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Citizens Mowing Action yesterday in Kaohsiung announce that the organization has collected 180,000 signatures in the drive to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu.Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
Citizens Mowing Action yesterday handed about 150,000 valid signatures to Chen Kuan-jung (陳冠榮), the lead petitioner of a campaign to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), bringing the total number of signatures to more than 510,000.

Reset Kaohsiung Headquarters said that as of Saturday night, it had received about 363,000 signatures from Wecare Kaohsiung, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and other petition locations before Citizens Mowing Action delivered its signatures.

The group delivered about 180,000 signatures, but 30,000 of them were in incorrect formats, Chen said.

Along with Wecare Kaohsiung and the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s signatures, the campaign is now “very close” to reaching the 580,000 signature threshold needed to launch a recall vote against Han, he said.

The campaigners will likely submit the signatures by the middle of next month, Wecare Kaohsiung founder Aaron Yin (尹立) said.

The petition has not ended, he said, adding that he hopes people would continue to sign the petition to reach the threshold.

The Kaohsiung City Election Commission on Friday said that it would impose a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1 million (US$3,289 to US$32,891) on Reset Kaohsiung Headquarters in accordance with the the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).

Reset Kaohsiung Headquarters has desks and staff at its premises, and should be considered the recall campaign’s offices, but when Chen proposed the recall at the end of last year, he did not say he would set up an office by the Jan. 2 deadline, the commission said.

Supporters of the campaign said the commission was “nitpicking.”

Reset Kaohsiung Headquarters is just a venue that accepts signatures, not Chen’s office, they said.

The commission denied it was “nitpicking,” saying it was acting on a report filed by members of the public.

The Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法) gives those who were reported an opportunity to respond, it said.

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title: Han recall petition approaches goal


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Virus Outbreak: CECC shares plan to curb spread of disease

PRACTICAL IDEAS:If the COVID-19 outbreak worsens, medical staff would be divided into teams that would alternate every two weeks to reduce the risk to their colleagues
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday said that it has a series of response measures planned in case COVID-19 begins to spread in communities.

The CECC’s four-part prevention plan is based on Taiwan’s experience of dealing with the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said.

The first part of the plan would focus on prevention efforts, as any community-level transmission would cause a sudden spike in the number of confirmed cases, he said, offering no additional details.

In the second part, the CECC would introduce new rules to minimize the risk of infection among healthcare workers, Shih said.

Citing his experience as an emergency room doctor at National Taiwan University Hospital during the SARS outbreak, Shih said the medical staff were split into two teams that alternated every two weeks.

That way, an entire team could be quarantined for two weeks without the risk of infecting their colleagues, he said.

If the COVID-19 outbreak reaches a level of urgency similar to the SARS epidemic, medical staff would again be split into teams, and their movements within the hospital would be limited to minimize contact with patients, he said.

Third, medical resources would be allocated to ensure they reach the people who need them the most, Shih said.

The country’s 1,100 negative-pressure isolation units are at 60 percent capacity, Shih said, adding that they are available for anyone who contracts COVID-19 and for those being tested for the virus based on factors such as their travel history.

However, if a community-level outbreak were to occur, demand for those units would increase and patients would be treated at other medical institutions, depending on the severity of their symptoms, he said.

Hospitals would be selected on the basis of their “emergency responsibility levels” — a set of standards that regulate the types of emergency services hospitals can provide, based on their staffing levels and technical capabilities, Shih said.

The fourth aspect of the plan involves reducing the number of people seeking non-essential medical treatment, Shih said.

In terms of implementation, Shih said that the CECC would discuss the measures with public health experts next week and would start working with medical institutions once a consensus has been reached.

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Over the past 20 years, China has developed into the world’s factory through its low labor, land and raw material costs. While tariffs levied against Chinese goods by US President Donald Trump’s administration has made it less attractive for businesses in the past two years, it is the COVID-19 outbreak that has shone a light on Beijing’s questionable and unsustainable crisis management capabilities and governance mechanisms. The outbreak has also created risks for the global electronics and automotive industries, and affected the production of pharmaceutical ingredients and textile materials.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturing service providers, such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and Pegatron Corp, expect to suffer from supply chain disruptions, as more than 80 percent of their output comes from China. No wonder Apple Inc last week updated its sales guidance for this quarter, warning that sales would be lower than its previous estimates because of the outbreak. Indeed, it is the second time Apple has cut its quarterly guidance since its analyst meeting late last month, indicating how the fallout from public health issues such as COVID-19 can constrain global iPhone supply and end-market demand in China.

The unprecedented supply chain disruptions have clearly created a crisis for the manufacturing sector, as the extended Lunar New Year holiday and the slow resumption of work at Chinese factories have dealt a blow to businesses, either in delayed downstream production or through shortages of upstream raw materials and labor. Given Taiwanese firms’ role in regional supply chains, damage to their businesses seems all but inevitable in the short term.

However, these disruptions could serve as a stress test in gauging Taiwan’s ability to withstand wide swings from any situation in China and how long it would take to recover from a crisis. The outbreak could also spell good news for Taiwan, because it might help speed up the return of investment and jobs from China. It might become a tipping point in the decoupling process for companies considering moving their supply chains out of China. Regardless of the degree of damage or the pace of decoupling, there is a consensus that Taiwanese firms’ heavy dependence on China is a real danger.

The outbreak is a wake-up call for Taiwan, because more than 75 percent of the nation’s publicly listed companies, or 1,201, have aggregated investments in China totaling NT$2.54 trillion (US$83.54 billion) as of the third quarter of last year, up NT$43.1 billion from the end of 2018, government statistics showed. This is only the tip of the iceberg, as the data did not include investments made through firms’ overseas channels. This should raise concerns, as excessive and concentrated investments in a single market are not healthy for businesses or the nation’s economy.

Another growing consensus is that the triangular trade model — in which firms take orders in Taiwan, but produce goods at plants in China before shipping them elsewhere — is not durable and needs to be adjusted quickly. Some businesses have started to shift production out of China in response to the US-China trade dispute, and more are expected to follow suit. Together with government incentives that aim to boost domestic investment amid the trade row, the outbreak might prove to be a crisis as well as an opportunity for Taiwan.

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title: EDITORIAL: Opportunity in China crisis


references: Facebook Twitter

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Russian efforts fueling virus fears: US

ACCUSATION:Thousands of fake social media accounts are posting nearly identical messages in several languages promoting conspiracy theories. Russia denies any links
Thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts have launched a coordinated effort to spread alarm about the new coronavirus, disrupting global efforts to fight the epidemic, US officials say.

The disinformation campaign promotes unfounded conspiracy theories that the US is behind the COVID-19 outbreak, in an apparent bid to damage the US image around the world by seizing on health concerns.

US Department of State officials tasked with combating Russian disinformation said that false personas are being used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to advance Russian talking points in multiple languages.

“Russia’s intent is to sow discord and undermine US institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns,” US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Philip Reeker said.

“By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response,” he said.

The claims that have been circulating online in recent weeks include allegations that the virus is a US effort to “wage economic war on China,” that it is a biological weapon manufactured by the CIA or part of a Western-led effort “to push anti-China messages.”

US individuals, including Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, have also been falsely accused of involvement.

Russia on Saturday denied the accusations, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling the TASS state news agency: “This is a deliberately false story.”

The disinformation campaign was identified by US monitors in the middle of last month after Chinese officials announced a third death from the new coronavirus in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

More than 2,500 people have since died, mostly in China. The number of cases exceeds 78,000 and the virus has reached more than 29 countries, with deaths in Italy, Iran and South Korea, forcing public officials to close schools and impose restrictions.

Disinformation and false theories about the novel coronavirus are considered a serious threat.

Several thousand online accounts — previously identified for airing Russian-backed messages on major events such as the war in Syria, the Yellow Vest protests in France and Chile’s mass demonstrations — are posting “almost near identical” messages about the epidemic, according to a report prepared for the State Department’s Global Engagement Center and seen by reporters.

The accounts — run by humans, not bots — post at similar times in English, Spanish, Italian, German and French and can be linked back to Russian proxies, or carry similar messages to Russian-backed outlets such as RT and Sputnik, it said.

Russian state-funded media started pushing anti-Western messages about the cause of the virus on Jan. 20, with operators of the social media accounts beginning to post globally the following day, US officials say.

“In this case, we were able to see their full disinformation ecosystem in effect, including state TV, proxy Web sites and thousands of false social media personas all pushing the same themes,” said Special Envoy Lea Gabrielle, head of the Global Engagement Center, which is tasked with tracking and exposing propaganda and disinformation.

During many past news events, the accounts would post actively for up to 72 hours, but messages about the new coronavirus have been uploaded every day over the past month — a sign, US officials said, of Russia’s investment in a story unlikely to disappear from the headlines soon.

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title: Russian efforts fueling virus fears: US


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Drones crash during light display at lantern festival

UNKNOWN ORIGIN:The team operating the drones tried to resolve electromagnetic interference before the show, but failed, resulting in a loss estimated at NT$3 million
Drones are positioned in the shape of a girl drinking bubble tea during a special show on Saturday at the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taichung. Parts of the image are not lit up as some of the drones fell to the ground due to electromagnetic interference.Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
Forty-eight drones fell from the sky soon after takeoff during a special drone show at the Taiwan Lantern Festival on Saturday night due to electromagnetic interference, the Taichung City Scenic Area Administration said yesterday.

The fallen drones, which were later located at the Taichung City Hou-Zong Senior High School, did not cause any injuries, the administration said.

The show, which was one of the highlights of the festival, featured 800 drones portraying images in the night sky, from a girl drinking bubble tea and the Houfeng bicycle lane to the city’s name written in English.

The team controlling the drones detected the interference before the show and tried to resolve the problem, which delayed the show by about five minutes, administration Director Liao Wei-chih (廖偉志) said.

“However, we found that the interference continued after the show began, which caused some of the drones to fall from the sky soon after takeoff,” Liang said in an interview with reporters.

The administration suspects that the interference was caused by other drones flying in the area, Liao said.

It was also possible that some people were using other radio-frequency devices near the venue, which caused interference, he said.

As the show was to be presented again at the festival’s closing ceremony last night if weather permitted, the Taichung City Government said that it asked telecommunication police to help identify the origin of any electromagnetic interference.

The contractor in charge of the show estimated that the crash would cause a loss of about NT$3 million (US$98,674).

Some drone operators told local Chinese-language media that interference could happen if the frequency used by the drones exceeds the frequency assigned to them, which might have caused part of the frequency used by the drones to overlap with that used by other radio-frequency devices.

Strong winds might also have caused the drones to collide and crash, they said.

Others said that the interference could be deliberately produced by drone operators in protest against the government’s new regulations, which are scheduled to take effect on March 31.

Taichung only allows a limited number of fly zones for drone operators, which they said was unreasonable.

Telecommunications police said they can track the origin of unknown signals with detector guns and the National Communications Commission’s telecommunications signal monitoring vehicles.

Such vehicles were used to catch people who tried to cheat in government-administered exams using electronic gadgets, they said.

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Virus Outbreak: OECD says virus another reason to boost stimulus

The COVID-19 outbreak in China presents another reason for nations with fiscal surpluses to boost their spending and support the global economy, the head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said.

“It’s a call to arms,” OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. “Look at what’s going on. Already we were in a slowdown, we had trade tensions, investment was suffering. And now we have the coronavirus.”

He was doubtful that these unnamed nations have yet been convinced that they should boost their infrastructure and other spending.

“We’re not doing a very good job in terms of transmitting this requirement,” he said from Riyadh, where he’s attending meetings for G20 nations.

The guardians of the world economy are convening this weekend amid mounting fears that the outbreak poses a greater threat to global growth than expected just a few weeks ago.

Economists warn that the virus fallout is only just beginning.

“The global economy and financial markets have not seen the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak yet,” Citigroup Inc economists led by Catherine Mann wrote in a note titled “Waiting for the Global Impact” that warned of a “dramatic” first quarter slowdown in China.

Slumping activity will add to pressure on governments and central banks to respond with more support for their economies, while also raising doubts about their capacity to respond.

Central banks in Asia have already stepped up action, with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand cutting rates recently, and others, such as Singapore, planning significant fiscal stimulus.

China has lowered a range of policy rates this month, and speculation is rising that the Bank of Korea could also deliver a cut this week.

Still, global debt is at record levels and interest rates in the world’s biggest economies are already at historic lows.

While the first phase of a trade deal between the US and China late last year was a welcome step, disputes over commerce are still too common, Gurria said.

“Trade tensions have already cost us more than 1 percent of the growth of the world,” he said. “Let’s bring them down. What about the cars, the uncertainty about European cars being exported to the US?”

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CPC, Formosa raise gasoline prices by NT$0.6 per liter

State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it would raise gasoline prices by NT$0.6 and diesel prices by NT$0.7 per liter, starting today, to reflect last week’s increase in international crude oil prices.

CPC’s average crude oil costs last week rose US$2.52 per barrel from the previous week’s US$54.39 to US$56.91 per barrel, it said in a statement.

The increase comes as OPEC and its non-member partners consider expanding output cuts, while market concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on global demand were easing, CPC said.

As the New Taiwan dollar last week depreciated NT$0.14 against the US dollar, CPC decided to increase wholesale prices for its diesel and gasoline products by 4.1 percent, it said.

The prices at CPC’s gas stations are to increase to NT$25.5 per liter for 92-octane unleaded, NT$27.0 for 95-octane unleaded and NT$29.0 for 98-octane unleaded, while the prices for premium diesel would rise to NT$23.3 per liter.

Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) yesterday announced similar price hikes.

Formosa said in a statement that the oil market was boosted by the blockade of Libyan ports and oil fields, as well as the US sanctions on Russian oil companies to curb Venezuelan crude oil supplies.

Prices at Formosa’s pumps would rise to NT$25.5, NT$26.9 and NT$29.0 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded respectively, while premium diesel is to increase to NT$23.1 per liter, the company said.

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Ryan Hass on Taiwan: This US-China downturn may be difficult for Taiwan

Many Taiwan policymakers hold the view that US-China tensions create favorable conditions for closer US-Taiwan relations. As the thinking goes, the less beholden Washington is to maintaining stable relations with Beijing, the more it will be willing to show support for its democratic friends in Taiwan. In the coming months, this proposition may be tested.

There is a high probability that US-China relations will continue to deteriorate in the months to come. The US-China phase one trade deal slowed the rate of decline in the relationship, but it did not reverse the downward trajectory. The reality is that tariffs are the sideshow. The real action now is in the technology sphere. The more that US-China technology competition intensifies, the greater the risk of collateral damage to Taiwan, even though that is not the intent of any American policymakers.

Amidst its broad concerns about China’s technological advancement, the Trump administration is particularly focused on Chinese telecommunications company Huawei’s (華為) growing penetration of markets across the globe. Already embedded in telecommunications networks across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, Huawei recently gained approval to provide 5G services in the United Kingdom.

London’s approval of Huawei’s involvement in its 5G network was a setback for the Trump administration. Washington had hoped to limit Huawei’s reach, particularly in countries where the United States maintains close security partnerships. Now that the United Kingdom has set a precedent, there is concern that other major countries will follow suit, thus allowing Huawei to gain greater control of next generation mobile networks around the world.

To be clear, Washington’s focus on Huawei did not begin with the Trump administration and it will not end when President Trump leaves office. There is strong bipartisan awareness in the United States of the risks presented by Huawei’s growing global reach for information security, for the well-functioning of devices that will be connected to the Internet of Things, and for potential vulnerabilities in a crisis if America or its allies become reliant on Huawei’s telecommunications equipment.

With its efforts to halt Huawei’s spread into new markets floundering, the Trump administration is likely to double down on seeking to slow Huawei’s technological progress. This is where Taiwan’s equities come into play.

Taiwan is a critical provider of high-end semiconductors that Huawei and other Chinese companies need and that Chinese manufacturers cannot produce themselves. On the flip side, China is an important market for Taiwan’s semiconductor companies. For example, 20 percent of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC, 台積電) sales go to the China market. After Apple, Huawei is TSMC’s biggest customer.

TSMC is one of Taiwan’s largest businesses and the world’s leading semiconductor foundry. As the Carnegie Endowment’s Evan Feigenbaum has described in a recent study, TSMC relies on massive scale to spread out fixed costs, push down price per unit, and pump resources into next generation research and development. If TSMC loses scale, e.g., by losing a market that accounts for 20 percent of its global sales, it could lose its edge over its competitors.

The Financial Times reported last November that the Trump administration has asked Taiwan authorities to compel TSMC to do just that. Per the article, Washington wants Taipei to restrict sales of semiconductors to Huawei and to institute stricter controls on technology exports to China. Washington also reportedly is considering tightening the US content threshold for export controls from 25 to 10 percent, meaning that chips manufactured in Taiwan with 10 percent or greater of American content would require a license for export to China. This could constrain chip sales in the short run, and over the longer term compel Taiwan foundries to engineer American content out of chips bound for China.

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Rising political star aims to lure Italy further to the right

Riding a popular wave of rhetoric eerily reminiscent of the fascist message her party
traces its roots to, Giorgia Meloni is now polling second only to Premier Giuseppe Conte
Giorgia Meloni went from bar-tending at a Roman nightclub to leading one of Italy’s main political forces that has leapfrogged the party of her former boss, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in popularity and is even giving ally Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini a run for his money.

Just how she got so far was clear one afternoon last year at a rally in central Rome dubbed “Italy pride.”

Thousands of people packed into San Giovanni Square on Oct. 19, waving national flags and holding aloft green, white and red balloons as the three leaders who form the center-right bloc laid out their vision for Italy. The 83-year-old Berlusconi got a lukewarm reception, Salvini gave the typically combative performance his fans had come for, but it was Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy party, who enthralled the crowd.

“I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am a Christian, and you can’t take that away from me!” she roared in a speech that opponents say is eerily reminiscent of the fascist message her party traces its roots to. A pair of Italian DJs made an ironic remix of her words — instead of hurting her, it went viral with almost 9 million views on YouTube, and became the anthem of her followers.

As the Italian right comes to the fore, the League’s Salvini has grabbed most of the attention so far, but Meloni, 43, is starting to make waves. Friends and foes alike point to her charisma and say she is steely and methodical, whereas Salvini is prone to flashes of temper and miscalculation. With half a dozen regional elections set for the spring, the next few months will tell whether she can expand her party’s support.

She calls for increased public investment and infrastructure projects, opposes granting citizenship to children born in Italy to immigrants and wants army patrols to be deployed to fight crime. She is against gay marriage and is a fierce defender of Italy’s Christian heritage against “Islamization.”

PLASTER FIGURINES

Her office, on the top of parliament with a terrace overlooking central Rome, features a collection of plaster figurines she calls her “guardian angels.”

Like other right-wing female politicians, Meloni does not define herself as a feminist and rejects gender quotas as an instrument of the left. Meloni, who worked as a babysitter and bartender to pay for her studies, is fiercely pro-family. She has pushed to get support for working mothers and to encourage them to have more children in a country that is facing its worst democratic crisis since World War I.

Her ascendancy is reshaping the center-right bloc. With the sidelining of Berlusconi, its most pro-European personality despite his often-poor relations with fellow-leaders when he was premier, the alliance is becoming more euroskeptic, more critical of the euro under the influence of Salvini and Meloni.

Abroad, her profile is also rising. She traveled to Washington earlier this month to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast and will go again for the yearly Conservative Political Action Conference. She is a fan of US President Donald Trump and European right-wing leaders like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, while she frequently lashes out against French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Born to a Sicilian mother and a father from Sardinia who left the family when she was young, Meloni grew up in Garbatella, a working-class neighborhood in southern Rome founded by former dictator Benito Mussolini. The fascist heritage endured, and it was to the right that Meloni turned when her interest in politics was awakened by a surge in mafia violence.

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Tyson Fury, left, lands a punch against Deontay Wilder during the World Boxing Council world heavyweight championship title fight at the Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday.Photo: EPA-EFE
Tyson Fury reigns again as a heavyweight world champion after battering Deontay Wilder on the way to a stunning seventh-round stoppage in their World Boxing Council title rematch.

Fourteen months after their dramatic split-decision draw, Britain’s Fury dominated the US champion — who had blood streaming from his left ear and leaking from his mouth when referee Kenny Bayless called a halt at the behest of Wilder’s corner.

“The king has returned to the top of the throne,” said Fury, who had dropped Wilder in the third and fifth rounds as he remained unbeaten — and handed Wilder the first defeat of his career.

The self-styled “Gypsy King” from northern England — who was carried to the ring on a golden throne — had put on a boxing masterclass in their first fight, but he was clearly ready to brawl from the opening bell on Saturday.

A massive right from Fury knocked down Wilder in the third and Wilder struggled to regain his legs — although when he went down again moments later it was ruled a slip.

A left to the body had Wilder down again in the fifth, and Fury was raining blows on Wilder when Bayless called a halt at 1:39 of the seventh round after Wilder’s corner threw in the towel.

Wilder, 34, suffered his first defeat in 44 fights, falling to 42-1 with 1 drawn and 41 knockouts.

The “Bronze Bomber” was unable to surpass Muhammad Ali’s record of 10 successful heavyweight title defenses.

“I just want to say a big shout out Deontay Wilder,” said Fury, who improved his own unbeaten record to 30-0 with one drawn and 21 knockouts. “He manned up. He really did show heart of a champion.”

“I hit him with a clean right hand and dropped him, and he got back up and battled on into round seven,” Fury said. “He is a warrior, he will be back, he will be champion again.”

As a pro-Fury crowd at the MGM Grand cheered, Wilder briefly protested the stoppage.

“I just wish that my corner would have let me went out on my shield,” he said. “I’m a warrior.”

Wilder had knocked Fury down twice in their first fight in Los Angeles — the Briton miraculously climbing off the canvas in the 12th round to hang on for a share of the spoils.

With new trainer Javan “Sugarhill” Steward in his corner, and with more than 7kg extra on his 124kg frame, Fury was on the attack early, backing Wilder up with his jab and landing several hard shots in the opening round.

He did not produce the second-round knockout he had predicted, but he was clearly in control.

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title: Fury batters Wilder in TKO victory


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After this year’s General Scholastic Ability Test, which took place in the middle of last month, National Chengchi University law professor Yang Shwu-wen (楊淑文) said that a test question about the Civil Code on the subject of social studies was obviously wrong.

Later, dozens of law professors signed a petition, complaining that the College Entrance Examination Center’s questions on law tests are often seriously flawed and saying that law-related chapters in senior-high school Civics and Society textbooks are overly trivial and fragmented, which they said could make it impossible to achieve the educational goal of providing legal literacy.

The excessive triviality and fragmentation of law-related education has been a problem for years in junior and senior-high school teaching materials. These teaching materials are hard to comprehend for teachers without a legal background and ruin students’ interest in studying law, a key social mechanism. This does not help boost teenagers’ awareness of the spirit of rule of law.

The seven law-related chapters in Volume 3 of the senior-high school Civics and Society textbook include basic legal concepts and framework, the Constitution and human rights, administrative law and life, the Civil Code and life, the Criminal Code and life, and various conflict resolution mechanisms.

It takes university law students three years to learn all this, so surely it is difficult for senior-high school teachers to “briefly and concisely” touch on these issues covered in more than 100 pages in less than a semester.

Take the chapter on administrative law, for example. The principles of “statutory reservation,” “legal certainty” and “explicit delegation” in the textbook are complex even for university students.

The Criminal Code chapter includes the three-stage theory of crime — which haunted me for a long time during my freshman year at law school.

With teaching materials like this, even if the teachers are outstanding law school graduates, they would struggle to make senior-high school students understand such vague concepts in the limited class hours available. Taiwanese are citizens of a nation governed by the rule of law, but does everyone really need to master these legal terms?

These kinds of teaching materials confuse teachers and students who are unable to digest the information. Also, restricted by the multiple-choice question format, test-givers are unable to choose material from textbooks to test students’ memorization skills.

In practice, the problem is that in the government’s overall curriculum guidelines, law-related textbook chapters are mistakenly treated as loose introductions to legal disciplines rather than as a fundamental introduction to law.

Civic education should focus on the cultivation of a modern citizenry with a modern civic awareness, but Taiwan instead takes lightly political interference in judicial trials, disobeys the results of national referendums and constitutional interpretations, and disrespects international covenants on human rights recognized internally by legislation.

Public figures are even applauded for abusing civil disobedience. This shows that there is a serious lack of will to follow the spirit of the rule of law. It is clear that the trivial and fragmented civic and legal education in senior-high school cannot help the nation cultivate a citizenry abiding to the spirit of the rule of law or with loyalty to the entire legal system.

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title: Flawed law curriculum harming citizenry


title: Hsieh triumphs again in Dubai

content_text:
Hsieh triumphs again in Dubai

SOLO STAR:In the singles, Simona Halep won her first trophy since Wimbledon last summer, saying that the match against Elena Rybakina left her feeling ‘pretty dead’
Simona Halep lifts the trophy after beating Elena Rybakina in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.Photo: AFP
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and her doubles partner Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic defended their title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday, taking their second trophy of the season.

The top-seeded duo overcame Zheng Saisai of China and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 3-6, 10-5 in a nearly two-hour match.

Hsieh and Strycova took an early 3-1 lead in the opening set, and although their opponents came from behind to tie 5-5, the duo kept their cool to take the next two games and win 7-5.

In the second set, the duo also took a 3-1 lead, but then gave up five games in a row to lose 3-6.

Zheng and Krejcikova kept up their momentum in the third-set tiebreaker, at one point leading Hsieh and Strycova 3-0, but the Taiwanese-Czech duo rallied to take eight points and eventually won 10-5.

This is the second year that Hsieh and Strycova have triumphed at the Dubai Open, and the third consecutive year that Hsieh has made it to the tournament’s women’s doubles final. In 2018, Hsieh and her then-partner, Peng Shuai of China, finished runners-up.

The Dubai Championships mark the duo’s second win of the season, following the Brisbane International tennis tournament last month.

In the singles, Simona Halep defeated Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to secure her 20th career title.

The world No. 2 from Romania, who also won the title in Dubai in 2015, clinched her first trophy since Wimbledon last summer.

“I love playing here, I gave everything I had. Now, actually, I’m pretty dead,” said Halep, who had been 1-3 down in the final set and took victory after coming back from a set down for the third successive match in Dubai.

Rybakina, 20, who will rise to 17 from 19 in the new rankings next week, was playing her fourth final from five tournaments this year, having won the Hobart trophy last month on the eve of the Australian Open.

“She’s a talented player,” Halep said of her opponent who has a WTA-leading 19 match wins for the season. “She’s young and has many more years ahead of her.”

Rybakina, who was just inside the top 200 this time last year, took the tight final set into a deciding tiebreaker when she broke Halep as the top seed served for victory.

“I may have been a bit nervous,” Halep said. “I just kept trying to fight for every ball.”

“I’m really proud of this week, I think I gave my best. I enjoy every match I play here,” she added.

Rybakina took the early initiative, gaining a 4-2 lead, but struggled to close out the opening set.

The Kazakh had to save two break points as she served for the set leading 5-3.

The 20-year-old double-faulted on a first set point before finally claiming the set on her third opportunity after 38 minutes, saving a pair of break points.

Halep struck back in the second, breaking for 3-1, but Rybakina answered in the seventh game with a break back before losing serve again to trail 3-5 after salvaging three break points.

Halep squared the match at a set each from Rybakina’s backhand error a game later.

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title: Turning democracy against itself

content_text:
As Article 11 of the Constitution says that “the people shall have freedom of speech, teaching, writing and publication,” it is indisputable that the government must protect these basic human and constitutional rights. However, the absence of any restrictions on speech might pose a threat to a democratic society.

One view is that advocating for China’s annexation of Taiwan by military force or intimidation should be protected by freedom of speech in Taiwan; if freedom of speech is to be guaranteed, the government cannot pass legislation that constrains the spread of this idea. This is wrong.

Taiwan already has laws excluding defamation and sexual harassment from freedom of speech, so it has never been a question about whether freedom of speech should be restricted, but rather where the boundaries of such restrictions should be drawn.

Given that some Taiwanese media outlets and political parties are increasingly vocal about their support for Chinese annexation of the nation by military force, it is necessary to consider whether such remarks should be protected.

In traditional jurisprudence, the general view is that freedom of speech should be protected to make the truth clearer through debate (John Stuart Mill); to promote the realization of other rights (John Rawls); ensure the “reinforcement of democracy, the advancement of knowledge, and the promotion of cultural, moral and economic development” (Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. 364); “for the purposes of ensuring the free flow of opinions and giving the people the opportunities to acquire sufficient information and to attain self-fulfillment” (interpretations Nos. 414 and 623); guarantee the supervision of all political and social activities (Nos. 509 and 613); to “safeguard the spiritual activities of the people” (No. 567); or all of the above (Nos. 644 and 678).

Based on these views, it seems reasonable to allow speech supporting annexation of Taiwan by military force. After all, no one can say whether such speech hinders the development of people or society, destroys their spiritual pursuits or is disadvantageous to the supervision of political and social activities.

However, this conservative view has made it increasingly difficult to cope with an anti-democratic wave. Some people with ulterior motives are making greater use of theoretical loopholes in the democratic system and the free world as they try to plant anti-democratic and anti-freedom seeds in democratic societies.

The government must fill these loopholes to better respond to these challenges.

Jimmy Hsu (許家馨), a deputy researcher at Academia Sinica’s Institutum Iurisprudentiae, says that freedom of speech should come with more corresponding democratic functions or social responsibilities to maintain the quality of a free democratic system.

Advocating for Taiwan’s annexation by force is in and of itself anti-democratic, as it supports replacing a democratic society with an authoritarian one. What would happen to freedom if a democratic society is not protected?

A democratic society is the foundation of all freedoms, including freedom of speech. Without a democratic society, there are no grounds to talk about guarantees for freedom. Allowing a statement that denies the continuation of a democratic society would ultimately undermine that society and, in turn, destroy freedom itself.

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Money trees: US cities find new ways of valuing urban forests

Urban trees stand guard against storm damage, raise property values, boost well-being and even help other city systems like roads work more efficiently, according to urban forestry experts.

So, should city officials treat them as core infrastructure — as a utility themselves?

In the face of a warming planet and breakneck urbanization, a growing number of US policymakers and citizens are asking that question.

“We’re having a moment in our field right now, a sudden awakening,” said Ian Leahy, vice president of urban forestry at American Forests, a non-profit.

Last week Republican lawmakers proposed legislation setting a goal for the US to plant 1 trillion trees by 2050 to fight global warming.

US cities alone could plant about 400,000 of those trees, said the World Resources Institute, a Washington-based think tank. And the benefits would go well beyond carbon storage.

According to the National Tree Benefit Calculator, which uses data from the US Forest Service, a single 91cm diameter willow oak in a residential area in the DC suburbs can provide nearly US$330 in benefits per year. Those include slowing stormwater runoff, cooling air temperatures, and even boosting student achievement and public health, Leahy explained.

Citing similar benefits, the UN food agency in September announced plans to plant up to 500,000 hectares of urban forests in 90 cities across Africa and Asia by 2030.

However, even as recognition of the importance of urban forests is growing, mature city trees are dying across the US and not being replaced, Leahy said.

Of the 52.6 million hectares of urban forests across the country, 70,800 hectares die or get cut down every year, according to a 2018 study from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). That translates into at least US$96 million in lost benefits annually, the study noted.

“The on-the-ground situation is still not good,” Leahy told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Research shows urban trees have significant positive effects on both cities and their residents.

They capture more than a third of rainfall, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), easing the strain on flooding and stormwater infrastructure. Their shade helps lower energy use by nearly half, according to the EPA, while reducing carbon emissions by up to 5 percent.

Researchers have also found that trees dampen urban noise by up to 10 decibels, boost student memory skills, bring down the risk of psychiatric disorders, and even reduce crime.

Yet there often remains a gap between rhetoric and reality on the issue of urban trees, researchers and activists warn — like in the leafy DC suburb of Arlington, Virginia, which activists worry is becoming less leafy by the day.

Kit Norland of the citizen-run Arlington Tree Action Group said official figures show impervious surface area — covered in materials such as concrete and brick — has been expanding in the city by about 4 hectares per year.

“Trees are an afterthought,” she said.

However, the county does all it can, said spokeswoman Susan Kalish.

“Arlington values its trees and acts as their steward,” she said in e-mailed comments.

The county’s goal is “to plant as many trees on public property as possible based on land use and condition,” she added. “Whenever possible we replace a lost tree on public land with another tree.”

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Confirmed virus case count rises to 28

FATHER AND SON:The CECC suspects a younger brother, who had a meal with some friends back from China late last month, might be the source of the latest infections
From left, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, Hospital and Social Welfare Organizations Administration Commission Director Wang Pi-Sheng and National Taiwan University Hospital deputy superintendent Chang Shan-chwen present a news conference at the Central Epidemic Command Center in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The nation’s 27th and 28th confirmed cases of COVID-19 were announced by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday, which also issued a level 1 “watch” travel notice for Italy and Iran amid reports of a rapid rise in confirmed cases in the two nations.

The 27th case is a man in his 80s who has chronic hypertension and diabetes and is on dialysis, but has not been abroad recently, while the 28th case is his son, who is in his 50s and lives with his father, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.

The older man began suffering coughs and a runny nose on Feb. 6 and was hospitalized for pneumonia in a single-room ward after he developed a fever on Feb. 9, Chuang said.

He was transferred to an intensive care unit on Sunday last week and moved to a negative pressure isolation ward on Thursday for suspected tuberculosis, he said.

The son developed a fever, runny nose and sore throat on Jan. 31, sought treatment on Feb. 4 and was diagnosed with pneumonia on Feb. 8, but returned home for self-health management before making two return visits for treatment on Feb. 11 and Tuesday.

The pair were reported as suspected COVID-19 cases on Friday, and the test results that came back yesterday were positive, Chuang said, adding that officials have begun a contact investigation to screen family members and close contacts of the pair, along with healthcare personnel who might have come into contact with them.

The center suspects the family’s younger son, who is in his 40s and lives with his father and brother, might be the source of infection, as he frequently visits China for work, Chuang said.

The younger man returned from Guangzhou on Dec. 2 last year, but late last month he had a meal with friends who had returned from China, and developed a sore throat on Jan. 29, Chuang said.

CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said the younger man has been hospitalized and tested for COVID-19.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the CECC, said all 19 Taiwanese passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship who returned home on a charter flight on Friday have tested negative for COVID-19 for a second time.

They are being quarantined for another 14 days, but the location of the quarantine site would not be made public, he said.

The CECC will cooperate with local governments on home-isolation and home-quarantine care services by providing medical assistance, transportation arrangements, life support and other services for people under home quarantine, Chen said.

The project would begin this coming Sunday and the center has told local governments to establish special hotlines for the services, so that people under home quarantine can receive help more effectively, the minister said.

Meanwhile, the CECC issued a level 1 “watch” travel notice for Italy and Iran, which advises travelers to practice the usual precautions.

Asked if the CECC would impose additional border controls on passengers from Japan and South Korea, Chen said that specialists are discussing whether enhanced measures, such as mandatory home quarantine, should be imposed, as the number of COVID-19 cases in those nations continue to rise.

Asked whether mass public events should be canceled or postponed nationally, given that more than 100 confirmed cases in South Korea were linked to a church, Chou said the risk of local transmission is still relatively low, so public events would not be banned yet.


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Virus Outbreak: SK, Italy, Iran boost alert efforts

Italian police officers are posted at the entrance of the small town of Codogno yesterday as the government announced steps to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy.Photo: AFP

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South Korea yesterday went on high alert following a sharp jump in coronavirus cases, and Italy and Iran took their own drastic containment steps as an outbreak that has killed nearly 2,500 people in China continued a relentless global expansion.

The WHO also warned that Africa’s poor health systems left it vulnerable to COVID-19, which spilled out of China to more than 25 countries.

Seoul is raising the nation’s alert to its “highest” level, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said after the number of infections nearly tripled over the weekend to 602.

Led by an outbreak cluster in a religious sect in Daegu, South Korea now has the most infections outside of China — apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan.

“The next few days will be crucial,” Moon said following a government meeting on the virus. “The government will raise the alert level to the highest level according to experts’ recommendations.”

South Korea yesterday reported 169 new cases and three deaths, taking the countrywide fatality toll to five.

More than 300 cases have been linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect in Daegu, with about 9,300 members either quarantined or asked to stay at home, the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

More than 1,240 have reported symptoms.

The new cases also included a Samsung Electronics employee at a plant in Gumi city, leading the tech giant to suspend operations there until today.

Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China.

More than 50,000 people in about a dozen northern Italian towns near of Milan were told to stay home, while shops and schools were shuttered.

The government also halted Venice’s famed carnival events, which has drawn tens of thousands of revelers to a region that is now in the heart of the outbreak.

The number of cases in the country rose to more than 100, the president of the northern Lombardy region said yesterday.

The government was weighing “extraordinary measures” to halt further infections, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.

Iran ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from yesterday following eight deaths in the Islamic Republic — the most outside East Asia.

China reported another 97 deaths in its daily update, taking its total to 2,442, plus 648 new infections.

Nearly 80,000 people have been infected worldwide, the vast majority in China.

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content_text:
Overseas fulfillment falls, shifts home

A SLOW TRANSITION:Although the COVID-19 outbreak in China and a slow first quarter might affect manufacturers, they could benefit from growth in 5G services
The ratio of orders fulfilled by Taiwanese manufacturers overseas has consistently declined over the past several months as they shift operations back home, government statistics showed.

Last month, 48.8 percent of all export orders received by Taiwanese firms were produced in their overseas factories, down from 53.7 percent in the previous month and compared with 50.8 percent a year ago, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Thursday.

The ratio has continued to decline from September last year, when it was 57 percent, indicating that local companies are relocating production from China and other regions due to tariffs and other cost considerations, the ministry said.

The information technology and communications industry and the mechanical engineering sector led others by reporting that 91.2 percent and 74 percent of their export orders respectively were fulfilled by their overseas production bases last month.

However, those figures also fell for the fourth consecutive month, the data showed.

Other industries — such as base metals, rubber and plastic products, chemicals, electronic goods, and optical and machinery equipment — also saw declining overseas output ranging from 6.4 percent to 40.6 percent last month, the data showed.

Tallies for export orders — which give an indication of product and component shipments to overseas markets over the next one to three months — came in at US$35.31 billion last month, down 19.4 percent month-on-month and 12.8 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

While the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak in China and the slow first quarter could hurt the performance of export orders, Taiwan might still benefit from 5G-driven growth — which is triggering foundry, packaging, testing and printed circuit board demand — and the relocation of supply chains, Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute (元大寶華綜經院) economist Yen Chen-hui (顏承暉) said in a report on Friday.

“The 5G trends that are driving semiconductor-related industries are still the most resilient part of Taiwan’s exports, and even without the coronavirus outbreak, first-quarter exports would still have been subdued due to seasonality and weak pricing,” Yen wrote.

“A temporary decline in external demand may cause a downward revision, but the trends are still intact,” Yen added.

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title: Overseas fulfillment falls, shifts home


content_text:
A sign saying “no entrance without wearing a mask” is posted at the entrance to a Taipei hospital yesterday.Photo: CNA
The government plans to ban medical personnel from traveling abroad without prior approval amid the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world, to pre-empt the need for them to be quarantined upon their return to Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.

The center is to hold a medical system preparedness meeting this week and impose a ban on healthcare practitioners visiting other nations, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.

The policy is to prevent them from being placed under a mandatory 14-day home quarantine after they return to Taiwan, which would affect the nation’s already limited medical workforce, Chen said.

Applications to travel for a conference or other special reasons should be made to local health departments, he said.

In addition, to help healthcare personnel detect possible COVID-19 infections when a person seeks medical attention, the National Health Insurance (NHI) Administration will mark the NHI cards of Taiwanese upon their arrival back in Taiwan with their travel history, the minister said.

In other developments, the Taichung and Tainan city governments on Saturday advised their city officials not to travel abroad, following Penghu County earlier in the day banning its officials from taking leave to travel to nations and areas considered at high risk for COVID-19.

Taichung Personnel Department Director Chen Shan-ken (陳杉根) said an official advisory would be issued today to all city departments.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said that vacation and leave requests from city officials planning to visit nations for which the CECC has issued level 2 or level 3 travel advisories would not have their requests approved.

Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) said all planned official county visits abroad have been canceled, and county officials are being urged to cancel all non-essential overseas travel.

The Keelung City Government yesterday said that as of today, its officials are barred from traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau and all nations for which a level 1, 2 or 3 travel advisory has been issued.

However, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that city officials make their own vacation plans and she believes no one would want to go to places listed as epidemic areas, so there was no need for the city to impose its own ban.

Additional reporting by CNA

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people: 張麗善 黃珊珊 陳時中 黃偉哲

title: Virus Outbreak: Medical personnel to need approval for travel abroad


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: All schools disinfected for new semester, EPA says

HEALTH TIPS:Pediatricians said that students should wash their hands more thoroughly and disinfect any clothing that is not often cleaned to prevent infection
A cleaner disinfects the chairs and desks in a classroom in a New Taipei City elementary school yesterday to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as part of preparations for the start of the new semester.Photo: CNA
Schools throughout the country are to be disinfected before the start of the new semester tomorrow, as part of the government’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.

As of Saturday, 87 percent of the disinfection work had been done at schools offering kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12), and by yesterday evening that figure would have risen to 99 percent, it said.

After that, only some schools in Taitung County and on the outlying islands would be left, but that work would be done today, the agency said.

The start of the spring semester was postponed for two weeks, with the reopening of K-12 schools postponed until tomorrow and most universities due to open on Monday next week, as the government stepped up its COVID-19 prevention efforts.

Meanwhile, pediatricians in Taipei and Changhua County on Saturday were asked to give personal hygiene advice to students preparing to return to school.

Children often forget to wash their hands after touching handrails, elevator buttons or other surfaces, said Tai Chi-shan (戴季珊), a pediatrician at Taipei’s Shu Tien clinic.

They could be infected by scratching their noses, rubbing their eyes or eating with unwashed hands, she said.

Some people only wet their hands when they wash them, she said, adding that they should use soap and scrub for at least 30 seconds before rinsing and drying their hands to effectively clean them.

A person’s hands should also be washed before putting on a surgical mask, she added.

The mask should cover the nose and mouth and fit snugly, she said, adding that when removing a mask, a person should hold on to the ear loops and turn the mask inside out before tossing it into a trashcan and washing their hands.

Maintaining a regular schedule, balanced diet and exercise can all help to boost the immune system, she added.

Separately, Changhua Christian Hospital pediatric neurologist Chang Tung-ming (張通銘) said that besides washing their hands regularly, people could prevent infections by disinfecting their jackets.

Jackets come into direct contact with the environment, but are typically not washed every day, he said.

Thus, when students return home from school, they should remove their jackets at the entrance and spray them with rubbing alcohol before hanging them in a well-ventilated space, such as a balcony, for about two hours before wearing them the next day, he said.

As for school uniforms and gym clothes, which are washed every day, students should change out of them — and place them in a laundry basket — as soon as they return home, he said.

Everyone should do the same while epidemic prevention efforts are ongoing, he said.

To prevent bacteria and viruses from being brought into the home, clothes that are not washed daily should be sprayed with disinfectant and hung in a well-ventilated area, while clothes that are should be changed as soon as a person enters their home, he said.

Additional reporting by CNA

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: NCC warns stations to verify sources amid outbreak fears

The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that it has not received any complaints about news coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that broadcast media should always verify the authenticity of information before airing it.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), on Saturday pledged to hold a national television station accountable for airing an interview with a caller on a political talk show on Friday.

The caller claimed to be the father of the Taiwanese businessman based in China’s Zhejiang Province who was identified as having infected a 61-year-old unlicensed taxi driver in Taichung with COVID-19. The taxi driver died of the disease.

The caller said that the public should stop stigmatizing his son.

Chen said the television station should not have aired the interview without verifying the information the caller gave first.

The commission said that it has not launched an investigation, and declined to disclose the name of the television station.

“We simply want to remind broadcast media that they are obligated to verify information before broadcasting it in news programs,” the commission said.

As the government’s disease-prevention efforts relate to public interest and national security, television news stations should adhere to government regulations and follow ethical journalistic guidelines when reporting or commenting on them, it added.

“Particularly, television news media should verify information provided by sources, even if the information is given by callers in call-in shows,” the commission said. “They should do the best they can to authenticate whether a caller is telling the truth to avoid sending the wrong message to the public and causing panic.”

The Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) states that people “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$98,674).

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title: US caves to Europe on putting ‘climate’ in G20 statement

content_text:
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, center, arrives at a historic site in Saudi Arabia on Saturday after taking part in the first session of a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers.Photo: EPA-EFE
The US yesterday gave in to pressure from Europeans over environmental concerns, allowing the word “climate” into a joint communique at a G20 conference overshadowed by a viral outbreak that has shaken the global economy.

Delegates at the meeting of G20 finance minister and central bankers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, spent much of their time talking about a global slowdown exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak, but struggled to come up with a united response, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

Countries such as Japan, and international institutions, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, have been pushing for those with surpluses to spend more.

One of the main addressees of the calls for more spending is Germany. So far, the export-driven country has shown little interest in significantly boosting expenditures, arguing fiscal stimulus cannot bolster foreign demand.

On climate change, differences of opinion in the Saudi capital were starker.

The US, represented by US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, objected to including a reference to the subject, according to four people familiar with the communique-drafting process.

The Saudi delegation, which is hosting the event, did not show much enthusiasm for it either, according to two of them.

After several days of heated debate, including French Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire cornering Mnuchin late on Saturday as the G20 delegates dined, the US reluctantly agreed to a mention of climate change, according to two people familiar with the matter.

As of yesterday morning in Riyadh, it was also looking unlikely that representatives would leave Saudi Arabia with any breakthroughs on a global taxation system that would apply to multi-national companies, according to the people.

Europeans have balked at a US proposal that new global rules should be a “safe harbor” regime. Mnuchin sought to reassure his counterparts by insisting such a system would not mean the rules would be optional, but Europeans said they still needed to fully assess the proposal.

Delegates on Saturday heard a warning from the IMF that the COVID-19 outbreak would dent global growth.

The outbreak will shave about 0.1 percentage points from global growth and constrain China’s growth to 5.6 percent this year, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said.

“Be we are also looking at more dire scenarios where the spread of the virus continues for longer and more globally, and the growth consequences are more protracted,” she said.

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title: Three books document 228 Massacre

content_text:
Three books document 228 Massacre

TERRORIZED:Lin Wei-sheng, who has conducted interviews with eyewitnesses and descendants of victims, said that people were still afraid to talk about the massacre
Liao Kuo-yang, center, the son of a 228 Incident victim, wipes away his tears as Chang Yang-hao, left, also a son of a victim, and Academia Historica President Chen Yi-shen look on at a book launch ceremony in Taipei yesterday.Photo: CNA
The Memorial Foundation of 228 yesterday launched three books documenting different aspects of the 228 Incident to mark the 73rd anniversary of the massacre.

The 228 Incident refers to a crackdown launched by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime against civilian demonstrators following an incident in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947.

About 18,000 to 28,000 people, many of them members of the intellectual elite, were killed during the subsequent government crackdown, which lasted into early May 1947.

The event also marked the beginning of the White Terror era that saw thousands of people arrested, imprisoned or executed.

The Puzzle of the 228 Incident (拼圖二 二 八), The Oral History of the Battle of Wuniulan (南投二 二 八口述歷史訪談錄) and Beyond 1947: A Non-daily Memoranda (1947之後：二 二 八 （非）日常備忘錄) were launched to cast light on the massacre from different perspectives.

The Puzzle of the 228 Incident, by Academia Historica President Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), is a compilation of major research findings and theses pertaining to the Incident.

The Oral History of the Battle of Wuniulan is a collection of 27 interviews with eyewitnesses and descendants of victims, conducted by Lin Wei-sheng (林偉盛) and several other people. It focuses on the battle between revolutionaries and KMT troops in Wuniulan, today’s Ailan (愛蘭) in Nantou County, shortly after the massacre.

Speaking at a launch event at the National 228 Memorial Museum, Lin said he encountered difficulties when conducting the interviews, as many survivors and witnesses were still afraid to talk even 73 years after the massacre.

Some of the interviewees also spoke at the ceremony.

Liao Kuo-yang (廖國揚) said that he was born after his father was killed in the Battle of Wuniulan, and his uncle was named as his father in his birth certificate for fear of reprisals from the government.

Chang Yang-hao (張洋豪), another interviewee who also lost his father in the battle, said that he saw bodies piled up in the town square after clashes.

Beyond 1947: A Non-daily Memoranda is comprised of eight articles written by a team of history researchers to give a contemporary perspective on the incident, drawing on material from the national archives, oral history and academic research.

The books were published in Mandarin.

Chairman of the memorial foundation Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元) said at the event that the search for truth behind the incident would deepen the values of democracy and human rights in Taiwan, and give its people spiritual strength to deal with external threats.

The foundation would continue to collect and release the names of possible victims of the incident and hopes to achieve information breakthroughs with the aid of new technology, he said.

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content_text:
Taiwan corporate bonds might hit record this year

‘LOTS OF CASH’:Taiwan Mobile Co has priced a NT$20 billion offering, which suggests that demand is strong, Capital Securities Corp vice president Frank Lin said
Mobile carriers planning 5G networks and the return of Taiwan’s biggest company to the local corporate bond market are poised to make this year a record for new issuance.

This year’s total could top the NT$624.6 billion (US$20.54 billion) of new corporate bonds sold in 2012, according to Masterlink Securities Corp (元富證券), which was the nation’s second-largest underwriter of such debt offered last year in New Taiwan dollars.

Overall issuance last year climbed 17 percent to NT$526.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Leading this year’s selling brigade is Taiwan’s wireless firms. Last month, they made NT$138 billion of bids for 5G spectrum licenses.

Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) has priced a NT$20 billion offering, people familiar with the deal have said.

The 10-year portion is to yield 0.72 percent, not much above the record-low 0.5374 percent such-tenored Taiwan sovereign debt finished on Thursday.

“The Taiwan Mobile deal is telling markets that demand is strong and it’s hard for yields to move higher,” Capital Securities Corp (群益金鼎證券) vice president Frank Lin (林彥棻) said.

Increased corporate-debt issuance in Taiwan this year is “not a problem as buyers, such as banks, have lots of cash,” he said.

So do life insurers. They have billions of dollars looking for a new home, which has helped fuel the heaviest insurer buying during recent government debt auctions in years, despite record-low yields.

The insurers’ foreign holdings are near statutory maximums intended to limit foreign-currency risks, capping the firms’ ability to chase returns overseas.

Their buying of Taiwanese debt in the past few years has focused on bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and so-called Formosa bonds, securities listed in Taiwan, but denominated mainly in US dollars, KGI Securities Co (凱基證券) executive vice president Alvin Yang (楊宗威) said.

“What’s special this year is life insurers will be interested in buying local corporate bonds,” he said.

Beyond demand, also expected to keep yields low — and companies inclined to offer bonds — is the COVID-19 outbreak curbing near-term global economic growth, especially in the China region.

Firms looking to take advantage include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), by far the nation’s biggest company by market value.

It said earlier this month that it plans to raise as much as NT$60 billion for capacity expansion and pollution-prevention measures.

Other corporate debt has been hitting the market. TSMC and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s largest wireless operator, have recently held their first sales of commercial paper, a shorter-term funding vehicle.

Chunghwa is planning to hold such sales regularly, a spokesperson said.

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New Zealand’s Trent Boult bowls on day three of the first Test against India in Wellington yesterday.Photo: Reuters
New Zealand’s Trent Boult declared himself “happy to be back” as he bagged three wickets to leave India struggling for survival at stumps on day three of the first Test in Wellington yesterday.

India, faced with a 183-run first-innings deficit, were 144 for four at the close, still 39 in arrears after a rollicking innings by Boult and Kyle Jamieson pushed New Zealand to 348.

Ajinkya Rahane was unbeaten on 25 with Hanuma Vihari on 15, and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that India were far from raising the white flag, although with only six wickets remaining, he saw a score of aboout 350 as necessary to save the Test.

Boult, back in Test cricket after breaking a hand during a Boxing Day Test in Australia, took a back seat in India’s first innings when Jamieson and Tim Southee took four wickets apiece to roll the tourists for 165.

However, he came to the fore on day three, first with the bat and then with figures of three for 27 as India, the world’s top-ranked side, looked lost in New Zealand conditions.

“I’m just happy to be back out there, it’s been a little frustrating on the sidelines,” the left-armer said. “If we can get a couple more early in the first hour [today] or so, we should be in a good position.”

Boult credited changing the angle of delivery as a key weapon to upset the Indian batsmen.

“We know it’s a very good wicket generally and day three and four is the best time to bat. If I do my job, we won’t be chasing too much,” he said.

Ashwin said he believed the pitch would give more in the final two days, bringing an emphasis on his spin if India can set a strong enough target.

“The Test match cricket, it begins now,” he said.

“If you can get as close to the first innings score as they did, then we might present ourselves an opportunity to do something, but that’s very far away in the game and we have to take it every ball at a time because there is enough in the surface,” Ashwin said.

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title: Boult takes three wickets, NZ have India on the ropes


title: EVERYDAY ENGLISH

content_text:
A: I saw the film **1917** at the weekend. The one about British soldiers fighting in the trenches during World War I.

B: Oh? How was it? I’ve been meaning to see that movie.

A: I really enjoyed it! I thought the cinematography was outstanding.

A: 我週末去看了電影《一九一七》。就是那部關於英國士兵在第一次世界大戰時，在壕溝中打仗的電影。

B: 哦？電影好看嗎？我一直都想要去看。

A: 我很喜歡！我覺得這部電影的攝影很傑出。

English 英文:

Chinese 中文:

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content_text:
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang talks to reporters in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said she is the director of the city government’s COVID-19 prevention response team, so she has the best overall grasp of the virus situation in Taipei, and that Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has not been informed of all the details.

Huang was responding to a series remarks Ko and Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), had made on whether more details about a confirmed COVID-19 case should be publicized.

The CECC is still investigating who has been in contact with the nation’s 24th confirmed case — a woman in her 60s in northern Taiwan, who has not traveled overseas in the past two years — and her daughter and granddaughter, who were also confirmed to have COVID-19.

Ko has repeatedly called for the area in which the woman lives to be revealed to the public to prevent further panic.

However, Chen said that local governments have been informed of all cases, and revealing the details of cases might cause stigmatization and trigger more panic.

Ko on Saturday said that he had not been informed of the details.

“I am the only person who knows,” Huang said yesterday, adding that she reports to Ko about the city’s epidemic situation, but does not necessarily share all the details with him.

Whether the nation’s 24th case is locally transmitted or not, the city government would enhance disease prevention and control measures to prepare for possible local transmission of COVID-19 in Taiwan, she said.

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people: 陳時中 黃珊珊 柯文哲

title: Virus Outbreak: Taipei deputy says Ko out of the loop on COVID-19


content_text:
Daily weight training coupled with sauna could lead to male infertility

每天重訓再進烤箱 猛男罹罕見「無精症」

A sauna, for illustrative purposes.
圖為三溫暖烤箱情境示意照。Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者廖雪茹
An Australian couple still childless despite being married for many years initially thought the woman was infertile, and had even had artificial insemination, but to no avail. They came to Taiwan to see a doctor here, but were shocked by the test results, which showed that the husband’s sperm count was zero. Through questioning, the doctor discovered that the husband liked to work out and was trying to build up his muscles. Every day he would do two hours’ weight training and then spend half an hour in the sauna, and he had been training hard for over 1.5 year, but this had resulted in his azoospermia. Fortunately, he made some changes and four months later had another test, which showed that there were six million sperm in 1.8cc of semen, and his wife became pregnant. The couple are now the proud parents of twins.

According to Yang Wen-jui, director of Taiwan IVF Group, the normal sperm count in healthy males is between 40 million and 60 million sperm per cc of semen. In 1990, however, the WHO lowered the male sperm count standard from 60 million sperm per cc of semen to 20 million, and in 2010 adjusted it downward again, to 15 million. Clearly, the problem of male infertility is to be taken seriously.

Yang says that when the semen has no sperm at all it is known as azoospermia, and the main reason is an imbalance in the hormones secreted by the hypothalamus and the pituitary glands in the brain, the inability of the testicles to produce sperm or an obstruction of the vas deferens. The high risk group for male infertility includes chefs, people who spend a lot of time in front of the computer, engineers, avid cyclists, people who exercise excessively, people who often wear jeans and heavy users of hot springs and saunas.

She adds that doing a reasonable level of exercise is a good thing, but excessive exercise places a burden on the body, lowering the immune system —which can have an effect on the quality of sperm — and it is especially important to avoid doing excessive cycling or weight training. In addition, the higher the temperature of the environment in which one does these activities, the more likely it is to have an impact on sperm production, and this can lead to a reduced sperm count or infertility. One should therefore avoid staying in a high temperature environment for an extended period of time.

If a couple wants to have a child, Yang recommends that the male avoid junk food and could take up a Mediterranean diet supplemented with vitamins C and E and zinc. Women produce a finite number of eggs over the course of their life, but they can improve the quality of the eggs they produce by making changes to their lifestyles and taking supplements such as vitamins C, D, E, B complex, folic acid and Coenzyme Q10. Yang recommends that couples aged over 35 who have tried unsuccessfully for a child naturally for half a year seek medical help.

(Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)

一對澳洲夫妻結婚多年不孕，原以為太太不孕，甚至做人工受孕仍無法擁有孩子。跨國來台求醫，但檢查結果令人震驚，先生的精蟲數量竟是零。醫師詢問才知先生是健身愛好者，嚮往當肌肉猛男，每天重訓兩小時再進烤箱一小時，狂練逾一年半，卻造成無精症。所幸經四個月調理後，先生再次檢驗，一．八c.c.精液中有六百萬隻精蟲，並順利讓太太受孕成功，喜獲一對雙胞胎。

艾微芙國際生殖醫學中心主任楊文瑞醫師表示，正常男性每c.c.精液的精蟲數應達四千萬到六千萬隻，但世衛WHO在一九九○年將男性精蟲數標準值從每c.c.精液六千萬隻精蟲下修至兩千萬隻，二○一○年又再下修為一千五百萬隻，顯見現今男性不孕問題不容小覷。

楊文瑞指出，當精液內不含任何精蟲時稱為「無精症」，主因包括下視丘或腦下垂體分泌之荷爾蒙失調、睪丸無法製造精蟲、精液輸送管道阻塞等。而男性不孕的高危險群，包括廚師、電腦族、工程師、自行車熱愛者、運動過度者、愛穿牛仔褲，以及溫泉、烤箱重度使用者等。

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title: World News Quick Take

content_text:
TURKEY

Quakes kills at least eight

At least eight people were killed yesterday in Van Province after a magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit Iran, Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu said. “Search and rescue efforts are ongoing,” as some people were believed to be trapped under the rubble, he said. At least 21 people were injured, eight critically, in officials said. Iranian officials said at least 25 people were hurt in four villages in West Azerbaijan province near the quake’s epicenter.

VIETNAM

Dissident monk dies at 93

Thich Quang Do, a dissident Buddhist monk who has basically been under house arrest since 2003 and was nominated multiple times for the Nobel Peace Prize, has died aged 93. Do died on Saturday night at Tu Hieu pagoda, the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam said. He spent most of his life advocating for religious freedom and human rights. He spent about 30 years in and out of prison or under house arrest.

UNITED KINGDOM

‘Get around’ plan sought

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit team has been ordered to come up with plans to “get around” the Northern Ireland protocol in the Brexit withdrawal agreement, the Sunday Times reported. Officials in Taskforce Europe are seeking to evade Irish Sea checks on goods passing from Britain to Northern Ireland, the paper said. The officials believe that Attorney-General Suella Braverman might need to give fresh legal advice to justify the move, the paper said. Sources told the paper that Braverman was appointed because her predecessor, Geoffrey Cox, was not willing to take such action. The Cabinet is to meet tomorrow to sign off on the proposals, which are to be published online on Thursday, the paper said.

FRANCE

Charity founder accused

A Paris-based international mental health charity on Saturday accused its revered Canadian founder of sexually abusing several women. L’Arche (The Ark) said an independent probe had found that six women were abused by Jean Vanier between 1970 and 2005, but that none of the victims identified were disabled. Vanier died last year of cancer. “We are devastated by these revelations and we condemn without reserve this conduct which is in total contradiction with the values that Jean Vanier claimed,” top L’Arche Internationale officials Stephan Posner and Stacy Cates Carney said in a letter to group members. L’Arche runs 154 centers in 38 countries.

UNITED KINGDOM

Last German base closed

The army has relinquished control of its last remaining military headquarters in Germany, Catterick Barracks Bielefeld, following 75 years in the country, ahead of the final withdrawal of serving personnel. The Ministry of Defence on Saturday confirmed the nation would continue to have a military presence in Germany beyond this year once the withdrawal of army units to home bases has been completed, with about 185 army personnel and 60 ministry civilians.

UNITED STATES

Second Mardi Gras fatality

A man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float during a Saturday night street parade in New Orleans, the second person in days killed along a parade route in this year’s carnival season, officials said. The person was fatally injured as the Krewe of Endymion was rolling, forcing the rest of the Endymion parade to be scrapped. A 58-year-old woman was run over by a parade float on Wednesday night.

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title: New South Wales honors fire victims

content_text:
Melissa O’Dwyer, widow of firefighter Andrew O’Dwyer, left, hugs their daughter Charlotte at the Bushfire State Memorial at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney yesterday.Photo: EPA-EFE
Families, firefighters and politicians yesterday gathered in a solemn public ceremony in Sydney to honor the 25 people killed in recent bushfires that tore through the country’s most populous state.

The bushfires, which lasted from September last year until torrential rains hit earlier this month, killed 33 people and 1 billion native animals nationally and destroyed 2,500 homes and a wilderness area the size of South Korea.

The damage was most devastating in New South Wales (NSW). Among the 25 people killed there were 19 civilians, three local volunteer firefighters and three US firefighters.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who thanked those who fought the blazes and honored those who died, spoke of “children kissing the coffins of their fathers” and “mothers who should have never had to bury their children.”

He told the public, gathered around lit candles, of “a summer where the dark sky turned black and sunsets only signaled another night of terror, where the fire crashed on our beaches from the bush that surrounded them.”

Morrison has drawn public anger for his refusal to directly link the bushfires to climate change, insisting removing flammable vegetation is “just as important, if not more” and for taking a holiday to Hawaii.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, who played a very public role during the crisis, said the season would be remembered as one of the most challenging, in which the loss of life was enormous.

“Each one of those is a story of grief, of profound loss, and great sadness, of lives cut short, and of families being changed forever,” Fitzsimmons said.

Six pairs of boots were placed to symbolize the lives of the three Australian volunteers and the three US firefighters who died.

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content_text:
RUGBY UNION

Stormers on winning streak

The Stormers remain the only unbeaten side in Super Rugby after beating the Jaguares 17-7 on Saturday. The Stormers made it four wins out of four, but labored to a 3-0 halftime lead at Newlands in Cape Town before scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies pounced on a stray pass and ran about 60m for the first try, followed soon after by a score for Ruhan Nel. Yet they still had to a weather a strong comeback by the South Americans, whose hopes of an upset result were let down by an endless stream of infringements and mistakes.

RUGBY UNION

France survive Cardiff ‘hell’

France coach Fabien Galthie hailed his youthful team for having survived the “hell” of Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday to notch up a 27-23 victory over Wales and keep their Six Nations Grand Slam dream alive. France raced out to a 17-9 halftime lead at the closed-roof stadium thanks to tries from Anthony Bouthier, Paul Willemse and Romain Ntamack. Wales fired back in the second period with a Dillon Lewis try, but a doughty French defense held firm, and Ntamack intercepted a try to seal the first win for Les Bleus in the Welsh capital since 2010. “The players produced a superb match. They played ‘THE’ game,” Galthie said. “We’re very happy to be able to share these moments, between ourselves, but also with everyone who loves rugby... To be here is hell, but it’s magic and that’s what we’re looking for.” Meanwhile, Scotland got their first win of this year’s Six Nations with a 17-0 win in Rome that looks set to condemn Italy to another wooden spoon.

ICE HOCKEY

Zamboni driver helps win

Emergency goaltender David Ayres became the oldest netminder to win an NHL game on his debut on Saturday night after the Zamboni driver stopped eight shots in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 42-year-old Canadian, whose full-time job is operating the ice-cleaning machine for the Toronto Marlies, entered the contest after the visiting Hurricanes lost two goalies to injury. “I had the time of my life out there,” Ayres said. “Someone came in the room and said to get ready. I was a little shocked but I loved it,” Ayres said.

BASEBALL

Astros hecklers lose out

Fans hoping to heckle the sign-stealing Houston Astros at their spring opener on Saturday night were met with quite the coincidence. They got their signs stolen. The exhibition opener against the Washington Nationals was the Astros’ first spring training game since their sign-stealing scandal rocked baseball. Two men in Nationals gear sitting behind the Astros dugout briefly held up crudely drawn signs just before the first pitch. One read: “You see my hate?” in large block letters, and another said: “Houston” with an asterisk below it, suggesting that the Astros’ 2017 World Series title should be permanently blemished. A woman who worked for the ballpark quickly approached and took them. Matthew Silliman, who held one of the signs, said he drove to the game from Tampa Bay and said that he had been waiting to let the Astros know what he thought of them. “I’m a big Nats fan and it’s wrong,” he said. “They’re cheaters.”

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title: SPORTS BRIEFS


content_text:
Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso celebrates scoring the team’s second goal against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in London on Saturday.Photo: Action Images via Reuters
Chelsea on Saturday strengthened their grip on a Premier League top-four place by beating London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 as Manchester City edged past Leicester City despite another attack of the penalty jitters.

Meanwhile, Sheffield United missed out on the chance to clamber above Tottenham into fifth place after drawing at home to struggling Brighton.

Liverpool’s staggering 19-point lead over second-placed Manchester City means the title race is effectively over, with much of the focus turning to the scramble to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Frank Lampard’s fourth-placed Chelsea went into their match against Jose Mourinho’s Spurs at Stamford Bridge without a win in their past four Premier League matches and just one point clear of Spurs.

Fringe players Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso were recalled by Lampard and both rewarded their manager’s confidence by scoring in the home win.

The result means Lampard has completed a league double against his former boss this season.

However, the match was overshadowed by a video assistant referee (VAR) controversy, with officials ruling that Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso did not deserve to be sent off for a “leg breaker” stamp on Cesar Azpilicueta.

World Cup winner Giroud put Chelsea ahead in the 15th minute when he reacted quickest to finish beyond Hugo Lloris after Ross Barkley had struck a post.

Chelsea doubled their advantage three minutes into the second half, Alonso drilling in a first-time shot after being set up by Barkley.

Alonso’s free-kick hit the bar before Antonio Rudiger deflected Erik Lamela’s shot into his own net in the 89th minute to give Spurs late hope.

Lampard criticised VAR after Lo Celso was allowed to stay on the pitch.

“I hate to call for red cards, but that is a leg breaker,” he said. “Everybody knew they made a mistake. I was just waiting for the red card to be shown.”

Adding to Lampard’s frustration, television broadcaster BT Sport reported that VAR officials had told them Lo Celso should have been sent off.

Manchester City substitute Gabriel Jesus struck late on for his team at the King Power Stadium after Aguero saw his second-half spot-kick saved by Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

City have failed to score from each of their past four penalties, with each spot-kick being missed by a different player, but they bounced back to see off Leicester and the 1-0 win leaves them seven points clear of their opponents, cementing their position in second place.

Sheffield United took the lead at home against Brighton through Enda Stevens, but Neal Maupay equalized for the south-coast club on the half-hour.

The 1-1 draw leaves Sheffield in sixth place on 40 points, level with Tottenham.

Burnley beat Bournemouth 3-0 to lift themselves to eighth in the table while Southampton won 2-0 at home to Aston Villa to move 10 points clear of the drop zone.

SERIE A

AFP, ROME

Cristiano Ronaldo scored for a record-equaling 11th consecutive Serie A game in his 1,000th professional match, as Juventus on Saturday extended their league lead with a 2-1 win over basement club SPAL.

The 35-year-old tapped in six minutes before the break to equal the mark held by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 25 goals in all competitions this season for Juventus, including 16 in his current run of 11 matches.

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title: Chelsea see off Spurs as Jesus grabs late City win


content_text:
Najmul Hossain and skipper Mominul Haque hit half-centuries as Bangladesh replied strongly to Zimbabwe in their one-off Test in Dhaka yesterday.

Najmul made 71 off 139 balls, while Mominul was unbeaten on 79 as Bangladesh reached 240-3 at stumps on the second day, trailing Zimbabwe by 25 runs in the first innings.

Pace bowler Abu Jayed earlier finished with a career-best 4-71, as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 265 in the opening session, after the visitors resumed on 228-6.

Najmul, who struck seven fours in his fluent innings, led Bangladesh’s initial batting charge after Victor Nyauchi removed opener Saif Hasan for eight to give Zimbabwe an early breakthrough.

He was involved in partnerships of 78 and 76 runs with Tamim Iqbal and Mominul on his way to a maiden Test 50 in only his fourth match.

Tamim made 41 runs before he edged Donald Tiripano to wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva.

Debutant Charlton Tshuma dismissed Najmul for his maiden Test wicket as Chakabva claimed a third catch behind the stumps.

Mominul, who hit nine fours, and Mushfiqur saw off the day without further damage as they shared 68 runs in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand.

Mushfiqur, who returned to the side after skipping the previous Test against Pakistan, remained unbeaten on 32.

Zimbabwe earlier added 37 runs to their overnight score before Jayed and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam wrapped up their innings.

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title: Bangladesh dominate Zim on day two