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Silicon Valley inventor of ‘cut, copy and paste’ dies

Silicon Valley on Wednesday was mourning a pioneering computer scientist whose accomplishments included inventing the widely relied on “cut, copy and paste” command.

New York City-born Lawrence “Larry” Tesler died this week at the age of 74, according to Xerox, where he spent part of his career.

“The inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler,” the company tweeted. “Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas. Larry passed away Monday, so please join us in celebrating him.”

A graduate of Stanford University, Tesler specialized in human-computer interaction, employing his skills at Amazon, Apple, Yahoo, and the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center.

The cut-and-paste command was reportedly inspired by old time editing that involved actually cutting portions of printed text and affixing them elsewhere with adhesive.

“Tesler created the idea of ‘cut, copy, & paste’ and combined computer science training with a counterculture vision that computers should be for everyone,” the Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley tweeted on Wednesday.

Apple popularized the command when it was incorporated in software on the 1983 Lisa computer and the 1984 Macintosh.

Tesler went to work for Apple in 1980 after being recruited from Xerox by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. He spent 17 years there.

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Emergency services work at the scene of a shooting in Hanau, Germany, yesterday.Photo: AFP
A gunman killed nine people in two shootings at shisha bars and one at his home in the German town of Hanau on Wednesday night, police said.

The suspect then killed himself after also killing his mother at his home, police said.

Nine people died in the attacks on the two bars at about 10pm on Wednesday night, while five others shot have life-threatening injuries, police said.

Some of those killed were of Turkish origin, Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kaln said.

“We expect German authorities to show maximum effort to enlighten this case. Racism is a collective cancer,” Kaln said on Twitter.

The killer was named by police as 43-year-old Tobias R. His surname was not given, in line with German practice.

He shot himself and his 72-year-old mother at home, police said. They also confirmed that he possessed a hunting license.

The Bild newspaper said he expressed extreme right-wing views in a letter of confession that he left behind.

After the murders, a huge hunt was launched for the perpetrator involving dozens of armed police and a helicopter hovering above the commuter town 25km east of Frankfurt.

Police tweeted at about 5am that special police force officers had stormed the home of the alleged suspect and found him dead along with another body.

“There are currently no indications of other perpetrators,” police said in a statement.

Police sealed off and searched the home in Hanau’s Kesselstadt District, near the scene of one of the shootings, after following up witness statements on a getaway vehicle.

Local media reported that eight or nine shots were fired at the Midnight shisha bar on Heumarkt in the center of the town at about 10pm.

A dark vehicle was seen leaving the scene. Soon afterward, shots were fired at a second shisha bar — the Arena Bar and Cafe in Kurt-Schumacher-Platz in Kesselstadt District.

Federal prosecutors yesterday said that they were taking charge of investigating the shooting amid reports that the suspect might have had a far-right motive.

Witnesses to the Hanau attack described how the attacker had randomly fired shots into the bars.

One man in his early 30s said he received a call from a friend who had been in one of the bars.

“He left a message to tell me he had been hit,” the man, who was not identified, told NTV. “I called him back immediately. He told me he was in an ambulance. He had a bullet in his shoulder.”

“These are people we have known for years,” the son of the Arena Bar manager said of two employees gunned down. “That there are people out there who are so heartless, shooting others who have done nothing wrong... It is a shock for everyone.”

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title: Shisha bar gunman kills nine, mother in Germany


title: US offered Assange pardon: lawyer

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US offered Assange pardon: lawyer

‘COMPLETE FABRICATION’:Former US representative Dana Rohrabacher denied being sent by US President Donald Trump, saying that he was acting on his own
A person shows support for Wikileaks frontman Julian Assange outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Wednesday.Photo: AFP
US President Donald Trump offered to pardon WikiLeaks frontman Julian Assange if he said that Russia had nothing to do with WikiLeaks’ publication of US Democratic Party e-mails in 2016, a London court heard on Wednesday.

Assange appeared by video link from prison as lawyers discussed the management of his hearing next week to decide whether he should be extradited to the US.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Assange’s barrister, Edward Fitzgerald, referred to a witness statement by former US representative Dana Rohrabacher, who visited Assange in 2017, saying that he had been sent by the president to offer a pardon.

The pardon would come on the condition that Assange would say that the Russians were not involved in the e-mail leak that damaged Hillary Rodham Clinton’s US presidential campaign against Trump in 2016, Rohrabacher’s statement said.

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham denied the assertion.

“The president barely knows Dana Rohrabacher other than he’s an ex-congressman. He’s never spoken to him on this subject or almost any subject. It is a complete fabrication and a total lie,” she said.

Rohrabacher also said that he had never spoken with the president about Assange.

In a statement, he denied that he had been sent on Trump’s behalf, saying that he was acting on his own when he offered to ask Trump for a pardon if Assange would say how he got the e-mails.

He said he relayed Assange’s willingness to cooperate to Trump’s then-White House chief of staff John Kelly, but said that he heard nothing further from the White House.

US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election to try to help Trump win, in part by hacking and releasing e-mails embarrassing to Clinton.

Russia denied meddling and Trump denied any campaign collusion with Moscow.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Assange spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.

The full extradition hearing is to be split in two parts, with the second half delayed until May.

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Valencia’s Jaume Domenech, right, clears the ball past Atalanta BC’s Duvan Zapata, left, in their UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday.Photo: AFP
Atalanta BC coach Gian Piero Gasperini hailed a performance his club would “remember forever” after the Italian side on Wednesday crushed Valencia 4-1 to take a giant step closer to reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.

Dutch wingback Hans Hateboer scored twice, in the 16th and 62nd minutes, sandwiching goals from Josip Ilicic and Remo Freuler.

“This is an evening that we’ll remember forever,” Gasperini said. “It’s an amazing result, full of emotion.”

It was an extraordinary night for the side from Bergamo, Italy, who traveled to the San Siro with more than 40,000 of their fans, as their home stadium 55km away does not meet UEFA regulations.

Denis Cheryshev pulled one back for Valencia in the first leg of the last-16 tie at the San Siro, the same stadium where the Spanish side lost the 2000-2001 final to Bayern Munich on penalties.

Valencia, seventh in La Liga, had finished top of their group after away wins over Ajax and Chelsea, but were missing several key players through injury and suspension.

“It certainly complicates things a bit, it’s a pretty overwhelming result, this 4-1,” Valencia coach Albert Celades said. “In the end, it doesn’t reflect much what we saw on the pitch.”

Atalanta’s run came despite losing their three opening Champions League group games, before finishing second behind Manchester City.

“Three goals ahead is a nice reward,” Gasperini said. “But there were a lot of dangerous situations, these are things we’ll need to improve in Valencia.”

“We are satisfied with this victory and above all with this advantage,” he said. “Yesterday, I would have signed to go to Valencia in the return game with a three-goal lead.”

The tournament debutants dominated the first half, with Mario Pasalic having their first chance on eight minutes, but Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech pushed the ball over the bar at full stretch.

Hateboer opened the scoring just after a quarter-hour, meeting a low Gomez cross to poke past Domenech for his first goal of the season.

Ferran Torres struck the post for Valencia on the half-hour mark, before Eliaquim Mangala missed a chance to connect with Goncalo Guedes’ shot across the face of goal.

Marten de Roon and Gomez both fired over before Ilicic collected Pasalic’s pass and drilled a powerful right-footed strike into the top corner three minutes before the stroke of halftime.

Gasperini’s side put the result on the night beyond any doubt 12 minutes after the break, when Freuler curled in a magnificent third from the edge of the penalty area.

Hateboer completed his brace five minutes later, ensuring that Atalanta’s 12 goals in their first Champions League campaign have been scored by 10 different players.

Maxi Gomez had a golden chance to pull a goal back on the hour mark for the visitors, but his weak effort was brilliantly saved by Pierluigi Gollini in the Atalanta goal.

Cheryshev came off the bench and immediately scored in the 66th minute, pouncing on a poor Jose Luis Palomino pass to give Valencia an away goal and a glimmer of hope to take into the second leg on March 10 at Mestalla.

“We had opportunities and we didn’t finish them,” Celades said. “The result is clear enough today, but it’s not impossible [to advance]. Let’s see what happens at Mestalla, let’s play well in our stadium.”

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title: Atalanta thrash Valencia on night ‘full of emotion’


title: Earth God bebop

content_text:
Earth God bebop

Jazz musicians and Beiguan players will perform together on Sunday at Tamsui’s Fude Temple to wish its patron deity a happy birthday
Beiguan and jazz musicians practice together for the first time on Tuesday last week for a jazz-Beiguan fusion show on Sunday at Tamsui’s Fude Temple.Photo courtesy of Aletheia University Jazz Project

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Until about three weeks ago, Huang Jung-jen (黃詠仁) and Lin Chen-hung (林宸弘) had little knowledge of each other’s musical genres.

Huang, who is studying Western classical composition at Aletheia University in Tamsui, is an avid jazz guitarist; Lin is a member of the Nanbeixuan (南北軒) traditional beiguan ensemble that has been a fixture of the area for 102 years.

Beiguan (北管) is a type of traditional music often heard at temple festivals and in Peking Opera.

“The only exposure to Beiguan music we had in school was in a music history class,” Huang says.

On Sunday, the Aletheia University Jazz Project will join forces with National Taiwan University’s Jazz Club and Nanbeixuan to celebrate the Earth God’s birthday on Dengkong Borough Fude Temple’s (鄧公里福德宮) performance stage.

For the past three years, the Jazz Project held one show per year for family and friends, and this is their first time branching out. Sunday’s show was conceived as part of Aletheia music management major Hsieh Shang-hsiu’s (謝尚修) graduation thesis, where he seeks to connect his passion for jazz music to Tamsui’s local culture. Located in a bustling night market a short walk from the Tamsui MRT station, the Fude Temple is familiar to most locals, especially their annual summer procession.

“Tamsui residents must have at least passed by the procession at some point,” Hsieh says. “Beiguan music is familiar to their ears. By contrast, jazz is an outsider genre.”

Huang cites indie bands who incorporate Taiwanese temple music, such as indie rock band Zenkwun (神棍) and taike rockers Sorry Youth (拍謝少年), as a factor for the growing interest in traditional sounds among young people. Lin has also worked with rock bands, but he says jazz is trickier due to the bigger difference in time signatures and rhythmic styles as well as scales.


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Iraqis wanted to topple system, but taboos fell instead

A woman takes part in a marathon in Basra, Iraq, on Dec. 20 last year in support of anti-government demonstrations.Photo: AFP
Mocking clerics, falling in love at rallies and mending a broken society: Even if Iraq’s young protesters have failed to overthrow entrenched politicians, they have scored by shattering decades-old taboos.

Since October last year, the country of 40 million has been rocked by a large grassroots movement with big goals: ending corruption, unaccountable sectarian parties and overreach from Iran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi resigned in December, only to be replaced by former Iraqi minister of communications Mohammed Allawi, slammed by protesters as too close to the ruling elite.

However, what they have so far been unable to win politically, demonstrators have made up for with social change.

“We scored one goal by bringing down the government, but socially we have achieved much more,” Ali Khraybit, 28, said.

His best friend just proposed to a woman that he met while marching in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the anti-government movement.

Like other squares across Iraq’s mainly Shiite south, Tahrir Square has become a social experiment, a free space where conservative norms have been toppled.

Demonstrators chant against a once-untouchable cluster of politicians and paramilitary commanders, while women spend nights in tents next to men.

Students defy orders to return to class and neighborhoods once seen as dangerous are buzzing with people on their way to demonstrate.

Slogans such as “Forget outdated traditions,” “End classism” and “No more differences” are trending on Twitter in Iraq.

“Tahrir lets us dream,” wrote one activist whose friend — who ekes out a living driving a rickshaw — has fallen in love with a medic from a prestigious family.

Since the 1970s, Iraq has endured former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian regime, back-to-back wars and devastating sanctions that isolated it from the world.

There were few cellphones and barely any Internet access until the 2003 US-led invasion that collapsed Saddam’s nominally secular regime.

Sectarian fighting gave rise to hardline Shiite and Sunni militias, as society became more divided and religious.

When Iraq defeated the Islamic State group in 2017 after years of fighting and displacement, many anticipated long-overdue peace and prosperity.

“The young generation was in a coma for many years, but stability opened their eyes to the truth: There is more to life than just surviving,” protester Ahmad Haddad, 32, said.

“There’s living in dignity in a civil society, breaking conservative norms and loosening the grip of religious parties,” Haddad said.

Instead of easing into normality, it was a sudden uprising that transformed Iraq, but it has come at a high price. About 550 people have been killed and 30,000 wounded in protest-related violence.

Few protesters are old enough to remember Saddam — 60 percent of the population is under 25 — and blame their elders for Iraq’s slide into broken politics.

The rallies exposed “a huge rift” between the two generations, Iraqi researcher Khaled Hamza said.

The movement is at a crossroads: The number of protesters has dwindled, as organizers face an intimidation campaign and political parties seek to recapture momentum with a new Cabinet.

“Now, it’s time to unite under a new vision, a plan that addresses Iraqis’ needs,” protester Mohammad al-Ajeel said. “What’s happening is huge, but it’s new for us. We can’t expect everything to happen overnight. It might take years.”

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EU ‘fighting like ferrets in a bag’ to plug post-Brexit cash hole

Presidents, prime ministers and chancellors across Europe were packing their bags this week in preparation for a long weekend in Brussels. However, they will not be taking in the baroque majesty of the Grand Place or savoring the local culinary treats.

Instead, they will be preparing for that most infamous of events, a “four shirter,” to use the clothes-packing gauge adopted by male diplomats to measure the length and horror of EU leaders’ summits in the Belgian capital.

The thorny subject this time around? Money. And the problem? The UK.

The UK’s withdrawal from the EU has left a huge 75 billion euros (US$80.95 billion) hole in the bloc’s budget for the next seven years, from next year to 2027.

“And now we are fighting like ferrets in a sack,” one EU diplomat said with a sigh.

Covering items ranging from agricultural subsidies to science programs and the EU’s efforts to combat the climate emergency, the new multi-annual financial framework (MFF) needs to be agreed by the leaders and an increasingly unpredictable European Parliament before the end of the year.

Without agreement, everything risks grinding to a halt in just nine months’ time, including the flow of cohesion funds, the cash dedicated to supporting the poorest member states.

Budget discussions in Brussels are always rancorous affairs, but this one is of a different order: Everyone will have to pay more. No one wants to.

EU capitals were expected to be bristling for a fight when they arrived in Brussels yesterday for the first day.

Ominously for the diplomatic corps, an end date for the summit has not been fixed, but four days of talking are on the cards.

There are two main rivals in the budget battle.

On one side are those who proudly describe themselves as “the Frugals” — the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark (although there are some concerns within the camp that the new Austrian coalition government, being a bit Green now, has been lost to them, and that the Swedes are going soft).

As the biggest net payers, the Frugals have been insisting on a budget of no more than 1 percent of the EU’s gross national income.

The European Commission’s initial proposal was for 1.1 percent — about 1.25 trillion euros over the seven years.

Then there are the “Friends of Cohesion” (FoC).

“The Friends of Corruption, you mean?” spat one EU diplomat from a Frugal state.

The 15 under the FoC flag are the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Croatia, Malta, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Portugal and Greece.

The Frugals say that the commission’s 90 billion euros in cuts to agriculture and cohesion funding are not enough.

The FoC say they are being unfairly targeted and that the richer countries should cough up some more, setting up a battle between east and west.

The debate is all the more toxic as the commission has proposed that cohesion funds should also, in the future, be conditional on member states respecting the rule of law.

It is a red rag to the bulls in the nationalist governments of Hungary and Poland, which are already in a battle with Brussels over their judicial reforms, among other issues.

Then there is France and Germany. Berlin’s main concern is that it does not come out of it looking worse than the French.

In Paris, the government just worries about how much cash is going to go to its farmers, one senior EU official said.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Authorities targeting illegal taxis

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Directorate General of Highway employees inspect the documentation of a driver in Taipei yesterday as part of efforts to crack down on unlicensed taxis, after the driver of such a vehicle became the nation’s first COVID-19 fatality on Saturday last week.Photo: CNA
Government agencies in charge of road transportation and regulating vehicles yesterday announced measures to reinforce a crackdown on unlicensed taxis, and increased fines to a maximum of NT$25 million (US$826,337) for companies and operators, and NT$500,000 for drivers while the nation fights to contain COVID-19.

The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications convened a meeting with representatives of the six special municipalities, in which they agreed to increase supervision of the sector and impose heavier fines, including the termination of operating licenses, for legal taxi firms working with unlicensed taxi drivers.

The nation’s first confirmed COVID-19 fatality was a 61-year-old unlicensed taxi driver who died on Saturday last week after transporting Taiwanese businesspeople returning from China’s Zhejiang Province, one of whom tested positive for coronavirus antibodies yesterday.

The man’s death has resulted in increased scrutiny over his employment, as the ministry said that he was likely operating an illegal taxi service with a private vehicle, nicknamed “white plate vehicles.”

The DGH also conferred with other ministry agencies, including the Civil Aeronautics Administration, which agreed to increase patrols and checks to crack down on unlicensed taxi drivers and businesses, as well as expand efforts to remove their links from messaging app Line and other platforms people use to hail drivers.

They also called for closer cooperation with taxi unions and drivers’ associations for assistance and to provide information to the government to be used in fighting the disease.

Taipei Motor Vehicles Office officials said that it would bolster checks on “white plate vehicles” and other unlicensed transportation businesses, adding that during the fight against the disease, fines would reach up to NT$25 million for companies and operators, and NT$500,000 for drivers.

For licensed taxi companies found to be illegally employing “white plate vehicles,” the maximum punishment would be the revocation of their business license, officials said.

People who report such illegal activity can receive a share of the fines of between NT$10,000 and NT$300,000, officials said, citing Article 77 of the Highway Act (公路法).

Many drivers of “white plate vehicles” operate illegally at airports, as well as major train and bus stations, or scheduled appointments via telephone, DGH officials said.

Additional reporting by Jason Pan

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Virus Outbreak: Guidelines for school suspensions

QUESTIONS:The MOE needs to specify how close or far apart a first and second case of COVID-19 would have to be for a school to close, Taipei Deputy Mayor Huang said
A Hualien County Government employee yesterday disinfects a school as part of a three-day cleanup ahead of the reopening of schools on Tuesday next week.Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times

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The Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday issued guidelines for suspension of classes should cases of COVID-19 be confirmed on campus.

Schools from kindergartens to senior-high are scheduled to reopen on Tuesday next week, after the start of classes following the winter break was delayed by two weeks due to concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Universities are expected to begin their second semester of the academic year on or after Tuesday.

According to the ministry’s guidelines, a class would be suspended in kindergartens through senior-highs if one student or teacher is confirmed by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) to have the virus.

If two or more students or teachers at a school are confirmed to have the virus, the school must suspend all classes.

If one-third of schools in a township or district have been forced to shut due to the virus, the remaining schools must close as well, the guidelines state.

If one university student or teacher is infected, all courses taken by that student or taught by the instructor would be suspended, while in the event of two or more confirmed cases, the university must close its campus, the ministry said.

Class suspensions would last 14 days, it said, adding that the guidelines could be subject to change.

In addition, all public events held by a school should be suspended if there is a confirmed case on campus, the ministry said.

Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) told reporters that guidelines left questions about how close or far apart the first and second cases of COVID-19 at a school would have to be to warrant a school-wide closure and the ministry should clarify the issue.

Otherwise, there could be “mistakes in judgement,” Huang said.

The Taipei City Government has set a 14-day time frame, meaning that a school would close if two cases are confirmed within 14 days of each other, she said.

Taipei Department of Education Director Tseng Tsan-chin (曾燦金) said the 14-day time frame was based on COVID-19’s 14-day incubation period, but the department would consult with the CECC.

Additional reporting by Tsai Ya-hua

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title: EVERYDAY ENGLISH

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A: I really hope our plants are OK after we’ve been away on holiday for two weeks. We should have asked a friend to water them for us.

B: I’m a bit worried, too. There was a heat wave in Taipei while we were away.

A: As soon as we get home, let’s drive over to the community garden straight away and take a look.

B: Fingers crossed.

A: 出門度假兩個星期了，真希望我們種的植物沒事。出門前應該要請朋友幫我們澆水的。

B: 我也有點擔心。在出門期間還有一場熱浪襲擊台北。

A: 我們一到家以後，就開車去社區園圃那邊看看吧。

B: 但願一切平安無事。

English 英文:

Chinese 中文:

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London would be ready to host this year’s Summer Olympics if an outbreak of COVID-19 forced the Games to be moved from Tokyo, said Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate for mayor of the British capital.

The flu-like virus has had major effects on the sporting calendar in Asia, with a host of events being canceled and postponed.

Tokyo organizers have set up a task force to coordinate with public health authorities on how to respond to the epidemic, while the International Olympic Committee has said that it had been advised by the WHO that there is no case for contingency plans to cancel or relocate the Games.

In Japan, hundreds have been infected and two deaths have been confirmed on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Yokohama, sparking concerns that the world’s top sporting event might not take place.

With London having hosted the 2012 Games, Bailey said that it was well-placed to step in for Tokyo if needed.

“We have the infrastructure and the experience. And due to the #coronavirus outbreak, the world might need us to step up,” Bailey said on Twitter. “London can host the #Olympics in 2020.”

His comments, carried by several major Japanese media outlets, became a top trending topic on Twitter in the country, with nearly 50,000 tweets on the subject.

“How dare you! Don’t deprive the Olympics from Japan! In the first place, the UK didn’t take any remedies for the ‘Diamond Princess’ owned by your country,” one Twitter user said.

The Diamond Princess is a UK-flagged vessel owned by Carnival Corp.

Another Twitter user replied to Bailey that London would be the best backup option, saying: “Probably the only major city that could, facilities, hotels etc all ready & the weather would be more conducive to both competitions/spectators than Tokyo.”

The Tokyo organizing committee did not comment on Bailey’s remarks, saying in a statement that it was taking the necessary steps over the coronavirus.

“Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organizations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and we will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organizations,” it said.

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title: Mayor hopeful says London could host Games if necessary


content_text:
People fleeing an offensive arrive at the Deir al-Ballut camp in Afrin, Syria, on Wednesday.Photo: AFP
Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing a Russian-backed Syrian offensive are being squeezed into ever smaller areas near Turkey’s border “under horrendous conditions” in freezing temperatures that are killing babies and young children, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said on Wednesday.

Lowcock told the UN Security Council that “the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe” in northwest Idlib Province, which is the last major rebel stronghold, has “overwhelmed” efforts to provide aid.

Nearly 900,000 people have been displaced since Dec. 1 last year, when the government offensive began, more than 500,000 of them children, he said.

“Many are on foot or on the backs of trucks in below-freezing temperatures, in the rain and snow,” Lowcock said. “They are moving into increasingly crowded areas they think will be safer, but in Idlib, nowhere is safe.”

Almost 50,000 people have taken shelter under trees and in open spaces, Lowcock said.

“I am getting daily reports of babies and other young children dying in the cold,” he added.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen echoed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ expression of alarm on Tuesday at the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation “and the tragic suffering of civilians.”

“Hostilities are now approaching densely populated areas such as Idlib city and Bab al-Hawa border crossing, which has among the highest concentration of displaced civilians in northwest Syria and also serves as a humanitarian lifeline,” Pedersen said. “The potential for further mass displacement and even more catastrophic human suffering is apparent, as an increasing number of people are hemmed into an ever-shrinking space.”

Russia and Turkey, as sponsors of a ceasefire in Idlib, “can and must play a key role in finding a way to de-escalate the situation now,” Pedersen added.

However, meetings between delegations of the two countries in Ankara, Munich and Moscow, as well as contact between the two presidents, have not produced results.

“To the contrary, public statements from different quarters, Syrian and international, suggest an imminent danger of further escalation,” Pedersen said in a video briefing from Geneva, Switzerland.

The US, the UK, Germany and others have said that three-way talks with Russia and Iran, which are supporting Syria, and Turkey, which is supporting the opposition, are not working, even if it did establish a de-escalation zone in Idlib.

German Ambassador to the UN Christoph Heusgen said that since the so-called Astana formula is not working, it is time for the UN to step in and “it’s time also for the secretary-general also to step up to the plate.”

“We have an immense responsibility that we face here as the United Nations, as the Security Council to stop what is happening,” he said. “We must spare no effort.”

Heusgen also urged Russia to stop supporting Syria.

“If you tell the Syrians that there is no longer military support to the Syrian regime, they will have to stop the onslaught on their own population,” he said.

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia responded: “We will not stop supporting the legitimate government of Syria, which is conducting a legitimate fight against international terrorism.”

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title: Syrians flee offensive, cold killing children, UN says


taiwan-subdivisions: 中正 板橋 信義 北投 淡水 土城

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Hiyes International Co Ltd (海悅國際開發) retained its title as Taiwan’s largest housing broker by securing NT$100.55 billion (US$3.32 billion) of business last year, an annual survey released yesterday by Chinese-language Housing Monthly (住展雜誌) showed.

Hiyes, which has held the largest broker position for 11 consecutive years, last year managed to win consignment cases across northern Taiwan, except in Yilan County, the magazine said.

It is not clear if Hiyes would repeat the strategy and maximize business volume this year, rather than focus on sales rates that would determine profitability, Housing Monthly research manager Ho Shih-chang (何世昌) said in a report.

An outbreak of COVID-19 in China might prompt brokers to reconsider their strategies due to business disruptions and sapping consumer sentiment, Ho said.

“The principle of ‘the more, the merrier’ made sense in a bullish market last year, but caution might dominate in times of uncertainty,” Ho said.

Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋), the nation’s only listed broker, which has expanded its portfolio to include presale housing projects, finished second in the survey with 68.16 billion cases, more than triple its level in 2018, the magazine said.

Sinyi, which relied heavily on existing homes that require lower advertisement spending, has mainly played the role of a rescue pitcher, taking over unsold cases from developers on the presale market, it said.

The strategy allowed Sinyi to win luxury home cases such as Kingdom Xinyi (冠德信義) in Taipei’s prime Xinyi District (信義), as well as Vanilla Manor (香草莊園) and New World (宏盛新世界) in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), Ho said, adding that Kingdom Xinyi alone generated NT$18 billion in potential sales.

Newland Developers Group (新聯陽實業) was third in the survey with NT$59.45 billion of business, more than double its volume in 2018, the survey showed.

The company had a profitable year by selling out residential projects in Taipei’s Beitou (北投) and Zhongzheng (中正) districts, as well as New Taipei City’s Tucheng (土城) and Banciao (板橋) districts, it said.

JSL Group (甲山林) came in fourth with NT$50.6 billion in business, primarily from its own development projects, the survey said.

JSL favors development projects in New Taipei City and Taoyuan districts that require relatively low land costs, but enjoy favorable development terms, it said.

The survey said that the market has grown increasingly challenging for small players.

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title: Hiyes tops broker list for 11th year, survey shows


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EU cannot widen and deepen at the same time

Starting accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania is better than spurning them, but enlargement presents a problem that needs to be talked about honestly
Many things divide the 27 member states of the EU these days, but one controversy in particular sums up the bloc’s fundamental dilemma.

It is over “enlargement,” and specifically whether to formally start accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.

Seething below the surface is the question of whether the EU can, in Eurocrat jargon, keep “widening” and “deepening” at the same time.

Put differently, if the EU keeps admitting new members, whether they are ready or not, will it not just become ungovernable and drift apart?

As usual, it fell to French President Emmanuel Macron, who has earned himself quite a reputation for being undiplomatically honest, to point out this tension.

He shocked other EU leaders by blocking formal talks with North Macedonia and also, supported only by Denmark and the Netherlands, Albania.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among others, was irate; the Balkans were livid.

The EU is now scrambling to get him to drop his veto before a European summit next month.

Two main arguments were hurled at Macron.

First, that he was being unfair in failing to recognize how much the two countries have already done to become good candidates.

Albania has cleaned up its judiciary and cracked down on organized crime. The other country even changed its name (adding “North”), just to appease EU member Greece, which has a region that argued it had dibs on “Macedonia.” The EU had promised that this would be enough to start negotiating.

Second, Macron was accused of being strategically myopic, just when the EU needs to start thinking “geopolitically.”

Russia and China are already extending their tentacles into southeastern Europe, the latter by financing ports, bridges and rail lines as part of opaque political deals.

If the Balkans feel spurned by the EU, they will run, rather than walk, into the arms of non-Western autocrats.

All true, but there is also a good reason for objecting to enlargement: It inevitably gums up integration between the EU’s existing members

DIVISIONS

Working together was hard enough among the six founding countries back in the 1950s. With each new entrant, it kept getting harder, as new languages, political cultures, historical grievances and national interests had to be accommodated.

This was true after the UK joined in 1973 (and look where that led) and after the Mediterranean and Nordic expansions later.

The dilemma became especially clear after the two eastward expansions in 2004 and 2007. The same arguments were being used then as now: Not admitting the post-communist nations would have been geopolitical folly, stranding them in the sphere of influence of their former Russian oppressors.

It would also have been unfair to people who had long and valiantly struggled for their freedom and yearned to join “the West.”

However, more than a decade on and some of those eastern members have turned into spoilers of the European project, or worse.

Hungary is a quasi-autocracy that proudly calls itself “illiberal.”

Poland is actively undermining the independence of its judges and the rule of law, in open confrontation with the European Court in Luxembourg.

Both are obstructing any progress in formulating a common European policy for dealing with migrants. In effect, they have rejected the EU’s founding idea of European solidarity in favor of an atavistic nationalism.

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title: Hsieh advances as Chan sisters crash

content_text:
Hsieh advances as Chan sisters crash

‘VERY WEIRD’:Top seed Simona Halep claimed to be flabbergasted after edging past Ons Jabeur, saying it was ‘up and down’ because the Tunisian ‘doesn’t give rhythm’
By Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with AFP,
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
Romania’s Simona Halep returns to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in their Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships match in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.Photo: EPA-EFE
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday cruised into the quarter-finals of the doubles at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, while the Chan sisters’ poor start to the season continued as the Taiwanese second seeds crashed out.

Reigning champions Hsieh and Barbora Strycova took just 58 minutes to see off the challenge of unseeded Chinese duo Han Xinyun and Peng Shuai 6-2, 6-2 on the hard courts in the United Arab Emirates.

The top seeds converted six of nine break points and limited their opponents to a 40 percent success rate on their first serve as they advanced to a quarter-final against American pairing Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who recovered from a disastrous start to oust sixth seeds Kveta Peschke and Demi Schuurs 0-6, 6-0, 10-1 in 54 minutes.

Taiwanese duo Chan Hao-ching and Latisha Chan fell to a 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 defeat to another American pairing, Desirae Krawczyk and Alison Riske, in 1 hour, 19 minutes.

The second seeds also lost their opening matches in Brisbane and Hobart, Australia, last month, before putting together four victories to advance to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

In the singles, Romanian top seed Simona Halep needed four match points to see off Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, squeezing into the quarter-finals 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9/7).

“I don’t know how I was able to finish this,” said Halep, who had to save a match point to progress. “It was up and down because she doesn’t give rhythm. It was very weird, but I’m happy I could win.”

The Wimbledon champion’s win came after Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza re-established order among the top seeds after a run of upsets at the Aviation Club.

World No. 3 Pliskova strolled to a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of qualifier Kristina Mladenovic in barely an hour, before ninth seed Muguruza took almost two-and-a-half hours to get past Russian Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Three big names had exited the day before — defending champion Belinda Bencic, third seed Elina Svitolina and Australian Open winner Kenin.

The tense Halep match resembled a Fed Cup tie, with rival groups of Tunisian and Romanian fans outshouting each other.

“It was like a football match or a Fed Cup match. I didn’t really realize what was going on on court,” Halep said. “Everyone was with a lot of energy, so we had to give our best. I think it was a great match.”

Wild-card Jabeur, ranked No. 45, came from 4-2 down in the final-set tiebreaker, missing a match point when she netted a forehand.

Halep, who lost the opening set in 26 minutes, eventually claimed the victory when Jabeur drove long.

“It was a very tough match, she played well,” Halep said. “I wanted to give all I had and just wanted to win. I didn’t give up, I’m proud I fought to the end.”

In the quarter-finals, Halep faces Belarusian seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated doubles partner Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-4, 6-3.

Pliskova pegged back Mladenovic after the Frenchwoman had earned only her first main-draw win of the season in the first round.

“It’s always a tough one against her. We played in Australia, so I knew what to expect,” Pliskova said.

“I was not playing amazing, but still, even with a couple of mistakes, I didn’t give up. The score looked a little bit easier than it really was, we had a couple of tough games,” she added.

Muguruza went into her match two days after beating Kim Clijsters in the Belgian’s first WTA match since 2012.


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Highways and Byways: Ascending to ‘heaven’s pond’

The partial opening of the South Cross-Island Highway provides access to Kaohsiung’s Tianchi and its many hiking trails and spectacular scenery
It was like finding a cherished photo album that I thought I’d lost forever. The news that one of the most scenic sections of the South Cross-Island Highway (南橫公路) had finally reopened was the best I’d heard all week.

Until Typhoon Morakot wreaked havoc in the summer of 2009, the highway had provided a reliable connection between the southwest and the east, at least during the dry season. For Tainan residents driving to Hualien, Highway 20 (the road’s official designation) was a quicker and more enjoyable alternative to the South Link Highway (南迴公路) from Pingtung to Taitung.

Back in the 1990s, my friends and I often rode the early morning bus from Tainan to Kaohsiung’s Tianchi (天池), and not just to ogle the landscape. Tianchi, at an elevation 2,280m, is within walking distance of some superb hiking trails, including those to the summits of Guanshan (關山, 3,666m) and Taguanshan (塔關山, 3,222m).

Once we walked from Tianchi, through Daguanshan Tunnel (大關山隧) — at 2,722m the highest point of the highway — and all the way to the village of Lidao (利稻) in Taitung County’s Haiduan Township (海端鄉). I’ve especially fond memories of seeing wildlife on Yakou Forestry Road (埡口林道). At the best of times, the forestry road was scarred by landslides; I suspect it was obliterated by Morakot.

On the Taitung side, the road has long been open as far as Siangyang (向陽). For most of the past decade, however, the high-altitude section of Highway 20 on the Kaohsiung side was off-limits to the public. A checkpoint just outside Meishankou (梅山口, elevation 1,014m) in Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源區) stopped outsiders from going any further inland. A few intrepid hikers and cyclists found ways around this barrier and exited via Siangyang.

GETTING THERE

Only one bus per day goes to Meishankou (the #8029 service), and there’s no public transportation beyond. If you’re driving from the north, take either freeway, then Expressway 84. At Yujing (玉井), join Highway 20 and follow the signs to Jiasian (甲仙). The gas station in Meilan is open from 6am to 8pm.

THINGS WORTH KNOWING

The road beyond Meishankou closes if there’s significant rainfall. To confirm that it’s open, call the police station in Meishankou at (07) 686-6170. Along Highway 20, as in urban areas, don’t park on a red line. Camping is prohibited. Boiling hot water is available from a machine by the white-tiled maintenance office at Tianchi, so there’s no need to bring a stove if you want to brew tea or make noodles.

The checkpoint still exists, but since Jan. 12 it’s been possible to drive a car or ride a motorcycle as far as Tianchi, as long as you do so between 8am and 1pm. You should return to Meishankou by 3pm. No pen-and-paper registration is required. Instead, each vehicle must stop for a moment so its license plate can be photographed.

According to the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), on the first day of reopening, more than 700 vehicles went through the checkpoint. A month later and in the middle of the working week, we reached Meishankou — 108km from central Tainan and slightly further from central Kaohsiung — just before the 1pm cutoff. We found a packed parking lot and vendors doing a roaring trade, but no delays at the checkpoint.

Moving cautiously uphill, we quickly realized we were in for a difficult drive. The morning crowds were heading home; almost all of the traffic was coming in the opposite direction. On a wide and straight highway, I’d have considered that a blessing. On a twisting mountain road where passing is often difficult, it was stressful.

Meishankou to Tianchi is 25km, but after covering less than 6km, we decided to turn around and return the following morning. Because Meishan Youth Activity Center (梅山青年活動中心) was booked, we spent the night in a homestay in Meilan (梅蘭), 4km to the south. Like several other villages along Highway 20, such as Meishankou and Lidao, most of the people in Meilan are members of the Bunun (布農) Aboriginal community.

The following morning, we passed through the first checkpoint just before 8:30am and drove nonstop to Tianchi. There was no holdup at the second checkpoint, 10km from Meishankou and also equipped with a camera. Two dozen motorcycles were parked at Tianchi. Visitors aren’t allowed any further up the road, even on foot.

taiwan-subdivisions: 梅山 海端 桃源區 關山 甲仙 玉井


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The COVID-19 outbreak in China and seasonal weakness might cut revenue by 30 percent this quarter as containment measures, including transportation restrictions, imposed in China would reduce raw material supply, Taipei-based TPK Holding Co (宸鴻) yesterday said.

With material inventories running lower than normal levels, the touch module and sensor supplier “is working closely with partners in the supply chain to satisfy customers’ demand,” TPK chief executive Leo Hsieh (謝立群) told investors during a teleconference.

The company said it expects production output to be reduced by 20 to 30 percent this month and might fall about 20 percent next month, before production returns to normal in April.

TPK holds a “cautiously optimistic view” for the year, and hopes delayed demand to recover after the outbreak ends, Hsieh said.

TPK, which operates plants in Xiamen, China, does not expect to be as much affected by the COVID-19 outbreak as companies with operations in industrial zones in other provinces.

“As of Monday this week, the number of employees returning to work was sufficient to operate production lines to meet customers’ demand,” Hsieh said.

The company has been able to win more orders than its rivals, thanks to its quick resumption of work and better operational efficiency, he said.

The company said it aims to break even in operating profit this quarter.

TPK reported a net loss of NT$98 million (US$3.24 million) last quarter, due to an impairment loss of NT$817 million for retiring some outdated manufacturing equipment, compared with a net profit of NT$192 million for the same quarter last year.

Gross margin fell from 3.7 percent a year ago to 1.8 percent, but excluding the impairment loss, gross margin would have been 4 percent, TPK said.

TPK’s net profit for last year was NT$209 million, a 6.7 percent drop from the NT$224 million it made in 2018. Earnings per share fell from NT$0.55 to NT$0.51, while revenue rose 20.4 percent to NT$136.61 billion, from NT$113.48 billion in 2018.

New touch module orders from tablet suppliers helped offset the loss of orders from Apple Inc, who scrapped the force-touch feature for its new iPhone X series last year, TPK said.

Cellphone-related orders fell to 45 percent of total revenue last year, down from 53 percent in 2018, it said.

TPK plans to spend NT$4 billion to expand capacity for its new silver-nanowire (SNW) touch technology used in large-size digital whiteboards, public displays and LCD assembling production lines, it said.

One of its clients is scheduled to roll out a new smartphone featuring its SNW products in the third quarter this year, it said.

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title: TPK forecasts 30 percent revenue drop this quarter


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Chunghwa Post courier questions mask allotment

Some Chunghwa Post couriers have complained that the company has not provided them with an adequate supply of masks, even though the company is in charge of delivering masks and alcohol to National Health Insurance Administration partnered pharmacies nationwide to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

One delivery person on Wednesday posted an article on the couriers’ Facebook page saying that employees in a hardwood company in Taichung had been asked to home quarantine themselves after one employee was said to be a family member of the nation’s first COVID-19 fatality.

“Did the company not promise to provide couriers with 16,000 face masks daily?” the person wrote.

“Couriers are likely to deliver mail or packages to people who are under home quarantine, which they would not know. Chunghwa Post is not providing each courier with a face mask daily, at least that is the case with me,” they wrote.

“Who is going to be responsible if a courier contracts the disease when delivering registered mail,” they wrote.

“Would the government have to shut down the postal company if one of the couriers is confirmed with COVID-19, just as the hardwood company was? Should the residents serviced by this courier undergo home quarantine as well? Who is going to deliver the mail after Chunghwa Post is closed?” the courier added.

The complaints have drawn attention from the company and a union, as well as other couriers.

China Postal Workers’ Union chairman Wu Wen-feng (吳文豐) said that Chunghwa Post has about 26,000 employees, including 20,000 couriers and post office clerks who need to interact with customers.

Following a request from the union, Chunghwa Post has increased the number of masks provided to couriers and other service staff from 6,000 per day to 10,000, but this is still not enough to meet demand, Wu said.

The government should inform Chunghwa Post of the people who are under home quarantine so couriers can be aware, he said.

Chunghwa Post said clerks at post offices near or inside hospitals, and train or bus stations, as well as those working in branches with high foot traffic, are being given priority for masks.

However, couriers delivering mail or packages to hospitals, medical clinics, pharmacies, train and bus stations and densely populated areas would be given masks first, it said.

Employees of post offices in remote and less-populated areas would be given masks based on actual demand on a weekly basis, the company said.

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Virus Outbreak: Italian pork import ban not linked to flight ban: MOFA

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou holds a news briefing at the ministry yesterday, clarifying that the government’s ban on Italian pork is not a retaliatory measure.Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
The government’s ban on Italian pork, which took effect yesterday, is based on scientific evidence and is not a retaliatory measure against Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday.

The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine on Wednesday announced a ban on Italian pork and hog products, citing Italy’s inclusion in areas affected by African swine fever over the past three years.

Ou told a news briefing at the ministry in Taipei that the decision to remove Italy from the list of countries not affected by African swine fever was not connected to Italy’s Feb. 2 ban on flights to and from Taiwan amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Italy lists Taiwan as “a province of China affected with COVID-19” and banned flights to and from Taiwan until April 28, along with flights to Hong Kong, Macau and China.

Rome’s ban followed the confirmation that two Chinese tourists had tested positive for COVID-19.

The Italian government’s decision to suspend flights from Taiwan was not scientifically based and was a gross error, and Taiwan is “disappointed” that Italy has not yet offered a clarification on the issue, nor sought to remove the suspension, she said.

African swine fever has become increasingly severe on the Italian island of Sardinia, the bureau said.

The bureau said that it had previously reviewed Italy’s 2009 import application, which noted that Sardinia was an “infected zone,” but said that the threat did not pertain to the rest of Italy and it agreed with that listing, which is why imports of Italian pork were allowed as of March 9, 2018.

However, there is an increasing risk of African swine fever spreading from Sardina to the rest of Italy, as WHO statistics from 2017, 2018 and the first quarter of last year showed 45 cases, 90 cases and 27 cases of the disease respectively, it said.

If Italy wants to resume pork exports to Taiwan, it must file a new application with the bureau, the bureau said.

Bureau officials would then visit Italy to make on-site inspections before ruling on the application, it said.

Anyone entering Taiwan in possession of Italian pork or pork products could be fined a maximum of NT$1 million (US$33,053), the bureau said.

Italian pork accounted for 1.6 percent of the nation’s pork imports last year, making the country the ninth-biggest exporter of such products to Taiwan, bureau data showed.

Of the 13 nations allowed to export pork to Taiwan, the top five last year were Canada, the US, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands, data showed.

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title: President hosts, thanks US think tank head

content_text:
President Tsai Ing-wen, right, meets Randall Schriver, Project 2049 Institute chairman and former US assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.Photo: CNA
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday received Project 2049 Institute chairman Randall Schriver, a former US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, at the Presidential Office in Taipei and thanked him for facilitating the sale of F-16V jets to Taiwan.

Taiwan is Schriver’s “first stop” abroad since he left his post in December last year, Tsai said.

During his tenure as a top US Department of State official, Schriver worked to enhance the Taiwan-US security relationship, and valued Taiwan’s role and position in the Indo-Pacific region, she said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to especially thank chairman Schriver for his support and contribution to Taiwan’s democracy, freedom and security,” Tsai said.

In the Jan. 11 presidential election, Taiwanese once again showed their commitment to democratic values, she said.

Taiwan’s democratic defense mechanisms would continue to be strengthened, Tsai said, adding that Taipei hoped to work with the US and other like-minded countries toward “peace, stability and prosperity” in the Indo-Pacific region.

Global public health and economies worldwide have been severely affected by an outbreak of COVID-19 in China, she said.

Taiwan is a member of the global community, she said, adding that “disease knows no borders.”

Tsai thanked Washington, the US Congress and Americans for their support and assistance regarding Taiwan’s participation in the WHO.

Taiwan is willing and able to contribute more to the international community, whether it comes to experience in preventing epidemics, healthcare capabilities or even in the peace, stability and prosperity of the overall region, she said.

Taiwan should not be excluded from conversations because of political reasons, she added.

Tsai said that she looked forward to Schriver providing Taiwan with support and advice, and working together for the development of Taiwan-US relations.

Speaking at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei on Wednesday, Schriver said that the US is in “an era of strategic competition with China.”

“I think at the most fundamental level, we are competing in order to maintain an advantage and an edge so that we can continue to promote the qualities and characteristics of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Schriver said.

“Our competition is not for geography,” he said. “It’s not for territory or water or for control. In fact, the United States has no ambition in the Indo-Pacific commons other than to ensure that they remain free and open.”

“Taiwan’s ability to protect itself, to protect its sovereignty, to deal with the emerging challenges of China is really the linchpin to security throughout the Indo-Pacific,” Schriver said. “So our partnership with Taiwan is very focused on helping Taiwan implement its own strategy.”

“Taiwan is in its own way building out its own relationships with other countries who share the same vision beyond the United States,” he said.

“So the United States, I think, can also be a bridge in helping Taiwan strengthen its relations with other key actors in the region,” he added.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Tsai pans US claim of community spread in Taiwan

ISOLATED CASES:President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan’s situation does constitute community spread, and that the public should not see the US Web site and panic
National Health Research Institutes Director Liang Kung-yee, right, gives a presentation on the latest information regarding COVID-19 to President Tsai Ing-wen, center, in Miaoli County yesterday.Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that the spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan does not qualify as community spread as stated on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site, given that the nation only has isolated cases, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked the US to correct Taiwan’s status.

In its latest information, the CDC included Taiwan as a travel destination with apparent community spread of COVID-19, alongside Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

While visiting a vaccine center at the National Health Research Institutes in Miaoli County yesterday, Tsai echoed remarks by Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), saying that Taiwan’s situation does not constitute community spread and that members of the public should not panic.

“We will do our best to ensure everyone’s good health,” Tsai said, adding that disease-prevention efforts would always be performed to the highest standard.

Asked about the US move, foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement that the status of COVID-19 in Taiwan does not meet the criteria set by the CDC as necessary for community spread.

For community spread, the CDC states that the infection source of a certain confirmed case cannot be identified, the number of local infection cases far exceeds that of overseas infections, a chain of continuous transmission has been identified and clusters of infection are extensive.

The ministry has asked the US to correct Taiwan’s status to reflect its current situation, Ou added.

In related news, Taiwanese stranded onboard the virus-stricken Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, are scheduled to return to Taiwan today on a charter flight operated by China Airlines (中華航空), the ministry said yesterday.

The flight is scheduled to depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 1:30pm, land at Tokyo Haneda International Airport and return to Taiwan at 10:30pm.

After being quarantined in their cabins for 14 days, Diamond Princess passengers who tested negative for COVID-19 were allowed to disembark on Wednesday.

Five Taiwanese passengers who disembarked on Wednesday were taken to a hotel after being received by Taiwanese officials, including Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), at the Port of Yokohama.

Hsieh yesterday received another nine Taiwanese, expressing sympathy to them on behalf of the government.

Five Taiwanese passengers tested positive for COVID-19 and were hospitalized in Japan, but 19 Taiwanese were eligible to take the charter flight, Ou said yesterday.

“The ministry hopes to repatriate all 19, but respects the decision of each person, so the number returning on the charter flight is uncertain,” Ou said, adding that additional tests and a 14-day home quarantine would be required of those who return.

Additional reporting by Lin Chia-nan and Lu Yi-hsuan

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people: 陳時中 蔡英文 謝長廷


content_text:
China cuts benchmark lending rate

‘SENDING A MESSAGE’:Analysts said that officials were signaling that easing would happen ‘at a measured pace,’ to avoid stoking a bubble and damaging the economy
China yesterday cut its benchmark lending rate, as widely expected, as the authorities move to lower financing costs for businesses and support an economy jolted by a severe COVID-19 outbreak.

The outbreak has upended global supply chains and caused widespread disruption to businesses and factory activity in China, prompting authorities to deliver a steady stream of policy measures to cushion the blow to economic growth.

The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), the new benchmark lending gauge introduced in August last year, was lowered by 10 basis points to 4.05 percent from 4.15 percent at the previous monthly fixing.

The five-year LPR was lowered by 5 basis points to 4.75 percent from 4.80 percent.

The LPR cut followed a similar move to the central bank’s medium-term lending rate on Monday. Investors are betting the authorities would roll out more monetary easing and fiscal stimulus in the near term to help smaller businesses that are struggling to tide over the crisis.

Mayank Mishra, macro strategist at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, said the LPR cut might not be enough to overcome the economic impact of the virus.

“The Chinese authorities are sending a message that easing will happen, but it will happen at a measured pace. They do not want to fuel expectations that they will be easing aggressively,” Mishra said.

“We expect more monetary easing in the form of 100 basis points in the reserve requirement ratio and 10 basis points in the medium-term lending facility in addition to what we’ve already seen,” Mishra added.

The yuan weakened to a more than two-month low against the US dollar after the LPR cut, mainly pressured by further easing expectations.

Banks are already setting lending rates well below the benchmark and if government subsidies are taken into account, some borrowers might not pay any interest at all, sources said.

Some analysts said the minor cut to the five-year LPR likely signaled that authorities wanted to avoid stoking a property bubble and causing more damage to the economy in the longer run.

The People’s Bank of China has pledged to use tools, such as targeted reserve requirement cuts, relending and rediscount, to support key sectors affected by the outbreak, having already injected more than US$200 billion in liquidity in a bid to help lower financing cost.

When compared with a year earlier, China’s first-quarter growth could slump to 4.5 percent from 6 percent in the fourth quarter, the latest Reuters poll showed.

Some analysts warn of even lower growth closer to the 3 percent mark, underlining the widespread business disruption caused by the virus.

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title: China cuts benchmark lending rate


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Virus Outbreak: New cases drop as China revises method again, while global infections top 75,000

A community worker measures the temperature of a man as police officers inspect his documents at a checkpoint set up at an intersection in Wuhan, China, yesterday.Photo: Reuters
Hubei Province, at the center of the COVID-19 outbreak, yesterday reported 349 new cases, a sharp decline from nearly 1,700 the previous day as China again changed its method for counting infections.

China’s National Health Commission on Wednesday said that it would now only classify patients as suspected cases and confirmed cases, eliminating the category for clinically diagnosed cases by computed tomography scans.

China has faced increasing criticism as it repeatedly adjusts how it reports COVID-19 data. Last week, US officials questioned the government’s transparency after a change in the method for counting infections caused a surge of almost 15,000 new cases in Hubei.

While the overall spread of the virus has been slowing, the situation remains severe in Hubei Province and its capital, Wuhan. More than 80 percent of the country’s cases are in Hubei and 95 percent of the deaths, National Health Commission data showed.

The death tally in China hit 2,118 as 114 more people died, but health officials reported the lowest number of new cases there in nearly a month, including in Hubei.

A total of 74,576 people have been infected by COVID-19 in China and hundreds more in more than 25 countries.

The number of deaths outside China has climbed to 11.

Japan’s toll rose to three as a man and a woman in their 80s who had been aboard a quarantined cruise ship died, while fears there mounted about other passengers who disembarked the Diamond Princess after testing negative.

South Korea reported its first death and the number of infections nearly doubled to 104 — almost half of them from a cluster centered on a religious sect.

Iran on Wednesday reported two deaths, the first fatalities in the Middle East. Deaths have previously been confirmed in Taiwan, France, the Philippines and Hong Kong.

Chinese officials have said that their drastic containment efforts have started to pay off.

“Results show that our control efforts are working,” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said at a special meeting on the virus with Southeast Asian counterparts in Laos, citing the latest data.

China is making “tremendous progress” and “trends are very encouraging, but we are not at a turning point yet,” WHO Regional Emergency Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Richard Brennan said in Cairo.

Additional reporting by AFP

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Pair face charges over fake video, two over messages

Two men are facing misinformation charges over video and rumors about COVID-19, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday, while the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) said that two Changhua County residents could face charges over rumors about Taiwan’s first COVID-19 fatality.

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) asked the CIB to investigate after a video surfaced earlier this month that purportedly showed the Vietnamese government providing free masks to people waiting in lines and claiming that Taiwan’s government had sent 500,000 masks to Hong Kong.

“This video shows the Vietnamese government working to contain the coronavirus outbreak by handing out free masks to people in Ho Chi Minh City, but we do not know what the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] government has done. It is doing nothing,” the video says. “The DPP government sent 500,000 masks to Hong Kong, giving five masks to each Hong Kong resident, but people in Taiwan cannot find any masks to buy.”

The CIB checked with the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, which said that Hanoi had not distributed free masks, and the video showed an activity by a Vietnamese charity, Fourth Investigation Corps officer Wang Chih-cheng (王志成) said.

“Taiwan’s government did not send masks to Hong Kong ... so we determined the video was fake news that had created distrust in our government, and could have panicked the public,” Wang said.

A 62-year-old Chiayi County resident surnamed Liu (劉) allegedly circulated the video on the messaging app Line, as well as sending it to friends and others through social media sites, CIB investigators said.

Helped by information provided by Liu, the CIB discovered that the video Liu had downloaded originated with a 44-year-old Taipei resident surnamed Wu (吳), Wang said.

Liu and Wang face charges of contravening Article 63 of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), which states: “Persons who disseminate rumors or incorrect information concerning epidemic conditions of communicable diseases, resulting in damages to the public or others, shall be fined up to NT$ 3 million” (US$99,160), the CIB said.

Between Jan. 23 and Wednesday, police had investigated 83 cases of rumors and misinformation about the “Wuhan virus,” while prosecutors are investigating 48 cases, with 70 people facing indictments, Wang said.

Meanwhile, the MJIB yesterday questioned two Changhua residents, surnamed Yang (楊) and Chuang (莊), who allegedly circulated Line messages claiming that the elder sister and nephew of the nation’s first fatality, the driver of an unlicensed taxi, had also caught the virus and listing places they claimed his family members lived, and restaurants, grocery stores, clinics and a massage parlor they had visited.

Yang and Chuang would also face charges for contravening Article 63, because the messages were not true and residents of the areas cited had been alarmed, while local businesses had been hurt, MJIB officials said.

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title: EDITORIAL: White Terror cases still haunt nation

content_text:
Two high-profile cases of mysterious deaths from the Martial Law era remain unsolved to this day. Many suspect they were the work of the Taiwan Garrison Command, although this has never been proved.

Despite Taiwan’s gradual democratization in the decades that followed, these unsolved cases demonstrate that transitional justice is still very much a work in progress and that, even today, the chances of unearthing the truth behind the deaths appear as remote as ever.

As Taiwan entered the 1980s, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) iron grip on power was on the wane following the loss of the Republic of China’s (ROC) seat at the UN, the death of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Washington’s severing of diplomatic ties with the ROC. The then-KMT government had also just made a last-ditch attempt to stem the flow of calls for democracy.

On Dec. 10, 1979, the government dispatched troops to a Human Rights Day rally in Kaohsiung organized by the pro-democracy Formosa Magazine. The clashes between troops and protesters became known as the Kaohsiung Incident. In the days and weeks that followed, organizers of the rally and democracy activists, including Lin I-hsiung (林義雄), were systematically rounded up and jailed pending trial in military courts.

On Feb. 28, 1980, Fang Su-min (方素敏), Lin’s wife, was visiting him in prison when an unknown person broke into the family’s house in Taipei and attacked Lin’s mother, and the couple’s nine-year-old daughter and seven-year-old twin girls.

The eldest daughter, Lin Ting-chun (林亭均), was the only survivor, although she sustained serious injuries after being stabbed six times.

Even though the house was under close surveillance by police and intelligence agents, the assailant has never been identified.

A little more than a year later, on July 3, 1981, Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was found dead outside National Taiwan University’s library.

Chen, who was visiting his parents in Taipei, had been questioned several times during his visit about his activities in the US. On July 2, he was questioned again over his financial contribution to Formosa Magazine. While the authorities claimed Chen had committed suicide, an autopsy by US forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht found wounds and bruises on his body, indicating that he had been bludgeoned to death.

The identity of Chen’s assailant(s) is still unknown.

Friday next week marks the 40th anniversary of the Lin family murders. On Monday, the Transitional Justice Commission released a report of its investigation into the case.

The report uncovers a hereto unknown detail: National Security Bureau files showed that a suspect in the murders made a call from a telephone in Lin’s home to a restaurant about the time of the attack. However, the bureau says that telephone surveillance recordings from Feb. 28 were “flushed.”

The report also states that a prior investigation into the murders was “severely obstructed,” and that the possibility of the then-KMT government’s involvement could not be ruled out.

As for the commission’s ongoing investigation into the Chen case, the bureau last month moved to block the declassification of files relating to it for a further 50 years, citing national security concerns.

Sadly, the nation is no closer to knowing the truth in either case — just two of numerous brutal acts of alleged state-sponsored terror that occurred during the period. The permanent bureaucracy within Taiwan’s intelligence agencies appears to have closed ranks yet again to protect their own. The truth might only come out after the perpetrators are long dead.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Special bill introduced for COVID-19

RECOVERY:Premier Su Tseng-chang said the special budget is to be unveiled within a week and hopefully the bill would pass in time to tide over hard-hit sectors
Premier Su Tseng-chang, right, yesterday asks the Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus in Taipei to help him to pass a special bill for COVID-19 prevention, relief and recovery.Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

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The Executive Yuan yesterday unveiled a special bill for COVID-19 prevention, relief and recovery that includes a proposed maximum fine of NT$1 million (US$33,053) for people who break their quarantine.

People who break a home quarantine would face a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1 million, while those who break a quarantine at a government-designated quarantine center would face a fine of NT$200,000 to NT$1 million, the bill states.

Firms that voluntarily pay quarantined employees, or employees who take leave to care for children under quarantine, would benefit from a break in “profit-seeking enterprise income tax” of up to twice the salary payout, it states.

People who are furloughed after being placed under government-designated quarantine or home quarantine may request compensation from health authorities within two years, it states.

Government agencies, schools and companies may not rule that an employee under quarantine, or taking care of family members under quarantine, is absent without leave, force them to file for leave, or cancel their attendance bonus or deduct days off that they have earned, it states.

Employers who break this rule would be fined between NT$50,000 and NT$1 million, it states.

Individuals or entities who defy an order of the Central Epidemic Command Center, or contingency measures that the center implements, including those who refuse to comply with the government’s setting aside of goods for disease prevention, would also be subject to a fine of between NT$50,000 and NT$1 million, it states.

People who hoard or attempt to hoard equipment or medicines deemed necessary for disease prevention, as published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, would face a prison term of up to five years and a possible fine of up to NT$5 million, it states.

Those who spread disinformation or rumors about an epidemic to the extent that it hurts the public interest would face a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to NT$3 million, it states.

The bill stipulates that the health ministry should issue subsidies to healthcare personnel responsible for disease prevention, treatment or care during the COVID-19 outbreak, while employees who prevent COVID-19 with excellence at government agencies, schools, companies or organizations should be rewarded by their employer.

If a person in charge of disease prevention dies from COVID-19, the ministry should subsidize the educational costs of their children, it states.

The bill stipulates that it be funded by NT$60 billion of surplus revenue from prior fiscal years or loans.

Before the special budget is approved by the Legislative Yuan, funding related to company bailouts or the offsetting of economic losses in certain sectors may be appropriated from existing budget, it states.

If passed, the bill would be retroactively applied to Jan. 15 — the day that the disease was declared a class-5 epidemic — and would remain in effect until June 30 next year, except for Articles 12 to 16, which deal with penalties, which would take effect once ratified.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said he approved the bill and has asked government agencies to communicate extensively with the four legislative caucuses so that it can pass quickly.

The Executive Yuan is to finish planning the special budget and unveil it within a week, Su said, adding that the bill would hopefully pass in time to tide over sectors affected by the outbreak.


content_text:
PixArt Imaging Inc (原相) yesterday said that net profit last quarter climbed 7 percent quarterly, as demand for sensors used in gaming computer mice, game consoles, wearable devices and surveillance products exceeded its expectations.

Net profit rose to NT$329.84 million (US$10.9 million), compared with NT$315.03 million in the previous quarter. On an annual basis, net profit nearly tripled from NT$121.62 million.

Earnings per share increased to NT$2.45, from NT$2.35 a quarter earlier and NT$0.92 a year earlier.

Gross margin improved to 58.2 percent, up from 58 percent the previous quarter and 57 percent a year earlier.

For this quarter, an outbreak of COVID-19 in China is expected to cut into the sensor maker’s revenue, as some clients have delayed shipments, PixArt chief financial officer Lo Mei-wei (羅美煒) told a teleconference.

“We expect the coronavirus to have short-term effects on the company’s operation. The scale of effects will depend on how fast the consumer market bounces back,” Lo said.

“The effects should be most severe this month and the company’s operations should gradually return to normal next month as customers restart work,” he added.

Revenue for this quarter would be lower than last quarter’s NT$1.94 billion, as shipments of sensors used in mice are to slump by between 10 percent and 15 percent quarterly due to seasonal weakness, and those used in wearable devices and true wireless stereo earbuds are to fall deeply due to the outbreak, while those used in game console controllers are to grow more than 10 percent quarterly thanks to strong sales of Nintendo Co’s Switch, Lo said.

Mouse sensors contributed 60 percent to PixArt’s revenue last quarter, game console sensors made up 10 percent and sensors used in wireless earbuds, wearables, surveillance devices and other products accounted for 30 percent, the company said.

This year, wireless earbuds, wearables and surveillance devices would be the major growth drivers, as the company has added new customers and products to existing lineups, Lo said.

PixArt reported that net profit last year dropped 2.65 percent to NT$835.59 million, from NT$858.36 million in 2018, with earnings per share falling from NT$6.57 to NT$6.23, while revenue jumped 10.2 percent to NT$6.08 billion, from NT$5.51 billion in 2018.

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title: PixArt profit jumps on better-than-expected demand


content_text:
China plans to take over indebted conglomerate HNA Group Co (海航集團) and sell off its airline assets, the most dramatic step to date by the state to contain the deepening economic damage from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government of Hainan, the southern island province where HNA is based, is in talks to seize control of the group after the contagion hurt its ability to meet financial obligations, people familiar with the plans said.

The once little-known airline operator shot to prominence between 2016 and 2017 after a debt-fueled acquisition spree saw it become the leading shareholder of iconic companies such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Deutsche Bank AG, while paying top dollar for properties in locations from Manhattan to Hong Kong.

An announcement could be made as soon as yesterday, though talks could drag on or fall apart, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are confidential.

Under the emerging plan, China would sell the bulk of HNA’s airline assets to the country’s three biggest carriers — Air China Ltd (中國國際航空), China Southern Airlines Co (中國南方航空) and China Eastern Airlines Corp (中國東方航空), the people said.

It would also likely unload HNA-backed Suparna Airlines (金鵬航空) to the Jiangsu provincial government, the people said. Discussions with the airlines are continuing, they added.

A representative for HNA declined to comment. Calls and messages to Hainan government officials and press officers at the three state-run airlines were not returned.

Suparna representatives were not reachable and the Jiangsu provincial government did not immediately respond to an e-mailed query.

HNA has been slimming down after a US$40 billion buying binge left it with one of the highest levels of corporate debt in China.

In the past year, the group has been returning to its aviation roots, culminating in a November announcement to divide its businesses into airlines, aviation leasing and airports, with the rest being lumped under its “non-aviation asset management” unit.

However, its focus on aviation and tourism backfired as the COVID-19 outbreak led to an unprecedented drop in flights in and out of China.

HNA has for years struggled with debts that once climbed to nearly 600 billion yuan (US$85.43 billion), as well as soaring borrowing costs.

Although its total debt fell to 525.6 billion yuan as of the middle of last year, its cash pile shrank at a much faster pace, to 50.4 billion yuan, the smallest amount based on semiannual figures stretching back to 2015.

HNA chairman Chen Feng (陳峰) closed last year by predicting that this year would be “the decisive year to win the war” against the conglomerate’s long-running liquidity challenges.

“HNA is, even by Chinese standards, a sprawling and indebted conglomerate, and the collapse in Chinese airline activity due to the outbreak of COVID-19 has apparently pushed it to effective bankruptcy,” London-based Agency Partners analysts led by Nick Cunningham wrote in a note.

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title: China to take over HNA, hurt by virus, debt


title: 敘利亞戰亂顛沛 父女面對爆炸無所懼

countries: 敘利亞 土耳其

content_text:
在敘利亞戰亂中，有一位父親為了不要讓三歲女兒受到創傷，所以教導女兒在聽見爆炸聲的時候要開懷大笑。影片PO上網後，引發關注。

每天都有炸彈落下，父親穆罕默德不捨3歲女兒莎瓦在轟炸聲驚恐度過，只好將戰爭變成遊戲。他告訴莎瓦，只要聽到空中有飛行的聲音，就可以準備猜測，等待爆炸的那一刻。孩童天真單純，面對無情戰火，卻還能開懷大笑。這段影片在社群媒體被大量迅速轉傳。穆罕默德一家來自敘利亞西北部伊德利布省戰略重鎮薩拉奎布，這個月稍早，薩拉奎布被政府軍拿下，一家三口只能逃到緊鄰土耳其的薩曼達鎮。根據聯合國人權組織的報告，敘利亞西北部的攻擊，已經造成將近三百位平民喪生。

聯合國人權辦公室發言人柯維爾說：「其中約93%的死亡是由敘利亞政府軍跟其盟軍所造成。此外，10個醫療院所以及19所教育機構也被直接打中，或被附近攻擊所影響。以婦女跟小孩為主的平民在酷寒中住在破裂塑膠板屋簷下還被轟炸，過去十年，這些炸彈已經成為他們生活中的一部分。」

總統阿塞德領導的敘利亞政府軍，目前已迫使反抗軍全數湧入西北部與土耳其接壤的伊德利布省，去年四月起政府軍加強攻勢，亟欲收復、重奪整個國家的控制權。百姓為逃離戰火，只能離開家園。自去年12月初以來，已有超過50萬名兒童因戰亂流離失所。數以千計的孩童跟家人在嚴寒、大雨中難求安穩睡去。對穆罕默德來說，未來重建家園，讓莎瓦受教育的希望，當然也更不知何時才能實現。


title: 千禧蟲危機2038恐重演！這些舊系統再不更新將中標　連Mac也在列

content_text:
西元2000年的時候，當時艾利還是小學生，看到電視都在談論「千禧蟲危機」，還以為是什麼外來種害蟲，後來長大才知道，原來是差點引發亂象的電腦風暴！

▲千禧年間，法國一所學校內的跑馬燈錯誤顯示「1900年1月3日」，而不是2000年（圖／翻攝自維基百科）

年序錯亂造成大災難
2000年問題（Year 2000 Problem），簡稱Y2K。由於2000年是千禧年，又稱為千禧蟲危機，簡單來說就是一種「資訊年序的Bug」。

當時，因為電腦程式使用兩個數字來表示年份，如1992年被表示為「92」、1999年被表示為「99」；而2000年則被表示為「00」，這樣將會導致某些程式在計算時得到不正確的結果，例如把「00」誤解為1900年或1800年都有可能！

諸如此類的計算錯誤，會讓資料連環出錯，甚至當機。而在現代社會，許多重要設施只要稍微當機，便會讓裝置停止運轉，比方核電廠、能源產業，還有政府部門的電腦、以及對數字極盡敏感的銀行業，都會牽一髮而動全身，形成連鎖反應。

比方像是銀行存款、放款的利息出問題、公司薪資計算錯誤、醫療資訊出差錯、武器數據錯誤……只要在2000年的零點一到，便會發生大災難！

而解決方法是什麼呢？

治標不治本 2038年電子危機恐又重臨
其實，專家們早在1970年就想出解法啦！電機電子工程師學會（IEEE），是世界上最大的專業技術組織之一，每年都會發表多種雜誌、學報、書籍，也會舉辦至少300次的專業會議。

當時，全球的專家們開會決定結論，將Unix作業系統的時間計算方式改成「一秒」，並以有正負號的32位元二進制整數儲存，最多可以計算2,147,483,647秒。

乍看完美的方案，只有一個缺點：若從1970年開始算起，直到68年後的2038年，數字又要爆了！

當時的人們超樂觀的，他們想說人類都能登上月球了，2038年的電腦怎麼可能還在用Unix系統呢？殊不知現在的MacOS，還是用Unix當基礎，而且短期內還會繼續用下去呢。因此2038年，危機恐會再度重臨。

但你可能會問，現在很多電腦都改成64位元的作業系統，那就無關了吧？那你可就錯了！一般的微電腦設備，比方汽車、電視、喇叭、冰箱甚至提款機都還是使用32位元的處理方式，況且不少64位元的電腦以及很多伺服器，還是用32位元來計秒。

若我們將社會上的所有電腦設備與代碼都更新成64位元，或許就能避開2038年的「Y2K38危機」；但就目前看來，似乎還需要專家們再次集思廣益、想想辦法才行呢。

野生Her出沒！會員獨享兩件再88折


content_text: EIA報告：美國原油產品四周平均供應量為2025.8萬桶/日，較去年同期減少1.8%。除卻戰略儲備的商業原油上周進口654.7萬桶/日，較前一周減少43.1萬桶/日。美國上周原油出口增加59.4萬桶/日至356.4萬桶/日。除卻戰略儲備的商業原油庫存增加41.5萬桶至4.429億桶，增加0.1%。...

title: EIA報告：美國原油產品四周平均供應量為2025.8萬桶/日，較去年同期減...


content_text:
原標題：百奧泰成功上市 創新只為生命

百奧泰生物製藥股份有限公司(以下簡稱「百奧泰」)股票今日正式在上交所科創板掛牌交易，股票簡稱「百奧泰」，股票代碼「688177」，發行價為32.76元/股。此次百奧泰成功上市，標誌著廣州市科創產業發展的新起點。對於百奧泰而言，百奧泰從誕生至上市的整個過程就像是藥物研發直至上市的整個過程縮影。

百奧泰是一家以創新葯和生物類似葯研發為核心的創新型生物製藥企業。該公司主要在研產品中部分為生物類似葯。截至目前，百奧泰已有一個阿達木單抗生物類似葯BAT1406獲得上市批准，公司自主研發的國家1.1類新葯巴替非班BAT2094正在開展III期臨床研究，預計2019年底前向中國NMPA提交上市申請，在研產品的管線中處於臨床試驗階段的主要產品中3個為生物類似葯，5個為創新葯。

作為一家生物製藥企業，擁有高素質人才和高水平的試驗基地是必不可少的條件。百奧泰在高素質人才的培養，以及高質量的科研基地的開發上，都具有優勢。發行人先後被廣州市人力資源和社會保障局評為「2012年廣州市博士后創新實踐基地」，被廣州開發區科技和信息化局評為「廣州開發區2013年瞪羚企業」，被廣州市科技創新委員會評為「2015年廣州市科技創新小巨人企業」，被廣東省人力資源和社會保障廳評為「2014年廣東省博士后創新實踐基地」，被廣州市人民政府評為「2016年創新標杆企業」，被廣東省人力資源和社會保障廳評為「2018年廣東省博士后工作站」等榮譽。此外，發行人於2016年度被廣東省科學技術廳認定為百奧泰生物科技研究院（廣東省新型研發機構）和廣東省抗體偶聯藥物工程技術研究中心（廣東省工程技術研究中心）；2018年7月被廣東省發展和改革委員會認定為廣東省抗體藥物偶聯生物醫藥工程實驗室（廣東省工程實驗室）。高素質人才是藥物研發與創新的根本，高質量的試驗基地是藥物研究的保障。

發行人「百奧泰人源抗體創新藥物孵化基地」課題於2013年獲得「十二五」國家重大新葯創製科技重大專項立項支持，發行人「腫瘤治療性抗體藥物研發及全球臨床Ⅲ期試驗」課題於2018年獲得重大新葯創製科技重大專項立項支持。

保障核心技術的先進性

百奧泰具有行業領先的抗體發現和優化技術，擁有具有自主知識產權的抗體酵母展示篩選平台、ADC技術平台及抗體生產平台，保障了其可持續的藥物創新能力及完整的藥物自主研發能力。在國際上，領先的生物製藥企業，如基因泰克（羅氏）和艾伯維，都率先推進了從藥物發現到優化的單克隆抗體技術平台，包括高效表達抗體的哺乳動物細胞工藝、全人源化抗體技術平台等等。近年來，許多中國生物葯公司都開發了適宜自身生物葯研發特點的技術平台，包括對氨基酸序列/構象關係進行人源化、親和力以及成藥性方面的優化；在ADC技術平台層面，中國創新生物葯企業技術平台與全球研發水平基本相當。在同行業愈演愈烈的競爭中，百奧泰通過掌握自主核心技術，使得公司可以在激烈的市場競爭中脫穎而出。

國內市場的生物製藥行業同類在研產品，越來越多的走向了商業化和臨床晚期，市場集中度不斷上升。在強者恆強的背景下，本次百奧泰成功上市，是百奧泰應對生物製藥行業競爭加劇及市場集中度提升的戰略布局。本次上市將進一步提升百奧泰企業的行業優勢，促進百奧泰在研產品向商業化轉型，鞏固百奧泰在生物醫藥行業的地位，同時有助於百奧泰其他在研產品的研發進程，實現企業更加持續穩健的發展。

title: 百奧泰成功上市 創新只為生命


title: 布倫特原油收復60美元關口，刷新1月29日來高位。

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title: EIA報告：美國上周原油出口增加59.4萬桶/日至356.4萬桶/日。


content_text:
到目前為止，2020年10年期美國國債經通脹因素調整后的平均收益率只有區區0.01%。自1月份以來，它實際上已經跌破0%，1月31日的最低值為-0.14%。

這意味著，如果持有10年期美債直至到期，投資者肯定會蒙受損失。

誠然，低成本、長周期的貨幣環境有其好處。這對借款人來說很好，它使企業和政府更加容易償還債務，同時還刺激消費增長。的確，在過去10年裡，極低的借貸成本推高了美國家庭債務，到2019年底，家庭債務首次超過了14萬億美元，僅信用卡債務就達到了創紀錄的9300億美元。

然而，對借款人有利的事情並不總是對投資者和儲蓄用戶有利。低至負值的利率使創收變得困難，這可能會促使投資者投資於非投資級和垃圾債券等風險較高的資產。

比如當下的希臘，其10年期國債價格上漲，推動希臘10年期國債收益率首次跌破1%，原因在於缺乏收入的投資者湧入希臘國債市場，這是歐元區為數不多的仍能提供正收益率的債券市場之一。

據紐約梅隆銀行市場策略主管Daniel Tenengauzer估計，目前全球收益率為負值的政府債券堆積如山，今年可能會在不經意間令養老基金和其他機構投資者損失高達1萬億美元。

除10年期債券外，30年期的長期美國國債也沒有支付更高的利息。據報導，財政部上周以2.061%的創紀錄低點收益率出售了190億美元的30年期美債。

目前最具吸引力之一是免稅市政債券。據晨星公司的數據，2019年流入市政債券基金的資金達到了創紀錄的1055億美元，這遠遠超過了2009年創下的750億美元。

來源：圖表家

countries: 希臘 美國

title: 低利率的大背景下 市政債券或成「新貴」


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當前，新冠肺炎疫情形勢依然嚴峻，就在全國禁止獵捕野生動物，全民呼籲禁食野味的當下，依然還有人在捕殺、食用野味，頂風作案。

日前，貴州省黔東南州施秉縣森林公安局接到一起警情：該縣龍塘村村民龍某在社交網路上曬出一張國家二級保護動物紅腹錦雞的屍體照片，稱系其父龍某某上山捉到的野雞，並叫囂「天天吃野味吃到膩」。

經民警調查，確認此事屬實。2月15日，民警在龍某某家中將其抓獲，並現場查獲紅腹錦雞活體1隻、標本1隻，同時龍某某還交代1隻錦雞已被食用。

原來，因近期受新冠肺炎疫情影響不能外出，龍某某便自製獵套上山獵捕紅腹錦雞，上山首日，其獵捕到一隻雌性紅腹錦雞後於當日食用。次日，龍某某又在同一地段活捉到一隻雄性錦雞，將其置於家中飼養。

龍某某家裡還查獲一隻野生錦雞標本，據龍某某交代，這是十年前其用同樣的手段獵捕到的錦雞。

據介紹，龍某某非法捕殺食用野生動物的行為已觸犯《中華人民共和國刑法》，涉嫌非法獵捕、殺害珍貴、瀕危野生動物罪，施秉縣森林公安已對犯罪嫌疑人龍某某採取刑事拘留。

目前，案件正在進一步辦理中。

警方提醒：民眾要自覺抵制亂捕濫獵和食用野生動物行為，同時，要充分認識到食用野生動物的健康風險，如發現相關違法犯罪行為或線索，應及時舉報。

來源 | 中國新聞網（ID：cns2012）

countries: 中國 中華人民共和國

title: 頂風作案？男子捕食野味，結果被兒子晒圖「出賣」


title: 香港新冠肺炎累計確診病例增至68例


title: 美元兌俄羅斯盧布上漲1.01%，報64.1926


content_text:
韓國中央防疫對策本部20日表示，截至當地時間下午5時，韓國境內新增53例新型冠狀病毒肺炎確診病例，累計確診104例，死亡1例。

20日上午新增的31例病例中，30例來自慶尚北道和大邱市，1例來自首爾。在大邱和慶北地區出現的30例中有23人與第31例（61歲女性）患者在其常去的教會有過接觸。下午確診的22例中有21例來自大邱市和慶尚北道，其中與第31例確診患者有關的病例有5例。截至目前，該教會累計出現43例確診病例，韓國防疫部門認為這是集聚性感染。
值得關注的是，韓國確診病例中至少有42例與被認為是「超級傳播者」的第31例患者有關。
此外，20日韓國境內出現首個死亡病例，為死後確診。該患者是一名63歲韓國男性，在位於慶尚北道的清道郡醫院住院20多天后，於19日凌晨病逝。衛生部門在患者死後對其進行病毒檢測，結果呈陽性。
據韓聯社報導，包括死亡病例在內，清道郡醫院已有13人確診。據了解，第31例患者於本月初到過該醫院。目前，韓國中央防疫對策本部正在對該醫院所有患者和醫護人員進行行動軌跡調查，確認是否與第31例患者有關。
截至目前，韓國累計16人治愈出院，87人在接受隔離治療。

events: 死亡 冠狀病毒

title: 韓國一天內確診人數翻倍，似現「超級傳播者」 首現死亡病例


content_text:
▲嘉義區監理所查獲白牌車，依法規個人戶違規營業，將處最高處罰鍰50萬元。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝，下同）

記者翁伊森／嘉義報導

自用車違規經營計程車客運業(俗稱白牌車)，為公路總局及各直轄市政府稽查取締重點。為強化運輸服務防疫措施，公路總局19日邀請各直轄市政府、民航局及桃機公司等單位研商加強稽查取締白牌車相關措施，並共同擴大稽查並嚴加取締，於防疫期間經查獲違反規定者，將依公路法第77條第2項規定加重處罰，個人被查獲最高處罰鍰50萬元，法人部分最高處罰鍰2,500萬元。

嘉義區監理所指出，該所20日會同警方共同擴大稽查，於嘉義火車站查獲1輛白牌車違規載客，後續將依據公路法第77條第2項規定，處以最高罰鍰50萬元，並得吊扣其非法營業之車輛牌照及汽車駕駛人駕駛執照。

另外，該所也說明，為防杜白牌車違規營業，公路法已經修正，並訂定檢舉獎勵辦法，檢舉白牌車經裁處確定及完成罰鍰收繳者，將核發檢舉人新臺幣1萬至30萬元之檢舉獎金，歡迎民眾檢舉。

現值肺炎疫情流行期間，合法之計程車在主管機關的指導下，會依規定進行清潔消毒等防疫工作；為維護民眾自身權益，保障旅運安全，嘉義區監理所呼籲，民眾如有乘車需求，請選擇合法計程車，切勿搭乘白牌車。

title: 嘉義火車站查獲白牌車　違規個人戶將開罰50萬罰單


title: 「21世紀博物館特展」超夯　翁章梁力邀當地民代挺南院

taiwan-subdivisions: 嘉義縣 嘉義

countries: 法國 德國 捷克 台灣 英國

content_text:
▲防疫期間，翁章梁邀民代看展覽，力挺故宮行銷推廣南院。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

記者翁伊森／嘉義報導

嘉義縣長翁章梁19日邀請縣議員前往故宮南院觀看「奇幻嘉年華：21世紀博物館特展」特展。國立故宮博物院與法國羅浮宮、法國橘園美術館、英國泰特現代藝術館、德國舊國家美術館、捷克慕夏基金會及HTC VIVE ART交流合作，展示經典藝術與科技結合，突破時空限制，將藝術之美用新的方式表達出，顯示藝術與觀者間無限的互動方式。

翁章梁在故宮南院處長彭子程以及多位縣議員的陪同下，一同欣賞「奇幻嘉年華：21世紀博物館特展」，期盼透過方式與南院持續交流，並加強雙方互動，帶動嘉義觀光與各項產業發展。

「奇幻嘉年華：21世紀博物館特展」展覽作品精彩且豐富，有與羅浮宮「達文西500周年特展」同步展出《蒙娜麗莎：越界視野》VR作品、獲2019 哥本哈根國際紀錄片影展，由法國橘園美術館推出的《莫內：傾慕睡蓮》、故宮「全球首展」捷克慕夏基金會最新製作的VR《斯拉夫史詩系列：原鄉的斯拉夫人》、英國泰特現代藝術館《莫里迪亞尼VR：赭石工作室》等。

除了與國際博物館交流的作品外，故宮近年來多次與HTC合作，共同推出屢獲國際大獎的新媒體藝術：《龍藏經：浮影幻化互動劇場》、《清院本清明上河圖》亦會在本次展覽展出。想前來觀賞這場藝術饗宴的觀眾，故宮南院將提供VR體驗的網路預約及現場報名本日的體驗將於下午4點開放進行，在場喜愛藝術的朋友們千萬別錯過。

翁章梁表示，以往我們到世界級藝術館欣賞畫作時，都只能用短短的時間去看。因此，這次故宮南院與世界性博物館合作，用現代科技虛擬實境，戴上VR眼鏡後，世界只有你跟畫作本身，讓民眾有時間欣賞到每一幅名畫。

文化觀光局指出，「奇幻嘉年華：21世紀博物館特展」展期自108年12月17日至109年5月26日，竭誠歡迎民眾來嘉遊故宮，搭台灣好行故宮南院線，可體驗小鎮慢遊的文青旅行時光，再前往故宮南院欣賞「奇幻嘉年華：21世紀博物館特展」所精選最動人的新媒體藝術，感受科技帶來的奇幻美學之旅。


title: 嘉義車站沉睡森林大白熊也戴口罩啦！　呼籲口罩留給需要的人

content_text:
▲嘉義火車站前沉睡大白熊戴上迷彩口罩，象徵市府防疫視同作戰的積極態度。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

記者翁伊森／嘉義報導

因應新型冠狀病毒疫情，嘉義火車站前沉睡森林大白熊戴上了灰藍相間的迷彩口罩，卻也因為獨特裝扮，再次吸引路過民眾的目光。嘉義市政府也呼籲，民眾不需隨時戴口罩，請把口罩留給需要的人。

▲嘉義火車站前沉睡大白熊戴上迷彩口罩。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

由在地知名插畫家SMART莊信棠所設計的沉睡森林大白熊，去年底已成為火車站的重要地標，吸引無數民眾前來拍照打卡。嘉市府日前特地製作了迷彩圖案的口罩給大白熊戴上，宣示防疫視同作戰，也希望民眾做好自主健康管理，如有疑似症狀應主動通報，一同來打贏這場防疫的勝仗。

市府呼籲，口罩使用時機應著重在「進入醫療院所，有呼吸道症狀者，有慢性病者，以及出入通風不良、擁擠密閉空間者，建議需要戴口罩」，至於健康民眾及一般學生無須隨時戴口罩，請民眾將口罩留給需要的人，讓資源發揮最大效用。

市府強調，民眾應落實肥皂勤洗手、避免觸摸眼鼻口，做好咳嗽禮節、減少近距離接觸，避免出入密閉擁擠之公共場合，並保持環境清潔及通風。民眾自國外入境時如有發燒、咳嗽等不適症狀，應主動通報機場及港口檢疫人員並配合各項防疫措施；返國後14天內如出現疑似症狀，可撥打免付費防疫專線1922(或0800-001922)依指示戴口罩儘速就醫，並請務必告知醫師旅遊史、職業別、接觸史及是否群聚(TOCC)，以及時診斷通報。

taiwan-subdivisions: 嘉義 嘉義市


title: 墨西哥央行副行長古茲曼：經濟活動可能略有改善，但前景依然複雜。


title: 桃園56家汽車代檢廠　228連假期間停止定檢服務

taiwan-subdivisions: 桃園 新竹縣 苗栗縣

content_text:
▲桃園56家汽車代檢廠，228連假期間停止定檢服務。（圖／桃園監理站提供）

記者楊淑媛／桃園報導

想利用228連假驗車的民眾，請注意！桃園監理站20日表示，該站及桃園市轄區56家委託汽車代檢廠，於為期3天的228連假期間，停止受理汽車檢驗服務，3月2日起恢復車輛檢驗業務，籲請民眾留意。

桃園監理站站長林正郎提醒民眾，車輛須於行車執照指定檢驗日期前後1個月內(出廠年份逾10年之營業大客車及罐槽體車於指定檢驗日期前1個月內)辦理定期檢驗，如車輛檢驗應到檢日最後1天，介於連續假期期間，得順延至假期後第一個上班日辦理檢驗，惟如逾期辦理者，仍將依法舉發逾檢罰鍰。

另外桃園市、新竹縣市及苗栗縣計有102家汽車代檢廠，如車輛定期檢驗日期將屆，建議多利用車輛代檢服務，儘速於假期前辦理，相關代檢廠地址、電話及每日驗車餘額資訊可於監理服務網站(https://www.mvdis.gov.tw/)查詢。

►生火了！連我媽都用到發光


title: 地瓜葉用喝的　茶改場開發即飲式蔬果粉　歡迎技轉新技術

content_text:
▲地瓜葉用喝的，茶改場開發的即飲式蔬果粉。（圖／茶改場提供）

記者楊淑媛／桃園報導

熱炒或川燙地瓜葉，是廣受歡迎的好吃料理，但現又有新選擇，地瓜葉飲品。位於桃園楊梅區的茶改場，歷經2年的改良研發，甫開發出即飲式地瓜葉粉，透過該場研發技術，除降低蔬菜的青草味，並保留高量的抗氧化物質，加水沖泡即可直接飲用，茶改場歡迎技轉新技術。

茶改場場長蘇宗振指出，該場開發的蔬果粉加工技術，目前已可應用在山苦瓜、秋葵、檸檬等農產品，其保留蔬果本身多種營養素、抗氧化物質及膳食纖維等優點，相當適合銀髮族飲用，未來將帶動飲料及食品加工市場新風潮。

而為提高農產品的加工加值及多元利用，該場利用茶葉加工過程的乾燥與磨粉核心技術，可有效降低蔬菜的青草味，並將營養成分濃縮8-10倍，加水沖泡即可直接飲用極為便利，除了獲得蔬菜的營養成分，亦保有品飲飲料之風味。此外，加工後蔬果粉其保存期限亦較一般未加工的生鮮農產品為長，可有效提升加工加值效益。

以該場歷經2年的改良研發，開發出即飲式地瓜葉粉為例，打破傳統地瓜葉需經烹飪後方可食用之問題。根據研究，地瓜葉粉的加工溫度及乾燥時間為重要之關鍵因子，透過該場研發技術可降低蔬菜類之青草味，並保留高量的抗氧化物質(總多元酚含量16mg/g以上)，提高商品價值。歡迎有意生產地瓜葉粉或相關蔬果粉類產品的農友及企業逕洽該場(03-4822059轉501，聯絡人：蔡憲宗課長)，以取得相關製造方法之技術授權。

►生火了！連我媽都用到發光

taiwan-subdivisions: 楊梅 桃園


content_text:
▲嘉義縣縣長翁章梁親自主持「因應嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎」第三次跨局處會議。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

記者翁伊森／嘉義報導

因應新冠肺炎病例的增加，嘉義縣政府20日召開「因應嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎」跨局處會議，由縣長翁章梁親自主持。除了持續深入了解防疫整備狀況及國內外疫情現況，也指示縣府團隊合力執行各項防疫工作。

▲嘉義縣政府「因應嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎」第三次跨局處會議。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

因應25日開學在即，翁章梁指示教育處提醒師生，在校應保持教室良好通風、落實教學環境的消毒及清潔；並告知學童必須勤洗手，才能有效的防範病毒。

另外，居家隔離及居家檢疫方面，民政處、衛生局，及警察局會做好良好的橫向協調。若發現需隔離及檢疫的對象在外趴趴走，相關單位將會做好蒐證及開罰的動作；鄉親也能撥打防疫專線1922或05-3620607來舉發。

翁章梁也建議鄉鎮市公所、社區發展協會，包含縣政府，若非必要則需慎重考慮是否停辦或延期活動；以及公共場所的消毒作業，縣府必定會處置完整，讓鄉親安心。

針對疫情的升溫，在居家檢疫衛教宣導部分，在2月18日起至26日，各衛生所防疫人員需配合公所，辦理「新型冠狀病毒居家檢疫衛教宣導」。截至19日止，已完成鹿草、水上，及中埔。

taiwan-subdivisions: 中埔 水上 鹿草 嘉義縣

title: 嘉縣跨局處會議　鹿草、水上及中埔完成新冠肺炎衛教宣導


title: 嘉義市科技執法4/1上路　人氣飲料店、知名雞肉飯店所在地都入列

taiwan-subdivisions: 嘉義市 中山

content_text:
▲嘉義市中山路「科技執法」4月1日正式啟用 。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

記者翁伊森／嘉義報導

嘉義市政府交通處為了改善違規停車，透過影像辨識系統進行監控、紀錄，一旦發現區域內有違規車輛，就會自動執行違規蒐證及舉發回報。市府即日起進行宣導，4/1正式啟用並將由交通隊發出罰單，市府呼籲民眾切勿違停。

▲嘉義市中山路「科技執法」火車站附近也是熱點 。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

交通處鄭君健處長表示，中山路火車站到噴水池這一路段是嘉義市非常熱鬧、重要的地標，車流多，交通量也大，長久下來，民眾貪圖便利，違規停車時常發生，如紅、黃線違規停車、併排停車及違停在公車停靠區，造成用路人安全問題；去年開始用科技執法設備，從火車站到噴水池一共設置8組的設備器材，有拍照錄影、判別是否違規及彙整資料製單等功用，其目的是減少交通事故，讓用路更安全、交通更順暢，也希望藉由科技執法，培養民眾交通守法的好習慣。

▲嘉義市國華路中山路口也是科技執法熱區。（圖／記者翁伊森翻攝）

鄭君健進一步表示，中山路沿線路邊停車格與週邊9處路外停車場，共計有1410席停車位，請有停車需求的駕駛人可多多利用路邊停車格與周邊的停車場。另外，例假日與連續假日期間，亦可停放於舊燈會區大型停車場(4小時僅收費20元)，轉乘密集的接駁車班次進出市中心區，減少在市區繞駛尋覓停車場或是排隊進市區停車場的時間。

交通處表示，這套科技執法設備自108年12月設置完成後迄今試運轉期間，其違規的資料顯示中山路全線偵測範圍內均有併排停車、紅線臨停等各種違規態樣，其中以台灣銀行前、御香屋前、墊腳石…等商業活動頻繁區域違規停車最為嚴重，不僅容易造成交通壅塞，亦容易發生交通事故。本系統將特別針對上述違規行態樣為進行偵測與蒐證，市府交通處呼籲車輛駕駛切勿任意違規停車，占據車道影響其他用路人權益。

嘉義市警察局交通警察隊表示，紅、黃線違停及在公車招呼站10公尺內停車均處600-1200元不等罰鍰，併排停車則處2400元罰鍰。