Monthly Archives: April 2016

Manufacturing sector flashes blue light for 12th consecutive month

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-28
By: Central News Agency

The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER), one of the country’s leading think tanks, said Thursday that as economic fundamentals remained weak, an index that gauges manufacturing activity flashed a blue light for the 12th consecutive month in March.

The streak of 12 blue lights in a row, which indicates a recession, was the longest in Taiwan since the global financial crisis between July 2008 and May 2009, according to the TIER.

The TIER said that although the composite index of the local manufacturing sector for March rose 0.72 points from a month earlier to 9.98, the score kept the sector in the blue light range, which is below 10.5 points.     [FULL  STORY]

Yoga chain with 15 outlets closes suddenly

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/28
By Ku Chuan and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) The Chiu Su Jen Yoga Center, a leading yoga studio 201604280033t0001chain in Taiwan, which abruptly suspended operations Thursday, will be ordered to stop enrolling new students if it is unable to continue to offer classes, the city government said.

Officials from the city’s Department of Education found during an inspection of its nine yoga studios in Taipei that the entrances were locked and no one would answer the doors, with two outlets posting a notice outside stating that their operations were suspended due to financial difficulties caused by poor management, according to the city government.

The education department said that it will order the center to stop enrolling students according to the Management Rules on Taipei’s Short-term Cram Schools (台北短期補習班管理辦法). If the center is unable to ensure that it will be able to continue to provide courses and safeguard the interests of the students, the department will revoke its license.

It is still unclear how many students would be affected by the suspension of operations.     [FULL  STORY]

SPIL posts 39% decline in profits

TROUGH OVER?The chip tester and packager said demand is picking up after the first quarter, with supply chain inventory correction coming to an end last quarter

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2016
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) yesterday posted a 39 percent annual decline in net profit last quarter, but expects demand to pick up significantly in the second half, driven by replacement demand for 4G smartphones.

Net profit plunged to NT$1.6 billion (US$49.57 million) in the three-month period ending March from NT$2.62 billion a year earler. The company lost NT$212 million in the fourth quarter last year due to asset impairments of NT$3.28 billion, partly stemming from its stake in printed circuit board maker Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子).

Gross margin shrank to the lowest level in nine quarters at 20.6 percent last quarter, from 26.2 percent in the same period last year, SPIL said in a financial statement.     [FULL  STORY]

Japan foreign minister protests against Ma’s atoll claim

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-28
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday said the statement 6751012made by Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday that Okinotori is an atoll, not an island is unacceptable.
Japan has asked its representative office in Taiwan, Interchange Association (JAPAN), to express its protest, Kishida said.

The status of Okinotori as island is assured according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and therefore the island is entitled to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), said Kishida at a regular press conference on Thursday.

Japan’s major media outlets such as the Asahi Shimbun and the Mainichi reported on Thursday that the Japanese government had lodged its protest against Taiwan’s claim that Okinotori is an atoll through the IAJ.     [FULL  STORY]

Mercury drops by 6 degrees Thursday in northern Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/28
By: Chen Wei-ting and Lilian Wu

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan had dropped

(CNA file photo)

(CNA file photo)

by around six degrees Celsius as of Thursday morning, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) reported.

The CWB said that weather for the first half of Thursday remained uncertain, with brief rain expected in northern and northeastern parts of the country, although the rain could peter out in areas north of Taichung.

Milder rain could come later in central and southern Taiwan, as well as in Hualien and Taitung in the east, and brief rain or showers were expected throughout Thursday in these areas.

The mercury in northern Taiwan was forecast to be around 26 degrees in the daytime and to drop further to around 20 degrees at night.

The coolest period will come on Friday morning, with predicted lows of only 18 degrees.     [FULL  STORY]

Calls for Tougher Penalties as Hundreds of Taiwanese Reveal Revenge Porn Stories

The News Lens
Date: 2016/04/28
Translated and compiled by Yuan-ling Liang

"OFFICE LADIES"

Office ladies

Groups working to stop revenge porn in Taiwan say hundreds of cases have been revealed since they started raising awareness of the issue last year.

Kang Shu-hua, director of the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation (TWRF), explains that revenge porn is a new issue the digital generation faces. It tends to involve couples who do not break up peacefully, and subsequently one person posts their partner’s nude pictures online. The phenomenon has been gaining attention around the globe.

Kang states that, according to a TWRF survey, more than half of the cases are carried out by victims’ partners, either a former or current one.

“However, victims are usually afraid of seeking help,” says Kang. [Quote translated]

In 2014, 269 cases were reported by the press, but only 61 of victims sought care or legal support.     [FULL  STORY]

Chang sorry, but stands firm over urban renewal

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2016
By: Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporter

Minister without portfolio-designate Chang Ching-sen (張景森), yesterday apologized for his comments made about a campaign against a controversial urban renewal project in Taipei, but defended valuing the rights of the public more than those of individual property owners when it comes to expropriation and forced demolition for urban renewal.

“I would like to make it clear here that was an inappropriate satirical post, and I would like to formally apologize for it,” Chang said in a 3,000-word statement on Facebook. “As a government official-to-be who will soon be handling public policies, I interpreted the campaign in a scornful way, which does not help enhance communications and would only hurt the feelings of those who took part in the campaign. I must admit this mistake, accept all criticism, and apologize to the public.”

Chang was referring to post he made on Facebook earlier in the week in which he said that a family, surnamed Wang (王), living in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) who opposed an urban renewal project was eventually given five units in a newly built luxury apartment building, with a market value of more than NT$100 million (US$3.1 million).

The forced eviction of the Wang family from their home and demolition of the property by a city government demolition squad — escorted by about 1,000 police officers — saw violent clashes with mostly student activists siding with the Wangs that triggered harsh criticism from the public.

Chang said that he “pities” the student activists who shed tears for the Wang family.     [FULL  STORY]

ICIJ to release Panama Papers offshore companies data

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-04-28
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) announced 6750947Tuesday that it will launch a searchable database on May 9 with information on more than 200,000 offshore entities. The database will likely be the largest ever release of secret offshore companies and the people behind them.

The data comes from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the top players in the offshore world, and includes information about companies, trusts, foundations and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States. It links to people in more than 200 countries and territories.

According to the ICIJ, when the data is released, users will be able to search through the data and visualize the networks around thousands of offshore entities, including, when possible, Mossack Fonseca’s internal records of the company’s true owners. The interactive database will also include information about more than 100,000 additional companies that were part of the 2013 ICIJ Offshore Leaks investigation.     [FULL  STORY]

Changhua joins same-sex partnership recording trend

Taiwan Today
Date: April 28, 2016

Changhua County is the latest municipality in Taiwan offering same-sex

Gender activists call for legally recognized same-sex marriages during a Taipei City demonstration in the run up to the 2016 presidential and legislative elections. (Staff photo/Jimmy Lin)

Gender activists call for legally recognized same-sex marriages during a Taipei City demonstration in the run up to the 2016 presidential and legislative elections. (Staff photo/Jimmy Lin)

couples the right to record their partnerships at household registration offices, underscoring the nation’s increasingly liberal approach to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender demographic.

Although the record is not legally binding, it does represent a strong step forward in raising public awareness and understanding of LGBT issues. Changhua’s commencement of the service earlier this month sees it join the ranks of Hsinchu County, as well as Chiayi, Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei and Taoyuan cities—all of which implemented similar measures over the past year.

Reva Lin, an official from the Civil Registry Section at Changhua County Government, said the measure reflects the makeup of the central Taiwan municipality’s population of 1.28 million, the seventh largest on the island.

“Three couples were waiting for us to open on our first day,” Lin said. “We respect and understand the needs of these people, and are working with local activists to ensure Changhua is at the forefront in providing equal and fair treatment for residents.”     [FULL  STORY]

Museum offers insights into prehistoric life in Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/04/29
By: Tyson Lu and Kay Liu

The excavation of a site in Taitung City that holds artifacts from a period 562315552,300 to 5,300 years ago in Taiwan led to the establishment of the National Museum of Prehistory in 2001.

The site, spread over an estimated 80-100 hectares, was discovered after the construction of a new railway station began in 1980 and is the largest archaeological site ever found in Taiwan.
In an excavation area of around 10,000 square meters, more than 20,000 pieces of jade, pottery and stone tools, and 1,600 slate coffins were unearthed.

One of the jade designs, depicting two people carrying an animal aloft, was found in some of the coffins and is believed to have been an earring. The design was adopted as the museum’s emblem.     [FULL  STORY]