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Commission relaxes regulations on structured notes

HIGH NET WORTH:The debt securities would be allowed to link with more targets, promoting the creation of more products aimed at attracting wealthy investors
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday said that it would allow banks and brokerages to launch several new products to help them attract wealthy investors, after easing regulations on investment targets linked with structured notes.

A structured note is a debt security whose return is based on the performances of some indicators, such as a basket of equities, interest rates, commodities or foreign currencies.

The commission would allow the linking of structured notes with more targets, which would encourage banks and their overseas branches to issue more products, FSC Banking Bureau Deputy Director-General Huang Kuang-hsi (黃光熙) told a news conference in New Taipei City.

High net worth clients of banks’ offshore banking units would be allowed to buy foreign currency-denominated derivatives and structured notes that are linked with local shares, he said.

Banks would be allowed to customize a product according to their wealthy customers’ needs and provide the product following the commission’s approval, he added.

To reduce potential risks, only banks with stronger financial fundamentals would be allowed to launch such products, with the bureau scheduled to announce which banks qualify in March, Huang said.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors would be allowed to use foreign currencies as collateral for New Taiwan dollar-denominated loans from brokerages to invest in local shares, the commission said.

At present, they have to directly use the NT dollar as collateral and thus have to endure fluctuations in exchange rates, it said.

“The change is expected to make it more convenient for foreign investors and encourage them to increase their investment in local shares,” the commission said, adding that the new rules would take effect in July.

A total of 14 domestic brokerages provide financing to investors, with the combined lending totaling NT$1.4 trillion (US$46.5 billion) as of the end of November last year, it said.

While Taiwan Financial Service Roundtable has urged the commission to allow foreign institutional investors to put up foreign equity as collateral for loans from brokerages, the commission said that it could not reach a consensus with the central bank, which has expressed concern over exchange rates.

The commission added that it would continue negotiating with the central bank.

Offshore securities units would be permitted to provide loans to wealthy investors in the second half of this year like domestic brokerages, the commission said.

However, the commission and the central bank would set new regulations to limit the amount of the loans, it said.

The commission added that it would also ease the limit on the amount of investment in local shares by insurers that use premiums from their foreign currency-denominated investment-linked policies.


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NT dollar breaches 30 for first time since June 2018

SMOOTHING THE MARKET:Dealers suspected late US dollar buying largely came from the central bank, which was seeking to maintain the nation’s competitive edge
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday strengthened past NT$30 against the greenback for the first time in 18 months.

The local currency rose as much as 0.6 percent to NT$29.965 per US dollar and closed at NT$30.106 in Taipei trading, with turnover of US$833 million during the trading session.

Largely as a result of strong demand from Taiwanese exporters at the end of the year, the local currency moved above NT$30 against the greenback in the morning session and that strength continued, dealers said.

However, US dollar buying re-emerged in the afternoon trading session, in particular in the latter part of the session, helping the US currency recover most of its earlier losses by the end of the day, dealers said.

They suspect the buying largely came from the central bank, which is seeking to slow down the pace of the NT dollar’s appreciation and maintain the nation’s competitive edge.

The NT dollar climbed about 3.4 percent in the second half of last year as the best performer among the world’s major currencies.

Local financial markets are shut today for the New Year holiday.

The NT dollar has been boosted by the most foreign equity inflows in Asia this year after India.

Overseas investors have been heartened by Taiwan’s success retaking some of the global technology supply chain amid trade tensions between the US and China.

“The [New] Taiwan dollar has clearly been an outperformer in the second half,” Credit Agricole CIB emerging markets strategist Eddie Cheung (張敬勤) said. “We think it’s driven by the market realization that it is emerging as a US-China trade war winner. The growth turnaround has been rapid and Taiwan seems to be gaining an early edge in the turn of the tech cycle.”

Traders have speculated that the central bank has been stepping into the market to slow the currency’s advance.

Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) last month said that the monetary authority would “smooth” the market when large inflows cause excessive volatility. Policymakers likely want to curb more gains by the NT dollar to protect exporters.

The benchmark TAIEX gained 23.33 percent last year, its best showing since 2009.

A humming economy would keep adding momentum to local financial markets, and the presidential and legislative elections on Saturday next week would not slow that momentum, analysts said.

Additional reporting by CNA

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2020 Elections: Taiwanese communist party accused of buying votes with funds from China

Tainan authorities have launched an investigation into vote-buying allegations involving a legislative candidate from the Taiwan People’s Communist Party (TPCP).

The party is accused of receiving money from China to buy votes in Taiwan.

Prosecutors coordinating with police and Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau officials raided four locations in the city on Monday, including the candidate’s and the party’s offices.

They also summoned for questioning 45 people who took part in a junket to China early last month. Prosecutors summoned more people yesterday, increasing the number of people questioned to more than 60.

Tainan Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lin Chung-pin (林仲斌) said suspects would be charged with contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and provisions of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).

Regarded as a fringe political party based in Tainan’s Sinying District (新營), the TPCP was founded in 2016 by Lin Te-wang (林德旺), a Taiwanese who had operated a business in China. Lin had been a high-ranking member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Lin, the TPCP chairman, is suspected of channeling money from China, arranging junkets for Tainan residents and funding a candidate running on a pro-China platform in Saturday next week’s elections, contesting a legislative seat in Tainan’s first electoral district, Lin Chung-pin said.

The prosecutors had conducted a preliminary investigation based on tip-offs, and found that Lin Te-wang had conduits to transfer money from China, allegedly to buy votes.

He allegedly took some Tainan residents to Jiangsu Province, China, and the participants were asked to vote for the party’s candidate in exchange for the trip, the prosecutors said.

“The trips were affiliated with TPCP and its connections in China. Four such trips were made since August [last year], whose participants varied from 20 to 40 people... Investigations showed that overall about 100 people participated in the eight-day group tour,” Lin Chung-pin said.

Lin Te-wang also took part in the trips, and the participants were treated to banquets and gifts by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office officials and other Chinese government figures as they toured several cities in the province, investigators said.


title: Tencent-led group to buy 10% of Universal Music

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A consortium led by China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) has agreed to buy 10 percent of Universal Music Group from French media company Vivendi SA after months of talks.

The deal values the world’s biggest music company at 30 billion euros (US$33.7 billion). Tencent and its partners can increase their stake to as much as 20 percent at the same valuation until Jan. 15 next year, the companies said in statements yesterday.

With the Chinese social media and gaming giant now officially on board, other potential investors might look at Universal Music.

That would energize a sale process that seemed to be dragging along since Vivendi first announced plans to sell as much as half the business in July 2018.

Negotiations would now begin over the potential sale of a further minority stake at a price “which would at least be identical” to the deal with Tencent, the French media conglomerate said.

Shares of the company rose 0.4 percent as of 12:08pm in Paris.

Vivendi is cashing in on a boom in subscription music streaming that has inflated the value of its back catalog and a roster of stars including Taylor Swift, U2, Drake and Post Malone.

Record company sales have jumped by an average of 7 percent annually since 2014 and streaming has become the industry’s biggest source of revenue.

However, there are signs that streaming growth is beginning to slow in Europe and North America, while in Asia, music labels face continued piracy and regional rivals especially attuned to local tastes.

Tencent could help Universal Music get closer to Asian audiences.

The companies did not name the other Tencent consortium members.

Hillhouse Capital and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte were among potential investors that the Chinese tech giant approached, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News in November.

Vivendi first disclosed the talks with Tencent in August last year.

The deal brings some good news for Vivendi at the end of a frustrating year for its largest shareholder, billionaire Vincent Bollore.

Other Vivendi businesses such as advertising and pay-TV are contending with competitive threats from digital rivals and the group’s investments in Italy have been bogged down in boardroom battles and legal fights.

Some analysts had criticized the slow pace of the Universal Music sale process and questioned the price demanded by Vivendi.

The idea of a partial disposal of the business or an initial public offering has been mooted since 2017.

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India mulling US$35 billion reforms to power generation to revive utilities

India is planning another wave of reforms aimed at turning around its struggling power retailers.

The initiative is still under consideration, an Indian Ministry of Power spokeswoman said yesterday, declining to provide details.

The reforms could cost as much as 2.5 trillion rupees (US$35.1 billion) over five years, people with knowledge of the issue said.

The measures would focus on infrastructure and technology upgrades of the ailing utilities to make them more efficient and reduce financial losses, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is not public.

The efforts could include central government grants of as much as 1 trillion rupees to states that meet targets set by New Delhi, they said.

IMPROVING EFFICIENCY

The plan could include the installation of about 250 million prepaid smart meters, which are expected to boost revenue collection.

Other measures include systems to better monitor and control networks — known as supervisory control and data acquisition systems — separating grids for farmers and residential users, and replacing overhead cables with special insulated wires to prevent theft.

Electricity distributors are the weakest link in the country’s power supply chain, losing almost one-fifth of their revenue because of technical and commercial reasons, including loss of power supplies through theft and poor transmission infrastructure or inefficient billing and collection.

Reviving these utilities would be critical to ensuring reliable power supplies and improving the financial health of electricity generators.

The investment in smart meters is expected to become part of the operating expenses of retailers and would be funded using the efficiency gains they derive from the upgrade, the people said.

The ministry is working with distribution companies on models for other initiatives, they said, with any payments from the federal government linked to meeting targets.

FAILED INITIATIVE

The new measures would follow an unsuccessful plan unveiled in 2015 to make retailers profitable by March last year. That effort included reducing revenue lost from theft and poor billing to an average of 15 percent.

While such losses did decline, they were still at about 18 percent at the end of the year to March, the ministry said in a report in October.

Combined net income losses at distributors that signed up for the reform plan in the same year widened to about 280.4 billion rupees, an 85 percent year-on-year increase, the report said.

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title: Taiwanese among leaders driving change in Asia

content_text:
Taiwan Marriage Equality Coalition staffer Weng Yu-ching takes part in a parade in an undated photograph.Photo courtesy of Weng Yu-ching via CNA
CNN has named Taiwanese LGBT rights advocate Weng Yu-ching (翁鈺清) as one of the five young leaders driving change in Asia.

The international news outlet published the list on its Web site on Thursday, describing last year as one of youth activism and highlighting the work of Weng, 24, as well as other advocates in Hong Kong, South Korea, India and Myanmar who are fighting for social issues.

Weng said she was standing among thousands of LGBT advocates, many draped in rainbow flags, on May 17 last year, when legislators passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage in Taiwan.

When the law was passed, the crowd erupted in cheers, said Weng, who works at the non-profit organization Taiwan Marriage Equality Coalition.

The moment was the culmination of many years of work by advocates, to which she contributed seven years of her life, she said.

Classmates at her all-girls high school had discussions on gender and LGBT issues, while a few of her friends came out as gay and shared with her the difficulties they faced, Weng said.

She applied to volunteer at the pride parade in her hometown, Kaohsiung, and volunteered at an LGBT support hotline after moving to Taipei for university, she said.

When her graduation in June 2018 coincided with increased referendum campaigning by anti-LGBT groups, which demanded a separate law for same-sex marriage and a ban on LGBT-inclusive education, she decided to make advocacy her full-time job and started working at the coalition, Weng said.

She told CNN that there is still much work to be done, such as providing more resources to young LGBT people in rural areas.

Nonetheless, she said she is happy that the movement has come this far and that she has received wedding invitations from same-sex couples.

“We’re the first in Asia” to legalize same-sex marriage, Weng told CNN. “I’m very proud of my country.”

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title: Thousands take refuge on Australia’s beaches

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People sit and wait yesterday at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires.Photo: AFP

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Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were bedding down at beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia on New Year’s Eve after fleeing deadly blazes that ripped through popular tourist areas and cut off several towns.

In seaside communities along a 200km strip of coast, terrified crowds — wrapped in blankets and wearing makeshift facemasks — sought refuge from the inferno near the water.

Some with boats earlier took to the sea in near-darkness, hoping to find safety, as one of the worst days yet in Australia’s months-long bushfire crisis prompted a military deployment to help relief efforts.

Three people died, five more are unaccounted for, and scores of properties were feared destroyed after a brutal 24 hours in which flames reached well-populated towns like Batemans Bay, normally bursting with visitors during Australia’s summer holidays.

“We’ve got literally hundreds, thousands of people up and down the coast taking refuge on the beaches” and in surf clubs, New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

“In the majority of these cases, we’re being told that people will be sleeping over at these clubs,” Surf Life Saving Australia chief executive officer Steven Pearce told ABC. “We’ll have instances of 500 people or more trying to sleep in and around our surf clubs.”

About 4,000 people were trapped on the foreshore in the town of Mallacoota, where towering columns of smoke turned the sky pitch black and nearby fires caused waves of “ember attacks.”

Later, authorities said that Mallacoota and a nearby town remained cut off, but the life-threatening fire front had finally passed.

“I understand there was a public cheer down at the jetty when that was announced,” Country Fire Authority Chief Cfficer Steve Warrington said.

In some places the blazes were so intense, the smoke so thick and the dry lightning storms precipitated by the fires so severe that aerial reconnaissance and water bombing had to be halted.

The situation was scarcely better in inland rural communities, where countless more people were displaced and forced into makeshift camps.

Helicopters, aircraft and naval ships would be sent to the region, Australian Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said.

More backup has been requested from firefighters in Canada and the US.

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Much as he mocked the process for months, US President Donald Trump very much did not want to be impeached. No president does; it is an ineradicable stain on their record and Trump has just about never in his life been called to account.

Trump was more or less in a rage for weeks as the Democratic Party-controlled US House of Representatives moved forward, and his mood did not improve in the immediate aftermath of his becoming the third president in the nation’s history to be impeached.

Yet, for all the commentary about the “momentousness” of the House impeachment vote, the occasion seemed somehow lifeless. In my view, that is because the articles of impeachment were not at all commensurate with the scope and egregiousness of Trump’s violations of his oath of office.

Those violations are legion. Trump has systematically defied the separation of powers at the heart of the US constitutional system.

For example, frustrated that the US Congress denied him all the funds he wanted for his phantasmagorical wall along the border with Mexico, he simply plucked the money from funds that Congress had allocated for the US Department of Defense.

He has also flouted the constitutional prohibition on accepting emoluments — money or personal benefits from foreign governments that do business, sometimes of extravagant proportion, at his various hotels and golf clubs — and has found other ways to monetize the presidency.

Moreover, Trump has tried to steer government contracts toward favored companies, or away from those he dislikes — for example, Amazon, whose founder, Jeff Bezos, also owns the Washington Post.

OBSTRUCTION

According to special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, Trump tried to obstruct the investigation into his 2016 campaign’s dealings with Russia.

However, because a US Department of Justice rule dating from former US president Richard Nixon’s term that bars the criminal indictment of a sitting president, Mueller virtually begged Congress to impeach Trump for 10 specified acts.

Against that list — which is likely incomplete — the two articles of impeachment brought before the House, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, seemed to many to be thin beer.

On July 25 last year, Trump had attempted to extort newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy into announcing a government investigation of former US vice president Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate, and Biden’s son, Hunter, who had unwisely joined a Ukrainian gas company’s board when his father was vice president and in charge of US policy toward the region.

The essence of the first impeachment charge was that by holding up congressionally approved military assistance for Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia, Trump was using his government position to benefit himself.

The second charge against Trump was for “obstruction of Congress,” owing to his blanket refusal to permit his aides to testify before Congress about the Ukraine affair or to turn over to congressional investigators any requested documents.

No president before him, not even Nixon, had been so iron-willed.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had long resisted impeachment, fearing that it could rally Trump’s supporters for the election. She also worried that impeachment might jeopardize the Democrats’ control of the House, all of whose members also face re-election this year.

title: A little impeachment for large abuses


title: KMT, PFP challenge legality of new act

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KMT, PFP challenge legality of new act

INTERPRETATION:The KMT caucus would have supported the new law if it was truly aimed at bolstering national security and improving social security, William Tseng said
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) caucuses yesterday said that they would request a constitutional interpretation over the legality of the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法), which passed a third reading yesterday.

The KMT caucus had said before a legislative meeting that it would file for a constitutional interpretation if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pushed the bill through.

Following the passage of the bill, KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) presented a petition signed by 39 lawmakers that were opposed to the act, and told reporters outside the legislative chamber that the KMT and the PFP would request that the Council of Grand Justices pass down a constitutional interpretation once President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) ratifies it.

The petition was signed by 35 KMT legislators, three PFP legislators and Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator May Chin (高金素梅).

The DPP has abused its legislative majority to force through the bill, Tseng said.

The KMT caucus would have supported the bill if it had truly aimed at bolstering national security and improving social security, but its timing has shown that it was passed with the presidential and legislative elections on Saturday next week’s in mind, he said.

PFP Legislator Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) said that the PFP would request a constitutional interpretation, as it believes that the act would affect many Taiwanese businesspeople and students in China.

DPP caucus secretary-general Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said that he respected the pan-blue camp’s decision to file for a constitutional interpretation, but that he “did not see why it [the act] was unconstitutional.”

The act targets people who infiltrate the nation or carry out actions that harm the nation’s democracy on behalf of an infiltration source, so law-abiding Taiwanese businesspeople and students would not be affected, he said.

DPP caucus director-general Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that the caucus had kept a low profile when discussing the bill for fear that opposition parties might hold “hostage” an already passed special budget of NT$250 billion (US$8.3 billion) for the procurement of 66 F-16 jets, the Act on the Procurement of Updated Fighter Jets (新式戰機採購條例) and the general budget if the anti-infiltration bill had been exposed.

This resulted in the caucus being smeared, with critics saying that the bill was designed to boost the DPP’s election prospects, Kuan said.

Now that the act has been passed, it would serve as a “strong shield” for Taiwanese working or studying in China, who can cite it to decline any unreasonable requests in an attempt to infiltrate the nation, she said.

Kuan urged Beijing to engage with the world in a respectful, civilized manner rather than resorting to infiltration and domination.

Additional reporting by CNA and Hsieh Chun-lin

people: 曾銘宗 管碧玲 李俊俋 蔡英文 陳怡潔 高金素梅


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Fines increased for using leftovers as pig feed, COA says

Pig farms caught illegally using leftovers for feed would face a repeatable fine of up to NT$3 million (US$99,648), Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said yesterday, as the council tightened regulations on leftovers to close loopholes that could cause transmission of African swine fever.

Since China reported the first outbreak in August 2018, the swine epidemic has spread to 10 other Asian countries — Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, East Timor, North Korea, South Korea and Indonesia — as well as areas in Europe and Africa, council data showed.

Although the disease has not yet entered Taiwan, the council hopes to prevent leftovers from becoming a channel of virus transmission by raising the fine for the illegal use of leftovers as pig feed, Chen wrote on Facebook yesterday, reiterating the council’s news release on Monday.

There is not a complete ban on farmers using leftovers to feed pigs, but they need to file an application in advance with local environmental authorities, the council said.

Farms without a permit that feed pigs leftovers would face a fine of NT$30,000 for the first offense and increasingly stiffer penalties of NT$200,000 to NT$3 million for subsequent offenses, Chen said.

Of the nation’s nearly 2,000 hog farms, 751 farms have obtained permits to feed pigs leftovers, while the rest have switched to fodder or quit raising pigs, he wrote.

Farms allowed to use leftovers must disinfect them at 90°C for at least one hour, Chen wrote.

Hog farms that failed past inspections are likely to be inspected more frequently, he added.

The council also called on the public to help oversee hog farms, with those who report the illegal use of leftovers as feed to receive 20 percent of the fine as a reward.

People caught trying to bring pork products from areas infected by African swine fever through customs face a NT$200,000 fine for first offense and NT$1 million for each subsequent offense, while foreigners failing to pay the fine would be denied entry to Taiwan.


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Dollar diplomacy an option

As the executive and legislative elections in Taiwan are nigh, it is time to examine Taiwan’s approach to its significant foreign affairs policy.

While it is clear that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is the most qualified candidate to resume executive oversight, I question the incumbent’s record of retaining diplomatic allies.

This is not a new concern, but under the administrations of former presidents Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Taiwan lost its diplomatic partners at a gradual pace, not more than half a dozen in their first term.

I am going to pause in my frequent, negative criticism of US President Donald Trump and applaud the American administration’s Taiwan-friendly policies, including the recent Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act, which will alleviate some of the burden Taiwan has endured by Washington’s refusal to provide economic relief to entities that switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to its authoritarian bully next door.

However, this responsibility should not fall on the shoulders of any nation outside Taiwan and those it is discussing the standing of relations with.

In any case, Taiwan should reconsider its objection to “dollar diplomacy,” a practice applied by China in wooing away Taiwan’s dwindling number of diplomatic allies, including the Solomon Islands and Kiribati. But is what Taiwan is doing with its allies all that different?

Since being excluded from the UN in 1971, Taiwan has provided hundreds of millions, possibly billions, to impoverished nations, assisting in agriculture, medicine, education, and research and development.

As for China, though it is questionable where the returns are directed, its contributions are intended to provide improvements in infrastructure and livelihoods of its inhabitants in exchange for diplomatic recognition.

Therefore, I am not convinced the divide between dollar diplomacy and humanitarianism is all that different.

Taiwan may want to adjust its use of “charity” and not play Russian roulette with its remaining partners. The fact remains that dollar diplomacy is key to winning the diplomatic tug-of-war in the Taiwan Strait.

I encourage Taiwan to rescind its refusal to use its large foreign reserve to establish formal relations, especially with those most vulnerable to the Belt and Road Initiative and its unquestionable failure as a global venture.

Geoff Merrill

Taipei

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title: [ LETTER ]

people: 馬英九 陳水扁 蔡英文


title: ‘Fiery’ Maria Sharapova seizes Brisbane wild card

content_text:
Russia’s Maria Sharapova yesterday practices at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Australia ahead of next week’s Brisbane International.Photo: EPA-EFE
Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova yesterday said that she still has “a lot of fire” as she attempts to resurrect her career after an injury-plagued year.

The five-time major winner is to open her campaign this year in Brisbane, Australia, after being awarded a wild card by organizers in preparation for the Australian Open later this month.

“To be fair when I was younger I never saw myself playing past 30, but I still feel there is a lot in me to give,” the 32-year-old Russian told reporters. “I still have a lot of fire in me and I am big competitor.”

Sharapova has not played since a first-round loss to career-long rival Serena Williams at the US Open in August last year.

She has slipped to No. 133 in the world rankings after a season ruined by a shoulder injury that limited her to 15 competitive matches.

“As long as the shoulder stays healthy and my body allows me to, I hope there is a lot of time left for me,” Sharapova said.

She won the Brisbane title in 2015 and joins a high-class field for next week’s event spearheaded by Australian world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and reigning Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka.

World No. 2 Karolina Pliskova is also playing, as are fellow top-10 stars Elina Svitolina, Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens.

“It’s a fresh start after a tough last season,” Sharapova said. “There were a lot of ups and downs, there were times when I was ready, but the shoulder wasn’t. But I have had a fairly good off-season and I am motivated to compete. At this point in my career when I have that feeling, it’s a good sign.”

The Brisbane International starts on Monday next week, with Sharapova then scheduled to play the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, before the opening Grand Slam of the year from Jan. 20.

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taiwan-subdivisions: 七美 花蓮縣

content_text:
New measures to take effect in Taiwan from Jan. 1

基本工資調漲、禁賣象牙 多項新制元旦上路

Foreign students display a Taiwanese flag at National Dong Hwa University in Hualien County last month. As of today, international students are now able to apply for electronic work permits.
一群外籍學生上月稍早，在花蓮縣東華大學手持國旗。外籍學生自今日起即可申請電子工作許可。Photo courtesy of National Dong Hwa University
照片︰東華大學提供

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A slew of new regulations will come into force in Taiwan today, including higher monthly and hourly minimum wages, raising the age of eligibility for full labor insurance pensions, and introducing electronic work permits for international students.

The monthly minimum wage for workers covered under the Labor Standards Act will be raised from NT$23,100 (US$767) to NT$23,800, while the hourly minimum wage will be increased from NT$150 to NT$158.

The minimum monthly wage increase is expected to benefit 1.83 million workers, while raising the minimum hourly wage will boost the pay for 483,300 other workers.

In line with the adjustment of basic wages, the starting insured salary under the labor insurance program will be increased to NT$23,800. The age of eligibility for receiving full labor insurance pensions will be pushed back from 61 to 62.

In addition, the Ministry of Labor will accept online applications from employers to extend the permitted time span for importing migrant workers in the manufacturing, fishery, construction, caregiving and domestic help sectors.

Online applications will also be accepted from employers for recurring recruitment, entry permit, transfer and extended transfer of migrant workers in the construction sector.

Meanwhile, international students studying in Taiwan will be able to apply for electronic work permits.

The Ministry of Finance will increase the basic allowance that taxpayers can deduct from their incomes when filing income taxes by NT$4,000 to NT$175,000. Another new regulation will require cross-border e-commerce suppliers to issue cloud-based invoices.

At the same time, all commercial aircraft aged over 26 years will have to be retired from service.

In addition, a modified intensity scale to more accurately reflect the effect earthquakes have on people, structures and the environment will be introduced.

Also, all transactions of ivory products are banned as of today.

(CNA)

在台灣，許多新法規自一月一日起生效，包括調漲最低基本月薪及時薪、提高勞工保險全額年金法定請領年齡、國際學生可申請電子工作許可……等。

受到《勞動基準法》保障，勞工的基本工資由每月新台幣兩萬三千一百元（約七百六十七美元），調升至兩萬三千八百元。而基本時薪由一百五十元，調升至一百五十八元。

基本月薪調漲，預估約有一百八十三萬多名勞工受惠；基本時薪調漲，預估約有四十八萬三千三百多人加薪。

為配合基本工資調升，勞工保險投保薪資第一級的月投保薪資同步調升為兩萬三千八百元。至於勞工保險全額年金法定請領年齡，則從六十一歲延後到六十二歲。

此外，勞動部將接受雇主透過線上申辦，延長外籍勞工聘僱許可，其範圍包括製造業、海洋漁撈工、建築業、家庭看護工、家庭幫傭等類別。

線上申辦並擴及建築業外籍勞工之遞補招募、入境許可、轉出及延長轉出等。

同時，在台灣就讀的國際學生亦可申請電子工作許可。

而財政部將每人基本生活費多增加了四千元至十七萬五千元，於今年申報所得稅時，即可從所得當中扣除。其另一項新制，則規定跨境電商須開雲端發票。

同時，所有機齡超過二十六年的商用客機都將要強制退役。

此外，修正後的「地震震度分級表」今日起上路，新版將能更準確反應出地震對民眾、建築和環境所造成的影響。

自元旦起，所有象牙製品交易也將全面禁止。

（台北時報張聖恩譯〉


content_text:
Sudan sentences 27 to death for killing protester

KILLED IN DETENTION:The judge ruled that Ahmed al-Khair died because he was beaten and tortured; his family chose not to allow the suspects to be pardoned
A Sudanese court on Monday sentenced 27 members of the country’s security forces to death by hanging for torturing and killing a detained protester during the uprising against former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir earlier last year.

The verdict, which can be appealed, was the first connected to the killing of more than 200 pro-democracy protesters since the demonstrations began in December 2018.

“We are now sure our revolution is continuing on the right path,” protester Amna Mohammed said.

She was among a cheering crowd of hundreds that gathered to welcome the verdict’s announcement outside the court in Omdurman, the capital Khartoum’s twin city.

The death of protester Ahmed al-Khair, a school teacher, while in detention in February was a key point — and a symbol — in the uprising that convulsed the large African country.

That led, in April, to the toppling of al-Bashir, and ultimately to the creation of a joint military-civilian sovereign council that has committed to rebuilding the country and promises elections in three years.

The anniversary of the uprising this month drew teeming crowds to the streets in several cities and towns across the country, with people singing, dancing and carrying flags. A train packed with exuberant demonstrators, clapping and chanting, arrived in the northern city of Atbara, the birthplace of the uprising, from the capital city.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group of unions that led the protests against al-Bashir, welcomed Monday’s verdict.

The group vowed to continue pursuing and bringing to justice security officials accused of torture.

Mohammed al-Feki Soliman, a member of the sovereign council, said that the trial “renews the Sudanese people’s trust in their judicial institutions.”

Al-Khair was detained on Jan. 31 in his hometown of Kassala and was reported dead two days later.

His body was taken to a local hospital where his family said it was covered in bruises.

At the time, police denied any police wrongdoing and blamed his death on an “illness,” without providing any details.

However, Judge al-Sadik al-Amin al-Fek on Monday said that the teacher was beaten and tortured while in detention.

“His death was an inevitable consequence of the beating and torture,” he said.

The court also sentenced three other members of the security forces to three years each in prison, and acquitted seven suspects in the case.

All the sentenced were policemen who were working in the jail where al-Khair was held or intelligence agents in the region.

Following a tradition based on Islamic law, or Sharia, the court gave al-Khair’s family the opportunity to “forgive” the suspects, which could have led to their pardon, but the offer was declined.

Taj al-Ser Ali al-Hebr, the country’s top prosecutor, welcomed the verdict as a “victory.”

He called on the government to join the US Convention Against Torture.

Earlier last month, a court in Khartoum convicted al-Bashir, who was jailed by the military after he was removed from power, of money laundering and corruption, and sentenced him to two years in a minimum security lockup.

The image of the former dictator in a defendant’s cage on live TV sent a strong message for all of Sudan.

However, the deposed ruler is under indictment by the International Criminal Court on far more serious charges of war crimes and genocide linked to his brutal suppression of the insurgency in the western province of Darfur in the early 2000s.


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Bolivia’s interim president Jeanine Anez on Monday announced that the country will expel the Mexican ambassador and two Spanish diplomats, drawing a tit-for-tat response from Madrid as a dispute over an alleged attempt to extract an ex-government aide escalated.

The row erupted after Bolivia’s right-wing interim government accused Spain of attempting to spirit a wanted former aide to former Bolivian president Evo Morales out of the Mexican embassy in La Paz.

Former minister Juan Ramon Quintana has been holed up at the Mexican embassy with about 10 other members of the former government since seeking asylum after Morales quit power on Nov. 10.

Quintana, former minister Wilma Alanoca and the others have all been charged with sedition and terrorism offenses by the new government, which has refused them safe passage out of the country.

However, Bolivia was incensed by what it called an attempt by Spanish embassy staff to infiltrate the Mexican mission in La Paz on Friday last week to extract Quintana, who has been Morales’ right-hand man since his early days in power.

“The constitutional government that I preside over has decided to declare persona non grata the ambassador of Mexico in Bolivia, Maria Teresa Mercado, the charge d’affaires of Spain, Cristina Borreguero, and the [Spanish] consul, Alvaro Fernandez,” Anez said.

She accused the diplomats of having “seriously harmed the sovereignty and dignity of the people and the constitutional government of Bolivia,” and gave them 72 hours to depart.

Bolivian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karen Longaric later in the day said the expulsions “do not imply any break in diplomatic relations.”

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the “political” decision and said it had instructed Mercado to return home.

Relations with Bolivia have cooled since Mexico offered Morales political asylum and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the ex-leader the victim of a coup.

Morales — who resigned after weeks of protests over his controversial re-election — stands accused of sedition and terrorism and is living in exile in Argentina.

The Mexican embassy has become the center of a diplomatic row after it sheltered the 10 or so officials from Morales’ former government.

Spain hit back within hours, declaring three Bolivian diplomats “personae non gratae” and giving them three days to leave the country.

Earlier, Madrid had issued a strongly worded denial over the alleged attempt to extract the former Morales aide.

“The ministry wishes to clarify that the charge d’affaires was purely making a courtesy visit and vehemently denies there was any aim to facilitate the exit of people holed up inside the building,” the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously said.

The Mexican foreign ministry has said the incident occurred as Borreguero and Fernandez wrapped up a meeting with the Mexican ambassador.

However, their official vehicles never turned up, and neither of them was able to reach their drivers or their security detail, a ministry statement said.

“On hearing shouting, Ambassador Mercado invited the two visitors to re-enter the residence. At that point, the Spanish diplomats were informed that their vehicles had been stopped from entering,” it said.

The Spaniards were advised to leave the embassy on foot, but refused to do so without a security detail. Eventually, a Bolivian ministry vehicle was sent to pick them up.

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title: Bolivia expels Mexican envoy, Spanish diplomats


title: Fifty dead in Philippines after Phanfone

content_text:
People repair a building damaged by Typhoon Phanfone on Boracay’s Bulabog Beach on Thursday last week.Photo: AFP
The number of people killed by a powerful storm that pummeled the central Philippines over Christmas has risen to 50, authorities said yesterday, making it the nation’s deadliest storm last year.

Typhoon Phanfone’s destructive winds and heavy rains brought down flimsy homes and destroyed commercial buildings mainly on the central island of Visayas, affecting more than 2 million people.

At least 80,000 remain in emergency shelters due to the scale of the destruction.

“We’re sad that some of our compatriots are still in evacuation centers, but we assure them they will continue to receive support until they get back on their feet,” Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council spokesman Mark Timbal said.

Five people are still missing and 143 were injured.

The death toll — up from 41 on Sunday — included three sailors who died after their vessel capsized, a police officer electrocuted by a toppled post and a man struck by a falling tree.

Typhoon Phanfone, locally called Ursula, was the 21st cyclone of last year to hit the storm-prone Philippines.

Many of the storms wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure, keeping millions of people in perpetual poverty.

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to boost police presence in multiethnic neighborhoods to combat a rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes has received pushback from liberal Jewish groups, which contend the measures will further divide communities.

Over the weekend, De Blasio announced several new policing measures in response to seven hate crimes in as many days, culminating with an attack in Monsey, New York, that left five members of the Orthodox community wounded after a knife-wielding assailant stormed the house of a rabbi.

The measures include stepping up police patrols in neighborhoods including Borough Park, Midwood, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Williamsburg, as well as establishing community-based neighborhood safety coalitions overseen by the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.

In addition, the city announced an increased police presence at houses of worship and during local events.

Six new surveillance towers and additional security cameras are to be installed throughout the neighborhoods.

However, the announcement drew pushback from some quarters mindful of law enforcement’s often troubled relationship with African-American and Latino communities, especially as the additional policing is happening in neighborhoods where De Blasio’s predecessor’s stop-and-frisk policies are recalled for being applied unjustly and along racial lines.

“This is what dividing vulnerable communities looks like,” Jews for Racial & Economic Justice said on Twitter.

“Instead of investing in restorative solutions that prioritize the safety of all communities is implementing a plan that treats abuse of Black and Brown communities as the answer to antisemitic violence. It isn’t,” the group tweeted.

After an attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh early last year, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice took a similar stand against plans by the administration of US President Donald Trump to step up security around places of worship, warning that “increased police presence and security will militarize our community spaces.”

Other groups agreed.

Jewish Voice for Peace said in a statement that “the rise of anti-Semitic violence this past week highlights the urgent need to organize as Jews with our allies who share an expansive idea of equality and freedom,” but that “calls for more police and paid security” were not a solution.

“We know we have to address rising white nationalist violence — against Jews, Muslims, black people and all people of color — while not relying on the very forces detaining and locking up and killing our friends, family and neighbors,” it said.

“Flooding POC [people of color] neighborhoods with cops is going to carry real costs, potentially even fatal ones, for tens of thousands of people who have no complicity in these attacks. I’m also deeply uncomfortable with the optics of cops functioning as security for Jews against POC,” Jewish Currents editor David Klion said.

Despite the rush to deploy extra police, city officials, including De Blasio, appear keen to learn the lessons of the Crown Heights disturbances of the early 1990s that found Jewish and Black communities clashing violently.

“The story of Crown Heights bears remembering right now,” De Blasio said, recalling how racial groups came together.

“It took constant dialogue and constant effort to reach residents of the community, particularly our young people, and it took painstaking work. But the division that was healed and it has been changed into a community where people work together,” he said.

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title: Jewish groups in NY push back against police surge


content_text:
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, right, shoots against Newcastle United in their Premier League match at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on Thursday last week.Photo: AP
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is set to return for his side’s English Premier League visit to Arsenal today after sitting out Saturday’s 2-0 win over Burnley as a precaution, Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.

The France international returned from a long injury layoff as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat at Watford on Sunday last week and then played 45 minutes in a 4-1 win over Newcastle United the following Thursday.

Pogba felt pain in his ankle after the Newcastle game, but Solskjaer said that the 26-year-old would be ready for Arsenal.

“He’s been out for a long while and he didn’t feel right,” Solskjaer told reporters. “When you’ve been out for such a while it’s always going to take time until you’re 100 percent. He wasn’t ready [to face Burnley] because he’s not really done too many games and he’s had two in a few days, and he just needed another day’s recovery.”

Pogba has been repeatedly linked in the media with a move away from Manchester United, but his agent, Mino Raiola, on Monday told Sky Sports that the midfielder would be staying at Old Trafford.

“Paul has always respected Manchester United, just as Manchester United has also always respected Paul, and the only one that talks for Manchester United and for Paul is Ole,” Raiola said. “I go by what he [Solskjaer] says. He [Pogba] will not move, and that’s OK. We are good with them.”

“As long as Paul is at Manchester United he wants to win trophies ... he wants to give it 100 percent,” he said. “Paul is struggling a little bit with his injury that we tried to resolve and I think that’s our main interest now.”

Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay damaged knee ligaments in the win over Newcastle and Solskjaer said that the 23-year-old could be out of action for about a month.

“I wouldn’t expect him to be back within a few weeks,” the Norwegian said. “I don’t know if it’s three or four weeks... We’ve just got to find a way through it.”

Manchester United’s win over Burnley lifted them to fifth in the table, while Arsenal dropped to 12th after losing to Chelsea on Sunday.

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title: Paul Pogba set to return for visit to Arsenal


title: Militia attack leaves 20 dead in eastern DR Congo

content_text:
Militants killed 20 people, most of them hacked to death, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) eastern Beni region in the latest attack by an armed group blamed for massacres that have sparked angry protests.

Local officials said that fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist militia originally from neighboring Uganda, on Sunday attacked Apetina-Sana, west of Oicha, the chief administrative town in Beni region.

“There was an incursion in Apetina-Sana by the ADF last night,” Beni administrator Donat Kibwana said. “[They] hacked 18 civilians to death.”

Local officials later found two more bodies during a search after the attack, bringing the total to 20.

Apetina-Sana is part of the so-called Triangle of Death, along with Mbau and Eringeti — the worst-hit area for ADF attacks.

ADF fighters have killed more than 200 people since the army launched an offensive against them on Oct. 30 last year, tolls compiled by civil society groups showed.

The toll has sparked anger over the authorities’ response.

“The authorities were tipped off on Sunday evening about the presence of suspicious men west of Oicha,” said Teddy Kataliko, an activist in Beni. “We continue to ask the Congolese armed forces to launch operations on the western side as well, to save civilians.”

There have been demonstrations in the city of Beni, where local people accuse the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of failing to protect them.

In a separate incident in the eastern DR Congo on Monday, “armed bandits” attacked a base used by a Chinese-owned gold mine, killing four people, the Congolese armed forces said.

The raid happened in Irumu District in the northeastern province of Ituri, Congolese Army Ituri Province spokesman Lieutenant Jules Ngongo said, adding that two soldiers, a police officer and a driver for the mine were killed.

“The assailants have not been completely identified, but they must be armed bandits who look for supplies during the year-end festivities,” Ngongo said.

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people: 韓國瑜 柯文哲 蔡英文 范雲 宋楚瑜

content_text:
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je answers reporters’ questions following a news conference about housing rights in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he would only deliver on his threat to rally support for Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) strongly criticized him.

In an online political talk show that aired on the weekend, a pundit asked Ko what he would do if the DPP harshly criticized him in the final days of campaigning before the election on Jan. 11.

“I will tell everyone to support Han Kuo-yu in the last second,” Ko said. “The DPP will be afraid of this.”

Han is the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate. He is running against President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the DPP, and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).

The Taiwan Statebuilding Party said that supporting Han is similar to giving up Taiwan’s future to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) partner, and Ko can be considered an unscrupulous politician for using Taiwanese’s future as a bargaining chip for political gains, online news outlet Storm Media (風傳媒) said yesterday.

DPP legislator-at-large nominee Fan Yun (范雲), a National Taiwan University sociology professor, said on Facebook: “Mayor Ko, there should be a bottom line to manipulating democracy.”

“Electing the president is the most important thing in a democratic nation, and the people decide which direction the nation will go, as well as who will lead us in that direction,” she wrote.

“However, Mayor Ko, you do not care about Taiwan at all, but only your political future. Are you using the presidential election as your revenge tool?” she added.

People know that their votes count, and Ko’s supporters can decide for themselves and choose not to follow his orders, Fan said.

On the sidelines of a news conference on housing justice at Taipei City Hall yesterday, Ko said he is used to being criticized by DPP members, so “there is nothing to it, sometimes we just threaten each other.”

Asked about a plan by the KMT and PFP caucuses to file for a constitutional interpretation for the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法), Ko said, laughing: “I have always said that it is better not to have this kind of opposition parties, because it is so humiliating that they can only throw water balloons and ask for constitutional interpretations.”

“The opposition parties should be able to say clearly what they think is wrong about the proposed bill,” he said. “They want to ask for a constitutional interpretation? They might as well get down on their knees and surrender.”

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title: 2020 Elections: Ko explains his ‘threat’ against DPP


content_text:
Real-estate brokers say first-time home buyers boosting housing transactions

The nation’s major real-estate brokers reported a concrete pickup in housing transactions last month from the same period a year earlier, driven mainly by demand among first-time home buyers.

The presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11 appear to have had little impact, as the market is upbeat about a boost from capital inflows, analysts said.

Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋), the only listed real-estate broker in Taiwan, said in a report that property deals nationwide last month rose more than 10 percent from a year earlier, supported by demand for small and relatively affordable apartments priced between NT$7 million and NT$20 million (US$232,512 and US$664,319).

Sinyi research manager Tseng Ching-der (曾進德) attributed the improvement to first-time home buyers, who tend to favor such products and switch to larger apartments later in life when their family and household income grow.

Transactions in Taipei last month rose 17 percent year-on-year and added 25 percent in New Taipei City, Sinyi data showed.

Housing deals posted the fastest increase of 33 percent in Taichung and grew 16 percent in Tainan, the broker said.

However, transactions in Taoyuan declined 3 percent and they fell 8 percent in Kaohsiung, it said.

Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋), the nation’s largest real-estate broker by number of offices, saw its transactions increase by 19 percent, even though buying interest held steady.

Housing deals rose 24 percent in Taipei, 18 percent in New Taipei City and 32 percent in Taoyuan, Evertrust said, citing internal data.

Taichung reported a 30 percent increase and Tainan posted growth of 36 percent, it said, adding that Kaohsiung bucked the trend with a 2 percent retreat.

“The data was reflective of a recovery that is gaining steam,” Evertrust Rehouse spokesman Jay Hsieh (謝志傑) said.

Reports of Taiwanese firms moving back from China are encouraging, boosting confidence about property prices, Hsieh said.

Overall housing transactions last year could challenge 300,000 units for the first time since 2016, when policymakers introduced a series of measures to cool the property market, Evertrust said.

However, Hsieh warned against inflexible pricing by sellers, saying that the recovery is modest and concessions could facilitate transactions.

Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) observed a similar trend, saying that housing transactions last month grew 8.1 percent from a year earlier, but prices weakened 2.7 percent annually.

Taichung outperformed with a 15.2 percent increase in deals, followed by New Taipei City with a 14.1 percent pickup and Hsinchu County with a 13.6 percent gain, it said.

Taichung appears to be the biggest beneficiary of public construction to improve infrastructure in central Taiwan, the broker said.


title: Optimism riding high in Hong Kong for new year

content_text:
After a year framed by local unrest and a US-China trade war, investors in Hong Kong’s financial markets are more sanguine entering this year.

The territory’s Hang Seng Index last month rallied 7.1 percent, among the world’s top major benchmarks.

Elevated local borrowing costs have put the Hong Kong dollar on pace for its best month since 2003, even as some analysts doubt that the strength will stick.

Worries are still hanging over the territory after its economy plunged into recession and as protests continue following landslide victories for pro-democracy candidates in November.

However, for Hong Kong markets, helping sentiment last month was an initial trade agreement between Washington and Beijing that helped power a return to risk assets globally and sent the S&P 500 to new all-time highs in the US.

The Hang Seng yesterday lost 0.46 percent, or 129.64 points, to end the session at 28,189.75, with volume that was 21 percent less than the 30-day average. The index rose 2,344 points, or 9 percent, for the whole of last year.

“It has been a worse-than-expected year for Hong Kong’s financial markets due to the political events,” Springwaters Financial Group Co (泓瑞源金融證券) Hong Kong-based strategist Sam Chi Yung (岑智勇) said. “Since the city’s tension has eased recently and more trade deals are expected to be signed next year, the market is set for a good start in 2020.”

Sam is expecting a “good rebound” for the Hang Seng in the first half.

Despite last month’s rally, the Hong Kong benchmark last year trailed most major stock indices worldwide.

After the Hang Seng’s strong start last year, occurring as mainland equities surged, markets were hit by inflamed trade tensions, an extended drop in the yuan and worsening economic data in China.

Chinese firms account for more than half the market value of Hang Seng components.

While there was anticipation that the year-end rally for equities can persist, some market watchers believe the Hong Kong dollar’s 0.5 percent gain for last month will prove short-lived.

“The Hong Kong dollar should weaken past the year-end, as local interest rates should soften,” Bloomberg Intelligence Asia foreign exchange and rates strategist Stephen Chiu (趙志軒) said.

“A more sustained retreat in Hong Kong rates and the city’s currency could come after” the Lunar New Year holiday late this month, when there is typically a seasonal increase for cash, he added.

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content_text:
The Kansas City Chiefs were inches away from playing in the Super Bowl a year ago and, to many in their locker room, the sting of that overtime loss to New England has served as motivation to return to the American Football Conference (AFC) title game this season.

Now the Chiefs need just one win to get there.

Their routine victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday went down just as the Patriots were losing to the Miami Dolphins, giving the Chiefs the No. 2 seed in the conference. That means they get the week off, while the Patriots are forced to play a wild-card game.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence, man. Defense is balling and our offense is getting things rolling,” Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. “We’re the hottest team. We have the most swag in the AFC.”

Yes, the top-seeded Ravens have not lost with Lamar Jackson on the field in ages, the Patriots still have Tom Brady and the Texans have already gotten the best of Kansas City once this season, but the Chiefs (12-4) have also won six straight, their offense playing at a high level and their defense evolving into one of the best in the NFL.

They had a streak of 10 consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown end on Sunday, but they still held Philip Rivers and the Chargers to 21 points, while making crucial plays when they mattered in the fourth quarter.

It is a far cry from last season, when the Chiefs defense failed to stop the Patriots in the fourth quarter and overtime, when linebacker Dee Ford’s offside penalty helped set Brady and the Patriots up for the winning touchdown.

“We have grown tremendously from the situation last year and there is a new makeup of the team,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said “It’s as easy as that. I think, moving forward, we are a lot more comfortable this year than we were last year.”

Most of that new makeup is on defense, where the Chiefs swung a trade-and-sign deal for pass rusher Frank Clark and reeled in safety Tyrann Mathieu in free agency.

Clark was a disruptive force again on Sunday, sacking Rivers once and causing him nightmares a dozen other times, while Mathieu had his team-leading fourth interception.

“Obviously, we have some great momentum heading into the post-season,” Mathieu said. “It’s going to be fun. I love playing football. I love the challenges. I love everything that comes with it. I know my teammates feel the same.”

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title: Wounded Chiefs eyeing another shot at AFC title


content_text:
UK woman lied about rape: Cyprus

‘IMMATURITY’:A British woman accused 12 Israelis of raping her after some of them recorded her having consensual sex, a court said, but the woman said she is innocent
A Cypriot court on Monday found a 19-year-old British woman guilty of fabricating claims that she was gang raped by 12 Israelis in a hotel room at a tourist resort in Cyprus, saying that her story lacked credibility.

Famagusta District Court Judge Michalis Papathanasiou said the defendant did not tell the truth and tried to deceive the court with “evasive” statements in her testimony.

The woman has said she is innocent and would appeal the ruling.

The case had triggered widespread interest in the UK and Israel. It was reported as a shocking gang rape until Cypriot authorities cast doubt on the woman’s account.

Reacting to the verdict, the British government raised questions over whether the teenager received a fair trial.

“The UK is seriously concerned about the fair trial guarantees in this deeply distressing case and we will be raising the issue with the Cypriot authorities,” a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said in a written statement.

The woman, who has not been identified, was found guilty of the charge of “public mischief,” which carries a maximum fine of 1,700 euros (US$1,900) and up to a year’s imprisonment.

She is to remain in Cyprus for her sentencing on Tuesday next week.

Emerging from the courthouse after the verdict, both the woman and her mother wore strips of fabric over their mouths on which stitched lips were drawn.

The woman told investigators that she had been raped by as many as a dozen Israelis aged 15 to 20 on July 17 last year.

Cypriot police said she retracted the allegations 10 days later after investigators found what they said were inconsistencies in her statements.

Taking the stand earlier in the trial, the woman said that while she was having sex with her boyfriend, she was pinned down and others who entered the room raped her.

The judge said the defendant admitted to investigators under questioning that she had lied and apologized.

He said she made up the claims because she was “ashamed” after finding out that some of the Israelis had recorded her having consensual sex with her Israeli boyfriend on their mobile phones.

He said that the admission and her subsequent apology “was the only time the defendant told the truth.”

The court heard that a physical examination of the woman after she filed the complaint to police found no evidence of rape.

The judge rejected testimony from a pathologist testifying for the defense that rape could not be ruled out.

All 12 Israelis returned home shortly after their release and their defense lawyers said they would sue the woman for damages.

During the trial, the woman said that she felt threatened by investigators while she was being questioned and that she feared she would be arrested if she did not sign the retraction, adding that she “even feared for her life.”

Papathanasiou dismissed her testimony as being “exaggerated, confused, contradictory and incoherent.”

Defense lawyer Ritsa Pekri asked the court to mitigate her sentence, saying that she regretted her actions and only did what she did out of “immaturity,” and because she was under strong psychological pressure.

Pekri said the woman is on anti-depressants.

Outside of the court, Nicoletta Charalambidou, another lawyer on the woman’s legal team, said the conviction was expected and that an appeal would be filed to the Cypriot Supreme Court, because defense lawyers feel that their client’s rights to a fair trial had been “violated to a significant degree.”

title: UK woman lied about rape: Cyprus


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Hanukkah attacker referenced Adolf Hitler

MENTAL ILLNESS:The suspect’s Internet browsing history showed a news article about police presence in Jewish neighborhoods and queries about Adolf Hitler
Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, center, and members of the Jewish community celebrate the arrival of a new Torah scroll to his home in Monsey, New York, on Sunday.Photo: EPA-EFE
US authorities on Monday laid federal hate crimes charges against a man who referenced Adolf Hitler in his diaries and allegedly stabbed five people at a rabbi’s house.

Grafton Thomas, 37, had expressed anti-Semitic views, referred to “Nazi culture” and drew swastikas in handwritten journals, according to a criminal complaint filed with a US court.

Signed by an FBI agent, the complaint said that around Saturday, the day of the attack, the Internet browser of the accused’s smartphone was also used to access an article titled: “New York City Increases Police Presence in Jewish Neighborhoods After Possible Anti-Semitic Attacks. Here’s What To Know.”

The complaint was filed on the same day that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview with NPR radio that the US was suffering from a “crisis” of anti-Semitism.

“There is a growing anti-Semitism problem in this whole country. It has taken a more and more violent form,” he said, adding that the “forces of hate have been unleashed.”

“Some of that has to do with the reality of Washington,” he said. “Some of it has to do with social media.”

The mayor announced a series of measures to tackle the problem, including an intensified police presence in Jewish communities of New York City, additional security cameras and multi-ethnic community safety patrols.

“We have made it a habit when the Jewish community is attacked anywhere in the world to reinforce key Jewish community locations in New York City,” he said. “But we’re doing it now on a much bigger scale, particularly in Brooklyn, where the most important vulnerabilities are.”

Thomas appeared in a New York court on Sunday charged with five counts of attempted murder after the stabbing spree during Hanukkah celebrations at Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg’s suburban house, which he entered in Rockland County.

Rockland has the largest Jewish population per capita of any US county, with 31.4 percent, or 90,000 Jewish residents.

Still covered in blood, Thomas was reportedly arrested in his car about 50km away two hours after the attack.

The New York Times quoted Taleea Collins, a friend of the suspect, and his pastor, Wendy Paige, as saying that Thomas struggles with mental illness.

Monday’s criminal complaint said that Thomas typed “Why did Hitler hate the Jews” into an Internet browser on his mobile phone four times between Nov. 9 and Dec. 16.

He also searched for “Zionist temples” in the New York area, according to the complaint, which was first reported by the New York Times.

In 2018, a white supremacist shot dead 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue — the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in the US.

Early last month, six people, including the two attackers, were killed in a shooting at a kosher deli in Jersey City, New Jersey, which authorities said was fueled in part by anti-Semitism.

The Anti-Defamation League reported in April last year that the number of anti-Semitic attacks in 2018 was close to the record of 2017, with 1,879 incidents.

US President Donald Trump tweeted that Americans “must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti-Semitism.”


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Taiwan’s shameful treatment of migrant workers continues to make international headlines, the most recent being a Thomson Reuters Foundation report last week that pregnant workers often face a choice between getting fired and an abortion.

The woman featured in the story chose abortion, since losing her job would mean she had to pay her own ticket home and a contract termination fee, while also being in debt for placement fees to her broker. Moreover, she had to pay back a New Year hongbao (紅包, red envelope containing money) to her employer.

Of course, this is illegal in Taiwan, but migrant workers are often under the thumb of unscrupulous brokers who do not inform them of their rights and usually side with employers.

And as the article said: “Enforcement is inconsistent at best.”

The brokers know the system in and out, and how to get away with it. They remain the biggest problem in the mistreatment of migrant workers that has become a blight on Taiwan’s human rights record, and is the reason why there have been protests calling for the abolition of the broker system.

There are good brokers, and they do make the process for employers and workers much easier, but something needs to be done so that the bad ones do not run unchecked like this.

The government’s direct-hiring program is pretty much useless, as it is too much of a hassle for employers; it is the broker system that needs to be fixed directly.

Unfortunately, that would just address the financial and legal issues, as workplace discrimination against pregnant women is not limited to migrant workers.

As a Taipei Times report in March said: “Sexist stereotypes that women are more well-suited to domesticity and that their work performance will suffer after they get married or have a child can result in employers taking matters into their own hands, by withholding professional opportunities, promotions and mentorship.”

A Ministry of Labor report in August last year showed that half of its workplace gender discrimination cases that year were related to pregnancy discrimination — namely, firing women for seemingly unrelated “performance” issues or moving them to a position they were not suited for in hopes that they quit voluntarily. These are just the cases that have been reported, and the circumstances definitely contribute to Taiwan’s low birthrate.

On a related note, there have been a few atrocious remarks regarding pregnancy among the many bizarrely misogynistic comments political campaigners have made in the lead-up to the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections. The latest offender is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘).

While campaigning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative candidate Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) on Friday last week, Gou said that Yang’s independent opponent, Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸), only cared about getting married and giving birth since she was elected as a lawmaker in 2016. Gou is a business owner with hundreds of thousands of employees, and this is not acceptable given the circumstances described above.

The sexist remarks from the KMT camp have not stopped despite a public backlash, and it is clear that these “slips of tongues” are intentionally malicious and they have not understood the message. How will society respect pregnant women, or women in general, if the nation’s leaders keep making such comments?

title: EDITORIAL: Discrimination against pregnancy

people: 楊瓊瓔 洪慈庸


title: Al-Shabaab militants claim huge Somali bomb attack

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Al-Shabaab Islamist militants have claimed responsibility for Saturday’s massive car bomb in the Somalian capital that killed 81 people, including two Turkish citizens.

The attack hit a busy checkpoint in the southwest of the city, leaving vehicles charred and twisted at a crossroads in the deadliest assault in two years in the Horn of Africa country.

Scores more were wounded in an area clogged with traffic because of the security checkpoint and a tax office collecting fees from trucks and buses.

“The mujahidin carried [out] an attack... targeting a convoy of Turkish mercenaries and apostate militia who were escorting them,” al-Shabaab spokesman Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said in an audio message on Monday.

Among the dead were 16 students from the private Banadir State University whose bus was passing through the crossroads as the bomb detonated.

Mogadishu is regularly hit by attacks by al-Shabaab, which has fought for more than a decade to topple the Somali government.

For the first time, al-Shabaab apologised to the civilian victims of the attack, which it justified as necessary in fight against the Somali state and its foreign backers.

“We are very sorry about the casualty that was inflicted on our Somali Muslim society, and we are extending our condolences to the Muslims who have lost their lives and or [were] wounded and or had their property destroyed,” the spokesman said.

Al-Shabaab does not usually claim attacks that cause high casualty rates among the civilian population, for fear of losing the support it still enjoys with some Somalians.

The message also accused Turkey of trying to control Somalia’s resources. Turkey is a major donor and investor in Somalia, especially in humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Turkish companies manage Mogadishu’s port and airport.

“The Turks are our enemies and as we have said before, we will not stop fighting until they withdraw from our lands,” the spokesman said.

The death toll increased to 81 on Monday after two victims died from their wounds, the Somalian Ministry of Information said.

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Dummy police are the newest recruits to law enforcement in India’s southern city of Bangalore, where authorities have adopted an unusual tactic to fight traffic offenders.

Mannequins dressed up as traffic officers — complete with hats, white shirts and fluorescent vests with police insignia — are being placed at major intersections in the hope that they would prompt drivers to observe the rules.

Some even wear sunglasses and masks.

With 8 million vehicles plying the notoriously busy roads in a tech hub renowned for its traffic snarls, police have said that they do not have enough flesh-and-blood officers to direct traffic at all of the intersections.

“The idea is not to scare anybody. The idea is to increase compliance,” Bangalore Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said. “There are 44,000 intersections in the city, but traffic lights are installed in only about 450 intersections. At the rest, traffic is directed by an officer, or not directed at all.”

He added that officers use a “hide and seek” tactic — swapping the mannequins with actual police officers — to keep drivers on their best behavior.

Bangalore, which has been dubbed the Silicon Valley of India, is home to an estimated 13 million people.

An average of two people die every day on the roads of the megalopolis, with 4,283 crashes reported from January to November last year. Many are blamed on drunk-driving, speeding and drivers ignoring traffic signals.

Last year, there were 50,457 cases of reckless driving and another 57,394 for drunk-driving, official figures showed.

The model officers have received mixed reactions from commuters about whether the dummy ploy would work, with some locals praising police for thinking outside of the box.

“It’s a general human mentality that when you see a policeman, you have fear in your heart: ‘Oh I am doing something wrong, I will not do it,’” clothing company director Vijay Shekhar said.

Others were more skeptical.

Businessman Rohit Kamalkar said that the scheme would not work in a country such as India, where rules are flouted with impunity.

“We do not follow rules even when they [police] are real, so how would it work when they are not moving and running after us?” tech consultant Sapan Agarwal asked.

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title: India traffic police think out of the box to deter offenders


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Then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin, center, finishes his glass of vodka at a reception of heads of state in the Kremlin on May 9, 1995.
Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your healthPhoto: AFP
Britain was so concerned by then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin’s heart attacks and drinking in 1995 that contingency plans were drawn up in case he died in office, declassified files showed yesterday.

After Yeltsin suffered a second heart attack, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office drafted statements of condolence, fearing for his health amid the boozing, according to documents released from Britian’s National Archives.

In a hectic round of diplomacy, Yeltsin had a summit with then-US president Bill Clinton in the town of Hyde Park north of New York, on Oct. 23, 1995.

He was rushed to hospital in Moscow with heart trouble on Oct. 26, for the second time in under four months.

A cable the same day from British ambassador to Russia Andrew Wood on Yeltsin’s medical condition reported on his drinking in New York.

“He consumed wine and beer greedily at Hyde Park and regretted the absence of cognac,” the British diplomat said. “One of his aides took a glass of champagne away from him when the aide felt enough was enough, and he was alcoholically cheerful at his press conference with Clinton.”

Then-British prime minister John Major sent a message to the recuperating Yeltsin, telling him: “You have not spared yourself both in dealing with Russia’s domestic affairs and in traveling abroad,” and hoping he would be “back on top form very soon.”

An accompanying message from Major’s wife, Norma, to Naina Yeltsina said: “I know how much you worry about him. He has carried a heavy burden these past few years, much to the good of his country and of the world.”

An Oct. 27 cable from Wood said: “If Yeltsin were to die suddenly we would be in for a period of exceptional political confusion,” as presidential and parliamentary elections loomed.

A month later, the Foreign Office wrote to Downing Street to say that Yeltsin seemed to be recovering and noted that the president was now six years older than the average Russian male’s life expectancy of 58.

“His approved intention to curb his drinking after his first heart attack did not endure: There is little reason to be confident that he will do better this time. He is a bad insurance risk,” the memo said.

“We have therefore given some thought to contingency plans should President Yeltsin die in office,” it said.

The likely arrangements for Britain’s funeral delegation were outlined, including draft messages to be issued to the media, Yeltsin’s wife and the acting president.

The press statement called Yeltsin a “leader of courage and vision,” who transformed Russia’s outlook from ideological confrontation with the West to close cooperation.

“Perhaps Boris Yeltsin’s greatest legacy is that he achieved so much in such a short time,” it said.

Despite his health problems, Yeltsin remained in power until the end of December 1999. He died in 2007 aged 76.

Major, who left office in 1997, attended his funeral in Moscow for Britain.

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title: UK feared boozing Yeltsin would die in office: files


title: Iraqis break into US embassy

content_text:
Iraqis break into US embassy

US AIRSTRIKES:The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia on Monday promised retaliation, while the Iraqi government called the attack a ‘flagrant violation’ of its sovereignty
Protesters and militia fighters gather outside the main gate of the US embassy in Baghdad yesterday to condemn US airstrikes.Photo: Reuters
Dozens of angry Iraqi Shiite militia supporters yesterday broke into the US embassy compound in Baghdad after smashing a main door and setting fire to a reception area, prompting tear gas and sounds of gunfire.

A reporter at the scene saw flames rising from inside the compound and at least three US soldiers on the roof of the main building inside embassy.

There was a fire at the reception area near the parking lot of the compound, but it was unclear what had caused it.

A man on a loudspeaker urged the protesters not to enter the compound, saying: “The message was delivered.”

The embassy attack followed deadly US airstrikes on Sunday that killed 25 fighters of the Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the Kataib Hezbollah.

The US military said it was in retaliation for last week’s killing of a US contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base that it had blamed on the militia.

Dozens of protesters pushed into the compound after smashing the gate used by vehicles to enter the embassy.

The protesters, many in militia uniform, stopped in a corridor after about 5m, and were only about 200m away from the main building.

Half a dozen US soldiers were seen on the roof of the main building, their guns were pointed at the protesters.

Smoke from the tear gas rose in the area, and at least three of the protesters appeared to have difficulties breathing.

The US ambassador to Iraq and other staff were earlier evacuated because of safety concerns.

The protesters hanged a poster on the wall: “America is an aggressor.”

Earlier, the mob shouted “Down, Down USA!” as the crowd tried to push inside the embassy grounds, hurling water and stones over its walls. They raised yellow militia flags and taunted the embassy’s security staff who remained behind the glass windows in the gates’ reception area and also sprayed graffiti on the wall and windows.

The graffiti, in red in support of the Kataib Hezbollah, read: “Closed in the name of the resistance.” Hundreds of angry protesters also set up tents outside the embassy. As tempers rose, the mob set fire to three trailers used by security guards along the embassy wall.

No one was immediately reported hurt in the rampage and security staff had withdrawn to inside the embassy earlier, soon after protesters gathered outside.

Seven armored vehicles with about 30 Iraqi soldiers arrived near the embassy hours after the violence erupted, deploying near the embassy walls but not close to the breached area.

There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon or the US the Department of State.

The US airstrikes — the largest targeting an Iraqi state-sanctioned militia in the past few years — and the subsequent calls by the militia for retaliation, represent a new escalation in the proxy war between the US and Iran playing out in the Middle East.

Yesterday’s attempted embassy storming took place after mourners and supporters held funerals for the militia fighters killed in a Baghdad neighborhood, after which they marched on to the heavily fortified Green Zone and kept walking till they reached the sprawling US embassy.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Sunday’s strikes send the message that the US would not tolerate actions by Iran that jeopardize American lives.

The Iranian-backed Iraqi militia on Monday vowed to retaliate for the US military strikes.


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Former South Korean justice minister indicted

FALLEN ALLY:Cho Kuk, a former top aide to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, faces a dozen charges, ranging from bribery to fraud and ethics breaches
Former South Korean minister of justice Cho Kuk, center, speaks upon his arrival at the Seoul Eastern District Court on Thursday last week.Photo: AP
South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted former minister of justice Cho Kuk on a dozen charges, including bribery, two months after he resigned over a scandal involving family investment and university admissions for his children.

The accusations are a setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in after the liberal leader named Cho, a former top aide, to the Cabinet post to lead reform of the prosecutors’ office, which critics saw as being susceptible to political pressure.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Cho and his wife over family investment and use of their position to gain admissions for their children, it said in a statement.

Cho faces a dozen charges, ranging from bribery and document fraud to manipulation of evidence and breaches of public service ethics law, it added.

Together with his wife, Chung Kyung-shim, he is being prosecuted for falsifying documents regarding family investments and efforts to gain university admissions.

Cho is to remain free as he stands trial. ‘

Chung, a university professor, was arrested in October on the same charges.

Cho’s lawyer, Kim Chil-joon, did not immediately respond to telephone calls or a text message seeking comment.

Yonhap news agency quoted him as saying the prosecutors had handed down “a political indictment based on their imagination and fiction.”

Moon’s office called the investigation result “meager” and said it would deepen people’s distrust of prosecutors.

“The investigation shook the president’s authority,” his press secretary Yoon Do-han said. “The result raised questions about the intent of the investigation.”

Cho’s resignation and indictment were a spectacular downfall for the former star legal academic known for progressive thinking who was one of Moon’s closest political allies and viewed by some as a potential presidential successor.

Moon came to power in 2017, promising to clean up corruption after weeks of large street protests led to the impeachment of his predecessor, Park Geun-hye.

Cho stepped down in October after just one month in office, saying the graft scandal had become a political burden for Moon’s government.

His appointment was followed by street protests for and against the president on a scale not seen since 2017, hitting Moon’s public support ratings.


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Negotiating while the world burns

The world might still win the climate change battle if this year’s COP26 can successfully address opportunities and challenges
The 2010s may be remembered as the decade when the fight against harmful climate change was lost.

In 2015, at the UN climate change conference (COP21) in Paris, 196 countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

However, global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have continued to increase, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their highest levels in 800,000 years, and current policies are likely to result in warming of about 3°C by 2100.

Moreover, the COP25 negotiations in Madrid earlier this month ended in failure, with governments squabbling over the value and allocation of “carbon credits” held over from a discredited previous policy regime.

At the same time, however, stunning technological progress during the 2010s makes it possible to cut GHG emissions at a cost far lower than we dared hope a decade ago. The costs of solar and wind power have fallen more than 80 percent and 70 percent respectively, while lithium-ion battery costs are down from US$1,000 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to US$160 per kWh today.

These and other breakthroughs guarantee that energy systems that are as much as 85 percent dependent on variable renewables could produce zero-carbon electricity at costs that are fully competitive with those of fossil-fuel-based systems.

In addition, it is now clear that even the “harder-to-abate” sectors of the economy, such as heavy industry (including steel, cement and chemicals) and long-distance transport (shipping, aviation and trucking), can be decarbonized at costs which, although significant for any one company acting alone, are trivial in terms of the impact on people’s living standards.

The UK’s Committee on Climate Change in May estimated that achieving a zero-carbon economy by 2050 would reduce GDP that year by no more than 1 to 2 percent. Back in 2008, the same committee, which I then chaired, had estimated a similar cost to achieve only an 80 percent reduction in emissions.

Lower decarbonization costs and growing awareness of climate risks have in turn prompted an increasing focus on the possibility and necessity of meeting the zero-emissions goal by 2050. In July, the UK made a legally binding commitment to meet that objective, and the EU agreed on the same goal earlier this month.

Furthermore, Maersk, the world’s largest container-shipping firm, the Swedish steel producer SSAB and the Indian cement company Dalmia are among the growing number of leading businesses committed to being zero-carbon by 2050 or earlier.

To achieve the Paris agreement’s climate objective, all developed economies must become zero-carbon by the mid-century and could do so at a minimal cost to living standards. Such efforts must also include China.

Beijing is seeking to negotiate at climate-change conferences as a “developing country” in view of its current GDP per capita (in purchasing-power-parity terms) of about US$18,000, or about 40 percent of the EU average.

However, the government’s stated ambition is for the nation to become “a fully developed rich economy” by 2050, with a higher GDP per capita than any European country today. Given the quality of the nation’s workforce, infrastructure and management, and its increasing technological leadership in many sectors, that objective is entirely achievable.

How rapidly China reduces emissions is therefore crucial. The nation currently accounts for almost 30 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, and its per capita emissions are due to overtake Europe’s declining figure within a few years.

title: Negotiating while the world burns


title: Bucks rout Bulls for 30th win

content_text:
Bucks rout Bulls for 30th win

BACK WITH A BANG:Giannis Antetokounmpo capped a 17-4 run in the third quarter with a thunderous dunk that drew a loud roar from the United Center crowd
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks slams a reverse-dunk against the Chicago Bulls in their NBA game at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday.Photo: AFP
With an NBA-best 30-5 record, the Milwaukee Bucks are off to a great start, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is more concerned with the team’s finish this season.

The NBA Most Valuable Player on Monday produced 23 points and 10 rebounds after missing two games with a sore back as Milwaukee pulled away in the second half for a 123-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Antetokounmpo, the league’s second-leading scorer with an average of 30.5 points per game ahead of Monday, played only 27 minutes and sat out the final five and a half because of the lopsided score.

He was eight of 14 from the field, with six assists.

“We won 30 games before January. It’s cool, but we can always do better,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’ve got to keep improving because the goal is to play late in the season.”

Khris Middleton scored 25 points for the Bucks, while Eric Bledsoe had 15 points in 16 minutes after missing the previous eight games with a fractured right leg.

“We move way faster with him,” Antetokounmpo said of Bledsoe. “He’s like a sports car. He goes so fast and we’ve got to follow him. It’s always good to have him back.”

Zach LaVine scored 19 points for Chicago, but shot just seven of 23 from the field.

Lauri Markkanen and Coby White had 18 points apiece, while Wendell Carter Jr added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls.

“In the first half, I think we were there, but I think in the second half we weren’t playing our best basketball,” Markkanen said. “We’ve shown we can play with anybody, but obviously we’ve got to do it for 48 minutes to actually win the game. We can’t have those lapses we did in the third [quarter]. We’re capable of getting those wins.”

Milwaukee jumped out to an 8-0 lead as Chicago missed their first six shots.

The Bucks led 31-20 at the end of the first quarter and stretched it to 33-20 early in the second on a basket by Robin Lopez, but the Bulls — after shooting nine of 29 in the first — suddenly got hot from behind the three-point arc.

White and Markkanen each had three three-pointers in the second quarter to trim the Milwaukee advantage. Chicago were eight of 14 on threes in the quarter.

With just under two minutes left in the first half, White hit a driving scoop off the glass to give the Bulls a 52-51 lead, their first of the game.

Antetokounmpo quickly answered with a put-back on the other end to put the Bucks back on top.

Milwaukee led 55-52 at halftime thanks in part to a 15-0 advantage in free-throw attempts (making 12).

Any chance of a Chicago upset was quickly dashed in the third quarter.

The Bucks opened with a 17-4 run for a 72-56 lead — with Antetokounmpo capping the spurt with a thunderous dunk that drew a loud roar from the United Center crowd.

“There’s momentum plays, there’s things that just give your team energy and may be deflating for your opponent,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It was great. For him to miss a couple of games, and come back and have a dunk like that was impressive.”

Milwaukee led 95-77 after three quarters.

Kyle Korver hit a three-pointer 2 minutes, 30 seconds into the fourth quarter for a 105-81 lead, the Bucks’ biggest of the game.

Elsewhere, the Wizards hammered the Heat 123-105, the Suns were too hot for the Trail Blazers in a 122-116 victory, the Jazz pummeled the Pistons 104-81, the Hawks mastered the Magic 101-93 and the Timberwolves triumphed 122-115 over the Nets in overtime.