title: Germany ‘flirts with recession’ as Q4 stagnates

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The German economy stagnated in the fourth quarter last year due to weaker private consumption and state spending, data showed yesterday, renewing fears of a recession just as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are preoccupied with a search for a new leader.

Europe’s biggest economy has been losing momentum as its manufacturers linger in a recession prompted by a reduction in exports, while its automotive sector faces disruption from an expensive shift to electric vehicles.

Private consumption and state spending have been providing growth impetus and, if those two sectors continue to weaken this year, the risk of recession would rise.

“We think the economy will continue to flirt with recession in the first half of this year,” Andrew Kenningham of Capital Economics wrote in a note.

One bright spot from the preliminary data was an upward revision in the third-quarter growth figure to 0.2 percent from a previously reported 0.1 percent.

The German Federal Statistics Office said investments in the construction sector grew in the fourth quarter, while spending on machinery and equipment declined considerably compared with the July-to-September period. Exports also weakened in the final three months of last year, it said.

Merkel’s government has resisted calls for a fiscal stimulus to put the economy firmly back on a growth path.

Those calls would grow louder if the economy fails to rebound, a likely scenario given that manufacturers are expected to face headwinds from the economic impact of an outbreak of COVID-19 in China.

However, Merkel’s government is unlikely to loosen the purse strings. Her conservative party is in crisis after an eastern branch voted with the far-right to elect a state leader, forcing the leader of her Christian Democrats (CDU) to abandon her ambitions to succeed the chancellor.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who after the scandal said she would quit as CDU leader, is searching for a successor to lead the conservatives into the next election, due in October next year.

Merkel’s conservatives and their Social Democrat coalition partners are likely to suffer losses in a national election.

German Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz has dashed hopes of a massive stimulus by sticking to Germany’s policy of no new debt.

The crisis in the conservative party makes it even less likely that the government would take drastic fiscal measures to lift the economy.

Kenningham said that COVID-19, which is impacting the global supply chain and demand from China, could result in weaker German growth in the first quarter of this year.

The outlook for the German economy is also darkened by uncertainties linked to the UK’s Jan. 31 exit from the EU, as well as a threat by US President Donald Trump to impose higher tariffs on auto imports from Europe.

The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) said the quarterly stagnation should be a wake-up call for the government to increase investments and cut corporate taxes.

“Now is the time for politicians in this country to courageously do its economic homework,” DIHK managing director Martin Wansleben said. “Businesses urgently need relief signals: The fast implementation of investment projects and tax cuts should be high up on the government’s agenda.”

On the year, GDP in Germany expanded by 0.4 percent from October through December last year after a 0.6 percent expansion in the previous three months, seasonally adjusted figures from the Federal Statistics Office showed.

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AUTOMAKERS

Renault posts losses

Renault yesterday reported its first loss in a decade and cut its margin target for this year, as it attempts to draw a line under the Carlos Ghosn affair and reboot its Nissan alliance. The French automaker is trying to move on from the internal turmoil sparked by the scandal involving its former CEO Ghosn with a management shake-up. Meanwhile, it is grappling like other automakers with tumbling demand in some key markets like China. Renault posted a loss of 141 million euros (US$153 million) for the group share of net income, in part as a result of charges linked to some of its Chinese joint ventures. The contribution from Nissan, in which Renault has a 43 percent stake, also fell and it was hit by a French deferred tax charge. Renault set an operating margin target next year of between 3 and 4 percent, down from 4.8 percent last year, and sliced its proposed dividend for last year by almost 70 percent from a year earlier.

AIRLINES

Carriers face US$5bn hit

An outbreak of COVID-19 in China could mean a US$4 billion to US$5 billion drop in worldwide airline revenue, the International Civil Aviation Organization said on Thursday. The UN agency reported that 70 airlines have canceled all international flights in and out of China, and 50 others have reduced their operations. Preliminary estimates show this has meant a reduction of nearly 20 million passengers compared with expectations for the first quarter. That figure equates to potential lost revenue of up to US$5 billion, the agency said. “Prior to the outbreak, airlines had planned to increase capacity by 9 percent on international routes to/from China for the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019,” it said in a statement. However, foreign airline traveler capacity in and out of the country has gone down 80 percent, it added.

FOOD

Chocolatier offers 3D fare

Hotels, pastry chefs and coffee chains can soon start offering guests customized 3D-printed chocolate thanks to a little-known Swiss chocolatier. Barry Callebaut AG, the behind-the-scenes producer of a quarter of the world’s chocolate, is giving gourmet clients access to a method of printing personalized designs en masse, the Zurich-based company said in a statement yesterday. The technology would first be available through the company’s Mona Lisa brand, which makes chocolate decorations, sprinkles and figurines. The move comes as the chocolate industry faces meager growth prospects. Lindt & Spruengli has said it plans to close 50 stores in the US.

AGRICULTURE

India budges on US imports

India has offered to partially open up its poultry and dairy markets in a bid for a limited trade deal during US President Donald Trump’s first official visit to the country this month, people familiar with the protracted talks say. India, the world’s largest milk-producing nation, has traditionally restricted dairy imports to protect the livelihoods of 80 million rural households. It has offered to allow imports of US chicken legs, turkey and produce, such as blueberries and cherries, government sources said, and has offered to cut tariffs on chicken legs from 100 percent to 25 percent. US negotiators want that tariff cut to 10 percent. India is also offering some access to India’s dairy market, but with a 5 percent tariff and quotas, the sources said. However, dairy imports require certification that they are not derived from animals fed internal organs, blood meal or tissues of ruminants.

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title: World Business Quick Take


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The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday approved eight applications from small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in a government program, as they pledged to invest a combined NT$2.5 billion (US$83.2 million) in the nation.

The program, launched in July last year, has attracted investments from 143 small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to invest more than NT$61.3 billion, the ministry said, adding that an estimated 6,038 job opportunities would be created.

Headlight lens manufacturer Kai Mao Technology Co Ltd (鎧懋科技), one of automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s tier 3 suppliers, is to invest more than NT$100 million to set up a new smart factory in Tainan’s Sin Ji Industrial Park (新吉工業區).

The company made the decision in response to client demand, such as Fiat Chrysler’s decision to transfer its headlight orders from China to Taiwan, the ministry said, adding that Kai Mao would recruit about 30 local professionals.

Sliding block maker Yun Tan Technologies Co Ltd (允坦科技), an affiliate and supplier of Precision Motion Industries Inc (PMI, 銀泰科技), said it decided to follow its parent company in expanding production capacity in Taiwan.

Yun Tan is to invest nearly NT$400 million to establish a smart production plant in the Taichung Dali Industrial Park (臺中大里工業區), as it seeks to increase automated production lines on PMI’s demand, the ministry said, adding that the company would offer 52 job opportunities.

Other traditional tool and component manufacturers — such as YC Gear Corp (遠際公司), Lian Wang Metal Works Co Ltd (聯旺金屬), Multi-Tek Fastener & Parts Manufacturer Corp (聚巨豐企業) and Men Yin Genki Co Ltd (門印精機) — are to invest between NT$100 million and NT$300 million each to establish highly automated plants in a bid to expand production capacity and efficiency.

The largest investments are to come from Taoyuan Environment Scientific Co Ltd (大恆資源) and an unnamed tomato sauce supplier, each of which have pledged to invest more than NT$500 million.

Specializing in disposable waste treatment, Taoyuan Environment plans to set up additional production lines at its facility in the Ping Nan Industrial Park (屏南工業區), as it looks to transform flammable waste into fuel for internal use, the ministry said.

Taoyuan Environment intends to create 52 job opportunities, the ministry added.

The food company plans to renovate its existing facilities in Tainan’s Shanhua District (善化) and the Sinshih Industrial Park (新市工業園區), as it aims to expand production lines of organic beverages and halal food.

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title: More firms plan to invest in production in Taiwan

taiwan-subdivisions: 大里 善化 臺中 新市


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Singapore may face recession: PM

‘SIGNIFICANT’ IMPACT:Economists have said that they expect the government to roll out a virus relief package of at least S$700 million and to revise growth forecasts
Tourists wearing masks on Thursday pull their trolley bags through the Jewel Changi Airport mall in Singapore.Photo: EPA-EFE
Singapore’s economy could enter a recession due to the blow from an outbreak of COVID-19 in China, its prime minister said yesterday, adding that the city-state was bracing for a “significant” hit in the coming quarters.

“The impact will be significant at least in the next couple of quarters. It is a very intense outbreak,” Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said in a video interview posted on Facebook.

“I can’t say whether we will have a recession or not. It’s possible, but definitely our economy will take a hit,” Lee said in remarks made to media at Changi Airport.

Lee said that business at the airport had suffered with flights down by a third.

Singapore has in effect banned all visitors from China, its biggest source of tourists, while some countries have advised against travel to Singapore, which has one of the highest virus infection tallies outside China at 58.

Its manufacturing and trade sectors might also be hit by widespread economic disruptions in China due to the outbreak.

The Asian business hub had just been showing signs of recovery from its lowest growth rate in a decade last year — at 0.7 percent — when the outbreak spread to the city-state late last month.

Singapore is due to release final fourth-quarter growth data on Monday, and economists said they are anticipating revisions to its growth forecast range of 0.5 to 2.5 percent this year.

On Tuesday, the government is set to roll out a hefty package of budget measures to cushion the economic blow from the epidemic, with some analysts expecting it to run its biggest deficit in more than a decade.

Economists at Citigroup Inc and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd expect a virus relief package of at least S$700 million (US$503 million).

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title: Singapore may face recession: PM


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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported this year’s first locally acquired typhoid case.

A Philippine migrant worker in his 30s in Kaohsiung on Monday tested positive for the disease, the CDC said in a statement.

The man developed a fever on Jan. 21, and had headaches and blood in his stool, it said, adding that he was treated in a hospital on Jan. 31 and hospitalized a week later after showing no improvement.

He has since been discharged, it said.

CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said typhoid is a bacterial infection that enters the body through the gastrointestinal tract, with symptoms of fever, diarrhea, headaches, abdominal pain and coughing usually beginning eight to 14 days following exposure.

People should not eat raw food or drink unboiled water, and should wash their hands with soap before eating and after defecating, Chuang said.

As the man had not traveled overseas since returning from a nine-day trip to the Philippines in February last year, the infection originated in Taiwan, although its source remains unknown, the Kaohsiung Department of Health said in a news release.

Nine people, who mainly lived or worked with the man, are undergoing 14 days of health monitoring, department division head Ho Hui-pin (何惠彬) said.

Taiwan has reported two typhoid cases this year, with the other a case imported from Indonesia, the CDC said.

Last year, there were 21 typhoid cases reported in Taiwan, 17 of which were imported, mainly from Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Cambodia, CDC data showed.

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title: First local typhoid case of the year reported in south


title: Virtual property tours open up new way to sell in China

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China’s property developers and realtors are turning to virtual reality salesrooms and livestream marketing to thaw a frozen market as the COVID-19 outbreak keeps physical offices closed and potential buyers are afraid to leave their homes.

A female employee of Sunac China (融創中國) introduced a residential development in the southern city of Qingyuan on social media platforms Tiktok and Sina Weibo wearing a white gown and waving a paper fan.

The livestream on Tuesday attracted a total of 510,000 viewers for Sunac, China’s fourth-largest developer by sales, but it was unclear whether any of them bid for the property.

Twenty of the top 100 developers have done livestream sales since the start of the outbreak, property researcher CRIC said, adding that 92 of them run online sales platforms which some recently revamped in response to the virus.

Property sales by floor area in China fell 0.1 percent last year, marking the first full-year decline in five years, and analysts expect that sales might drop again this year due to the epidemic.

The outbreak has led to several cities being locked down, mass quarantines and work and travel disruptions as Beijing works to contain COVID-19.

Major realtors including Centaline (中原地產) are also doing more live forums online, hosting talks with senior executives on the property market.

Trying to make homebuyers more comfortable in buying online, Centaline plans to work with property developers to build virtual salesrooms for their new developments.

“The online sales platform has been around for a while, but it was mostly for advertising and chats between agents and buyers,” Centaline Shenzhen general manager Alan Cheng said.

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Virus Outbreak: Falling tour sales have led to more deals: association

Travel Quality Assurance Association members pose for a group photograph at a news conference organized to report on foreign package tour pricing in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Cheng Wei-chi, Taipei Times
The Travel Quality Assurance Association yesterday published a report that included reference prices for overseas tour packages from April to June, saying that customers can preorder the discounted products while they are still on the market.

Due to COVID-19, tourism has declined, with many scheduled tours getting canceled, the association said.

However, the tourism sector is gearing up for a sales rebound, such as the one after the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic, and readying itself for the first peak travel season after COVID-19 is contained and diminishes, it said.

The second quarter is typically the peak season for groups traveling to Japan and with a weaker yen, prices for tours during that time are about NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 less than last year, association member Tsai Ching-hui (蔡錦惠) said.

The price of a five-day tour to Kyushu costs between NT$18,800 and NT$61,800; a five-day tour to Keihanshin — a metropolitan region encompassing the cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe — between NT$26,800 and NT$57,800; and a four-day tour to Tokyo between NT$28,800 and NT$45,800, she said.

The prices of tours to South Korea are NT$500 to NT$1,000 cheaper than last year, she said, adding that a five-day tour to Seoul costs between NT$11,800 and NT$26,800, while a five-day tour to Busan or Jeju Island costs between NT$11,800 and NT$22,800.

A five-day tour to the Philippine islands of Boracay, Palawan or Cebu costs between NT$16,900 and NT$31,800, association member Hsiang Chien-lun (向健倫) said.

The prices of tours to Thailand in the second quarter are generally stable, with a five-day tour to Bangkok or Pattaya costing between NT$16,000 and NT$24,000, and a five-day tour to Chiang Mai between NT$19,000 and NT$31,000, he added.

The peak season for tours to the US and Canada starts in April, including popular destinations such as Yellowstone National Park and the Canadian icefields, association member Tsai Chia-hsuan (蔡佳璇) said.

The prices of US tours are NT$1,000 cheaper than last year, whereas tours to Canada are NT$5,000 to NT$10,000 more expensive, Tsai said.

US regulations on COVID-19 state that travelers who have visited China, Hong Kong or Macau must have papers showing that they were placed under home quarantine, but Taiwanese can obtain a certificate from the National Immigration Agency so that they can enter the US, Tsai said.

Many Taiwanese visit Europe in April, but the outbreak has sparked some negative reactions among Europeans toward Asians, prompting several travel agencies to offer special promotions, association member Hsiao Shih-hua (蕭世華) said.

Australia and New Zealand have been less affected by COVID-19 and Australia’s bushfires have been contained, association member Huang Hsien-tsai (黃賢在) said, adding that prices of tours to Australia are about NT$1,000 cheaper than last year, while tours to New Zealand are NT$2,000 cheaper.

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US Senator Ted Cruz walks through Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 4.Photo: EPA-EFE
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked US Senator Ted Cruz for proposing the Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty Act (Taiwan SOS), which it said would encourage the US government to ease “obsolete” restrictions on bilateral interaction.

Cruz, who is a member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, last year attended Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei, the first US senator to attend in 35 years, the ministry said.

Taiwan-US relations are “incredibly important” in diplomatic, military and economic areas, Cruz said at that time.

He told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at a meeting at the time that he supports Taiwan and the US signing a free-trade agreement.

In November last year, Cruz’s office confirmed reports that he was preparing the Taiwan SOS bill, which was submitted on Thursday.

The bill “would allow diplomats and service members in the Taiwanese military to display their flag and wear their uniforms while in the United States on official businesses,” Cruz said in a press release.

“This reverses the [former US president Barack] Obama administration policy, formalized in a 2015 confidential memo, prohibiting the display of the Taiwanese [Republic of China] flag at the request of the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

The memo was issued after the Obama administration in 2015 was provoked by a New Year’s Day flag-raising ceremony at the Twin Oaks estate in Washington hosted by then-representative to the US Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡).

The US said it had not approved the event.

“These guidelines have restricted US support for Taiwan, by prohibiting both the [US] Department of State and [US] Department of Defense from even posting such symbols on social media,” Cruz said.

The proposal was cosponsored by eight other Republican senators — Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Todd Young, Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, John Cornyn, Ben Sasse and Marsha Blackburn, he said.

“The United States continues to self-impose counterproductive restrictions on our relations with Taiwan,” Cotton was quoted as saying in the press release, adding that the bill, as well as the US’ Taiwan Assurance Act, would deepen bilateral cooperation in economic and security affairs.

The bill encourages the US administration to ease obsolete restrictions on Taiwan-US interaction, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement, thanking the senators for their continued support of Taiwan.

Taiwan would maintain close communication with the US with a pragmatic attitude and continue to deepen bilateral partnerships based on positive foundations, she said.

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title: Ministry thanks Ted Cruz for US ties plan


content_text:
Virus disruptions weigh down firms

DESPERATELY SEEKING SUPPLY:With raw materials in jeopardy, firms are looking elsewhere to secure their supply chain, while others mull relocating away from China
Persistent production disruptions in China would not only delay 5G deployment, but also take a toll on Taiwanese firms that depend on raw materials from across the Taiwan Strait, economists said yesterday.

Many Taiwanese firms in China are still unable to resume normal operations amid an outbreak of COVID-19, and uncertainty remains high about the timing and scale of regular operations, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) researcher Liu Meng-chun (劉孟俊) said.

The Taipei-based think tank contacted Taiwanese companies in China to better understand the epidemic’s impact.

Some firms have resumed 60 percent of production capacity, but many others only have capacity of between 20 and 40 percent, due to a severe lack of labor, Liu said.

Employees have had difficulty returning from the extended Lunar New Year holiday, because of travel restrictions and concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak, the economist said.

Firms are cautious about resuming operations, as the disease has not shown signs of stabilizing and infection risks remain high, Liu said.

China’s Hubei Province, whose capital, Wuhan, is at the center of the outbreak, on Thursday again extended the holiday by another week to Thursday after confirmed cases soared by more than 15,000 in a single day with the adoption of a new diagnosis method.

Companies must meet government requirements before applying to local Chinese administrators for approval to resume operations, Liu said.

If the disruption persists, firms without the support of their parent groups could soon suffer a cash strain, while large conglomerates would prove resilient, thanks to stronger financial flexibility, he said.

The ongoing supply-chain disruption could also negatively affect local companies that depend on raw materials from China, regardless of their production location, Liu said.

The National Development Council (NDC) said that makers of auto parts, machinery tools and petrochemical products rely heavily on raw materials or components from China, which account for 40 percent of exports and 20 percent of imports in Taiwan.

NDC research director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) said that some firms could seek supply elsewhere, but others need more time to adjust.

The outbreak could also disrupt 5G deployment, Liu said, as Chinese technology brands are tapping the business, with assistance from local chipmakers, chip designers and other electronics suppliers.

Smartphone sales have reportedly taken a dive in China as the virus chills and restricts consumer activity.

CIER economist Peng Su-ling (彭素玲) said that Taiwanese firms in China would mull relocating manufacturing bases, but they are preoccupied with tackling chain disruptions for the time being.

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title: Virus disruptions weigh down firms


content_text:
Telecoms to lose leverage paying for 5G

COST OF ADMISSION:The price of buying spectrum on the 3.5GHz frequency band was 80 percent higher than in Italy, which had the most expensive 5G costs
The financial leverage of Taiwanese telecoms is likely to deteriorate as they pay high 5G spectrum costs and increase capital expenditure to roll out 5G services later this year, Fitch Ratings said yesterday.

The local 5G spectrum auctions, which are conducted in two phases, saw aggressive bids from all Taiwanese telecom operators in the first phase, the ratings agency said.

Spectrum costs on the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band amounted to US$0.71 per megahertz (MHz) per capita, which is 80 percent more expensive than the US$0.4 per MHz per capita in Italy, which until now had the most expensive 5G spectrum, Fitch said.

The spectrum price is likely to increase in the second phase of bidding, which is to finish at the end of this month and involves the sale of premium locations within the 3.5GHz spectrum band, it said.

Taiwan Chungwha Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) and Taiwan Star Telecom Co (台灣之星) each won spectrum in the 3.5GHz band, which is best suited for 5G services in terms of coverage and capacity, Fitch said.

The agency expects all four operators to launch 5G services in the third quarter of this year.

Taiwan Mobile’s adjusted net leverage — funds from operations against its total debt ratio — would worsen by 2.9 times this year and 2.7 times next year, Fitch said as an example.

The projection assumes the company funds a potential spectrum payment of NT$31 billion (US$1.03 billion) entirely by debt, it said.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Mobile might increase its capital expenditure to NT$11 billion from a previous estimate of NT$7.1 billion to launch 5G services, it said.

Fitch said it expected operators to introduce higher-tier 5G plans to move customers to 5G speeds, and industry average revenue per user would grow by 3 percent this year and next year.

However, the improvement in cash generation would be insufficient to offset the increase in debt to fund the large spectrum dues, the agency said.

Taiwan Mobile’s leverage could improve if the company reduces its dividend payments of about NT$15 billion a year or sells its treasury stocks, which are valued at NT$75 billion, Fitch said.

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title: Telecoms to lose leverage paying for 5G


people: 游錫堃 賴香伶 蘇貞昌 蔣萬安 林為洲 邱顯智 柯建銘

title: Friday set for new legislative session

content_text:
Police officers guard an entrance at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Jan. 28 last year.Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times
The legislative caucuses yesterday agreed to start the new legislative session on Friday next week, and have Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) give an administrative report and answer lawmakers’ questions.

Members of the four caucuses convened to discuss the new session’s starting date.

The Constitution stipulates that a legislative session must begin within a month of lawmakers being inaugurated, meaning that the new session must begin before Feb. 27, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said, adding that they chose from three dates: Tuesday next week, Friday next week and Feb. 25.

Friday is the most suitable time, as the Executive Yuan is scheduled to sponsor a special relief bill for the COVID-19 outbreak in China, Ker said.

New Power Party (NPP) caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said that if the session were to start on Tuesday next week, agencies drafting the bill could fine-tune it according to lawmakers’ suggestions during the question-and-answer session.

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus whip Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) echoed Chiu’s remarks.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said that starting the session on Tuesday would give lawmakers more time to review the proposal.

Ker said that agencies tasked with disease prevention are busy and asked the other caucuses to give them time to monitor the situation.

KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said that his caucus agreed to the session starting on Friday on the condition that the Executive Yuan delivers a special written report on efforts to contain COVID-19.

Ker commended Chiang’s proposal, saying that it is the Executive Yuan’s duty to add content on disease prevention efforts to its report, which was delivered to the legislature before the outbreak.

Su should set aside time in his oral report to talk about the government’s efforts to combat the disease, Ker said.

After the TPP and NPP caucuses accepted Chiang’s proposal, Legislative Speaker Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) announced the new session’s starting date, and that Su would give an administrative report that is to include a presentation on efforts to contain COVID-19.

The caucuses are to issue a joint statement on that day to urge the WHO to allow Taiwan’s participation in the world health body as COVID-19 spreads globally.

Each caucus is to appoint a representative to discuss the wording of the resolution, which is to be signed by all caucuses on Thursday next week and issued during a plenary session the following day.

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content_text:
Nvidia Corp has given a strong revenue forecast for the first quarter, spurred by increasing demand for data center and gaming chips.

Revenue would be US$3 billion, plus or minus 2 percent, in the fiscal first quarter, the Santa Clara, California-based company said in a statement on Thursday. That compares with an average analyst estimate of US$2.84 billion. Gross margin, or the percentage of sales remaining after deducting the cost of production, would be 65 percent, plus or minus 50 basis points.

After slowing investment in their infrastructure last year, owners of the giant data centers that power Internet services are spending again, including increasing their deployments of graphics chips used to boost artificial intelligence (AI) calculations. Nvidia, the biggest maker of graphics chips used in gaming PCs, has adapted its technology for the AI market, creating a new multibillion-dollar business.

Chief executive officer Jensen Huang said the use of such computing is spreading, making growth less reliant on the spending plans of a handful of companies.

“It’s not just about hyperscalers any more, it’s about start-ups and industry,” Huang said in an interview. “I’m very confident that the future of computing will involve accelerated computing.”

Nvidia shares rose about 8 percent in extended trading following the report. Earlier, they closed at US$270.78 in New York. They have jumped 77 percent in the past 12 months.

Huang has built Nvidia into one of the most valuable tech companies by finding new customers for gaming chips. The ability of these components to do calculations in parallel makes them useful for AI workloads and, potentially, self-driving vehicles.

The majority of the company’s sales still come from PC gaming, where Nvidia’s graphics chips create the most realistic experiences. Top-of-the-line GeForce parts cost more than many consumers spend on a whole PC.

Fiscal fourth-quarter profit was US$950 million, or earning per share of US$1.53, compared with US$567 million, or US$0.92 per share a year earlier. Revenue surged 41 percent to US$3.1 billion and profit excluding certain costs was US$1.89 per share in the period ending Jan. 26, the company said.

Analysts, on average, had predicted earnings of US$1.66 per share on sales of US$2.96 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Gaming sales in the quarter jumped 56 percent from the same period a year earlier to US$1.49 billion. Nvidia’s Data Center unit contributed US$968 million, a gain of 43 percent, a presentation on its Web site showed. Automotive-related sales were flat.

The company said it is likely to close the acquisition of Mellanox Technologies Ltd in the “early part of calendar 2020.”

Discussions with Chinese regulators about the transaction are progressing and share buybacks would resume after the completion of the deal, Nvidia said.

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title: Nvidia gives strong outlook as data centers spend more


title: How Xi’s ‘controlocracy’ lost control

content_text:
In his 2016 book The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century, Norwegian political scientist Stein Ringen described contemporary China as a “controlocracy,” saying that its system of government has been transformed into a new regime radically harder and more ideological than what came before.

China’s “controlocracy” now bears primary responsibility for the COVID-19 epidemic that is sweeping across that nation and the world.

Over the past eight years, the central leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken steps to bolster Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) personal authority, as well as expanding the party’s own powers, at the expense of ministries and local and provincial governments. The central authorities have also waged a sustained crackdown on dissent, which has been felt across all domains of Chinese social and political life.

Under the controlocracy, Web sites have been shut down; lawyers, activists and writers have been arrested; and a general chill has descended upon online expression and media reporting.

Equally important, the system Xi has installed since 2012 is also driving the direction of new technologies in China. Cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence (AI) are all being deployed to strengthen the central government’s control over society.

The first COVID-19 case appeared in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, on Dec. 1 last year, and as early as the middle of the month, the Chinese authorities had evidence that the virus could be transmitted between humans. Nonetheless, the government did not officially acknowledge the epidemic on national television until Jan. 20.

During those seven weeks, Wuhan police punished eight health workers for attempting to sound the alarm on social media. They were accused of “spreading rumors” and disrupting “social order.”

Meanwhile, the Hubei Provincial Government continued to conceal the real number of COVID-19 cases until after local officials had met with the central government in the middle of last month. In the event, overbearing censorship and bureaucratic obfuscation had squandered any opportunity to get the virus under control before it had spread across Wuhan, a city of 14 million people.

By Jan. 23, when the government finally announced a quarantine on Wuhan residents, about 5 million people had already left the city, triggering the epidemic that is now spreading across China and the rest of the world.

When the true scale of the epidemic became clear, Chinese public opinion reflected a predictable mix of anger, anxiety and despair. People took to the Internet to vent their rage and frustration, but it did not take long for the state to crack down, severely limiting the ability of journalists and concerned citizens to share information about the crisis.

On Monday last week, after Xi had chaired the Standing Committee’s second meeting on the epidemic, the CCP’s propaganda apparatus was ordered to “guide public opinion and strengthen information control.” In practice, this means that cutting-edge AI and big-data technologies are being used to monitor the entirety of Chinese public opinion online.

The controlocracy is now running at full throttle, with facial, image and voice-recognition algorithms being used to anticipate and suppress any potential criticism of the government, and to squelch all “unofficial” information about the epidemic.

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China’s financing for overseas energy falls to lowest in more than a decade

China’s spending on overseas energy projects has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade, as the nation focuses on domestic issues, and rethinks its strategy around indebtedness and the world’s energy mix.

The nation’s foreign energy financing dropped by 69 percent to US$3.2 billion last year, data from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center showed. Only three nations received financing for new projects from China’s policy banks last year, compared with five the previous year.

The drop underscores how a slowing domestic economy and concerns related to debt levels in recipient nations are eroding China’s desire to wield influence through spending billions of dollars to finance megaprojects abroad, mostly through the Belt and Road Initiative announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in 2013.

The COVID-19 outbreak only adds to domestic headwinds that include credit stress among companies and the ill-effects of the prolonged trade dispute with the US.

“The Chinese are getting concerned about the debt levels countries have, and want to be more cautious about their lending,” Boston University professor Kevin Gallagher said. “I wouldn’t expect a bounce-back in 2020, given the circumstances related to the virus and the general downturn anyway.”

China has financed US$251 billion in energy projects since 2000 with about three-quarters of that in Belt and Road nations, according to the university’s research, which tracks data from the China’s two policy banks, the China Development Bank (國家開發銀行) and the Export-Import Bank of China (中國進出口銀行).

At the same time, China’s lending has drawn scrutiny over whether it is unduly wielding its political clout to force indebtedness on other nations.

The oil sector has received the biggest amount of loans, followed by coal and hydropower.

While Beijing’s financing of coal would hardly endear it to climate activists, it has filled a gap vacated by other lenders, concerned that a hardening line against the dirtiest fossil fuel could make coal mines and power plants go out of business before they are able to repay their debts.

China’s efforts have allowed energy-thirsty Pakistan to mine coal for the very first time, as well as financing projects from South Africa to Southeast Asia.

Still, Xi has publicly called for more clean energy as part of the program, as China has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of solar and wind power components. Of the three Belt and Road projects that received financing last year, two were hydropower developments in Nigeria and Guinea, and the other a coal project in Turkey, Boston University said.

“We would hope to expect a real shift toward wind and solar and so forth in 2020, but I have to say as an economist there needs to be a supply shift and a demand shift,” Gallagher said. “So if the Chinese are willing to put more solar and wind on offer, of which they have plenty, countries on the demand side need to be asking for that. We haven’t seen too many.”

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content_text:
Masks are pictured before being steamed in a rice cooker in Taichung on Monday.Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
Using a rice cooker to “dry steam” surgical masks for three minutes can have a sterilizing effect, an experiment by Chung Shan Medical University Department of Occupational Safety and Health associate professor Lai Chane-yu (賴全裕) and his team showed.

However, after dry steaming, the mask would have a lower filter efficiency compared with new masks, Lai said on Monday, adding that the method should only be considered if there is an insufficient supply of masks or they need to be reused in an emergency.

The team conducted several tests for cleaning N95 respirators, and found that a 70 percent alcohol solution, bleach, high-pressure sterilization and rice cooker were all effective sterilization methods, Lai said.

Dry steaming masks for three minutes using a rice cooker can kill up to 99.7 percent of germs, he said, adding that this method lowered the mask’s filter quality by the least — about 10 percent.

Soaking masks in alcohol or bleach for 10 minutes could lower their filter quality to 70 to 80 percent, he said, adding that the study was published in Indoor Air in 2018.

Lai said he also conducted a study using surgical masks and found that dry steaming them using a rice cooker was also more efficient than using alcohol or high-pressure sterilization.

Dry steaming the same mask five times gradually reduced its filter efficiency to 10 percent, he said.

When heating a mask, do not place it at the bottom of the cooker, where temperatures are high, he said, advising people to use a rack to support the inner pot containing the mask.

Masks can only be sterilized and reused if they have not been used in a hospital, do not contain too much saliva or other bodily fluids and are not damaged, he added.

A mask’s filter efficiency needs to be more than 80 percent to qualify, he said.

Asked about the tests, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that spraying alcohol or high-temperature drying might damage the structure of masks and affect their protective effect.

FDA researcher Wang Chao-yi (王兆儀) said that she had not seen the test data on high-

temperature drying and, as such, could not say whether the method was appropriate.

The FDA only reviews and approves masks for one-time use, she said.

Wang reminded people who are healthy that they do not need to wear masks in outdoor places or places with good ventilation, while people with chronic illnesses or respiratory symptoms and those who are visiting hospitals should wear masks.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Rice cookers effective mask sterilizers, study says


title: Woes deepen for China tech champion

content_text:
Woes deepen for China tech champion

LOOMING DEBT PAYMENTS:Tsinghua Unigroup’s borrowing spree raised its debt-to-asset ratio to 74 percent last year, and it hopes to negotiate US$900 million in financing
A top Chinese technology company that has struggled for months to assure creditors of its financial stability has seen its efforts to secure a fresh loan disrupted by an outbreak of COVID-19 in China.

With payments on a US dollar loan coming due next month, Tsinghua Unigroup Co (清華紫光) has been engaged with lenders on a US$900 million financing deal. That loan has been delayed partly due to the coronavirus outbreak and the Lunar New Year holiday, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

Even so, the financing market has been open for others. Developers have been selling US dollar bonds, despite property sales having come to a halt due to the shutdown of large parts of China’s economy as a result of the outbreak.

Yuzhou Properties Co on Thursday amassed more than US$3.5 billion in orders for a US$400 million note.

Unigroup, which has been at the forefront of Beijing’s campaign to achieve global dominance in technology, saw some of its US dollar bonds tumble to two-month lows this week after news of the delay on its loan deal.

It all makes for a challenging start to the year after the chipmaker’s rocky time last year. Unigroup’s 2023 dollar bond tumbled in November last year on news of plans to extend and amend its loans.

The note hit a low of about US$0.60 on the US dollar in December last year; Unigroup that month secured a jumbo credit line, raising questions about the company’s cash requirements.

The firm needs to tackle a US$1.3 billion offshore debt burden this year, and proceeds from the loan were intended for refinancing.

Unigroup also faces as much as 8.3 billion yuan (US$1.19 billion) in domestic bond redemptions next month.

Founded in 1988, Unigroup is a business arm of Tsinghua University, which is regarded as one of the nation’s top institutions of higher learning and counts Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) as an alumnus.

The company suffered a net loss of 3.2 billion yuan for the first half of last year. It had 165.6 billion yuan in interest-bearing liabilities as of the end of June last year, according to its half-year financial report.

The group and its subsidiaries also have a combined 54.6 billion yuan of onshore and offshore bonds outstanding, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

The company’s finances have deteriorated sharply in the past four years after it embarked on a borrowing spree to up-size its global footprint through acquisitions and investments.

Its debt-to-asset ratio climbed to about 74 percent by the middle of last year, compared with just more than 59 percent in 2016.

The company has also prepared a backup plan and has sufficient cash on its books” if the US$900 million loan is not completed in time, a Unigroup spokesman said, adding that the firm remains in discussion with lenders.

A spokeswoman in December last year said that the firm was confident of meeting all bond-payment obligations.

Investors are trying to determine which borrowers are on their own when it comes to dealing with their financial problems, and which would receive official help.

Surprises came last year when some state-owned lenders were allowed to default on their debt.

The extent to which official support is forthcoming — if it should prove needed — in Unigroup’s case would give creditors further clues on this question.

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content_text:
Yang Hui-ju, a former campaign aide to Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh, arrives at the Taipei District Court yesterday.Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
A court case involving Yang Hui-ju (楊蕙如) began at the Taipei District Court yesterday.

Yang is accused of heading a group that posted messages online that have been linked to the suicide in 2018 of diplomat Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠).

Yang was a Web manager for Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh’s (謝長廷) 2008 presidential campaign.

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Dec. 2 last year indicted Yang over comments online that accused the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Osaka of failing to offer timely help to Taiwanese in Japan during Typhoon Jebi, which made landfall in Japan on Sept. 4, 2018.

Critics have accused the DPP of paying Yang to run the “green camp cyberarmy.”

Yang and the DPP have denied the accusations.

Prosecutors investigated reports that Yang on Sept. 6, 2018, met Tsai Fu-ming (蔡福明), who she allegedly provided with Professional Technology Temple (PTT) accounts, including one named “idcc.”

PTT is the nation’s largest online bulletin board system.

She allegedly instructed Tsai and others to generate discussion in PTT articles about evacuation proceedings at Kansai International Airport in the wake of the storm after it forced the airport’s closure on Sept. 4, 2018.

Messages critical of the official response to Taiwanese stranded at the airport were reported at the time.

The Osaka office was responsible for the travelers.

Su, who was director-general of the Osaka office at the time, committed suicide at his residence eight days later.

Media reports said that his death might have been linked to work pressure caused by public criticism.

Yang denied any wrongdoing in court yesterday.

She said she had instructed people to “clarify false information on the situation” after posts that said China had dispatched buses to the airport to help evacuate people, and had picked up Taiwanese passengers as well as Chinese.

This was later shown to be false reporting.

Prosecutor Chen Chao-shih (陳照世) said that Yang’s and Tsai’s actions were outside the realm of freedom of expression, and had seriously undermined the nation’s authorities.

Tsai and other defendants apart from Yang were not at the hearing yesterday.

Tsai pleaded guilty to related charges in an earlier case.

He has said that Yang instructed him and others to post the messages on PTT.

Additional reporting by Jason Pan

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title: Yang Hui-ju case begins at Taipei District Court


taiwan-subdivisions: 鳳山 大雅

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One firefighter died and four others sustained serious injuries when a fire engine was hit by a semitrailer in Kaohsiung on Thursday.

Kaohsiung prosecutors have initiated an investigation, with the driver of the semitrailer, a man surnamed Chang (張), facing charges of negligence resulting in death and offenses against public safety.

He was released yesterday after posting bail of NT$100,000.

The crash occurred at about 10pm as emergency services from the Fongshan (鳳山) Fire Station were responding to reports of a blaze on Dingpu Street. The vehicles collided at an intersection under an East West Expressway overpass.

The collision left the fire engine on its side and several firefighters were thrown from the vehicle.

The unit’s captain, Feng Yung-chang (馮永昌), died.

He was 54.

Four of Feng’s colleagues sustained serious injuries, including broken legs and facial lacerations, and were undergoing emergency medical treatment yesterday.

Chang, who sustained minor injuries, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.06 milligrams per liter, while the legal limit is 0.15 milligrams per liter.

Prosecutors said that Chang told them he had one cup of Paolyta B, a herbal beverage that has an alcohol content of 8 to 10 percent.

Chang said that he had not heard the fire engine’s siren, prosecutors said.

Government officials yesterday said that safety measures and on-duty procedures must be reviewed, as the firefighters were wearing lots of firefighting gear on their way to the reported fire, which left them unable to strap on the vehicle’s seatbelts.

This contributed to the severity of their injuries as they were thrown out of the vehicle, the officials said.

In other news, Taichung prosecutors yesterday charged the owner of a paper mill with negligence and other offenses leading to the death of two firefighters in a blaze in October last year.

Chen Chun-fu (陳俊孚), 54, was charged with breaches of the Fire Services Act (消防法), with prosecutors saying that the paper mill he operated was an illegal structure.

The structure in Taichung’s Daya District (大雅) also breached electrical wiring and machinery standards, which have been identified as the cause of the blaze, which killed Hsieh Chih-hsiung (謝志雄), 33, and Chang Che-chia (張哲嘉), 32, who were crushed beneath falling debris.

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title: Firefighter dies after truck hits fire engine


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: CECC issues travel advisory for Tokyo over possibility of community outbreak

CROSS-STRAIT SQUABBLE:Chen Shih-chung said that the government has given China a list of people to be evacuated from Wuhan, but Beijing has stalled progress
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, center, speaks at a news conference at the Central Epidemic Command Center in Taipei yesterday alongside Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chou Jih-haw, left, and Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen.Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday issued a level 1 “watch” travel notice for Tokyo, saying that people planning to visit the metropolis should take precautions against COVID-19 infection.

Under the government’s three-tier travel advisory system, a level 1 notice urges travelers to take normal precautions and respect disease-prevention measures put in place at their destination.

A level 2 “alert” urges travelers to heighten their vigilance and a level 3 “warning” cautions against nonessential travel.

The center said that it issued the travel advisory because there have been reports in Japan over the past few days of COVID-19 infections from unknown sources, suggesting a potential community outbreak.

Japan has recorded 36 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, with one death, since the epidemic broke out in Wuhan, China, in December last year.

The center also listed China’s Henan and Zhejiang provinces as primary endemic areas, saying that all people returning from the areas must test negative for COVID-19 in two examinations at a medical facility before they are allowed to leave.

In other developments yesterday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the government has provided China with a list of 121 Taiwanese for an evacuation flight out of Wuhan, and that China Airlines (中華航空), Taiwan’s largest carrier, is ready for the task.

However, China has been stalling the process and insisting that China Eastern Airlines (中國東方航空) fly the charter, as well as rejecting other plans suggested by Taiwan, Chen said.

More than 200 Taiwanese who were stuck in Wuhan after the city was locked down to contain the spread of the virus arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Feb. 3 on a China Eastern Airlines charter flight in the first evacuation of Taiwanese from the city.

However, controversy arose when it was later discovered that three of the 247 people on the flight had not been on a priority list Taiwan provided to China. The problem escalated when one of the three passengers tested positive for COVID-19.

Additional reporting by Chien Hui-ju

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Toll from coronavirus on health workers in China rises unabated

A bus believed to be carrying elderly passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship leaves the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, yesterday.Photo: Reuters / Kyodo News
COVID-19 has taken a growing toll of Chinese health workers on the front line of the fight to stop it, a top official said yesterday, as authorities reported more than 5,000 new cases, including more than 120 deaths.

The Chinese National Health Commission said that it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new coronavirus cases in China on Thursday, taking the total number of infected to 63,851.

About 55,748 people were being treated, while 1,380 people have died of the coronavirus that emerged in December last year in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei Province.

The latest toll takes into account some deaths that had been double-counted, the commission said.

Commission Vice Minister Zeng Yixin (曾益新) said that 1,716 health workers had been infected and six had died as of Tuesday, with the number of infected staff rising.

“The duties of medical workers at the front are indeed extremely heavy; their working and resting circumstances are limited, the psychological pressures are great and the risk of infection is high,” Zeng told a news conference.

The new figures for total infections gave no sign the outbreak was nearing a peak, said Adam Kamradt-Scott, an infectious diseases expert at the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.

“While the Chinese authorities are doing their best to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the fairly drastic measures they have implemented to date would appear to have been too little, too late,” he said.

Chinese scientists are testing two antiviral drugs and preliminary results are expected in weeks, while the head of a Wuhan hospital said that plasma infusions from recovered patients had shown some encouraging preliminary results.

While the vast majority of infections and deaths have been in China, in particular Hubei, there have been nearly 450 cases in about 24 nations and territories outside of China, and three deaths.

The biggest cluster of infections outside of China has been on a cruise liner quarantined in a Japanese port, with 218 people on board confirmed as infected and hospitalized.

Yesterday, some of the passengers on the Diamond Princess were allowed to disembark — with priority for older passengers confined to windowless cabins — and complete their quarantine on shore.

There was good news for passengers on another cruise ship that was finally allowed to dock in Cambodia after being rejected by five nations over fears of the virus, even though no cases were reported on board.

The MS Westerdam, carrying 1,455 passengers and 802 crew, docked in Sihanoukville late on Thursday. It had anchored offshore earlier to allow officials to board and collect samples from passengers with any signs of illness.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen greeted the passengers with handshakes and bouquets as they stepped off the ship.

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content_text:
Shipments forecast cut on virus disruptions in China

LOWERING EXPECTATIONS:A market research firm said shipments this quarter would fall significantly, but that the memory industry would survive unscathed
High-tech industries worldwide are facing labor shortages and shipping restrictions from an outbreak of COVID-19 in China, with hardware manufacturers bearing the brunt of the effects, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report yesterday, as it cut its shipments forecast for this quarter.

Lacking key components such as batteries and printed circuit boards due to an overall delay in Chinese production, downstream original design manufacturers (ODM) for consumer electronics would see a decrease in production, the Taipei-based market researcher said.

As a result, TrendForce cut its shipments outlook for laptops, LCD TVs and monitors by 12.3 percent, 4.5 percent and 5.2 percent respectively to 30.7 million, 46.6 million and 27.5 million units this quarter, compared with a previous forecast of 35 million, 48.8 million and 29 million units, the researcher said.

Contract laptop maker Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) yesterday posted a 25.9 percent drop year-on-year in revenue to NT$62.96 billion (US$2.1 billion) for last month, with laptop shipments of 2 million units, as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced working days.

Contract electronics manufacturer Wistron Corp (緯創) said it shipped 1 million laptops last month, while revenue fell 20.13 percent annually to NT$40.49 billion.

Shipments of other consumer electronics, especially smart devices, also face challenges as ODMs grapple with shortages in labor, passive components and camera lenses, TrendForce said, adding that there would be an estimated 12 percent year-on-year decline in overall production this quarter to 275 million units, a five-year low.

Total smartphone shipments this year are set to fall by 1.3 percent on an annual basis to 1.38 billion units, it said, adding that it might further trim the figure due to uncertainties over the outbreak.

The researcher also predicted declines in shipments of game consoles and smart speakers for this quarter to 6.2 million and 23.2 million units respectively, falling by more than 10 percent each from last month’s forecast of 6.9 million and 26.4 million units.

Lockdowns and traffic constraints in China have left upstream suppliers, such as semiconductor companies and display panel makers, with an increasingly severe shortage of factor workers as they struggle to resume production, the report said.

Chinese foundry firms are likely to see lower factory utilization this quarter as a result, affecting China’s IC packaging and testing companies further down the stream, TrendForce said.

Meanwhile, the memory industry has mostly been spared from the outbreak, as its Chinese production remains unhindered due to its high level of automation, the researcher said, adding that DRAM prices would nevertheless increase this quarter, owing to insufficient inventory among end clients.

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A Hong Kong-listed maker of silicon and rubber keypads yesterday surged the most on record after saying it won an order to make masks for Beijing.

Ta Yang Group Holdings Ltd (大洋集團) soared as much as 129 percent to HK$0.63, the highest since November 2018, and was up 35 percent as of the midday break. About 62 million shares changed hands, 275 times Ta Yang’s three-month daily average.

The company said in an exchange filing late on Thursday that it received an order from China’s state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission to make 5 million masks.

Ta Yang, which was not a mask maker before the COVID-19 outbreak in China, added it would be collaborating with a technology firm in Shenzhen to produce the masks and is seeking more orders while exploring the market for personal protective equipment.

Ta Yang, which generates most of its revenue from silicone rubber products and has posted annual losses from 2012 through 2018, is the latest stock in Hong Kong this week to benefit from the global shortage of masks due to the coronavirus.

Moody Technology Holdings Ltd (宏太控股) surged 220 percent on Tuesday after saying it would make masks. Ladies’ apparel producer Veeko International Holdings Ltd (威高國際) and toymaker Kin Yat Holdings Ltd (建溢集團) jumped 79 percent and 18 percent respectively on Thursday after saying they would transform their facilities to make masks.

Hong Kong Television Network Ltd, which operates an online shopping mall that sells masks, has surged 42 percent this year.

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title: Penny stock up 192% as it enters mask market


content_text:
By Yang Hsin-hui and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
A calligraphic work of the lyrics for Bang Chhun-hong, a Hoklo-language (commonly known as Taiwanese) song that has the English title Longing for the Spring Breeze, hang on a wall at the home of deceased songwriter Lee Lin-chiu in Taipei on Thursday.Photo: Yang Hsin-hui, Taipei Times
The Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs should buy Lee Lin-chiu’s (李臨秋) residence, which was listed as a historical site in 2009, to help conserve cultural assets, the songwriter’s son said on Thursday.

The residence is to be auctioned on April 8 after the department last year asked the site’s owners to propose an emergency repair plan.

Lee’s son Lee Hsiu-chien (李修鑑) said that the ownership issue was complicated.

“The ground floor of the two-story building belonged to a family surnamed Kao (高), while my family owned the second floor,” he said, adding that one person in the Lee family had sold their share of the building, but the buyer has been allegedly extorting the family since the sale.

The Kao family has filed for a partition of the rights to the building, which has forced the auction, he said, adding that all of the owners have agreed to receive a share of the sale amount proportionate to their holding.

Lee Hsiu-chien said that he is willing to donate his father’s manuscripts and furniture, as well as help train volunteers, should the city government purchase the building.

Lee Lin-chiu wrote the lyrics for Bang Chhun-hong, a Hoklo-language (commonly known as Taiwanese) song that has the English title Longing for the Spring Breeze (望春風).

Department Secretary-General Liu Te-chien (劉得堅) said that the city is not inclined to purchase the building.

The owners have not followed provisions of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法) stipulating that they should renovate and maintain such sites, Liu said.

However, the department would closely follow the issue, he said.

“The city government is willing to work with the owners to find a solution and allow the asset to remain in private ownership,” Liu said.

Lee Hsiu-chien said that repairs were not carried out because there were too many owners, so reaching a consensus on work and finances was too difficult.

In 2010, the department said that it would pay a subsidy of NT$3.2 million (US$106,486) for the renovations, while the Lee family would pay NT$800,000, Lee Hsiu-chien said.

However, only part of the building was renovated, he said.

“One of other owners said that I was pocketing the NT$3.2 million, so they refused to allow work to be done on their section,” Lee Hsiu-chien said, adding that the same owner refused to sell his share.

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title: Songwriter’s son seeks help with historical home


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Ban on Chinese children inhumane: Ma

HUMAN RIGHTS:The ban contravenes the spirit of the UN convention on children’s rights, and acquiring ROC citizenship is harder for Chinese kids, Ma Ying-jeou said
By Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA
Family members of Taiwanese who are still in China’s Hubei Province hold placards and a banner that reads: “I want to go home,” outside the Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday called on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration not to let populism and discrimination dictate its governance, following a government decision on Wednesday not to allow Chinese children of Taiwanese and Chinese couples to enter Taiwan, reversing a measure announced a day earlier by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

The ban contravenes the spirit of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, Ma said, adding that existing regulations impose more stringent requirements on such children to acquire Republic of China (ROC) nationality compared with people from other countries.

“It is not that they did not choose Taiwan; it is that even if they had chosen, they must wait a long time,” Ma said.

The council’s initial announcement was correct and humane, he said.

“We cannot just let children who have lived in Taiwan for so many years roam the streets,” he added.

While people should support the government’s disease-prevention efforts, Ma said he believes that under a consistent and thorough system, it is possible to adopt a more humane approach that takes the rights of others into consideration.

“President Tsai once said that ‘migrant spouses and workers are all a part of Taiwan.’ As such, these ‘children of Taiwan,’ even without their parents at their side, should be considered our fellow citizens,” Ma said.

“Let them come home and be united with their families, President Tsai. Do not let populism trample on human rights and discrimination trump humanity,” Ma added.

Separately, former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) said on Facebook that the “citizens first” mindset should not include separating families.

“Our customs policy should not pander to populist sentiments and promote discrimination,” he said.

In response, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that to save others, one must save oneself first.

There must not be any breaches in disease-prevention efforts, because “everyone would die if the ship sinks, which would defeat the purpose of saving others,” Su said. “And so we must act within our power.”

The policy reversal came on the heels of a firestorm of criticism on social media over the MAC’s announcement.

MAC Minister Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) said that the announcement was not designed to open Taiwan’s borders to relatives of Chinese spouses in contravention of a temporary ban on the entry of Chinese nationals to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China.

Later that day, at a news briefing held by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), Chen added new stipulations, saying that only minor Chinese children who do not have relatives to look after them in China would be allowed to enter Taiwan.

Hours later, with public anger still running high, the MAC listed a third condition, saying only if both a child’s parents are currently in Taiwan would the child be allowed entry.

The news triggered another round of heated discussion on social media, prompting Minister of Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, on Wednesday to announce a policy U-turn.

Chinese children of Taiwanese and Chinese couples who hold residence or visitor permits, but not ROC passports, would not be allowed into the country, he said.

While such children have equal rights to healthcare in Taiwan, priority must be given to ROC citizens in the face of a fast-spreading epidemic, he said.

people: 陳明通 蔡英文 陳時中 朱立倫 馬英九 蘇貞昌


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Virus Outbreak: Elderly cruise passenger hospitalized in Japan

‘FLOATING PRISON’:The son of the 85-year-old traveler thanked those who assisted in obtaining medical care for his sick father, who was on board a quarantined ship
A passenger wearing a mask stands on the deck of the cruise ship “Diamond Princess,” as the vessel’s passengers continue to be tested for COVID-19, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday.Photo: Reuters
An 85-year-old Taiwanese passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise liner, which is quarantined off the Japanese city of Yokohama, was yesterday admitted to a hospital in Japan after testing positive for COVID-19, his son said.

The son, who has not been identified for privacy reasons, said via a social media platform that he had been informed earlier in the day of the latest developments regarding his father.

His pleas for help were answered, the son said, thanking those who assisted in obtaining medical care for his father.

The son said in a telephone call on Tuesday to the Central News Agency that he had written to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) the previous day saying that his father was confined in a windowless cabin on the cruise ship, and had nosebleeds and was coughing blood, but had not received medical attention.

The son said that on Monday, he had also contacted Taiwanese representatives in Japan to tell them about his father.

The following day, a doctor visited his father on the ship and after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, he was taken to a hospital in Japan, the son said.

The father and son on Jan. 20 embarked on the 15-day round-trip cruise tour that set sail from Yokohama and was scheduled to return there on Tuesday last week after making port calls in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Okinawa, Japan.

However, on Feb. 2, an 80-year-old passenger, who had disembarked in Hong Kong, was confirmed to have the coronavirus, and the cruise liner returned to Yokohama one day ahead of schedule.

Since then, the Diamond Princess has been quarantined off Yokohama, with about 3,700 people on board, 218 of whom have tested positive for the new virus, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

The infected passengers have been taken off the ship and admitted to hospitals in Japan, while elderly people with chronic diseases on Thursday were allowed to disembark and stay in designated lodgings once they tested negative for the coronavirus, the Japanese government said.

People remaining on the ship are required to stay in their cabins until the quarantine period ends on Wednesday next week, the government said.

The son of the 85-year-old Taiwanese patient said they had no choice but to accept their fate.

“It’s not our choice to be confined to a cabin and quarantined in a way that could make us sick,” he said.

The man said he was grateful for the assistance he and his father had received from the Taiwanese representative office in Japan and the Taiwanese government, as well as the support of fellow passengers.

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title: Shelling wounds 19 children in Myanmar

content_text:
Volunteers carry a wounded woman into Sittwe Hospital in Sittwe, Myanamar, on Thursday.Photo: EPA-EFE
At least 19 children were wounded when a primary school was hit by shelling in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, a lawmaker and a military spokesman said on Thursday.

Clashes between government troops and ethnic insurgents have intensified in Rakhine, from where tens of thousands of people have been displaced since clashes began in December 2018, bringing new chaos to a region from which more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a military crackdown in 2017.

The Arakan Army, which recruits from the nation’s mostly Buddhist majority, has been fighting for greater autonomy for the western region from the central government.

Artillery fire hit the school in the village of Khamwe Chaung in Buthidaung Township on Thursday morning, Tun Aung Thein, a local member of the Burmese Assembly of the Union, told reporters.

He said that he did not know who was responsible.

“According to the health department, 19 students are injured and one is seriously injured,” he added.

A military spokesman put the number of wounded at 20 and blamed the insurgents for the attack.

“We medically treated the students at the nearby military post and sent five to the hospital,” Myanmar Army Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told reporters by telephone.

A spokesman for the Arakan Army denied that its fighters were responsible, saying that they did not have such artillery, and blamed government troops.

The British embassy in Myanmar issued a statement urging an end to the violence, which follows the reinstatement last week of an Internet shutdown in the region.

“The increased violence in Rakhine State over the past few days is causing misery for many of the people living there,” British Ambassador to Myanmar Dan Chugg said.

“Today’s reported shelling of a school on Myanmar’s Children’s Day, following recent deaths of women and children, highlights the impact this is having on innocent people,” Chugg added.

The statement urged all sides to do their utmost to protect civilians and called on the government to lift the Internet restrictions.

A months-long Internet blackout in four Rakhine townships — including Buthidaung — and one in neighboring Chin State had been lifted in September last year as peace talks sought to end clashes.

Officials cited “security requirements and public interest” for the reinstatement.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Philippines removes Taiwan from ban

WORK IN PROGRESS:While many countries have lifted their travel bans on Taiwanese, the foreign ministry said talks were ongoing with Italy, Bangladesh and Mongolia
President Tsai Ing-wen, second right, yesterday speaks to reporters during a visit to Tainan accompanied by Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp chairman Ting Yen-che, left, and Democratic Progressive Party legislators Lin Yi-chin, second left, and Kuo Kuo-wen, right.Photo: CNA

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The Philippine government yesterday decided to remove Taiwan from a temporary travel ban, its second reversal this month amid an outbreak of COVID-19 in China and the shadow of Beijing’s influence.

“The [Philippine presidential] palace confirms that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease has resolved to lift the travel restrictions imposed upon Taiwan, effective immediately,” Philippine presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement relayed by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.

The decision has been agreed “by reason of the strict measures they [Taiwanese officials] are undertaking, as well as the protocols they are implementing to address the COVID-19 [outbreak],” he said after a Philippine Cabinet meeting yesterday afternoon.

The task force would also evaluate lifting the travel ban on Macau, he said, adding that any resolution of travel restrictions in connection with COVID-19 would be regularly reviewed.

Manila on Monday added Taiwan to the travel ban, which originally only targeted travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau when it was announced on Feb. 2, citing its “one China” policy.

While diplomatic negotiations were ongoing, Taipei on Wednesday vowed to implement seven to eight countermeasures if the ban was not lifted, while Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers called for the cancelation of a visa-waiver program or prohibiting the entry of Philippine migrant workers.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday reportedly refused to change the policy and was quoted by Panelo as saying that his primary concern is “the health and safety of our countrymen.”

Just like terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, the Philippine government’s travel ban being extended to Taiwan was a policy decision that was not necessarily correct, while the China lobby has become a very powerful force under the Duterte administration, Philippine Senator Panfilo Lacson was quoted as saying by GMA News.

Earlier yesterday, before Manila reversed its decision and in response to requests for comment, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that Taiwan is willing to help Manila contain the disease, but added that Taipei would not condone the ban if it was based on political considerations and would implement corresponding measures.

Later yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Manila’s decision, thanking those who had contributed to the positive development.

Taiwan has kept COVID-19 infections well under control, with its disease-control measures and transparency praised by the global community, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement.

The ministry reiterated its call to the WHO for public health prevention to be separated from politics, with Ou saying that the global body should correct its improper listing of Taiwan as a part of China in its situation reports, which has led many countries to issue travel bans on Taiwanese.

While many countries have lifted their travel bans on Taiwanese, the ministry is still negotiating with Italy, Bangladesh and Mongolia about correcting their bans.

As of December last year, there were 157,487 Philippine migrant workers in Taiwan, more than 20 percent of the nation’s foreign workforce, Ministry of Labor data showed.

From January to November last year, 455,776 Philippine tourists visited Taiwan, up from 419,105 in 2018, Tourism Bureau data showed.

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people: 蔡英文 韓國瑜 陳菊

title: Han recall petition drive nears own signature goal

content_text:
By Huang Chia-lin and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA
Wecare Kaohsiung members hold signs in the city yesterday.Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
A petition to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) has garnered 270,639 signatures since it began on Jan. 29, bolstering confidence that a goal of 300,000 would be met this weekend before the documents are submitted to the Kaohsiung Election Commission, petition organizers said yesterday.

The New Power Party alone submitted more than 10,000 signatures on Thursday, said petition organizing group WeCare Kaohsiung, which, along with the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, this week continued the signature drive at major intersections in the city.

The groups aim to initiate a recall election at the end of June to have Han of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) step down as mayor in early July.

“Kaohsiung citizens are like Scorpios, who draw a clear line between affection and disaffection,” petition organizer Chen Kuan-jung (陳冠榮) said on Tuesday, adding that people with that zodiac sign never forget a person’s misbehavior.

Although the threshold is about 225,000 signatures, the campaign said it hopes to collect 300,000 to offset invalid forms.

Polls have shown that more than 53 percent of Kaohsiung residents agree that Han should be recalled, which is unchanged from last month, meaning that public opinion still does not favor Han, although “he has been pretending to be nice,” WeCare Kaohsiung founder Aaron Yin (尹立) said.

The Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) stipulates that a recall election requires petition signatures from at least 10 percent of the electorate during the second-stage petition, and the recall would be valid if yes votes in a recall election gain a majority, with at least 25 percent participating (about 580,000).

In related developments, more than 10 chain retail stores of a battery brand have put up banners opposing the recall campaign.

The banners, which say: “Recalling Han is nothing but a political struggle,” criticize Yin, who was head of the Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs during then-Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) administration.

Yin “had a 100 percent success rate for the 19 procurement tenders” he submitted to the city government, the banners say, an apparent reference to alleged corruption.

Yin said that he would sue the business and consulted his lawyers over whether the remarks contravene the act.

The battery brand has put up similar banners previously, voicing opposition to corruption in one case and criticizing President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during her re-election campaign.

Han engaged with the grassroots prior to his hard-earned position as mayor, winning more than 890,000 votes in 2018, and his experience and character are “well-tested” with “no flaws,” despite his defeat in last month’s presidential election due to “unknown reasons,” one store owner said on condition of anonymity.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wants Han recalled over his absence while he campaigned for the presidential election, the owner said.

However, Han stepping down would benefit the DPP in three ways: It would get away with corruption; it would rid itself of a competitor in 2024; and it would deter the opposition KMT and foreign political allies from “making reckless moves” and help it keep some of its own DPP members in line, the owner said.

Additional reporting by Ko Yu-hao, Huang Chia-lin and Hsu Li-chuan

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content_text:
Catalan separatist party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) would help the Spanish government attain a stable majority in the legislature and support its budget only if the region’s independence drive is addressed in talks, a top party official told reporters on Thursday.

The leftist ERC was instrumental in facilitating Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s confirmation last month.

Its votes would be crucial for the approval or rejection of the left-wing coalition government’s budget plan, potentially defining the government’s survival in a fragmented legislature.

“What’s important is the resolution of the [Catalan] political conflict. The stability or not of the government will be a consequence on whether the first issue is being addressed correctly,” ERC national coordinator Pere Aragones said in an interview at the Catalan government’s delegation in Madrid.

“We will be extremely demanding” on the political requests to support the Spanish budget and on the details of the budget itself, he said.

Further down the road, the party would negotiate support with the Socialists on a case-by-case basis, he added.

The ERC’s support of the Spanish budget would depend on the evolution of a negotiation between the central and regional governments on Catalonia’s political situation. Talks are due to start later this month.

The talks promise to be difficult, as the ERC wants an independence referendum and amnesty for separatist leaders. Madrid has flatly rejected both.

The talks were a condition set by the ERC to abstain in Sanchez’s confirmation vote, whose dependence on Catalan separatists was highly criticized by conservatives.

The ERC’s chairman was sentenced in October last year to 13 years in jail for his role in a 2017 bid for independence and its secretary-general fled to Switzerland, leaving Aragones as the party’s most visible face.

Aragones is also deputy head of the regional government.

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title: Catalan party ties Spanish stability to separatist talks


content_text:
PANAMA

Police catch escaped convict

Police on Thursday recaptured a Dominican man convicted of kidnapping and murdering five young people of Chinese descent, two weeks after he escaped prison for a second time. National Police Director Jorge Miranda told local media that Gilberto Ventura Ceballos was found in Chiriqui Province bordering Costa Rica. Authorities had on Tuesday last week announced that Ventura Ceballos had escaped. The latest escape prompted the resignation of the security minister and the firing of the interior minister. Ventura Ceballos was in July 2018 sentenced along with a fellow Dominican accomplice to 50 years for the abduction and killing of the five university students about a decade ago. He acknowledged murdering them and burying them beneath the floor of a home in La Chorrera, authorities said. At least two were buried alive, investigators said.

THAILAND

Man fires gunshots into air

Police yesterday took a man into custody after he fired multiple gunshots into the air in central Bangkok, injuring no one less than a week after a soldier killed 29 people in a shooting rampage. The incident in the capital was related to a personal conflict, Metropolitan Police Bureau Chief Lieutenant General Pakkapong Pongpetra told reporters. The suspect surrendered and agreed to accompany police to their station, he said. The man reportedly fired 20 to 40 shots during the more than six-hour incident in a residential neighborhood with small shops, many selling sporting goods, next to Chulalongkorn University. Police had cleared the area around the building and media reported that a family member was brought in to try to convince him to surrender.

UNITED STATES

Bar caters to broken hearts

Bitter or heartbroken on Valentine’s Day? Then head to the BreakUp Bar in Hollywood, where classic movies about splits play on a huge projection screen, and you can pin your thoughts and mementos on the “Wall of Broken Relationships” while drowning your sorrows in crafted cocktails like “Ghosted” or “I Dealt With Your Parents for Years.” Bar owner Evan Charest said that he wanted to create a haven decorated with black roses for the single and heartbroken. “Pretty much it’s the antithesis of all pro-Valentine’s Day things,” he said. “We thought we would be a place for single people and, you know, people in relationships who just want to get over all the pressure and stress of the Valentine’s Day holidays.” Notes posted on the wall read: “Love sucks,” “Your mother is crazy” and “She took the dog.” Patron Ingrid Jackel, a cosmetics executive from France, said: “I’m kind of over the Valentine season and, yeah, I was interested in doing something a little different.”

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title: World News Quick Take


content_text:
Tweets making job ‘impossible’: Barr

MEDDLING BOSS?The White House said Donald Trump had ‘full faith’ in the attorney general, who told ABC News that the president’s social media presence was ‘disruptive’
US Attorney General William Barr on Thursday delivered a highly unusual public rebuke of US President Donald Trump, saying that the president’s tweets were making his job at the US Department of Justice “impossible.”

“I have a problem with some of the tweets,” Barr said in an interview with ABC News, adding: “I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.”

“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr said.

His interview came as Trump stands accused of interfering with the sentencing recommendation for former adviser Roger Stone — prompting four department prosecutors to resign from the case earlier this week.

The outburst was all the more remarkable as Barr has emerged as a powerful defender of Trump, earning the nickname of the “president’s attorney” from critics.

Barr has been at the center of allegations that he decided — allegedly under pressure from Trump — to overrule his own prosecutors and seek a lighter prison sentence for Stone.

He has previously been criticized by US Democrats and legal experts for seeming to assist Trump during an independent investigation into whether the president was helped by a Russian influence campaign during the 2016 US presidential election.

The two men are so close that there was immediate speculation that Barr’s interview might have been more about managing public opinion than a real outcry against Trump’s alleged interference in judicial affairs.

The controversy came about a week after the US Senate acquitted Trump of impeachment charges of abuse of power and obstruction of the US Congress related to pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations, including into former US vice president Joe Biden.

Another staunch Trump ally, US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, supported Barr’s comments about the tweets.

“If the attorney general says it’s getting in the way of doing his job, maybe the president should listen to the attorney general,” McConnell told Fox News.

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said that Trump had “full faith” in Barr.

“The president wasn’t bothered by the comments at all,” she said in a statement.

Unlike any president before him, Trump frequently uses social media to broadcast his opinions and decisions without going through traditional statements to the media.

Grisham indicated that Barr’s comments would not change that, referring to the White House’s frequent claim that professional media organizations misrepresent Trump and therefore need to be bypassed.

Trump uses Twitter in particular to make instant, high-impact interventions, often reacting to events in real time.

In the latest case, he used his Twitter pulpit to speak out in defense of veteran Republican consultant Stone.

Stone was in November last year convicted of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing a US House of Representatives investigation into the Russia 2016 election affair.

Trump has denied that his tweets attacking the original sentence of 87 to 108 months recommended for Stone — and in support of Barr after it was reduced by more than half — amounted to political interference.

In the interview, Barr said that he had been “surprised” by the sentencing recommendation filed by prosecutors on Monday, and was intending to “amend and clarify” the department’s position the following day — when Trump fired off his tweet.

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title: Tweets making job ‘impossible’: Barr


content_text:
The US Department of Justice has added new criminal charges against Chinese tech giant Huawei and several subsidiaries, accusing the company of a brazen scheme to steal trade secrets from competitors in the US, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday.

The new indictment also alleges that the company provided surveillance equipment to Iran that enabled the monitoring of protesters during 2009 anti-government demonstrations in Tehran, and that it sought to conceal business that it was doing in North Korea, despite economic sanctions.

The company on Thursday evening issued a statement disputing the allegations and calling them “without merit.”

The new allegations came as US President Donald Trump’s administration raises national security concerns about Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, and aggressively lobbies Western allies to bar the company from wireless, high-speed networks.

The superseding indictment, filed by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, adds to the company’s legal woes in the US.

It adds charges of racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to steal trade secrets to an existing criminal case in New York, where the company already faces charges of lying to banks about deals that breached economic sanctions against Iran.

Federal prosecutors in Seattle have filed a separate trade secrets theft case against the company.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), the daughter of the company’s founder, has been accused of making false representations to banks about Huawei’s relationship with its Iran-based affiliate.

She was arrested in Vancouver, British Columbia, but has not been extradited to the US.

The latest indictment, an update of a case first filed last year, accuses Huawei of plotting to steal the trade secrets and intellectual property of rival companies in the US.

In some instances, Huawei recruited employees of competitors to steal intellectual property, prosecutors said.

The company also provided incentives to its own employees by offering bonuses to those who brought in the most valuable stolen information, and it used proxies, including professors at research institutions, in the pursuit of inside information, prosecutors said.

The allegedly stolen information included antenna and robot testing technology, as well as user manuals for Internet routers.

One goal of the theft was to allow Huawei to save on research-and-development costs, the department said.

Separately, Huawei won another extension that delays a ban on some US mobile providers buying parts from the Chinese company, the US Department of Commerce said.

The commerce department said in an e-mailed notice that the 45-day extension is needed to give rural telecommunications providers the ability to operate existing networks while they identify alternatives to Huawei equipment.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg

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title: US files new charges against Huawei