TOURISM
Nordic countries drop curbs
Sweden and Finland have lifted entry restrictions and quarantine requirements for travelers from Taiwan, following similar decisions by other European countries last month. The Swedish government on Wednesday said that, effective immediately, residents of Taiwan would be allowed to visit the country for tourism, overturning a requirement that visitors prove that their trip is for essential or urgent reasons. They would still need to present a negative COVID-19 test result issued within 48 hours of their flight or proof of vaccination against the virus. A seven-day quarantine is only advised for travelers who have recently visited a “high infection-risk” country, as well as COVID-19 tests on the first and fifth day of arrival. Finland on Tuesday announced that residents of Taiwan would from yesterday be allowed to enter the country without a negative virus test report, proof of vaccination or the need to quarantine. The eased restrictions would apply for those who fly in directly or via countries for which Finland has also lifted restrictions. The Taipei Representative Office in Finland said that Taiwanese should confirm with their airline whether a virus test is mandatory before boarding.
EMPLOYMENT
Furloughs increase further
The number of workers on unpaid leave over the past week surged by 3,397 to 13,626, continuing an uptrend amid a COVID-19 outbreak, Ministry of Labor data showed yesterday. The lodging, and food and beverage sectors, as well as the retail and wholesale industries, have been hit hardest by the nationwide level 3 pandemic alert, posting 6,000 furloughs as of Wednesday, the ministry said. An additional 318 firms in the past week started furlough programs, bringing the total to 1,305, it showed. The retail and wholesale industry had the highest number of firms starting unpaid leave programs, at 321, followed by the lodging, and food and beverage sectors with 267, and the service industry with 184, it showed. The lodging, and food and beverage sectors also accounted for the highest number of furloughed workers, at 4,174, followed by the retail and wholesale sectors with 2,087, and the manufacturing sector with 1,952, it showed. Wang Chin-jung (王金蓉), an official in the ministry’s Labor Conditions and Equal Employment Division, said that most of the firms that have furlough programs are small businesses with fewer than 50 workers.
SOCIETY
Careful shopping urged
People buying perishable items online should only buy from reputable sellers, the Consumer Protection Committee said on Monday. People should check whether information about the product name, manufacturer, contents, additives and expiration date are provided, it said. Products should also be inspected immediately after arrival for defects and expiry dates, it added. If there are any problems, the committee advised taking a photograph or recording, and saving the listing or advertisement to use as evidence when reporting the case. The increase in orders has led to shipment delays, posing greater logistical challenges for refrigerated and frozen foods, it added. If a product is damaged due to temperature, buyers should contact the seller to arrange a return, refund or replacement, it said, adding that fresh food products are not covered by the unconditional seven-day return rule stipulated in the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法). However, the act allows “reasonable” exceptions that would apply for perishable items in case of delivery delays during the COVID-19 pandemic.
GREAT POWER COMPETITION: Beijing views its military cooperation with Russia as a means to push back against the joint power of the US and its allies, an expert said A recent Sino-Russian joint air patrol conducted over the waters off Alaska was designed to counter the US military in the Pacific and demonstrated improved interoperability between Beijing’s and Moscow’s forces, a national security expert said. National Defense University associate professor Chen Yu-chen (陳育正) made the comment in an article published on Wednesday on the Web site of the Journal of the Chinese Communist Studies Institute. China and Russia sent four strategic bombers to patrol the waters of the northern Pacific and Bering Strait near Alaska in late June, one month after the two nations sent a combined flotilla of four warships
THE TOUR: Pope Francis has gone on a 12-day visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. He was also invited to Taiwan The government yesterday welcomed Pope Francis to the Asia-Pacific region and said it would continue extending an invitation for him to visit Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks as Pope Francis began a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific on Monday. He is to travel about 33,000km by air to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, and would arrive back in Rome on Friday next week. It would be the longest and most challenging trip of Francis’ 11-year papacy. The 87-year-old has had health issues over the past few years and now uses a wheelchair. The ministry said
TAIWANESE INNOVATION: The ‘Seawool’ fabric generates about NT$200m a year, with the bulk of it sourced by clothing brands operating in Europe and the US Growing up on Taiwan’s west coast where mollusk farming is popular, Eddie Wang saw discarded oyster shells transformed from waste to function — a memory that inspired him to create a unique and environmentally friendly fabric called “Seawool.” Wang remembered that residents of his seaside hometown of Yunlin County used discarded oyster shells that littered the streets during the harvest as insulation for their homes. “They burned the shells and painted the residue on the walls. The houses then became warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” the 42-year-old said at his factory in Tainan. “So I was
‘LEADERS’: The report highlighted C.C. Wei’s management at TSMC, Lisa Su’s decisionmaking at AMD and the ‘rock star’ status of Nvidia’s Huang Time magazine on Thursday announced its list of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence (AI), which included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家), Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) and AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su (蘇姿丰). The list is divided into four categories: Leaders, Innovators, Shapers and Thinkers. Wei and Huang were named in the Leaders category. Other notable figures in the Leaders category included Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Su was listed in the Innovators category. Time highlighted Wei’s
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