Eye On Taiwan

Taiwan Beer beat Dinos to take title Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:28 PM PDT MILESTONES: Chou Chun-san became the first person to win SBL titles as both a player and coach, while the Brew Crew set records for scoring and margin of victory Taipei Times Date: May 01, 2020 By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter Taiwan Beer’s Huang Tsung-han dunks the ball in Game 7 of the Super Basketball League Finals at the Hao Yu Sports Center in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times Taiwan Beer last night dominated the Yulon Luxgen Dinos 117-78 at the Hao Yu Sports Center in New Taipei City to cap their season by winning the Super Basketball League (SBL) championship crown, with their high-scoring performance setting several league final records. Taiwan Beer point guard Chiang Yu-an played in a manner befitting his leadership role on the team, as he came through while under pressure in the decisive Game 7 to score a team-high 24 points to go with nine assists and was voted SBL Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his standout performance throughout the series. Chiang had help from his teammates in securing the win, particularly the imported duo of Kentrell Barkley from the US and Ihor Zaytsev from Ukraine, as well as key contributions by fellow Taiwanese forwards Huang Tsung-han and Wang Hao-chi. Barkley recorded a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Zaytsev and Huang had 17 points and five rebounds each. Wang contributed 14 points and five rebounds, while Chou Po-hsun added 11 points and six rebounds in an all-round team performance.    [FULL  STORY]

Malaysians second most numerous foreign professionals in Taiwan Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:20 PM PDT Japanese, followed by Malaysians, then Americans, comprise 49 percent of total foreign professionals in Taiwan Taiwan News Date:\ 2020/04/30 By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The latest statistics of foreign professionals in Taiwan released on Thursday (April 30) by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) showed that Malaysians have overtaken Americans as the second most numerous foreign professionals in Taiwan. A total of 31,124 foreign professionals were legally hired in Taiwan at the end of 2019, the report said. In the past, Japanese usually accounted for the largest expatriate group in Taiwan, followed by Americans. The data showed that Malaysians have overtaken Americans for the first time. MOL attributed the phenomenon to an increase in Malaysian students who stayed in Taiwan to work after completing their studies, according to the report. Of the 31,124 foreign professionals working in Taiwan, 74.2 percent were male and 25.8 percent were female. In terms of nationality, Japanese led the pack, accounting for 23.5 percent of the foreign workforce, followed by Malaysians, who represented 13.5 percent, and finally, Americans, who made up 11.8 percent, the statistics showed.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan cuts first quarter GDP growth forecast amid coronavirus scare Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:16 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/30/2020 By: Pan Tzu-yu and Joseph Yeh Taipei, April. 30 (CNA) Taiwan's government on Thursday downgraded its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said. The DGBAS said it expects Taiwan's first-quarter GDP to grow by 1.54 percent from a year earlier, a downgrade from its earlier forecast of 1.8 percent made in February, noting that the spread of the coronavirus since the end of last year has introduced an element of uncertainty into the economy. [FULL  STORY]

Economy rose 1.54% in first quarter Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:12 PM PDT OPTIMISM: Increased public expenditure and a ‘mild’ COVID-19 outbreak that allowed companies to operate normally helped the economy grow last quarter, the DGBAS said Taipei Times Date: May 01, 2020 By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter Nan Shan Plaza, left, and Taipei 101 are pictured through the window of an airplane in Taipei on Aug. 19, 2018. Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters Taiwan’s economy expanded a mild 1.54 percent last quarter from a year earlier, thanks to government spending and private investment, as the COVID-19 pandemic affected consumer activity, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The growth rate missed the agency’s forecast in February by 0.26 percentage points and was the lowest in 15 quarters, as Taiwan was not spared the impact of the pandemic, which has infected 3.2 million people globally and killed more than 228,000. “The coronavirus has hurt the economy harder than expected after spreading across Europe and the US,” National Income Section head Yu Ming-chun (游敏君) said. Asked about forecasts for full-year growth, Yu said the agency would give an update later this month. [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan citizens can now donate their mask quota to countries in need Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:08 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 30 April, 2020 By: John Van Trieste Taiwan has significantly ramped up its production of surgical masks over the past few months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks are still being rationed, but the quota per person has been steadily increased. With Taiwan coming ever closer to meeting its own demand, the government has started allowing citizens to donate their quota to help people in other parts of the world. Taiwan’s people have responded with generosity. On April 27, the government started letting citizens donate their mask quota to countries where the need for masks is still high. In just two days, more than 260,000 Taiwanese citizens had done just that, donating over two million masks. The reason Taiwan has so many masks on hand is twofold. Firstly, the government instituted the rationing system now in place early on during the COVID-19 pandemic, stopping hoarding and price gouging before they could get out of hand. And secondly, there are the factories that have been put into overdrive since February, bringing new machines online to catch up with demand. [FULL  STORY]

Australia to back Taiwan’s return to the WHO Posted: 30 Apr 2020 02:03 PM PDT The Age Date: April 30, 2020 By: Eryk Bagshaw and Anthony Galloway Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation.CREDIT:BLOOMBERG Australia will support Taiwan's return to the World Health Organisation as an observer four years after it was ousted by Beijing, risking another diplomatic spat. The position, which follows an appeal from Taiwan's Health Minister, is consistent with Australia's long-held view that Taiwan should be able to participate in practical cooperation at the UN health agency. However, this is likely to further strain relations with China, which claims sovereignty over its island neighbour. Australia and China's foreign ministries have traded barbs over the past week, leading to accusations of bullying, coercion and intimidation as the Morrison government pushes global calls into an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.    [FULL  STORY]

US surveillance plane flies south of Taiwan Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:56 PM PDT EP-3E mission amounts to 13th US flight in area in April Taiwan News Date: 2020/04/30 By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer An EP-3E surveillance aircraft (Wikicommons photo by J.G. Handelman)  TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A United States military reconnaissance aircraft flew over the Bashi Channel separating south Taiwan from the Philippines Thursday (April 30) in the 13th such appearance this month. The flights have been seen as a response to continuous missions by Chinese jets and warships near Taiwan despite the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Thursday’s flight was carried out by an EP-3E Aries II signals intelligence aircraft and was monitored by the Ministry of National Defense, the Liberty Times reported. According to Aircraft Spots, a website that tracks military air movements, the American jet first appeared over the Bashi Channel before turning north and flying back and forth several times off Taiwan’s southwest coast. Boeing’s EP-3E will reportedly be retired in 2025 and could eventually be replaced by unmanned aircraft and helicopters, according to media reports. In 2001, a similar surveillance aircraft collided with a Chinese jet and conducted an emergency landing on the Chinese island of Hainan. The crew was accused of killing the Chinese pilot but was later allowed to leave.    [FULL  STORY]

Employee at Taiwan office in France contracts COVID-19: MOFA Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:51 PM PDT Focus Taiwan Date: 04/30/2020 By: Chen Yun-yu, Tseng Ting-hsuan and Joseph Yeh Taiwan’s representative to France François Wu (吳志中) Taipei, April 30 (CNA) A staff member at Taiwan's representative office in France has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed case at Taiwan's overseas missions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday. The employee developed COVID-19 symptoms recently, was tested April 23 on a doctor's advice, and was confirmed on April 27 to have the disease, said MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安). The patient is no longer experiencing COVID-19 symptoms but is still in home isolation, Ou said, adding that French authorities have been informed of the case. The person, however, will not return to work at the representative office until they are deemed by a doctor to have fully recovered, Ou said.    [FULL  STORY]

Virus Outbreak: Continue donating, lawmakers say Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:47 PM PDT Taipei Times Date:  May 01, 2020 By: Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA From left, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Chang Yu-mei, Hsu Chih-jung, Chiang Wan-an, Wu Sz-huai and Liao Wan-ju attend a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday encouraged the public not to stop donating to charities, as even small sums could save groups facing difficulty raising funds amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is not an issue of being charitable,” KMT Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) said. “Whether these organizations survive can spell life or death for the disadvantaged people they care for.” The pandemic is also affecting fundraising for social welfare and eating into funds for standing outreach, said Chang Hsueh-heng (張學恆), founder of a watchdog for the rights of those with mental and physical disabilities. The government should give a six-month subsidy, help people willing to work for certain organizations and give subsidies to volunteers, Chang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan may need several years to lower age of majority: Official Posted: 30 Apr 2020 01:42 PM PDT Radio Taiwan International Date: 30 April, 2020 By: John Van Trieste Deputy Justice Minister Chen Ming-tang appears in this file photo. Deputy Justice Minister Chen Ming-tang says that Taiwan may need two to three years before it can lower the legal age of majority to 18. Under current laws, legal adulthood begins at the age of 20. However, there has been a push to lower this age to 18. The Legislature is planning to launch a committee on amending the constitution, which may look at lowering the age of majority. Meanwhile, several lawmakers from different party camps have proposed amending the Civil Code to lower the age. For its part, the justice ministry has been gathering views on the issue from a range of government agencies, and it is assessing the impact that changing the start of legal adulthood could have. During a legislative committee meeting Thursday, the deputy justice minister said Taiwan has 197 laws and 424 regulations that reference the age of majority. He said that before any change can be made, an appropriate government agency will have to look at each of these laws and decide whether the text about reaching adulthood needs amending.    [FULL  STORY]