title: Virus outbreak: S Korea raises alert level

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Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant inside a toilet at a bus depot in the Eunpyeong district of Seoul yesterday.Photo: Bloomberg

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday placed his nation under a red alert, the highest level, allowing for “unprecedented, powerful steps” to stem the COVID-19 outbreak, as officials in Europe and the Middle East scrambled to limit an outbreak that showed signs of stabilizing at its Chinese epicenter, but posed new threats far beyond.

Worldwide, the number of people sickened by the coronavirus topped 79,000, and wherever it sprung up, officials rushed to try to contain it.

“The past few weeks has demonstrated just how quickly a new virus can spread around the world, and cause widespread fear and disruption,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

In Italy, where 219 people have tested positive for the virus and seven have died, authorities set up roadblocks, called off soccer matches and shuttered sites, including La Scala opera house. Police also manned checkpoints around a dozen quarantined northern towns.

In the Middle East, a health crisis that flared in Iran was reported to have spread for the first time to Kuwait, Bahrain and Afghanistan.

Clusters of the virus continued to emerge, including a possible one in Qom, an Iranian city where the country’s semiofficial ILNA news agency cited a lawmaker in reporting a staggering 50 people had died of COVID-19, although the health ministry insisted the death toll remained at 12.

In South Korea, more than 600 police officers in Daegu fanned out in search of hundreds of members of a church that has been identified as a source for hundreds of infections.

Health workers said they planned to test every citizen in Daegu who showed cold-like symptoms for the coronavirus, estimating about 28,000 people would be targeted.

The country’s National Assembly was temporarily closed as workers sterilized its halls, while at shops and food stalls in the capital of Seoul, a misty fog surrounded crews in protective suits who sprayed disinfectants.

South Korean officials recommended that courts consider postponing trials of cases not deemed urgent, while Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon threatened tough penalties for those who defy a ban on rallies in major downtown areas.

China yesterday reported 409 new cases of the virus, raising its total to 77,150. It also announced 150 new deaths for a 2,592 total.

It also announced it would postpone the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress, scheduled for next month.

The head of a visiting WHO delegation said that China’s “incredibly difficult measures” in tackling the coronavirus had probably prevented hundreds of thousands of cases in the country.

Bruce Aylward, speaking at a joint press briefing with officials from China’s National Health Commission, said multiple data sources supported the general downward trend in the number infections being reported by the commission, despite some statistical issues observed in recent weeks.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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Taiwan Ratings places Prudential Life Insurance Taiwan under credit watch

Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) yesterday placed Prudential Life Insurance Inc’s local unit under credit watch with negative implications, as the US-based group considers re-evaluating its global business strategy and selling the Taiwanese subsidiary.

The adjustment came after Taiwan Ratings, the local arm of Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings, called into question the credit profile and strength of Prudential Life Insurance Co of Taiwan (保德信人壽), if it were to no longer receive support from its parent company.

“The [credit watch] placement reflects the increasing uncertainty over Prudential Taiwan’s creditworthiness given our view that the US-based parent group may re-evaluate the strategic importance and ownership structure of the Taiwan subsidiary,” Taiwan Ratings said in a note.

The re-evaluation could lead to a change in Taiwan’s strategic position and a potential disposal, it said.

“We therefore place Prudential Taiwan on credit watch with negative implications,” it said.

The local unit is currently assigned a long-term issuer credit rating of “twAAA.”

Taiwan Ratings said it would resolve the credit watch placement after analyzing the impact of any change in its status.

The agency might lower its rating by one or more notches if it sees a greater possibility that the group would pull out of the Taiwanese market, thereby weakening the local unit’s ties with the US headquarters, it added.

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Industrial production declines 1.51%

LOSING STEAM:Electronic components output posted a robust 17.73% growth last month, while non-tech industries saw across-the-board declines, official data showed
The nation’s industrial production started the year with a decline of 1.51 percent on an annual basis last month, ending two consecutive months of increases, Ministry of Economic Affairs data showed yesterday.

“The decline in output last month was mainly due to the Lunar New Year holiday, which led to fewer working days compared with January a year earlier,” Department of Statistics Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) told a news conference in Taipei.

Output from the manufacturing sector, which makes up more than 90 percent of total industrial production, fell 1.28 percent year-on-year last month.

The computer, electronic goods and optical components industry, which had been on a hot streak for 22 months in a row, posted a 2.06 percent decline, but the fall was cushioned by an increase in production of laptops and servers, as well as networking and communications devices, on the back of returning Taiwanese firms, Wang said.

“There is still a strong and unwavering market demand for mid to high-end camera lenses,” she said, referring to expanding production of optical components.

The electronic parts and components industry, a pillar of the local manufacturing sector, posted its best performance yet in 34 months, with output growing 17.73 percent.

Growth was propelled by the 30.11 percent surge in production of integrated circuits, aided by an accelerating rollout of 5G network infrastructure, as well as a low comparison base, the ministry said.

However, production of LCD panels and components slipped 5.43 percent due to a supply-and-demand imbalance, it said.

Non-tech industries posted across-the-board declines, with output from the chemical materials industry decreasing 3.16 percent due to falling prices and the base metal industry posting an 8.79 percent fall due to routine maintenance at several production plants, the ministry said.

The machinery equipment and automotive industries also posted declines of 30.23 percent and 20.15 percent respectively last month, it said.

“Despite eased trade tensions between the US and China, non-tech manufacturers still suffered from a lingering impact of waning market demand,” Wang said.

Although government programs aimed at encouraging domestic investments should help boost production in the manufacturing sector, the COVID-19 outbreak might affect supply chains in Taiwan, Wang said.

A survey of local manufacturers showed that production is expected to further contract this month, the ministry said.

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title: Industrial production declines 1.51%


title: New high of 83.2% see themselves as Taiwanese: poll

people: 蘇貞昌 蔡英文 習近平 游盈隆

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By Lu Yi-hsuan and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer
A pie chart shows the results of a Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation poll that found 83.2 percent of respondents consider themselves to be Taiwanese.Screen grab from the Wed site of the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation
Identification as Taiwanese rather than Chinese has surged to 83.2 percent amid the COVID-19 outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation said yesterday.

Asked whether they identify themselves as Taiwanese or Chinese, or have other opinions, 83.2 percent of respondents to a poll conducted by Focus Survey Research said Taiwanese, 5.3 percent said Chinese, 6.7 percent said both and 4.8 percent had no opinion or refused to answer.

The results showed that identification as Taiwanese has reached a new high since the foundation’s first such poll in 1991, while identification as Chinese or Chinese and Taiwanese was down by half from a poll in September last year, foundation chairman Michael You (游盈隆) said.

Neither Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) reiterations of Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula, nor last year’s protests in Hong Kong led to a significant increase in identification as Taiwanese, which remained at about 70 percent, You said.

There has been an obvious increase since the COVID-19 outbreak, and such change can be seen as significant academically and politically, he added.

Respondents were also asked about the government’s handling of cross-strait issues during the outbreak, with nearly 70 percent voicing approval, and 10.8 percent saying they disapproved, the foundation said.

It is the best rating of the government’s cross-strait policies since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016, the foundation said.

Tsai’s overall approval rating was 68.4 percent, compared with 16.5 percent who disapproved, the president’s second-best showing in a foundation poll, while Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) received a 69.4 percent approval rating.

More respondents said they liked the Democratic Progressive Party (41.1 percent), than the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (12.5 percent), the Taiwan People’s Party (9.3), the New Power Party (5.1), the Taiwan Statebuilding Party (1.9) and the People First Party (0.5).

However, 27.2 percent said that they did not favor any party and 0.9 percent said none of the above.

The nationwide poll was conducted on Monday and Tuesday last week and collected 1,079 valid samples. It had a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points.

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The central bank is highly likely to stand pat with its neutral monetary policy at its meeting on March 19 due to sufficient liquidity and improved GDP growth, unaffected by a string of interest rate cuts by central banks in Asia as the COVID-19 outbreak spurs recession fears.

China, the Philippines and Thailand earlier this month slashed interest rates to step up monetary and credit support for sectors affected by the virus, with the ultimate goal of bolstering their weakening economies.

South Korea’s central bank and financial officials yesterday scrambled to discuss emergency measures to minimize the fallout of the outbreak, which is likely to hurt the country’s export-oriented economy. The central bank of South Korea is widely expected to pre-emptively cut the benchmark interest rate to inject more liquidity into the market at a meeting on Thursday.

The monetary body’s emergency meeting came after the South Korean government raised its threat alert to the highest level on Sunday — the first time since 2009 — due to infections spiking over the past week to more than 760 cases, the second-highest after China. South Korea’s GDP could shrink even further to about 1 percent this year as some economists hold a cautious view about the virus’ effects.

Global ratings agency Moody’s has revised down its forecast for GDP growth in South Korea to 1.9 percent from 2.1 percent, citing the crippling effects of COVID-19 on the economy, as well as on China, the largest importer of South Korean products.

Singapore last week warned of a recession this year, blaming the effects of the virus.

Taiwan and South Korea are similar in some ways. Taiwan has an export-oriented economy and is heavily dependent on China for economic growth, but its central bank has stronger support from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). That makes a noticeable difference. Vigorous measures have prevented the virus from spreading in the nation, which gives the central bank leeway to use monetary measures to combat low inflation, maintain currency stability and save its “silver bullets” for its primary responsibilities.

As of yesterday, Taiwan had reported 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one virus-related death.

The Cabinet has said that it plans to push through a NT$60 billion (US$1.97 billion) emergency plan to offer loans to struggling travel agencies and subsidize bank loans for affected firms, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises. The budget is twice the amount the government allocated to SARS-affected firms.

Last month, DBS forecast that Taiwan’s GDP would grow by 2.3 percent this year. If it had not been for the virus, the nation’s GDP would have expanded by 2.5 to 3 percent, DBS said.

However, the central bank on Dec. 19 last year kept its rediscount rate unchanged at 1.375 percent for the 14th consecutive quarter, due to healthy economic growth and benign inflation.

Yet the outbreak is dealing a blow to investor confidence. The New Taiwan dollar yesterday dipped to its weakest level in about two-and-a-half months at NT$30.472 against the US dollar, after the US listed Taiwan as an area with community transmission. The CECC objected to the categorization.

Nevertheless, foreign investors sold a net NT$26.339 billion worth of local stocks, bringing total net sales to NT$104.57 billion since the beginning of the year. The TAIEX has lost 4.67 percent since Jan. 2 to close at 11,534.87 points.

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title: EDITORIAL: Central bank must beware virus risks


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As pandemic looms, world’s top disease fighter engages China

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is engaged in a delicate diplomatic dance with a Chinese government that’s sensitive to perceived slights and a big financial supporter of countries across Africa, including Ethiopia, where he also served as foreign minister
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a combined news conference in Geneva on Jan. 19 following a two-day international conference on COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine research and a meeting to decide whether Ebola in DR Congo still constitutes health emergency of international concern.Photo: AFP
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has perhaps the most thankless job in global public health. As director-general of the WHO, the former Ethiopian health minister is racing against time to prevent a dangerous new coronavirus in China from precipitating a worldwide pandemic.

Yet containing and unlocking the secrets of a novel virus that emerged in Wuhan, once a flourishing mega-city of 11 million, is only part of the challenge. Tedros is also engaged in a delicate diplomatic dance with a Chinese government that’s sensitive to perceived slights and a big financial supporter of countries across Africa, including Ethiopia, where he also served as foreign minister and a high-ranking member of its former ruling coalition.

Tedros needs the support of China’s all-powerful President Xi Jinping (習近平) to increase on-the-ground access for the world’s best infectious disease experts. Xi, meanwhile, is facing public anger over his government’s handling of the crisis and has bristled at foreign criticism.

As the world’s first responder to public health crises, Tedros must “strike this complicated balance between being a member-state organization and being this evidence-based beacon on a hill,” said Rebecca Katz, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security. “It’s not a job that I would want to do.”

The viral disease, known as COVID-19, has killed more than 2,400 people and reached four continents in less than two months. On Jan. 30, Tedros, after initially hesitating, declared an international emergency. Now, with new hot spots emerging in Japan, South Korea and Iran, Tedros’s team may need to declare a pandemic if the virus keeps spreading.

Regarding the epicenter of this crisis, Tedros has consistently backed China, despite evidence that the government was slow to react, silenced scientists at home and resisted cooperation with international disease-trackers. After weeks of wrangling, a WHO response team finally appears headed to Hubei province, where the outbreak erupted.

SARS AS PRECEDENT

Experts credit China with quickly sharing the virus’s genetic sequence and being far more open than during the 2003 SARS outbreak that killed 774 people. Since SARS, WHO’s member nations have signed a health treaty to maintain greater openness and information-sharing in response to fast-moving epidemics.

Yet China isn’t living up to that 2005 agreement, according to Shigeru Omi, president of the Japan Community Health Care Organization. Japan has become a hot spot for COVID-19 with more than 130 cases, and had the largest cluster of infections outside China on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama.

“The reality is that the response in the city of Wuhan was delayed in comparison with the letter and spirit stipulated in the revised international regulations,” said Omi, who was the WHO’s regional director for the Western Pacific during the SARS outbreak.

China has been criticized for muzzling doctors who called early attention to the mysterious pneumonia, like Li Wenliang (李文亮) — who later died of infection — and delays in reporting apparent human-to-human transmission.

The WHO said it engages all member states in frank discussions and doesn’t treat China differently, and Tedros declared an international emergency as soon as human-to-human transmission outside China was reported. Other nations have commended China for its actions such as its quick sharing of DNA data, notification of Germany that a visitor had returned to China with signs of infection and the personal sacrifices entailed by the quarantine of millions of people in Wuhan and its surroundings, the agency said.


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Office workers wearing masks take their lunch break in Beijing yesterday.Photo: Andy Wong, AP
Sales of smartphones in China tumbled by more than a third last month, Chinese government data showed yesterday, in a sign of how the COVID-19 outbreak is hurting consumer demand.

Mobile phone brands shipped a total of 20.4 million devices, down 36.6 percent from 32.1 million in January last year, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.

China’s smartphone market has been shrinking for a number of years, as demand became more reliant on consumers replacing handsets than buying new ones.

However, last month’s drop was far larger than was seen in the same month last year, when sales fell 11.4 percent.

The bulk of the drop stems from Android brands, which collectively saw shipments decline from 29.9 million units in January last year to 18.1 million last month.

Shipments of Apple Inc’s devices held steady at just more than 2 million units.

The declines were largely in line with analysts’ forecasts. Research firms International Data Corp and Canalys earlier this month forecast that shipments would drop about 40 percent in the first quarter, as the virus outbreak hurt demand and sparked supply chain issues.

Last week, Apple Inc chief executive Tim Cook wrote a letter to investors warning it would not meet its initial revenue guidance for the current quarter due to demand issues, and the outbreak’s impact on suppliers.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Apple’s most important partner, has yet to fully resume work across its plants in China, though some of its facilities are operating at partial capacity.

Apple also shut its branded stores across China, following similar moves by most other major retailers.

Earlier this month Xiaomi Corp (小米) CEO Lei Jun (雷軍) unveiled the company’s new line of flagship devices via an online livestream, in lieu of a live audience.

In the stream, he thanked Xiaomi’s suppliers for helping the company in the run-up to the release and warned consumers that there might be some delays in delivery.

China’s smartphone brands are planning to release a range of 5G-enabled phones this year in hopes of reviving growth in the sector.

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title: Phone sales tank in China as virus dampens demand


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Virus Outbreak: CECC clarifies medical staff travel ban

RESTRICTIONS:Medical personnel are banned from traveling to China, Macau and Hong Kong, and must obtain permission to visit areas affected by COVID-19
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, holding microphone, speaks at the Central Epidemic Command Center’s weekly news conference in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said that medical personnel are only banned from traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau, after its announcement on Sunday that they would be banned from traveling abroad sparked complaints.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, told a news conference on Sunday that all medical personnel would be banned from traveling abroad to ensure there is sufficient medical personnel in Taiwan in the fight against COVID-19.

The policy aims to prevent medical personnel from being placed under a mandatory 14-day home quarantine when they return home, he said, adding that they would need to gain approval if they need to travel abroad for special reasons.

However, Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) yesterday said that the policy is mainly aimed at front-line medical personnel who are treating patients.

“They will be strictly banned from going to China, Hong Kong and Macau, and they should gain prior approval before traveling to countries for which the CECC has issued a level 1 or level 2 travel notice for COVID-19, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Italy and Iran,” he said.

Travel to other countries is allowed, he added.

Sunday’s announcement drew complaints from medical personnel, who questioned the legitimacy and applicability of the policy.

The National Taiwan University Hospital Union and the Taipei Doctors’ Union issued a joint statement saying that medical personnel might be willing to cooperate with the CECC’s orders, but the center should have discussed the issue with them first.

They urged the center to explain the details of the regulation and any supplementary measures, as well as provide complementary measures to compensate those who have already made travel plans for any ensuing losses.

“Medical personnel’s labor rights during the outbreak period cannot be protected only by saying: ‘Thank you for the hard work,’” the statement said. “We believe that the government does not want to treat medical personnel as tissue paper.”

The Chia-yi Christian Hospital Labor Union also issued a statement, saying that the CECC’s policy violates human rights by limiting medical workers’ freedom of movement, and listing seven suggestions and seven questions for the center.

Physicians are obliged to follow directions from competent authorities or command centers in the event of a natural disaster, political or military coup, or when epidemic prevention efforts are under way, Shih said, citing Article 24 of the Physicians Act (醫師法).

However, the policy is a general guideline and hopefully all medical personnel would cooperate to maintain sufficient medical capacity to fight a possible COVID-19 outbreak in the nation, he said.

Medical personnel who have gained approval to travel to countries with a level 1 or level 2 travel notice should practice self-health management after they return home, he added.

A meeting would be held with hospital managements to discuss the policy guidelines, including supplementary measures, the implementation period and compensation measures, Shih said.

Meanwhile, some physicians took to Facebook to voice their support for the policy, but some expressed doubts.

Chung Shan Medical University Hospital Pediatric Emergency department director Hsieh Tsung-hsueh (謝宗學) wrote that he understands the reasons behind the policy, but it was difficult to accept being treated as “strategic material.”


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The rich world must take responsibility for its carbon footprint

Climate advocate Greta Thunberg has accused developed economies of “creative carbon accounting,” because their measures of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and of achieved and planned reductions, fail to consider the gases emitted when imported goods are produced in other countries.

As Chinese officials have quite rightly pointed out, about 15 percent of their country’s emissions result when goods are made in China, but consumed in other, usually richer, economies.

China and other developing economies also are instinctively wary of developed-country proposals to combine domestic carbon prices with “carbon tariffs” imposed on imported goods.

However, such policies might be the only way for rich-world consumers to take responsibility for their carbon footprint in other countries.

The “creative accounting” charge would be unfair if it were meant to imply deliberate concealment; the British government, for example, publishes an easily accessible carbon-footprint report.

However, the figures certainly support Thunberg’s point: In 2016, the UK emitted 784 million US tons (711 million metric tonnes) of GHGs on a consumption basis, versus 468 million tons on a production basis.

From 1997 to 2016, the UK’s consumption-based emissions fell by only 10 percent, compared with a 35 percent decrease in production-related emissions.

Likewise, the EU’s total consumption-based emissions are about 19 percent higher than those related to production.

While the US’ gap of 8 percent is smaller in percentage terms, on a tons-per-capita basis it is just as large.

China is easily the biggest counterpart to this developed-economy gap, with consumption emissions of about 8.5 gigatons per year, versus 10 gigatons on a production basis.

While China’s per capita emissions have already overtaken the UK’s on a production basis, it would be several years before the country’s per capita consumption footprint exceeds that of the UK.

So, if the developed world is serious about limiting potentially catastrophic climate change, it must take responsibility for emissions that its consumption generates abroad.

There are only two ways to do this. One is for the rich world to consume less. However, although more responsible lifestyles — buying fewer clothes, vehicles and electronic goods, or eating less red meat — should certainly play a role in making zero-carbon economies possible, such changes alone would not get us close to zero emissions.

Nor would they necessarily close the consumption-versus-production gap, because consumption of domestically produced goods could fall as much as that of imports. Reduced imports by developed countries mean reduced exports for poorer economies, creating challenges for economic development.

The alternative is to ensure that imported goods are produced in a low and eventually zero-carbon fashion. The ideal policy to achieve this would be a globally agreed carbon price, which would encourage producers in all countries to adopt low or zero-carbon technologies.

Absent this ideal, there are growing calls in Europe and the US for a second-best solution — domestic carbon prices imposed in particular countries plus “border carbon adjustments,” meaning carbon-related tariffs on imports from countries that do not impose an equivalent carbon price on their producers.

The immediate reaction of policymakers in China, India and many other developing countries might be to condemn such policies as yet more protectionism in a world already destabilized by US President Donald Trump’s tariff disputes.

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title: Sequins, skin and politics as Rio’s carnival opens

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A member of the Grande Rio samba school performs during the first night of the carnival parades at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday.Photo: AFP
Rio de Janeiro on Sunday started its annual carnival parades in a swirl of glitter, sequins and barely covered skin, an over-the-top spectacle that this year is packed with political commentary on Brazil’s far-right government.

Vying for the title of carnival champions, the city’s 13 top samba schools get about one hour each to wow spectators and judges with elaborate shows flush with scantily clad dancers, small armies of drummers and huge floats built on seemingly impossible feats of engineering.

The event has taken a particularly political turn after a year under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has deeply divided Brazil with his overt attacks on just about every cause close to the carnival community’s heart: diversity, homosexuality, environmentalism, the arts.

“This carnival has a lot of protests, because we want the world to see what’s going on here. There are lots of people who are against this very extreme government,” said Camila Rocha, dressed as an enormous gemstone as she prepared to enter the “Sambadrome,” the massive avenue-turned-stadium where the groups parade.

Her samba school, Estacio de Sa, kicked things off with a show on the theme of “rocks” that featured floats covered in dinosaurs (prehistoric rocks), sparkling diamonds (precious rocks) and, finally, the moon.

Director Rosa Magalhaes said that was meant to evoke the Earth turning into a barren, moon-like rock — the kind of environmental catastrophe that critics warn the world could face if Brazil does not do a better job protecting the Amazon rainforest.

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon increased 85.3 percent in Bolsonaro’s first year in office.

Reigning champions Mangueira then threw religion into the mix.

Their show depicted Jesus returning as a resident of one of Rio’s impoverished favela neighborhoods and preaching a message of tolerance — only to be beaten and persecuted by the police.

Mangueira presented various revisionist versions of Jesus — black, a woman, a man in eyeshadow and rouge.

That drew backlash even before the parade started from a key group of Bolsonaro supporters, Christian fundamentalists, who sent the school a petition calling the show “blasphemous.”

Other schools have chosen themes such as fake news in Brazil’s 2018 presidential race and black and women’s rights.

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A lawyer for the US yesterday told a British court that WikiLeaks frontman Julian Assange is wanted for crimes that put at risk the lives of people who had helped the West and that journalism is no excuse for criminality.

The 48-year-old is wanted by the US on 18 criminal counts of conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law and could spend decades in prison if convicted.

Lawyer James Lewis, representing the US in the extradition hearing, said Assange had conspired with Chelsea Manning to hack US Department of Defense computers. Assange had also disseminated unredacted material which put the lives of sources at risk, he said.

In doing so, he had identified the names of informants, journalists, dissidents and others in Iraq and Afghanistan who had given help to the US and its allies, Lewis said.

Lewis said the defence claim that Assange might receive a jail term of 170 years was hyperbole.

Jennifer Robinson, Assange’s lawyer, has said that his case could lead to criminalizing activities crucial to investigative journalists.

The hearing at London’s Woolwich Crown Court is to decide if the extradition request meets the requirements set out under a 2003 UK-US treaty, which critics say is stacked in favor of the US.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser previously agreed that the case would get under way before being postponed until May 18, when it would resume again for a further three weeks to allow both sides more time to gather evidence.

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title: Assange extradition hearings open in London courtroom


content_text:
Coronavirus widens Hong Kong anger at government, China

The Hong Kong government’s refusal to seal the border with China amid a virus outbreak has caused resentment even among the territory’s business leaders who usually side with Beijing
Pro-democracy protesters have all but vanished from the streets of Hong Kong over the past month as residents avoid the COVID-19, but the outbreak has broadened discontent with the territory’s leadership and China’s influence on it.

Some business leaders and pro-Beijing politicians have joined pro-democracy and union figures in attacking Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s (林鄭月娥) administration for what they see as an uncoordinated response to the virus and its refusal to seal the border with mainland China, which might have prevented infections.

“Regardless of political opinions, people in Hong Kong have already lost confidence in the government of Carrie Lam,” said Mike Lam (林景楠), chief executive of the AbouThai department store chain.

Lam’s stores have experienced some of the chaos caused by the virus, recently receiving almost 100,000 applications for only 3,400 boxes of surgical masks in stock, he said.

Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents have largely ignored the government’s attempts to calm the situation, panic-buying food staples and toilet paper in supermarkets, and forming long lines for masks and hand sanitizer in the rare places they can be found.

That has led to widespread anger and would fuel renewed protests this summer, advocates have said.

“Now, it is not really about politics, it’s about your genuine life,” said Clement Chung, chairman of the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industries Employees General Union, which has recruited 320 members since it formed on Dec. 31 last year.

“It connects all the people in Hong Kong in terms of anti-government sentiment. The disappointment and the anger, they want something to change,” he said.

Carrie Lam’s refusal to completely shut the border with mainland China — largely seen as a move to appease Beijing — has inflamed many in Hong Kong.

Four current and former leaders of the territory’s Liberal Party, which is generally in favor of business, the government and China, criticized Carrie Lam on the issue.

“As the new coronavirus wreaks havoc on the mainland, the only right decision you should make is to immediately close the border,” they wrote to her this month, calling her response hesitant and ineffective.

Three-quarters of the territory’s residents agree, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute released earlier this month.

The same proportion of 156 US business leaders polled by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong also said they want the border closed.

In the first week of this month, 8,000 doctors, nurses and medical workers in the newly formed Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA) took part in a five-day strike, chanting: “Close the border, save Hong Kong.”

Hours after the strike began, Carrie Lam announced the closure of four more border crossings to mainland China, but stopped short of a total shutdown. Now 10 of 13 checkpoints are closed.

That might not be enough to stop frustration spilling over this summer.

“The anger that is building up will fuel future protests against the government and for democracy,” said Lee Cheuk-yan (李卓人), a labor advocate and former pro-democracy politician.

Lee said the next marches would likely start around July 1, the 23rd anniversary of the UK handing back control of Hong Kong to China, or earlier if the virus subsides.

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content_text:
The COVID-19 outbreak has come as a shock to all Taiwanese and is having a major effect on domestic businesses. The virus might have caused greater damage than cancer and HIV/AIDS, and it seems to be developing faster and becoming even more serious than SARS.

As Taiwanese deal with this virus, they must cooperate with the government’s epidemic prevention measures, but even as they do so, it is the general public who have experienced the greatest disruption to their daily lives. The outbreak has had a major effect on jobs in particular, but also on businesses and people’s economic situations.

Domestic business owners must have something to go by as they take up the responsibilities and duties that follow on the effects of the outbreak.

Employers and employees should work together to bring Taiwanese through the battle against the virus calmly and in one piece.

Here are a few ideas that businesses and their human resource departments should seriously consider:

First, employers should adopt safe health and hygiene measures to protect their employees from becoming infected by COVID-19, which would be disastrous in the workplace.

Furthermore, they should establish an appropriate work environment and provide access to other health and welfare facilities.

If an employee is unable to accept work outside of normal work hours, for health or other legitimate reasons, they should not be forced to work.

In addition, employees should not be made to travel to infected areas in China.

Second, if an employee’s relatives are in need of care due to the virus, the employer should understand the employee’s need to care for their family and let them adjust their work hours by up to an hour without changing the regular daily work hours.

Third, if an employer decides that it is necessary to continue epidemic prevention-related business operations, such as the manufacture of masks and other medical supplies or transportation and delivery services, they should be allowed to suspend holidays while paying double wages to make up for the overtime, and then allowing staff time off afterward.

Temporarily suspended time off should be reported in detail to the competent local authority within 24 hours of it being done.

Fourth, the outbreak in China was sudden, and employers who find it necessary to extend work hours for this reason should be allowed to do so.

If the outbreak has a severe effect on business operations — for example by forcing a business to suspend operations, transfer ownership of operations to someone else, or otherwise sustain losses, reduce operations or close down operations for more than a month, or reduce staff due to changes in how the business operates — and if the firm is unable to provide other appropriate work during this time, it should inform employees that their employment contract will be terminated.

Wang Chung-jen is a lecturer at National Taiwan University.

Translated by Perry Svensson

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title: Businesses must ready themselves for virus


title: Sanders would take action if China attacked Taiwan

content_text:
US Senator Bernie Sanders, right, and his wife, Jane, arrive onstage for a campaign rally at Vic Mathias Shores Park in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.Photo: AFP
US Senator Bernie Sanders, who is vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination for November’s presidential election, on Sunday said that, if elected, he would be prepared to take military action if China attacked Taiwan.

Sanders made the remarks on CBS’ 60 Minute when interviewer Anderson Cooper asked in what circumstances he, as commander-in-chief, would deploy US military forces.

The independent senator from Vermont outlined his criteria.

“Threats against the American people, to be sure. Threats against our allies. I believe in NATO. I believe that the United States, everything being equal, should be working with other countries in alliance, not doing it alone.”

When asked whether he would order military action if Taiwan came under attack from China, Sanders replied: “Yeah. I mean, I think we have got to make it clear to countries around the world that we will not sit by and allow invasions to take place, absolutely.”

Asked if he would follow US President Donald Trump’s example and meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Sanders said: “Yeah, I mean I’ve criticized Trump for everything... But meeting with people who are antagonistic is, to me, not a bad thing.”

Sanders is leading the Democratic field this year, having won caucuses in three states.

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content_text:
ClimateVoice to help workers push firms on climate

PROACTIVE:Ex-Facebook executive Bill Weihl launched the group to bring workers at different firms together to advocate for legislation at US state and regional levels
Former Facebook Inc sustainability director Bill Weihl has launched an organization to help employees at big companies press their bosses for more aggressive policies to fight climate change.

Hundreds of companies have committed to reducing emissions in their own operations to be in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement, in which governments aim to limit global warming to well below 2oC.

However, beyond their own operations many companies have refrained from advocating for broader solutions needed to avoid a global catastrophe, said Weihl, who also led sustainability efforts at Google and is to head the new organization, ClimateVoice.

Employees at technology companies have objected to selling cloud services to Big Oil, and companies are reticent to exert lobbying influence on behalf of specific legislation.

“When it’s an issue that might be really important for society but doesn’t directly affect them, by and large most companies are silent most of the time,” said Weihl, who left Facebook in 2018.

ClimateVoice is launching as a volunteer effort, but aims to raise funds and hire staff soon after launch.

Weihl said that it would seek to organize and amplify climate activism among tech employees to push executives to lobby on behalf of legislative efforts around climate.

Workers have become a key constituency in the climate change debate, particularly at the biggest tech companies.

Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com Inc announced more ambitious emissions targets after employees ultimately made their concerns publicly known.

Bruce Hahne resigned as a technical program manager at Google this month and criticized the company in a public letter for selling technology to the energy sector to more efficiently produce fossil fuels — echoing concerns raised by workers at Amazon and Microsoft.

“We’re dying by fire, and the Google Cloud oil and gas sales vertical is pouring on the gasoline,” Hahne wrote.

Google representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ClimateVoice initially intends to advocate for legislation at the US state and regional levels, instead of the US Congress.

The group could be useful in providing employees with a list of policy priorities to raise with their bosses, Hahne said.

It could also help bring together workers at different companies, who could work together on proposed bills with less fear of retaliation from management.

“ClimateVoice is going to need to design sets of tactical behaviors that work well with cultures of the organizations, and that are safe,” Hahne said.

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title: Bureau predicts decent weather for long weekend

content_text:
People walk along a road in Taipei yesterday. The Central Weather Bureau forecast that temperatures would reach to 26°C to 28°C in the north during the 228 Peace Memorial Holiday long weekend.Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Cloudy to sunny skies are forecast for most parts of the nation during the 228 Peace Memorial Day holiday, which begins on Friday.

The Central Weather Bureau yesterday said that a southerly wind would cause the mercury in central and southern Taiwan today to rise to 30°C to 31°C, whereas temperatures in the rest of the nation would rise to 27°C to 29°C.

Lows would be between 15°C and 21°C nationwide, it said.

Except for showers on the east coast, cloudy to sunny skies are forecast for the rest of the nation today, the bureau said.

However, highs would start dropping tomorrow afternoon, as the northeast monsoon is to become stronger and humidity is expected to rise, which would bring showers to Taipei and New Taipei City, mountainous areas in northern and central Taiwan and the east coast, it said.

Highs in the north are expected to drop by 2°C to 3°C tomorrow, but the rest of the nation is unlikely to see much of a change in temperature, the bureau said.

On Thursday, highs in the north would drop to 22°C to 24°C, as the nation would still be under the effect of the northeast monsoon, it said, adding that people in central and southern Taiwan would see highs drop to 27°C to 29°C.

Highs in Hualien and Taitung would be between 24°C and 26°C on Thursday, the bureau said, adding that lows would vary from 15°C to 21°C nationwide from tomorrow to Thursday.

Showers are forecast for Taipei and New Taipei City, the east coast and mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, it said.

The weather during the 228 Peace Memorial Holiday, which begins on Friday and ends on Sunday, would generally be stable, as the northeast monsoon is expected to weaken, the bureau said, adding that there would be showers on the east coast and in mountainous areas of northern Taiwan.

Cloudy to sunny skies are forecast for most regions in the nation, with temperatures reaching to 26°C to 28°C in the north, 24°C to 27°C on the east coast, and 27°C to 31°C in central and southern Taiwan, the bureau said.

Lows would be between 16°C and 21°C nationwide, it added.

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title: Comic exhibit celebrates French fest participants

content_text:
An exhibition highlighting Taiwan’s participation in the Angouleme International Comics Festival in France is being held at the Taiwan Comic Base in Taipei.

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, De Taiwan a Angouleme: Le parcours de 73 pionniers de la bande dessinee (從臺灣到安古蘭：73位漫畫家的開拓之旅) is a retrospective of works by Taiwanese artists previously displayed at the festival.

Since 2012, the ministry has selected 73 comic artists to represent Taiwan at the annual event, Department of Humanities and Publications Director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said.

In the past, local comic fans could only learn about Taiwan’s exhibit at the festival through the media or online, she said, adding that plans for a retrospective exhibition began last year.

The exhibition came after the 47th Angouleme International Comics Festival ended on Feb. 2.

French President Emmanuel Macron was among those who attended the festival this year, the ministry said, adding that this year is France’s “year of comics.”

Taiwan’s exhibition at this year’s festival was titled “Passion of Taiwan Comics.”

The ministry also plans to host an event at Taiwan Comic Base every Saturday until the exhibition ends on March 22.

Talks are to be held from 3pm on Saturday, Saturday next week and on March 14.

Guest speakers are to include comic artists Li Lung-chieh (李隆杰) and Liu Chien-fan (劉倩帆), and editors Lin Yi-chun (林怡君) and Aho Huang (黃健和), among others.

French author Benoit Peeters is to host a workshop at 1pm on March 21.

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title: China mulls bad-debt managers

content_text:
China’s banking regulator is considering setting up new regional bad-debt managers to help clean up risks after the failure of thousands of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Companies in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Shenzhen have submitted applications to set up local asset managers dealing with bad loans, especially those from online lending platforms, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they were discussing a private matter.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has yet to approve the applications, the people said.

A two-year push to clean up China’s P2P sector, plagued by fraud and defaults, has led to the failure of more than 2,000 online platforms.

At their peak, they had almost 50 million investors and US$150 billion in debt outstanding.

Policymakers now have added impetus to clean up the bad debt as the COVID-19 outbreak threatens to further depress economic growth.

The plan comes as the nation’s four largest bad-debt managers balked at bailing out online lenders, the people said.

The new regional asset managers, once approved, would initially focus on P2P bad loans before gradually extending their business scope to other distressed assets, they said.

The commission did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

China’s online lending sector was born during a wave of deregulation. It was meant to provide small borrowers more access to the financial system, while allowing savers to collect double-digit yields.

However, as news of fraud and defaults spread and the market became ensnared in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) crackdown on financial risk, the industry began to shrink.

Outstanding loans tumbled 48 percent during the first nine months of last year, while cities — including Shanghai — have ordered shutdowns of even the biggest players in the past few months.

Meanwhile, China plans to increase the tolerance for non-performing loans for local branches of financial institutions and encourage them to write off some bad loans to lower the non-performing loan ratio, commission official Ye Yanfei (葉燕斐) told a briefing in Beijing yesterday.

Affected by the virus outbreak, companies’ operations are deteriorating, and overall economic growth is cooling, so it is unrealistic for banks to maintain their non-performing loan ratios, Ye said.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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countries: 希臘 英國 土耳其 歐盟 義大利

content_text:
Marbles’ return ‘not linked to Brexit talks’

希臘促英國歸還帕德嫩神廟石雕

“The Parthenon Sculptures” collection, also known as the “Elgin Marbles,” pictured on display at the British Museum in London, UK on Wednesday. Second left in this photo is the image of Dionysus, god of wine and revelry.
在英國倫敦大英博物館展出的「帕德嫩神廟雕像」系列（亦稱為「埃爾金大理石雕像」）之一，攝於上週三。左二為酒神戴奧尼索斯。Photo: EPA-EFE
照片：歐新社

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Greece distanced itself on Wednesday from suggestions that it planned to drag a centuries-old dispute over the return of the Parthenon marbles into Brexit negotiations.

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Athens would keep up its campaign for the return of the 2,500-year-old treasures and will consider which tools could support its cause.

“Greece’s request for the return of the Parthenon marbles remains strong and it is not linked to a Brexit deal,” Petsas said, asked if the issue could be a stumbling point in talks with Britain on its future relationship with the European Union.

“We’ll continue to call for their return and if this is a tool we can use, we’ll consider it in due course,” he said.

Since independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly called for the return of the sculptures — known in Britain as the Elgin Marbles — that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens in the early 19th century, when Greece was under Ottoman rule.

The British Museum in London has refused to return the sculptures — roughly half of a 160m frieze which adorned the 5th century BC monument — saying they were acquired by Elgin under a legal contract with the Ottoman Empire. It says they “are part of everyone’s shared heritage.”

A draft of the 27 EU nations’ position on negotiations with Britain on their future relationship, which was seen by Reuters on Feb. 18, seeks the “return or restitution of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin.”

The document did not specify any cultural objects, but an EU diplomat said the term was added at the request of Greece, with support from Italy.

Last month, Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni called Elgin a “serial thief” who employed illegal tactics to take the marbles. She said she believes the circumstances are ripe for the marbles’ return.

1. return n. v.

歸還 (gui1 huan2)

2. marble n.

大理石(雕刻品) (da4 li3 shi2 [diao1 ke1 pin3])

3. treasure n.

寶藏；寶物 (bao3 zang4; bao3 wu4)

4. sculpture n.

雕塑 (diao1 su4)

5. adorn v.

裝飾 (zhuang1 shi4)

6. shared heritage phr.

共同的遺產 (gong4 tong2 de5 yi2 chan3)

7. restitution n.

賠償 (pei2 chang2)

8. cultural object phr.

文物 (wen2 wu4)

(Reuters)

希臘原本計畫在歐盟與英國脫歐協議談判的內容中，要求英國歸還帕德嫩神廟雕像──兩國為此已爭執了數百年──但二月十九日希臘卻打了退堂鼓。

希臘政府發言人史代流斯·佩查斯表示，雅典將繼續努力，促使這些有兩千五百年歷史的珍寶得以回歸，有助於達到此目標的手段都可能採用。

佩查斯被問及，此問題是否可能會成為英國與歐盟談判未來關係的絆腳石，他表示：「希臘仍強烈要求歸還帕德嫩神廟石雕，這和英國脫歐協議無關」。

他說：「我們會繼續呼籲他們歸還，若〔將其列入英國脫歐協議〕是我們可以用的手段，我們就會在適當時機考慮採用」。

希臘自一八三二年獨立以來，一再要求英國歸還這些雕像──在英國被稱為「埃爾金大理石雕像」──英國外交官埃爾金勛爵十九世紀初由雅典的帕德嫩神廟中搬走了這些雕塑，當時希臘是被鄂圖曼土耳其帝國統治。

倫敦的大英博物館拒絕歸還這些雕塑──裝飾這建於西元前五世紀的宏偉建築、約一百六十公尺長之橫飾帶的一半──說這是埃爾金依據與鄂圖曼土耳其帝國的合約合法購得的。大英博物館表示，這些雕塑「是屬於每個人的共同遺產」。

路透社二月十八日曾一窺歐盟二十七國與英國就其未來關係進行談判的立場草案，其內容包括要英國「將非法移走的文物歸還其原籍國，或加以賠償」。

這份文件並未具體說明所指的是哪些文物，但一位歐盟外交官說，草案的這部份是應希臘要求，並在義大利的支持下加入的。

上個月，希臘文化部長莉娜‧門多尼稱埃爾金為「連環竊賊」，利用非法手段奪取了這些大理石雕。門多尼表示，她相信雕像物歸原主的時機已經成熟。

(台北時報林俐凱編譯)

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Questions

1. How old is the Parthenon Temple? When and how were parts of the structure moved from Greece to the UK?

2. Name the representative cultural objects of your country/culture? Are they within your country now?

3. Why do nations treasure their cultural heritage and considered it to be so significant?

4. Do you think cultural objects should be kept at their original location or at a central location for easy access by visitors?

(Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)

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title: January unemployment rate dips slightly

content_text:
A man carries a real-estate sign on Changan E Road in Taipei’s Zhongshan District yesterday.Photo: CNA
The unemployment rate last month edged down 0.03 percentage points to 3.64 percent, as fewer people quit their jobs, which more than made up for seasonal and temporary job losses, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

“The job market in January was stable as the labor participation and unemployment figures showed,” Census Department Deputy Director Pan Ning-hsin (潘寧馨) told a media briefing.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.71, down 0.01 percentage point from one month earlier, the agency said.

The latest data, collected from Jan. 5 to 11, did not reflect the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak that is hurting businesses such as tourism, hospitality and retail, and dampening confidence among jobseekers, Pan said.

The labor participation rate could take a downturn from the current level at 59.21 percent, Pan said, pointing out that the SARS outbreak in 2003 did not affect the jobless rate, but weakened labor participation for four straight months.

The trend of people switching jobs after the Lunar New Year holiday might slow this year, as people hold onto their job until the epidemic shows signs of stabilizing, he said.

If the outbreak persists and spreads further, companies might ask employees to take unpaid leave, cut back on operations or shut down altogether, Pan said, adding that it is too early to tell.

The jobless data might have failed to reflect the real situation, as many restaurants and retail stores have already cut working days due to a sharp decline in business, while a growing number of people are under different degrees of quarantine.

Last month, the number of unemployed people stood at 436,000, a decline of 3,000 from one month earlier, due to a fall in the number of first-time jobseekers and people who resigned, the agency said.

By education level, university graduates had the highest unemployment rate at 5.22 percent, followed by high-school graduates at 3.43 percent and people with graduate degrees at 2.88 percent, the survey showed.

People aged 20 to 24 had the highest unemployment rate at 11.98 percent; followed by the 15-19 age bracket at 8.86 percent; the 25-29 group at 6.51 percent; and the 30-34 group at 3.3 percent, it said.

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content_text:
National Taiwan University College of Public Health vice dean Tony Chen speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Public health experts from National Taiwan University yesterday urged action in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Calling for the “social distance” between people to be increased, College of Public Health dean Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) said that large-scale gatherings should be avoided when possible.

If an event is being held, the venue should be well-ventilated, he said.

While efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan have been going on for more than a month, “a greater challenge lies ahead,” he said.

With elementary to senior-high schools resuming classes today, measures taken against the virus should be “updated or strengthened,” he said.

Another wave of infection might occur when companies resume operations in China and given the rising number of confirmed cases in Japan and South Korea, two popular tourist destinations for Taiwanese, he said, adding that people should be more cautious and follow good personal hygiene to prevent transmission.

He suggested that Taiwanese in China use online live video chat to pay respects to their ancestors during Tomb Sweeping Day, which falls on April 4, while those in Taiwan who are attending mass religious or cultural events should avoid eating meals together and maintain good personal hygiene at all times.

Based on the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan and transmission within families, the infection rate for household contact is estimated at 46.2 percent, which is much higher than seasonal flu’s 8 percent, NTU College of Public Health vice dean Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said.

The COVID-19 infection rate could be cut in half if family members follow good hand hygiene and cough etiquette, he said.

“The infection rate could drop from 46 percent to below 20 percent,” Chen said, citing experience in dealing with the SARS outbreak in 2003, which showed that frequent hand washing and wearing masks significantly reduced the risk of infection in households.

The incubation period for confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan is about seven days, Chen said.

Recovery from the virus takes about two weeks in most cases, he said, adding: “This is longer than what we saw with SARS.”

Chen presented a tool that he and his colleagues developed for people without a fever to calculate their “risk score” by assigning different point values to various symptoms.

For example, for symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection, add 8 points to the overall score if you have a cough; 17 points if you experience shortness of breath; and 10 points each if you have a chronic disease, such as diabetes or hypertension.

As for symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection, deduct 10 points if you have a stuffy nose; 15 points if you have a sore throat; and 10 points if you have a headache or muscle ache.

People with scores of 40 or higher are advised to get tested for COVID-19, he said.

In the absence of a vaccine or effective drug against COVID-19, “non-pharmaceutical interventions,” such as masks, environmental disinfection and frequent hand washing remain the most effective strategy, associate professor Huang Jiun-hau (黃俊豪) said, citing a commentary by David Heymann and Nahoko Shindo, titled “COVID-19: What is next for public health?” published in The Lancet on Feb. 13.

While bleach is an effective disinfectant, professor Chang Ching-wen (張靜文) said it needs to be diluted to avoid health issues, such as skin irritation or respiratory problems.

title: Virus Outbreak: Experts urge more robust action against COVID-19


content_text:
Grape King Bio Ltd’s (葡萄王) board of directors yesterday approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$6.5 per common share, unchanged from the previous year.

The proposed dividend, if approved by shareholders on May 28, suggests a dividend yield of 3.08 percent, based on yesterday’s closing share price of NT$210.50 in Taipei trading.

Total cash dividend distribution would be NT$884 million (US$29 million), the supplier of probiotics and mycelium health foods said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Last week, the firm’s direct-sales unit, Pro-Partner Inc (葡眾), proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$80.463 per common share, up from NT$76.019 the previous year.

Grape King’s revenue fell 24 percent annually to NT$574 million last month due to the Lunar New Year holiday and a high comparison base last year.

The company expects revenue to rebound this month, bolstered by demand for health food amid the COVID-19 outbreak, it said.

Demand for probiotic supplements has surged after the Chinese National Health Commission earlier this month said that probiotics could help prevent bacterial infections, the company said.

“Probiotics cannot fight the novel coronavirus, but are helpful in balancing the human gut flora,” Grape King research department director Chen Chin-chu (陳勁初) said by telephone.

According to Chinese epidemiologist Li Lanjuan (李蘭娟), many patients with severe cases of COVID-19 in China were found to be vulnerable to bacterial infections due to an imbalance in gut flora, Chen said.

Shanghai Grape King Enterprises Corp (上海葡萄王) has resumed production after the holiday and the company has seen orders for probiotics grow both in Taiwan and China, he said.

The company’s board also approved a plan to spend NT$890 million to purchase a 17,910m2 parcel of land in Taoyuan from Onano Industrial Corp (悅城科技), an organic LED supplier.

Grape King plans to build a new plant on the site for production expansion, with construction forecast to be completed in two to three years, it said.

The plant might be used to manufacture products for export to Southeast Asia, where the company is expanding its markets, it said.

Grape King posted earnings per share of NT$6.49 in the first three quarters of last year, its latest financial data showed.

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title: Grape King Bio board approves dividend proposal


content_text:
A worker disinfects a residental area in Wuhan, China, on Sunday.Photo: AFP
Authorities in Wuhan, China, yesterday reversed a decision that would have allowed some people to leave the quarantined city at the center of the COVID-19 outbreak, reprimanding the officials who had made the announcement.

The city government in a statement said that a previous announcement had been made by a traffic prevention and control group “without the consent” of the local leadership.

“The announcement is declared invalid. In this regard, we have seriously dealt with the relevant personnel,” the city government said on a microblogging site.

“Wuhan resolutely implements the spirit of General Secretary [Chinese President] Xi Jinping’s (習近平) important instructions on ‘preventing leaks (of the virus)’ ... strictly manages the passages leaving from Wuhan, strictly controls personnel, and strictly prevents the epidemic from going out,” it wrote.

The city government deleted the previous post that had announced the easing of restrictions barely three hours earlier.

Wuhan officials were already under fire for their handling of the outbreak — accused of initially covering it up, botching the response and causing confusion by changing the criteria for counting the number of cases.

Top Chinese Communist Party officials in Hubei Province and its capital, Wuhan, were sacked earlier this month, along with the region’s top health officials.

The city of 11 million has been under lockdown since Jan. 23 after authorities shut down transport links in the city in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

The now-scrapped decision would have allowed non-residents to leave if they show no symptoms of the coronavirus and had never had contact with patients, the deleted statement said.

People with special reasons to leave the city, including those who needed treatment for other medical conditions and those doing epidemic prevention work, would also have been allowed to leave.

The statement had said that departures would be staggered and people would have had to apply for permission from local authorities.

Once travelers reached their destination outside Wuhan, they would have had to report themselves to local authorities and monitor their health for 14 days.

The announcement would have also allowed people to enter the city for epidemic prevention or other production-related reasons or if they were Wuhan residents who had previously been unable to return home.

All but 11 of China’s 409 new cases yesterday were reported in Hubei Province. Wuhan reported 348 new coronavirus cases.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Wuhan scraps quarantine easing


content_text:
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, center, drives to the basket against the Boston Celtics in their NBA game in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday.Photo: AP
Although LeBron James is still relatively new to the Los Angeles Lakers’ rivalry with the Boston Celtics, he relishes the chance to participate in the history and passion behind the series.

When James on Sunday had the chance to make another significant mark in this chapter of NBA history, he stepped back and did it with pleasure.

James scored 29 points and put the Lakers ahead on a jumper with 30 seconds to play as Los Angeles split their season series with Boston with a 114-112 victory.

James also had nine assists and eight rebounds in another superb all-around game.

He missed a tying free throw moments before he coolly nailed the turnaround shot over Jayson Tatum to put the Lakers ahead to stay in their fifth straight win.

“I had been setting him up all night with the back-down to the drop step to the baseline,” James said. “I figured he would sit on it, thinking I would try it again, so I just went to my back-down, gave a little dream shake to the baseline, and was able to open up the middle and get my fadeaway.”

When Tatum was called for an offensive foul in the final second, the Lakers could celebrate another memorable meeting between two clubs with 33 NBA titles between them.

James put up a triple-double when the Lakers won in Boston last season in his first taste of the rivalry, but Los Angeles had lost his ensuing two meetings with the Celtics.

“It’s just special to be part of this rivalry,” James said.

“That’s a great atmosphere,” said Boston’s Jaylen Brown, who scored 20 points. “It don’t get too much better than that. To be honest, I had a great time. Even though we lost, it was fun being out there competing at the highest level and it makes you thirsty for the post-season.”

Anthony Davis had 32 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who took a 32-point blowout loss in Boston last month. The Celtics had won 12 of 14 starting with that dominant win.

Tatum scored just six points in the final 18 minutes, with Caldwell-Pope doing much of the defensive work.

“It was a step in the right direction,” Tatum said of his performance against James and Davis. “I definitely looked up to those guys and know how great they are individually, so just trying to earn the respect of the guys I look up to.”

Elsewhere, the Raptors pummeled the Pacers 127-81, the Thunder spanked the Spurs 131-103, the Nuggets tamed the Timberwolves 128-116, the Bulls beat the Wizards 126-117, the Pelicans outfought the Warriors 115-101 and the Trail Blazers pipped the Pistons 107-104.

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title: LeBron James’ jumper leads Lakers past Celtics


content_text:
Taichung issues tenders for huge stadium project

ENOUGH DELAYS:Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen promised that construction on the NT$6.5 billion Taichung Arena project would begin during her term
An official from the Taichung City Government holds a graphic representation of the proposed tender process for the Taichung Arena project on Sunday in the city.Photo: Su meng-chuan,Taipei Times
The Taichung City Government on Sunday said it has issued public tenders for a procurement project for the Taichung Arena, a multi-purpose domed stadium to be built in the city’s Beitun District (北屯), and that it aims to begin construction in 2022 and complete it by 2026.

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) pledged to begin construction, which has long been delayed, in her term.

The stadium — which is to cover 69,600m2 and accommodate 15,500 people — would be built in line with international standards to host sports events such as basketball, volleyball, badminton, futsal and combat sports, the Taichung Housing Development Department said.

The stadium would also host cultural events and concerts, too, it added.

To select the best design and planning team for the NT$6.5 billion (US$213,3 million) project, two public briefing sessions on the tender process were held in Taichung and Taipei last month, the department said.

The tender process would begin with a first-round document review, after which five bidders would be selected to enter the second-round evaluation to decide the winner of the contract, it said, adding that the other four bidders would be compensated for reaching the second round.

The composition of the bidding team must comply with the Building Act (建築法), and bidders must be represented by practicing architecture firms in Taiwan, but incorporating foreign suppliers in the team is encouraged, the department said.

The online applications are open until March. 31, it added.

The land reserved for the project is near the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium.

It is called Wenchunghsiao 6 (文中小6) and is encircled by Huanchung Road, Chungte Road, Chungte 19th Road and Sungchu Road.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Some Samsung, Hyundai workers self-quarantine

content_text:
A woman wearing a mask is reflected in the mirrors in Seoul yesterday.Photo: Reuters
Some South Korean workers at Samsung Electronics Co and Hyundai Motor Co are staying home as a precautionary measure, as corporate Korea scrambles to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak from disrupting its home market.

About 1,500 workers of Samsung’s phone complex in the southeastern city of Gumi have self-quarantined, after one of its workers was infected with the disease, a person familiar with the matter said.

They include 900 workers who commute to Gumi from neighboring Daegu City, the person said.

Daegu is the epicenter of the virus outbreak in South Korea.

South Korea has said that its fragile economic recovery is under threat from the outbreak, which has spread dramatically across the nation over the past week, and pledged action to minimize the fallout.

The won yesterday fell 0.9 percent to a six-month low, while the KOSPI sank almost 4 percent.

The nation yesterday reported 231 new cases of the virus, bringing the total number of infected patients to 833.

While most of the new cases were traced to the southeastern city of Daegu, almost all major cities and provinces reported some infections.

Daegu and other southeastern parts of the nation are an industrial hub in South Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, and home to factories of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and a number of others.

Samsung said it has restarted production at its phone factory in Gumi, after closing it over the weekend, adding that the floor where the infected employee worked are to resume production today.

“As of 1pm KT [4am GMT] Feb. 24, the Gumi Complex has started normal operations and we expect no impact on production,” Samsung said in a statement, without elaborating further.

Samsung’s Gumi factory accounts for a small portion of its total phone production, but it produces premium phones and foldable phones, research firm Counterpoint said.

Six employees at Hyundai Motor’s factories in the southeastern city of Ulsan are also at home, with four of them linked to a church at the center of the virus outbreak in Daegu, a union spokesman said in a statement.

“We are walking on ice,” one Hyundai factory worker said.

Another person visited a supplier, which was closed after one case was confirmed.

An official at the Hyundai supplier, Seojin Industrial Co, said health authorities disinfected the factory over the weekend, and it is unclear when production would resume.

Ulsan is home to Hyundai’s biggest vehicle factory, and there are a number of suppliers in the city and surrounding areas, which cater not only to the automaker, but exports to the US, Japan and other markets.

A Hyundai spokesperson said there has been no production disruption so far, as it has an inventory.

It has advised employees to refrain from traveling to Ulsan and suppliers in the southeastern area.

It has set up thermal cameras at all of its operations across the nation, including its headquarters in Seoul, and checks temperatures. Hyundai also delayed job interviews for entry-level workers starting yesterday.

LG Electronics Co said its lab in the city of Incheon, close to Seoul, was closed until yesterday after one of its employees there was infected with the virus.

“We’ve been worried about disruptions in the tech supply chain that are causing delays in importing parts from China,” Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade researcher Lee Hang-koo said. “But the problem is getting serious as infections are soaring near the Gumi Industrial Park, a home-ground of plants producing core parts of electronics devices.”

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content_text:
A bus line employee in Taipei sprays disinfectant as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 yesterday.Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo / EPA-EFE

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The government’s travel notice for South Korea has been raised to a level 3 “warning” — avoid all nonessential travel — due to a jump in the number of COVID-19 cases there, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that two more cases have been confirmed in Taiwan.

The community spread of the virus in South Korea has been shown by the rapid increase in confirmed cases in the past few days, which totaled 763 yesterday, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.

“As the risk of infection is elevated in the country, the center decided to raise the travel notice to level 3,” said Chen, who serves as the center’s head. “We recommend people avoid all nonessential travel.”

As of 12am today, all foreign nationals arriving in Taiwan from South Korea would be placed under a 14-day mandatory home quarantine, he said.

Taiwanese passengers arriving today and tomorrow would be asked to implement a 14-day self-health management period, but as of 12am on Thursday, everyone arriving from South Korea would be put under a 14-day quarantine, he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an “orange” warning on travel to South Korea, advising people to avoid unnecessary travel to the nation, but issued the highest “red” warning on travel to Daegu, Gyeongsang-bukdo and Cheongdo-gun, where the South Korean government has declared special management zones, Chen said.

When asked if similar border controls would be imposed on passengers arriving from Japan, Chen said Japan is “on the edge of” being listed at a higher warning level.

The number of confirmed cases in Japan is relatively high, with locations spread across the nation, including Okinawa and Hokkaido, he said.

“The CECC is closely observing and discussing the COVID-19 epidemic situations in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Italy and Iran, and we will make proper decisions if the outbreaks in these areas become worse,” he said.

The two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan, the 29th and 30th, are family members of the two cases announced on Sunday — an octogenarian father and one of his sons, who is in his 50s — the younger son and older man’s wife, he said, adding that a contact investigation into the family cluster infection is under way.

Chen confirmed that a Taiwanese hemophiliac, who had been stranded in Wuhan, China, with his mother since that city was locked down on Jan. 23, was to return to Taiwan on a flight from Chengdu last night.

The teen’s doctor had assessed his condition through telemedicine and a nurse had been deployed to Chengdu to help them take proper protective measures before and during the flight, Chen said.

The pair would be separated from other passengers during the flight, and be taken to an isolation ward in a hospital after being tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, he said.

If they test negative twice, they would be moved to a quarantine station for a 14-day stay, he added.

The teen’s case had required special medical consideration and protective measures, he said, adding that Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan must return home on charter flights and undergo a quarantine period after arrival.

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title: Virus outbreak: Travel warnings raised for South Korea


content_text:
Workers wearing face masks work next to a furnace at a steel plant in Hangzhou, China, yesterday.Photo: Reuters
Chinese regulators yesterday promised tax cuts and other aid to help companies recover from the COVID-19 outbreak and expressed confidence that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) growth targets can be achieved, despite anti-disease controls that have shut down much of the economy.

At a news conference, finance and planning officials said they are looking at how to channel aid to businesses after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) promised over the past week to ensure farming and other industries recover quickly.

China has allocated 99.5 billion yuan (US$14.16 billion) in funds for curbing the outbreak that has spread across the nation, Chinese Assistant Minister of Finance Ou Wenhan (歐文漢) said.

The government is looking at “targeted tax reduction,” interest rate cuts, and payments to poor and virus-hit areas, Ou said.

“We will do a good job of implementing large-scale interest rate reduction and tax deferral and ensure effective implementation as soon as possible,” Ou said.

Business activity plunged after the government extended the Lunar New Year holiday last month to keep factories and offices closed and told the public not to travel.

Officials are shifting toward reviving business, but also have orders to prevent infection from spreading as millions of people return to work.

Xi said at a meeting on Sunday that regions deemed to be at low risk of the disease should ease curbs controls and revive business activity while high-risk regions should focus on control.

He added that officials should make sure planting of spring crops is not disrupted.

Asked whether Beijing planned to reduce its economic growth targets for the year, the National Development and Reform Commission expressed confidence the virus’ impact would be brief.

The CCP has yet to announce this year’s economic targets after last year’s growth fell to a multi-decade low of 6.1 percent.

Forecasters expect it to be about 6 percent, but say if the disease is not controlled quickly, growth could decline to as low as 5 percent, raising the risk of politically dangerous job losses.

“The epidemic’s impact on the economy and society is short-term and generally controllable, and will not change China’s long-term positive economic fundamentals,” commission official Cong Liang (從亮) said.

“Economic and social development goals for 2020 can be achieved,” Cong said.

Nearly 1,000 companies have received low-interest loans from a 300 billion yuan (US$43 billion) recovery fund offered by the central bank, People’s Bank of China official Chen Yulu (陳雨露) said.

Cong said that industrial output is rebounding, though he gave no indication when the government expects it to return to normal.

Production by companies in trade-oriented coastal areas has risen above 70 percent of normal, Cong said, adding that food processing, coal mining and other industries are back to at least 70 percent, but he gave no figures for the level of production at their lowest point during the outbreak.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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title: Virus Outbreak: China vows to aid companies; sticks to target


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Doctor urges eye hygiene to prevent viral infection

Slides explaining preventative eye hygiene are pictured at a news conference held by China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital ophthalmologist Chen Ying-shan in Hsinchu County yesterday.Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
A Hsinchu County ophthalmologist yesterday advised people who wear glasses to disinfect their glasses on a daily basis and avoid wearing contact lenses to prevent COVID-19 infection.

The eyes, nose and mouth have mucous membranes, said Chen Ying-shan (陳瑩山), head of China Medical University Hsinchu Hospital’s ophthalmology division.

Although mucous membranes can provide protection, they are also places where germs can enter the body, he said.

Surgical masks protect the mouth and nose, but leave the eyes exposed, he added.

Children should wash their hands frequently and avoid rubbing their eyes to prevent COVID-19 infection, Chen said.

Children who wear glasses should disinfect their glasses with alcohol twice daily, he said, adding that they could also wear lightly tinted sunglasses for extra protection.

Parents whose children have developed redness in the eyes, but have no fever or upper respiratory symptoms, have been worried that their children might have contracted COVID-19, he said, adding that the parents could not tell whether the apparent conjunctivitis was caused by an allergic reaction or a bacterial infection.

Chen suggested a four-step solution for such cases: do not rub the eyes, use a clean towel as a cold compress, use eye drops if prescribed by a doctor and visit an ophthalmologist immediately.

Symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis in children typically include itching, swelling, redness and excessive discharge, he said.

Chen also advised against wearing contact lenses, saying that although they can be washed daily, small particulate matter measuring 25 micrometers or less or viruses could stick to them.

Friction could also cause tears in the contact lenses and allow pathogens to enter, leading to infection or inflammation, he said.

Chen said that he has taken preventive measures in his office against COVID-19.

His patients are required to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer upon entering his office and he wears safety glasses over his regular glasses, he said.

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title: Heavy rain warnings across the UK

content_text:
Heavy rain warnings across the UK

‘STING IN THE TAIL’:Snow was also in the forecast for several areas, while lawmakers from Wales have appealed to the chancellor for financial aid for hard-hit communities
Members of Worcester Canoe Club paddle on the flooded course at Worcester Racecourse in Worcestershire, England, on Sunday.Photo: AP
A storm was expected to bring further bands of torrential rain to flood-hit communities as it swept across Britain yesterday.

Forecasters issued a yellow weather warning as the 120kph storm was expected to bring a fresh deluge of rain, up to 50 millimeters in some places.

A 805km-wide jet of cold air from Greenland was set to bring winter’s “sting in the tail” in one of the wettest Februarys on record in 254 years.

There was a short respite from the more stormy conditions on Sunday afternoon, but the number of flood warnings in force in England increased to 86 — spanning an area from Dorset to Carlisle — along with 183 flood alerts.

In Wales, the number of flood warnings in force increased to 14, with 28 alerts with snow expected across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.

The Met Office said heavy rain is expected later in the week.

The bleak outlook follows more than two weeks of downpours and flooding that started with Storm Ciara, continued with Storm Dennis and then kept going with the storms over the weekend.

Politicians in south Wales appealed directly to British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak for help.

In a letter to Sunak, the group including four members of parliament described flooding in the Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) area as “a national emergency on our doorsteps.”

The area was one of the hardest hit by Dennis, with more than 600 households and a similar number of businesses affected.

Dozens of businesses in Pontypridd town center were “submerged,” along with the Treforest industrial estate, where 4,000 jobs are based, the letter said.

“Wales has borne the brunt of the damage and RCT in particular has been hit hardest of all, whilst having the fewer resources. We therefore urge you as a matter of urgency to provide specific one-off funding for RCT,” the letter said.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Institute boosts production of experimental drug

The National Health Research Institutes’ (NHRI) Institute of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Research yesterday announced that it has synthesized more than 1g of remdesivir, an experimental medication that has shown promise in fighting COVID-19.

The news came after the institutes on Thursday last week said that it had synthesized more than 1 milligram of remdesivir at 97 percent purity.

The government-run nonprofit yesterday said that its researchers were able to boost production to a level of grams within five days, well ahead of the originally planned schedule of two weeks.

NHRI president Liang Kung-yee (梁賡義) said that the experimental drug came to be regarded as a potential treatment for COVID-19 after the first person confirmed to have been infected with the virus in the US recovered after taking remdesivir.

After learning about the treatment, the NHRI on Feb. 5 mobilized its researchers and began efforts to synthesize the drug, he said.

Remdesivir is a novel antiviral drug developed by Gilead Sciences, a research-based US biopharmaceutical company, as a treatment for Ebola and Marburg viral infections.

Academic Sinica’s Institute of Chemistry on Friday last week also announced that its research team had synthesized more than 100 milligrams of remdesivir at 97 percent purity in two weeks.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: China mulling ‘complete ban’ of wildlife trade

China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress yesterday began deliberating a proposal to ban all trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak that has swept the nation.

“It aims to completely ban the eating of wild animals and crack down on illegal wildlife trade,” Xinhua news agency said of the proposal.

The report added that the measure was aimed at “safeguarding public health and ecological security.”

The committee is responsible for convening the 3,000-member National People’s Congress, but is expected to postpone the annual session due to the health crisis.

The session is due to start early next month.

Chinese health officials have said that the coronavirus likely emerged from a market in Wuhan that sold wild animals as food.

Late last month after the epidemic began, the government ordered a temporary ban “until the national epidemic situation is over.”

It was not clear when a decision would be made on the proposed ban, which is likely to face skepticism.

Conservationists have accused China of tolerating a shadowy trade in exotic animals for food or use in traditional medicines whose efficacy is not confirmed by science.

China instituted a similar temporary ban after SARS killed hundreds of people in 2002 and 2003, and was also traced to wild-animal consumption, but the wildlife trade soon resumed.

Health experts say it poses a significant and growing public health risk by exposing humans to dangerous animal-borne pathogens.

The exact source of COVID-19 remains unconfirmed, with scientists variously speculating it originated in bats, pangolins or some other mammal.

Scientists say SARS likely originated in bats, later reaching humans via civets.

Civets were among dozens of species listed for sale by one of the merchants at the Wuhan market, according to a price list that circulated online.

Other items included rats, snakes, giant salamanders and live wolf pups.

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content_text:
School asks for help finding missing dog after firecrackers scared her away

By Chen Hsin-yu
and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Students from Bali Elementary School play with their school dog, Huang Yu-chih, before she went missing in New Taipei City last month.Photo courtesy of Kuo Li-ying
Staff and students at a New Taipei City elementary school are on the lookout for their school dog after she went missing last month.

The mixed-breed, 13-year-old dog — named Huang Yu-chih (黃玉枝) — went missing on Jan. 24 after she was frightened by firecrackers that were set off by residents near the school as part of Lunar New Year celebrations.

Kuo Li-ying (郭立穎), a teacher who normally cares for the dog, has posted notices to the school and community social media accounts asking people in the community to report any information on the dog’s whereabouts, Bali Elementary School principal Chen Mu-lin (陳木琳) said on Sunday.

“Huang Yu-chi is not only a friend to everyone in the school, but is a minor celebrity in all of New Taipei City,” Chen said.

The city’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office once included the dog in a video, and students at the school painted pictures of her on the school’s outer walls, Kuo said.

The school adopted the dog in 2007 when she was discovered as a stray, he said, adding that she was originally cared for by the school’s guard.

“Back then there was an administrative assistant working at the school named Chin-chih (金枝) who often went to the guard’s office to chat. She gave the dog the name ‘Huang Yu-yeh’ (黃玉葉),” Kuo said.

However, because the young children at the school had trouble saying this name, it was later changed to Huang Yu-chih, he said.

As the dog often followed principal Chen when he made the rounds at the school, the students affectionately refer to her as “honorary vice principal,” Kuo said, adding that the dog also stood with Chen at the school entrance every morning as students arrived and again in the afternoon when they left.

Huang Yu-chih has light yellow fur and wears a red collar, he said, adding that she was wearing blue clothing when she went missing, which might have fallen off since.

Kuo urged people who think they have seen the dog to contact the school at (02) 2610-2217. Pictures of suspected sightings can also be uploaded to a Facebook page titled “Fans of Huang Yu-chih” (黃玉枝粉絲團) for confirmation, he said.

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