , nǐ zhīdào zěnmen qù Táiběi 101 ma? 小實：知道啊，你可以坐捷運去。 Xiaoshi: Zhīdào a, nǐ kěyǐ zuò jiéyùn qù. 馬克：你知道捷運站在哪裡嗎？。 Make: Nǐ zhīdào jiéyùn zhàn zài nǎlǐ ma? 小實：你從學校門口往前走，捷運站就在前面。 Xiaoshi: Nǐ cóng xuéxiào ménkǒu wǎng qián zǒu, jiéyùn zhàn jiù zài qiánmiàn. 馬克：捷運站遠不遠？ Make: Jiéyùn zhàn yuǎn bùyuǎn? 小實：不遠，走路只要兩分鐘。 Xiaoshi: Bù yuǎn, zǒulù zhǐyào liǎng fēnzhōng. 馬克：好，我知道了！謝謝你，我坐捷運去臺北101。 Make: Hǎo, wǒ zhīdào le! Xièxie nǐ , wǒ zuò jiéyùn qù Táiběi 101. 小實：不客氣！ Xiaoshi: Bú kèqì! 翻譯 Translation Mark: Good morning, Xiaoshi! Do you know how to get to Taipei 101? Xiaoshi: Yes, you can go there by MRT. Mark: Do you know where the MRT station is? Xiaoshi: Walk straight ahead from the school gate, and the MRT station is right in front. Mark: Is the MRT station far away? Xiaoshi: It’s not far. It’s only two minutes’ walk. Mark: Okay, I see! Thank you! I will take the MRT to Taipei 101. Xiaoshi: You’re welcome! 單字片語 Vocabulary 1. 知道 (zhīdào) to know 2. 捷運 (jiéyùn) the MRT 3. 捷運站 (jiéyùn zhàn) the MRT station 4. 往前走 (wǎng qián zǒu) to go straight ahead 5. 走路 (zǒulù) to walk 6. 遠 (yuan) far 7. 分鐘 (fēnzhōng) minute 教材音檔 Audio Files 實踐大學華語中心提供 By Shih Chien University Chinese Language Center: https://chineseusc.com/
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| New Taipei City | 16-18 | 0% |  |
| Hsinchu County | 15-16 | 0% | |
| Hsinchu City | 15-16 | 0% | |
| Taipei City | 16-18 | 0% | |
| Miaoli County | 14-16 | 0% | |
| Taoyuan City | 15-17 | 0% | |
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| Taichung City | 16-18 | 0% | |
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| Yilan County | 15-17 | 10% | |
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| Taitung County | 18-19 | 10% | |
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| Lienchiang County | 12-13 | 10% | |
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